Breeders (3 page)

“Dammit. Wait till I get my hands on Nice. I’m going to fire the idiot.”

The female voice on the other end sighed. “How the hell did he manage to kill the poor woman so fast?”

Thak pursed his lips and quickened his pace. He needed to get to the clinic as soon as possible, before the Interpol agents arrived. “He injected the cells straight into the kidneys instead of performing a blood transfusion to create the progenitor cells.” He spat on the ground then strode toward his Mercedes S-Class parked across the road. “He got greedy and performed a procedure that he knew nothing about.”

“I’m sorry, Doctor. He’s caused us a lot of unnecessary attention.” She paused. “Attention we could rather do without at this particular moment in time.”

“I know, Sunee, I know. Our research was going so well.” He pressed the remote and the car’s alarm beeped twice. He slipped inside, cranked the ignition, and clipped the phone into the Bluetooth car kit. “Keep me updated. I need to know anything new you find out. What was the prognosis?”

“They haven’t figured it out yet. The stem cells morphed into blood vessels; they could have been anything as far as the coroner is concerned.”

“So how did they get onto us so soon?”

“The woman died in a Bangkok hospital, but she managed to spill the beans before her death. They’re interviewing her physician now. She told him everything.”

“Everything?”

“Everything she knew.”

“Which was . . .?”

“Not much. They now know about the stem cell treatment. But not much more.”

Wattana felt the familiar boil of anger. The Voice blinked, crawled forward from his dark hiding place, then slammed the steering wheel with his palm. “Shit, I’m going to rip his goddamn head off.”

Sunee kept quiet.

The Voice breathed deeply then headed for the airport. “OK, keep me updated. Anything new. You know I always reward you well.”

“Don’t worry, I will. When will I see you again?”

The Voice smiled at the memories of their previous meeting and immediately felt a hard-on develop. Sunee had some amazing skills. She used to be a gymnast, apparently made it all the way to the Thai Olympic team. “Soon, my Lotus blossom, soon.” He disconnected the call then slammed the steering wheel again.

Damn Nice. He was going to rip his damn head off.

Alexa and Neil caught the early morning flight to Pattaya then took a cab to the Happy Sunshine Clinic. It was located in a mountainous area, a fifteen-minute drive from the airport along a lovely scenic route with spectacular views of the ocean. The higher up the mountain the road meandered, the more breathtaking the view became.

“I guess I know why they call it Happy Sunshine,” Neil said, shading his eyes with his hand. He wore Bermuda shorts and a neatly pressed polo shirt. The day-old stubble on his face belied the fact that he was meticulous with his grooming, something that irked Alexa when she was in a hurry.
 

He smiled his boyish grin at her. “What?”

Alexa smiled and placed a hand on his leg. She kept thinking of what she would do without him. He had taken bullets for her. She shivered as the recollections of their previous mission played in her mind, like demons that couldn’t be exorcised. The beatings she had to endure. Neil had selflessly risked his life to save hers. “I love you, Neil. You know that, right?”

Neil turned to her, cupping her chin with his hand. He kissed her gently, softly, his tongue probing hers. She felt her desire for him grow. He pulled back, his hand still on her chin. “I know, baby. We’ll get through this together, you’ll see.”

She sighed, gripping his powerful arms feverishly, siphoning the strength that she needed so desperately from his confident presence. “I know, it’s just—”

“Look,” Neil said, glancing out the window.

As they approached the clinic, civilians congested the road, gawking over each other’s shoulders and jostling for position. The front of the clinic had been cordoned off with yellow tape, and several police vehicles and a mortuary van stood in the driveway. A dozen cops stood in front of the building, keeping the crowd at bay and talking urgently into two-way radios.

Alexa paid the driver then followed Neil as he barged through the crowd. She waved over a policeman as they strode up to the cordon. He looked at her disinterestedly. “No entry, this is a crime scene,” he said in broken English.

