They took a taxi to a bar called Satan’s Cave on Soi 33 off Sukhumvit. Jacinta removed her light coat to reveal a sleeveless silk shirt worn without a bra, and the shortest dress Cavalier had seen her in. She wore an Australian opal around her neck and had swept her long hair up into a bun.
‘You look like a rich man’s Naomi Campbell tonight,’ he said.
‘Huh! She is fifteen years older than me!’ Jacinta answered.
‘You know what I mean.’
‘I do,’ she responded, beaming at him for the first time, ‘and thank you for the compliment.’
Satan’s Cave was tucked away down a side alley, which made it almost inaccessible from the main tourist centres nearer to Nana Plaza. The bar was dimly lit, decorated with cardboard cut-out silhouettes of a dark figure with horns and a red phallic tail, a couple of sizeable wall paintings, and six life-size black-and-white photos of stunning young women. There were a few male customers in the shadows, sitting on couches with bar girls. As soon as Jacinta walked in, girls and ladyboys seemed to emerge from everywhere. It was soon apparent that this was her watering hole. Cavalier ordered a Thai beer for himself.
‘I thought you were off alcohol?’ Jacinta asked.
‘I have been. But I’m in Thailand, on a relaxed working holiday.’
She scrutinised him. ‘I thought you would be more disciplined,’ she said in English, so the bar girls would not understand.
‘I’m just off the plane! I need to relax. I’ll return to abstinence tomorrow.’
‘Better to have a Heineken or a Crown Lager,’ she said, ‘less impurities.’
‘You know what?’ he said. ‘I’d rather have a double malt Scotch whisky, and you should have one too.’
As soon as the short, busty bartender, Siriporn, handed them drinks, the bar girls swarmed around, making seductive faces and pointing to themselves. Jacinta frowned at them but Cavalier bought them whatever they wanted.
Jacinta was soon on her second Scotch and her body language loosened. She wobbled on her seat, steadied herself and remarked, slurring her words: ‘I don’t drink spirits often. I must look after my body, for professional reasons.’
‘What professional reasons? If you’re super-fit, it won’t hurt to let loose with alcohol once in a while. You live a tense life.’
Jacinta shrugged.
When Cavalier admired two of the photos on the walls, Siriporn told him that the girls in them used to work at the bar. One was called Jane, and the other, Poupei, was a former ‘Miss Ladyboy Thailand’. After an uneasy silence, Jacinta berated Siriporn for her remarks. Siriporn, undaunted, said that everyone commented on the photos and some clients asked questions.
Cavalier tried to diffuse the tension by saying he would never have picked Poupei as a transgender. He asked how anyone could tell.
‘The surgery is so good now,’ Siriporn told him, ‘that it is even impossible for me to tell, and I work with a few of them here! They are even trimming their Adam’s apples, having voice training to sound more feminine. Their breasts are perfect.’
Cavalier said nothing.
‘You don’t believe me, do you?’ she said, signalling to another, very tall, staff member, who emerged from a dimly lit corner She was introduced to Cavalier as An Lam. He slid off his stool to shake hands and saw she even towered over Jacinta.
‘Show him your breasts,’ Siriporn commanded.
An Lam unbuttoned her blouse.
‘Magnificent!’ Cavalier said, trying not to sound embarrassed. ‘They look natural to me. None of that baseball too-round look!’
An Lam beamed and Siriporn clapped.
‘Touch them,’ Jacinta said.
‘No, it’s okay. I can see they’re a work of art.’
‘Touch them!’ Siriporn urged him. Going red, he again declined.
An Lam moved close, sat on the stool next to Cavalier and pushed her breasts at him.‘I want you to feel them,’ she said proudly, in a gravelly voice. She reached for his hand.
Cavalier put down his drink and used both hands to touch her tentatively. But, with three people urging him on, he stroked and massaged them, which brought cheers and clapping. ‘They are very real!’ he said, withdrawing his hands. Seeing the glow on An Lam’s face, he added, ‘Very sexy indeed!’
This brought whoops of delight from her and Siriporn. An Lam leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
‘Where I come from,’ Cavalier said, picking up his drink again, ‘surgeons are the best for ankles and knees. Our biggest football code, Aussie Rules, has lots of injuries. But you, here, have the top breast designers.’
‘And pussy designers,’ An Lam said, beginning to lift her dress.
‘I believe you!’ Cavalier said, ‘no need to show!’
The others, including Jacinta, laughed at his coyness.
‘I don’t have pussy!’ An Lam said. ‘I joke with you!’
The others laughed again. Jacinta, now well into her second Scotch, relaxed even more. Cavalier bought another round of drinks, which attracted more girls, some of whom began to dance. He joined in and Jacinta soon did too, despite being a little unsteady on her feet. In no time, more than a dozen of them were on their feet, dancing to ‘Uptown Funk’ as it belted out on a wide-screen TV. Cavalier, copying Bruno Mars, tipped his hat to a rakish angle, and executed some karate punches, copied by a couple of the girls. An Nam moved close, bumping her behind into Cavalier’s several times.
During a break in the music, a thick-necked, square-shouldered Thai in his fifties and wearing dark glasses, entered the bar, flanked by two heavyset men. He sat on a stool a few metres away from Cavalier and the others, and ordered drinks. He gave Jacinta a perfunctory nod and she, looking uncomfortable, responded with a low wai. The bar girls flocked to the newcomers.
‘Who’s that?’ Cavalier asked.
‘My boss,’ she muttered. ‘Police Chief Aind Azelaporn.’
‘For the district?’
