Jiraporn's Story

Chapter 5 - ‘Ying and Tukta’

Hua Hin, March 2008.

Solly was half thinking about giving a short lecture to the twins on when it was acceptable to eavesdrop and when it was not, but decided against it. He arrived at this decision mainly for three reasons, it probably wouldn’t register with the girls at that time, it wouldn’t be an appropriate thing to do in front of Jiraporn who had only just met them and finally because he wasn’t totally sure he believed what he would be saying himself. Thankfully Jiraporn broke what had become a slightly difficult moment of silence. 'So', she said, looking at the twins, 'having heard what you’ve just heard, what are your overall thoughts and what do you think we should do next?’ By asking this question Jiraporn was hoping to find out two important things, just how much of the conversation the twins really understood and also what the girls were capable of regarding problem solving, she was not going to be disappointed with either. 

The girls thought for a moment and then, although Jiraporn didn't know it, it was Tukta who answered. 'We need to take care of Nick, we need to find out what Nick found out and we need to take care of ourselves'. Ying took over, 'If there are bad guys trying to kill Nick, then they might not stop just because he's in hospital, they might try to get to him while he is in the hospital', she continued, 'We have to know what Nick knows before we can find out who the bad guys are'. Tukta then concluded, 'We don't even know if there are any bad guys, but if there are, they will find out that Nick has friends, so we need to make sure that we’re okay, we need to watch each other's backs'. Jiraporn looked at both of them and smiled, ‘I am really pleased we are on the same team, you are both amazing’. Tukta and Ying returned the smile, but not as two young giggly girls, these were a pair of mature, serious and calculating young women.

Solly had watched all this transpire and nodded his head, ‘I agree with with everything that has been said, but I think we should move quickly’, he took a breath, ‘until we know otherwise we have to presume there are bad guys, and they did try to kill Nick, or at the very least try to warn him off whatever it was he was doing. It is quite possible they know he is now in hospital, they also probably know where he lives. But, it is just as likely they don’t know any of these things at the moment, but will find out over the next day or so. Whatever is the case, we should not be standing around doing nothing, we need to act - carefully and with purpose, but act all the same’.

Jiraporn cut in, ‘I need to get to Nick’s house. This afternoon, part of what he said to me was that he had a handy drive with documents on it. At the hospital, Tonsai the policeman gave me Nick’s belongings, which included his Netbook PC. I haven’t had time to check what’s on it, but there certainly wasn’t a handy drive amongst his things. I know where Nick keeps the important stuff at his house, he reminded me about it today, so I think it would be a good idea to go and see if it is there. After all that you three have said, I think I need to do this with caution and do it soon’. ‘We will come with you’, said one of the twins and Solly nodded looking at them, ‘That’s a good idea, take Jiraporn out the back way and also show her where we keep the hidden key, you two follow on a bike and keep a look out for anyone who maybe tailing you. I’ll get Fern to look after the bar, and stay here manning the fort. Return the same way and no one will know you’ve been gone’. To Jiraporn he said, ‘I guess you will be going home after going to Nick’s house. From now on, as you are driving, keep a close eye on your rear view mirror. If you think you are being followed, call me on my mobile, just say where you are, don’t hang up. Then pull over and see if the tail stops, if it does, then tell me and try to drive to a place with lots of people, keep me on the line all the time. If the suspect car drives past you, then do a U-turn and then get off the road and wait to see if it returns. If it does then hopefully it won’t have seen you and will just carry on. If it doesn’t return, then it was probably just an innocent car. If nothing happens on your drive home, and I hope this will be the case, then call me when you get home safely. But from now on, you need to be vigilant until all of this mess gets cleared up. Are you clear about all of this cloak and dagger stuff?’ he smiled.

‘I’m clear’, Jiraporn smiled, ‘and ready for a role in the next Bond movie. Seriously though, I need to check I still have your mobile number, and get yours too’, she added, looking at the twins. They all got out their phones and added each other. ‘Solly,’ Jiraporn said, ‘I want to ask you a question while the twins are here, because I can see that I am going to have a problem with this, it might not sound like a serious question, but it is to me - can you tell the difference between these two, and if so, how?’ Solly and the girls all laughed, ‘Okay,’ he said, but you must promise not to tell anyone, actually the only other person to know is Nick, and he found out by accident’. Solly looked at the twins for approval and received both a smile and a nod from each. ‘Have a look at Tukta’s left earlobe, now look at Ying’s’, the girls slightly turned their heads toward Jiraporn. ‘Ahh, I see’, she said, ‘Did you ever have an earring or stud in there? it looks almost healed up’. Jiraporn had seen what appeared to be a very small hole, or what used to be a hole, in Tukta’s left ear. ‘Actually, it’s not a piercing, I was born with it, I think in English it would be called a dimple, but whatever, I have it and Ying doesn’t. But maybe she will get one if too many people get to know about it - we like being as one’. ‘So, Tukta has a dimple, Ying doesn’t. Got it, I think! Your secret’s safe with me’, smiled Jiraporn and both the other girls smiled back.

