-The Art of Deception -

The following morning, Ravuth pulled up outside a three-storey French colonial shop-house. The bottom floor was a glass-fronted office with no signage and darkened glass. Ravuth went into a small dingy waiting room, but nobody was there.

“Hello!” Ravuth hollered. “Is anybody here?”

Getting no reply, he was about to leave when a scantily clad Khmer girl walked out of a room, adjusted her dress, came into the reception, smiled at Ravuth, and left. A foreign man then appeared from the room, went over to Ravuth, and extended his hand.

“Hi there, I’m Jed Culver,” said the American.

Ravuth shook Jed’s hand, introduced himself, and said, “I picked up your business card, which said that you are a private detective. The lady I spoke to last night made me an appointment for 9 o’clock.”

“Yeah, Jed Culver: P.I., the first and only American private detective in Cambodia. Last night you spoke to my err… secretary,” said Jed. “She told me you are trying to trace your family.”

Ravuth nodded.

“Come into the office,” said Jed and smiled.

He led Ravuth into a room that he and the girl exited moments ago. There was a desk with an archaic computer on top, an unmade bed, and beer cans and folders scattered around. Several items and photographs hung on the wall that Ravuth noticed as he sat down.

“That’s me, receiving my DEA agent shield,” said Jed, pointing to a photograph when he saw Ravuth looking. He explained about the other photographs, framed certificates and a small gold shield that hung on the wall. “I retired from the force a few years ago. I started as a traffic cop and worked my way up,” he said, tapping on the glass case housing the shield engraved with a blue circle and the words Drug Enforcement Administration.

Ravuth felt impressed because he had seen the pocket-sized shields before on US cop shows. He estimated Jed to be in his forties. He’d always assumed retired American cops had grey hair and were fat, but Jed had a trim figure, short-cropped black hair, and piercing blue eyes. He gave Jed his details and told him he wanted him to find his family and locate his village.

Jed went through the usual motions of jotting down details while Ravuth continued with any information he thought relevant. He handed Jed photocopies of his family photographs and said. “This is my family,” and then pointed out the individuals.

Jed smiled, nodded, scanned the photocopies onto his computer, and after checking the screen, gave them back to Ravuth and they chatted. After an hour, Ravuth thought he had given Jed enough information about his family and his village and asked, “Do you think you can help me find my family?” Jed smiled and looked at the time on the screen. He knew that Ravuth’s family were dead, as people from similar cases he investigated were, but he needed to make a living and his seedy lifestyle didn’t come cheap. “Sure, I can help you Ravuth. My charge is $100 for today’s consultation and $100 a day retainer plus expenses, until either I find your family or you stop the investigation,” he said and smiled. He knew this was a numbers game. Sometimes a customer would bite and pay the daily fee, but gave up after a few weeks when they received their first exorbitant bills for his expenses. However, most people refused to undertake his services, in which case he had made $100.

Ravuth looked angry and protested, “I can’t afford $100 per day, and I thought the first consultation would be free!”

“Free!” said Jed, sounding indignant. “My time costs money Ravuth, and I have spent over an hour with you.”

Ravuth frowned, ‘Conned again,’ he thought, as he gathered up his paperwork off Jed’s desk and shoved it into his bag. He took $100 from his wallet and glared at Jed, who grinned.

“Here,” said Ravuth, threw the money on the desk, and left.

Jed leant back in his chair smirking. ‘Another mug, easy money,’ he thought and looked at the computer screen displaying Ravuth’s photographs. “Delete,” he sang out, but as he was about to press the delete button, something on a picture caught his attention. “What’s that?” He looked closer, “No, it can’t be,” he gasped, staring at the image and zooming in. “Unbelievable!” he said looking at the image. With his heart beating faster and his palms sweating, he could not take his eyes off the screen. He flicked to another, similar image, and said aloud, “If that’s what I think it is, then I can use what those bastards taught me and become rich.”

He pondered and thought, ‘Damn, I had better check it out first; but if I am right, I’m gonna need help from Mr Ravuth Eggleton.’

Jed found Ravuth’s telephone number on a post-it note written by the girl who had taken his call the previous evening and breathed a sigh of relief. He recalled seeing a picture of the object similar to the one in the image that Ravuth gave him in the DEA during his training. He and his fellow students learned about the mysterious object which according to the DEA was a hoax and just a tale used in training.

Jed spent the day researching and planning his next move. As he expected, there was no information on the internet, so he only knew what he learned in training, that it was a hoax and did not exist. Jed felt excited but scared as he came up with a plan. He knew who to contact, but knew the man, although rich, powerful, and dangerous, would want the item and pay handsomely. He made a disposable DV6.org email address and looked up the man’s contacts in his old Filofax. With the twelve-hour’ time difference between Cambodia and the US, that evening, Jed emailed an address, downloading several images and using a burner phone with an unregistered tourist sim card, phoned the man with information and instructions.

