The morning noodle rush had not helped remove the pain that frog marched back and forth across the brains of Dr. Siri and Madam Daeng. They had the headaches they deserved.

“It’s this,” said Siri, as he dipped the tips of his old chicken bones in a pot of yellow paint. Daeng had sent Mr. Geung and Tukta on some unnecessary errand to stop their overly loud laughter. They regretted having promised Bruce access to their heads to complete his documentary, but at least he and his camera were silent.

“What?” she said.

“This is the reason we shouldn’t drink,” he said. “Not liver failure and death. Death is by far the better option. The hangover. That should be our incentive to give it up. Why do we persist on having mornings after, given how horrible they are?”

“No, I can’t use any of this,” said Bruce, switching off his camera and loading a new three-minute cartridge. “We’re reaching the climax here. You have to focus. The world wants to know—”

“The world’s watching your film?” asked Siri.

“Are you kidding?” said Bruce. “This could be compelling. You’re about to tell the audience how you unmasked a killer. We need your thoughts. We need to know why a woman you trusted and liked should want you and your loved ones dead.”

“But we don’t know why,” said Daeng. “I thought we were all friends.”

“That’s fine,” said Bruce turning the camera back on. “That’s the relationship we need to establish. But first, we need atmosphere. Something undeniably Lao. I know. Follow me.”

Bruce settled on the skirt-bank room for background. He draped the sins elegantly and had Siri and Daeng sit cross-legged on the floor in front of them. They were concerned that his decision to have them drinking coconut water from actual coconuts was a little hokey. But Bruce convinced them Aussie audiences lapped up all that sentimental ethnic content. And they couldn’t deny the cool sweet water was exactly what they needed to douse the cinders in their brains.

“I’ll edit this all in the right order after,” he said. “We’ll get to the ‘why’ later. Let’s start with what you think happened.”

Their cameraman was far more energized than the old couple in front of him. He could obviously picture commercial success and personal fame. The more excited he became, the more pronounced his Aussie-tainted accent was.

“Start with the dead Australians,” he said.

“One of the first things Jim did when he arrived here was buy a new inhaler refill,” said Siri. “We’re guessing he knew Porn from the time he lived here. I don’t know if he contacted her, or if he bumped into her at the surgery. But it obviously screwed up her plans that she was recognized. Maybe he knew something about her background in Saigon. Hard to say until we find her.”