Chapter 25
Around the corner I could make out another shack, maybe 100 feet away. There were no lights on outside, but I still stood and watched for a few minutes, just in case someone was sat on the porch in the dark. I walked through the sand straight back and then turned to come back to the side of the other shack. I could see a light was on inside, only a dim light, but enough that I was sure that Juan and Maia were inside.
As I approached, I could hear soft talking inside so of course I was curious as to what was being said. The sound of running water stopped as I approached, meaning maybe someone had just finished showering. The silence was eerie as I got closer to the shack and I was thankful that the sand helped keep my walking quiet. As I came to the shack the talking began again and I was sure that it was a conversation between Juan and Maia.
"How are her wounds?"
"Healing, she seems a lot better now"
"Good. Is she fit to travel?"
"I don't see why not. Did you get anything else from her today?"
"Nah. I'm not sure if she's holding back though"
"Juan we need to be sure that she doesn't know anything else"
"Why don't you ask her then?"
"Because she'd be suspicious of that. She thinks I'm just here to tend to her injuries"
"What do you suggest then?"
"That she's not going to say anything because maybe she doesn't know anything. We need to get back to looking for that information"
"Maybe you're right Maia"
"Are you sure Ranger got the information, what about the other two men or even the men that attacked them?"
"If the men who attacked them had it then they wouldn't still be looking for it"
"The others that were there?"
"Maybe that's where we need to go back to"
"Back home. I thought you checked?"
"I did. As soon as Ranger left the house, I went there but I couldn't find anyone or even any bodies"
"Tomorrow, what do we do with her?"
"I'll arrange for one of the men to escort her back to the States"
"Now you're talking, I'm fed up of playing nursemaid to her"
"Come here honey, but keep the noise down"
I heard a giggle before the silence and almost jumped when the side of the shack began to shake, hell, there was no way I was going to stay here and listen to them having sex. It did mean though that they'd be occupied for a while, enough time for me to make my escape. I walked away from the sea until I came to a sandy track and then keeping to one side started to walk. Whilst it was dark and quiet being here on the track, I had a feeling of liberation engulf me. I hadn't realized just how stifling being with Juan and Maia had been or how much on guard I had been.
It wasn't far before I came across a white truck, dirty but it seemed quite a new vehicle. I was assuming that this was Juan's truck seeing as I hadn't come across anymore on the track. It was times like this that I wished I could hotwire a car, but then again if it was new then that probably wouldn't have worked.
Out of curiosity I tried the driver's door, surprised when it opened, and no alarms went off. Sitting in the driver's seat I wondered whether or not Juan would have left the keys in here. No, he wasn't that stupid, was he? As the idea took hold, I started to look in all of the obvious places. Behind the visor, inside the glove compartment, in the compartment in the driver's door and was beginning to feel that the idea had been a stupid one when I saw a large blue button that had start written on it. If the keys were inside the truck then the engine would start, wouldn't it? I made sure the lever was in neutral, pushed the brake pedal down and pushed the button, so excited when the engine caught and started to run. I closed the door and locked it then pushed the lever into drive and slowly eased my foot down on the accelerator.
Sihanoukville, was the sign I saw when I eventually pulled off the sand track and onto what looked like a decent road. I had the lights on as I drove, but then I panicked when I had to decide which side of the road to drive on. I stuck to the right, mainly because that was what I thought I remembered from being with Arun in the tuck-tuck. Of course, the fact that the steering wheel was on the left should have computed in my brain, but it felt like an age since I had driven anything. The further I drove the more confident I became so increased my speed. A quick look at the clock on the dash told me it was only 2.30am, so hopefully Juan was still unaware that I'd left the beach and had stolen his truck. It did make me wonder if he had trackers in his truck, that's what Ranger would do and seeing as Juan said he ran a business involving body guarding I became increasing concerned that there would be one on here somewhere.
As I came closer to the place called Sihanoukville there were more vehicles on the road, slowing down I kept looking at the signs as I went past them and on a whim turned left to follow a sign to the beach. Maybe I got lost a few times, hell the streets were so narrow but eventually, maybe by luck, I found I was driving along a road that was running parallel to the sea. Deciding I was probably pushing my luck being in this truck any longer, I pulled into what looked to be a parking area. I was sat facing the sea, deciding what to do next and decided to explore the truck further.
