Officer Dami
I stood in the Security room and watched at Tin Medthanet walked up, ducked under the tape, and observed the statues. He walked around each scene and then came back to the first one. Despite the print dust, he still reached out and touched the little baggy holding the drugs. After a while he took a deep breath and stepped back. He seemed to shake himself and walked away towards the offices.
It was early, just shy of seven and the young Tin was already here. Interesting. Didn't he just return from the Chao Samran beach side? Something about a deal? When had he come in?
I monitor to see who else comes and looks around in the next hour before I go and visit Tin. The only other person of interest that showed up was one Kirakorn and he didn't stay for long. Just took pictures and left. I assumed he was going to look at it all from his phone since he was also on his way to work.
I ample my way out of the security room and head down to Tin's office. His secretary is pleasant and is quick to inform me he has a meeting at 9. I only smile at her before Tin himself comes and opens the door for me.
I walk in and take in his office. It's masculine and powerful but not overwhelmingly so and it actually has a comfortable draw to it. The little knickknacks and funny pictures on the wall help with that. I'm sure they came from his lover.
"How can I help you?"
"I'm Officer Dami. I usually have my partner with me but he's covering more ground doing other things."
He nodded and waited. I blinked. Not a big talker huh.
"Do you have any of Intouch's work here in your office?"
"Actually, this clay piece and this bowl were made by him." I look at the pieces and I'm surprised. He does a lot more that he informed me he was capable of. "Working with clay is rare for Ae and whittling is even rarer. This paperweight was one of his mistakes. I asked him to save it anyway. It reminds me of Can for some reason. This was an anniversary present he made last year. Can asked me to keep it here so I do."
"Ah." I assess the detail on the bowl a little while longer. A half smiling Tin and a grinning Can in different scenes from the wacky to the romantic.
This guy is really talented. "What do you think of the work outside?"
"In terms of craftsmanship, in terms of portrayal, or in terms of dramatic effect?"
"In as many terms as you care to discuss."
Tin sighed and sat back. He passed a hand over his face and I could finally catch small hints of fatigue.
"The work there doesn't look or feel like Ae's work. Ae had a certain thing about him. He's a guy who actually takes in a lot of detail but I think that's because he doesn't say much. He's got a decent imagination but it's not good enough to put him in the abstract category. It's why his work is based on his memories or things he has seen. He's good at making those still images look alive. Those statues outside are deader than the bodies in a funeral home."
I wince and chuckle. What an interesting comparison.
"What they are trying to portray thought is very accurate. The situation with the drugs did indeed happen. I heard it from the horse's mouth. I trusted my brother as a child. I confessed a lot of my silly feeling and unimportant dreams and wishes to him. I felt like Tul was the only person in the entire world who loved me."
"And he betrayed you."
"Yes. And I would still have trusted him now if it weren't for that night when he got drunk and his walls were down. I found out there was no one in the world who hated me more than he did. I can't even begin to tell you how much he destroyed everything I believed in and how much he almost cost me."
"What do you mean?"
"It was hard for me to trust and when Can showed up in my life, I almost didn't trust him enough."
"Ah. I see. Do you know how many people are aware of this drug incident? The truth behind it?"
"With Can as my champion? Probably half of Thailand. Everyone who badmouths me in his presence gets told off and he doesn't have a natural sensor or filter."
Ah. I phased that incorrectly. I had wanted to know if he was aware of anyone who knew of Tul's plan from it's inception. Still he answered my question anyway. If he did know someone, he would have mentioned it for sure. He didn't have that kind of loyalty to his brother to hide anything. "If I said to you that I thought your lover was behind this?"
"I would tell you that this elaborate scheme or whatever this is, is too subtle for Can and if there isn't a big dramatic explosion, it's not worth it for him. He only watches action movies for fuck's sake." Now Tin looked disgusted, as thought he had suffered through one too many of the said movies. I inwardly sigh. I like action movies.
"What time did you return yesterday?"
"Around 11 last night. We were actually supposed to be back since Sunday but the client requested that we stay a little longer. It was worth it. We got the deal."
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"Does your brother and father know?"
"No, and I'm not about to tell them. If they switch the deal back to Tul, he'll withdraw and that's going to cost us big."
I nod and stand. I've felt from the start that Tin isn't directly involved in this. It's strange because this guy does have the subtle kind of thinking needed to pull this off. For that, he'll remain high on my suspect list. My personal take thought, is that he don't care about these people to go so far as to do something this elaborate. He only cares about Can. I do believe Can is a part of this. However he's not alone. I shake the man's hand and amble out.
Can and Ae are a part of this for sure. What about the shy Master Pitchaya? He loves Ae. It's clear to anyone looking. I need to see him next.
I make my way to the lovely Noir. I park there and contact my partner before calling the cell number written on the card. It rings out but before I can call the other numbers there my call is returned from a private number.
