"previously ON MATRlOSHKl" "Hello, Nastya?" "It's me." "Where are you?" " l've run away." "You're not serious!" " l'm..." "I'm going home." "Thought any more about Bulgaria?" " Could be interesting." "But I don't trust you." "You can go, but I'm sending someone with you." "Who?" " Tony." "You're havin' me on, right?" "Here they are then." "Pretty girls, aren't they?" "Wake up." "We're there." "Bye." "Sveta!" " Hello Auntie Ljoeda." "I'm back." " Yes, so I see." "What's happened?" "Where's your case?" "So you didn't earn anything at all in Belgium?" "Not much..." " You should've stayed here, Sveta." "You can earn 'not much' here too." "How long did it take to get back here?" " Almost three days." "Only three days?" "I thought Belgium was a lot further than that." "What are you going to do now?" "I don't know, Auntie." "I really don't know..." "What about Nastya?" "Why didn't she come back with you?" "Have you two had an argument?" " No." "It was terrible." "I..." "I feel awful." "You poor child..." "What am I going to do with you?" "Sveta!" " Hello Auntie Nadia." "Have you come back?" "Where's Nastya?" "She's still in Belgium." " Come in, come in." "She's not there. I'll try her mobile." "Hello?" " Nastya, it's me." "I'm back in Tiraspol." "Your mother's here with me." "Hello?" "Nastya?" " Mum!" "Hold on a minute." "How are things, Mum?" "Not good." "Serioja has been ill all week." "He felt sick but he's better now." "Hold on..." "Serioja, say something to Mummy." "Mummy!" "Hello sweetie!" " Mummy!" "Mummy will be home soon." "I've got to work here a bit longer and then I'll be back. I promise." "Hugs and kisses!" "Nastya... I don't know how we're going to make it to the end of the month." "There's no money left and Uncle Volodja won't lend us any more." "He just sent me away." "Hold on a bit longer. I'll send you some money as soon as I can." "I'll call Sveta to arrange it." "Why don't you come back, child?" "Serioja asks for you a dozen times a day." "Why didn't you come back with Sveta?" "Hang on a bit longer, Mum." "What's it like there?" "is everything OK?" " Everything's fine. I'm working here..." "Nastya?" "Four Cheeses?" "That's for me." "Mushrooms." "Meat Lovers' Extra Spicy?" " That's mine." "And a newspaper." "Bloody hell!" "Antwerp crook murdered in Thailand" "Ray's dead." "Here, look." "What?" " How can he be dead?" "During excavation work in Pattaya in Thailand the badly beaten body of Antwerp crook Raymond Van Mechelen was found." "Two suspects have been arrested, English brothers who are involved in the local prostitution racket." "Fuckin' hell!" "Those are the two we... I knew they were scumbags the minute I laid eyes on 'em!" "A real pair of lowlifes!" "Man!" "They buried him in their own back garden!" "Hello?" " Jan?" "It's me." "They've found Ray. lt's in the paper." " Really?" "What happened?" " l don't know." "They've arrested those English guys." "Can I call you back later?" "I can't hear you very well." "I'm in a taxi in Sofia..." "Hello?" "Hello?" "What on earth is that?" " Well... lt used to be a good chicken." "It smells weird again!" "No, dammit!" "It's not nice!" "Much too spicy." "I'm gonna have a sandwich." "That's it, pull a face!" " lt's not nice!" "It's too spicy!" "Learn Dutch!" "You stupid cow!" "Come on, get changed." "We're opening in twenty minutes." "What's the matter?" "What's up, Alyona?" " Do you work here for free?" "No." " Well, neither do we any more!" "Listen." "Morozov made a deal with the boss." "50 euro per night plus half of what the clients pay." "We know." "But we don't see any of it." "We haven't earned a thing since we arrived in Belgium!" "We work our arses off until four in the morning." "Then back to Brussels, get a couple of hours sleep..." "And in the afternoon clients come to the apartment." "I've done three today, she's done two." "We haven't even got enough money to buy cigarettes or a phone card." "That's not right!" " We even have to hand over our tips!" "Have you talked