“No. The cargo was checked and the gate locked in Xining. Nearly twenty-four hours ago. The entry can be opened only by entering the code on that keypad.”

“Did he carry identification?” Shan asked.

“No one wanted to touch him. One of my soldiers said he had been possessed by one of those blue-faced demons you see in old Tibetan temples. No one went near after that.”

“Public Security will have procedures they will want to follow.”

“To hell with them. It’s not the first time someone has died on these trains. They will just reprint the usual press release, lamenting another accident caused by the ill health of the passenger and issue a reminder to the public to consult the doctor on board when they travel. I don’t need that. I need the truth. You’re my Special Investigator. What are your procedures?”

“There’s a doctor?”

“Every train from Xining has one.” Tan anticipated Shan’s next question and turned to the officer who was waiting down the aisle. “Find the doctor,” he called out.

Shan clenched his jaw and reached out. The dead man’s limbs would not move, though he could not be sure if it was from rigor mortis or from being frozen. If he was going to find a wallet, he would need help moving the body. He pulled back the man’s heavy sweater and explored his shirt pocket, extracting a worn identity card and two business cards.

“Sun Lunshi,” he read from the official identification, then confirmed that the same name was on the topmost business card. “From the Institute of Applied Geophysics.” He stared at the logo of three interlocked mountains on the card, exactly as Marpa had described it from the van in Yangkar.

Tan took it from his hand and cursed as he read it.

“You know them?” Shan asked as he glanced at the second card. Dakini Delights, it said, over the legend Exotic drinks, exotic dancers, exotic adventures.

“I know the Institute. They show up at every big infrastructure project.”

“Infrastructure,” Shan repeated. “Like the Five Claws project.”

Tan frowned. “Half the Institute’s people are real scientists and engineers, the other half politicos who make sure the scientists plan their projects in a manner that achieves Party goals.”

“Which was he?” Shan asked.

“No idea.”

“Four of his colleagues were in Yangkar yesterday.”

Tan’s anger was instant. For a moment Shan actually thought he was going to slap the dead man. “They’re supposed to clear travel in Lhadrung with me,” he growled. “What the hell were they doing?”

“If you recall, Colonel, I was with you, watching a Tibetan hail chaser. They apparently took fixes on nearby mountains and photographed much of the town, including my station.” Shan looked back at the crate the man sat on. It did not have the army markings. “Were they shipping something with your munitions?”