Tsarovich paused for a moment. “It’s unlikely. He has no physical contact with the ones at MAX. It would be much too dangerous, and he understands that. He just cleans cages, distributes food, and drinks.”
Draganov slowly shook his head for a few seconds, his mind racing ahead. Then finally: “We must check, to be sure.”
“Now, in this storm, and so late at night?” Tsarovich looked as if he couldn’t believe his ears.
“Yes,” Draganov nodded firmly, “we must go now.”
Tanya’s room inside the veterinary Medical Clinic
Veterinary Lab Technician Tanya waited quietly in her bed, pretending to be asleep, until she heard Draganov and Tsarovich leave the clinic. She continued to wait until she heard the Sno-cat’s engine rev up. Then she got up, locked her door, pulled a dresser aside, opened a concealed door, and pulled a small Clouded Leopard kitten out of a hidden cage.
Back in her bed, a feverish Tanya held the kitten close and smiled weakly as it cuddled happily into her arms, it’s eyes flashing a bright emerald green.
CHAPTER 11
Forestry Division Headquarters, Phuket, Thailand
It was nearing dusk when the police helicopter carrying Colonel Kulawnit, Bulatt, and two M4 carbine-armed Thai Forestry investigators who functioned as Kulawnit’s bodyguards, landed at the Forestry Division headquarters in Phuket. A unformed Major was waiting beside a pair of black SUV’s at the edge of the helipad.
“Colonel, I offer my most humble apologies. Your son died while under my supervision and care, and there is no excuse for my failure. I will forward my resignation immediately,” Major Sathan Preithat said in English, acknowledging Bulatt’s presence, as he opened the rear door of the SUV and stepped aside.
Bulatt glanced at the Major’s face and decided that he’d never before seen anyone who managed to combine the looks of utter dismay and absolute rage into one barely-controlled expression.
Kulawnit had been stone-faced as he walked toward the waiting vehicles; but he hesitated at Major Preithat’s words, blinked, and then shook his head and turned to face his subordinate commander.
“Khun Sat,” Kulawnit said. “There shall be no more talk of your resignation. I placed my son in your charge because I considered you to be the most competent and loyal commander in our Division. I did so because I believed he would have the best opportunity to become a skilled leader of good men under your guidance. And I know from his letters that you were succeeding in his training beyond all of my expectations. His death was not your fault. Please devote your skills now to helping me find the killers of my son, and our Rangers.”
The Major’s expression shifted slightly, his sorrow- and rage-filled eyes taking on a glistening edge. “We will find them, Khun Prathun, I promise you that.”
“Khun Sat, this is U.S. Wildlife Special Agent Gedimin Bulatt, a member of Interpol, and my friend.”
Bulatt and Preithat acknowledged each other with brief nods.
“Khun Ged left the Tokyo Interpol meeting this morning to assist us with the Clouded Leopard investigation,” Kulawnit went on. “He now offers us his skills as a crime scene investigator. He also believes he may have useful knowledge about the foreign hunters who plague our country that could help us in tracking down these killers, so I want him to be a part of our investigation. I trust him as I trust you, so please give both of us your full briefing.”
“Yes sir, of course.”
“If there’s anything I can do without interfering with your work, I’m at your service, Major,” Bulatt said, staring into Preithat’s glint-edged eyes. “And I promise to help you and Khun Prathun find these people, and bring them to justice, in any way that I possibly can.
Preithat hesitated, and Bulatt thought he could see the Major having to fight against a deeply ingrained sense of national pride; but if there was an internal battle being fought, it didn’t last long.
“If you see or know anything that will help us identify and locate these… creatures, Agent Bulatt — ” Preithat struggled visibly to control his words. “Please, do not hesitate to speak out. I would be both grateful, and in your debt.”
“Good, then we’re all in agreement. Let us not waste any more time,” Kulawnit said as he pulled himself into the back seat of the SUV. “Tell us everything you know so far about my son’s death.”
On the road to the Police Morgue, Phuket, Thailand
“I sent them out on patrol to investigate some information I received from an informant — that three British or Australian guides were taking their wealthy clients into the Khlong Saeng Wildlife Preserve to kill endangered animals for trophies,” Major Preithat said from the front seat of the SUV. “We’ve had many such complaints against foreign guides in the last two years; but when we investigate, we almost never find evidence of illegal kills.”
“Instead, you find them in possession of legal kills, and with all of the proper documentation; as if they knew your Rangers were coming?” Bulatt asked.
“Yes, exactly.”
Bulatt could almost hear the Major’s teeth grinding together.
“Our Interpol associates in Russian are facing the same situation,” Bulatt said, and then hesitated before continuing on. “In their case, the foreign clients — mostly hunters from the United States — are wealthy enough to bribe the Russian permit officials and their supervisors, who make sure the efforts of Russian game wardens in the area are focused on ‘less valuable’ suspects.”
“That may be our situation as well, only worse,” Preithat said bitterly. “Our informant also suggested these guides were working under the protection of a senior Forestry Division Ranger.”
“One of your own men?” Bulatt blinked in surprise. “Did the informant give you a name?”
“No, but I — ” Preithat hesitated and looked over at Colonel Kulawnit who nodded his head silently.
“I had reason to believe one of my Captains might be taking bribes — from the foreign guides as well as some of our own criminals,” Preithat continued. “I was investigating this possibility when one of my informants called yesterday morning. So I sent Captain Choonhavan on an assignment that would require him to spend the next two days in Surat Thani. After he left, I sent Lieutenant Kulawnit and Sergeant Tongproh out to patrol the Chieo Lan Reservoir area with a pair of Rangers they brought down from headquarters.”
“So that no one in your office except you would know Lieutenant Kulawnit and Sergeant Tongproh were out on patrol last night?” Bulatt asked.
“That was my intent,” Preithat replied with a heavy sigh. “With Choonhavan out of the way — and unable to provide a warning or a false permit at the last minute — I had hoped these guides might be caught in the act with their wealthy client.”
“Do you know if Lieutenant Kulawnit and his patrol made contact with these individuals?” Bulatt asked.
“No, I don’t. The last radio contact we had with them was late last night when Lieutenant Kulawnit advised our dispatcher they were going to investigate a gunshot in the southern portion of the Khlong Saeng Preserve.”
“So we do know that someone was poaching in the Preserve last night?” Kulawnit asked.
“We think so, but we don’t know where. There are so many tire tracks on the roads, and the rains make it very difficult to distinguish and follow any one set. However,” Preithat added, “we do know that someone with an Australian or possibly British accent tried to contact Captain Choonhavan late last night. Unfortunately, the night duty clerk hadn’t been properly briefed, so she provided the caller with his contact information in Surat Thani.”
“So we must assume he’s been warned,” Kulawnit muttered. “Do we have him in custody yet?”
“No, we are looking for him now. We have a witness who thinks they saw him leaving his hotel early this morning with a Caucasian male.”
“We need to find him quickly,” Kulawnit growled.
“Yes, we will, Khun Prathun,” Preithat promised. “In the meantime, we know that three Australian or British nationals checked out of the Shining Wind hotel late last night, along with an American hunter who is extremely wealthy. They stayed in expensive suites and ate expensive meals; but, at the moment, no one at the hotel can find any of their records. We’re trying to locate the hotel manager now.”
