Poison in the Water Read online

  She rubbed her eyes with one hand, her other hand still holding the sheet around her. Looking around the room she remembered that she had bumped into Alex in one of the beach shacks last night. They had been drinking together, and he had walked her to her door. But that was it. She was certain that he hadn’t come in.

  ‘Don’t go to bed just yet!’ Alex had said to her in front of a group of travellers they had only just befriended. She had though. The alcohol had gone straight to her head and for once she didn’t feel like getting drunk. If she had had another cocktail, she would have done something crazy like skinny-dipping and sleeping under the stars, like she had done in Fiji. Or worse still, she may have ended up in Alex’s bed. She didn’t want that, not yet. She had to play it cool if she wanted him to stick around, although she wasn’t sure if she really wanted that either.

  ‘You only paid for one night, remember?’ The woman in front of her said, bringing Celeste back into the present. ‘I booked this room already-la.’ The lady behind the door opened it fully now to show a mop and bucket and a pile of sheets on a trolley behind her.

  ‘But I need the room for another night, at least,’ Celeste pleaded. Now she recalled that she had only enough money for one night’s stay when she had checked in. She had to go to a bank on the island after that so she had money to get her through the next couple of days.

  ‘Then you pay. No pay, no stay-la.’

  Celeste scanned the room for her handbag. An orange and red striped cloth bag had now replaced the leather one she had started her trip with. She was careful where she put it – when it got wet the colours bled everywhere. Most of the T-shirts she had stored in there were now shades of orange or pink.

  She spotted the colourful cloth behind the fan and walked over to it, careful to cover her body with the off-white bed-sheet. She had never slept naked before, but it was just so hot – there was no way she would have had a wink of sleep if she hadn’t stripped bare last night.

  ‘Three hundred baht’ the woman said, looking at her from the doorway.

  ‘I only paid two-fifty for last night,’ Celeste protested.

  ‘Look, lady, you find someplace else. It’s Saturday night-la. Overflows from Koh Pha Ngan are coming here for full moon,’ she said, pointing to the ceiling.

  Celeste weighed up her options and then handed over the money. The woman greedily counted the notes before stuffing them into her bra and exiting the room.

  Closing the door, Celeste lay back onto the hard mattress. She could hear the same routine happen a few doors down, but despite having parted with what little cash she had left, Celeste was happy. She was in Thailand. The sun was beaming through the thin fabric of the pink curtains that hung over the window and it made her smile.

  Another sharp bang on the door woke her a couple of hours later. Again, she wrapped the sheets around her and opened the door to see Alex, fresh and bright eyed.

  ‘Hey Mai Tai, you ready to go to Monkey Island?’

  ‘What? Stop calling me that,’ she said. He had started calling her that last night, possibly because they had been drinking Mai Tais at the time.

  ‘Last night it was your idea. Wild monkeys taking over an island – could be like Planet of the Apes, you said.’

  Celeste got back into bed feeling self-conscious in her flimsy sheet. It had been her idea – it was always her idea. After all, life was for living.

  ‘Look, heavenly one, I’m going. The boat leaves in an hour. I’ll see you down at the Plantain Shack. I need a bowl of conjee to get rid of this stinking hangover. That Samsom whiskey is a killer. It was a top night after you went to bed. Should’ve stayed out.’ And with that he was gone, slamming the fragile blue door behind him, making the walls shudder.

  Celeste smiled, twisted herself of the bed, letting the sheet drop, and followed the trail of ants into the bathroom.

  *

  Monkey Island was just as she imagined – a sand island with chattering monkeys swinging from every tree. The guides held out bananas and the monkeys sauntered over to eat from their hands. She had enjoyed their picnic lunch and chasing sand crabs with Alex, but, just as they were about to board the tourist boat home, a small child with pink sun block on her nose started shrieking as a monkey approached her. The child’s mother started screaming in French and simultaneously a monkey bit the child’s father who had reached down to rescue the little girl. There was pandemonium after that as people started to jump on to the boat, and she was sure it was going to capsize.

  Alex just grinned. ‘Typical,’ he had said, as he casually put his arm around her. At first she had flinched, but after a moment his hand felt reassuring there.

