Jimm Juree 01; Killed at the Whim of a Hat

regulations, you see. If someone’s renting the car to drive themselves we have to do security checks. The company hangs on to their passports and makes sure they’ve got international licenses. That’s the law, right? But this woman booked with a driver and so there was no background check. I couldn’t let her take it .
    MAJOR G:
    So, what happened?
    DRIVER:
    She takes out this big wad of thousand baht notes and throws it on the table in front of me. There was twenty thousand baht in there .
    MAJOR G:
    You counted it?
    DRIVER:
    Later, yeah. It was a lot of money but I couldn’t let her just drive off. If she had an accident or drove into a brick wall, it was my arse on the line .
    MAJOR G:
    So, you refused to let her take it?
    DRIVER:
    At first, yes .
    MAJOR G:
    But then?
    DRIVER:
    I let her have it .
    MAJOR G:
    You accepted a bribe and allowed her to break the law?
    DRIVER:
    No. Yes, well, I took the money, but that wasn’t the reason I let her have the car .
    MAJOR G:
    And what was the reason?
    DRIVER:
    I was afraid of her .
    MAJOR G:
    You’re a big boy. You were afraid of a little Chinese woman?
    DRIVER:
    Yeah, I know. Saying it like that makes it sound ridiculous. But there was something about her. Something in her eyes wasn’t right. And she had this shoulder bag like a military kitbag and she kept reaching into it and I started imagining she had a gun in there or something .
    MAJOR G:
    But you didn’t actually see one .
    DRIVER:
    No .
    MAJOR G:
    Or a knife?
    DRIVER:
    No .
    MAJOR G:
    So you let her drive off in your car because you imagined she was dangerous .
    DRIVER:
    ( long pause) Yeah. She had her hand inside her bag when she asked me for the key .
    MAJOR G:
    Sounds terrifying .
    DRIVER:
    You’d have to have been there .
    MAJOR G:
    I’m sure. And you gave her the key .
    DRIVER:
    Yeah .
    MAJOR G:
    And when did you drive her again?
    DRIVER:
    I didn’t .
    MAJOR G:
    You were booked for eight days. This was day three .
    DRIVER:
    That night I heard her arrive at about ten. I went outside but she’d gone .
    MAJOR G:
    She’d been out alone that night with the car?
    DRIVER:
    Yes, Major .
    MAJOR G:
    And she returned the vehicle in one piece?
    DRIVER:
    That’s right. The Benz wasn’t wrecked so I slept easier. But she kept the key with her, and the spare. Three days I don’t see her at all. The Benz is parked beside my room and I had no idea what she wants me to do, so I just hang out in the cabin and watch TV and drink and eat. I mean, I was getting paid whatever happened .
    MAJOR G:
    But you didn’t mention any of this in your driving log .
    DRIVER:
    I was afraid the boss would dock me for the days I didn’t drive. I didn’t tell him about the car going off without me or the money, either .
    MAJOR G:
    So, why are you telling me?
    DRIVER:
    They said in Phuket this is a murder inquiry. I’m not about to get myself tied up in lies if there’s a murder rap at the end of it .
    MAJOR G:
    Very wise, son. You’ve done time?
    DRIVER:
    Four years in Prem. Housebreaking, when I was younger. I’ve been clean since then .
    MAJOR G:
    So, did you see her again before you left for Phuket?
    DRIVER:
    Yeah, it was Thursday and I was due to get the car back before Friday morning. I still didn’t have a key. I was starting to think I might have to call the boss. But then she turns up. I’m on the balcony and she ignores me completely, jumps in the car and she’s off. Doesn’t say a word. Seems excited about something .
    MAJOR G:
    When did you get the car back?
    DRIVER:
    I found it parked on the side of the road outside the resort later that day. The key was in the ignition so I assumed she’d finished with it. She’d put a dent in the front bumper so I imagined she was embarrassed. There was another ten thousand baht on the front seat. I tell you, a Benz with the key in the ignition and cash on the seat. In Phuket that would have survived all of forty seconds. Must be a lot of saints living down here. I left straightaway. I’d had enough of her. I stopped at a body shop on the way home and had them hammer out the dent .
    There followed a good deal of back and forth establishing the times that Ming Xi Wu had the car and crosschecking the reliability of the witness. Major General Suvit wanted to know where they’d been to on the first day of the itinerary, everything the customer had said and done, and what direction she headed when she got out of the car. He was very thorough. Then he surprised me by