Singapore 52 Page 12

  “I’m very sorry,” I said.

  He smiled. “No need to be sorry, Ash. War is war and I’ve come to terms with it. They died defending their country.”

  Of course, I realized. He was from Singapore so it made sense his father lived here too.

  He sat down and indicated for me to take a chair. “I hope you haven’t been trying to get hold of me. I’m afraid I’ve only just arrived. I don’t know if you were told but I haven’t been in this liaison job long. In fact I was only recently promoted—well the point is, I’m still half covering my old job.”

  I nodded, the overwork showed in his agitation at times. Like his annoyance at the House of Tokyo.

  Rahman continued: “I went over to Tan Tock Seng Hospital this morning to see how the girl is—in case she could tell us what happened.”

  “How is she?”

  “In a coma, I’m afraid.”

  “That’s a shame. I’m hoping she’ll tell us whether there’s a connection with my friend’s death.”

  I recalled the strange look on Murasaki after she had been told to give us the list of members. “Why did the Japanese madam at the House of Tokyo give you a funny look,” I asked him.

  “What funny look?”

  “When Su Ling told her to get the ledger and sent her away. And then she said, ‘five wheels’ for no reason.”

  He shrugged. “I really didn’t notice. Who knows what she was thinking? She seemed a bit odd to me. By the way, I heard Sergeant Kee checked your friend’s car. He told me the other vehicle we are looking for is white.”

  “Or a light colour of blue or grey.”

  “How did your meeting with Andrew Yipp go?”

  I started to summarize the encounter but Rahman stopped me at the bucket story.

  “You punched blindly into a bucket? Goodness me!” He almost choked and shook his head in disbelief. “There could have been bricks in there or maybe glass… or perhaps snakes.”

  “It was a test,” I said. “He wanted to know if I would trust him. It seems integrity is an important value.”

  “Even so…”

  “He told me the symbol on the piece of paper was fake. He said there are no secret societies in Singapore.”

  Rahman laughed. “He wanted you to trust him and then he told you a lie. Yipp is the head of the biggest secret society on the island.”

  “That wouldn’t surprise me. But he had no reason to lie about the symbol being faked.”

  The inspector waggled his head as though thinking.

  “Have you found out who gave the flyer to Secretary Coates?”

  “It was one of our men. I don’t know who but we found a whole batch of flyers. Someone here must be passing him information.”

  I nodded. It happened all the time.

  “Any thoughts about it here—internally?”

  “The theory is that it’s a date.” He scrabbled in a drawer probably looking for a copy of the flyer.

  I said, “Four, ten, two and ten.”

  “Do you know any Chinese, Ash?” When I shook my head he continued: “The four, ten could be forty. The two, ten could be February the tenth.”

  “And the forty—what would that mean?”

  “Ah that’s where the theory breaks down. Maybe forty means something to the gang.”

  “Or four, ten,” I said. “That could be a time. Ten past four.”

  He looked surprised and pointed at me. “You could be right. I’ll pass that on.”

  If he was going to say something else, I never got to hear it because a junior clerk came in and put some papers in his in-tray. Rahman picked them up and flicked through them. “Busy day,” he said. “Is there anything else I can help with, Ash?”

  “Madam Butterfly.”

  “The opera?”

  “A woman who is preying on drunken soldiers.”

  “Tell me more,” he said, putting his papers down again, and I told him everything I knew.

  “I can’t believe it. This is the first I’m hearing of this. Eight months you say?”

  “It’s precisely the sort of thing that the army and police should work on together.”

  He agreed and said he’d make sure all officers were informed.

  I thanked him and stood.

  “You are getting on well with Su Ling?” he said somewhat awkwardly. When I nodded he continued: “Perhaps you could ask her about the code. Perhaps forty will mean something to her.”

  Of course I’d already asked her about the code and she hadn’t known but it was worth asking about forty. I wondered whether Rahman was implying that forty would somehow connect to Yipp’s alleged secret society.

  “I’ll ask, but first I’m off to Keppel Harbour,” I said. “I want to talk to my friend’s workmates.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  I waved him back to his seat. “It’s a personal matter, Anand. Thanks for the offer but you appear to have enough on your plate. Plus I’d rather you focus on where the piece of paper came from and telling your men about Madam Butterfly.”

  He reluctantly agreed and I was soon back in the Land Rover with Hegarty, heading for the harbour.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Exactly timed, the downpour stopped as we arrived at Keppel Harbour. The Master-at-Arms was sheltering in his box. Upon seeing us approach he just raised the barrier and waved us through. Steam rose off the concrete and, as we passed the motor pool, I again registered the cars. Three of them, like the first time I’d seen them. All identical. All pale blue.

  Hegarty continued to the end of the wharf where an engineer was wiping the rain water off a ship’s propeller the size of two people. Another couple of guys started work on something that may have been part of an engine but I was no expert.

  The main doors were wide open and we could hear the hum and screech of the machine tools. Hegarty and I went inside and found the gaffer at his desk.

