Tears of the Princess
By Melodie Thomas
Edited by Holly Hart
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Lin and I were able to get on a noon flight out of Osaka that put us in Singapore in the early evening. Before leaving for the airport, I had posted updates on my discussions with Yamane to both Charlie and O’Keefe. Also, checked for any updates on the Bangkok Post, I found the accusations against Nightside were exploding. There were many comments and letters to the newspaper calling for government intervention, the closing of Nightside and many asking why criminal charges had yet to be filed. I had no idea how the Thai government, or the Bangkok police were handling the situation, but I had a pretty good idea what would be going on had this happened in the U.S. I only hoped the Thai authorities were dealing with something similar.
After arriving in Singapore, collecting our luggage and hiring a taxi, I was faced with the next problem that I somehow needed to address. I had something I wanted to do and I did not want Lin to know about it. The question in my mind was how to get away from Lin for an evening without having to answer too many questions. The problem solved itself when Lin asked me if I could get by for an evening without her. Seems her sister had sent her a text message that their mother would be at the sister’s house, and Lin wanted to go see both of them. Of course, she invited me along, but I think she was relieved when I declined and asked for a rain check.
After Lin dropped me at the hotel, said her goodbyes and told me she would see me at breakfast, I checked into my room, unloaded my luggage and headed back out. I still had the address of the restaurant that Lin, Maria, Charlie and I’d had dinner at the evening we met Sandy, and asked the taxi driver to take me there.
When I exited the taxi, I was still surprised at the large number of people that were already walking up and down the streets, even though this was not a weekend night. I was still pretty early for what I wanted to do, so I found an open table at one of the restaurants and ordered some dinner and a beer. I realized while sipping my beer that this was the first time I had been completely alone in some part of Asia. I enjoyed just sitting and watching the people go by. I found myself trying to categorize people as I watched them, the couples out for an evening, single business men or groups of business men, workers returning home and shoppers. They could be seen in all shapes and sizes.
Occasionally, and more frequently as the evening moved on, I spotted girls wearing very revealing clothing and very high heels walking alone or in small groups, all seemingly headed for the various side streets that I knew were just up the road. At first, I made a private game out of trying to figure out which ones were genetic girls and which were not. Some seemed easy, most were not. Soon, my private game migrated more into watching the people around the girls as they passed through the crowd, trying to gauge reactions. When I would see one that I was pretty sure was a genetic girl as she walked past, I would see about sixty percent of the men she passed turn their head and follow her, but the women on the street mostly ignored her. When I spotted one or two that I was pretty sure were not genetic women, the reaction of the crowds was a little different. A larger percentage of the men would follow her with their eyes; about twenty percent of the women would also watch her go by. I checked my watch and startled myself out of my private world, realizing it was getting late and I had almost forgotten what I had come here for. I finished my third beer, paid for my meal and headed for the same place most of the girls I had been watching were headed for.
I wanted to find the older cop that had questioned Lin and me the first time I was in Singapore. I was not sure where to find him, except where I had seen him before, so I had worked up the weak plan of wandering around the various streets to see if I could locate him. The discussion I wanted to have with him was going to be hard for me to do, but I needed some way to validate Lin’s past, so I could get past the paranoia that she was somehow linked to the Brajoviks. This cop seemed to know her, so I was hoping he would talk to me and confirm some of what Lin had told me.
I walked up and down a half a dozen of the little side roads for what seemed like hours. I was approached by no less than thirty different girls, both genetic and not so genetic. I could see what Lin meant when she said this was not a place for a single man to walk alone. Once they realized I was not interested in hiring them, they wandered off. Once I asked if they had seen the police, most of them ran off. I think I was on my third round of walking down the same streets, when I found the small convenience store where Lin and I had talked with Sandy. By now most of the girls had stopped bothering me; actually, I think many of them were considering calling the police because my continual wandering through their area was making them nervous.
