Poke Rafferty 1 - A Nail Through the Heart by Timothy Hallinan

Author:Timothy Hallinan [Hallinan, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Suspense Fiction, Travel Writers, Suspense, General, Bangkok (Thailand)
ISBN: 9780061257223
Google: HgTGXX1mJS8C
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2007-01-01T18:30:00+00:00

The Money Doesn’t Matter

e writes, carefully, “TEN MILLION BAHT.” He had wanted to demand 25 million, but a quick calculation told him that it would be too bulky. Not

manageable.

Anyway, the money doesn’t matter.

The restaurant is as empty as before, but the waitress is awake. She

greeted him as though he were a personal inconvenience, brought him

his sweetened iced coffee silently, and retreated to her chair and a Thai

movie magazine. The time is ten past four in the morning.

Chouk Ran—the man who called himself Chon—has placed a

bright blue zippered bag on the table beside his notepad and pencil.

He bought it on the street only two days ago, and the zipper is al

ready broken.

He moves the bag aside with his elbow to give himself writing

room.

“You will need to buy two large suitcases,” he writes. “They will need wheels, because they will be heavy.” He pauses and reviews the

letter in his mind, where he has written and rewritten it many times. He reproaches himself for his failure of nerve, for the time he has wasted: There are only six days remaining to him before one of them must die.

“Put the money in the suitcases. It should be in bills of 500 and 1000 baht. Tomorrow afternoon at four, a maid from your house will come out of the gate alone, with the suitcases. This is why they must have wheels. She will turn left, walk to the intersection, and get a taxi. She will put the suitcases in the trunk. I know your staff by sight, so I will know if she is not one of your maids. I will know if she is not alone. I will know if she doesn’t get a real taxi. If she does not follow directions, you will lose the money and you will not get the envelope.”

He sips the iced coffee. The ice has melted, and the drink tastes watery. He tries to remember when he slept last.

“She will carry the cellular phone I have enclosed in this package,” he writes. He reaches into the blue bag and pulls out a small Nokia cell phone. He pushes the “power” button and checks the battery level, although he has done this three times already.

“She will return in two hours or a little more. If you have done as I say, she will have the envelope with her. That will be the end of our business.”

He puts down the pencil and lights a cigarette. He lets the letter rest for a few minutes before he rereads it.

Her anger will be immeasurable. She will want to kill someone. He once saw her kill a four-year-old child because it was crying.

She will send the money. He is certain of that. As much pain as it causes her, she will send it. For the first time in her adult life, perhaps, she will have no alternative but to do as she is told. He tries to imagine the agony she will feel when she realizes she has no choice but to comply.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.