by Jake Needham
Tay trailed off into silence, feeling like an idiot.
Dr. Hoi nodded slowly. “All right. That’s fine, I guess.”
She reopened the file she had been working on when Tay came in, glanced at it briefly as if to refresh her memory, then leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers, unconsciously tapping the points of her forefingers against her lips.
“The deceased is a healthy, well-nourished Caucasian woman in her early to mid-forties. My guess is that she’s probably an American. I can’t be certain, of course, but both her dental work and the polish on her finger and toenails are consistent with an American origin. On the other hand, perhaps she’s French but gets her dental work done in the US and wears American nail polish.”
“That sounds pretty unlikely to me.”
“As it does to me.”
Dr. Hoi glanced down at her file again.
“From the temperature of the deceased, and taking into account the setting of the air conditioning in the room where she was found, my best guess is that the time of death was between eighteen and twenty hours prior to the discovery of the body.”
“That means she was killed…” Tay paused to calculate, “between five and seven Monday evening.”
Dr. Hoi nodded in acknowledgment of Tay’s mathematical acumen.
“Fingernail scrapings produced no organic matter and the body was relatively unmarked, except of course for the destruction of the face. There were, however, marks on her wrists and ankles that in my view are consistent with restraints having been placed on her in some fashion. At first I thought that might suggest the deceased had engaged in sadomasochistic sexual activity.”
Dr. Hoi glanced at Tay and in embarrassment he flicked his eyes to the blank wall just over her shoulder.
“On the other hand there was no evidence of recent intercourse, certainly no semen in the vagina, the anus, or the mouth. Of course, that’s not conclusive. The vagina was badly mutilated by the flashlight and I can’t be absolutely certain no penetration occurred, but the anus was intact and I saw no signs of penetration there. And, of course, her attacker might have used a condom.”
Dr. Hoi glanced at Tay again, but he was studying the wall with intense concentration.
“There’s also something else to keep in mind,” she went on when Tay wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Sadomasochism frequently doesn’t entail intercourse, at least not in the usual sense, so we can’t rule out the possibility of sexual activity based purely on the lack of any evidence of intercourse. She had been restrained, that we can say for certain, but the killer may have snapped the handcuffs around both her wrists and ankles simply for the purpose of killing her, not because they were engaged in some form of sexual activity.”
“Handcuffs?”
“Yes, definitely handcuffs. My guess is they were the plastic disposal type.”
“You mean like police cuffs?”
This time Dr. Hoi’s response came after a short but perceptible pause.
“Yes,” she said. “Quite similar or even possibly identical to police cuffs.”
A silence fell as Tay processed what he was hearing. Somewhere in the distance some sort of machinery whirred to life emitting a low-pitched humming sound.
“I gather you’re aware of the cause of death?” Dr. Hoi asked after a few moments had passed in silence.
“I assume it must have been the beating.”
“Certainly not. The woman was shot.”
Tay’s mouth dropped open.
“She was shot with a .22 caliber hollow point,” Dr. Hoi continued, “fired from a revolver with its muzzle placed in contact with her right ear.”
She made a little gun with her thumb and forefinger and then reached up and placed her forefinger into her ear.
“One shot,” she said. “Like this. Straight into the ear. Bam!”
It took Tay a moment to regain the power of speech, but when he did the words spilled out involuntarily.
“You’re shittin’ me.”
Dr. Hoi couldn’t suppress a smile. “No, Inspector, I shit thee not. This was why I wanted you to come over and look at the deceased yourself. Very unusual thing to see here in Singapore. Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”
“I’m sure.” Tay’s mouth was dry and he tried unsuccessfully to swallow. “Thank you.”
“Pity. As I said, very unusual thing.”
Dr. Hoi pursed her lips as if she was trying hard to recall something, although what it might be wasn’t clear to Tay.
“In any event,” she continued after a moment, “the entry wound is very small and completely hidden inside the ear. That’s probably why you missed it when you examined the deceased at the scene.”
“Probably,” Tay mumbled.
“The stippling is apparent once you find the point of entry and it leaves no doubt at all that this was a contact wound. The bullet took a downward path, entering through the primary motor cortex. There was extensive subdural hemorrhaging that ripped linear fractures through the entirety of her skull, then extended down to her neck. The consequential shock wave brought about major tissue trauma, which brought her nervous system to an immediate halt causing her blood pressure to drop like a rock.”
Dr. Hoi abruptly stopped talking.
“I’m sorry, Inspector. From the look on your face, I’m not sure you’re staying with me here. Is something distracting you?”
“Is something distracting me?” Tay rolled his eyes. “Jesus Christ, does a cat have an ass?”
Dr. Hoi burst out laughing. “You do have a very colorful way of expressing yourself, Inspector.”
“My father was an American. He willed me his vocabulary.”
“That must come in handy in your line of work.”
“Particularly now. I’m bowled over.”
“Yes, firearms deaths in Singapore are unexpected, aren’t they?”
“I can’t think of one in years.”
“Well, you have one now.”
“There was no blood,” Tay said.
“What?” Dr. Hoi asked.
“There was no blood around her ear. None on the bed either.”
