“Life went on pretty much as normal. The French and Vietnamese administered, the laborers toiled, the children studied in the temples, and the market was busy. And in the background the Japanese forces expanded. Troops came and went but we ignored them. It wasn’t our war then.”

“Does the name Kangen Toshimado mean anything to you?” Siri asked.

“Not from memory.”

“What about a major general named Dorari Momoyotsu?”

“Dr. Siri, I tell you. We weren’t on speaking terms with anyone but Miura. Once they’d all settled in he was the one running back and forth between the French and Japanese administrators passing on messages and requests from his bosses. He was the true hero of the occupation.”

“And you fell in love.”

“He wasn’t much to look at. In fact he looked like one of those naked cats they breed in Egypt. But I was no Madonna. I was the French-to-Vietnamese-to-Lao translator. He was Japanese-to-French. We sort of filled in each other’s gaps.”

“I’m sure you did,” said Siri with a smile.

An blushed.

“I’d like to talk to him,” said Siri.

“So would I,” said An. “When that particular war ended and the next threatened to drag on even longer, he went back to Japan. We exchanged a few letters but . . . you know. We had what we had.”

She reset her wig at a coquettish angle over one ear and winked at Siri.

Madam Daeng had assessed the situation. The bulldog they’d been introduced to as the headman probably wasn’t. If he had been, he wouldn’t be waiting for Big Daddy to come back before executing the visitors. He’d faded back into the scenery following his performance at the opening ceremony. It was a younger man who ordered the captives to quit their chattering. Daeng had no idea how long they’d have before the real leader’s return, so she needed to act fast. She regretted the fact she’d brained the man with the musket. It meant she couldn’t play the “little old lady surprise attack.” Then again, if she hadn’t hit the man, the hoodlums in the village wouldn’t have shown their true colors. She needed another angle.

She looked at the pilot. He seemed remarkably calm despite their dire situation. She wondered what, if anything, he was thinking. He sat by himself chewing on a blade of grass. The fact that she’d threatened to break all his fingers that morning if he didn’t allow her on board probably hadn’t created a lasting bond between them. Then she’d gone and scuttled his helicopter. She knew nothing about his background but she hoped it was military because she needed a soldier on her team. As they were no longer allowed to speak, she started to sing. She couldn’t be certain there were no Lao speakers among her captors but, just in case, she kept her voice low.