  She put her key in the lock to the door of her room then she heard a noise – a grunting noise – then another sound as if the furniture in her room was being moved about. She turned the key and carefully opened the door, her heart racing. She looked directly at her dresser. Apart from a low wooden bed and a chair, it was the only other piece of furniture in the room. A naked Thai lady was perched on the edge of the dresser. The woman’s straight black hair only partially covered her breasts. A tubby English man in his late fifties with a thick, white beard stood stark naked in between the spread legs of the Thai woman. He hadn’t noticed Celeste open the door and was still thrusting himself into the young woman as Celeste gaped in shock.

  ‘Get aaaat!’ A shrill noise came out of the woman’s mouth and her eyes pierced through Celeste. She immediately looked at the floor only to find a pair of pink satin and black lace knickers. Her eyes scanned the floor and only stopped when they hit a leather mask with straps. Immediately, Celeste averted her gaze to the ceiling. She thought about leaving, but this was her room. What the hell were they doing in her room? The man, red and sweaty from his exertion, turned and looked at Celeste.

  ‘Well don’t just stand there, get out,’ he said, amidst his heavy breathing. Droplets of sweat ran down the sides of his face. He showed no shame and didn’t even attempt to cover himself or the woman.

  ‘Er…’ Celeste stuttered. ‘Th-this is my room. I’ve paid for it.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said the man releasing the young woman’s thighs and turning his whole body towards Celeste, showing her more than she wanted to see. ‘See here, this is our honeymoon.’ He pointed to the flower petals on the bed and the basket of fruit in the corner, which she had failed to see.

  She glanced around and noticed that all of her belongings were gone. Peering her head back around the door she checked the number. It was definitely her room.

  ‘Get aaat, get aaat!’ the bride was shrieking, still perched on the dresser.

  ‘Fine. I’ll go and find the manager and sort this mess out.’ As she closed the door behind her, despite her own predicament, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the bride, married to a slob and honeymooning in a backpackers’ resort. She eventually found the manager, but she was not in the least bit helpful. She opened her grubby A4 notebook and ran her finger down the list of names. ‘Bloady, Bloady,’ she said, shaking her head from side to side.

  ‘No, B-R-O-A-D-Y. Broady,’ Celeste corrected her. ‘My name is Celeste Broady.’

  ‘Ah, ah, Okay. Bloady.’ The lady looked up and smiled before looking back down at the register. ‘So hot,’ she said. ‘Bad weather’s coming.’ The manager sniffed the air as if she could smell the monsoon approaching.

  Celeste drummed her fingers on the counter. ‘Yesterday, I checked-in yesterday. And I paid for tonight this morning. Three hundred baht to a lady in a blue dress.’

  ‘Fifty baht, too much. Rooms here only two-fifty baht.’ The lady behind the counter looked at Celeste intently. ‘You only pay for one night. It says so in the book. We no send people round in morning. That woman no employee of Best Value Phi Phi.’

  ‘What the hell?’ Celeste clenched her fist into a ball. ‘Where’s my stuff then? How could someone just do that? Don’t you have any security? I want my money back.’

  The recepti
onist peered into the doorway behind her, ignoring Celeste’s rant. ‘We have it,’ she said triumphantly, like she had done Celeste a favour by not throwing out her worldly possessions. She shifted on her feet and then disappeared into the back room appearing a minute later with her backpack and a plastic bag. ‘You stuff,’ she said, handing Celeste both items. ‘But you no getting money back. Not our fault you gave money to anyone.’

  Celeste gritted her teeth. After a deep breath she asked, ‘Have you got any other rooms available for tonight?’ It was far too hot to be traipsing around the island of Phi Phi looking for accommodation during the full moon.

  ‘Try Chiki’s Tours on Phi Phi Beach. They have big yellow sign and ‘Chiki’s Tours’ in red on the front. I know Chiki. She my friend. Tell her I sent you.’ The landlord scribbled something in Thai on a small piece of paper and handed it over to Celeste, who had already lifted her backpack onto her shoulders.