to Maksim about it?" "Yes, and he almost broke my arm!" "Have you ever tried talking to that arsehole?" "Do you want to go home?" "I came here because I need the money." "Because I really need the money." "I can't do this in Kiev." "If someone were to recognise me..." " My father would kill me!" "Other girls here get half of what the clients pay." "What should we do?" "Get changed." "I'll come up with something." "Seriously?" "How?" " Just give me a while, Alyona." "Now get changed, quickly." "Don't you get it?" "It's better that they're in Belgium with a couple of farmers than in Pattaya!" "They're not gonna go to the cops in Belgium, trust me!" "It's better this way!" "Think of it as a present from Carlo." "I don't know, Jan. l'm not happy about it." "When Danny read about it, he gave me a strange look." "Don't be ridiculous, man!" "Danny always looks strange!" "That's just his ugly mug!" " Did Tony say anything about it?" "No, he doesn't know about it." "They don't sell Belgian newspapers here." "I'll give you a call tomorrow." "Don't worry about it!" "What?" "Ray Van Mechelen is dead." " What?" "Are you havin' me on?" " No." "What happened?" " He was murdered." "He wasn't!" "Out there in Pattaya?" "Do they know who did it?" " They've arrested two English guys." "Are there only six?" "Two more later." "And more tomorrow." " How many?" "Seven." "Maybe eight." "I've been offered 800 euro for her." " Who by?" "Show them your tits." "Go on!" "He's offering 850." " 900." "1 ,100." "He'll pay 2,000 for the pair of them." " No." "He can have 'em." "Get your stuff out of the car." "You're going with them." "Yeah, right!" "Quickly, go and get dressed and then leave via the emergency exit." "Seriously?" " Your passports are in your rucksacks." "Thanks, lnesa." " l'll call you tomorrow." "Thanks. I really mean it." "There." "Come on, we're going." "See you in Antwerp." "OK." "You're staying here tonight." " Why?" "Because I say so." "What are you going to do?" " Take a test drive!" "Nothing there you fancy?" " No!" "Come on, Tony." "There must be one cuddly toy you wanna play with!" "Eh?" "You'll have me thinkin' you're a fuckin' faggot in a minute!" "Leave it, Jan." "How about that one?" "Eh?" "What's up, pal?" "You know what they say about all work and no play..." "You're staying here too. I'll pick you both up at 9 tomorrow morning." "Coffee!" "Your family's in Thailand." "No!" "That's it... pull a face again!" "The girls are still asleep." " Why did you bring them here?" "There's enough room above the Pussycat." "There were a few problems yesterday." " You should've taken 'em to Bob Sels." "He's got a lot more room in his fancy villa than we have here." "Well, he has!" "What are we gonna do about Ray?" "We can't just leave him out there." "There's not gonna be much left of him." " Show a bit of respect!" "What?" "In that heat?" "How long has he been in the ground?" "Yeah..." "There won't be much left apart from a few bones." "Ray's a pal." "He should be buried in his own country." "And how are you gonna get him back here?" "By plane." " And who's gonna pay for it?" "That's the family's job." " You know Ray didn't have any family." "It'll take more than a couple of thousand euro to cover it." "Won't the authorities help?" "Social Services or something?" " You wanker!" "Maybe you could write to the King!" "What if we all club together?" "You, me and Jan. All the old gang." "Anyway, Jan still owed Ray a shitload of money." "And maybe Bob will help too." " How are you gonna find your share?" "You ain't got a pot to piss in!" "I'm flat fuckin' broke too." "What?" "You needn't think I'm gonna spend a month on my back to bring that scumbag's bones back here!" "Have you got a screw loose?" "To be honest, it doesn't make much difference to Ray." "Does it, Danny?" "Who's gonna reimburse me?" "You maybe?" " Sorry, but I'm not a babysitter!" "Fifteen girls work here." "I can't keep them under lock and key!" "You put your own doorman here, who we