“Look at my lists. These are the alternative ways we could write the names of the men in Toshi’s unit. Some have up to thirty options. At first, I didn’t know what I was looking for. I looked through the lists trying to match this or that kanji, and it was in the kanji of Jame Nomishige that I had a breakthrough. I saw something I recognized. I’m from Tokushima and our local folklore has a character called Yama Jiji. Japan has many cautionary tales to keep our children in line. If you don’t eat your vegetables the carrot monster will come and bite off your feet; that type of thing. And over the years these demons took on form and became monsters in the fairy tales. Yama Jiji is a demon who knows exactly what you’re thinking. You can’t keep a secret from him. I used to be petrified by stories about him. So when I saw the words ‘Yama’ and ‘Jiji’ in my list of possible hidden kanji names for Captain Jame Nomishige, it seemed to be too much of a coincidence. At first I laughed. It was like finding Santa in one column and Claus in another: a funny coincidence.

“But I continued my search and, remarkably, in the columns of another name, Taigou the dog, I found kanji that spelled out Okami. This too rang a bell. I phoned my sensei in Bangkok—and I must tell you she has started to look forward to my calls—and she immediately identified Senbiki Okami as being another demon. Toshi’s faithful dog is an evil spirit. She gave me a list of all the yokai she could remember.”

“Yokai?” said Daeng.

“Yes, they’re devils. They are the many demons that haunt our sleep. With her suggestions I quickly found one more, Aka Name, in the name of Oshiira, the toilet cleaner. My sensei asked me to fax her my lists so she could save me time in my search. In fact I knew she was as addicted to the puzzle as I was.”

“So Toshi was stationed in Thakhek with a gang of devils?” said Siri.

Given his own run-ins with malevolent spirits, Siri didn’t see it as at all strange that a unit of Japanese soldiers should include creatures from the dark side.

“What about Toshi himself?” asked Daeng.

“I couldn’t find any hidden devils in his name,” said Kyoko.

“But he’s hanging out with lowlifes,” said Daeng. “He must be one of them.”

“Not necessarily,” said Siri. “We know Hiro exists as Toshi. Perhaps he gave his unit mates nicknames to protect their real identities.”

“And he gave them all devil names?” said Daeng.

“I suppose it might have been his private joke,” said Kyoko. “I’ll see what my sensei says and I’ll let you know.”

She poured them all tea. Beer helped himself to more cookies.