Roachville

I headed for the same plush red sofa as on my first visit. Before I had time to expel seven breaths, Kenneth Tann was standing in front of me. He flashed a bright smile and shook my hand firmly.

Once again I followed behind him, observing his supple gait under the well-tailored grey suit. As we walked along, a ray of light caught my eyes and I squinted to see better. Despite his overall neat impression, there were a few tiny fraying filaments at the elbow. Perhaps, as Phuong had said, all was not as it seemed.

We got to Room 117 and he opened the door without knocking. He gestured at the chair across the table, where Phuong had sat before. His jovial expression was replaced by one of lassitude and I didn’t know how to interpret the fact that she was not here, but I sure didn’t feel like jumping for joy. I sat down and placed my handbag in my lap, ready to open it and grab the mini spray-can. He took his seat in front of me.

‘Where is Phuong?’ I asked.

‘You know her name?’ he snapped, his eyes drilling an imaginary hole in the middle of my forehead.

‘Yes, she contacted me a few days ago, as she had said she would do,’ I acknowledged, cursing myself for being so stupid and hoping he would buy my explanation. Kenneth Tann locked his eyes onto mine and the heavy silence made my shoulders drop. If I had a knife, I could have cut some of this thick silence and offered a piece back to him. I glanced around the messy room. Drawers had been opened, pillows had been punctured and the carpet looked as if it had been ripped up. I couldn’t tell if Phuong’s stuff was still here or not, but I got the message.

‘She will not come today,’ he declared.

‘What am I doing here? I’m just the interpreter.’

He ignored my question and continued in iceberg mode. ‘What did she tell you when you spoke to her in private?’

I didn’t have enough time to think and something cold was taking life inside my bones, like a painful needle of anaesthetic entering via the soles of my feet.

‘She just called me and told me she’d be in touch when she had more information.’ I tried to keep my voice even.

‘Is that all?’

‘She mentioned a few things about herself. Her name, where she was from, that sort of thing. It was very brief.’

Silence again. I didn’t know how long it lasted. Time demonstrated its elasticity again, blending seconds into a small eternity. My mind went numb; I felt hypnotised by his fixed, black stare. A small shiny point in the middle of each of his pupils pierced through, trying to read my soul. I looked away. Out of nowhere, the line ‘We’re on a road to nowhere – come on inside’ popped into my head and repeated itself over and over again.

He sighed deeply and rearranged his features into those of the charming porn actor he had first reminded me of.

‘I am well aware that you are just the interpreter. However you have been chosen by the woman, Phuong. She saw your ad in the yellow pages and decided that you – and you only – would be our interpreter. I used to deal with her husband who didn’t speak much English, but enough for us to communicate without a third party. And by the way, he is no longer with us due to an unfortunate accident,’ he added as if ominous was his middle name.

‘I still don’t see why I’m here.’ I tried my hardest to be tough, but he brushed off my defiance with an enigmatic smile.

‘Indeed, I believe it is time to clarify a few things…’

He licked his lips. A small salivating noise came out of his mouth and I was reminded of a spiky iguana concentrating before it jumps into the cold Pacific Ocean.

‘I shall keep things simple as I am sure that you have a busy schedule.’ There was a sardonic glint in his black eyes. ‘I work for a powerful organisation.’

’Do I know this organisation?

His gaze intensified and, under the table, my fingers opened the handbag and gripped the mini-spray can.

‘You don’t need to know that,’ he replied. ‘But we always get what we want and right now I want the naga.’

‘The naga?’

‘Please don’t pretend you don’t know what it is.’

‘Okay, fine, she did mention a precious statue.’

‘Phuong disappeared just after you saw her. Did she say something?’

‘I had no idea she’d gone and she didn’t tell me anything. So why do you still want to involve me? And maybe she was lying to you and she still has the naga.’

‘No, she hasn’t, but you have something to do with it.’

‘That’s insane.’ I ran the back of my hand over my damp forehead.

Tann moved closer to me and his voice sounded like a creaking door.

’Listen carefully. The naga should be mine. Phuong’s husband and I had an agreement and I won’t rest until I have it. I am warning you not to hide anything from me anymore or tell anybody about our encounter. I will be keeping an eye on you. However, as soon as I’ve recovered my naga, you will be generously remunerated and you will be free to go your own way. In the meantime here is my card and a first compensation for your efforts. Phuong said that the naga will “manifest” itself to you.’ His face suddenly contorted back into a pleasant, polished picture. ‘When this happens, be sure to contact me. We know where you are. We wouldn’t want anything unpleasant to happen to such a lovely young person as you.’

‘I could contact the police.’

‘And tell them what? That you need twenty-four-hour surveillance?’ He laughed and pushed a brown envelope towards me.

With trembling fingers I took it and walked out, knocking the chair onto the floor behind me.