That afternoon, while Siri was at the morgue, the third letter arrived. Bruce was upstairs tinkering with the Panavision. He was the only one who still believed their film would be made. It seemed to give him a purpose for returning to his homeland. What else would he do? Daeng held out the envelope to him. It had the same odd combination of stamps attached to it. He didn’t take it from her.

“It’s to Dr. Siri,” he said.

“He’s not here.”

“We should wait.”

“Open it,” she said, then threw in a half-hearted “please.”

Reluctantly, the young man took the letter and tore open the envelope. He read it through silently first and sighed. He looked into her eyes and she nodded. He translated.

“My dear Dr. Siri,” he began. “I’m sure you can see that the countdown has begun. Loved ones A and B have kicked the proverbial bucket. Loved one C is already under my spell and there’s nothing you can do about it. Grief would kill you eventually, I suppose, but I don’t have time to wait for that. You’ll be following close behind, doctor. And my promise to you will be consummated and I will be able to breathe again. Fare thee well, you shit.”

It wasn’t until later that night that Daeng showed Siri the letter and told him what it said. They were on a grass mat on the bank of the river drinking Daeng’s own homemade rice whisky with wild apricot juice. That minor fruity addition made it feel more medicinal. Less likely to kill them. The mosquitoes had apparently tired of Lao blood and were off in search of foreign journalists. The moon was hopping from cloud to cloud. It reminded Daeng of the bouncing ball in song lyrics but the only music was from the cicadas and the frogs.

“So, if I’m next,” said Daeng, “what existing condition is he going to exploit?”

“I’ve been racking my brain,” said Siri. “You’re so annoyingly healthy. Your tail’s not even long enough to strangle you.”

She knocked the top of his head with her fist.

“Why doesn’t he just shoot me?” asked Daeng.

“What?”

“If the objective is to wipe out your loved ones because you directly or indirectly ruined his life, why not get it over with as quickly as possible? He has a limited time. Guns and various explosives are readily available for a small fee. He could have just wiped us all out in a couple of days and honored his threat. Why the show?”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying he’s gone to all this trouble to make a point. He’s doing to you what he thinks you’ve done to him.”

“Used natural causes to kill someone?”