"Good afternoon. I missed a call. How may I help you?"
"Mister Pitchaya?"
"Pete is fine, thank you. May I ask who's calling?" This guy is super polite.
"This is Officer Dami_"
"Oh of course. I am currently at the office. I'll ask my secretary to have them ease your way up."
Well... That was easy enough.
I walk in and ask the front desk for Mister Pete's office. They direct me to an elevator where a young lady is waiting. She smiles sweetly after asking my name and takes me directly to Pete who greets me with a smile and a firm handshake for a guy who looks so soft. I look at him more closely now.
"Actually Officer Dami, after your questioning, can I ask you a few of my own? It's not on the same lines. I had the intentions of calling the station and asking to see who I can find to consult with but since your here..."
"I'm fine with answering questions as long as I know the answers."
Pete suddenly smiles and it brightens up the entire room. I blink in shock. Until he says, "Ae says that all the time." This guy. Anything to do with Ae is like life blood to him of something?
"How long have you and Ae been together?"
"Oh. Three years in college and now a month. Almost. Next week should make a month."
"Why did you two break up?"
Pete is suddenly serious before telling me the entire story. I resolve to look into it. This is not unheard of in our country. In fact the people are actually calling to have situations like this changed ever since the issue of the previous Prime Minister's serial rapist son. The outcry was so great that he not only stepped down but even began pushing to have laws changed after he himself abused the law. No one was falling for it thought.
"Would you have waited for Ae if he was dating someone when you came back?"
"That depends. How intense are his feeling for that person? How long have they been dating? How invested is he in the relationship? I wouldn't get in their way actively if it were shallow but I would let him know that I am still interested in him and I'm not willing to share."
Oh... This guy is so gone for Ae. I wonder if Ae is as gone for him?
"What do you think of the statues? Have you gone to see them?"
"Yes. I'll be honest. I'm not that familiar with Ae's current body of work. He sort of fell into it as a coping mechanism when I left. However from what I have seen, and the level of detail Ae is capable of? The only this that comes even a fraction close to his work is the little baggie that the statue is holding."
"Really?" I give him my focus. "Why do you say that?"
"There was a lot of detail emphasis on that bag. I wouldn't say it's on par with Ae's work but I could see that the attention to detail is on the level. Ae is that detail oriented. It's why his paintings... pop, for lack of a better word and why his sculptures are so fluid. Ae is a person who lives for movement. He is active in his daily life. Even in his sleep. I am not surprised that he instinctively found a way to translate that."
"By saying instinctively, you are telling me Ae has no training."
"Not when he started. He goes to classes now when he can but in the beginning it was all Ae."
"Do you think that Ae did this?"
Pete suddenly sat back and blew out a breath.
"Talent wise? Hell no. Ae would never put out work that mediocre. That goes against everything inside of him."
"But if someone, say Can, asked him too?"
Now Pete grimaced. "If Can asked? Absolutely. The two of them have a trait I greatly admire and that trait is also something I need and respect in a partner. They are both loyal to a fault. Blind loyalty is a double edged sword but he wields it well."
"And what would you say is his next best trait?""
"It's something else he also shares with Can. They can't lie worth shit."
I walk out of the ON and sigh. Talking to Pete and Tin had been insightful. I got a big block of truth with just enough lies sprinkled in between to throw me off kilter. They were really great lies too. I couldn't sense them completely.
I was sure of a couple of things thought. Tin and Pete were definitely in love and had Pete stayed here, he would have been as married as Tin was. The issue here wasn't that what they were doing was wrong... technically. It was the slander and defamation that went along with it and the hacking that was a by product of same.
They were using some illegal means to get their point across but there was definitely a story there and while I was obviously investigating Ae... Because Pete is right... He lies worth shit... I was also looking deeply into Tul and Tri Medthanet. If someone was going out of their way to attack you then there was obviously a burning building under the smoke.
I pull out my ringing phone and look at the number.
"Chief."
"Get back here." He's a man of few words. Sort of like Tin.
I make my way back to the station and stroll in. I wave as a bunch of the guys hail me but I don't stop. Chief hates to wait.
"Sit." I do. He hands me a bunch of papers. There are three of them. I read them carefully, then again. I look up at him and gauge his reaction. I know he's friends with Tri. I once attended one of his underground poker nights. Several big names were there including Medthanet and Panitchayasawad.
"Do you think this is real?" He hands me another paper.
'Ae who? Look closely and you will see Be. Or should I say ME.'
"Any prints found on the original?"
"No. Not even a speck of dust."
"And the information?"
"Investigate it but more carefully. These people have more than enough resources to hide their tracks. We can't let them find out how much we know."
I nod and stare at the information again. "Chief. About your connection with these people..."
"What connection? My friends know me. They fuck up, they go down. I don't care how small the crime is."
I nod and walk out.