Alfie only saw the end of the fight, when a body flew into the road. And he was the only person who could give eyewitness evidence except for the victim and the perpetrator. The former was barely conscious by the time Alfie rode past, and the perpetrator was hardly likely to talk, even if the police found him. I am the only witness so that won’t happen unless I come forward, Alfie thought, shivering from fear, not cold. It was 30ºC. He assumed the attacker would disappear at once after he rode past the scene. And he prayed the victim would recover, once someone, braver than him, scraped him off the road and took him to hospital. Because if he didn’t, there was only one person who could identify the assailant. Alfie was the only white person in the village, and the assailant had stared into his eyes as he rode past.

In a quandary he waited, biding his time. He kept his trap shut and listened to see what may happen. He threatened to sew Pong’s lips together if she breathed a word to anyone. Her job was to play amateur sleuth, tap the village grapevine and bring the information back to Alfie for processing. What a nightmare; one he could never have dreamt would happen when he moved to the village.

Pong had no choice but to wait. As far as anyone was concerned, she didn’t know anything, so she couldn’t ask any questions, as it would raise suspicion. She got the first news at lunchtime, from her next-door neighbour who came to visit.

“Did you hear what happened outside Joy’s?

“No. What happened?

It can take a long time in Thailand, but within ten minutes Pong got the first version of events and a promise to keep her posted on developments. As soon as Pum had gone, Pong went outside.

“Alfie, come here,” she called to him in the garden. “They say Joy saw nothing because she was out the back of the shop, stacking beer crates. And the delivery man was with her shovelling ice into the freezer. When she heard the noise, she ran outside and found a man lying in the road behind the delivery truck. He was badly injured but still breathing.”

“Did she call the police?”

“No. She thought they would take too long, so she called the emergency paramedics, and they arrived within ten minutes. She told them there had been an accident. He was alive, and they rushed him to hospital. That’s all the news I have so far.”

“What about the police?”

“I asked that too, but Joy didn’t call the police.”

“I know she didn’t call the police first. Did she call them later? Did the paramedics call the police?”

“I don’t know. I think the paramedics just took him away as fast as possible, to save his life.”

“If they don’t, the police will be over the village like a smallpox outbreak. Because the doctors at the hospital will know it wasn’t an accident and they must inform the police.”

It was hot, so they went into the house to cool off. Alfie opened a large bottle of Chang beer, something he never did until six o’clock. Pong was making Som tam with moo grob and sticky rice, which she served just as he was opening bottle number two. As the sun went down, they ate and drank together in the sala at the back of the house. The colourful sunset faded, and the evening cooled off as Alfie’s stock of beer disappeared and his depressed state worsened.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout at you. I suppose Joy must have been scared.”

“I understand. I can see the whole thing has shocked you. You must stay here until it blows over.”