have to pay for." "Maybe he should have done his job better!" "Maybe you should shut your mouth!" "You can't find them?" " No." "Not a day?" "!" " What do you think?" "Bob." "She doesn't want to work any more." "She wants to go home." "Hi Bob." " Eddy." "Are you from Russia?" " No, from Transdniestr." "Not bad, are they?" " Good-lookers, eh?" "I can't do this any more, Pat." "Watch out." "The pig's coming..." "Well?" "Worn out already?" "No!" "Right..." "Later... sex." "Come on!" "Get on with your work!" "You lazy cow!" "What was that?" "Go on..." "Come on then!" "Come on then!" "Pat!" "Don't!" "What were you up to in Thailand, Stoefs?" "Nothing." "I just fancied going there." " Oh, right." "When was the last time you saw Van Mechelen out there?" "Just before I came home." "At the villa where you were staying?" " Yes." "You know Van Mechelen's body was found in that villa's garden?" "No. I didn't know that." " Do you know those two brothers?" "Tom and Andy Gallagher?" "I wouldn't say I know them." "I met them a couple of times." "But you stayed at their villa." " l didn't know that." "I was staying with a friend." " What's this friend's name?" "Jan Verplancke." "Why did he come back to Belgium?" "Wasn't he having fun any more?" " l don't know." "Ask him." "Isn't it all a bit too much of a coincidence?" "Jan Verplancke lives in Pattaya for more than a year and then suddenly leaves." "Two weeks later they find Van Mechelen's body in his garden." "Ray was our pal!" "We're even trying to find a way to have him buried in Belgium." "I'm touched!" "I can hardly hold back the tears!" "What was Van Mechelen doing in Pattaya?" " l don't know." "It didn't happen to have anything to do with women, did it?" "I don't think so." " Did he deal with those English guys?" "You don't know much, considering you were such good pals." "Didn't Verplancke and Van Mechelen have an argument about money?" "I don't know." "Verplancke bought into the English guys' business using Van Mechelen's money, eh?" "I don't know." " And your money." "It was only a small sum and that's all been sorted now." "I think we should keep Mr Stoefs here for a bit." "Until we've found Mr Verplancke." " But he's not in Belgium!" "Well, that's unfortunate for you then, eh?" "Come on, give me your mobile phone." "Come on. I won't lose it." "The boss is delayed." "He'll be an hour late." "I'm not gonna wait." "Can we settle up?" "Three times 2,000 plus 300 for security." "That's 6,300 euro in total." "Can they pole dance?" " Does that matter?" "They can give blow-jobs and fuck." "That's more than enough." "Don't you need to count it?" " Right." "Now I want to know where Alyona and Yana are." "I don't know. I haven't got them." "The next one will be in your insolent face!" "Where are they?" "I don't know." "No!" "Please!" "They left with a client." "What was his name?" " l don't know." "You do know!" "Eddy!" "His name was Eddy!" " Where does Eddy live?" "I want an address." " l don't know it off by heart." "Then look it up." "It's me, Pat." "Open the door." "They're watching television." "Look, their address is on here." "Hello." "Mr Stoefs claims that you still owed Raymond Van Mechelen a lot of money." "Mr Stoefs doesn't know what he's talking about!" "Ray had asked me to make a couple of investments for him." "And when he got out of the cooler, he needed the money." "He spent a week with me in Thailand and I paid it all back to him." "Plus a serious amount of interest." "Come in." "Oh, Mr Stoefs." "Good morning." "Take a seat." "Yesterday you told us the two of you had seen Raymond Van Mechelen the day before you both left for Belgium." "According to Mr Verplancke that's not true." "I wasn't there!" " Yes, you were!" "You arrived a bit later." " l didn't see Ray, Eddy." "Believe me." "I must've got it wrong." "But what are you getting at?" "It's obvious what happened!" " Really?" "Why don't you tell us?" "Listen." "Doing business in Thailand isn't easy for foreigners." "They'd rather