I found what looked to be a fob on a ring with some other keys in the central arm rest and was trying to work out what the keys might be. If this one of the Rangeman vehicles the key would be for a lockbox so feeling under my seat I started to explore the inside of the truck. I struck lucky underneath the passenger seat so laying across the consul used the key to open a metal box secured to the floor.
I suppose I should have expected to find a gun and spare magazines but as I held the gun in my hand, I wasn't too sure whether or not to take it. In the end I put it back, I didn't like guns at the best of times and just wasn't prepared to take the risk of being caught with one. The rest of my snooping didn't give me much but a card that might have been Juan's business went into my rucksack. I took the keys with me as I exited from the truck and as I walked down the street threw them into a trash can.
I had to decide what to do next knowing I needed to get as far away from here as possible. Walking across the street I headed up into what seemed to be the main area of the town. It was a strange place really with a narrow street and sandy areas to the sides. It seemed to be full of hotels and accommodation, along with restaurants that were closed up for the night. I wasn't too sure if walking alone along the street would be too obvious so when a tuk-tuk pulled up next to me, I thought maybe at least I could ask him to take me to the bus station. Surely there'd be buses that left here regularly.
Once I'd paid the young man I went into the station and started to look for some sort of timetable. There were two places I could go to, that I knew of, Phnom Penh where everything seemed to have started or Siem Reap where I'd found Ronteah. I wasn't too sure of going to the capital. That was where Juan said he was going to next and it was a big place so I had no idea of what I might look for there. For some reason I felt a draw to go back to Siem Reap though I had no idea why. A bus was leaving at 5am for Siem Reap so that became my deciding factor. I paid for a ticket using the dollars still in my wallet and then walked through a security area.
I was grateful that I hadn't brought that gun with me when the uniformed man started to look through my bag. I had just over an hour to wait and hoped that would be enough time to elude Juan if he followed me here. I sat in a seat so that I could see any of the entrances and waited. I knew I was tired but there was no way my nerves would allow me to sleep. I people watched as they moved about the station, beyond the glass screens surrounding the departure area.
At one stage I stood up and walked around, trying to ease my muscles that were aching and observed as more people came into the waiting area, pleased that some of the faces looked as though they were tourists. The closer we got to the time of departure the more nervous I became, but at least now there were more people to hide in as we waited for the bus. I was surprised when a sign lit up announcing the departure for Siem Reap and saw beyond a doorway a small minibus. I'd actually expected to be riding on something bigger and as a crowd of people moved forward, I was dismayed that it would probably be full.
Showing my ticket, I walked over to the minibus and not having any baggage was first to board. I was debating where the best place was to sit and went to the back of the bus in the middle seat. Logic told me that would be the best place to be so that no one looking into the bus would see me. There were a few seats left empty by the time we started to move, most people opting to sit near the front or next to a window. As we started to drive out of the town, I felt a weariness come over me so set my rucksack behind my head, stretched out my legs in front of me and somehow fell asleep.
I was shaken awake by an elderly man, opening my eyes to stare at him.
"Sorry luv, but we need to change buses here"
"Where are we?"
"Phnom Penh"
How ironic was that, the place that I had considered coming to to start with. Rubbing my eyes and face first I turned and strapped my rucksack to my front. I still felt so tired but followed the man from the bus. At least there were places open here and maybe there'd be some toilets. As the man came to a stop, I decided to push him for more information.
"How long before the bus continues?"
"30 minutes but I think it'll be a different bus, maybe a bigger one. You're new at this aren't you?"
"Yeah, sorry"
"No problem. You show your ticket and go through to the waiting area like you did before"
"Thank you"
I followed as people started to leave the area and found myself in the main area of the bus station so started to look around for a toilet. At least the signs here were the same as anywhere else so I was soon using the facilities, even though they were a bit grimy. As I made my way back to the departure area, I bought some water to drink and what looked like a sandwich. I was feeling pretty hungry as I eventually sat down in the waiting area and unwrapped the sandwich and opened the water. It would do for breakfast, though a look at the time told me it was 11 in the morning.