It was getting very late, and I was about to give up in frustration. I stopped at the little convenience store, bought a beer and sat down at one of the tables. I had been sitting there for a few minutes, resting my face in the palms of my hands, trying to figure out what to do, when the sound of one of the chairs at the table being slid back pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Hello, my young American friend,” greeted the older police officer, as he took a seat at the table opposite me, “The ladies in this area tell me you are looking for me?”
Two younger officers had taken up positions about twenty feet behind the older officer, and spaced on each side of him.
I smiled, “Yes, I have been, and I am surprised how hard it has been to find you. I don’t know if you remember me, but ...”
“I remember you well, young man. You were sitting here with Angel a few weeks back.”
“Yes, I was, and I was hoping I could get a few minutes of your time to talk about Lin Vin, or Angel.”
The officer’s smile faded slightly as his eyes took on a more serious and puzzled look. “I am not one that spreads information about others, so I am inclined to tell you no, but, if you will tell me why you are asking, then we will see.”
I nodded as this was what I was expecting, “Lin has told me about her past, how she became Angel and how she retired from being Angel. I work in a world where people pretend to be many things, and verifying what I have been told is a habit that I have. I care a lot for Lin, and I am hoping what she has told me is true, I would just like to be sure.”
The officer’s facial expression softened a little, and he adjusted himself in his seat a little, removing his baton and setting it on the table. Then, turning to his two companions, he asked them to make a tour around the block, and come back to fetch him in about twenty minutes.
After the other two had left the area, he turned back to me, “Please tell me what you have been told, and I will tell you if it aligns with what I know.”
I was also expecting this, so I gave him the high level overview of what Lin had told me, starting with her father and ending with her graduation from college. As I was telling the story, the officer’s facial expressions became softer, and I saw a level of sadness build in his eyes. When I finished the story, he just sat and looked at me for a few minutes, before standing and walking over to the convenience store and buying his own bottle of beer, then returning to the table.
After sitting back down, he took a drink of his beer, “I am surprised she told you that story. She has never told another man that story that I am aware of. Yes, the story is true, but undertold. Why did you wish to discuss this with me?”
I shrugged, “You acted like you knew her, and I did not know anyone else to talk to. How long have you known her?”
The officer smiled at me, “Since two days after she was born.” He started laughing at my very puzzled look, “You see, it is a very small world, Lin’s mother is my sister, Lin Vin is my niece.”
My emotions ran the gambit of shocked, confused and started to move into anger, “If she is your niece, how could you let her work on the streets and the life she lived?” my voice getting a little forceful.
Lin’s Uncle showed a sad smile and nodded, “We tried, trust me, we tried. Lin Vin declared that if her father thought her only good enough to be a whore, then a whore was what she would be and she put herself on the street. We would collect her whenever we could find her, and take her to one house or another, but she always ran and would return to the street. She was drinking heavily, started getting into the drugs. More than once someone in the family would fetch her from the hospital as a result of being beaten, raped or both. We were all afraid we were going to lose her and it was heart breaking.
“Something changed, though when she went to Thailand the second time. She was like a different person when she came back. Oh, she still worked, but now she was more careful, cautious, started going to college, seemed like she had a purpose. The drug use stopped, the drinking was reduced, she started associating with parts of the family again, and it felt like there was hope. When she graduated from college and started working with Chi Lee there was a pretty big celebration within most of the family.”
“What about her father?” I asked
Lin’s Uncle sighed, “Nothing has changed there. He still does not acknowledge her even though she has turned out to be a wonderful woman.”
I sat silently for a few minutes, lost in my own thoughts. The story that Lin had told me was true, and I felt bad for doubting her. She has been through her own form of hell.
“We are all pretty worried about you though,” her uncle said, looking at me.
“Because you have a part of her that no man has ever had, you have her heart. Yes, she has sold her body to hundreds of men over the years, but none could get past her disdain for men. None have ever seen the real woman, but you, you she would walk through hell for. That scares us, because she can be hurt so easily, and none of us know what that hurt would do to her. Please treat her well. We would appreciate it.”
