199. At The Oriental Hotel
Duff had invited Jim to his room to see the stamp collection. Jim showed a keen interest in what was on display.
Both of them showered both before and after the stamp viewing session (with Jim applying discreet makeup) and both had a great time. Nobody mentioned money. Duff thought this was a welcome change from the outstretched palm he was used to in Bangkok.
Jim lived with his parents and had to go home early.
- Do they know about you? asked Duff.
- We never speak about it, said Jim. - But I think they have guessed.
Duff said goodbye to Jim with kisses left, right and center.
When Jim had left Duff went to check his email in the Internet cafe around the corner from The Oriental Hotel. He stayed only a couple of minutes before he rushed back to the hotel.
- Larson! said Duff when he had found the Swede in his room. - There is an email from Bjorn asking why you were so rude.
- Rude? I haven’t been rude.
- He says you hang up on him.
- Not at all. I ran out of coins in the pay phone.
- Why didn’t you call him back?
- I didn’t want to. Bjorn was talking nonsense.
- He wrote “drag that silly old goat down to the Internet cafe and show him the newspapers”.
- Is that what he wrote? I can’t say I like his tone.
- Larson, this is serious.
- Now what? Are you in cahoots with Bjorn?
- I have seen the newspaper links he sent you. I don’t read Swedish but I saw the photo. It was you.
Larson reluctantly agreed to go with Duff to the Internet cafe. The first of the links Bjorn had sent was to Expressen, the tabloid.
- What does it say? said Duff.
- Where did they get this?!
- Translate please?
- They are lying!
- Larson, what does the article say?
- It says: “Swedish perv caught molesting boy in Bangkok”.
- Make the photo bigger.
The photo showed Larson surrounded by policemen. Larson was in handcuffs. His zipper was open and he looked confused. A Thai boy was also in the picture.
“Thai police launching crackdown on foreign child sex tourists.
- We are determined to stop foreign men who come to Thailand to prey on our young, says Police Colonel Pornpasert Wanhaneert to Associated Press. - This sick activity must be ended once and for all, says the Police Colonel, who is superivsing the crackdown effort in the Thai capital. Thai police released a photo showing Swedish national Pelle Larsson…”
- They can’t even spell my name right!
“… who was arrested in the company of a 14 year old boy in a Bangkok bar recently.”
- Lies! said Larson. - They made it all up!
- Really? said Duff. - That is you in the picture, isn’t it?
- Yes. But he was not 14. He was a 20something.
- I can belive that, said Duff while looking closely at the photo. - But will your folks back in Sweden believe it?
- And it was not in a bar. It was in Silom Complex. In the restroom. Don’t belive everything you read in the newspapers!
- I know, said Duff. - I used to work in a newspaper.
- So it doesn’t matter, said Larson. - I haven’t done anything wrong. I am innocent. Life goes on.
- No, it doesn’t, said Duff. - Don’t you understand what this means?
- What does it mean?
- You are screwed, Larson. You are finished. You can’t go back to be a school teacher in Sweden after this.
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