“Of course not!” Tan snapped, then cursed as Shan pointed to a label on the crate bearing the Institute’s logo. The colonel summoned another staff officer, and as the officer received his orders and stepped away, Shan stopped him with one more request.

Tan remained in front of the dead man, fixing the body with a baleful stare, as Shan explored the cargo compartment. Tan was, Shan suspected, furious that the man had not survived to receive the colonel’s wrath. The quilted pads yielded nothing but a few bloodstains. The stacked crates were heavy, but two near the rear door had been knocked askew. On the small window of the rear door, beyond which soldiers waited with hand trucks, Shan discovered a smear of blood, six feet from the floor.

The doctor and the conductor both looked like they would try to flee at any moment were it not for the two fierce-looking soldiers who herded them toward Tan. The uniformed conductor was angry, and the tall, thin doctor clearly frightened.

“You have no authority over the railway company!” the conductor growled as he approached. “Our schedules are set by Beijing! They may not be disrupted! Our sky train is a national treasure! The stationmaster is calling a general in Lhasa this very minute!”

Tan smiled and stepped aside, revealing the frozen corpse. The conductor gasped and staggered backward, colliding with the crates behind him. The doctor clutched his belly, ran to the rear door and opened it in enough time so that most of the contents of his stomach made it on the tracks outside. The waiting soldiers erupted with laughter.

“Do you recognize him?” Tan asked the conductor. “A passenger? Or perhaps a stowaway?”

“Look at him!” the conductor sputtered. “How could I—” his words choked away.

“Imagine him less blue,” Tan suggested.

“Sun Lunshi,” Shan offered. “His name was Sun Lunshi. Search your manifest.”

The conductor still stared, so transfixed that Shan was not sure he had heard. Then he extracted an electronic device from his tunic pocket.

The doctor summoned enough courage to bend over the dead man, muttering under his breath. “I can’t be responsible for someone who hides!” he protested. He looked up at the colonel. “You must make it clear this one did not seek any assistance!” The physician was clearly not as concerned about the death as he was about his own reputation.

“How many deaths have you had on board the trains?” Shan asked.