Inspector Singh Investigates by Shamini Flint Read Free Book Online Page B

saliva trickled down her chin. Her mouth was too dry for this expression of anger.
    She snapped, 'I won't let them have my children!'
    It was the first real emotion she had shown the inspector. He was delighted but he hid his pleasure. He said brutally, 'You won't be able to stop them if you're dead.'
    She was silent so he continued. 'And you will be dead if you are not prepared to defend yourself. You know they will hang you. The judge has no choice if you are found guilty of murder.'
    She nodded, more to herself than in acknowledgement of his remarks.
    The inspector felt confident enough to persevere. He seemed to be getting through to her, chipping away at the protective wall to provoke an emotional response. It was a cruel thing to do – to use her children as a tool to break through her defences. Inspector Singh acknowledged the fact to himself as he looked into her wide, frightened eyes. He did not hesitate, however, to press home his advantage.
    He said, 'Don't imagine there will be any mitigation. He might have beaten you but the killing was a cold–blooded execution.'
    Chelsea was silent but her eyes flickered like those of a trapped beast.
    Inspector Singh continued, this time sympathetic –a one–man 'good cop, bad cop' routine, 'You need to be there for your children – and I can help you.'
    Chelsea whispered* 'I'm so tired. I didn't want to fight any more. After all, who would believe that it wasn't me who killed him? After what he did to me, after he tried to take my children away ...' She paused for a moment and added bitterly, 'Besides, I thought if I kept quiet, they would leave the children alone. Forget about this whole Moslem thing ... I can't believe they're still trying to take the kids. He's dead for God's sake!'
    Singh seized the moment. He asked, 'Did you kill him?'
    She looked at him as if seeing him with new eyes. She said firmly, 'I didn't kill him.'
    The inspector looked sceptical.
    'I did not kill him – although he deserved to die a thousand times.'
    'Why didn't you kill him, if that's how you feel?'
    Sergeant Shukor, standing quietly to one side, looked startled. Was the inspector advocating murder as a solution to marital difficulties?
    Chelsea Liew appeared to take the question quite seriously. 'I considered it,' she said.
    'Why didn't you?'
    She smiled wryly. The first emotion other than anger she had shown to him.
    'Someone else got there first? No, I did not kill him because I did not want to end up here, like this – separated from my children.'
    Singh nodded. 'Well, whoever did kill your husband hasn't done you any favours. You need to help me find out who did it if you want to get out of here.'
    It was her turn to nod.
    Inspector Singh could see the glimmerings of the woman who had fought her powerful husband tooth and nail for custody of her children. He could see the woman who had the courage to take on the whole Malaysian establishment and challenge her husband's conversion to Islam. But had this strength also led her, when other avenues were proving to be dead ends, to kill her husband?
    He asked now, 'Why did you stay with him?'
    Again her bleak sense of humour showed. 'You see me sitting here and you ask me that?'
    His lips curved a little – a small, unintended, answering smile.
    She sighed and continued, 'At first I loved him, believe it or not. I was very young when we married. Twenty–one. He swept me off my feet. The newspapers and magazines at the time, I used to read them and think that for once, they did not have to exaggerate – it was a fairy tale. Rich man meets poor girl, showers her with gifts and flowers, takes her on exotic holidays, treats her like a queen. I was so naive.'
    'And then?' the inspector asked quietly as she fell silent, lost in her memories.
    'He started to hit me – even when I was pregnant.'
    The awareness of what her husband had been capable of still had the capacity to shock her.
    'Why didn't you walk out then?'
    'I'm not sure. Why don't