Ravuth stayed in his hotel room all day seething about falling for yet another con. He watched T.V., and went through his information, transcribing details onto his notepad, and set off early the following morning to his planned site, feeling happier because it wasn’t raining.

The telephone call that Jed had been expecting came at 8:00 am. Jed thought he would be waiting longer, knowing the individual who he called yesterday was a cautious man who would scrutinize the information, especially with it coming from him. The pair had crossed paths in the past but under different circumstances and Jed had underestimated the man then, which cost him dearly. Jed timed the conversation and phone usage, making the calls untraceable. That part had gone according to plan.

Jed smiled as he relaxed in a chair, looked around his grimy office, and smirked. ‘All I need to do now is meet him, complete the deal, and get paid an advance,’ he grinned, ‘Three-quarters of a million dollars will do for a down payment,’ he thought. ‘Then all I need is to find the damn things.’ Jed went over to the fridge, took a bottle of Angkor beer, looked at the post-it note, and phoned Ravuth. After several frustrating hours of receiving ‘unable to connect to this number, please try later,’ recordings and a few more beers, he called one of his ladies for the afternoon.

Ravuth was in the shower when his phone rang. Wrapping a towel around himself, he went over to the bed, picked up the phone, looked at the number, frowned, and answered,

“Hi Buddy,” said Jed, “I have been trying to contact you all day.”

Frowning and angry, Ravuth snapped, “I have been out of signal range in the jungle. What do you want Culver?” “Didn’t you charge enough for our brief chat, so now you want more money? Well tough... piss off ?”

The phone went silent for a few moments, and then Jed chuckled and said, “Sorry about our little misunderstanding yesterday, I was having a bad day.”

“From the look of that young woman coming from your room, it didn’t appear too bad to me,” Ravuth said, seething.

“Yeah, sorry we got off on the wrong foot Ravuth. Let me make it up to you with a meal. I know a great little steakhouse, my treat, and then we can discuss your case.”

“I don’t think we have anything to discuss at $100 a time. Thanks, but no thanks, goodbye,” said Ravuth, but as he was about to hang up, Jed shouted, “Wait! I will give you your money back, and we can discuss your case over a meal. It won’t cost you a cent and I am sure I can find your family, which I doubt you could do without me.”

The line went silent for a moment and then Jed said, “How about it Ravuth? What do you have to lose? The worse that could happen is you get a free meal and your $100 back.”

Ravuth considered his offer and even though he felt angry and didn’t like or trust the private eye, he agreed to meet with him later that evening.

Jed sat at the bar drinking beer when Ravuth entered the restaurant. He went over and sat on a high chair at the American saloon-style restaurant. Jed seemed happy, greeted Ravuth like an old friend, and ordered two large sirloins and a bottle of Chardonnay. He then smiled and handed Ravuth $100. “Here Buddy take this, sorry about earlier and no hard feelings, I hope”

Ravuth took the money, “Thanks,” he said, thinking ‘maybe Jed wasn’t such a bad chap.’

As the evening wore on, Jed appeared interested in Ravuth’s lost family and village. He assured Ravuth that he would put 100% effort into finding them and arranged to meet in his office the following morning.

Ravuth nodded and finished his beer.

“Oh,” said Jed, “I might have great news for you Buddy; I have to meet wealthy clients in Bangkok the day after tomorrow who are also trying to trace a family in the same area. I will take your information along and see what they have.” Jed leant over to Ravuth and said, “They were desperate and paying well over my fee; so maybe I can take your case free. I will let you know when I get back from our meeting.”

“Fantastic, thanks Jed,” said Ravuth, with a big grin.

“Okay Buddy,” see you in the morning.

Ravuth went back to the hotel feeling relieved and happy. He had'd had a pleasant evening with his money returned and a free meal and felt, at last, he had made a helpful friend in Cambodia. ‘I misjudged Jed,’ he thought, as he sorted through his papers for their meeting.

The following morning, Ravuth arrived at Jed’s office, told Jed details about his family again, and then went over the photocopies of his family photographs. Jed pointed at one image, laughed, and said, “Your mother looks like she’s seen a ghost. What’s the story behind this one?”

Ravuth smiled as he saw the image and as the happy memory came back, he told Jed about the camera and his father surprising his mother by the flash.

Jed looked closer at the image, squinted at it, and asked, “What’s that your mother’s holding?”

Ravuth smiled. “It was a plant that Oun and I found after getting lost near our village when we were kids.” He frowned and added, “The day before the Khmer Rouge came.”

“That’s an interesting looking plant, it looks like a poppy, but I’ve never seen a poppy like that before, did you find many?” Jed asked.

Ravuth shook his head, “No, only one, maybe there’s more, I don’t know.” said Ravuth, not wanting to mention his cake spice.

“Do you think you are close to finding the village Buddy?” Asked Jed

Ravuth smiled, nodded, and said, “Yes, I know I am in the right area.”