  After having no luck at Chiki’s, Celeste started to walk around the island. After three pineapple juices and an hour spent walking into resorts, hotels and hostels only to be told they had no rooms available, Celeste realised she only had one option left.

  3

  19th June 2007

  Krabi, Thailand

  The house in Krabi had been built into the side of a hill, overlooking a turquoise sea, but close enough to walk down to the beach and the bustling strip of restaurants and bars. Yet the house, with its pagoda style roof was high up enough not to get caught in the mayhem of touristville. Even though it was the wet season it didn’t seem to bother the busloads of day-trippers. Krabi was always packed.

  ‘For you,’ Alex said, holding out a single pink damask rose.

  Celeste narrowed her eyes. ‘What have you done now?’ She walked over to him, took the rose and allowed him to wrap his arms around her.

  ‘I was walking past Aawut’s stall. This just caught my eye and reminded me of you. You had a pink flower in your hair the day you came to my hotel in Phi Phi.’

  ‘My beautiful brown hair, that you convinced me to chop off and dye black. I look like a pixie.’

  ‘You look sexy. I like it short and spiky like that, and black sets off those eyes of yours.’

  Celeste made a face, but Alex had been right. She had been chatted up more than usual since she had it cut and she couldn’t deny that she loved it when Alex put a protective arm around her, warning all other men away.

  He looked at her closely. ‘I’ve never met anyone with grey eyes before. It was those eyes that made me say yes when you were begging to sleep in my bed. I knew then you were going to be all mine.’

  ‘I said I’d take the floor. You suggested the bed.’

  ‘I’m glad that old man was banging the Thai girl in your bedroom. If that had never happened you wouldn’t have agreed to come to Krabi with me.’

  ‘I suppose I wouldn’t have.’ Before Celeste met Alex she had had her fair share of boyfriends. It was hard not to in the world of fashion. There was always a show or a party to go to where drink was free flowing and male models were looking for a good time. But she had never dated a man like Alex before – someone who didn’t play mind games, someone who treated her so well. He had confessed to her one rainy evening over a Chang beer that he used to be a player. But he had also confessed after a few more beers that there was something about Celeste that kept him keen. ‘Something,’ he said, ‘that satisfies my hunger. You, heavenly one, have set the bar high.’ She had laughed away his comments, but inside she was ecstatic.

  Part of her was desperate to get back home to show off her new trophy. Alex was not only a gentleman, but he was beyond good looking. She had noticed the way other travellers turned to look at him when they were out shopping or in a bar. And she couldn’t help but revel when he pulled her close to whisper something in her ear or put his arm around her like he owned her. There was something very sexy about the way he did it, especially when they were in front of other people. If she had been called a feminist before, she certainly wasn’t one now. There was something about Alex that made Celeste want to turn back time and go back to the days of being a kept woman. If Alex wanted to own Celeste, then she would be his.

  ‘Come on, get ready. I want to take you out to dinner. And wear that red dress.’

  Celeste obeyed.

  4

  24th – 25th June 2007

  Krabi, Thailand

  ‘Why you no clean that table?’

  ‘Dai,’ Celeste said with pleading eyes. ‘The man is out of order. He can’t order me around like that!’

  ‘He is paying customer. Stop being lazy and go clean table. You are waitress or no?’

  ‘Urghh!’ Celeste said, gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes at Dai. Sweat trickled down her back. It was hot in the kitchens where hundreds of live crabs were thrown into large vats of boiling water every day. She pushed open the door to the restaurant and looked towards the table she had to clean. She tilted her head. The sweaty bald man who had been perving on her had left. Another man was sitting at the table. She smiled.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked.

  ‘Saving you,’ Alex said.

  Celeste playfully hit him with her tea towel. ‘Seriously, Alex! I can’t just leave. Good job in getting rid of that fat slob though.’

  Alex grinned. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here,’ he said, putting his arm around her and pulling her close.

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘I’ve had a word with Dai. It’s fine. Seriously. He’s given you the afternoon off.’

