Love Songs from a Shallow Grave

thigh. There was very little bleeding, which suggested it had been inflicted after her heart had ceased to beat. It was in the shape of an N or a Z, hurriedly carved on her skin.
    Which brought him back to the towel that lay at her feet. It was stained with blood but the corners confessed to its original whiteness. Siri couldn’t see how it fitted into the scenario. Whose blood was this? Did the assailant attempt to staunch the flow? Or, during the attack, did the murderer injure himself? Siri turned to the seat opposite. There were no bloodstains. This was presumably where the murderer had sat, he and his victim both naked, enjoying a sauna on a rainy Friday night. He tried to imagine the scene. They would have put their clothes outside under the carport to keep them out of the steam. In that case, the carport light would have been turned off or they’d have risked being discovered. So why turn it back on again when it was all over? And where were her clothes? And, the twenty-billion-kip question, where, in a box with two benches and a gas heater, would you conceal a ninety-centimetre-long sword? He began to test the wooden slats of the walls to see if there was a secret compartment, but Phoumi poked his head into the room.
    “Doctor? Have you finished examining the body?” he asked.
    “Yes, I was just – ” Siri began.
    “Good. Then I think you can tell us your findings and we’ll handle everything else.”
    Siri shone the torch into the security chiefs face.
    “I assume, by ‘handle everything’ you mean contact the national police force so they can conduct an inquiry?”
    Phoumi laughed rudely.
    “They’ll be informed of the findings, of course,” he said. “But this whole area is under my jurisdiction, and the victim is a member of our security team. We’ll take care of it.”
    Siri abandoned his search and stood in the doorway.
    “This may look like a foreign country,” he said. “But the fact remains we are still in Laos and the victim is a Lao.”
    Phoumi’s smile, his body language, and especially the way he reached for Siri’s arm and squeezed it were all so condescending Siri had a mind to knee him.
    “Then, if it is indeed a Lao problem,” the chief said, “I suppose we should let the Lao Prime Minister decide what is appropriate. You will take his word on it, I assume?”
    “He’s home?” Siri asked.
    “His house is a few blocks from here.”
    Siri knew where the PM’s house was. He’d been there a number of times. But that wasn’t an answer to the question he’d asked. He walked out of the sauna and sat on the step.
    “Well, of course, the word of the Prime Minister is more than enough for me. Let’s go and see him.”
    He swore, if Phoumi laughed again…If he flashed those ‘everybody’s friend’ perfect teeth just one more time, Siri would run inside, remove the épée from the corpse and find a warmer scabbard for it.
    “Doctor, surely even you understand that the PM can’t just receive unscheduled visits,” said the security head. “Even with an appointment it could be two or three days. I tell you what, I’ll go and see him and bring his response. That good enough for you?”
    In fact, Siri understood a lot of things. He understood, for example, that the PM had given up his ticket to the movie that afternoon because he was on an unannounced visit to the USSR. He’d left for Moscow the previous day. It helped to have a man on the inside even if it was only Civilai.
    “Then I think you should go and talk to him,” Siri agreed. “I’ll wait here.”
    Phoumi was incensed.
    “I hadn’t realised how much more complicated you’d make things for us. I wanted a medical opinion, not a standoff,” he said. “Couldn’t you just take my word for it that your leader will ask us to take care of this? Do we really need to disturb him?”
    “I think so,” Siri smiled.
    Phoumi and the tall, lanky Major Dung hesitated, then walked off with great reluctance to their fictional meeting with the absent prime minister. Siri was left alone with the sentry. The soldier looked uncomfortable. Siri decided to take advantage of the fact nobody had introduced him and act like someone of importance. He walked to the edge of the carport where the rain fell in strings from the corrugated roof. He washed his hands under them.
    “Been a long day, I imagine,” he said.
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Were you on the detail that discovered the body?”
    “I was, sir.”
    The boy