“Now, for that we have to congratulate our resident genius, Mr. Geung here,” said Daeng. “In his role as keeper of the sin bin he took it upon himself to cover every contingency. As you may recall, we have already been victims of vandals and nothing would tickle the fancy of your average arsonist more than a room full of dusty cotton and silk. So he fire retarded them.”

“How on earth would you go about such a thing?” asked Phosy.

“Borax,” said Geung. “It . . . it’s quite easy.”

“Evidently, it’s a sort of laundry additive,” said Daeng. “You soak your natural material in it and let it dry and it makes it hard to ignite.”

“Not exactly f-f-fireproof,” said Geung, “but good enough.”

“How do you know all this stuff?” asked Dtui.

“The spirits of the s-s-sins told me,” said Geung.

They all laughed, even those who were sure it wasn’t a joke.

“How about Dom’s movie camera?” Daeng asked.

“It’s on its way,” said Phosy. “I’d like to take it myself but sometimes you have to trust the Thais to do it right. And I suppose this is as much their case as ours. It’s okay. There’ll be someone watching over them.”

“I think the brief, euphoric life of another generation of flying ants is over,” said Siri.

“Right,” said Mr. Geung.

He hopped to his feet and hurried to pull back the screen. They needed the river breeze. Tukta turned on the lights.

“Where do you think he is?” Daeng asked.

“Dom?” said Phosy. “No idea. But I’m guessing he’s back in Thailand. It’s not easy for an outsider to disappear in Vientiane. He doesn’t have any relatives or friends here. He’s not the type that could survive in the jungle. All I can guess is that he found a boat and floated home.”

“But he’s not finished,” said Siri. “Perhaps he’ll reorganize and try again some—”

“Dr. Siri!”

Geung had dragged open the shutter and was standing in the entrance.

“Come,” he said. “Quick.”

Everyone rushed to the street. Ugly, unconscious, lay in a pool of blood in front of the restaurant. Siri went down on one knee and felt for a pulse.

“He’s—” he began.

The crack of the rifle carried along the river in a watery echo. Everyone froze. Siri looked briefly at his wife then dropped to the ground. Daeng screamed. Phosy and Geung ran for the trees and used them as cover as they headed in the direction of the shot. But there was no more gunfire. They saw nobody.

<<<

Under the glare of the electric light, Daeng, Dtui and Tukta carried Siri inside and into an alcove not visible from the street. They lay him down and he sat up straight away.

“Bring in the dog,” he said.