‘Okay’, said Solly, rising from the chair, ‘lets get at it’. The twins then did something which took Jiraporns breath away, as it would most peoples, they took off their floral print calf length dresses, and the plain black cotton blouses, to reveal black tee shirts and very short denim shorts. Within 10 seconds they had transformed from conservatively dressed young women to outrageously stunning girls. The blouses and skirts were quickly folded and concealed in shoulder bags, out of which came two black baseball caps. With a twist of the wrist and fingers, their long flowing hair disappeared under the caps. The footwear remained the same, almost flesh coloured Nike trainers and the whole deal was finished off with the girls covering their faces with black face masks, which had never stopped being popular with many Asians since the 2003 Sars outbreak. ‘Wow’, said Jiraporn, mouth slightly open, ‘I think I need to get a couple of pairs of denim shorts and some plain tops, that was impressive’. Solly’s eyes smiled at Jiraporn, ‘That is a good idea, and one that I need to see in person’, they all laughed and moved toward the backdoor. 

Solly turned to Jiraporn, ‘If all goes well, call me when you get home, and we can arrange to meet tomorrow at the hospital to see Nick, if it doesn’t go well - then we will see what happens. But I am hoping it will all be good, take care and thank you for coming tonight, even though it is a difficult time, it is really good to see you again’. Jiraporn looked at him and then put her arms around his waist and gave him a hug, ‘Thanks Solly, for everything, see you tomorrow’, and gave him a kiss on his cheek then turned and followed the twins who were half out of the door. Solly raised his voice slightly to them and said ‘Take care, see you soon’, the girls turned their heads and smiled, ‘Don’t get into any trouble without us’, their usual parting message to him.

Solly closed the door behind them, not locking it so they could get back in, picked up the laptop and mouse and went into the bar. He sat on a bar stool on the customers side and called over to a slim, attractive lady in her late 30’s who was chatting with a couple of other girls on the patio. ‘Fern’, he smiled when she had approached him, ‘can you look after the bar while the twins see our friend back home?, they shouldn’t be long’. ‘Of course, there’s not much happening out here tonight, do you want me to get you a beer?’. Solly thought for a moment, ‘No’, he said, 'I think I will have a few days on the wagon, see if I can lose some of this’, and he patted his slightly overweight stomach, ‘I’ll make another mug of tea in a bit’. Solly looked around and saw that his customers had now dwindled to two, so he called all the girls over to him. ‘ I’ve just had some bad news which I want to tell you about, Nick’s in hospital - he’s come off his bike. He’s hurt quite badly, a broken leg and a couple of other things, but it looks like he will be okay, but for the next few days, the twins will be in and out of here quite a lot. This shouldn’t affect you, apart from maybe Fern, who I hope will spend a bit more time behind the bar. I am about to post on the website, so you might get a few people asking about him. Basically he needs rest and at the moment, no visitors. Other than that, I will be here most of the time with the twins doing the running around’. Fern spoke for them all and said they wanted Nick to get better soon, and she was happy to work the bar - it was going to be like old times, she smiled. The girls all nodded and murmured their concern and willingness to fit in. Solly thanked them all, and said it was times like this he really appreciated how lucky he was to have such great staff, and he meant it. 

With that, Solly opened up the laptop and started to compose the post’s online about Nick’s accident. It wasn’t long before he was getting replies, he responded to a few but after 20 minutes or so closed the laptop, enough had been said. He picked up the computer, went back into the Grotto and made another mug of tea. 