  “Ah, Tom’s friend,” he said when he looked up. “Any luck investigating his death?”

  “Did Tom have a girlfriend?” I asked.

  “I think so. Chalky should know.” He leaned out of his office and bellowed to the men outside. Moments later one of the engineers, in overalls and covered in grease, joined us.

  The gaffer shut his door to reduce the noise of lathes.

  “He was pretty sweet on her, was Tom,” Chalky told us.

  “Engaged?”

  He smiled. “You know how it is, right?”

  I think I did. Away from home it was somehow acceptable to give a girl a ring and say you’d marry them even though you knew it wasn’t true.

  “What was her name?” I asked.

  “Mei Fen. Sweet little Chinese girl.”

  I nodded. So she was who she claimed to be and I believed what she’d said about the House of Tokyo in Nee Soon.

  I asked them both if they had heard Tom mention the gentleman’s club or brothel, whatever it was. Neither man knew it and both said they’d never been to Nee Soon. In fact when we walked around the shed and asked the other men, we found out that no one had heard of it.

  “Frustrating,” Hegarty muttered.

  “Not really, sometimes a null result is information in itself.”

  He didn’t get it. “Like what?” he said.

  “It’s important for scientists. When they test something they are as happy learning what it is not as what it is.”

  “I still don’t—”

  “It’s the same for detective work. We eliminate what it can’t be and whittle down the possible answers until we’re left with the answer.”

  We got back in the Land Rover and I asked the sergeant to drive slowly along the wharf. Then I said, “For example, I’ve learned that it looks like another vehicle forced my friend’s car off the road.”

  “Right.”

  “And that it was probably white or maybe light blue or grey.”

  “Right.”

  “Did you see me walk around Su Ling’s car last night?”

 
Hegarty thought and then nodded. “Yes, I wondered at the time why you’d done that.”

  “The Bentley was white. I was looking for damage.”

  “And was there any?”

  “No. A null result.”

  My driver still looked uncertain.

  “Stop here, Hedge.” We were next to the motor pool.

  We got out and stepped into the compound. I started to walk around each of the three Fords.

  “Can I help you?” a voice called and a naval warrant officer approached. Behind him was a small office and garage workshop.

  “Are you responsible for these?” I asked.

  “I am.”

  “Mind if I take a look? They all appear to be in pristine condition.”

  He beamed proudly. “I do my best. Can I ask…?”

  I showed him my government ID. He raised an eyebrow.

  “You know this is navy property right? Neither of you… neither the government nor the army have any jurisdiction here.”

  “It’s not a matter of jurisdiction,” I said placating him. “I’m just admiring the condition of your cars.” I pointed to the Land Rover, dented and mud splattered. “If only the army was as meticulous as you.”

  He beamed again.

  I said, “I bet you fix these cars up pretty damn quickly if anything gets damaged.”

  “Too right I do.”

  I smiled, “And have you had to fix anything recently?”

  “All the time.”

  “Any had damage to the right front wing?”

  He patted the car next to us. “Crashed a couple of weeks ago by some fool officer driving too fast in the rain.”

  I felt my heart pounding in my chest. It could have been when Tom Silverman had died. I tried to stay calm.

  “Was it Thursday the twenty-third?”

  For a second his brow creased in thought then he responded, “Yes, I believe it was.”

  “You described it as a crash…”

  “Pretty bad and a bit of mess to clean up too.”

  “Was there more than just the front wing damaged?”

  “Yep. The driver came off the road and hit a bank or something. One headlight was smashed. The bumper was crumpled. A bit of denting to the bonnet and the grill.”

  That was far too much damage for the prang that had forced my friend off the road.

  “So which fool officer was driving that time?” I said lightly. “Perhaps I know him.”

  The man grinned. “I’m not an idiot, you know. You two asking questions about a car crash. If you want information like that then you’d better go and see Commander Alldritt.” He pointed to a grand colonial-style house about two hundred yards beyond the guard post. “Royal Navy HQ,” the man explained.

  I thanked the warrant officer for his help and asked Hegarty to take us over to the HQ.

  In the Land Rover Hedge said, “But that was a null result wasn’t it?”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Maybe not.”

  We crossed the manicured garden to open double doors and found ourselves in a foyer converted into an office. Royal Navy clerks, heads bent, pored over ledgers. One man looked up. “Can I help you?”

  “I’d like to speak to Commander Alldritt please.”

  “Do you have an appointment?”

  I explained who I was and that I’d just like a few minutes of the commander’s time. The clerk nodded and sauntered off down a corridor. After a few minutes he returned and instructed us to follow.

  Commander Alldritt stood and walked around his desk. He was about an inch taller than my six-two. In his early forties, he had a tired face with neat, salt and pepper hair and gave the impression of a man who had gone to seed sitting behind a desk for too many years.

  He held out his hand. “What can I do for you Captain Carter and Sergeant Hegarty?”

  He sat on the edge of his desk and we remained standing.

  I decided to stretch what the car pool guy had just said. If I were wrong, Alldritt could easily correct me. So I said, “We’ve just been over to your MT yard. A Royal Navy staff car crashed the week before last on the road near Nee Soon village.”