Before I could comment, the other two officers walked back into the area, and Lin’s uncle stood, hooked his baton back on his belt “You have a good evening young man, but same advice as last time. I would suggest you find a taxi and head back to your hotel. This is not the greatest neighborhood.” He walked out of the area, followed by his men.
Friday, September 10, 2010
In the morning, I made a point of being downstairs in the restaurant before Lin arrived, since I had a suspicion of what was coming. I was on my second cup of coffee when I saw her enter, locate me and start in my direction. I could tell from the look on her face that my suspicions were well founded.
“Your Uncle says ‘hi’.” I said as she reached the table and before she could say anything.
I could see from her eyes I just took the punch out of her opening salvo. She sat down and just looked at me. “You angry?” I asked.
Lin let out a sign and set her purse on the floor. “I was, but then realized I did the same thing to you, but that does not mean I like it either. You want to tell me why?”
“Yep, but not here, let’s have breakfast and go upstairs. I will explain everything to you.”
I had spent a fair amount of time thinking through everything the night before. I had proven, at least the best I could, that Lin Vin was who she said she was, and if she was going to stay involved in this case with me, she needed to know what she was up against. I decided now was the time for her to learn the story, the whole story, and if she wanted out, now was also the time for that.
As we reached my room, I had also decided it was time for something else to end. I opened the door, and held it for her to enter before me. I entered right behind her, and as the door closed, I reached out, grabbed her arm and pulled it toward me, causing her to turn and face me. As she turned, I stepped into her, put one hand behind her head and pulled her lips to mine. Her shock at our first kiss wore off quickly as she dropped her purse and wrapped both arms around my head. Our lips parted and Lin looked at me for a second and then returned the kiss with new vigor. With our arms wrapped around each other, Lin started backing into the room and pulling me with her. Our lips never parted as we reached the edge of the bed, and Lin tried to pull me down with her.
“No.” I said as I pulled our lips apart, took a step back and prevented her from falling onto the bed.
“No?” Lin asked with a puzzled look. “Then, why?”
I pulled her back into my arms. “I kissed you because I wanted you to know that I am not running, I enjoy being with you and I want you with me going forward, and I am not looking at us as just friends. However, I will not act like the men before me who only wanted the satisfaction your body can bring. That can wait until we are sure the rest of us wants to be together. I want you for who you are, not what you are.”
Lin lowered her eyes, “But, I only know one way to make a man happy.”
“No, that is not true. I think you can make a man happy in many ways, and I want to explore the other ways first. The rest can wait.”
Lin was still looking at my chest, “You are the only man that has ever slept on the floor instead of sleeping with me, to hold me at night without having sex first and, now, you are the first to turn me down when I offer my body. Are you for real?”
“I think I am real, but this is only the beginning of the things I want to tell you,” I answered, as I walked away from her and over to my laptop. “Come take a look at this.”
I had loaded the picture of the girl in New York that was suspected of being the assassin.
“She is beautiful, so?” Lin asked.
“So, she did not start life as a beautiful woman, she was made, and made for one purpose only.”
Over the next two hours, I told Lin the entire story, from the time that Stephanie was found in the desert outside of Tucson, to her dying in my arms on the island. I told her about Smith, the Brajoviks, the Vasnevs, the cover-up, my being forced out of the FBI and the disappearing evidence. I told her how the Thailand case could be connected, and I told her about the number of people that had died. I told her everything.
When I finished, Lin just sat and looked at me for a moment, “I don’t know what to say,” she finally whispered.
I smiled, “I’m not sure there is anything to say, but I wanted you to know what I am up against, what I am hunting for. These are people with power, the power to mobilize the U.S. military, to silence Washington and others in power. They are not afraid to kill, and have done so. I wanted you to know what you are risking if you stay helping me.”
Lin nodded, “I thank you for that, but I am not going anywhere.”
“Lin, it is dangerous, and it is not your fight.”
“I am going to make it my fight, Dan, that is, if you will let me.”
I studied my hands for minute, “I need the help, I need more help, but I have already buried one woman that I loved, I am not sure I can handle doing it again.”
