Free Lost Innocence: The Accused. Part One by John Daysh Page A

am taxi
driver. I work for Mr Nigel.”
    Stan lowered his
voice.
    “ I see, but ‘Are you talking to
me?’ ”
    Pang didn’t know the
movie quote and stood there with a blank expression.
    “ Can you bring me a
DVD player so I can watch some movies? I will pay you for your
trouble.”
    “ You want me to buy
you DVD?”
    “ Yes. You need
money?”
    “ Will look first,
check price, you can pay later.”
    “ Can you buy some new
movies in English? And tell my dad to get his arse over
here.”
     

 
    FOURTEEN
    THE BANGKOK sun had set,
it was seven-thirty in the evening and Nigel was singing a ropey
rendition of ‘New York, New York’ in the shower.
    Once dried and
dressed, he slid into a pair of leather loafers and left the hotel.
Pang was leaning on his car, wearing an old blue suit with the
usual tight-fitting trousers. Nigel appreciated the effort but
cringed. He waved him over. “You saw Stan?”
    “ Yes I give him
fruit. He ask when you come.”
    “ Later. We need to
find this girl.” Nigel showed Pang the picture he had taken at the
studio.
     
    “ That girl from
before?”
    “ That’s right, but
first I should tell you why we need to
find her. Join me for a beer?”
    Pang nodded then
followed Nigel into the hotel.
    They were sat facing
each other sipping beers at a candle-lit table. It was romantic,
but it wasn’t meant to be. Pang listened as Nigel finished
explaining what had happened to Michael.
    “ That’s pretty much
it, Pang. My son Stan came here first, but was hit by a Tic
Tac.”
    “ You mean Tuk
Tuk?
    “ Whatever, so here I
am.”
    “ Should be father
take care.”
    “ I know.”
    “ Bad things happen
here. Foreigner cheated, they pay, go home sad, but that better
than prison.”
    “ I get what you’re
saying Pang, but Michael wants to do this the hard way. I need to
find this girl. Can you help me?”
    “ Can, but not easy.
Have many girls in Thai.”
    “ I’ve
noticed.”
    Nigel paid the bill,
then stepping out onto the street he saw some stray dogs that
looked like they’d crawled to hell and back. He bought a hundred
baht’s worth of cooked pork from a street vendor and laid it out.
They crept over and lapped it up.
    Despite having the
name of the bar, Pang still took a while to find it. He finally
pulled up outside a little hostess bar where several girls were
sitting outside in short, sexy dresses. Their focus turned to Nigel
as he climbed out of the car.
    “ Welcome, handsome
man,” shouted one. Nigel read the name of the bar: this was where
Michael had found his girls.
    It was a seedy place
with a low ceiling and smelt of stale smoke. Scantily-dressed girls
sitting around tables talked, waiting to be picked out by a
stranger.
    “ What you want
drink?” a short waitress with a silver ring in her right eyebrow
asked.
    “ Does it hurt?” Nigel
asked, pointing at the ring.
    “ Only if you pull
it.”
    “ We need to speak to
the manager.”
    “ Boss called
mamasan,” Pang broke in. “Maybe better I talk to her.”
    “ Thank you Pang. You
want a beer?”
    “ Does a bear
sit in woods?”
    “ That’s ‘shit’ in the
woods,” Nigel corrected Pang, then smiled at the waitress. “A
couple of Changs please and where is the mama’s boy?”
    “ Mamasan,” Pang
corrected Nigel.
    The waitress pointed
to a lady standing by the bar. Pang nodded, approached her and
started another long-winded conversation. Nigel followed Pang and
found himself listening, despite not understanding a word. His eyes
wandered around the room taking in the many young, beautiful girls.
At a break in the conversation, the mamasan looked over at Nigel.
“You like come back-room?”
    “ You speak
English?”
    She nodded. Nigel and
Pang were led to a small room that doubled as a laundry and a
kitchen. There were bed-sheets tied up in balls in one corner and
staff sat eating on a rug. The mamasan pulled out some folded
chairs and offered a seat. Her staff picked up their plates and
hurried