  Alldritt raised a casual eyebrow and cleared his throat.

  I said, “I would like to know who was driving the car.”

  “Which vehicle are we talking about?” Alldritt asked.

  I reeled off the service number from memory.

  “I’ll have to check.” He smiled.

  When he said nothing more, I said, “Will you let us know?”

  “You know there’s a war going on?”

  “Malaya or Korea?”

  “Korea, specifically,” Alldritt replied and he suddenly seemed more animated, light returning to his weary eyes. “You might not think it is our war, but our boys are also out there with the Americans. A lot of boys are getting killed out there, you know. Could be fifty thousand by the end of the war. Damn fine boys fighting in a God forsaken patch. And do you know who makes sure our boys get the help they need: the munitions, the medical supplies, the food and clothing?”

  I waited for Alldritt to continue.

  “We do, Captain. We do. We may look like pen-pushers, but fifteen-hundred troops come in and out of this harbour each and every day. Ten thousand tons of supplies go through here each week. We are the supply line. Without us, this war could not be fought. Without us, it would grind to a halt. This is the hubris of activity – the end of a funnel if you like, Captain.”

  “I’m sure that’s true,’ I said trying to be diplomatic. I knew the Americans did come through the harbour, but they also had Manila in the Philippines. I looked Alldritt in the eye. “I’d just like to speak to the driver of the vehicle please, Commander.”

  “You don’t have jurisdiction here, Captain Carter. As a government official or—” he turned his attention to Hegarty “—the Military Police.”

  “I understand that, sir—”

  “If a crime has been committed by someone in the Royal Navy then the navy will investigate it. Mark my words that it will.”

  “But you don’t know what the crime is?”

  “Tell my clerk on the way out,” Alldritt said, standing. “Good day to you gentlemen. Thanks for popping by and saying hello. Now, I have important business to attend to, if you would excuse me?”

  Before we left, I located the clerk who had originally welcomed us.

  “How many naval officers are there on the island?” I asked.

  He thought for a second like he was adding them up. “Counting the naval base that would be eighteen.”

  “And could you let me have a list, please?”

  He looked at me through narrowed eyes. “You’ll have to ask the commander for that.”

  I nodded and we strode out of the building.

  Hegarty said, “Another null result?” I think he was trying to be humorous.

  “Take me to Fort Canning, please Hedge,” I said. “I know where we can get that list.”

  TWENTY-SIX

  Realizing Colonel Atkinson was under no obligation to help, I told him I was investigating a car crash on the road from Nee Soon. I explained that I suspected a naval officer was involved but had got nowhere with Commander Alldritt.

  Atkinson stroked his moustache and nodded. “If you were with your sergeant, he’ll have seen you both as Army. There’s always been and always will be tension between the army and navy.”

  “All I needed was the driver of the car.”

  “And what would you have done with the officer’s name?”

  “Asked him some questions.”

  Atkinson nodded again. “And there you have it. I bet the commander said he’d have it investigated.”

  “He did but he didn’t ask for any detail.”

  “So you don’t think he’ll do anything?”

  “I’m certain he’ll do nothing. So, that’s why I’m hoping you’ll help me, sir?”

  Atkinson looked thoughtful. “Is this connected to the internal security issue t
hat Coates has you running around about?”

  I hesitated and then decided to be honest. “No,” I said. “This is personal. I think my friend was killed in that crash.”

  “All right, Ash,” Atkinson said patting my arm. “I’ll see what I can get for you.”

  “Success?” Hegarty asked as he spun around in the courtyard and headed for the white portico gate.

  “Colonel Atkinson will try and get it for me. Since General Gaskill is CIC for the Far East, he coordinates all services. He and Atkinson are effectively Alldritt’s superiors.”

  We looped down the hill and Hegarty started to turn right.

  “Let’s go left,” I said.

  “Left?” He stopped and looked at me. “Do you have somewhere in mind for lunch other than Gillman?”

  “Forget lunch. I want to go back to where my friend died.”

  We got out of the Land Rover after turning it around just south of Nee Soon. I could feel the post-noon sun through my hair and turned up my collar as protection. It hadn’t rained for more than three hours. Even though it must have been ninety degrees, the ground was sodden and steam rose from the long grass.

  Last time we were here, there was the constant loud buzz of cicadas. Now I heard a cacophony of birdsong and the occasional whoop of a monkey.

  Hegarty watched me. “What are we looking for, Boss?”

  I took him fifty yards up the road and positioned him on the left, a pace in front of me.

  “Let’s imagine we’re cars,” I said. “You’re my friend in his little foreign car and I’m close behind.” He started to walk and looked at me over his shoulder.

  “Like this?”

  “Remember, it’s night, it’s chucking it down and my lights just dazzled you.”

  I pushed him and he staggered but kept going. Then I leaned on his left shoulder with my right hand and kept the pressure up. Hegarty went with it and started a curving walk towards the other side. I pushed harder and he jolted off the road into the grass.