Lin moved over and sat down beside me on the bed, “They were chasing Stephanie, she was the target. I am a nobody, they don’t even know I exist, and have no reason to come after me.”
We decided to take a walk down the street to a local coffee shop and continue our discussion. We really had nothing to do, and we more waiting for something new to break free. We had been at the coffee shop for about an hour when my cell phone rang, it was Charlie’s number.
“Charlie, everything alright?” I answered, surprised to get the call.
“Hey Boss, not real sure about alright. Got a call from our reporter friend in Bangkok, seems the government has moved in and shut down Nightside and is digging through it. Some big shot called our reporter and asked for your contact number, you specifically …”
“Hang on a second, Charlie.” I put the phone on speaker so Lin could hear, “Okay, go ahead.”
“Anyway, this guy asked for you by name. Our reporter only had my number so I told him I would ask you. Hi Lin Vin, I am assuming that is you listening in?”
“Hi Charlie,” Lin Vin said, “How is Maria?”
“She is doing really good. I have to tell you, I want to find a way to take her home with me. Can that be done?”
“Yes, Charlie,” I answered, “there is a way, but you will need to research it. Okay, back on topic, go ahead and give my number to the guy in Thailand that wants to talk to me.”
“Okay Boss, will do. You two take care and we will talk soon.” Charlie disconnected the call.
Two hours later, Lin and I were still sitting in the coffee shop when my cell rang again, this time with a number that I did not recognize.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Mr. Daniel McNeil, please?” a female voice said on the other end.
“This is Dan McNeil.”
“Please hold for Minister Chanweerakul.”
The line went on hold and I was listening to an Asian version of elevator music. I looked at Lin and shrugged.
The phone clicked, “Mr. McNeil, this is Chaovarat Chanweerakul. I am the Minister of Interior for Thailand,” came a deep voice.
“I understand, Mr. McNeil, that you are the one that uncovered the trafficking activity that has been going on in my country by this company called Nightside?”
I paused for a moment, “With all due respect, sir, since I really have no idea who you really are, other than who you say you are, and this is an open phone line, I would really rather not discuss that topic.”
The voice on the other end of the phone started laughing, “Very good, Mr. McNeil. I was told that was the answer I was going to get. As such, I would like to invite you to come to Bangkok and visit me in my office. Once you are satisfied, perhaps we can have dinner and try my question again.”
It was my turn to laugh, “If you are who you say you are, then you know my last trip to Thailand did not end very well.”
“Yes, so I have been told. However, holding you in our jail for five days was at your government’s request. We released your Ms. Wei the same day she was arrested.
That comment told me two things, first, whoever was calling me knew the specifics of our arrest in Thailand and, second, O’Keefe was the one that had me held in jail. “How about the fact that a senior police officer physically assaulted Ms. Wei?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone, “Please explain that, Mr. McNeil.” I told him about the officer grabbing Lin’s breast while she was handcuffed and standing on the public sidewalk.
“I was not aware of that part, Mr. McNeil, and I offer my humble apology to Ms. Wei. If you will accept my invitation, I will personally assure your second trip to the Kingdom will be much more pleasurable than the first. May I ask where you are?”
“We are currently in Singapore.”
“Very good, if you will accept, I will have my personal jet meet you at the airport in Singapore tomorrow and bring you to Bangkok, where you will be my personal guests.”
Lin, who had her head leaning against mine, listening in the conversation, was nodding vigorously. I knew this could be a trap, but it could also be the break we needed. We were definitely not accomplishing anything sitting here.
“We accept your invitation Mr. Chanweerakul, and Ms. Wei will be traveling with me.”
“Very good, and I look forward to meeting both of you tomorrow afternoon. The jet will be there at noon.”
Saturday, September 11, 2010
The ‘personal jet’ turned out to be an Airbus 320 that had been converted to only business class seats throughout the plane. The galley area was somewhat enhanced but, for the most part, it looked like a plane that was used to move large parties of dignitaries from one point to another. It was comfortable, the food and service was outstanding and the overall flight was uneventful.
