“In fact I was what you might call lithe,” she said. “But you know how it is. Find yourself an attractive husband and let yourself go. Not that time did him any favors either. Bald as a blister he turned out to be. If only I’d—”

“So you were in a tree,” said Siri.

“That one there, in fact,” she said, pointing to a handsome willow that overhung the river. Not one of its limbs would have supported her weight now. “I scurried up there as soon as the shooting and the screaming started. Two of ’em came this way to secure the jetty and make sure no one got in or out through the tunnel.”

“You heard them say that?” asked Daeng.

“No,” said the woman. “I’m just assuming that was why they were standing on the jetty with their guns pointed at the tunnel. Truth is they didn’t say a word. Just chewed gum.”

“But you were close enough to see their faces?” said Siri.

“Didn’t get a great look,” she said. “They were all wearing those fancy reflecting sunglasses and had their hats pulled down over their faces. But I knew what American uniforms looked like. Saw enough of them in the comics.”

“So there was nothing that made you suspicious?” asked Siri.

“You mean apart from Americans flying a hundred-odd kilometers to shoot us and burn our village down? That was pretty suspicious.”

“I mean something more . . . subtle,” said Siri. “Something that seemed out of place to you.”

“No . . . well, perhaps there was something.”

“What?”

“Their uniforms were brand-spanking new. Could see the folds. But both of them had their trousers held up with rope. You’d think if a government could afford four million dollars a week to kill communists, the least they could do is spring for nice leather belts, wouldn’t you?”

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

The Belts Tighten

Siri and Daeng had the foresight to bring flashlights on this journey through the caves. They could enjoy the cathedral-like chambers and the twinkly crystal candelabras. They could forget that bats carry the top twenty lethal airborne diseases and that they’d probably die from inhaling bat feces so they could see the Tunnel of Love for what it was: a fairy tale. It was the ideal opening setting for Siri’s movie. If his coproducer Civilai had been there they’d have already plotted out the storyboard and worked out the camera angles. But Civilai was off in Nirvana auditioning angels and Siri had to learn to put his movie career on hold. But what a setting.

Back in daylight, he sat close to Daeng on the longboat and they exchanged a smile as the light patter of river spray hit their cheeks. He was sure his wife had worked everything out, as had he.