Free Captured by Tina Johansen Page B

the idea of speaking to her mother, who would have a field day.
    She followed the taxi driver outside, allowing him to carry her haphazardly packed luggage, ignoring her bleeping phone until she’d sat in the back seat and closed the door of the garish pink and green car.
    Checked the IP address: it’s in Bangkok. The address it’s registered to is 305, Suriani Apartments, Soi Sok Cha, Bangkok 10110. Be safe. N.
    Grace’s stomach felt like it was plummeting. “I’m such an idiot,” she muttered.
    She could see the cab driver watching her curiously in the rear-view mirror. She sat back as the cab thrust itself into the thick web of Bangkok’s traffic.
     
    As the car lurched along the highway, Grace’s misgivings returned. What if everyone was just wrong ? They’d been the best of friends for over fifteen years. Hurt as she felt, she knew she might just have to swallow her feelings and go confront Kirsty.
    The cab wasn’t going anywhere as she dithered over what to do. She hadn’t told the office that she was coming back early, so she could try and navigate the airline’s bureaucratic depths again and change the flight. But was it worth it? If their friendship was over, maybe she should just let it lie and move on with her life...
     
    Grace ground her teeth in the back of the cab; they hadn’t moved for almost ten minutes now. At this rate she was going to miss her flight anyway. At least then the decision would be made for her. She scrolled through her messages, reopening Lennox’s. She leaned forward and showed the message to the driver.
    “Do you know where this is?”
    He shrugged.
    “Soi Sok Cha,” she tried, hoping she was pronouncing it correctly.
    He turned around and looked back at her, seemingly deep in thought, before replying in a volley of Thai. Grace gave up, and opened her mobile browser to search for the address. Thai street names were indecipherable to her; she had almost given up trying to find a familiar series of squiggles when she spotted it. Sukhumvit MRT station. She frowned; that was only a couple of blocks from her hotel. What on earth was going on , she wondered, as she instructed the driver to turn around.
    On the verge of losing her patience at the impenetrable gridlock, she opened her email, intent on getting through some client emails while she was stuck in the car. After five minutes, unable to concentrate, she opened her personal email.
    From: Simon Williams
    To: Grace Harris
    Hi Grace,
    Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply, I’ve been out of the office on mandatory leave. I haven’t heard from Kirsty really, she sent a group email some time back but that’s about it. Look, do you really think there’s something up?
    Simon
     
    Well, obviously I think there’s something up , she thought, typing a terse reply. Did everyone just think she was mad?
    She clicked back through to her work emails but it was no use; she could neither focus nor rid herself of that deeply unsettled feeling. Throwing her phone across the seat into her bag in frustration, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, willing sleep to wash over her.
    Grace’s head jerked forward painfully, bringing her back to consciousness immediately. She rubbed her neck, feeling the faint emotional dregs of disturbed dreams. Looking out of the car window, she wondered how long she’d been asleep. Still in a daze, she tried to force herself to concentrate, to find the basis for the uneasy feeling that remained. The bright morning sun made her eyes water. She rubbed them and leaned back against the seat, yawning.  It looked as if they’d barely gained any ground in the gridlock.
    “Excuse me.” She leaned forward towards the driver. “Can you take me back to the hotel?”
    He looked at her blankly in the rear-view mirror.
    Grace pointed towards the back of the car.
     
    Having finally reached the hotel, Grace checked in again, and walked to the police