Singapore Sling Shot - Andrew Grant [104]
“He took his clothing from his locker and his wallet.”
“He took the cellphone?”
“Yes, apparently.”
“Thank God for that,” Sami replied. He had sent a new mobile for Daniel because the previous one had been mashed when his friend had smashed him to the ground in the instant when he’d saved his life. At least the phone meant that he had the means of contacting Daniel.
“Thank you, Doctor. If I hear anything I will let you know. You have alerted the police?”
“Of course, Mr Somsak. They are looking for him. If I receive any news I will contact you. The police asked for a photograph of Mr Crewe. Perhaps you have one?”
“I will see if there is one. Thank you.” Sami broke the connection.
A photograph of Daniel could be a double-edged sword and do more harm than good, especially if people remembered him as Ed Davidson. Questions would be asked. There would be no photograph.
Sami flicked on his cell and found his address book to get the number of Daniel’s new mobile. He hoped that his old friend hadn’t yet remembered his evasive skills and that the police would find him before he vanished to wherever he was heading. Would he go back to the Miramar or even the Carlton? Would he remember exactly who he was or would he be lost in a sea of former identities? Loose cannon wasn’t a term that Sami Somsak normally used to describe his friend, but in this case it was probably accurate.
“Yes?”
“Daniel. It’s Sami. Where are you?”
“I don’t know you. Goodbye.”
“Daniel?” Sami was speaking to a dead phone. “Oh, Daniel,” he sighed. He wouldn’t try again. Not now. Tomorrow, perhaps, when hopefully the fog had lifted from his old friend’s mind.
Sami stood. He was in his apartment, preparing to assume the identity of the old man yet again. The old man had been busy. He had a plan to get to Thomas Lu. It would just take time for it to be implemented, and he hoped that when that time came, he would have a mended Daniel Swann at his side. He also hoped that K would be there with them and he wouldn’t have to execute him for being a traitor.
I like this place! The jungle is my friend. The rain doesn’t bother me.
I have found a place that is dry. The house is old but it has a roof.
I made a snare and I caught a pig. Then I made a fire to cook it over. It tastes good. I like pig. There is fruit and there are coconuts. I found a big knife and I can open the coconuts with that.
I saw a man on the road when I came back here with my pig. He walked away quickly. There is a place where the river flows in and beside it a boat sits on the shore. There is a net in the boat. When I’ve eaten the pig, I will catch fish. I know I have never been hungry in the jungle, but I don’t know how I know this. The jungle is my friend. It is my new home.
The man called Sami has used the cellular phone again. He tells me he is my friend and we have known each other for many years. I don’t know him. I was going to throw the phone away, but I will keep it. If he is my friend, as he says, perhaps soon I will know him again.
My mind is becoming clearer, I think. I can remember a lady. I think she is my wife. Her name is Sylvia. I can also remember a man, an old man. I don’t think he is my friend because I think I have put a knife in his throat.
I can hear voices, many voices. There are men in uniform in the jungle below me. I don’t know these men. They have guns on their hips. I must hide from them.
“They have found him, or rather found his location.”
“Where is that, Doctor?”
“An island. Pulau Ubin, the Granite Island. It is a few kilometres off Changi.”
“How do they know he’s there?”
“A worker on the island saw a man carrying a dead pig along a pathway in the jungle. The man was big and European. He had a shaved head and was dressed in a suit with no shirt and no shoes. The worker reported what he had seen to the island police. They spoke to the men who run the bumboats from Changi and they remembered