The expression on the face of the man in the black shirt soured for a moment, then returned to neutral.
“I don’t,” Logan admitted. “But her grandfather is convinced that’s what’s happened, and the fact that she was brought here, within a hundred miles of the border, is enough to convince me he’s probably right. What’s going to happen to her if they take her over there?”
Again, he sensed something in the longer haired man. A tension. But if Christina noticed, she made no mention of it.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I’m not a fan of the generals. They’re oppressors and killers, we all know that. But things are delicate over here. A wrong move could affect many other things that are also important.”
Logan stood up. “I’ve obviously come to the wrong place. Thank you for your time.”
He turned for the door, but Christina reached out and touched his hand. “Mr. Harper, please. Sit back down.”
He hesitated for a moment, then did as she asked.
She leaned toward him. “I’ve been lucky to have had a certain amount of success here. But to do that, I’ve had to create a reliable information network that stretches beyond the borders of Thailand. I have people in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and Myanmar…Burma. I have been told there is no chance the generals in Myanmar, no matter how crazy they are, would have sent people to the United States to kidnap anyone.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Logan told her, shaking his head. “I don’t have the proof, but, honestly, I don’t care if it’s them or not. I just want to get the girl back. I promised her grandfather, and I’m not going to let him down. So, please, I’m asking you for your help.”
He locked eyes with her, daring her to tell him no.
After several seconds, she frowned, and stood up. “The truth is, Mr. Harper, I can’t help you.”
His shoulders sagged. He was about to ask her why she bothered bringing him here, when she motioned to the man in the black shirt.
“But I think my friend Daeng here can.”
26
“We’ll leave you two alone,” Christina said, then motioned for Mr. Prem to follow her back to the door they entered through.
As soon as they were gone, Daeng held out his hand. “Don’t expect me to call you Mr. Harper.”
Logan was surprised. He had assumed Daeng was Thai, but the man’s accent was pure American. They shook hands. “You can call me Logan.”
Daeng must have sensed the confusion in Logan’s voice, because he smiled, then said, “Hollywood High, class of ninety-nine.”
“You’re not from Thailand?”
“I am. But that’s not what you’re asking, is it? I was born here, but went to live with an aunt in Thai Town in Los Angeles when I was just a kid. I’m Thai on my dad’s side. My mom?” He held Logan’s gaze for a moment. “She was Burmese.”
Logan realized that explained Daeng’s reactions earlier while Christina had been talking about Burma. Hopefully, it would make Daeng more motivated to lend a hand. “So can you help me track down the van?”
Daeng smiled. “And here I thought you were going to give me a challenge.”
As they stepped onto the sidewalk in front of Christina’s place, a car that had been parked down the street drove over and stopped at the curb. The driver jumped out, and opened the back door. He had the same tough look as Daeng, only with much shorter hair.
Daeng let Logan enter first, then he slid in after him. Before the driver had even climbed back behind the wheel, Daeng was unbuttoning his shirt. “She likes us to dress up when we talk business. I refuse to wear a suit, but I figure I can at least wear one of these.”
As he pulled it off, Logan noticed that Daeng’s upper body was covered in colorful tattoos—a tiger on his shoulder, a serpent wrapped around one arm, and, taking up much of his back, the Buddha.
The driver handed back a T-shirt, and Daeng pulled it on. On the front was a picture of Einstein sticking out his tongue.
“So where are we going?” Logan asked as they sped down the street.
“I don’t really have as much use for Mr. Prem as Christina does, but sometimes he’s helpful. He did get us the van’s license number after all. Thought maybe we’d pay the owner a visit.”
“You know where he lives?”
“I will soon enough.”
Logan allowed himself to relax a little. He wasn’t at a