It took them two hours to get from Kanchanaburi to Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal, and another hour in cross-town traffic to reach the hotel where the Kings were staying. Jayne would have deferred the confrontation until the following morning, but Mayuree couldn’t wait to be reunited with her son. The closer they got, the more agitated the Thai woman became, compulsively checking her reflection, sniffing a menthol inhaler and dabbing at her eyes with tissues. Jayne worried that Mayuree would lose all self-control once she saw Kob, but decided that might not be a bad thing. An emotional outburst might be just what it took to move Alicia King.
Still, she wanted to spare Leroy and Alicia—not to mention Kob—the trauma of a surprise attack and asked Mayuree to wait in the lobby while she paged them.
‘They checked out already,’ the receptionist said.
‘When?’
‘Early this morning.’
‘Shit,’ Jayne muttered under her breath. ‘I don’t suppose they left a forwarding address?’
An embarrassed laugh told her no.
Jayne glanced at Mayuree perched on the edge of a chair, shredding a wad of tissue in her hand. She punched Rajiv’s number into her phone.
‘Jayne, I have been waiting on your call. I managed to hack into Maryanne’s account and—’
She cut him off. ‘Rajiv, I’m in trouble. I’m at the Suriya Hotel with Mayuree, but the Kings checked out this morning.
Alicia must’ve been spooked.’
‘Do you want me to start checking for them at other hotels in the vicinity? They still have to take the child to the US Embassy tomorrow, isn’t it?’
‘Would you?’ She made no attempt to hide the gratitude in her voice. ‘I’m not sure how much more Mayuree can take.’
‘And you, Jayne. Are you okay?’
‘I’m okay,’ she said. ‘Thanks for this. And Rajiv, I’m sorry about—’
‘We do not have time for that,’ he said. ‘I must be hanging up so I can make the inquiries.’
She turned to find Mayuree hovering behind her.
‘Where’s Kob?’ she hissed. ‘Where’s my son?’
‘He’s not here,’ Jayne said. ‘The Americans have changed hotels. They won’t be far away. That was my assistant on the phone. He’s going to call back in a few minutes with their new location.’
Mayuree shook her head. ‘Dichan pai mai dai.’
‘I’m not going,’ Mayuree said. ‘And I don’t want you to go after them either.’
‘What do you mean?’ Jayne said. ‘Without you, we have no case.’
‘You don’t understand, Khun Jayne. I tried explaining when we were in Kanchanaburi. Laew teh duang. It is my boy’s fate to go and live in America. He is lucky. It’s his karma. It’s my fate to have lost him.’
Jayne put a hand on Mayuree’s arm.
‘Look, it’s been a long day. Let’s go back to my place, get some sleep, come back early tomorrow and—’
Mayuree shrugged off the hand. ‘You’re not listening to me. I’m telling you, my son is better off without me.’
‘Mai khao jai.’ Jayne shook her head.
‘I don’t expect you to understand.’
‘But you’re his mother.’
Mayuree stared into the distance. There was a bronze Buddha on a shelf behind Jayne, pointing the fingers of his right hand to summon the earth goddess to wring a flood of water from her hair and engulf the demons sent to tempt him. Mayuree looked into the face of the Buddha and knew she’d been a mother only in name. She’d placed her son in an institution when he was six months old and had barely seen him since. She was too proud to send him to her family in Kanchanaburi where he’d have had a better life, even under her mother’s disapproving glare. She even let herself be duped into believing he was dead. A good mother would have stood up to the doctors, nurses and farangs and refused to believe it without proof. But not Mayuree.
‘How can you say that, Khun Jayne, when you know nothing about me?’
There was venom in her tone. It wasn’t just about Jayne.
It was about all the times she’d failed to stand up to farangs who’d pushed her around. John who made her turn tricks to get him out of debt. Curtis who deserted her when she was pregnant. Frank who pressured her to relinquish her son then lied to her about him being dead. And Maryanne, who brought such promise into their lives, only to ruin it all with her foolishness.
If it wasn’t for Maryanne, she and Sumet could have kept Kob out of institutional care. They’d managed all right before Maryanne came along. Mayuree should have known that once she lost Sumet it was only a matter of time before she’d lose Kob, too. Maryanne’s ghost would never let Mayuree keep her baby when she’d been robbed of her own.
‘Go to hell,’ she told them all.
Jayne’s cheeks flushed red. ‘I’m sorry you feel that way, sister.’
‘Not half as sorry as I am for letting you talk me into this. I should’ve known better than to trust a farang.’
‘But—’
‘I’ve wasted enough time. Don’t follow me.’
Ignoring the hurt on Jayne’s face, Mayuree straightened the bag over her shoulder, turned and strode out the door of the hotel. Her heart ached for the loss of her son, but she could not fight fate. He’d been given a chance at a better life, far from the reach of vengeful ghosts. And this time Mayuree would do the right thing by him.
She’d become a good enough mother to let him go.