The Noble Path: A relentless standalone thriller from the #1 bestseller by Peter May (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

he is also sometimes known as the Destroyer. In human form he is portrayed with four arms, a third eye in the centre of his forehead, and often wearing a necklace of skulls. Sex, my poor ignorant child, can be very beautiful, but also sometimes very dangerous.’ She turned a provocative smile on the younger woman. ‘Things you will no doubt learn for yourself, in time.’ And to Lisa’s acute embarrassment she leaned towards her and kissed her lightly on the lips.

‘I think I should go back to the house,’ Lisa said, flustered, her cheeks burning. And she turned and hurried away across the clearing.

‘Perhaps you should lie down for a couple of hours,’ Grace called after her. ‘The afternoons are so hot, and I shall be out until this evening.’

Lisa didn’t look back, but hurried through the tangle of vegetation until she stumbled into the cool darkness of the dining room.

Her bedroom, at the top of the house, was hot and humid. She pulled the shutters closed and undressed quickly to slip between the cool sheets, then lay a long time in the dark, listening to the rapid beat of her heart. After a while she heard Grace’s voice down in the main hall, then the front door slamming shut. Somewhere, from the front of the house, came the sound of a car starting, the engine revving as it moved off down the drive. Then a deep silence. Lisa closed her eyes and let drowsiness take her in the airless heat of the room.

*

‘So what do you think?’ Tuk sat back in his favourite hard leather chair and sipped at his whisky through large cubes of ice.

Grace waited until the girl in the yellow dress who had brought her iced Perrier left the room. ‘I think she’s very young, very naive and very beautiful,’ she said. Her heel scraped on the tiles as she crossed her legs.

Tuk smiled. ‘And English. Such lovely white skin, and a virgin, too. A valuable commodity.’

‘Very,’ Grace agreed. She lifted the glass to her lips and let the cold, aerated water slip back over her throat. She enjoyed its tartness.

Tuk watched her with pursed lips and a gleam of malicious amusement in his eyes. ‘And tempting.’

Grace flicked a darting glance in his direction, then took another sip of the Perrier. ‘My interest is entirely commercial,’ she said.

‘Of course.’

‘She could become the most sought-after property in Bangkok – at least for a while.’

‘My thoughts exactly.’

Grace studied him for a moment. ‘And just what exactly are those thoughts, Than? I hardly see what you stand to gain from all this.’

‘Ah,’ Tuk smiled, ‘now that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. My interest is personal rather than financial.’

‘In what way?’

‘Who she is, of course. How can I put it . . .?’ He tugged gently at the ends of his fingers. ‘A little insurance policy.’ She raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘In the unlikely event of Elliot returning, a little leverage would not go amiss.’

‘And why would you require a little leverage, Than?’ Grace was intrigued.

Tuk shifted uncomfortably. ‘Let’s just say that certain events which occurred last week may be open to misinterpretation.’

‘You mean you double-crossed him.’

‘That is one interpretation.’

‘The one that Elliot is most likely to make?’

Tuk shrugged. ‘Who knows? Elliot is a dangerous man. I do not wish to take any risks.’

Grace nodded her understanding. ‘Wasn’t that exactly what you were doing when you didn’t play it straight with him?’

Tuk smiled ruefully. ‘The best-laid schemes.’

‘So.’ Grace relaxed a little now. She had the measure of the situation. ‘What exactly is there in it for me?’

‘I have my insurance, you have the girl. She is of value to us both.’

‘But if Elliot returns?’

‘I think that very unlikely.’

‘But if he does, you have your insurance. Where does that leave me?’

‘She is your insurance also.’

‘But as things stand I have no need of insurance.’

Tuk waved his hand dismissively, irritated by her persistence. ‘He will not return.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘Do you not read the newspapers, listen to the radio?’

Grace inclined her head, smiling at the foolishness of the question. ‘When do I have the time, Than? Or the inclination?’

‘You should make a point of it, Grace. These are unsettled times.’

‘So what have I missed?’

‘The Vietnamese have won decisively in the south. The Khmer Rouge are retreating north. It can only be a matter of days before Phnom Penh falls. If Elliot is hoping to come back out through Thailand he is likely to find himself in the thick of the Khmer Rouge retreat. Unless he makes it in the next forty-eight hours, I think one can safely assume he never will.’

Grace drank all this in thoughtfully. ‘And what will happen to the girl, then?’

Tuk showed his teeth, but it could hardly be described as a smile. ‘When you have finished with her, I have plans of my own. A small revenge, perhaps, for her father’s threats, but there will still be a satisfaction in it.’

A chill ran through Grace’s heart.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Shards of reflected moonlight danced on the gently rippling black waters of the Tonle Sap. The thick stillness of the night was broken only by the sound of water slapping softly against the sides of the small wooden fishing craft. Elliot sat in the stern drawing on his last cigarette. It was several hours since the outboard motor had packed in. All day they had been heading south, keeping the eastern shore just in sight. To the west, the great lake stretched to the horizon and beyond. They had seen no one, no other craft. There had been no sign of life all day except, in the mid-afternoon, for an aeroplane flying very high and crossing their bows some miles to the south. A military aircraft.

In the deserted fishing village close to where they had been attacked by the Khmers the previous day, they had found a small abandoned fuel dump, and a number of flimsy fishing boats scuttled on the shore. Two of them were