Upon arrival in Bangkok, a man and woman who claimed to be Mr. Chanweerakul’s assistants, met us at the gate and escorted us through the diplomatic line at immigrations, then on to a waiting car that would take us to the main government building in Bangkok. The car dropped us off in the ‘No Parking’ zone in front of the main steps, and we were escorted to security, where visitor badges were already waiting for us. After showing our passports and collecting our badges, we were escorted to an elevator for a ride to the ninth floor.
Exiting the elevator on the ninth floor, we entered an area that looked like a large reception area for a business. There were three desks lined up in front of a dark wood paneled wall that had a single door in the middle of it. Each desk was occupied by a woman. On our left side, as we entered, was glass wall that separated an area that had the looks of an office bullpen, with a large number of desks lined up in multiple rows, all occupied.
To our right were a number of chairs that were arranged as a waiting area. Sitting in one of those chairs was the police officer that had grabbed Lin’s breast when we were arrested. When the officer saw us exit the elevator he stood and turned towards us, I quickly turned in his direction, pulling Lin behind me.
“Worry not, Mr. McNeil,” a booming voice came from my left, “the Captain has promised to be on his best behavior.”
Glancing over my left shoulder, I saw a large man standing in the doorway behind the receptionist desks.
“Ms. Wei,” the large man said, “I can have the Captain assigned as your personal body guard, or I can have him shot, whichever you prefer.”
“I already have a personal body guard,” Lin said, grabbing tightly to my arm, “but I don’t want him shot, either.”
The large man in the doorway let out a bellowing laugh, “Good, I hate to waste a good officer, even if he does need some help with his manners. Please come in, both of you.”
Lin led me over to the office, though I never completely turned my back on the ‘Captain’.
“I am Chaovarat Chanweerakul, Minister of the Interior for Thailand. It is a pleasure to meet both of you,” he introduced himself as we entered the office, “and I would like to thank you for coming.”
The office was huge, bigger than any office I had ever seen. There was a desk big enough to use as a Ping-Pong table, a conference table that would sit at least twenty and a wall of windows on the back that gave a panoramic view of the park and street behind the building. We had no more than stepped into the office when there was a knock on another door at the back of the office, that I had not seen. The door opened and two other men walked into the room.
“Also,” the Minister continued, “I would like to introduce you to Mr. Buramuk, the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, and Mr. Chaiket, commander of our Central Investigation Bureau.”
Everyone shook hands and then took seats at the large conference table.
“Mr. McNeil,” Minister Chanweerakul started, “We have found ourselves in a bit of a situation that you helped create for us and, now I am asking for you to help get us out of this situation.”
“If I may ask, what situation did I help create, Sir?” I asked.
Chanweerakul smiled, “Perhaps ‘created’ is a bad word, but you were the catalyst. As I am sure you are aware, Thailand is currently dealing with turmoil between our two political factions and any weakness found in the current ruling party is sure to be exploited by the opposition.”
Honestly, I had not paid much attention to Thailand prior to coming here, so I really did not know what he was talking about. “I think I have seen something about the struggles between the Yellow shirts and the Red shirt?” I responded, more as a question.
“Yes, that is the general idea.” Chanweerakul responded, “The discovery that a Thai company was trafficking in Thai citizens has added to the friction between the parties. The opposition, or Red shirts as you called them, has taken the emotional side of this issue and is exploiting it in their propaganda, saying that the current ruling party is doing nothing to protect Thai citizens, and even implying that we might have something to do with the trafficking business as well, which is, naturally, creating uproar in the population.
“Of course this claim is ridiculous, and this government is totally against the concept of trafficking in any people, let alone Thai citizens. To prove this, we plan to come out with a public announcement on how this government and our police force is teaming up with a global organization, such as yours, to not only stop the trafficking activity, but to find and return our citizens to their homes. Since it was your investigations that, how do you say in your country, ‘lit this powder keg’, we are requesting you help us put it out.”
