‘There is a message for Miss Ellis,’ she said smiling. ‘Could you please call Ken at home,’ she read from the note.
Laura dialled Ken from the telephone in her room.
‘Laura. Glad you called. It’s six in the morning here.’ His voice sounded distorted, as though he was shouting from the end of a long tube.
‘I’m sorry. But they said it was urgent.’
‘Yes. Laughing boy’s in a spot of trouble.’
‘Laughing boy?’
‘Your friend Luke.’
‘But he’s in Thailand still, isn’t he?’
‘Phuket. Somewhere called Patong, to be precise. Sounds pretty seedy. He called here yesterday. Said he was calling from a police station. He’s in the clink apparently. Some misunderstanding. He wants you to go and see if you can bail him out. Well, not bail, strictly. Probably a bribe, reading between the lines.’
Laura swallowed. She could barely take it all in.
‘Why did he phone you?’
‘Said he was desperate, that there wasn’t anyone else he could turn to. He knows you’re in Malaysia. Suppose it was a long shot. I’d leave him to rot if I were you.’
When she said goodbye and replaced the receiver, she sat silent for a long time on the edge of the bed, thinking about Luke, weighing up the options, wondering whether to respond to the call, or to take Ken’s advice and simply ignore it.
28
The frenetic sights and sounds of Patong Bay assaulted Laura’s senses as she made her way along the waterfront. Her clothes stuck to her in the intense heat. Under the rucksack, her back was running with sweat. She shaded her eyes and looked around. On one side jet skis buzzed about on the gleaming ocean. On the other, across the busy street, a strip of bars and cafés pumped Western music and flashed neon signs proclaiming delights such as ‘Fish n’ Chips’, ‘German Beerkeller’ and ‘Go Go bar’. She could smell chips frying from where she stood.
‘You want hotel?’ a tuk-tuk drew up beside her, its engine putt-putting noisily.
‘Later, maybe. Can you take me to the police station first?’
The driver peered at her and spat his betel nut onto the pavement, the red stain darkening instantly in the heat.
‘Sure. One hundred Baht.’
She knew it was expensive but was too tired to haggle. The twenty-four-hour journey from Penang by ferry, train and minibus had left her reeling with exhaustion. She slid onto the hot plastic seat gratefully and held onto the bar, breathing in neat diesel fumes as the tuk-tuk careered off the main drag and down a side street, past more girlie-bars, night clubs and fast food outlets.
The police station was a squat concrete building sandwiched between a lady-boy cabaret and a Muay Thai boxing school.
The officer at the desk showed her through a back door into a yard. As she followed him she noticed the gun and truncheon swinging from his belt. He waved her in the direction of a cell crowded with half-naked men, some sitting on the floor, others squashed together on a narrow bench against the wall. With a start she recognised Luke; he was dozing against the wall, his hair dishevelled and his feet shackled with irons. He was the only foreigner in the cell.
‘Hey farang!’ the policeman yelled, and Luke’s eyes flickered open.
He struggled upright and approached the bars.
‘Laura, thank god, you’ve come. I’ve been rotting in here for days. Lost count of how long it’s been.’
His face was deeply tanned under the dirt and showed the beginnings of a beard. He wore a filthy T shirt and shorts.
‘This is becoming a bit of a habit,’ she said dryly. ‘What on earth happened to you?’
He gripped the bars and brought his face close to hers. She could smell his rotten breath.
‘Why did you leave me, Laura? I wouldn’t have got into this trouble if you’d been with me.’
‘Don’t blame me. You were determined to party. What happened anyway?’
He lowered his voice, and his eyes darted around the yard.
‘The Aussies and I were just having a sun downer in a beach café, rolling up a couple of spliffs when there was a fucking raid. The police must have had a tip off.’
‘What happened to the others?’
‘The bastards scarpered. Managed to run out the back way, but I was on the other side of the table, stuck in the corner. No way out. Arrested for possession, of course. Been in here ever since. They said I could phone one person, so I phoned your house in London. Thought you might have gone home.’
‘What’s going to happen to you?’
‘The guy from the consulate came down yesterday. Said if I could raise five hundred quid I’d probably be okay – the bastards probably wouldn’t charge me. The whole thing stinks, Laura. If you think it’s bad at home, you’ve no idea.’
‘And what if you can’t?’ she cut in.
‘Can’t what? Laura. Don’t do that to me. You can raise the money. It’s hell in here. There’s no proper law and order. You can see what it’s like.’ He lowered his voice. ‘These guys are animals. Murderers, some of them.’
‘What if they prosecute you?’
‘I’ll be in for a stretch. The word is that Phuket jail is rough as hell. Think about it, Laura. All you’ve got to do is go to the bank.’
‘I’ll try. But I can’t promise. It’s not that easy to get a bank transfer so quickly.’
‘Please try. Please. And Laura, can’t we patch things up between us? I’ve really missed you. I don’t blame you for leaving like you did. I was behaving like an arsehole, I know. I really don’t blame you. But I still love you.’
She avoided his gaze. ‘It wouldn’t work.’
‘Come on. Just give it a chance. We were great together.’
‘Just leave it, Luke,’ she snapped, turning away. ‘I’ll see what I can do about the money.’
She left the police station and found a bar across the street. She ordered a beer and sat at a table on the pavement. With fascinated disgust she watched a few skimpily dressed girls in a next-door bar drape