Alexa flipped open her Interpol ID badge and showed it to the man.

He raised his eyebrows and nodded curtly. “What does Interpol want here?”

“We’re investigating a case up in Bangkok, and some information led us to Happy Sunshine.”

“Information?”

“Yes, a woman who was treated here recently has died.”

The man nodded and lifted the tape. “Follow me,” he said and marched toward the entrance. “You need to speak to Police Colonel Wakaido,” he said over his shoulder. “He’s leading the investigation.”

They followed the cop through the doors and were ushered into a tiny office already occupied by two other men. The cop introduced Alexa to Wakaido, a portly man with a worried look on his face.

Wakaido nodded when Alexa introduced herself and Neil. He introduced Dr. Thak Wattana, a short man with wide shoulders. He was the head of the clinic. He smiled at Alexa. He looked tired.

“What happened here?” Neil asked.

Wakaido turned to Neil then shrugged. “A man was murdered. Nothing of international importance.”

“Who?”

“His name was Mr. Nice Sukhon, Dr. Wattana’s assistant.”

Dr. Wattana stood up from his chair to hold out a hand to Neil. “Good day, Sergeant Allen. Mr. Sukhon was my right-hand man.” He removed a pair of wire-frame glasses from his bloodshot eyes. “He will be a hard man to replace.” He turned to Alexa and shook her hand. He wore his black hair in a ponytail. He had intelligent eyes and a strong physique.
 

“Is this an abortion clinic, Doctor?” Alexa asked, studying the wall of Dr. Wattana’s certificates. They were impressive. Apart from qualifying as a surgeon in the United Kingdom, he also held a fellowship at the Royal College of Surgeons.
 

Wattana turned to Alexa, his brow furrowed. He shook his head vehemently. “No, no, no, absolutely not. Abortion is illegal in Thailand.” He popped his glasses back on and took a deep breath before continuing. “We perform small surgeries and general cosmetic procedures, such as Botox treatment.” He smiled. “We’re moving into a child foster care program, a project which is very dear to me,” he said with a slight British accent.
 

Neil frowned. “The Bangkok police believe that you’re running an illegal abortion clinic.”

Wattana looked up in surprise. “They do?” He sauntered to his chair, his hand on his chin. He slipped into his chair then took a pencil and tapped it on his notepad, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment he looked up at Neil. “To understand what we do here, you must understand the demographics of Pattaya. We have the highest incidence of prostitution in the world. Ladies get pregnant, and they cannot work during that time. Most of them don’t want the babies; their parents would frown upon them for birthing a child from a foreigner.”

Alexa chuckled. “But the parents don’t mind that they work as prostitutes?”

The doctor regarded her for a second. “A bit of a dichotomy, I agree. But the Buddhist culture teaches us not to judge. So no, the parents do not mind their daughters working as prostitutes; the average street worker cares for more than eight family members.” He leaned back in his chair. “But having a baby conceived by a non-Buddhist is not acceptable.”

“So you deliver the babies and put them up for adoption?” Alexa asked, removing a stick of gum and popping it in her mouth. She offered one to Wattana.

Wattana smiled, a sympathetic shake of the head. “Well, there’s a lot more to it than that, but essentially you’re right.”

Alexa nodded, tapping her lip. “Do you know someone called Imelda Borges?”

“I cannot say that I do. Why?”

“She received treatment at this clinic a couple of weeks ago. She suffered from lupus nephritis, and Nice, your assistant, performed a procedure on her.”

Wattana leaned back in his chair, shaking his head slowly. “We do not treat lupus here. We’re not qualified to do so. And Nice was my assistant; he handed me the injections and facial scrubs for the procedures that I perform.” He shrugged. “I’m the only person qualified to perform the procedures.”

“Do you have any record of the surgeries performed?”

Wattana nodded then turned toward an antiquated computer on his desk. “Yes, we keep meticulous records of all our treatments.” He looked up from the screen, the green characters reflecting in his glasses. “But again, I emphasize that we do not perform any advanced surgeries.”
 

