Thai Horse

The sergeant marched stiffly to the door and left with a short bow.

Hatcher was suspicious and annoyed by the intrusion.

‘I got things to do here, Harry,’ Hatcher said. ‘I definitely don’t need this Limey ramrod crawling up my back.’

‘Just don’t go snooping around Macao, okay?’ Sloan said.

‘Don’t worry about me—’

‘Keep away from Tollie Fong and the triads.’

‘I don’t want to run into Fong and his buddies.’

‘You’ll end up floating in the bay. I’d hate like hell to have to explain that.’

‘That’s really sentimental of you.’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘I know exactly what you mean. And I’m not going to end up floating anywhere.’

‘Start messing with the White Palms, you’re as good as dead.’

‘That’s not the way it happened last time.’

‘Don’t get cocky either,’ said Sloan softly. ‘Tollie Fong is the man in the White Palm Triad now and Joe Lung is his number one boy in Hong Kong. And they both have sworn to dust you. You’re not in Bangkok by Saturday, I’ll have the dogs out after you.’

‘I’ll meet you at the Imperial,’ Hatcher whispered. ‘The D’Jit Pochana for breakfast Saturday morning, usual time.’

‘Sure.’

‘One other thing. Get that whiz kid you got in the States, Flitcraft, to check his computer. See if there’s anything on a Vietnam POW camp that was a floater. It moved around. I’m guessing it was a temporary holding camp near the Laotian border. It might have been called the Ghost Camp or something like that.’

‘I’ll see what he can turn up. I’ll have him call you direct.’

‘I’ve got his number. I’ll call him.’

‘All right,’ Sloan said after a moment’s thought. ‘Just be careful.’

‘I’ve never stopped being careful,’ Hatcher answered.

Hatcher turned, went back into his room and closed the door behind him. He didn’t bother to shake hands.

He stepped out on his balcony and looked across the bay at Victoria Peak and Cohen’s mountaintop fortress. A lot of things had changed in the last hour. Now he knew he had to see Cohen.

Every man must pay for his sins, 126 had once said.

The question in Hatcher’s mind was, Who was the sinner, who had been sinned against, and who was going to have to pay?

OPTIONS

Hatcher’s clicks were working overtime. Sloan would have the police version of what happened and background on Wol Pot by the time Hatcher got to Bangkok, so there was no need worrying about that now. If they had lost Wol Pot, Hatcher had to take his other options. But they were risky and they were long shots. The question he asked himself was, Should he trash the project and go back to Georgia? Suddenly the Cody job had taken a bad turn. The complexities were growing. One man had been murdered and now the Hong Kong Triad Squad appeared to be involved. Varney’s ‘social’ call had immediately fired more danger signals in Hatcher’s head. This was no longer a simple trace job. It had turned lethal.

He formed his plan quickly, based on logic. If the Vietnam ghost camp described by Schwartz did exist, there were people upriver in Chin Chin land who would know about it. That meant he would need Cohen’s help. Hatcher decided to make contact with his old friend, then wait and see if Flitcraft turned up anything interesting.

He stared up at the top of Victoria Peak, at the house he knew was Cohen’s, wondering whether the years had changed him. Was he still as powerfu1 as he had once been? Hatcher wondered. And what of Daphne?

Could he still trust any of his old friends?

He dialed a number he still remembered after all the years. A high-pitched voice answered in Chinese: ‘Jo sahn.’

‘Cheap bastard,’ Hatcher growled. ‘Still too cheap to spring for a secretary after all these years. And that phony Chin soprano of yours doesn’t fool ne.’

There was a long pause, then an awed voice almost whispered, ‘Christian?’

‘Ah. You haven’t forgotten,’ Hatcher whispered in return.

‘Christian!’ Cohen shouted. ‘Christ, I heard you were dead.’

‘That’s what you get for listening to rumours.’

‘My God, I can’t believe this. Are you here?’

‘Over at the old standby.’