Instalment No. 12 (b)

The search for Jim continues


With the dwindling of the police field force, the casting about for Jim took on an entirely different twist -- the seekers narrowed down to two categories: the first were experts who knew the jungle like the back of their hands; the second were those who delved into the supernatural. Both parties were just as confident of success. Put simply, they were more than eager to go out of their way to track Jim down.


Excerpts from Chapter Eleven, pages 37-38, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 12 (c)

Richard Noone joins in the hunt


On Sunday, April 23, Richard Noone, 49, a British planning officer with the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) came onto the scene. He was no stranger to the jungles of the area. At one stage, he served as head of the Malayan Department of Aborigines.

After two days of careful planning, Richard, a Cambridge-trained anthropologist, went into the woods with two assistants. Both helpers were equally at home in any tropical rainforest: one was a border scout from Sarawak; the other was an aborigine witch doctor.

For three days, the trio went to great lengths to look for Jim. While moving around in thick jungle, they came into contact with a few aborigines but they were unable to provide the threesome with leads as to where Jim could be found. Undiscouraged, the group carried on exploring in the hope of meeting up with him from where the field force had earlier left off.


Excerpts from Chapter Eleven, page 38, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6.

Instalment No. 12 (d)

Peter Hurkos springs a surprise


While Richard and his two partners were still in the wilderness, a controversial figure showed up at Tanah Rata. He was none other than Peter Hurkos, a private investigator from the United States. He came to the area on Tuesday, April 25 with his personal secretary, Miss Stephany Farb and lieutenant Dennis Horgan, the aide to brigadier general Edwin Black.

While the three of them were at the Cameronian town, Peter quickly took the opportunity to make his extrasensory powers known. He told some members of the police force interesting things about their lives. A young officer, for instance, was told that prior to his reporting for duty, he made love to his wife on a kitchen table. Peter's assessment turned out to be correct.

As for the circumstances that Jim was in, Peter was sure he had an appropriate answer. While he was at the chateau, the first thing he did was to pace the garden in a very unusual manner. Then he stopped to feel a chair which was left at the veranda. After a short pause, he gave out a loud yell, 'This is the chair! Yes, this is the chair that Jim sat on just before he disappeared!' A brief silence followed. A few minutes later, he sat down on the floor just outside the house. A photograph of Jim and two maps were laid out. The first drawing highlighted the countries which made up the continent of Asia; the second featured the details of the resort. While shifting his eyes at Jim's photograph and the two charts, his face grew tensed. Seconds later he broke out into a strange stammer.

...aagh, Prebi, ooogh... Thompson... Prebi, Pridi... fourteen people... fourteen people took him... orah blah-lun-dah Bebe... he is not in the jungle... I see truck... ah, truck, about from here on the road... he walks down the road... somebody woke him up... he was sitting outside and somebody came in here... a friend of his... Bebe or Prebie... truck on the road... fourteen people... one person here, one person picked him up... he knows him... he was sitting on the veranda and the men came in... asked for something, I don't know... he went down the road... got chloroform... chloroform... sleep in truck...


Excerpts from Chapter Eleven, pages 38-39, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 12 (e)

Peter Hurkos drops a hint


After returning to his normal self, Peter did state, 'it is ridiculous to look for Jim at the Highlands or even within a-hundred-and-sixty kilometre radius of it'

'There is no way that you'll find him there,' he said. 'It's just that he had been abducted to another country. You can take it from me that he is not being held for ransom. I am prepared to stake my neck on this!'


Excerpts from Chapter Eleven, page 39, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 13

Richard Noone comes up with a different view

On Wednesday, April 26, Richard Noone and his two assistants, Rahim bin Kamman and Toh Pawang Angah Sidek, emerged from the forest. In all, they spent a total of thirty-six hours looking for Jim.

'I am fully convinced,' Richard told a group of reporters, 'that neither Jim nor his body are in the jungle. We went further into the jungle, starting off from where the police field force men had earlier left off. But we could not find any clue which could be of use in leading us to him.

