Haru did not seem pleased when he approached Oroshi on the terrace of the Peninsula—he was soaked.

  “Why are we here?” he asked.

  “Why not? Call it a fancy.”

  Haru sighed. He had to cross the whole town in the middle of Songkran just to report he had nothing.

  “Anyway, did you figure out where they went?”

  “You were right, they were on that helicopter, but I couldn’t confirm the exact destination. However my men have been arrested and our lawyer met with them yesterday. According to them, the man, Ma?l, talked about staying at an American friend’s beach house in Pratchuap Khiri Kan. It’s a province South of Bangkok.”

  “And?”

  “Nothing so far. We don’t have anything on Ma?l, we don’t know who his friend is. We started checking the list of houses owned by a foreigner from the province’s register, but it’s a complete mess. Foreigners can’t own land in Thailand, so most of the houses are either on a long term lease or in the name of a Thai wife.”

  “There can’t be that many beach houses, no?”

  “That’s the real problem. Pratchuap is a coastal province, there’s almost nothing but beach houses for 120 miles. If we can’t narrow it down, it’s going to take months!”

  “What about bribing the policeman who’s helping them? Surely you have some leverage on the police.”

  Haru stared grimly at Oroshi. Just because some things could be done through bribes in Thailand didn’t mean everything could be solved by splashing money around.

  “I looked into it of course, but the man is a lieutenant colonel and apparently a personal friend of Ma?l. Trying to bribe him could go very, very wrong for us.”

  “I’m not hearing a solution. I don’t care if we lose the entire Thailand operations, we have to get that girl.”

  “Does your father agree with this assessment?” Haru said with a look of sarcasm.

  Oroshi stared the man down. “Yes he does. Why don’t you call him? If Kaori makes it back to Japan alive, we could lose a lot more than just Thailand. I don’t care if you have to burn the country, find them.”

  Haru’s face paled. Oroshi wasn’t joking.

  “In that case, our best chance is to capture the helicopter pilot and make him talk. In the mean time, I have a team going around Pratchuap asking if someone’s seen a farang and a Japanese woman—maybe they’ll get lucky.”

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  “Get going. We need results.”

  “And what about our men? There’s no extradition treaty between Thailand and Japan.”

  “Do they know anything important?”

  “No.”

  “Let them rot for now, we can always bribe someone to get them out in a few months, once no one pays attention to them.”

  Haru left without saying a word. Thai jails were notorious rough, but he could hardly argue in favor of three idiots who bungled a simple kidnapping.

  Guess I have to do it myself, Oroshi reflected. Nut was the first man on the scene and the only one who would answer to me first—if I pay him that is. He picked up the phone.

  “Nut. Where are you now?”

  “Near Morchit.”

  “That’s good. Let’s meet at the airport in 45 minutes.”

  “I’m kind of busy today. I have several girls arriving from Issan and…”

  “I don’t care. 45 minutes. I’ll have your payment if you are helpful.”

  “Thank you Sir, I’ll be there.”

  There was someone he could buy here, Oroshi thought with a smirk as he headed to the helipad and arranged an helicopter transfer to the airport. If even a nobody like Ma?l could arrange an helicopter, there was no way he would trudge through town getting drenched by inane party goers.

  He arrived in advance, and was pleasantly surprised to find Nut was already there.

  “Last time you told me they bought SIM cards in the airport, right?”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “Take me to the counter and see if you can spot the sales girl who took care of them.”

  Nut walked him down the hall to a small stand and looked at the sales girls with a professional interest—they were all pretty, with smooth white skin. They’d make good money on the Japanese market. Maybe he should consider—There!

  “This one, Sir!” he nodded discreetly toward one of the women behind the counter. She had no client and was browsing her phone.

  Oroshi walked up to her with a friendly smile and gave the girl a polite Wai. He made a powerful impression in his sharply cut business suit, and when he turned on the charm, few women could ignore him. The sales girl was no exception as she stood up at once, beaming. This was her kind of customer.

  “Can I ask you a service?” he said in conspiratorial voice.

  “Certainly sir.”

  “You see, it’s a delicate matter. I’m told that my wife came here with a foreign man a couple of days ago and that they bought SIM cards here. Have you seen them?” He pulled a photo of Kaori on his phone and handed it over to the girl.

  She blushed and recognized the woman immediately. “Oh, her! Yes, I’ve seen her.”

  “Thanks! Would you be able to tell me what phone numbers you gave them?”

  She seemed to hesitate a bit. Oroshi gave her a wounded look. “Please…” he said, slipping a small bundle of cash into her hand.

  “Don’t tell anyone, I could lose my job.” she scribbled a couple of numbers on a Post-it note and handed it to him.

  “Thank you!” he said as sweetly as he could and turned away.

  Haru needed months! Why were all these people idiots? he thought, looking at the note.

  “Can you track phone numbers.” He asked Nut.

  “I have a contact with the police who can.”

  “Good. Find where the owners of these numbers are right now, and I’ll…”

  Four millions should be enough for this bottom feeder, he thought.

  “I’ll transfer two million bahts to your account.”

  Nut’s eyes popped wide open. “Right away, sir.”

  He called and after a brief discussion, he hanged up.

  “Both SIM cards are active and they are currently together, in Ko Yao Yai, near Phuket. My friend’s sending the exact GPS coordinates.”

  “Good job. Tell your friend to keep an eye on their movements and you’ll get another two millions once we capture them.”