CITY OF ANGELS – A Murder Story in 30 Chapters (part 24 + 25)

On Thailandblog you can read the pre-publication of the thriller 'City of Angels' which, as the title suggests, takes place entirely in Bangkok and was written by Lung Jan. Today chapter 24 + 25.

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Chapter 24

Chief Inspector Maneewat was in doubt. He wasn't quite sure what to do: sell J. a big blow and handcuff him or reach out and thank him. After much deliberation and a few phone calls with headquarters, he opted for the latter. J. had considered all his options and, after a short phone call with Kaew, had decided to immediately sail back to Anuwat's cottage and call Superintendent Maneewat. He waited patiently, sitting on the scaffolding behind the house, for the arrival of the police. His patience was not long tested.

Long after he had made the first determinations, the chief inspector, lost in thought, walked to the jetty and sat down next to J. They peered silently for some time over the river that most Thais simply call the Mae Nam, was called the Mother River. In this late afternoon hour the stream seemed like liquid silver. J. would hate to admit it, but he was grateful for the long silence.

'So your client was Anuwat?'

'Yes…'

'You know how to choose them, don't you?'  Again J. thought he could detect a slightly mocking undertone, just like a few days ago, but Chief Inspector Maneewat was simply not known as the joker of the local corps…

'yep..' it sounded resignedly next to him.

As far as Maneewat's superiors were concerned, the clean, true police work was done. Now all that was left was to tie up some loose ends. And then both the file Tanawat and the cracking fresh file Anuwat could be closed and stored somewhere deep, very deep. Of course, part of the social elite in the City of Angels wanted to forget as quickly as possible that they had made sweet buns with a fallen criminal.

But Maneewat was cut from a different cloth. He was willing to go to great lengths to dig up the truth.

'And you have no idea who killed Anuwat you say?'

'No, when I got here there was no one to be seen. I only have a dark brown suspicion that Tanawat was killed by the same perpetrator. Just look at the similar injuries and the exceptional level of force used.'

'You have a point there but I need more proof.' Maneewat looked at J almost imploringly.”Come on man, you're popping up in two of the most horrific murders I've faced in a long time. You MUST give me something concrete…'

'I'm afraid I can't. I just had to track down that stolen Buddha statue, but that file wasn't getting anywhere. I assume the thieves now have blood on their hands. Talk to his widow or his cousin Anong…”

' Thieves ? So more than one perpetrator?Maneewat remarked.

'I think so, you know as I do that Tanawat would not have let himself be overpowered one, two, three and to move this Buddha you need helpers…'

'Another point for you. But too little for me. I must have absolute and irrefutable evidence and, above all, find the perpetrators. Let's not call each other Liesbeth. You know, as I do, that Those Who Thrones Above Me want to close this file as soon as possible and, above all, bury it very deeply. They will do everything they can to prevent me from stirring this jar too much…'

'I wish you a lot of succes…' It seemed as if J. really meant the latter. Once again, a deafening silence reigned between the two men on the jetty. Silence is the difference between saying nothing and having said everything, thought a grateful J. More than fifteen minutes later, Maneewat suddenly said:'You know, Those Who Throne Over Me will probably want to see an extensive and especially very detailed statement from you in this file before it is vertically classified. One of these days you can expect an invitation to pop into the office…'

The Chief Inspector stood up abruptly, stretched for a moment, then held out his stout claw to the surprised J.

'Does your friend know: if something doesn't work out, you haven't failed, but you may have learned something'said the Chief Inspector comfortingly. J. thought he would answer with a laugh with a quote about profound home, garden & kitchen philosophy, but a sudden lump in his throat prevented this. Through a tearful haze he saw the superintendent's back disappear onto the narrow path next to the bungalow. It sure looked like he was watching a 3D movie without those goofy glasses on. Probably an insect had flown into his eyes…

Chapter 25

Although he desired nothing more fervently, the day was far from over for Superintendent Maneewat. He may have spoken sarcastically to J. about Those Who Throned Above Him but he had barely returned to the sweltering police station before She summoned him immediately, like greased lightning, to the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police to get to Rama I Road. Apparently Anuwat's liquidation had caused some commotion. An internally swearing Maneewat ordered Koh to lead the debriefing of the intervention team and left immediately. This was really not the right time to call him on the mat. The debriefing was much more important, not to mention the waiting paperwork. Damn it… Fortunately for him, a service car with flashing lights and siren was available and in less than half an hour he knew straight line to get to his destination through the stifling traffic chaos of the evening rush hour.

Much to his surprise, he was met at the entrance by his immediate superior, Colonel Vichai Thanarat, an iron-eater and raw dew with an impressive record of service, for which Maneewat would go through fire. This could only mean that the top was really alarmed by what had happened on Nonthaburi Road. Somehow this was also logical because Anuwat had a number of 'friends' who had been indebted to him. Maneewat could imagine that there would be a slight panic in the upper floors of the headquarters and not just there…

He was taken by surprise by Thanarat's message, which immediately pulled him by the arm in a hurry: 'Come to the garage, we need to get to Wireless Road immediately. '

'With all due respect Colonel, I was given explicit orders to report on this afternoon's fatal incident. '

'Tut tut tut… I've already arranged everything. This has absolute top priority. The Americans want to see us without delay.'

'But why ?'

"That, my dear Uthai, even I don't know."

The US Embassy was less than two kilometers from the police headquarters and accompanied by two motorcycle policemen, they were shrouded in silence for a few minutes at the massive and imposing embassy building. Maneewat knew that sometimes it was better to be silent than to talk meaningless. He felt relieved. This was all very unexpected. It was the first time in his career that he had come into direct contact with the Americans, even though he had no idea why they had been invited here in the Holy of Holies.

