Restless Soul - Alex Archer [53]
Annja enjoyed listening to him, liking the sound of his accent, which was still thickly British despite the years he’d obviously spent away from the country.
“You know, for quite a long time most of Northern Thailand was considered off-limits to anyone but the natives. There were lots of Communist insurgencies that made it not so safe. Couple that with drug issues from Myanmar—Burma—and all the little civil wars that spilled over the borders. There still are some tiffs from Myanmar that vex these hill tribes and the backpackers, but it’s not near the problem it used to be. Drug trafficking has been seriously cut. Still, one has to be a little cautious when traveling near the border, especially if you’re in Tak or Mae Hong Son.” He rocked back on his heels and looked to the doorway. “But I do babble, don’t you know. Wonder what’s keeping Som? Shouldn’t take her that long to find something suitable for—”
As if his words had been a gentle summons, the broad-shouldered woman entered, holding some folded garments in front of her. She smiled warmly and handed them to Doc, bowed, said something Annja couldn’t decipher and left with a few backward glances over her shoulder.
He held the clothes out to Annja.
“I’ve been talking up a storm,” he said. “I shouldn’t let my tongue wag so. It’s not polite. How about you do a little talking for a change? How about you answer some of the Thins’ questions…like what you did to get those men so angry, and what brought you three out here to the middle of nowhere in the first place.”
“It would only be polite,” Annja said. She let out a deep breath, the air whistling between her teeth. “All right. Sure. I am an archaeologist, Lu, too.” She proceeded to tell him about their trip to Tham Lod and then hiring Zakkarat to take them on a little more adventurous caving expedition, and about her plans to do a special for Chasing History’s Monsters on the teak coffins and the remains. She left out the part about the voice in her head and finding the skull bowl and the dog tags, but she did mention the treasure and the need to tell the authorities about it and the gunmen.
“I think they were Vietnamese, all the men with the guns, though they might have been Laotian, I suppose.” She didn’t tell him about the ones she’d killed on the mountainside, or that there might be more of them with the treasure.
“And so the men were shooting at you because they didn’t want witnesses to report their ill-gotten gold,” Doc finished. “Or who might come back and steal it. Not such a lovely vacation for the two of you, eh? Relic traffickers you ran into, no doubt, come from Myanmar or Laos, going to Myanmar or Laos or China and using the cave as a stopping point while arranging for buyers. It sounds like the same operation some folks used to follow for drug trafficking. And poor, beautiful Thailand is once again caught in the middle. And the unfortunate Thins were the victims yesterday.” He folded his arms. “Two villagers were killed during the ruckus. Two young men shot dead, leaving their families to grieve.”
14
Annja’s eyes grew wide. She hadn’t seen any villagers get shot, but after a moment she realized what had happened. “In the school. The bullets went through the wall.”
Doc nodded. “Two boys…well, two young men. Boon-mee and Tau were their names. I know most of the villagers here, and I’d gone fishing with Boon-mee on more than one occasion. Friendly chaps. I’d put them in their late teens. They don’t really keep track of age around here, so I can’t say exactly. Too young to die in any event. They will be buried later today. Good boys, they were.” He leaned forward, fingers gripping the edge of her pallet. “And the saddest thing is, Annja, the Thins couldn’t give a whit for treasure. They couldn’t care less. They live simply, want for little and wouldn’t pay the proverbial rat’s ass for whatever those men were smuggling. They’re not interested in Lu’s wealth or your celebrity.”
He turned his back to her. “I’ll leave