Baramee nagged non-stop as Wittawin dragged him away from the festival grounds.
"You said you wanted to stay longer. Now suddenly you want to leave?"
"I'm tired." Wittawin's response came clipped, as always.
"Well, I'm not tired. I want to get drunk." Baramee jerked his arm free.
"Then who's going to carry you back to the hotel?" Wittawin's head tilted, irritation creeping into his voice.
"I'll just sleep on the beach." Baramee's tone turned defiant.
"Suit yourself." The one eager to return shrugged and strode directly to his bike, firing up the engine. The sound sent Baramee scrambling after him.
"You're serious, aren't you, Win?" Baramee shook his head.
"When have I ever joked? Get on. Are you coming or not? If you follow me later, you'll be sleeping with the mosquitoes." Wittawin's eyes darted left and right, as if fearing that 'tall guy' who'd been looking for trouble earlier might appear.
"Fine, fine, geez." Baramee sighed and swung his leg over his own motorcycle.
The moment both young men pulled out of the parking lot, a plainclothes police officer emerged from the shadows, scanning the empty spaces. His right hand pressed a phone to his ear as he spoke in a weary voice: "They're gone, Don. Just parked here earlier, but now they've vanished."
He pulled the phone away immediately as the person on the other end erupted. When the shouting subsided, Major Nares brought the device back to his ear.
"Come on, I'll track them down. Hua Hin isn't that big—we'll find them. A bike that flashy is hard to miss. We'll spot them again. What's gotten into you anyway?"
If it weren't for the free drinks at that fancy club and the chance to meet some pretty actresses or singers, he'd never have agreed to help Teeradon with this ridiculous wild goose chase.
The business conference wrapped up near noon, with an afternoon of golf scheduled between senior executives and various ministers. But after the shared lunch, Teeradon was preparing to slip away when his sharp-eyed secretary hurried over, wearing an expression of weary resignation.
"Khun Don, where are you going now?" Toey's voice carried a note of defeat.
"To shower."
"And after your shower, you'll get dressed for golf, right?" The secretary's tone remained neutral, his face a mask of polite inquiry despite already knowing the answer lurking in his boss's mind.
"Toey, I've been in meetings all morning. Let me unwind a little." Teeradon matched his secretary's expression of exhaustion.
"You know business negotiations on the golf course tend to succeed at much higher rates than other times." The secretary's reminder carried gentle persistence.
"I'm golfing with ministers, not with business partners." Teeradon tried to wiggle out of it.
"Khun Don, please bear with it just a little longer. Just this afternoon. You don't even have to attend the evening banquet." Toey attempted to negotiate. "Delay the sour to taste the sweet. Golf this afternoon, and tonight you'll be free to chase whatever singer's tail you want, or bring one back to test your personal microphone for singing practice."
Teeradon sighed. Despite knowing the golf session with the ministerial delegation was crucial, his mind had already wandered elsewhere—to a much more enticing game of cat and mouse. But his work-obsessed secretary showed no signs of backing down.
"Please, just a bit more patience. I'll even get on my knees if necessary."
"Is that so?" Something sparked in Teeradon's mind.
Actually, with Toey available, he could tag-team with Nares to keep that 'red-lipped mouse' cornered while he finished his golf game. Afterward, he could go hunt the "mouse" instead.
Toey heaved a deep sigh as Police Major Nares's battered pickup truck pulled up in front of another hotel. The driver got out to question the reception staff, then trudged back with heavy steps. He climbed in and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, lost in thought.
"I think you should just tell Khun Don we couldn't find them and call it quits, Sergeant," Toey suggested the easy way out.
"That's Police Major, sir. I was promoted from Captain to Major ages ago." Nares corrected his rank.
"Then why are you still driving this old heap? If you're a police major, shouldn't you be rich by now? Aren't cops supposed to be good at making money?" Toey looked genuinely puzzled.
"Hey, don't look down on civil servants. I could throw you in jail for that." Nares threatened, but his passenger showed no fear.
"The AC barely works, and how much longer are we going to keep cruising around?" Toey sighed, beginning to regret agreeing to Teeradon's plan that afternoon.
"I really don't understand your friend, Captain," Toey muttered.
"I don't understand your boss either," the officer grumbled, then remembered something. "Oh, and you need to call me Major. Captain is one rank below."
"Yes sir, Lieutenant Colonel." Toey promoted the rank-conscious fair-skinned police major by another level, but this time the recipient of the free upgrade didn't bother to correct it.
"So do you think we'll actually find them?"
The 'would-be Lieutenant Colonel' sighed before answering: "There are so many people because of the music festival. I'm afraid it might take a bit longer than usual."
"How long do you normally take to find a fair-skinned guy with thick eyebrows, a prominent nose, red lips, riding a BMW motorcycle?" Toey's voice carried an edge.
"Easy there. What's the rush?"
"I'm rushing to get to the spa, strip down for a massage, sip something cold, then read a book by the pool before resting up to get drunk at tonight's music festival," Toey rattled off. "Instead of sitting in this suffocating tin can."
"Since you've spilled everything, if you really want to drink tonight, I'll treat you." Nares gave him a sly look before pulling back onto the road.
"Major Nares, shouldn't we try the guesthouses? You keep checking hotels like this, when will we ever find them? I don't think someone riding a motorcycle from Bangkok to Hua Hin would stay at a hotel. They'd probably pick somewhere with a quirky, unconventional image. Otherwise, they would've just driven a car."
"What does where someone stays have to do with what they drive?" Nares tilted his head, thinking.
"Of course it matters! Why wouldn't it? Like, someone in a pickup would probably stay in a tiled-roof bungalow, a cyclist might pitch a tent on the beach, and bus passengers might just crash on some veranda." Toey's sarcasm flowed as he turned to gaze out the window, sighing deeply and missing the amused look the driver shot his way.
What a chatterbox. Sweet face like a woman's. Put some makeup and lipstick on him and he'd probably look quite pretty.
When will we find that kid? If we can't track him down, there goes my free drinks and my date with an actress. Sigh.
"If we don't find them before five PM, You have to buy me drinks until I'm wasted. And just so you know, I drink a lot and I'm very stubborn." Toey turned back with a deadpan expression.
"Deal, but with conditions." Nares nodded. "Promise me first that you'll stop complaining until five o'clock."
"Okay, five PM—if we don't find them, we quit." Toey agreed but kept negotiating. "I'll handle Khun Teeradon myself."
The fair-skinned captain nodded and turned his attention back to the road, but within moments he had to glance at his passenger again when the other man spoke up:
"I don't understand how you can stand driving this thing. I think riding a motorcycle would be better—at least you'd get natural cool air. If you're planning to buy a new car, let me know. I know several car salespeople. They throw in tons of extras. I'll help negotiate—maybe get them to throw in an extra AC unit or two."
"Not planning to keep your promise, are you?" Nares shook his head and turned toward the road leading to the next hotel.
***