“Is Laura still feeling ill?” asked Lee.

“Yes,” replied Jack, truthfully. “The sooner we are finished business, the better. I want to meet The Shaman. No more jerking us around.”

“Tomorrow, you shall,” replied Lee.

Jack felt both surprise and elation. “He is coming here? Tomorrow? What time?”

Lee brushed Jack’s questions aside with a wave of his arm and said, “He will not meet you until you pass one more small test.”

“I’m tired of tests!” replied Jack angrily. “I know you were checking to see if we were followed yesterday to Burma. What kind of bullshit is this? I thought we trusted each other?”

“I do trust you, Jack. Believe me, my life depends upon it. Please do not be angry with me. It is The Shaman who decides these things. Like an onion, the —”

“I know. I’ve heard that crap before. I want to meet him. Face to face. That is how I conduct business.”

Lee sighed and said, “The small test I refer to tomorrow is a lie-detector test. If you do not take it, I can assure you that you will never meet The Shaman.”

“Then give me the bloody test,” said Jack, coldly. “I’ll take it!”

“Once you pass the test, and I know you will,” said Lee, smiling, “then you shall be taken to meet The Shaman.”

“Taken where?”

“That, my friend, I am not allowed to tell you until you have completed this annoying matter with the lie detector. You and Laura must —”

“Laura! I’ll be damned if I’m going to embarrass her by submitting her to such a —”

“No, let me finish. She will not be asked to take the test. But she must come with you and you both must agree to be held incommunicado from the time you are picked up to take the test and until you meet The Shaman. Do you agree?”

Jack sighed and said, “I agree, but there is no need to pick us up. We will walk over from Bill Resort.”

“No, the test will be held in a hotel in Chaweng. It is a town a half-hour drive north of us. You will be picked up after lunch and driven. Bring your luggage, as well. The Shaman is arranging for you to stay in another hotel at his expense. A much nicer place.”

“Fine by me, but I better be meeting The Shaman right after.”

“I assure you that is his wish as well.”

Later that night, Jack and Laura walked along the beach and then went through an intricate prearranged jaunt, cutting through pathways and in and out front and rear doors of other hotels. Eventually Sammy called Jack to tell him that they were not being followed. Minutes later, they met in Sammy’s room at the Samui Laguna Resort located next to the Pavilion. Also present were three other members of the Vancouver Drug Section, as well as the LO from Bangkok and two plainclothes officers from the Thailand National Police Department.

Jack outlined his meeting earlier that evening with Lee.

“I don’t like it,” said Sammy. “If they hook you to that damned machine, you’re dead.”

“The thing is,” replied Jack, “The Shaman could be in the next room. I’ll try to see him first, but even if they don’t let me, you should be able to figure out who it is by watching Lee or his buddies. It’s better than giving up.”

“But it will be damned difficult to cover you without being burned,” protested Sammy.

“What the hell do we have to lose? If we don’t show up, we won’t identify him. If you get burned then kick the doors in and save us.”

“Yeah, that’s if we know which room you’re in.

“Polygraph tests start with an interview first. Altogether we’re looking at about three hours. Surely by then you can figure out what room we’re in.”

“Lee thinks I’m sick,” said Laura. “Actually, I am, but it’s not from the food. I can use being sick to help you figure out which room we’re in. Once we’re inside, I’ll beg Lee or one of his cronies to go to a pharmacy and get me something. If you haven’t spotted what room we go to when we first arrive, then that should help. I’ll also tell him I’m out of sanitary pads. You see some guy in a pharmacy buying those, follow him.”

“It’s damned risky,” said Sammy.

“I want this guy,” said Jack, vehemently. “He’s responsible for a mass murder two nights ago. You going to let him walk?”

“I’m with Jack on this one,” said Laura bitterly. “If all else fails we can resort to tossing something or someone out a window. That should clue you in as to where we are.”

“There is only one road up to Chaweng,” said Sammy, “and it isn’t very crowded. Too obvious to follow you, turn off at the road into Chaweng and continue along to whatever hotel you go to. These guys are known for spotting surveillance. I don’t want the both of you to end up like Goldie.”

“Then wait for us on the road leading into Chaweng,” said Jack. “I’m told the town itself is crowded. Lots of cover for you. I’ve also got a map. Most of the hotels face the main road in town that runs the length of the beach. Stagger a few cars along it and wait. We don’t need to leave with a parade behind us.”

“Will it be the same driver and van who took you to Burma?” asked Sammy.

“I don’t know,” replied Jack. “If it is, the guy won’t be too surveillance-conscious. I think he was only hired as a driver.”

“You sure?” asked Sammy.

“As sure as I could be. He didn’t speak English and Lee doesn’t seem to speak Thai. I think he doesn’t know anything about what is going on.”

“Okay.” Sammy sighed. “I’ll leave a guy at Bill Resort to confirm your departure and positively identify the van for us. The rest of us will wait up the highway near Chaweng.”

The plan might have worked, except Jack and Laura were not taken to Chaweng.

At three o’clock the next afternoon, Jack and Laura recognized the same van and driver who had taken them to Burma when it arrived in front of Bill Resort. The side door with deep-tinted windows opened up and Lee beckoned for them to come inside. They complied, as the driver tossed their luggage into the rear of the van.

Now there was an additional passenger sitting behind them. It was the man with the yellow T-shirt.

“I believe you have seen my friend before,” smiled Lee.

There was little doubt in Jack’s mind that the bulge in the man’s T-shirt covering the front of his waistband was not a banana.

Ten minutes out of Lamai, Jack and Laura were both glad they had opted to have the surveillance team wait for them in Chaweng as the van pulled over into the parking lot of a fashionable restaurant located high on a bluff.

They sat and waited in the van for several minutes, watching the highway.

“Please do not be angry with me,” said Lee. “It is not personal. Just business.”

“I know,” replied Jack. “But I am developing a hatred for onions.”

“It is time,” said the man behind them.

To Jack and Laura’s surprise, they were told to get out of the van. Minutes later, they were loaded into a different van, which once more proceeded north. The seating arrangement was the same, except a different man was driving.

“Good move,” said Jack, patting Lee on his shoulder.

“Thank you. Again, I apologize. Once The Shaman meets you, I am sure he will trust you as much as I do.”

“You okay, honey?” asked Jack, looking at Laura.

She shook her head and muttered, “Feeling crampy. Must be from the food.”

Twenty minutes farther down the road, Jack politely said, “Uh, according to the sign, you just missed the turnoff into Chaweng.”

“We’ve located a nicer hotel,” said Lee. “The Amarin Victoria Resort. A little farther north, up near the airport.”

Jack glanced behind him and the man in the yellow T-shirt edged back out of reach, while placing his hand under his shirt. Oh, fuck!

At four o’clock, Jack and Laura were hustled into a hotel room. Inside were four more men. The man who let them in was Japanese and was dressed in a dark suit with a white shirt and a black tie.