Jed grinned and not wanting to appear eager, looked at other images. He tried to hide the tingle of excitement that now coursed through his body.

As the day wore on, Jed gleaned the information from Ravuth he needed to know. Ravuth furnished him with more details about how he and Oun discovered the plant, and he’d located the area where he felt certain his village was.

Jed looked at his watch, stretched, and said. “It’s getting late and I have to fly to Bangkok in the morning. Let’s go eat and grab an early night Buddy.”

Ravuth returned to his hotel after the long, but rewarding day. He had given Jed copies of plans, GPS coordinates, photographs, and other relevant details. He felt elated when Jed told him that after meeting with his client in Bangkok, he would come back, undertake Ravuth’s case, and find his family. Jed told Ravuth that he would have his people search while he was in England.

Ravuth set off for his four-hour drive the following day and trudged through the mud to spend the day searching. Driving back to Phnom Penh drenched again, he thought how much easier it would be with a vehicle.

Jed returned from Bangkok three days later. He'd phoned Ravuth from Thailand the morning before he left, sounding ecstatic. He said he had great news and wanted to meet him when he got back, so Ravuth went to Phnom Penh International Airport late afternoon to meet him.

Jed came from the arrivals section with a beaming smile and went over to Ravuth, vigorously shaking his hand.

“I have great news,” said Jed, “Oh, did you have any success finding your village while I was away?”

Ravuth sighed and replied, “No, I am afraid not,” and noticing how happy Jed seemed, added, “You look like you have just won the lottery.”

Jed smiled and asked, “Do you think you are close?”

Ravuth nodded, “I’m sure that I am. I found a new section yesterday that looked familiar, but I got bogged down and couldn’t go any further. I marked it on my chart. It’s disappointing that I have to go home tomorrow, otherwise, I would search more.”

“That’s okay Buddy,” said Jed. “I will have someone who knows the area check it out while you are away if you leave me some details”

Ravuth smiled and nodded as they walked to a waiting taxi andgot into the back seat. Jed smiled and said, “Great news Ravuth. My client’s in Bangkok will finance everything, they are happy to foot the bill.”

Feeling elated, Ravuth smiled as Jed leant over and whispered, “However, I do have one stipulation. Don’t give anyone else details of your case. My Bangkok clients are important people and they don’t want anyone to know that they have any involvement locating people in Cambodia.”

“I understand. Don’t worry mate, I won’t tell a soul,” said Ravuth, adding “What a coincidence that they are trying to find missing relatives in the same area.”

Jed nodded, “Beneficial for everyone,” he said, looking pleased.

The taxi pulled up outside Jed’s office.

Ravuth, using Jed’s scanner/printer, copied his updated the maps with his recent search area.

They spent two hours going through the details of Ravuth recent search, with Jed reassuring him that he would find his family thanks to their new benefactor’s money, although not revealing any details. Ravuth didn’t care, and by the look of relief Jed saw across the happy Cambodian’s face, he knew things would go according to plan.

“I will take you to the airport tomorrow Buddy, so let’s go celebrate. I am sure we will soon find your family, and maybe the village,” said Jed, grinning.

Packing his belongings the next morning proved difficult. ‘I should have done this last night before we went out,’ thought Ravuth as he slowly folded a shirt. Feeling hungover, he tried recalling the previous night’s events. He remembered drinking shots, cocktails, and copious amounts of beer with Jed, who insisted that he played with the young ladies . At first, he refused as it was out of his character. However, as the night wore on, he had vague recollections of warming to the idea. He remembered being in the Bunny bar and, while Jed was talking to the owner, a pleasant English chap named Robin, he remembered fawning over the giggling bar girls, much to the amusement of Jed and Robin. Jed was an excellent chaperone and Ravuth lost track of how many girly bars they visited, but they all seemed to know Jed. He couldn’t remember what time he got back to the hotel or how he’d got back. After checking out of the hotel, he waited for Jed in the reception. He forced down some food until Jed appeared at 2:00 pm to drive him to the airport.

Jed laughed and joked with the hungover Ravuth and hotel reception staff. He took Ravuth’s bags and loaded them into a Lexus RX350.

“Nice car,” said Ravuth smirking.

Jed grinned. “Thanks Buddy, it’s the new company car that the clients in Bangkok insisted I buy.”

They drove to the airport with Jed chatting about his new S.U.V, purchased that morning. The car smelt showroom-new, which turned Ravuth’s delicate stomach. They arrived at the airport and said their farewells. Jed drove away once Ravuth checked in, and he flew home to England a few hours later.

He had only been home for several hours when his phone rang. It was Jed, making sure he had arrived back safely and was okay. He smiled as he gazed at the phone, relieved that he’d, at last, found someone who cared, and knew detective work, thought, ‘I was wrong about Jed. I now have a good friend.