“See? I knew you’d be interested. I was planning to start my attack with the bread woman but there I am at the market and this guy comes up to me—this farang—and he says, “Bugger me, if it isn’t little Dom.” I recognized him from Ubon. It was Jim. He was one of Henry’s drinking and toking buddies. He’d come to stay with us a few times when he was doing stories up country. I tried to convince him he was mistaken, but he’d watched me grow up. We’d played soccer together. I guess he had that photographer’s eye that never forgot. The hair and the added weight didn’t fool him. I guess my face hadn’t changed that much. It really screwed up my plans.

“Porn had told me about the red Ferrari and Silver City. The keys were sitting there in her office cabinet. So I got the two Aussies all fired up about taking the car for a drive. I’d emptied the inhaler he asked me for, opened a couple of beers to see them off and dropped some antibiotics in the open bottles to deaden their senses to the smell of the gasoline. I’d arrived a couple of hours early to—”

“Boy,” said Siri. “Henry had reason to hate me, but it had nothing to do with disease or misdiagnosis. Your mother’s boyfriend was AWOL. He was a deserter and a coward and a liar.”

The Thai threw the empty fluid can at Siri, and it caught him on the side of the head. The cut bled. Daeng’s tapping grew frantic.

“I’d like to consider myself something of an expert now,” said the Thai. “Take you for example, old man. You’re the antidepressant type. If things hadn’t gone wrong here I would have had dear Aunt Porn give you antidepressants from her stock. I’d already substituted her low dose with much higher potency pills. After losing those near to you, you’d be distraught. You’d pop paroxetine until they put you to sleep and made you care less. But you’re also an alcoholic. You can’t stop yourself. You’d mix booze and pills and whittle yourself down to nothing, and I wouldn’t have had to do another thing. You’d have been on self-destruct. I’d just check for your obituary from time to time knowing you were spiraling down a toilet.”

“How did you kill your aunt?” Siri asked.

Dom smiled. “What makes you think I killed her?” he asked.

“It’s only logical,” said Siri. “She wouldn’t have just up and left. She wasn’t the type. I’m guessing she found out what you were doing.”

“The nosey cow went through my things. Found my real passport. With the Mekong pumping away at the rate it is she should be somewhere near Cambodia by now.”