Stephen Leather - Bangkok Bob and the missing Mormon

‘Well, her family have just registered a large chunk of land by the river, land that used to be owned by a family who just happen to be close friends with one of the owners of the nightclub.’

‘No way,’ I said. ‘How much land?’

‘Twenty rai,’ said Somsak, studying his cards. ‘Very picturesque by all accounts.’

A rai is a Thai measurement of area, equivalent to one thousand six hundred square metres. Twenty rai is a lot of land. And land around Chiang Mai isn’t cheap. Jintana’s father was an MP so he wouldn’t be short of money, but it seemed to be one hell of a coincidence that he acquired the land just as his daughter started investigating the nightclub fire.

‘Will you be looking at it?’ I asked.

‘The land?’ Somsak shrugged. ‘It’s not my jurisdiction.’

‘Amazing Thailand,’ said Muller.

‘Exactly,’ said Somsak.

‘It’s not fair,’ said Maplethorpe. ‘A lot of kids died in that blaze. Someone should be held accountable.’

‘I agree,’ said Somsak. ‘And I think that will probably happen, with or without Khun Jintana’s assistance.’

‘How come?’ I asked.

‘Some very important people lost their children in the fire,’ said Somsak. ‘An Army general for one. Several businessmen with links to local mafia. I think that no matter what Khun Jintana does, justice will be done.’

‘You’re talking about vigilantes,’ said Muller.

Somsak began to deal the cards. ‘I’m not talking about anything,’ he said. He nodded at Yates. ‘Ante up, Andy,’ he said.

The last hand of the night was a close call. I had an ace and king of hearts and the ace of clubs flopped and the king of spades came on the river so I was looking at two pairs but there were three clubs on the table including the king and Somsak started blinking. It’s the perfect tell, whenever Somsak has a good hand he blinks and he didn’t start blinking until the third club dropped.

I folded my two pair and Maplethorpe threw down his hand. I’m pretty sure that he’s also spotted Somsak’s tell. Anyway, Somsak took the pot but I could have lost a lot more. I walked away from the game down about ten thousand baht, which is about par for the course.

I don’t play poker for the money.

Obviously.

Dao-Nok Antiques is open on a Saturday but generally I take the weekend off and let Ying hold the fort. Noy wanted to go shopping in Siam Paragon and who was I to argue? Siam Paragon is one of the biggest shopping centres in Asia, packed with all the top designer stores and home to the biggest aquarium in South East Asia. I’d arrived in Bangkok just after they’d knocked down the Siam Intercontinental Hotel to make way for Siam Paragon, and I’d seen the development grow from a huge hole in the ground to a massive twenty-one acre complex containing four hundred thousand square metres of retail space.

Shopping with my wife is fun, not the least because I get to see her wearing lots of different outfits and she always asks me what I think.

To be honest, I’m not the best person to ask because I think she looks beautiful whatever she’s wearing.

We spent the morning wandering around the shops and then we had lunch at Fuji, her favourite Japanese restaurant.

As we left the restaurant I saw a face that I recognised.

Petrov Shevtsov.

He was wearing black Armani jeans and a tight-fitting white shirt and impenetrable sunglasses. Holding his left arm was a tall, pretty blonde wearing a white miniskirt and impossibly high stiletto heels. They were looking into the window of a jewellers.

I steered Noy in the other direction.

We’d driven to Paragon in my Hummer. Driving in Bangkok is generally unpleasant and dangerous and the civilian equivalent of the military Humvee workhorse is the only car that I feel safe in. I figure if it’s good enough for US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan then it’s good enough for me to drive down Sukhumvit Road.

The basic problem is that Thai drivers have very little respect for the rules of the road, of for the law in general. Drink-driving is illegal but in the evening probably over half the drivers on the road are over the limit. Truck drivers and bus drivers work long hours and think nothing of taking amphetamines to keep themselves going. Most Thai drivers simply ignore zebra crossings, even if there are people walking on them, and a red traffic light is generally regarded as advisory rather than a signal to stop. They weave in and out of traffic and rarely allow another motorist to pull in front of them, and just because a driver indicates that he’s going to turn left doesn’t necessarily mean that the car will actually go in that direction.

Added together, these factors result in a death rate on the country’s roads which is many times that of Western nations. Maybe it’s because they’re Buddhists and believe in reincarnation, but whatever the reason I only ever get behind the wheel when it’s my Hummer.

As we headed towards it, I heard my name being called. I looked around. It was the Russian.

‘Who’s that?’ asked Noy.

I gave her the car keys. ‘Friend of mine,’ I said. ‘You go ahead.’

‘Is everything okay, honey?’

‘I’ll tell you later. It’s no big deal.’

As Noy went over to the Hummer I turned to face Petrov. He left the blonde girl and walked towards me like a heavyweight heading for the ring.

My heart was racing but I smiled as if I didn’t have a care in the world.

Jai yen.

Cool heart.

‘I thought it was you,’ said Petrov.

‘Yeah, just doing some shopping.’

He gestured at Noy who was looking our way as she climbed into the car. ‘I didn’t know you were married.’

I didn’t know what to say to that so I just shrugged.

‘Nice car,’ said Petrov. ‘Thought about getting a Hummer myself.’

‘They’re safe, that’s why I like them,’ I said. ‘Anyway, good to see you.’

I started to walk away but he gripped me by the shoulder, the fingers of his left hand digging into the flesh like talons. ‘You bought it in Thailand, did you?’

‘There’s a showroom in Petchburi Road,’ I said.

‘I know there is,’ said the Russian. ‘How does an English teacher manage to afford a car like this?’ he asked.

I smiled and didn’t answer.

‘Why did you disappear?’ asked Petrov, lowering his voice to a deep growl. ‘One lesson and then you were gone.’

The blonde girl was tapping her foot, a look of bored disdain on her face.

‘I got a better offer,’ I said. ‘I did phone to let the office know.’

‘No one told me,’ said Petrov.

‘Yeah, it just came up. An offer I couldn’t refuse.’

Petrov nodded, his face a black mask, his eyes his eyes hidden behind the dark lenses. ‘That’s what the mafia do, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘Make you an offer you can’t refuse.’ He made a gun from his right hand and pointed it at my face. ‘Bang,’ he said quietly, then he laughed and released his grip on my shoulder. He gestured at the Hummer with his chin. ‘Drive carefully,’ he said. ‘Bangkok can be a dangerous place.’

I watched him walk over to rejoin the blonde girl and then the two of them walked over to a red Porsche.

I climbed into the driving seat of the Hummer and switched on the engine.

‘Who was that, honey?’ asked Noy.

‘A Russian,’ I said.

‘Good friend of yours?’

‘Not really.’

‘He likes the car, doesn’t he?’ she said, squinting into the wing mirror.

‘Yeah, he was asking where I got it from.’

‘He’s taking a photograph of it, with his cellphone.’

I looked in the driving mirror. She was right.

I didn’t think he was interested in the Hummer, though.