Lost Innocence: The Accused. Part One (11 page)

She
turned and smiled. He slipped out his wallet,
opened it and invited her to reach in. She took six thousand and
tucked it into a hidden compartment in
her
bra. “You want some
company?”

“
Sorry but we’re
looking for someone right now.”

“
Who you look
for?”

Nigel held up his
phone and showed
her
the photo of Michael’s sketch of Mia.

“
I not know her but
maybe I can find her. I know many people here. I know police
captain who like lady-boys. Maybe he will help.”

“
That’s something.
See what you can find out.”

“
Fine. You have
number I can call you on?”

Nigel handed
her
a card. “I’m Nigel
Walker. I’ve written my Thai number on the back.”

“
Nice meet you Nigel.
I am Sung.”

“
You want a copy of
the picture?”

“
Please,”
she
replied. She took
his phone and sent the picture to her Samsung. “I see what I can
do.”

“
Thank you
Sung.”

“
If I help you, you
pay me, okay?”

He nodded. She turned
then sashayed down the corridor, her high-heels clanking on the
hospital tiles. Nigel turned back to Stan’s room and
frowned.

Stan was lying in bed
red-faced when Nigel walked in and stood over him. “Cheating on Lou
is one thing, but with another man?”

“
I only had a drink
with ‘her’, ‘him’.”

“
Anyway,
she’s
helping us
now.”

“
She’s doing
what?”

“
She’s helping us
find Mia.”

“
Of all the people
you have to deal with.”

Nigel changed the
subject. “I’ve seen Mike.”

“
How is
he?”

“
He’s okay, but
refused to let us pay.”

“
Why did you give him
a choice?”

“
He’s determined to
see this through, says that once he’s done twelve days, they have
to let him go. They don’t have hard evidence to charge him with
anything.”

“
How many days has he
done?”

“
I didn’t
ask.”

“
So, what does this
mean for us?”

“
It means we’re going
to be here a while longer. If he doesn’t get out, we need to find
the girl, persuade her to come forward and withdraw her accusation.
Who knows what’ll happen if this does go to Court? I’ll be meeting
with a lawyer later.”

“
Okay, Dad. Good
work. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help,” Stan pointed to his bad
leg.

“
That’s all right,
I’m better off without you.”

“
What’s
that supposed to mean?”

“
I’m on the
case.”

“
Take a seat and fill
me in.”

SIXTEEN

MY MONEY
had finally come through. It had been given to
‘Bald Guard,’ then most of it had found its way to me. I bought
flip-flops and clothes from a guy with dog breath, topped up on
toiletries then took care of John.

“
That’s more than you
owe me, mate.”

“
It’s not nearly
enough for all you’ve done.”

“
You can survive in
here with money, mate.”

“
Where can I get hold
of a bed roll?”

“
They’re usually
inherited when someone dies or is released. You want me to get you
one?”

“
Why don’t you have
one?”

“
I’m okay on the floor…You want to hear about
the first girl I ever took back to my
room?”

“
Yeah,
okay.”

“
I’d never paid for
sex before and was nervous the

first time I did. I’d
met Suk in a pool bar. She was a tall, sexy babe with long, black
hair and high hips. She wore a tight white dress with a slit to
show a little leg and her firm arse was as wide and as round as a
water melon; it showed through the creases of her dress whenever
she took a shot.
We played a few games.
She soon warmed to my charm and I eventually asked her
back.

When I got her to my
room, I was embarrassed at how bare it was. I was travelling on a
budget and I didn’t care but it was basic. All it had was a creaky,
double bed, tired, torn bed sheets and a dusty fan that hardly
worked; even the window was cracked.

She stepped in and
didn’t comment - didn’t care. I handed her a beach towel, directed
her to the bathroom then sprayed a little Brut around the room. I
threw all my loose clothes into my case under the bed and was
sliding it back when she returned in just the towel. She glided
over to me, her shoulders smooth and her smile naughty.

I lay back, invited
her to join me and watched as she climbed on the bed and crawled
over to me like a horny cat. She smelt like a strawberry cheesecake
with vanilla cream. She reached over, unbuckled my belt, slid down
my shorts then pulled off my boxers with her teeth. Then losing the
towel to reveal a perfectly made pair and the smoothest of
openings, she took me in her mouth and earned her name.

Once she felt I was
ready for more, she stopped, slipped a rubber onto ‘Little John,’
lifted her body onto mine and began the most erotic bouncing I’d
ever experienced. She rode me like a horny bride on her honeymoon
and didn’t stop till I was done. She was the first I’d ever paid
for and still the best.”

He paused for effect
then turned to me. “You don’t talk about women much,
mate.”

“
I guess I don’t have
so many experiences.”

“
You must have a
story or two.”

I cleared my throat
as I thought of something and began. “I was
returning home from work one evening and riding an escalator
when I saw the most beautiful girl coming down the other side. She
was wearing a sleek black dress with a silver strip and for the
briefest moment, her eyes met mine. I looked back at her – she was
smiling at me.”

“
And then what? You
got off, went down to find her, got her number, bought her
dinner?”

“
No. I was on my way
home.”

John sat there with a
bemused look. “Is that it?”

“
That’s how it
happened.”

“
That’s hardly a
story, mate.”

“
How old will your
son be now?”

