Tukta returned to the pavement with a towel and scooped Ugly from the roadside as if he weighed nothing. She lay him beside the doctor.

“You sure you weren’t hit?” Dtui asked.

“I think I’d know if I was,” said Siri. “I only went to ground under orders. Good thinking, Wife.”

“We needed the shooter to believe he hit his target,” said Daeng. “Otherwise he’d have kept shooting. How’s the dog?”

Siri was looking for a wound.

“He’s been drugged,” he said. “This is where all the blood came from.”

He pointed at the tail, or what was left of it. The last six centimeters had been hacked off.

“A lot of blood,” said Dtui. “Nothing fatal.”

“Looks like Dom’s forgiven Ugly for turning on him,” said Siri. “Still couldn’t bring himself to kill the beast.”

Dtui went to check on Malee, who’d slept through the drama. Phosy and Geung returned.

“No sign of anyone,” said Phosy.

“Not even Rajhid?” said Dtui.

“He’s not exactly on the clock,” said Daeng. “He could have an appointment with some dolphin up river for all we know. We’re just fortunate to get him when we can.”

“Will Ug-Ugly make it?” Geung asked.

“His wagging days are over,” said Siri. “And he’s never going to trust cheese again. But he’ll be fine. Just a bit light-headed for a day or so.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

You’re on Candid Camera

The next two days flew by in a blur. The police checked every deserted building, every guesthouse. They rechecked the houses of anyone connected to the original Bruce, went through Dr. Porn’s basement, even visited the few seedy opium dens that everyone denied existed. Once again, Dom had vanished. Still, Siri remained out of sight at his official government residence by the That Luang monument.

The missing camera belonging to Jim was retrieved from the house of Dr. Porn. Dom had obviously lifted it from the Ferrari before the journalists set off. Once developed, the film showed four very clear photos of Dom and the car and the journalists, taken on the morning of the day they died.

The handheld movie camera and twelve developed films arrived at Phosy’s office from Thailand and with Dtui’s help, the chief inspector went through every second, constantly pausing and replaying. But after no more than ten minutes it was obvious to both of them what had motivated Dom to act the way he did. That evening, Siri broke cover and cycled to police headquarters.

“Siri, what are you . . . ?” said Phosy.

“Is that what I think it is?” said Siri, nodding at the film projector.

“Why are you here?” asked the policeman.

“I know where he is,” said Siri.