Read Online Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill - Free Book Online

about to take a tea break when his scalpel struck metal. It had been his intention to use his cheat list at the back of his notebook to estimate the age of the men from wear and tear on their pelvic bones. But the bullet proved far more interesting.
    It was wedged against the pubic crest. Tracing its trajectory was a complex and delicate matter. The damage the bullet had caused was well hidden by the contraction of the muscles. But as he slowly worked his way south, he came across a second bullet, then, at the anus, a third. The bullets had almost certainly entered the body from below.
    Inspired by this discovery, he checked the other body and found two bullets. They were higher, almost at the base of the rib cage, but they too had entered from below. All these incidental clues tripped over one another on their way to one conclusion.
    He sat on the chair by the door and drank his cold tea. The bodies, like dismembered model kits, sat on the slab looking back at him. He doubted, from the attitude of his host, whether these two would be getting any kind of funeral service. But he still wanted to put them back together, make them look respectable. He had a feeling they’d be back.
    By the time his work was complete, it was already mid-afternoon. It had been a long day, and he was exhausted. He poked his head out of the room and found the lovely Miss Latsamy embroidering the hem of a traditional Lao skirt. She was very adept, and Siri thought she would make a fine surgeon—as long as she didn’t have to look at the bodies.
    “Miss Latsamy.” He joined her in the vestibule. “I have three favors to ask.”
    “I was told to give you whatever you want.” She blushed at how that came out.
    “Good. Then first, I’d like you to go to the least political temple you can think of in Luang Prabang and tell the abbot that we have two bodies here that would very much like to be buried. As the deaths were violent, there probably won’t be a cremation ceremony until the spirits are settled, but it would be nice if they could be buried on temple ground.”
    “Yes, Uncle.”
    “Secondly, I have to go to a place called Pak Xang this afternoon.”
    “Oh.”
    “Oh, what?”
    “Comrade Houey said you’d be going back to Vientiane this afternoon. The helicopter’s waiting.”
    “Comrade Houey made a mistake. I have some business of my own here. I’ll be going back tomorrow. Do you think you can find me some transport to Pak Xang?”
    “I’ll see what I can do.”
    “And I suppose it’s time for me to report to the comrade about my findings. It would probably be better if he came here so I could show him what I’ve got. But it’s up to him. Wherever we are, I doubt he’ll be very happy with what I have to say.”
    “He never is.”
    “I see that.”
     
    “Asian? Damned Asian? Is that the best you can do?” The district chief had come to the room with a short blunt man who seemed to be some type of bodyguard. He nodded aggressively at the end of each utterance that passed the boss’s lips.
    “Yes.”
    “Well, that isn’t good enough. It takes you three hours and all you discover is that these two could be from anywhere?”
    “In Asia, yes.”
    “Some genius you turned out to be.”
    “There is one other thing.”
    “What?”
    “Tomorrow morning I need to go and see the crash site.”
    “Well, you can’t…. What crash site?”
    “Where the helicopter came down. These two were pilots.”
    “Who the hell told you?”
    “They did.”
    “Eh? Well, you’re wrong. Totally wrong.”
    “Am I? Let’s look at the facts. They were burned in a sitting position. They wore uniforms. Originally they were wearing helmets but I assume your rescue team helped themselves to souvenirs.”
    “How could you…?”
    “They were strapped in with seat belts and couldn’t get away from the fire. The blast at their feet was extreme and the flames spread so fast, I’m assuming they were covered in fuel from the explosion. That