Alexa popped the gum from her mouth and rolled it in her hand.
 

“Find anything?” she asked.

Neil stood behind her, peering at the screen. She leaned closer to Wattana then stuck the gum beneath his table.

The doctor’s eyes narrowed as he inspected the screen. She noticed that he had a tattoo on his wrist: an on/off button, like the one on a computer.
 

Wattana shook his head. “No, we haven’t had any patient by the name of Imelda Borges during the past year.” He glanced up at Alexa. “When was the procedure performed?”

“Three weeks ago.”

Dr. Wattana’s eyebrows shot up. “I wasn’t here three weeks ago. I attended a seminar in Singapore from the twelfth to the twenty-seventh. I only came back this week.”

Alexa and Neil exchanged a quick glance. “So you’re saying Sukhon performed the surgery illegally?” Neil asked.

Dr. Wattana closed his eyes and sighed. “Nice was my right-hand man. I trusted him implicitly.”

Alexa nodded. “All right then, do you have a business card?”

“Yes, sure.” Wattana removed a business card from a holder, flipped it over, and scribbled something on the back. “My personal cell number. If you need any information or find out anything new, please give me a call.”

Alexa thanked the doctor, greeted the chief inspector, and headed toward the exit.

“You believe him?” Neil asked as they made their way through the crowd.

“Nope. I’d like to do some background checks.”

“Leave that to me,” Neil said and started punching a number into his phone. “While we’re here, we should visit the beach, don’t you think?”

Alexa smiled and hailed a cab. “You took the words right out of my mouth, Sergeant.”

Neil held the door open. “There’s a lot more I want to do with that mouth of yours, Captain,” Neil said with a devilish grin.

Alexa closed the taps of the tub and lay back in the bubbles. She heard her cell phone ring and called out for Neil to answer it. A moment later he strolled into the bathroom and held it out to Alexa. “It’s the general.”

She took the phone and glanced at him appreciatively. He was wearing only a towel. “Bonjour, General.”

“Bonjour, Captain. I read your report. It seems as if there are some underhanded dealings going on at Happy Sunshine.”

“Yes, General. What do you want us to do?”

“Nothing, we’ve wasted enough time on the CDC’s request already. Let the Thai police deal with their own scoundrels. I can hardly justify this as a case of international importance.”

Alexa nodded. “OK, General, we’ll catch the next available flight up to Lyon, then.”

“Not so fast, my girl. I have something else that may be of interest.”

“Yes?”

“A case where you get to see your dad as well.”

Alexa sighed. Laiveaux was stretching this out for effect. “Yes, General?”

Neil sat on the edge of the tub and started massaging her shoulders.

“Strange things have been happening in Cape Town; sneakers have been washing up on shore, and now a certain Inspector Moolman has found about thirty shoes floating ten miles offshore.”

Alexa chuckled. “Now, now, General. Since when have we become investigators for the lost shoe brigade?”

 
“There’s more.”

Alexa closed her eyes, enjoying the massage. “What else, General?”

“The shoes contain human feet.”

Alexa sat up straight in the bath, spilling water on the floor. “What?”

“You heard me. They all contain skeletal remains of human feet.”

“When can we leave, General?”

“Tonight, if possible.”

Alexa nodded. “Certainly, General. We’re on our way,” she said, standing up in the tub.

“Send my regards to Bruce. He’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“I will, General. Au revoir,” Alexa said, stepping out of the bath and grabbing a towel.

“Good-bye, my girl. Keep safe.”

Neil watched her with an appreciative grin. “You’re in a hurry.”

“Yes, we need to go. We have a new case,” Alexa said, gathering her cosmetics into a vanity.

Neil dropped his towel. “So soon?”

Alexa glanced at Neil over her shoulder then smiled. She walked up to him and put her arms around his neck. “I guess we could spare a couple of minutes,” she whispered huskily.