TWENTY FOUR
NIGEL WOKE to the distinct smell of antiseptic. He was lying in a hospital bed next to his son.
"How are you feeling?"
Nigel frowned. "Is there only one damn hospital in Bangkok?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm still alive."
"I was wrong to involve you."
"It was my choice to come here."
"I want you to go home. I'll fly out another guy."
"You won't, and we have a PI on the case now."
"I know. I saw his name on your phone and called him. How much is he costing me?"
Nigel started to sit up.
"Take it easy. Tell me what's going on."
"All right I will. Harvey the PI is looking for a girl called Tee. She knows Mia, who set Mike up."
"What about Puku? Who is she?"
"Puku is Mia's sister."
"So, we've got to find Tee to find Puku to find Mia. Let's hope we don't have to find anyone else."
"You're surprisingly sharp today, Stan."
"Just trying to keep up. Why are you so tense?"
"You're the one who was supposed to be doing all this running around, not me."
"You can't possibly make me feel any guiltier than I already do. I came here to bring Mike home. I speak to his mother every night and just want to give her some good news. She lies awake every morning waiting for my call. I've been here for over a week and I haven't even seen Mike yet."
"And whose fault is that?"
They were still bickering when Harvey walked in, smiled then faced Nigel. "How are you feeling?"
"I'll be fine….Stan, this is Harvey. Harvey, Stan."
"We spoke earlier," Stan smiled.
"Where are we on finding the girls?" Nigel asked. Harvey pulled up a chair.
"I met with Tee and she'll speak to Puku, who will speak to Mia."
"Sounds complicated," added Stan.
"Yes it is. According to Tee, Puku owed some money to a Japanese man called Nawirat. Puku went to Nincotte and they used Mia to set up Michael. As we know, Michael was refusing to pay, which left Puku out of pocket and in hiding. To cut a long story short, we've now paid off some of Puku's debt, so hopefully she'll come forward."
The veins in Nigel's forehead pulsed. "Did you say Mike was refusing to pay, meaning now he will pay? How would you know that?"
"I went to see him."
"What possessed you to do that?"
Nigel turned to Stan. "Was that your idea?
Stan shook his head. Nigel glared at Harvey. "We didn't ask you to do that."
"Lighten up Dad. I'm sure he only had Mike's best interests at heart."
Harvey nodded a thank you, but still sat in front of Nigel, his demeanour that of a scolded school boy.
"How's he doing?" Stan asked.
"Not so bad considering the circumstances, but he was concerned about his grandfather's health."
"You told him about that!" Nigel bellowed.
"Don't you think he's under enough stress already?"
"I'm sorry. He asked why you weren't there and it slipped out."
"Dad. You're forgetting that Mike has agreed to let us pay. I think Harvey's done a bloody good job."
"It's not what Mike would have wanted, you know that," said Nigel doggedly.
"What about his family?" Stan added.
"What about his mum? She's talking about coming here."
"What do you want, Stan?" Nigel asked.
"I want Mike out, now, today. I don't care how." Stan turned to Harvey.
"Do whatever you need to do to finish this and get him out."
Harvey nodded. Nigel turned away.
"So what's next?" Stan asked the PI.
"I have a meeting with Nincotte later today, but I can't be sure how far along this has gone, or how he'll react. I have no experience dealing with such people, but my contact at the station has confirmed that Nincotte could still make this all go away."
Stan was hopeful. "That's great, right Dad?"
"This could still work out for us," Harvey added, "but I must warn you, the payment could be higher." "…Whatever it takes. In my briefcase under the bed is a hundred thousand in a jiffy bag. Take it all and settle this."
Harvey slid out the case, opened it and took out the jiffy bag. He nodded his thanks to Stan then glanced over at Nigel for forgiveness. He didn't get it.
"Well done, Harvey," Stan smiled.
"Thank you. I'll keep you both informed.”