Shan realized that Ko had seen Lieutenant Huan take Yankay the hail chaser away to face murder charges. He glanced at his watch. Their time was almost over, and he did not want to spend what was left speaking of his investigation. “Marpa says he wants to plan a big feast for next time you come to visit,” Shan said, forcing a smile. While Ko had been given a brief parole months earlier, no others had followed, and there was no way to predict when Tan would allow another. It could be in two months or two years. Ko had been convicted of several crimes, some of which carried indefinite sentences, subject to the review of his file every two years.

“A lammergeier!” Yara called and pointed nearly straight up toward a huge bird soaring overhead. “A good sign, Ko!”

Ko lifted his head to follow her pointing arm, and Shan saw a long bruise on his neck that disappeared under his shirt. “What happened?” he asked with a gesture to the injury.

Ko snapped his head down. “It’s nothing. From work. I fell down when pushing a wheelbarrow and the handle slammed into me,” he said, then pointed toward a nearby family, where three children had formed a circle around a prisoner and were singing to him. Shan smiled and accepted his son’s obvious change of subject, knowing he had made up the story of how the injury had happened. Sometimes there were fights among prisoners, often Chinese versus Tibetans, but Ko was smarter than to be drawn into such feuds. More painful to contemplate was the alternative. Most of the guards knew Ko was his son. Ko was his weak spot. If he hadn’t been in brawls with other prisoners, then his injuries could only mean he was being beaten by the guards.

CHAPTER TEN

Tserung the mechanic laughed when Shan asked about Lokesh, saying that the old man had indeed immediately gone into the archives when they had arrived in Yangkar, as Shan expected, but had not stayed. Lokesh had recalled that Tserung had mentioned during their drive to town that Yara’s grandparents were visiting for the coming livestock market and had gone to find them. Yara reacted to the news with a nervous laugh and motioned Shan back into the truck.

The compound beyond the edge of town that she directed him to had once belonged to one of the most important of the farming families in the region and had sat abandoned for decades, except for the sheep and goats who found their way into the old stables during winter storms. Most of the local residents avoided the buildings because they were said to be haunted.