Colin Cotterill - The Coroner's lunch

“I bet that was you, Black Boar,” Siri whispered as he re-read the reports. He underlined the date.

The amulet suspended from the bedpost clinked. Siri looked up at the window to see whether there was a breeze, but the curtains hung flat. The fan wasn’t switched on. But the talisman continued to flip back and forth, rattling noisily against the hollow metal bedpost. He leaned over and put his hand on it to keep it still, but as soon as he made contact with the cool stone, an image filled his mind and a feeling of dread flowed through his body.

“I hope you don’t mind this intrusion.” The lad from the Security Section stood in the doorway behind his superior, an older, serious-looking man. He hadn’t bothered to knock. He walked over to the guest chairs, sat on one, and crossed his legs. “I’m Major Ngakum Vong. I’m in charge of…are you all right? You look white as boiled rice.”

Siri reached for the oxygen and took several deep breaths. The major obviously wasn’t the type of man who liked to be kept waiting.

“Look, I’ll come back when you’re in a fit state to answer questions.” He stood and watched as Siri removed the mask and coughed.

“No, Major. I’m all right.”

“You certainly don’t look it.”

The talisman twitched like a living thing in Siri’s hand. Once the major had regained his seat, he noticed the white plaited hair curling out from the doctor’s fist. “What the hell’s that?”

“This? Just a lucky charm someone gave me.”

“Really? I thought you were a doctor. I hope you don’t believe in such rot.”

At almost the same time, the stool at the end of the bed decided three legs weren’t enough to stand on. It toppled sideways and cluttered onto the concrete floor. The sound echoed around the room. The lad bent to pick it up, and Dtui came running in to see what had happened. The major turned to her.

“You. You can wait outside.”

“Me?” She gave him her ironic eye.

“Major Ngakum, this is my morgue assistant,” Siri told him. “She was a witness to the autopsies. She could be useful for filling in the gaps in my memory.”

“All right. Stand over there, girl.” She ran to the wall and stood to attention beside the lad. He pursed his lips to keep from smiling. “Perhaps if the circus is over, we can get down to business. This is a very serious matter, and I want it resolved before it becomes an international incident. Doctor, I’ve read your version of events. I must say you strike me as something of a storyteller.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, everything I’ve read here is conjecture, far-fetched. There’s not a thing we could take to the Vietnamese as evidence that we didn’t torture their people.”

“Criminals have been convicted on less. There’s enough circumstantial evidence there to at least-”

“One. We aren’t convicting criminals. We’re protecting the good name of our country. Two. Your circumstantial evidence is based on the word of an amateur coroner with…how many years experience?”

“Ten months.”

“Ten months. And on the strength of this…fiction, you want me to launch a major operation to search for an alleged band of mercenaries. And where that information came from, I have no idea. You want me to interrupt bilateral talks on the say-so of a pathologist who hasn’t even done so much as the equivalent of an apprenticeship. Honestly, Doctor.”

“I see what you mean,” Siri said.

Dtui grunted. She’d been expecting a fight.

Siri continued: “I must admit, if I looked at it all objectively, there really isn’t much there.”

“Exactly. So you’re telling me you don’t have anything else for me to go on.”

“No. I’m sorry.”

“H’mm. Don’t think we don’t appreciate everything you’ve tried to do. Goodness knows, we’d do anything to avoid aggression with Vietnam. It’s just that your efforts have been, at the very least, naive.”

“I understand.”

Dtui could no longer restrain her anger. “You understand ?”

“Dtui, the major’s right.”

Ngakum stood and turned to her. “So, girl. Do you have anything to add to this?”

Siri shook his head in the background.

“I suppose not,” she admitted.

“Then I suggest you stick to nursing, and stop trying to do my job.” He walked to the door and waited for his corporal to open it. “Take my advice, both of you. In this new society, ambition will only get you in trouble.” And he was gone. The lad ran after him.

Siri could find no breath. He fumbled for the mask. Dtui hurried over and turned the spindle on the oxygen tank. While Siri was fighting to force air into his lungs, Dtui took his pulse and calmed him with her voice.

“Easy, Doc. Take it easy. Breathe slowly.” Siri desperately wanted to talk, but Dtui held down the mask and shook her head. Soon, Siri closed his eyes and allowed his metabolism to calm down. When his pulse was normal and his breathing regular, Dtui gently lifted the mask. “All right, now you can tell me. But if you insist on getting excited, I’m going to put the mask back on you.”

“Dtui, listen. This is very important. I want you to go to the Assembly offices and find Civilai. Make sure…[he drew more oxygen from the mask], make sure nobody follows you.”

“You know you’ve got a phone here?”

“No. Can’t phone. Take your bike, and insist on seeing Civilai. Lie down across the driveway if you have to. Kick up a fuss. But get him out of whatever he’s doing. Nothing he has on his agenda can be as important as what I have to say. Tell him to come back here with you right away. He is to talk to no one else.”

“Wow. You gonna tell me, too?”

“Go. Now.”

Siri needed pure oxygen for another fifteen minutes before he felt well enough and composed enough to pick up the telephone. He didn’t have to dial. A male voice answered.

“Yes?”

“Who’s that? Where’s the hospital clerk?”

“I’m Second Lieutenant Deuan. I’m with the Security Section. We’ll be manning this phone twenty-four hours. What can I do for you, Doctor?”

Siri rethought his plans. “Could you put me through to police headquarters, please?”

“Is this related to…?”

“No, it’s another case.”

“Very well, sir.”

He assumed the security man would be listening in and taking notes. But he felt an urgent need of Phosy’s support. He wanted someone he could trust on his team. He knew he wouldn’t be able to ask directly. He had to use some pretext to get him to come to his hospital room.

There were one or two engaged signals before a flustered desk sergeant answered.

“Central Police.”

“Hello, this is Dr. Siri Paiboun from Mahosot Hospital. Could I speak to Inspector Phosy, please?”

“Who?”

“Inspector Phosy.” There was silence.

“Just a minute.”

Siri waited for a few minutes until a gruff-voiced man came to the phone.

“Hello. Doctor? I’m afraid the Inspector isn’t here.”

“Damn. Could you leave a message for him?”

“Well, I’m not sure when he’ll be around again, but I’ll try.”

“Could you tell him to contact Dr. Siri at Mahosot, urgently. Room 2E.”

“Okay. I’ll put it up on the board, but I can’t guarantee he’ll see it.”

“Can’t you put it on his desk or something?”

“Desk?” The man laughed. “He doesn’t have a desk. ’Bye, Doctor.”

Siri was left holding a silent phone.

“Doesn’t have a desk?”

He lay back on the uncomfortable pillow and looked up at the blue ceiling. Two lizards were either mating or fighting. It occurred to him that peacetime was far more violent and chaotic than war. He became drowsy and must have nodded off again, because he was awakened by Civilai bursting through the door. Dtui was behind him.