ago.”
“I know things, mate. Just like you know things.”
“Yeah? Well, I only know things
Manny just shrugged, but I understood what he was saying.
Foreigners in Bangkok, even long-time residents, forget how conspicuous they actually are. Since most Thais politely pretend not to notice us, we drift into the agreeable sensation that we are going about our lives almost invisibly, although nothing could be further from the truth. Everywhere a foreigner goes in Bangkok, there is someone who sees him go there. Everywhere a foreigner is in Bangkok, there is someone who knows he is there. And that information is always available to people who know how to get it.
I looked at myself in Manny’s mirrored sunglasses. Droplets of sweat rolled down my face like silver balls bouncing down a pinball machine.
“Would you take those damned glasses off, Manny?” I asked when I was through admiring myself. “They make you look like a gangster.”
I watched the muscles of Manny’s face around the edges of the silver mirrors covering his eyes and I tried to decide whether or not he was smiling. Then he took the glasses off. He wasn’t smiling.
“I’m sorry about Dollar,” he said.
“Yeah, me, too.”
“A good bloke, he was.”
I nodded.
“But over his head,” Manny added. “Way over his head.”
I didn’t say anything.
“I think maybe you’re over your head here too, mate. You want some help?”
“I’ve already asked for help. You didn’t offer any.”
Manny let that pass.
“You still looking for that other geezer? Barry Gale?”
“I am.”
“How do you think you can find him?”
“You found me this morning when
“Not tough for me,” Manny said. He picked up his glasses and twirled them in his fingers, first one way then the other. “But a lot tougher for you, I reckon.”
“Maybe you’re underestimating me.”
“Probably not.”
He had me there.
Then all at once I got the message. “You already know where Barry is, don’t you, Manny?”
He nodded.
“Thailand?”
Manny nodded again.
“But not in Bangkok.”
Manny shook his head.
“Why are we playing this stupid game, Manny? You said you wanted to help. If you know where Barry is, just tell me for Christ’s sake.”
“Let’s just say I
“I’m just going to talk to him, Manny. Just talk. That’s all.”
“You want me to have somebody talk to him a little first, maybe loosen him up?”
I examined Manny’s face for some sign he was kidding. I didn’t see any. “I’ll certainly keep your offer in mind.”
Manny nodded as if that sounded reasonable enough to him. He put his glasses back on and turned his head away.
“So after you talk to this guy, then what?” he asked.
I said nothing. I hadn’t actually worked that part out yet, but I didn’t want to tell Manny that. I watched the elderly couple climbing out of the pool. The old man lifted a towel and began wiping the woman’s back.
“You’re a pretty cocky guy, mate. A lot of shit’s going down here you know fuck all about.”
“Meaning?”
“These bastards are mental. I’ve done stuff for them once or twice, but I won’t touch them now. They’re out of control.”
Manny slowly turned his head until he was looking me full in the eye. I watched myself in his glasses.
“I used to think they were coppers, maybe even CIA, but I’m not sure anymore. For fuck’s sake, mate, even
We sat for a while after that without talking. The old man finished drying the woman’s back, and then she picked up a fresh towel and began gently rubbing down his chest and stomach. The whole concept still looked pretty good to me.
“I want to know where Barry Gale is, Manny.”
“I know that.”
“And I want something else. I want to get to him without a whole goddamned parade behind me. Can you do that for me? Get me to him without anybody knowing where I’m going?”
“They want Barry Gale, not you, mate. So why don’t you just let me give him to them?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t understand what’s really going on here and I’m not giving up anybody until I do.”
“Why are you really doing this, mate?”
“Because whatever is happening has gotten two people killed already and I don’t want to be responsible for anyone else ending up dead. Least of all me.”
Manny turned away and watched four middle-aged foreign women swatting a tennis ball lightly back and forth on one of the courts. They shrieked and giggled like young girls, bouncing around the court without much apparent interest in playing well. The sunlight made long glistening streaks through the thin sheens of perspiration that coated their smoothly tanned arms and legs.
“But you want me to tell you where this guy is. And what if you’re the next one to get killed? I’m not responsible for you then?”
“I’m going to find Barry Gale with or without your help, Manny. You can’t do anything to change that. You can make it easier for me, or you can make it harder. But you can’t stop me.”
Manny took off his sunglasses. He folded the glasses and clasped his hands together in front of him on the table, but he didn’t say anything.
“I was right about Phuket, wasn’t I?” I said. “That’s where Barry is.”
I watched and waited.
Finally, Manny sighed heavily. “You not gonna kill him?”
“I already told you, Manny. I’m just going to talk to him.”
“And then just leave him and walk away?”
“Unless he had anything to do with killing Dollar. Then I’ll blow the whistle on him.”
Manny looked sideways for a while after that and I waited for him to go on, knowing now that he would. Finally he shifted his eyes back and stared hard at me.
“I’ll get you where this geezer is without anyone knowing about it, but after I do that you’re on your own. I’ve got people to protect and I’m not going to fuck around with a bunch of crazy bastards just so you can satisfy your curiosity.”
I nodded. That made sense.
“That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it. Where’s Barry?”
