Live Fire by Stephen Leather Page A

and the sea almost black. He walked around the suite. It was two separate rooms, one with a sofa, a dining-table, a television and a small kitchen area, with a full-size fridge; a door led to a shower room. The bedroom was the same size as the sitting room with another television, a wardrobe with a built-in safe and a bathroom. It was bigger than the first flat he and Sue had lived in, the year before they had married.
    Shepherd’s bedside phone rang and he answered it. ‘Welcome to Pattaya,’ said a gruff Geordie accent. ‘Are you free for a wee chat?’
    It was Bob Oswald. Button had said he was a surveillance expert and she was right. Shepherd had been in the hotel for less than ten minutes so he must have been outside watching for his arrival. ‘Sure. Come on up.’
    A few minutes later there was a soft knock on the door. Shepherd opened it to find a lanky man with sandy hair and a shock of freckles across his nose and cheeks. They shook hands. Oswald was holding a carrier-bag and he took out two cans of Heineken lager. ‘Thought you might need some refreshment,’ he said. ‘It’s a hell of a long flight.’ He tossed one to Shepherd and opened the other as he sat down on the bed. ‘Charlie’s got me on a flight back to the UK tomorrow. I’d offer to take you for a run around the town but I guess we shouldn’t be seen together.’ He reached into the bag and pulled out a bulky manila envelope. ‘She wasn’t sure how much cash you’d bring so she sent me five thousand pounds by Western Union. Three hundred thousand baht, give or take. Should tide you over for a while. She’s getting the SOCA finance people to set you up an account with Bangkok Bank – they’ve got branches everywhere. She said she’ll courier it to you at the hotel as soon as it’s ready.’ He opened his wallet and took out a small green Sim card. ‘Thought you might need this,’ he said. ‘It’s a pay-as-you-go and I’ve put a couple of thousand baht in it for you. You can get top-ups at any 7-Eleven.’
    Shepherd thanked him. ‘How long have you been here, Bob?’ he asked.
    ‘This trip, two weeks,’ said Oswald, ‘but I’ve been here four times in the past six months.’
    ‘Always checking on the Moore brothers?’
    ‘Mainly them, but Charlie’s asked me to take a look at a few other faces as well.’
    ‘Can’t be easy,’ said Shepherd. ‘I reckon a lot of the guys out here wouldn’t want cameras pointed in their direction.’ He opened his suitcase and took out one of his spare mobile phones, then sat on the bed and inserted the new Sim card.
    Oswald grinned. ‘It’s not been the easiest job I’ve had,’ he said. ‘The surveillance is simple enough, though, because it’s not the sort of city where you stay home at night. And there’s a fair amount of drugs and drink consumed. But those shots of them at the pool took me the best part of twenty-four hours. I had to crawl to some scrubland overlooking it at night and dig myself in, then lie there all morning. I got them in the afternoon but had to wait until dark before I could crawl back out. You don’t want to hear about my toilet arrangements.’
    ‘You’re right, I don’t,’ said Shepherd. He switched on his phone and watched as it searched for a signal. It showed TH GSM on the display. ‘Was it your idea to book me in here?’
    ‘It’s convenient,’ said Oswald, ‘and no one gives anyone a second look. It’s known as being “guest friendly” and a lot of Bangkok-based expats stay here.’
    ‘Guest friendly?’
    Oswald chuckled. ‘It means they don’t care who the guests bring back at night,’ he said. ‘Some of the hotels charge a fee for girls who stay overnight and make them leave their ID cards at Reception.’
    ‘I’m not here to fraternise with the locals,’ said Shepherd. He sipped his lager, more to be sociable than because he wanted a drink.
    ‘Didn’t mean to imply that you were,’ said Oswald. ‘But Charlie said I should