Curse of the Pogo Stick (23 page)

“She’s over there playing with the twins. You know, we’re looking for a wet nurse. I don’t suppose…”

“Hoo, brother. The contents of those churns evaporated many years ago. But I volunteer to help you conduct the interviews.”

“Is that orange juice in her glass?”

“She doesn’t drink when she’s driving. Best move I ever made, teaching her the basics of the internal combustion engine. Saved my life on a number of occasions.”

“She obviously prefers a live husband.”

“Yes, I
am
live, aren’t I?”

He seemed to ponder that point for a few seconds before reaching over to kiss Siri on the nose.

“If that was a come-on you’ve chosen entirely the wrong night.”

“It was a thank-you.”

There was no reason for Siri to ask what for. The events surrounding the thwarted August coup had affected them both.

“Are you really OK about it?”

“Your bride and I have been talking it through.”

“And it helps?”

“I’m down to four bottles a night.”

“Counselling’s a marvelous thing.”

They drank and smiled and tried to make sense of the colourful blur around them.

“And what about your Hmong?” Civilai asked.

COITUS INTERRUPTUS

“A
nd what about your Hmong?” Daeng asked.

Siri was lying on the honeymoon bed watching Daeng slowly unwrap herself from her clothes.

“I don’t think this is the appropriate occasion,” Siri decided.

She stopped her striptease.

“Then I’m not showing you any more.”

“Oh, come on. This is our wedding night.”

“Then I want you with me. All of you, mind and body.” She sat on the end of the bed and looked at him. “Since you came back from the commander’s party you’ve been sad and I want to know why.”

“Oh, Daeng. We’re three-quarters drunk. How on earth can we have a serious talk about anything?”

She stood and gathered her wrap from the chair.

“I’ll be sleeping in the other room.”

“No! Don’t. I’ve earned this. How many other men do you know of my age who’d agree to abstain before the wedding?”

“I’m serious.”

“All right. All right.” He lay back on the pillow. “I saw something.”

“What?”

“It won’t mean anything to you.”

“Try me.”

He puffed air from his lungs.

“At the house, there was an area for the kids of the guests to play. Something was attracting the attention of most of them. I couldn’t see at first what it was but they were fighting over it. I was talking to the commander and I looked over and realized what they were doing. Do you know what a pogo stick is?”

“No.”

“It’s a stick with a spring. Kids use it for jumping about like a kangaroo. It’s a toy. Until the day the Hmong left, it had been sitting on the shaman’s altar in the village in Xiang Khouang.”

“Why?”

“They believed it had brought a curse to their village. They couldn’t beat it so they worshipped it. They took it with them when they left. The fact that it was at the commander’s house told me the Hmong had been caught. Some arse-licking captain had brought it back from the massacre as a gift for his boss’s kids.”

“You’re sure it was the same toy?”

“How many pogo sticks can there be in Laos? But, yes, I’m sure. I went to get a closer look. There was still wax on it and traces of spirit money stuck to the stem. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Daeng stretched along the bed and stroked her husbands face.

“Siri, you remember the day you proposed?”

“Of course.”

“You told me about your little spirit problem.”

“Yes?”

“You said you see them, the ghosts of the departed.”

“I didn’t think you believed me.”

“It’s hardly something you’d make up on the day you most want to impress a girl. No, I believed you.”

“Thank you.”

“So, have you seen them?”

“The Hmong?”

“Yes! Wouldn’t they let you know if something had happened to them?”

“It’s unpredictable. I never know who’ll show up or when. But, no, I haven’t seen them.”

“Given what happened there, I’m sure they’d make the effort to contact you, especially that girl of yours.”

Siri blushed. “What girl?”

“The one you avoid mentioning. The one who gave you the tapestry.”

“Well, why…? There’s no reason why she…”

“It’s all right, my husband. She only stole a little part of your heart. There’s plenty left for me. More than I deserve. All I’m saying is that if something did happen to your friends, if they were killed, I believe you’d have some confirmation of it by now.”

“But what about the pogo stick?”

“I think you should assume they discarded it on the journey. I can’t imagine why they’d want to take a curse with them in the first place. It wouldn’t surprise me if they deliberately left it where the PL soldiers would find it. I bet they wanted to pass on the curse to the other side.”

Siri thought about the commander and the trappings of his new corrupt life. Of all the people who deserved a curse…

“You might be right,” he said.

Madame Daeng got to her feet and undid another button.

“I’m always right. Now, where were we?”

Siri smiled. “I’m not sure I’m in the mood anymore.”

“Oh, Dr Siri Paiboun, sweet, sexy Dr Siri. We’ll see about that.”

And one more button eased its way from its slit.

EOF