‘For Bangkok. He is number two, officially. But, in effect, he is number one.’ After a pause, she added, ‘I’ll explain some other time.’
‘Not in uniform on a night like tonight?’
‘He would have been working. He always loses his uniform to come to his favourite bars. This is one of them. Not good for a top cop to be seen in such places in uniform, although everyone here knows who he is. He has a part share in the place. Secretly, of course.’
Azelaporn turned a grim gaze on Jacinta. She slid off her stool, wandered over to him, and did a further deep wai. Soon, three bar girls joined Cavalier, wanting more drinks. He had his back to Azelaporn and Jacinta, and engaged the girls in small talk, keeping his responses to a word or two as he strained to hear Jacinta’s conversation in Thai with Azelaporn.
‘Who is the guy you’re with?’ Cavalier heard him ask.
‘An Australian I met on the trip.’
‘Are you . . .?’
‘No, we are not.’
‘Good, good. You have to be fit for your bout—what, ten nights away now?’ After a pause, he continued, ‘You’ve had a bit to drink?’
‘It’s my night off, Captain.’
‘Okay, okay, but I have a lot of money on you. A lot. You’ve got to look really good. Don’t fuck it up.’
‘Have I ever, Captain?’
‘No, but you are a girl, and not getting any younger, you know. It’s tougher. I see you have opted not to be part of the squad protecting Mendez when he visits next month,’ he went on.
‘No. I opted for the General Gaez squad, which is current. He is due to make a big speech in a week or so, we think at Lumphini Park.’
‘The fool! I mean, to have a top member of the military become so political! He expresses a desire to see the government fall!’
‘Former top general.’
‘Okay, but he still has so much support.’
‘You told me he hated you . . .’
‘Oh, yes. If he gained power, he would remove me.’
‘You’ve never said why . . .’
‘I’ve investigated him for corruption, that’s why. He has his fingers in quite a few illegal pies.’
Jacinta said, after a pause, ‘He’s very, very popular with the troops.’
‘That rally will be a nightmare to monitor,’ Azelaporn answered. ‘All incumbent generals fear he could lead a coup. They all suspect he is behind the rioting. Thirty dead! Hundreds injured!’
‘You fear an attempt on his life?’
‘There have been two before, remember. We never nailed a suspect. Arrested plenty but couldn’t pin it on any of them. The generals thought we were slack, holding back. Mendez is just as much a problem,’ he muttered, ‘he won’t stay in his Chiang Mai compound. I am told by the police chief there that the Mexicans are a nightmare! Half of them are there; the other half here in Bangkok. These pricks get pissed and want to fight. They are so uncivilised! Crazy men!’
‘Where do they go?’
‘Where do you think? Where the tarts are most plentiful. The police had to send a dozen men to watch over them, for their sakes and those of the people they ran into. That has happened almost every night for a week in Chiang Mai and often here too at Nana Plaza. They get tanked up until midnight on tequila, or whatever they drink. Then they want sex. The Chiang Mai chief can’t spare that many good security cops with the riots going on. And the fucking Songkran festival makes it worse! It’s a problem here too. A few hours ago, near Nana, our boys shot two foreigners who were brandishing giant water pistols. They thought they were using real weapons!’
‘Are they dead?’
‘One is in hospital. The other one is okay. Silly idiots! Running around near the protesters, firing water in the dark! You watch the foreign press tomorrow. They’ll be all over it!’
‘Nationality?’
‘Both Australian, thank Buddha! If they’d been American or Chinese . . .’ After a silence, Cavalier heard Azelaporn say, ‘He looks like he’s in for a good time tonight. Why is he in Thailand?’
‘A cricket tournament.’
‘Stupid game! Can’t play it in this weather!’
‘The games begin next week. Start of the dry season.’
‘If they are lucky. What’s he do for work?’
‘He’s a journalist. He was helpful when I was investigating Labasta’s murder,’ she added.
Cavalier strained even harder to hear Azelaporn say, ‘Shit, Jacinta! What is he really here for?’ Then, to his frustration, their conversation became harder to hear.
‘Just the cricket.’
‘And you, perhaps?’
‘No. He shows no interest.’
‘He must be gay then!’
‘I don’t encourage him. It’s been strictly business.’
‘Do you fancy him? He’s not bad for a farang.’
‘I respect him. He’s very professional.’
‘You watch him. Give him nothing. I don’t want a fucking foreign journalist snooping around at this time. Especially with Mendez due to visit here. He doesn’t know about him, does he?’
‘No.’
‘That Labasta killing nearly ruined things here, I can tell you. I am at least grateful it didn’t happen in Thailand.’
‘What “things” did it ruin?’
‘Just take my word for it.’
‘You mean with Mendez in Chiang Mai?’
‘There are big deals going down, bigger than you could imagine. Businessmen coming here can be easily frightened off.’
‘Not Mendez, surely? He is always under threat.’
‘Yes, but this country offers better conditions. If it looks like it doesn’t, he’ll take his business elsewhere. That means billions. I mean billions!’ Azelaporn glanced over at Cavalier. ‘Make sure he keeps his nose clean. Understood?’
Jacinta nodded.
‘As if I haven’t enough problems without damned farang reporters!’ he said. ‘If I had my way, none would be given visas at times like this.’
‘Do you want to meet him?’
‘Not really. I’d have to speak English and I am too tired to bother. What was his take on Labasta?’
‘He believes it was an Australian gangland kill. Says that a gang would not like Labasta being connected to a rival.’
‘Huh!’ Azelaporn shrugged. He gestured to his two accomplices and they left the bar.