“What do you mean by ‘help’, if I may ask?” I quizzed.
“What I have ordered Mr. Buramuk and Mr. Chaiket to do, is to share our efforts to solve this crime with the efforts of your organization. We will supply all of the information we have in exchange for what you have, work as a team. We would also ask that you be part of a joint press release stating this is our effort and our purpose.”
I thought for a few minutes, “Minister Chanweerakul, to be perfectly honest with you, I could not care less about your political situation. However, I care deeply about the victims of the trafficking activity and, if working with you to help solve your political issues helps us get to the victims, than I agree with your request.
“At the same time, I am going to ask that neither myself nor any of my local team be involved in any kind of press release or interviews. I am not authorized to speak for the Trail of Tears organization; I am just a simple field investigator. I would have to contact the Trail of Tears CEO first, but I think the director of our organization would be willing to fill that role for you.”
Chanweerakul thought for a moment, “I think that is very acceptable and, having the message of your organizations support come from the United States will add more value to it. I am assuming you can call your director tonight?”
I nodded, and Chanweerakul continued, “Excellent. We have made arrangements for you and Ms. Wei to stay as our guests and I will have a driver take you there now. I hope we will be able to get started in the morning, once we have approval from your director.”
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The accommodations that were setup for us, was a two bedroom penthouse suite at a hotel about three to four blocks from the government office building. As we walked into the suite, Lin was about to comment how the second bedroom would not be needed when I stopped her by signaling for her to be quiet. We dropped our bags off and went back downstairs to the coffee shop on the first floor. I explained to her that it may only be my paranoia, but I wanted to work on the assumption the room was bugged. There were two things I did not want people here to know, first, that Lin and I had anything but a working relationship, thus she would stay in the second bedroom for now. The second thing was to ask if she could pretend not to speak Thai. I knew she was a pretty good actress, but it could be to our advantage if they did not know she was fluent in the language.
I used an open phone line to call Mary Beth and explained the situation to her. I was actually hoping they were listening, so they would know I was playing the game the way they wanted. Mary Beth agreed to the plan, so I gave her Minister Chanweerakul’s phone number. She would call him and they would work out how to manage the press release. I then posted a note in the email account to Charlie, asking if he and Sunan could go to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur to be exact. I didn’t have anything specific for them to do there, but there was some relationship between Nightside and a house, or something, in that area, and if I learned anything, they would be in a position to investigate sooner.
Right after breakfast, Lin and I were met by a driver in front of the hotel and taken to a different office building, not connected to the government offices we were in the day before. There was a sign on the outside of the building close to the entry door, that was written in Thai with the English translation below. The sign said, Thailand Royal Police, Criminal Investigation Bureau. Again, we were escorted through a lobby, given visitor passes and taken to an office on the main floor. The lobby and office areas in this building were night and day different from the ones in the government offices. There were filing cabinets, stacks of papers and the various other things that gave the impression this was a working office.
As we entered the office, the man behind the desk stood and came around to greet us. I recognized him from the day before, Mr. Chaiket, Commander of the Central Investigation Bureau. There was another man in the room that I did not recognize.
“Mr. McNeil, Ms. Wei,” Mr. Chaiket greeted, offering his hand, “good morning to you.”
As we shook hands with Chaiket, the other man approached us. “Mr. McNeil, Ms. Wei, my name is Kasem Yunram. I am the lead investigator working on this case, reporting to Commander Chaikat. I hold the rank of Major in the CIB, welcome to Thailand.”
Chaiket smiled at us, “My English, not too good.”
Yunram was about my age and my height, dark hair and a charming smile that he used as he took Lin’s hand, and held it a little longer than I thought was necessary. As Lin smiled at him in return,
I decided I did not like him very much.
Chaiket said something to Yunram in Thai, Yunram nodded and turned to us. “Minister Chanweerakul has reached an agreement of cooperation with your director, thus we are directed to begin working together immediately. Since I speak English, I have been asked to lead the investigation and be your primary contact. If you don’t mind, we would like to have a brief discussion here with Commander Chaiket, and then we can move to my office for a more detailed discussion.”
