“Daeng, do you really not know how vital you are to my well-being? I can’t count how many times you’ve saved my life, reined in my insanity, made light of my senility. Surely you know what cancels out every one of those superficial moments shared by two cranky old men.”

“Noodles?”

“Love, Daeng. Love.”

And to the amusement of a grinning boatman, Siri gave Daeng the type of kiss that nobody along the banks of the river would ever forget.

The fat woman at the loom still had a cheroot dangling between her lips.

“He’s at the school,” she shouted.

“Isn’t it the weekend?” Daeng asked, not certain herself after all the goings-on.

“He likes to be there just as much when the kids aren’t there as when they are,” she said. “It’s peaceful up on the hill.”

Siri and Daeng followed the track. In Thakhek it was a muggy, hot day as the clouds gathered for another assault, but at the end of the tunnel there was a coolness. There was no breeze, just a drop in temperature of several degrees. Daeng breathed in the climate. They walked up to the schoolhouse. Satsai was at his desk mending what looked like a cordless metal cutter contraption. There was as much oil on the teacher’s shirt as on the machine.

“Knock knock,” said Siri.

Satsai looked up and smiled. If he was surprised to see Siri and Daeng he didn’t show it.

“I don’t suppose either of you have engineering degrees?” he said.

“Afraid we were born in an age before technology,” said Siri.

He and Daeng sat at the miniature desk. Satsai brushed all the motor parts into a heap and wiped his hands on a rag.

“I had a feeling you’d be back,” he said.

“Instinct?” said Daeng.

“Common sense,” said Satsai. “You came all the way to Thakhek to solve your mystery. You aren’t the types to give up. When I told you about the helicopter attack I could see a light behind your eyes. Even if that invasion wasn’t connected to your Japanese pilot story, I could see I’d fueled your imaginations. You are adventurers.”

“Ah, but you know it is connected to our pilot story,” said Siri.

“I do?”

“Yes,” said Daeng. “We know for certain that Hiro was here in your village. We assume he came here during his leave time. You weren’t absolutely honest in having us believe you’d never heard of him. Your village is the connection we were looking for. We don’t know if his presence caused the helicopter raid but my husband is most unforgiving towards coincidences.”

“Hate ’em,” said Siri.

Satsai looked up at the tight thatch of the roof. Like all the other structures, it had been assembled with care and love. He sighed.