35

At four o’clock that afternoon, Sammy realized something had gone wrong. He sent one car racing north while he took the road south, back to Lamai. The van was not located until five o’clock, parked at the Pavilion resort.

Another tense meeting took place in Sammy’s room.

“Goddamn it! Goddamn it! Goddamn it!” Sammy cursed as he paced back and forth. “I knew I shouldn’t have let them do it! It’s my fucking fault!”

“What are —”

“Shut the fuck up,” muttered Sammy to his subordinate. “I’m thinking.” He turned to the Thai policemen and said, “Is there a local police officer you trust completely?”

“Yes, several,” replied the men.

“I want the driver of the van questioned. Find out what he knows.”

“I understood from Jack,” said the LO, “that the driver doesn’t really know anything. If Jack is wrong, then grabbing him would alert the bad guys. Jack and Laura could be killed.”

“Yeah, and maybe they’re already dead or dying,” said Sammy, turning to the Thai policemen. “Use a hit-and-run scenario.”

“Hit and run?” they asked in unison.

“Have the driver interrogated and tell him his licence plate was taken as the result of a hit-and-run accident. Find out everywhere he went today. Please hurry.”

It was six o’clock when the Thai police reported back. The driver had been interrogated.

“He swears he was not in any accident and the only trip he made was to pick up two men from the Pavilion and a man and woman from Bill Resort and drop them all off at the Cliff Bar and Grill a couple of kilometres north of Lamai. He thinks they were getting in another van when he left to return to the Pavilion, but cannot recall anything about it. The police officer who questioned him believes he is telling the truth.”

“Would you like us to have him question the people at the Cliff Bar and Grill?” suggested the other Thai policeman. “He could pretend to be checking the driver’s story that he was not in an accident.”

“Yeah, good idea,” said Sammy quietly. “Other than that, where would you go to dump some bodies?”

“Hey! What’s the fuss?” yelled Jack, still sitting in the chair.

“You lied!” shouted Lee. “You are working for the police!”

“I didn’t lie,” said Jack. “Sato! Do you think I lied?”

“No,” replied Sato, “I could tell that you weren’t lying,” he said, adamantly.

“What?” yelled Lee, grabbing Sato by his arm. “You told me Jack worked for the police?”

“That’s right,” said Jack. “I told him I did. I wasn’t lying.”

“You work for the police!” said Lee, astounded.

“Of course I work with them. You know that,” he chuckled. “So do you. How do you think I learned about Goldie becoming a rat if I didn’t have friends on the inside?”

“Oh, my friend,” replied Lee, shaking his head. “That is not what we were thinking.”

“Jesus! You mean you thought I was really working for them? Christ, what kind of guy do you take me for? Sure, sometimes we have to scratch each other’s back a little, but come on! If you’re trying to find out if I really work for the police, let me prepare a few questions of my own that you can have Sato ask me. They should alleviate any doubt.”

Jack was brought a pen and paper and quickly jotted down four questions:

Have you ever purposely lied to, or deceived the police?

Have you ever committed crimes that you could be jailed for?

Have you ever disposed of and hidden a body of a murdered man?

Have you ever orchestrated or committed murder?

Sato soon appeared in the bedroom doorway again and motioned for Lee to come over before whispering the results of his findings.

“You are certain?” asked Lee.

“He answered yes to all four questions. With some of the earlier questions, my findings were inconclusive, but with these questions I am positive he is telling the truth. I also asked him how many murders he had been responsible for. He told me he had lost count. I believe him.”

“Which questions were inconclusive?” asked Lee. “Anything significant?”

“His answer to transferring money. He believes it to be available, but has some hesitation about his colleagues delivering it. It could be a simple control issue. He likes to have absolute control and lacks faith in others.”

“That, or he doubts our ability to deliver,” replied Lee. “He did not climb to the top by completely relying on others. What else was inconclusive?”

“The first question when I asked him his name brought an inconclusive result. I asked him if he has used other names. He admitted he had, but refused to say what they were.”

Lee smiled and said, “In his business that is not unusual. The important thing is he sounds like he is suited to work with our organization. Come, it is time to leave.”

Moments later, Jack gave Laura a heartfelt hug and looked over her shoulder at Lee and said, “Satisfied? Can we meet the boss now?”

“Your suitcases are still in the van,” said Lee. “All we need is you.”

At seven-thirty that night, Jack and Laura looked out the passenger window of a Falcon 50EX private jet as it lifted off the runway, leaving the twinkling lights of Koh Samui far behind. They were not told their destination and were still not being allowed to use their cellphones.

Laura felt Jack’s reassuring squeeze on her hand. She looked across at Sato and Da Khlot who were both staring at them. Oh, man …

In a seat toward the front of the cabin, Lee relaxed while sipping on a Grand Marnier. Tomorrow Jack will complete his final test. That will not be a problem. He has obviously murdered many times before.