The office contained a small round table with four chairs. Lin took a chair beside mine, and I was dismayed when Yunram offered the other chair next to me to Chaiket, thus taking the chair next to Lin for himself.
“We would like to start off,” Yunram said, folding his hands on the table, “by letting you know that we have arrested Mr. Wongsawat of Nightside Enterprises, and are currently holding him in our interrogation center. We have interviewed one of the two men that reported the crime in the newspaper; we have not been able to locate the second one yet.”
‘That is because the second one has been in the Philippines and, I hope, is on his way to Malaysia right now, and you won’t get to interview him if I have my way about it.’ I thought to myself.
Yunram continued, “We have also interviewed seventeen men that participated in the fake job interview but were not selected. Unfortunately, that is the limit of our knowledge at this point, so we are not even sure what questions to ask Mr. Wongsawat. Could you fill us in on how you found out about the trafficking and what led you to Nightside?”
For the next fifteen minutes, Lin and I told the story of the interview with Sandy, and finding of the events center and how we found out about Nightside at the events center. Lin seemed to really enjoy telling that part of the story, and Yunram really seemed to enjoy listening to Lin talk, maybe a little too much for my liking. We also told them about our trip to Japan and talking to Yamane and his story that the place the ‘training’ took place was in Malaysia. Occasionally, Yunram needed to translate something for Chaiket, who really seemed to take an interest in the Malaysia connection. We left out a couple of pieces of information in the story, such as Sunan.
“So, in summary,” I wrapped up the story, “Nightside staged a fake job interview here in Bangkok, to select candidates that could be used for forced feminization, put them on a bus and took them to somewhere in Malaysia, around Kuala Lumpur. Then a group of buyers were contacted and attended a sale of the victims in Malaysia.
“What we don’t know is how many total victims we have, where the house is in Malaysia, who is the overall leader of the operation, and who the other buyers are or how they were contacted. I think Mr. Wongsawat has answers to a number of those questions.”
Chaiket was busy writing notes and Yunram was quiet in thought for a moment before he spoke. “Wongsawat has told us there were nineteen people put on the bus here in Bangkok. With the three that were returned, the three in Japan, we still have thirteen victims to find. However, I now have a few more questions I can ask Mr. Wongsawat.”
“Major Yunram, is it possible for us to sit in on the interrogation?” I asked.
“Please, it is Kasem,” Yunram said with a big smile at Lin, “May I call you Lin?”
“Of course you can, Kasem.” Lin answered with a smile that matched, as she reached over and patted his arm.
“Thank you, I would warn you that the interrogations can get a little intense, especially for a beautiful lady,” Yunram said, holding his smile and eye contact with Lin.
“Well,” Lin answered, holding the eye contact and the smile, “this beautiful lady is pretty tough.”
Something crossed through Yunram’s eyes at that moment. I was not sure what it was but it was there, almost looking like something evil.
“Then let’s go down to the detention area and ask Mr. Wongsawat a few questions, shall we?” Yunram said standing and offering his hand to Lin.
Yunram made a call on his cell phone as we exited the office and made our way to an elevator for a ride down two floors, to a level titled B2. We exited the elevator into concrete walled hallway and followed Yunram to a door near the end of the main hallway. Yunram opened the door and gestured to Lin and me to enter first.
Mr. Wongsawat was seated in chair, behind a table with his hands behind his back, I was assuming handcuffed. On each side of him, and standing behind, were two more uniformed officers in a parade rest stance, with their hands behind their back. Wongsawat’s usually neatly combed hair was in a mess and he had a large bruise on his left cheek. I saw the look of recognition as Lin and I entered the room, and I saw that look turn to fear when he saw Yunram enter behind us.
“Good morning Mr. Wongsawat,” Yunram greeted with a smile, “I hope you rested well last night. I have a few more questions for you today and, since our guests only speak English, I think we will have this conversation in English today.”
