Their voices were the only sounds from either side of the river that night. Everything seemed to be cushioned in the type of humidity that invited extreme weather. Lightning was dancing silently across the horizon on three fronts but there were still stars overhead. Nature was playing her cards close to her bosom. The home brew from Woophi didn’t last long but Siri had smuggled a bottle of Saeng Thip rum across from Thailand. He conceded that her story trumped his own and Daeng went into great detail in describing her day.

“Then how did you know the women would be on your side?” he asked.

“I didn’t, not really. When I was walking around the village I’d noticed the odd apologetic look here and there. Something close to shame. And when I overpowered the guard who’d escorted me to the latrine, there were one or two women standing back and watching. Nobody had tried to help him. I imagined it was like in the days of the occupation with the locals watching the Japanese takeover—they saw Asians with power and it occurred to them that they weren’t inferior. So it was with the women today. They see an old lady kick arse and they realize they aren’t powerless. They could have a say in what’s going on around them.”

“I take it your original plan involved bloodshed,” said Siri.

“Buckets of the stuff,” said Daeng. “But I’m not averse to the Gandhi approach. Things would have been a lot different if Big Daddy had come home early. As it was, with the guns in our hands, we loaded the girls onto the helicopter, the pilot reactivated the mechanism, and we took off. Not a word was spoken.”

“What do we do with the girls?”

“We get them talking. Find out what tribes they’re from. Hunt out the families who had daughters kidnapped and send them home. If it turns out they were sold, the UN will find them more appropriate homes. Roper’s embarrassed about the way things went. He’s handling it all. He says he’ll set the dogs on Big Daddy.”

“So you’re free to return to the Toshi mystery?”

“Honestly, Siri, I’d sooner sit on the balcony with my feet up, pigging out on red bean sweets, thumbing through Thai fashion magazines.”

“You’d regret it. We’ve reached an exciting juncture.”

“Really? You’ve found the mummified remains of Toshi’s turnip garden?”

“Don’t mock, wife. I think this will turn out to be one of our most intriguing cases.”