The handful of heavily armed Thai agents loitering listlessly outside the embassy immediately jumped to attention when they recognized Colonel Thanarat. The Colonel and Maneewat were apparently expected, because when they showed their identification at the entrance, they were unceremoniously escorted by an obviously well-trained US Marine to the air-conditioned antechamber where they were kindly asked to wait. Even the Colonel, to Maneewat's slight surprise, now seemed to show some signs of mild nervousness. They didn't have to exercise much patience. After a few minutes they were met by an attache, briefcase in hand, who took them across the courtyard to the gleaming white main building. A service lift and two flights of stairs up they found themselves in a room with a stiff dark blue full carpet, a very robust looking round teak table, a few spare chairs leaning against one wall while the other wall was dominated by a solid oak bookshelf with a series in dark green leather. bound legal works. The obligate upright with the equally obligate Stars & Stripes in the corner took care of the finishing touches. It certainly looked like the setting of one of those worryingly unrealistic American detective soaps that Maneewat's wife was so fond of...

While the attaché offered them coffee, a mixed American/Thai group joined them. To his surprise, Maneewat immediately recognized the deputy director of the Royal Thai Police and a top Justice Department official who apparently represented the minister. The three Americans accompanying them introduced themselves as Jones and Burdett, two embassy security attachés, a job description that Maneewat knew was a euphemism for CIA agents and special constable Christopher G. Moore, the FBI's local liaison officer

Moore, a suitably dressed cop who hadn't loosened his tie despite the heat and who was clearly also the youngest of the three, immediately spoke up: "We have brought you here because we believe we can help you with an ongoing murder investigation.'

Manweewat pricked up his ears.

'The information available to us indicates that Captain Uthai Narong, a Thai army officer who was falsely pronounced dead years ago, is most likely involved in the murders of Professor Tanawat and business tycoon Anuwat earlier today. From the documents I will now hand over to you, you will be able to conclusively conclude that there were past ties between Narong and Anuwat, which were a possible motive for this murder.'

The attaché, who had escorted Maneewat and the Colonel, took from his briefcase four CIA file folders with a red 'classified'stamp and handed it to the curious Thai who immediately started reading.

About an hour later, much had become clear to Maneewat, but of course questions remained.

'Sorry, this is all very nice and perhaps convincing to some of us but indirect and consequential no direct evidence. In any case, I still have a major question because I find it extremely strange and very unorthodox that a foreign power suddenly, like the proverbial thunder in the equally proverbial sky, interferes in a Thai murder investigation...' A startled Colonel Thanarat immediately began to cough nervously as if to indicate to his subordinate that there were limits, while the Justicesman threw what must have passed for warning glances at Maneewat..

"What I would like to hear from you is exactly what interest the Americans have in this investigation?"

Moore prepared to answer, but Burdett put his left hand on his forearm. 'Let me do the talking Chris,he said mildly. His voice immediately sounded a lot more authoritarian when he looked directly at Maneewat: 'Captain Narong has killed two US citizens in cold blood in the past year.”

Burdett left a small pause to achieve a more dramatic effect.

'Although these crimes have taken place in a neighboring country of Thailand, you will undoubtedly understand that it is very important to us to eliminate this murderous psychopath. We are therefore more than prepared - if your police services so desire - to provide all our expertise through the FBI attaché in Bangkok to make this happen. '

'And what exactly should the Thai police understand by 'Switch off' of this suspect? '

The question hung unanswered in the room. Burdett only smiled at the Chief Inspector, but his look was colder than the nipples of a topless Eskimo at minus 30°… Apparently they assumed that a good listener would only need half a word. It was the deputy director of the Thai Police who broke the increasingly uncomfortable silence: ' Gentlemen, thank you for this very interesting information and for your generous offer. I am convinced that I am also expressing the opinion of my people. You can be assured that your request will receive our full attention and we will do everything we can to resolve this matter as quickly and efficiently as possible. I thank you for the reception and will keep you informed.'

The party got up and to the surprise of the Colonel and Maneewat, they were personally escorted out by none other than Burdett. Like he didn't trust them. The colonel was already through the security gate at the exit of the embassy grounds when Burdett suddenly grabbed the superintendent by the upper arm. A firm grip, which made it clear that he was not to be messed with. He narrowed the look in his icy, blue-grey eyes as he whispered to Maneewat, "You got me right, didn't you, Chief Inspector? Switching off is switching off, let there be absolutely no doubt about that…'   Maneewat tore himself free and hurriedly, without looking back, stepped through the lock back onto Thai soil.

'This doesn't sit well with me at allChief Inspector Maneewat broke the silence in the car.

'Do you know, ' said the Colonel who had clearly been thinking, 'it's almost blasphemy to say this out loud in Thailand, but I don't like Americans. Far too often they act like a bunch of arrogant, loud-mouthed bastards… stupid know-it-alls too.” the Colonel paused. 'That Burdett, that's not the first one. I remember him from before but I doubt he remembers me. I was a liaison officer for the US at the time Drug Enforcement Agency, the DEA and regularly came into contact with Americans of different backgrounds. One of them was that Burdett. He's not just another CIA agent. I remember him more than fifteen years ago all operations of 'the Firm' led in Southeast Asia. For this period, and that should be somewhere in the middle of the XNUMXs, early XNUMXs, he was also like for a while Station Chief stationed in Bangkok. So he must be a very high pitcher by now. The Americans apparently attach great importance to eliminating our suspect…”

'Burdett may have worked with our suspect at the time…' suggested Maneewat.

'Gee… Uthai… Now I remember why you are my best detective' the Colonel smirked.

To be continued…..