“A fish pond,” said the man with the net. “I was lucky I wasn’t standing four meters to my left. I’d just cast my net, pulled the draw string and felt the tug of a carp when this red monster leaves the road, takes off from the bank and flies into the water.”

“And . . . ?” said Phosy.

“That was it,” said the fisherman.

“You didn’t go and help?”

“Can’t swim.”

“How deep exactly is that fish pond of yours?” Siri asked.

“Three or four meters at its deepest, I’d say.”

“Then why didn’t they open the door and swim to the surface?” asked Siri.

“Don’t know,” said the fisherman. “I was expecting something like that, but all I see is bubbles. I go to the local cadre’s house and tell him, and, well, here I am and here they are. All a bit of a funny day really.”

“How did you get the bodies out?” asked Phosy.

“The cadre sent his boys down,” said the fisherman. “They smashed the windshield and dragged them out. They couldn’t get the doors open.”

“Hmm,” said Siri.

Phosy turned to Captain Sihot. “Is anyone raising the car?” he asked.

“No,” said Sihot.

“Where did this happen?” asked Phosy.

“Kilometer forty just past Ban Donhai.”

“Okay, I want you to go out there and organize that. Make sure the cadre doesn’t claim it as a souvenir. Bring it back here.”

“We should get Dtui to start on these two,” said Siri.

“Start on what, exactly?” said the minister.

“Determining the cause of death,” said Siri.

“Obviously they drowned,” said the prosecutor.

“I agree,” said Siri, “but unless they were on some crazed suicide pact, two healthy, mentally astute men do not drive at speed into a pond and sit there waiting to drown.”

“Well, you and your people are certainly not performing an autopsy,” said the minister.

“We’re not?”

“They’re foreign citizens,” said the prosecutor. “They were driving an old, poorly maintained vehicle. They had a terrible accident caused by their recklessness and they died. The Australian government would like their citizens returned as soon as possible.”

The ambassador’s interpreter awoke from his mute slumber and hurriedly summarized the prior conversation. The ambassador affirmed that he would take responsibility for the repatriation of both bodies. All was settled. The minister ordered the bodies to be locked in the morgue freezer before collection the following day. The officials filed out of the room, leaving Siri and Phosy.

“Anything you can do without cutting them open?” Phosy asked.

“I could take some samples. Do some tests. But I don’t actually know what I’m looking for. If they were poisoned or stoned out of their minds, I’d need to get to the stomach. I think the car will tell us more than the bodies at this point.”

Phosy stared at the doctor. “The second letter,” he said.

“I know.”