The twins opened the metal gate that secured the backyard of the Blue Parrot, once all three were through the gate, Tukta padlocked it.  She paused and spoke to Jiraporn, ‘Solly, Ying and I have keys for this and there is a spare for when we have forgotten ours. It is here.’ She bent down and moved a small brick in the wall supporting the metal gate, the brick slid out just an inch, but enough to reveal a brass key. She slid it back and no-one would guess it was there. Ying pointed back through the metal cage surrounding the rear of the Blue Parrot, ‘You see those fire escape stairs’, she said ‘They go up to a storage room above the Grotto which accesses the whole building, but the internal door is bolted and padlocked from the far side. But if you ever need to stay hidden for a while, that storage room will give it to you and the padlock on that outside door is opened with this same key. It may be useful to know one day. We call that room The Snug and’, looking at Tukta she concluded, ‘we really need to give it a clean soon’. ‘We will’ responded Tukta.

The back Soi they had come out into was wide enough for two large people to walk side by side, so enough room to park a bike close to the walls and still leave space for another bike to pass, slowly. If you turned right, you would get to Soi Salawat itself within 10 metres, but if you turned left the back Soi headed off to the unknown. It was unlit, with just a few lights from the tiny rooms that many of the working girls used as accommodation. It wasn’t a place you would walk down through choice, but for those who knew their way around, it was a very handy rat-run to quickly get to other parts of the bar area and beyond. Jiraporn could just about make out two motorbikes parked closely to the wall, both facing toward the left. Tukta turned to Jiraporn and said, ‘Walk down there for about 15 metres and you will come to a small junction, turn right and carry on for 10 metres and there is a second junction, you will see the turning you took to get to the Chinese Temple. We will stay at that second junction while you get your car. When we see you coming out we will follow you. Drive, not too fast, not too slow and head past the Hilton, then past the Sofitel and go along to Soi Salawat. Cross Petchkasem Road into Soi Salawat and turn left into the first back Soi on Salawat and pull over. We will be behind you all the time, but we will also be dropping back occasionally to see if anyone is following you. Okay?’ Jiraporn nodded, becoming more and more aware that these two girls had a history that, one day, she was going to enjoy finding out about with them, ‘Okay, see you on the first back Soi on Salawat’, and she set off, aware of the girls behind her rolling one of the bikes. 

Jiraporn crossed into the slipway for the Chinese temple, which also led to the Hilton beach public entrance. About 10 metres before she got to her car she stopped, fumbled in her handbag and took out her phone, she wasn’t going to use it, but it was a good way to take a little time to see if anyone was watching her car, after 20 seconds of miming conversation into the phone and checking out the surroundings she felt sure she was unobserved, and continued. Jiraporn got in the car and started up the motor, reversed out of the parking spot and headed back to the junction. The twins were astride the bike and gave her a nod, she then turned left along Naresdamri Road, the main tourist street in Hua Hin. She passed the Hilton on her left, then crossed the Beach Road, or Soi 61 as it is officially called, and carried on south past the Sofitel until she came to a small right turn going to Soi Salawat, officially known as Soi 80. Getting into Salawat involved crossing Petchkasem Road, the main dual carriageway through not just Hua Hin, but going all the way from Bangkok to Malaysia, but that would be a trip for another day. The traffic at 9pm was quiet, so crossing was not a problem and she soon found herself turning left into the first back Soi on Salawat. After 20 seconds the twins pulled up next to her. Tukta, who was driving the bike, said ‘Ying’s going to stay here and walk up the main Back Soi, I will drive up it now and see if there is anyone hanging around Nick’s house. I will come right back either way and tell you both. If it’s all clear then you drive up and park a couple of houses up or down from Nick’s and go in and get the stuff. we will be watching out for you. When you get the stuff, come out as soon as you can and we all return here. Okay, see you soon’, and Tukta rode off making a swift right turn up the main back Soi. Within 2 minutes she had returned, pulled up again and said as far as she could tell, it was all clear - no one to be seen. So they went off again, this time Tukta went up the main Soi Salawat to another of the connecting Soi’s, while Jiraporn drove up the main back Soi to Nicks, Ying followed her on foot. As Jiraporn pulled up just past Nick’ house she could see Tukta ahead of her about 20 metres, parked and barely noticeable. As she got out of the car she could see Ying about 20 metres behind her, again if you weren’t looking for her you wouldn’t see her. Jiraporn walked briskly to Nick’s house, not having been here for 6 years it felt slightly odd, but she couldn’t dwell on that. She opened her handbag and got the little purse she had taken from her bedroom drawer, she took out a key and opened the front gate into the carport. She turned and closed the gate, briefly looking around to see if she had attracted any attention - she couldn’t see anything unusual and proceeded to the front door, took out another key and opened it. Stepping inside, she was struck by the aroma, so familiar, nothing unusual, but so Nick. She also nearly jumped out of her skin when a cat brushed past her leg and meowed. ‘Hello’, she said ‘You must be Padme’, the cat purred as Jiraporn tickled behind Padme’s ear. ‘It’s good to meet you but I must get on’, feeling perfectly at home with her new friend. Jiraporn walked the 6 or 7 paces to the kitchen area and looked above the work surface and below the cupboards. It was still there, two electric sockets, each capable of housing 4 plugs. The one of the left had no plugs, the one on the right had 2 in place. Jiraporn went to the one on the left, took out another slim key from her purse, inserted it into the earth hole of the top right socket and turned the key. Magically the whole socket swung open to reveal a tiny safe, in which was a handy drive and a roll of what looked like about 50,000 Thai Baht. She took both, placing them in her handbag and locked the mini-safe back up. She then looked down at the floor and picked up the cats feeding and drinking bowls and went to the fridge. She found some milk and topped up one, then found some cat food and emptied the contents into the other. Padme was purring like mad and didn’t stop to thank Jiraporn when the bowls were placed back on the floor. Padme was now a happy cat. Jiraporn went back to the front door, turned around for a last brief look and thought ‘I’m coming back here again soon’. With that, she left the house, locking it back up as it was, went through the car port and again, locked it back up as she stepped out on to Back Soi Salawat. She could still see the twins who hadn’t moved, and got back into her car and quietly started the motor, drove up the soi until she came to where the now departed Tukta had been, did a u-turn and returned to where they had been, not 3 minutes ago, the twins were already there. 

