‘How disgusting.’ She turned to Boerman. ‘You know, I’ve just realised what he reminds me of. We did a story on a grotesque, noseless primate on the Mekong River in Myanmar, which has a passing resemblance to Elvis.’ Sura indicated Douglas’s deformed nose. ‘Lacking a protective cover for its nostrils, the species frequently catches cold, and has to keep its head down during the constant rain.’

Boerman seemed to find this hilarious, and laughed loudly.

‘Are you here to make jokes about a dying man, or do you have something useful to say?’

Sitting herself down on the opposite table, Sura gripped the edge and idly swung her legs back and forth.

‘You worked with Doctor Paul Ford at the Ford Mission for three years, yes?’

Mia hadn’t told anyone that specifically, which meant they’d been doing some digging.

‘Yes.’

‘And now you’re going back. Why would anyone want to do that?’

‘Sorry, I don’t understand the question.’

Sura smiled faintly. ‘You’re a very attractive woman, Doctor Carter. Easy to see why the old man was keen to have you around. I wonder, though, what could he possibly have offered you to live in such a backwater?’

Mia was confused, both by the question, and by the fact Sura was talking in the past tense.

‘Has something happened to Paul?’

‘Answer the question.’ Boerman came closer.

‘Fuck off,’ Mia snapped without thinking.

Boerman’s cheeks flushed red as he showed her the back of his hand. Then Sura clicked her fingers at him, and he stepped back like an obedient dog.

Sura was staring in a way that made Mia feel cold, despite the stifling heat.

‘Your situation is tenuous, Doctor Carter. While this may be unfamiliar to you, I strongly advise you to use your common sense and answer my questions.’

Mia barely heard her. ‘Has something happened to Paul?’

Sura sighed and nodded at Boerman, who stepped up, engulfed Mia’s right hand in a massive fist, and squeezed. The extreme pressure made her cry out. With his free hand he gave her a lazy slap across the face.

‘Think about what it would be like to never operate again, Doctor Carter.’ Twin bursts of scarlet had bloomed in Sura’s cheeks, and Mia knew she was getting off on her pain. ‘Now answer my question. Why are you returning to the Ford Mission?’

‘To work . . . I want to help the people.’ Mia was gasping with the pain. Boerman could crush the bones of her hand without even trying.

‘The people?’ Sura laughed mirthlessly. ‘Oh, spare us another deluded Western bleeding heart. With every arms sale, your culture ruthlessly propagates its ideology, yet you have the gall to smugly pass judgement on my country’s activities within its own territory.’

When Mia said nothing, Sura looked disappointed at her lack of rebuttal.