  Of course Alex hadn’t spoken to Dai. She hated it when he lied like this just to get his own way. She wouldn’t get paid for her afternoon lounging around with Alex, drinking Mai Tais and Cosmopolitans that tasted nothing like they should. Alex would end up paying the rent again and she couldn’t let that happen.

  ‘I can’t.’

  Alex put his hands around her wrists, then tightened his grip.

  ‘Alex,’ Celeste said. She looked down at his hands on hers.

  Immediately, he let go. Then he looked at her with puppy dog eyes. ‘One afternoon,’ he said with a wink.

  She hesitated.

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘Alex Renshaw, you’re naughty!’ She pulled off her cloth apron and left it on the dirty table as she left with Alex’s arm around her as they set off to The Conch Shell.

  ‘One more my good man!’ Alex said to Joe, the barman at their favourite watering hole.

  ‘When you two gonna go home? You’re like locals now, you been here so long. You even let your good lady work at that good-for-nothing’s shack. Come on Alex, you need to be looking after your woman,’ Joe said.

  Celeste rested her head on her outstretched arms, which were flat against the wooden table. ‘It’s not like that in our culture,’ she said to Joe. The afternoon drinking was already making her feel sleepy.

  Joe let out a deep laugh. ‘Culture, culture. I know about cultures, miss. Believe me, we have working girls in our culture too,’ Joe said. He winked at Alex before disappearing into the back room.

  Alex frowned.

  ‘He’s joking. Don’t worry.’

  ‘The Crab Shack is pretty bad though. Come on Celeste. I’m sure working at Cross was a million miles from the squalor at that place.’

  She raised her head and lifted a bottle of beer to her lips. She drained its contents and put it back down on the table. ‘What do you mean, squalor? We used to eat there nearly every Friday till I started working there.’

  ‘It’s filthy in the kitchen. You said so yourself.’

  ‘I’m sure the McDonalds up the road is filthy too if you went into its kitchens,’ Celeste stood up.

  ‘You’re missing the point.’ Alex rose to his feet and stroked her hair.

  ‘What exactly is your point?’

  ‘You hate it there. I said I could support us till we get back home.’

  ‘And when are we going home?’

  ‘Yesterday, y
ou said you were done with England. It didn’t have the buzz, apparently, that Asia had. Today, you’re ready to go back? Why the sudden change of heart?’

  She frowned. She had said that yesterday. Now she wasn’t sure where that outburst had come from. Alex was right. Dai’s was a pit. She hated working there. Why was she putting herself through it? And why was she arguing with Alex, when he had just saved her from that hellhole?

  ‘Where you going?’ Joe asked from the bar. ‘I got your beers here.’

  Alex took out cash from his pocket and put it on the table. ‘We don’t need the beers.’ Taking Celeste by the hand he led her out of the bar.

  ‘I just need some fresh air. We don’t have to leave,’ Celeste said. A tear ran down her face but she wasn’t sure why she was crying. She had wanted to work. Working made her feel alive. It wasn’t fair that Alex had a job he loved at the dive centre, which was clean and friendly and was a nice little top up to his savings that he was still managing to live off. The issue was all hers. She couldn’t just give up her shitty job and continue sponging off Alex for the rest of their time in Thailand. ‘I hate my job. And I hate having no money.’

  Alex held her. ‘I told you not to worry.’ For a moment Celeste wanted her thoughts to stop spiralling. She wanted to believe him. She could forget her money worries and live off Alex. A life with him would be idyllic. She rested her head on his chest. Her body relaxed and she let him lead the way home.

  *

  Celeste sat back in her chair, twirling her pen in her hand. She thought about her old life – the black tie events she had attended on behalf of Cross, the early evening cocktails with the girls, the working lunches and networking breakfasts. She missed those days. She imagined Alicia and Bonnie with their boutique, rubbing shoulders with ladies who lunched, and she felt a sliver of envy run through her.

  For a split second she felt greedy. Like her nine-year-old self who refused to smile until she got those red shoes she wanted. Only years later did she realise her parents couldn’t afford them, but had dipped into their savings to buy them just to make her happy. She pushed away that thought. It wasn’t good to dwell on things she couldn’t change. And this was different. So what if she wanted to have it all. Why not?