Ying approached Jiraporn’s side window, ‘All good?’ she asked. ‘Yes, all fine, I have the handy drive as well as some money to give to Nick if he needs it, it is not a bad thing to let the hospital know that patients are able to meet any expenses. I also fed the cat’, and they all smiled. Jiraporn decide to get out of the car, ‘I am going to go home now and see what I can find on Nick’s Netbook and handy drive, I will be going to the hospital tomorrow morning to see Nick, and probably Solly too, but while we are here, just the three of us, I want to say what a real pleasure it's been to have met you. Within less than 2 hours I feel I’ve got two sisters, and I’m so happy about that. You are amazing people and I know we are going to know each other for a very long time. It is so good to have people that you just feel at home with, all the time, thank you’. Tukta had gotten off the bike and she and Ying both came to Jiraporn and they all put their arms around each other. It was Ying who kissed Jiraporn on the cheek first, and Jiraporn responded likewise, then Tukta, not wanting to be outdone, did the same with exactly the same result. They all stayed like that for a few moments, maybe a few moments more than was necessary, but no one moved and no one complained. In a place that could be so cruel, at a time when nothing seemed certain, having each other was something the twins had relied on for many years, and now they welcomed Jiraporn into their place of security, with genuine warmth and affection and Jiraporn felt blessed.

‘Okay,’ said Jiraporn, I must make a move home, take care and give Solly a hug for me. See you both tomorrow at some time’. ‘Take care’, said the twins as they got back on the bike, ‘Are you going back into town or over Soi 88 to the bypass?’. Jiraporn thought for a moment, ‘From here, it’s probably quicker over Soi 88, I know the road well and in 20 minutes I should be back home - I’ll call Solly when I get there’. ‘Okay,’ the girls replied, ‘Safe trip’, and they got on the bike and went back to the Blue Parrot. Jiraporn drove to the top of main Soi Salawat, turned left along the railway road and then left again to follow Soi 88 over the hills to the bypass. There was very little traffic and no headlights behind her. She was following the route Nick had taken 8 or 9 hours earlier to get to the Rajabhat, but just before she got to her place of work Jiraporn turned right to get home. All the time checking to see if anyone was following, there wasn’t. As she pulled into the 4 buildings that made up Baan Nong Khra, the only home she had known, she felt as though she was a different woman from the one that had left 3 hours ago. Even as she got out of the car and locked the door, she was looking back the way she had come for unusual lights or sounds, none of which occurred. She thought her life had changed, she had certainly become aware of dangers she hadn’t been aware of before. But she had also regained a friendship with Solly for which she was very grateful, and discovered a remarkable pair of young women who had truly amazed her. 

She was now going to have to consider how to merge all this new information with her old life, most notably her mother and daughter. She was thinking this as the front door opened and Sophea stood in the light, welcoming her, there had not been many times when this simple act had meant so much. ‘Come in’, said Sophea, and Jiraporn went up to her mother and held her close. ‘Thank you’ she said, ‘it is good to be back home’.