"HE would like to see you," the girl in green was saying, and Ferris got out of the wicker chair as McFadden joined us from the corridor, a compact man, freckled and ginger-haired and shut-faced: Ferris had introduced us in the signals room when we'd got here this evening.

"Sit down, gentlemen," Metcalf told us, "and someone please shut the door."

The room was crowded and the Chief of Police was insistent on standing because there weren't enough chairs. The Embassy interpreter, a young Eurasian girl, began translating for him without any preliminaries.

"The police guard on this building has been substantially reinforced, on instructions from the Minister of the Interior, and I hope this will not be found inconvenient for you; it is for your personal safety." When the girl had stopped speaking he gave a slight bow. "Enquiries are still proceeding at the place of embalmment, and all those who were involved in the construction of the coffin, in the security of the building, and in the preparation of the late Premier Jiang Wenyuan's earthly remains have come under our closest scrutiny." Another bow. He was facing the Ambassador, standing directly in front of his desk, and didn't look at anyone else. "The findings of the five doctors who attended the late British Secretary of State are that the pressure of air and debris from the explosion disrupted the heart and lungs, while at the same time the pressure invaded the cavities of the face and distended the sinuses, damaging the frontal lobes of the brain. As to the —»

He broke off as one of the telephones began ringing, and the girl in green reached over and picked up the receiver.

"No calls, Janet."

The Chief of Police waited punctiliously until she was sitting down again. "As to the explosive device itself, our skilled experts, who are members of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators, have collected material from the site and used electro-magnets to probe the debris from the whole area.