Wongsawat did not respond, he just looked between Yunram and me with rapid eye movements. His eyes were sunken and hollow. It did not look like he had sleep for a couple of days. I had a pretty good idea how his last couple of days had been, based on the five days I had spent in the Thai jail, and no one was questioning me.
“Now,” Yunram started as he pulled three chairs out for us, making sure Lin was sitting in the middle, between us, “we have established that you held a fake job interview for the purpose of kidnapping and trafficking Thai citizens, is that correct?”
Wongsawat slowly nodded his head.
“I am sorry,” Yunram said, leaning forward, “I can’t hear you.”
“Yes,” Wongsawat whispered.
“Good,” Yunram leaned back in his chair, “Mr. McNeil tells me they have evidence that you loaded your victims on a bus and drove them to Malaysia. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Wongsawat whispered again.
“Very good Mr. Wongsawat,” Yunram said with a huge smile, “however, I do wonder why you failed to mention that to me yesterday.”
Yunram paused and Wongsawat looked down at the floor.
“No matter, we will talk about that later.” Yunram holding his smile, “Do you mind telling us, where in Malaysia you took our citizens?”
“I don’t know.” Wongsawat whispered.
Yunram nodded to the two men behind Wongsawat, who stepped forward, one grabbing Wongsawat by the hair, pulling his head back, and the other ripping open the front of Wongsawat’s shirt. Lin let out a gasp at the sight of Wongsawat’s body, his whole chest and stomach area was a patchwork of ugly black bruises. I noticed, as soon as they moved, the two men were wearing thickly padded black gloves, and I was pretty sure most of the padding was lead shot. My stomach tied in knots as I knew exactly what we were about to see.
“I don’t know, I don’t know” Wongsawat cried out as his body started shaking, and his voice breaking “I was never told.”
“Told by who?” I spoke for the first time, earning a dirty look from Yunram.
“Anya, I only knew her as Anya.” Wongsawat cried.
“Tell me about Anya,” I said forcefully, standing and leaning on the table. “Where is she from, where did you meet, how do you contact her?”
“I can’t, she said she would kill me.” Wongsawat protested through his tears.
The man not holding Wongsawat’s hair stepped forward and delivered a hard punch to Wongsawat’s already bruised rib cage. The blow caused Wongsawat to cry out in pain, I was pretty sure those ribs were already broken. Lin gasped again and turned her head.
“Stop!” I screamed at Yunram, then turned back to Wongsawat, “Talk to me, or the Major will continue to question you his way!”
Wongsawat tried to breathe a couple of moments before responding in a painful whisper, “She… she contacted me months ago with … with a way I could make money. I was … just to hold the job interviews; I had no idea what they wanted the people for. She offered me forty thousand baht for each candidate they took. I … I don’t know where she is, she had an accent, maybe German.”
‘Forty thousand baht is only around thirteen hundred U.S. dollars. Lives are cheap over here.’ I thought to myself.
“How did you transport them?” I asked, softening the tone a little.
“I … I hired a local bus company, Bangkok Transport. I told them … it was a company performance test and … and the passengers were not to know where they were taken.” Wongsawat coughed, and blood could be seen on the corner of his mouth.
“How were you paid?” I continued to question.
“Wire transfer, money was wired to my account.”
I looked at Yunram, who was already on his cell phone speaking rapidly in Thai. Lin’s face was white, and her eyes were wide and moist.
“How do you contact her?” I asked.
“I have a phone number, but only to a message box.” Wongsawat groaned, “I would leave a … a message and she … would call me.”
“How did Yamane get involved?”
“I … I gave his name to Anya as someone else that hired entertainers.” Wongsawat’s head sagged forward and his hair was released.
I paused for a moment and decided I had all the information out of Wongsawat that I needed. I took Lin by the hand, pulled her to her feet, and headed for the door. Yunram was still talking on his cell as he stood to follow us. We were about five feet down the hall, heading for the elevator, when Yunram exited the room. Before he closed the door, I heard the hollow thump of something being hit, and a gasping groan of pain.
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