“…
The same years as
I’ve been inside, ten.”

“
I wonder how he
looks.”

“
I can only imagine.
It drives me to go on, hoping that one day I’ll meet him and be
back with Nui. You know for the last ten years I’ve tortured myself
for what I did. Agreeing to smuggle heroin was bad enough. I never
wanted to do that in the first place, but disappearing from my
wife’s life when she was heavily pregnant, leaving her as her
father did before; if she never forgives me, I wouldn’t blame her.
When you get out, I want you to go to her and tell her why I did
what I did and ask her to wait for me if she hasn’t met someone
else. I can’t hide anymore, its killing me.”

“
Are you sure you
want me to tell her that? Why don’t you think about it
first?”

“
That’s all I’ve been
doing for the last ten years. Just see that she’s all right,
please.”

I nodded, he went
quiet – I left him alone.

The heat from
the scorching sun bore down on us. John and I
were standing butt-naked by the trough, washing ourselves as others
tried nudging their way in. I was shocked when a short man standing
next to me pulled down his shorts then masturbated onto the floor.
Some of the others laughed, some slapped the back of his
head.

I waited for John
then followed him to dry out under the sun. He handed me some clean
clothes.

“
Cheers,” I smiled as
I slipped them on.

“
Would you like to
meditate?”

I nodded and joined
him as I did most days. His first instruction was always to sit
cross-legged in the lotus position, with my back completely
straight. This allowed the diaphragm to move freely and therefore
helped breathing. He went into great detail and although I always
tried to take in his words, I often found myself nodding off. This
time was no different. He tapped my hand then went off on one of
his rambles.

“
Your mind may begin
to wander. It tends to flow towards whatever attracts it. Compose
yourself with determination, resolve and intent. Do not let it drag
you where it wants to. If you meditate daily, soon your inner
strength and mind-power will grow. Meditation is the gateway
through which you pass to the world of freedom.”

I nodded - we began.
He was a little over-fanatical for my taste, but at least I was
exploring something new. I respected him. He was a wise man who had
used meditation and Buddhism to help release the guilt of his
crime. From what he claimed, it had not only preserved his sanity,
but kept him alive.

The room filled with
shouting from the inmates. John cocked his head to one side,
listened then announced, “Someone has died.”

I watched as a
motionless body was poked, prodded, pointed out to a guard then
dragged away by a couple of trusties.

SEVENTEEN

NIGEL WAS
in the shower singing Sinatra’s ‘My Way’, but
his
way
, which
was sadly out of tune. Ten minutes later, dried and dressed, he was
walking through the lobby, when he was called over by a pretty
receptionist. She handed him an envelope. He opened it. Inside was
a photo of a pretty young girl standing at a bar in a white dress.
She wasn’t posing for the picture; it was as if she hadn’t even
known it was being taken. On the back was a note written in
English: ‘Find Puku - find Mia.’

“
Who gave you this?”
he asked. She asked a colleague who asked someone else, who then
asked someone in the back - nobody knew.

He left the hotel,
found Pang by his car and showed him the picture. “Somebody’s
trying to help.”

“…
.Who?”

“
I don’t know.
Yesterday at the bar, did you tell Mon where I was
staying?”

Guilt reared its ugly
head on Pang’s face.

“
It may have worked
in our favour. Somebody brought us this picture with a note on the
back.”

Nigel took out his
phone, flicked to the picture of Mia and compared it with the
picture of Puku.

“
Look at this Pang. I
think Puku is Mia’s sister.”

Pang nodded. “Where
you want to go?”

“…
Back to the
bar.”

Nigel and Pang
returned to the bar and parked on the opposite side of the street.
Pang was about to step out when Nigel stopped him. “Wait a minute.
I think Mon’s expecting us. None of the girls are outside. Do me a
favour, walk around the back and see if there’s any sign of police
cars tucked away.”

Pang walked off and
returned a few minutes later. “No police car, but I look in back
window and see Mon with men. Look like security. What we
do?”

“
We wait and see if
Mia comes out. It may take a while. We’ll need coffee and
doughnuts.”

Pang walked off into
the night.

Nigel was watching
the bar and craving for a coffee, when his trusty driver suddenly
appeared at the door. He leapt from his seat, caught his breath
then wound down the window. “You frightened the life out of me.
Where were you?”

“
Sorry, but I not
find doughnut.”

He handed Nigel a
plastic cup of cold coffee then climbed into the driver’s seat.
“You see Mia?”

“
Not yet.”

“
What we
do?”

“
I think we’re
done.”

“
Where you want to
go?”

“
Back to the
hotel.”

“
What about the
doughnuts?”

“
They’ll have to wait
for another day. We should get some sleep. We have an important
appointment with a lawyer, tomorrow.

The following
morning, Nigel and Pang
arrived at a modern office building on Ratchada. After
looking online for a reputable law firm which handled criminal
cases, Nigel was quietly confident that he had found his
guy.

Arriving on the
fourth floor of a plush-looking office-block, they stepped through
some automatic doors and were greeted by an attractive young lady
wearing glasses like a French teacher in a porn flick.

“
We’re here to see Mr
Pamon.”

“
Please follow me,”
she replied in perfect English.

They followed her
into a modern office with a long conference table and four leather
chairs. Nigel smelled the fine leather - he approved.