'During our search, we came across a steep cliff. We had to turn back. I don't think it would have been possible for Jim at his age to have scaled that cliff. Furthermore, I don't think he would have gone as far as we went if he did go into the woods.'


Excerpts from Chapter Twelve, page 45, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 14 (a)

To each his own

The departure of Jim was not only puzzling; it also stirred many to come up with their own conclusions. One such speculation was that while he was in the forest, Jim accidentally came into contact with an attractive 'love-starved' girl. After a brief acquaintance, he went ahead and married her.

An Iban, when told of this reasoning, found it to be rather hard to accept. He said, 'Such a development is unlikely to have happened. What could have possibly unfolded is this: while he was trying to find his way through the jungle, he could have been spotted by an aborigine without his even knowing it. I supposed the native must have made use of his blowpipe and blew a dart straight into him.'


Excerpts from Chapter Thirteen, page 47, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 14 (b)

British mind reader thinks otherwise

A British mind reader did not think that this was likely the case. He alleged that Jim was very much like an old elephant. Jim, he sensed, was well aware that it was more or less time for him to die. To die in the city of Bangkok made no sense at all to him. The impenetrable vegetation of the Malaysian 'alps' seemed more appropriate. So on Sunday, March 26, when the Lings were in their bedroom and his friend Constance was in a different room, he quietly left the house and made his way for the woods. While he was on the uncultivated land, he kept on walking for as long as his legs could carry him. A few days later, he collapsed in exhaustion and died.


Excerpts from Chapter Thirteen, page 47, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 14 (c)

Jim run down by truck

A Caucasian lady, however, made it out to be otherwise. She mentioned that she was informed by a very reliable source that Jim was run down by a truck while he was heading for the main road. On realising that he had done wrong, the driver quickly dumped the mangled body into the rear of his vehicle and later saw to it that it was disposed of quietly.


Excerpts from Chapter Thirteen, page 47, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 14 (d)

Jim disappears from the scene

A lawyer, when informed about this piece of speculation, took it to be a 'little out of this world'. Based on reports which he read of in the press, he was sure that Jim did not go into the forest at all. 'If he had done so,' he said, 'he would have been found.'

'Jim,' he reasoned, 'was not a stupid person. He must have been in some difficulty which he found hard to overcome. Such being the case, he had to make it appear as though he was going for a long-deserved vacation. Along the way, he vanished from the scene.'


Excerpts from Chapter Thirteen, page 48, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 14 (e)

Thais interpret things differently

A number of Thais were of the conviction that Jim could have, knowingly or unknowingly, positioned a newly acquired image in an entirely wrong area of his house. This act of carelessness, they sensed, could have brought about much sorrow and anguish to the idol in question. To teach him a good lesson, the spirit made him go round in circles. Being stubborn, he chose not to repent. It was because of this, they reasoned, that he has continued to remain disorientated all this while.


Excerpts from Chapter Thirteen, page 49, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 14 (f)

Jim loses his sense of direction

Apart from the Thais, the Malaysians too had their own views: it ranged from his being kidnapped to his slipping and falling into an animal trap.

Across the Causeway, however, most Singaporeans were of the opinion that Jim could have been lost as a result of losing his sense of direction. They felt that if he could get his bearing right, he should be able to find his way back in no time at all.


Excerpts from Chapter Thirteen, page 49, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 14 (g)

Jim drifts into the jungle

When asked for his assessment, Dr Ling mentioned that it is a fact that Jim 'was by nature an adventurous person. (It is common knowledge) that he had a particular interest in wild plants'. He felt that it was more these two factors than anything else that could have 'carried him further into the jungle'.


Excerpts from Chapter Thirteen, page 50, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

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Dear Chandra3,

I suppose it has a lot to do with demand and supply.

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Regards and best wishes.

Edward Roy De Souza

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope your book sells well in the coming year.