“Then the group still has some game.”
“Oh, sure, but only at the response level. Their top operational guys are now dead, so it’s going to cause complete mayhem with their members. Everyone will be jockeying for position, and while the infighting is going on, they’re losing the suppliers. That’s a death blow. Literally. They’ve got their hands full. Maybe now, they’ll have to return to doing their jobs instead of operating a global drug syndicate.”
“What about you?”
“Everything’s quiet. My bet is this ended with Arthur. There probably weren’t many in the group that were even told about the diamond theft. Arthur would have kept a tight lid on that while he tried to recover them so the others didn’t flip out and question his judgment. And anyone remaining will be scrambling to do damage control to salvage what they can of the network.” Something crackled on the line, then he continued. “Besides which, they have billions in hundred-dollar bills in cargo containers — so it was never really about the money. I think it was mostly a personal thing with Arthur because I put a crimp in his plans by taking the diamonds out of play, and because I worked for him.”
“I made a tape of Arthur admitting everything,” Jet said.
“Hold onto it. At some point, we may want to leak it to the press.”
“Think they’d use it?”
“Fifty-fifty. But I’m conflicted. I don’t want to hurt the country, and this would forever tarnish its standing in the eyes of the world. But on the flip side, I don’t want anything like it to ever happen again,” he reflected.
“Sounds like you’ve got some thinking to do.”
“About a lot of things.”
The pause stretched to an uncomfortable length.
“You keeping my diamonds safe?” he asked.
“You bet. The bag goes everywhere with me. Got a larger purse just to accommodate it. Heavy, though.”
“Got a gun?”
“Of course.”
“So you’re set,” Matt said.
“For the time being. I figure I’ll hit the road in a couple of days and never look back. And you?”
“I’ve been thinking about the island. I’m probably going to get a little surgery in Korea so I look different and then poke around on Ko Samui to see what property values are like.”
“Get something on the beach.”
“My thinking, exactly. Someplace big, so I can accommodate guests. Even if they have a kid.”
Another silence.
“She’s beautiful, Matt. Gorgeous.”
“I would expect nothing less, based on her DNA. You know, you’re a genuine Thai citizen now. Hannah soon will be, too. Maybe you should download some Thai MP3s and learn the language while you’re roaming through Mexico. And then come visit. Soon.”
“That’s not a bad idea, Matt. It occurred to me.”
They both hesitated. This wasn’t the right way to talk about what was on their minds.
“All right, then. I’ll call in another couple of days, before I head out. You think you’ll be in Korea?”
“Probably. If you’re not in any rush for the passport, I’d rather get my mug taken care of before I do anything else.”
“I can understand that. I can wait a week or two. Hey — don’t have them change too much.”
“I’m going to shoot for younger, richer and thinner.”
“I’d say you already have the rich part dialed.”
“Good point.”
Hannah squealed from the back seat, her way of complaining because they weren’t underway yet, and Jet started the car and pulled into traffic. She had some shopping to do before they headed south, and didn’t want to leave anything to the last minute.
She took side streets until she saw the distinctive outline of South Coast Plaza ahead, then pulled into the massive parking complex and found a slot near the main entrance. Hannah’s favorite coffee shop was on the second level, and she delighted in people-watching while Jet used the wireless internet.
The sun warmed their skin as they strolled in the balmy spring air, mother and daughter out for a day of consumerism. Jet caught a glimpse of herself in the glass-fronted doors and saw that for the first time in forever she had an unfamiliar look on her face. She peered at her reflection for a few seconds before she realized what it was.
She was happy.
Chapter 38
Once the 747 had arrived in Bangkok and they had sauntered through customs with hardly a glance, Jet flagged down a taxi and took a cab to the smaller airport, where a chartered plane was waiting for the short hop to Ko Samui island.
As the King Air turbo prop taxied to the end of the runway, Hannah pointed at all the surrounding planes, laughing at some joke known only to her. Jet smiled and turned to gaze at her, never tiring of her joy at discovering something new each passing moment.
The engines increased their revs, and soon they were pulling up into the sky, Jet putting her hands up into the air and Hannah mimicking her before they both exploded with peals of glee. Once they were at altitude, Hannah seemed fascinated by the water below them and proceeded to name everything she saw.
Mexico had been a relaxed three months, drifting from town to town with no particular agenda. Hannah hadn’t seemed to mind. She was a little trouper. But eventually, Jet tired of the gypsy lifestyle, and Matt’s regular invitation to visit his beach house, where he’d settled into an easy-going island lifestyle, had taken on an increasing allure.
She still had his diamonds safe in her purse and had become almost used to having fifty million dollars on her arm. How many times had she walked down the waterfront streets in Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta, Hannah in tow, wondering what any of the locals would have thought if they’d known…
Being on the move constantly made her feel like she was living in a completely different world than those around her. Which was fine — but reality exerted a strong pull, and she now longed for something more intrinsic than what she’d grown used to.
Her frequent discussions with Matt had convinced Jet that, besides her obligation to return the stones to him, she was interested in exploring the spark that had ignited during their kiss. She’d thought about it many times and always came back to the same place — it was crazy, she hardly knew him, none of it made any sense. Which was all true. But she also knew how she felt, and she wanted to give that feeling a chance, and see if it was fleeting or something more substantial.
So she’d agreed to stop in over the next week and had booked flights that avoided the U.S. system, and had left the Highlander in a parking lot in Zihuatanejo and flown to Mexico City on their first leg to Bangkok — oddly enough, through Frankfurt on Lufthansa.
And suddenly, she was back in Thailand, with all its contradictions and clamor and charm.
The plane banked and began its descent, and then the wheels were bumping down the runway, and they were taxiing to the private terminal, which turned out to be little more than a hut. She liked the place already. A warm breeze tugged at their hair as they strolled along the tarmac and approached the surrounding booths, Hannah clutching her hand, pulling her forward in her eagerness to explore new wonders.
The transaction for the rental car took longer than expected, and then she remembered where she was. Things didn’t ever seem to go quite as planned in Thailand, and on an island, where the pace was even slower than usual, progress was likely to be glacial. Eventually, the always-smiling attendant directed them to a little red Nissan sedan, and after studying the map, they set off in search of Matt’s new digs.
The southern side of Ko Samui was more developed than Jet had imagined, and she saw many familiar
