With cloths over their mouths and noses they conducted one more thorough search of the car interior but found nothing of any relevance. They agreed that the most-likely cause was that they’d been drinking and lost control of the car. Phosy drove Sihot to the station and took Bruce home. The Aussie had moved out of the guesthouse and was living with a relative until he could find a place of his own. It was on the way. He asked to be dropped off at the end of the lane so he could get some snacks at the roadside stall. The chief inspector offered to put Siri’s bicycle in the back of the jeep and give him a ride to the restaurant but was reminded that Ugly wouldn’t be able to keep up with them. And, besides, it was a cool, overcast evening, and he could take a leisurely ride along the river.

As Siri negotiated the dirt track in front of the Women’s Union, he noticed that there was plenty of activity inside. From the doorway he could see that Dr. Porn was still at her desk. He wondered if she ever went home. Very few doors were locked in Vientiane, and, like Siri, most householders couldn’t remember where they’d put their keys for safety.

He pushed open the front door and called out, “It’s only me.”

Porn’s office still had no door of its own. She looked up from the logjam of files on her desk and seemed relieved to have a distraction from her bureaucratic combat.

“Siri, you old goat,” she said. “Come in.”

Even before he reached the desk she had a cup of tea poured for him from her thermos. They exchanged a warm handshake that told of many years of friendship and cooperation.

“How are the eyebrows coming along?” he asked.

It was a standing joke that only he found funny. Porn had shaved her eyebrows for a brief period as a nun and they hadn’t grown back.

“I always dream that your mentioning them again and again will be motivation enough for them to make a comeback,” she said. “How are you, good doctor?”

“I’m sparkling,” he said. “And you?”

“Tired,” she said.

“Work?”

“Family.”

“You have a family?”

She laughed.

“Yes, it comes as a surprise to me too.”

“You never talk about them.”

“It’s my policy to keep my private life private. I stay here as long as I can every evening, so I don’t have to deal with domestic issues. But you aren’t here to listen to my woes. How is your blockbuster film progressing?”

“I think we’re on hold for a while until we can sort out a few other issues.”

“Then that’s not why you’re here?”

“No. I have two other matters to discuss,” he said. “Firstly, how good are your contacts in the camps?”

“The refugee camps?”

“Yes.”