Bangkok, ThailandNothing smelled sweeter than the rain in Bangkok. Catherine loved to look outside and just watch it fall, taking in the cool air, and soft scent just like how she remembered London and their family's little country home. It was the perfect place to be on days like this. Before, she didn't care much for the company since their parents passed away, leaving her and Dave to figure out this crazy world all by themselves.An hour after their trip, Catherine couldn't help herself but ask. "Are you sure telling that detective where we're up to was a good idea?" She cast her husband a sceptical look in the mirror while he was busy blurring his eyeballs from the Bangkok early morning traffic. "I mean, why wouldn’t he just set up a roadblock and bring us in?""I don’t think he'll do that, wife."Hearing him call her his wife many times now, Catherine couldn't help but smile. When he talked to her and looked at her, there was none of the bossy and demanding Catherine had used to
When they arrived at Lek-Mraphi's ancestral homes, the couple walked in the vast parking lot, holding hands like some ordinary tourist lovers on their honeymoon. Each wore a simple white and red-heart printed shirt and a pair of shoes, as they noticed how the business at the temple was on its usual day, like what happened days earlier never happened. The two each take a quarter of the room to search for any sign of the clues left by Dave. On the western side of the temple, there were colourful blossoms and symbols painted on the walls in different places. Some weren’t paintings at all but carvings engraved into the wall, floor, and stone underneath cutout recesses where small statues of Buddhas sat waiting to be worshipped. A vast altar space for monks' worship sat just on each side, which correlated with fire, air, earth, water, and wisdom. Shawn turned on his phone light to get a little extra help and began scanning every inch of the place. The room’s floor was mostly flat, save fo
"Shawn?" Catherine’s shouts echoed through the burial ground. "Where the hell are you?" "In here…" Shawn responded, "be careful…the floors are slippery." Two minutes later, Catherine appeared at the entrance with a small light from the tablet PC in her hand. "What on earth is this place?" "Come, let's see what’s down here." He knelt down in the centre of the rectangular indentation and started scraping away at the surface, working faster now that he had at least a minimal tool for the job. He added and motioned to his wife to see what he was pointing at. "This looks like Ban Chiang. I've been there before with my grandfather." "What is that?" "Ban Chiang, the... well- it was considered the most important prehistoric settlement so far discovered in Southeast Asia. It marks an important stage in human cultural, social, and technological evolution." "Really? You mean, a burial ground?" "Yes. The site presents the earliest evidence of farming in the region and of the manufacture and
London Elizabeth leaned on the railing, palms against the weld surface, fingers curled around the arched metal. She looked out the window at the enormous city below, a satisfied expression on her face, as she watched the ring on her finger. She had been anticipating this moment for months, and it had finally arrived. It was time to totally own the world, and maybe Alfonso could go to hell and she'd be smiling with no worry in the world, because the bastard deserved to suffer in there anyway. Eddie was standing next to her, arms crossed and a foot away from the glass that stretched the length of the wall and provided tourists with a 360-degree view of the city from the observation deck. A dozen feet beyond them, three men in suits stood on the stairs leading to another platform. Her secret lover was one of them, studying the admissions and departures with hawk-like eyes and looking for hostility in Eddie. After all, the old man did not know about her engagement with the younger guy.
Bangkok, Thailand. Wat Phra Kaew, or The Temple of the Emerald Buddha. ***** Dave asked the local guy how to get to the legendary temple, and the long-haired Thai happily assisted them. "My friend, The Wat, is located on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok." The man offered them some local spicy street food, which Dave heartily declined. He continued, "River taxis are the most inexpensive and enjoyable way to get to the Grand Palace and the temple. Unless an important ceremony is being conducted, the temple is generally open to the public. The complex gets busy; arrive early before the tour groups and tropical heat do." "Thank you for the information," Dave responded, his nose wrinkled at the smell of garbage in the area near the food stand vendors. "Neh, do not worry. Are you sure you don't want my chicken intestines?" Dave and Javier shook their heads as the man added, "OK! But you know, photography is allowed around the grounds of the Grand Palace, and it is forbidden in
Dave was perplexed as he took out the photograph of the dots he had taken from Lek-Mraphi's home. His gaze was drawn to its contents. The dots on the back were more distinct, but not entirely. His two captors stood a breath away, calm, but Dave could see the urgency in Javier's eyes. The man had grown exceedingly agitated, even twitchy. It was a trait he'd observed in many treasure hunters and his fellow artist over the years. The more novice treasure hunters searching for infinite wealth could practically taste their thoughts of a life of comfort and luxury as they got closer to their goal. Not that he could blame them, even Catherine doesn't have any idea about his many trips with the hunters duting his college days ans he knew well enough that Javier was worried. Even this skilled assassin appeared to have got the bug of excitement and anxtities or there was something else bothering him? However, the man in a uniform shirt had started to close up his counter and was about to annou
The astonished looks on the faces of Javier and the guard were priceless. Dave’s head went back and forth, not sure if he was hallucinating. "Oh, the happy couple. Am I glad to see you guys?" He sneered."It’s good to see you too, Javier."Shawn echoed the sentiment. "We weren’t sure if we were going to see you again.""Likewise," Dave replied, reflecting on the past weeks and winking at Catherine. “Hey, sis!”Javier and his companion stood frozen, like a deer-in-the-headlights look on each of their faces. Shawn cautiously stepped toward the group. "It wasn’t that difficult to find you, actually." He glared at Javier. "Shooting the man was a mistake, but leaving him alive was a bigger one. He gave us the final clue." Shawn smiled. "I have to say, though, that it was harder than it should have been to convince the local authorities that my historian needed to look at this ring and give them a lot of donations.”Dave stepped away from his kidnappers. "Thanks, gentlemen. It’s been fun,
Javier forced the group to walk quickly through the forest. He had overheard Shawn’s discussion with the authorities, so time, he understood, was running out. With frantic haste bordering on obsession, he hiked through the undergrowth. He growled and turned his head left and right every time a twig broke under someone’s foot.The Russian, too, looked nervous, making sure he covered a 360-degree area with his pistol as he whirled it around wildly.Shawn’s thoughts drifted to Catherine. He wished that the police would come fast enough to get her medical treatment. The wound hadn’t looked good, and his wife must have lost a tremendous amount of blood in a short amount of time.After a few more moments of marching through the trees, the group entered what Shawn had seen earlier. Dave stared at one of the most outstanding Buddha shrines he had ever seen. Loose ground encircled it, indicating that the enormous thing had been largely concealed and buried, if not totally underground for hun