you didn't." "You need 25 licences just to open a bar." "One to be able to sell spirits, one for the music, one to be allowed to dance, one to stay open after midnight, one to put a bin out in the street." "You name it, you need one." "And when you think you've got 'em all, they invent another one." "Right." "And those licences have to be paid for straight away." "But it takes a couple of years before you actually get 'em." "Unless you come to an arrangement." "If you know what I mean." "Those English guys had arranged for all the licences but that wasn't enough." "We had to pay the cops protection money every month." "And it just went up and up." "Until one of the brothers said that was it, he'd had enough." "And that's when the trouble really started." "I'm surprised you managed to stick it for more than a year." "We'd taken over a small hotel too." "Just something for backpackers." "Well, one night that got torched." "Eddy was damn lucky he managed to get out in time!" "And suddenly the bar was closed for three weeks." "Just like that!" "It was one thing after another." "And so I said, I've had enough, guys. I'm outta here." "I'm going back to Belgium." "But the Gallagher brothers are stubborn bastards." "They just carried on." "Then Ray showed up." "Everyone noticed he was spending a lot of time with them." "So they wasted him and buried him in those guys' garden." "That's the way things go in that country." "They wanted to teach all the foreigners a lesson." "Pay or get out!" "We're only interested in the matter of Raymond Van Mechelen." "Can you actually prove any of what you've just said?" "I wasn't actually there." "Hi Paul." "You haven't changed a bit, God dammit!" "Carlo." "Hello." "I told you yesterday evening, Carlo." "We're full to bursting!" "I haven't got any more room." " Right..." "Have you only got these Russian bimbos?" " No." "I've got girls from Ukraine, Bulgaria and God knows where else." "All from the Eastern bloc, right?" " True." "That's what the clients want." " Come on... I'm not gonna rob you blind." "I'm not asking a fortune for them." "I'm not buying anything else, Carlo." "Three new ones started last night." "You buy 'em from Bob Sels, eh?" " l've got some from Bob, yeah." "But not all of 'em." "Bob's got too expensive." "Take her away." "She's useless." "I'll leave 'em here for 4,000 euro." "And you can do what you like with 'em." "I'm not buying anything else, Carlo." "I've got enough." "Fine." "I'll tell you what, I've got another idea." "Try them." "Eh?" "I'll leave 'em here and pick 'em up later tonight." "We'll split what they earn 50-50." "And they keep their tips." "Come on, Paul." "What have you got to lose?" "Can they dance?" " Everyone can dance in Thailand." "60-40." "If they give me any hassle, they needn't bother coming back tomorrow." "He's not answering." "It's his answering machine." "It's me, Eddy." "Where are you?" "Give me a call, I'm getting worried." "And you've still got my car keys." "Hey, they're not yours!" " No." "They're Eddy's." "I don't believe you still can't do this yourself!" "Hold on." "Hello." " Bob?" "It's me, Esther." "You sound strange." "Have you got a cold?" "No. I've been punched in the nose!" "I'm calling from the hospital." "Two Russians burst into our place looking for Eddy." "But Eddy wasn't there and they set about Danny." "What?" "Two Russians?" "What did they want Eddy for?" " How should I know?" "They're keeping Danny in for a bit, so he can't come to work this evening." " What did they do to him?" "They burnt him with an iron." " Burnt him with an iron?" "Where?" "On his face?" " No, his arse!" "Are you havin' me on?" "No." "They wanted Eddy." "And Danny was in the middle of ironing his trousers..." "Put Danny on." " l can't." "They're still operating on him." " What exactly happened?" "The Russians thought Danny was Eddy." "Until they found his id card in his wallet and saw they'd got the wrong man." "I'll call you back this evening when I know more."