As I stood to push my rubbish in a trash can the departure board showed that the bus for Siem Reap was boarding so I made my way through the gate and down to the number that had been indicated. The man had been right because this time there was a large bus parked in the parking bay, with fewer people waiting to board.
I had the luxury of the back seat to myself, that's how quiet the bus was and as it started to move out of the station, I tucked my feet up beside me and again using my rucksack settled across the seat to finish catching up on my sleep. As far as I could work out this would be a five hour journey so at least it would still be light when we reached Siem Reap. I knew I would need to work out where to stay and what to do next but for now it could wait, I didn't have the energy or enthusiasm to worry about it now.
I woke up before we'd reached Siem Reap and was happy to watch the scenery as it passed by the window, it was then that I noticed that the coach had Wi-Fi. Taking my phone from my bag I looked at it, wondering whether to power it up or not. Working with Rangeman had made me neurotic about what could done with modern technology. Could Juan have done something with my phone to enable him to track it? I didn't think so but wasn't prepared to take the risk. Maybe the hotel I'd stayed in before might have some empty rooms but then again maybe that's where someone would be watching in case I turned up.
As we pulled to a stop inside the bus station, I fastened my rucksack back to my front and stepped off the bus. I felt wide awake now and for some reason felt more comfortable here than I had done before. As I exited the building all I could see were the numerous motor bikes and tuk-tuks. It made me think of Arun and what he was doing. I still had his card with me, wondering if I should risk trying to contact him.
As I stepped into the queue to wait for a tuk-tuk I couldn't believe it when I heard someone calling out a name, Lilian. I shouldn't have reacted by turning around, but I did and almost regretted it. Sat leant against his bike was Arun. Was this a coincidence or had he known I was coming out of the bus station. All sorts of thoughts flew through my mind but as I stood there Arun was walking toward me and actually put his arms around me.
"I didn't think I'd see you again. I got the others to go after you, but we couldn't find you"
"Are you okay Arun?"
"Yeah, those guys punched me before they left with you, but I went back home and tried to get help"
"How?"
"There were some men in my village that have been trying to get close to that damn place, Ronteah. I barged in on them at the bar and told them what had happened. They were all too keen to help out"
"Did anyone get hurt?"
"No, but some of the men we found in that building weren't doing too good"
"Arun, I need somewhere to stay tonight and then maybe tomorrow you could let me say thank you to those men"
"I could do that, and I know somewhere that's out of the way and really quiet. No one will question you being there"
For some reason I felt comfortable with Arun, my spidey senses weren't screaming at me and being able to trust Arun took a load off my mind. I was soon sat in the back of his tuk-tuk as he started the engine, then watched amazed as he pulled down some thin cotton cloth to cover the carriage. I could still see out but felt safer that no one could see in and recognize me.
I was surprised when Arun drove out of Siem Reap, driving along quiet roads and into an area that seemed to be forested. As he pulled off the main road and down a sandy track, I could see buildings up ahead, and a sign that welcomed you to Kadkao. The buildings were all single story and seemed to be individual chalets, certainly a step up from the beach shack where I'd woken up in with Juan and Maia. Arun kept driving, past what looked to be the reception building and came to a stop at a chalet that seemed to be surrounded by trees and completely private. As I pulled the cotton to the side and got out of the carriage I was confused.
"Arun, don't I have to book in or something?"
"No, my aunt owns the place and I messaged her on the way here. She said to use this cabin"
As I walked toward the door Arun beat me to it and opened it for me. I was pleasantly surprised as I walked inside at how light and clean the place was.
"The bedroom's through there along with the bathroom"
I had a quick look in the rooms as Arun opened each door and then continued to look around the main room. It had a couch with brightly colored cushions on it and an equally colorful rug in front of it. There were two more upholstered chairs and an area that looked like a small kitchenette with a hob, fridge and sink.
"Get freshened up and I'll go get us something to eat"
Was all I heard as Arun closed the door behind him. Left on my own I used the bathroom, relishing in the feel of the soft towels provided. There was soap and shampoo in the shower, so I promised myself a long hot shower before I went to bed.