“Ah,” Dr. Hoi said. “I see what you mean.”
“Wouldn’t there have been bleeding? If she was shot?”
“Some perhaps. Not very much. As I said, the damage to the brain would have caused her blood pressure to drop very quickly and the entry wound was quite small. You didn’t see any blood at all?”
“No. The bed had been stripped.”
“Well, there you are. There wouldn’t have been enough blood to soak through the sheets to the mattress. It would have been easy to clean up the body as well. Although, offhand, I’m not sure why a killer would—”
“Did you recover the bullet?” Tay cut in.
Susan Hoi opened the center drawer of her desk, removed a clear plastic vial that looked like a pill bottle, and placed it on the desk in front of Tay. When he picked up the vial, it rattled loudly in the quiet office. Tay saw it contained nothing but some flecks of vaguely yellowish metal that looked more like pieces of glitter than a bullet.
“A hollow point,” Dr. Hoi said. “It exploded just like it was meant to. Then it pulverized her brain. I have nothing for you but these fragments.”
“A hollow point,” Tay repeated, still trying to process what he was hearing. “So you don’t think this could have been a crime of passion, the result of some kind of—”
“Inspector, this was an execution,” Dr. Hoi interrupted. “The killer chose a .22 revolver loaded with hollow points, a weapon that is useless for anything except an execution. Whoever this woman is, her killer came prepared to murder her and then coldly did so.”
“Then why did he beat her so badly first?”
“He didn’t.”
`”What are you talking about?” Tay asked. “Her face looked like hamburger.”
“The beating occurred postmortem,” Dr. Hoi said. “As you have already pointed out, there was re
latively little bleeding. If the decedent had been alive at the time she was beaten, she would have bled a great deal.”
Dr. Hoi paused for Tay to frame another question, but when he didn’t she continued.
“Your killer handcuffed this woman’s wrists and ankles, put an assassin’s handgun against her right ear, fired one shot, and then used some sort of club to crush her face. The facial marks are consistent with the butt of a gun so I’d guess her killer shot her in the head and then used the same revolver to beat her face in.”
“Why would the killer beat her after she was already dead?”
“Rage?” Dr. Hoi shrugged. “That would be my guess, but you’re the detective here, Inspector. I just cut up dead bodies and try to find out what made them dead.”
Dr. Hoi leaned back and waited a few moments for Tay to speak again. When he didn’t, she fiddled briefly with her pen, then abruptly pushed herself away from her desk and stood up.
“That’s about all I have now, Inspector. I should get back to the report. I ought to have it completed by Monday and I’ll see that you get it immediately. Now unless there’s something else…”
“No, I don’t think so,” Tay said as he rose slowly to his feet. “Nothing else. Thank you.”
Dr. Hoi offered her hand and Tay took it. It was cool to the touch. He was suddenly seized by a wild impulse to pull it toward him, open her fingers, and press her palm to his forehead, but he resisted.
“Take a left outside and go through the door,” Dr. Hoi said.
“Follow that corridor all the way to the end and you’ll be back in reception.”
“Thank you, yes,” Tay said.
Tay sensed Susan Hoi was waiting for him to say something else, but he couldn’t think what it might be.
“Have a nice weekend,” she eventually said when he remained silent.
“Thank you.”
And then he left, closing the door behind him.
Tay followed Dr. Hoi’s instructions and before long found himself outside the mortuary, standing on a concrete walkway next to a lawn that was mowed as smooth and tight as a putting green. He got his bearings and began to walk back to his office, taking it slow.
That’s the ticket, Tay thought to himself. Take it slow. Take it all slow.
The afternoon was hot and clear and the sky was a dense, crystalline blue. It looked as perfect as the inside of a ceramic bowl.
The book that introduced Inspector Samuel Tay
Buy THE AMBASSADOR’S WIFE here
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The Jake Needham Library
The Inspector Tay Novels
THE AMBASSADOR’S WIFE
Inspector Tay #1
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THE UMBRELLA MAN
Inspector Tay #2
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THE DEAD AMERICAN
Inspector Tay #3
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THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW
Inspector Tay #4
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The Jack Shepherd Crime Novels
LAUNDRY MAN
Jack Shepherd #1
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KILLING PLATO
Jack Shepherd #2
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A WORLD OF TROUBLE
Jack Shepherd #3
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THE KING OF MACAU
Jack Shepherd #4
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The Other Novels
THE BIG MANGO
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Meet Jake Needham
Jake Needham is an American screen and television writer who began writing crime novels when he realized he didn’t really like movies and television very much.
Mr. Needham has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand for nearly thirty years. He is a lawyer by education and has held a number of significant positions in both the public and private sectors where he took part in a lengthy list of international operations he has no intention of telling you about. He, his wife, and their two sons now divide their time between homes in Thailand and the United States.
Please visit www.JakeNeedham.com to learn more about Jake Needham’s novels and read his ‘Letters from Asia’ in which he tells his readers about some of the real people, places, and things that appear in his novels.
THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW, copyright © 2016 by Jake Raymond Needham
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the author at the following email address: [email protected].
Cover © 2016 by Jake Raymond Needham
Excerpt from THE AMBASSADOR’S WIFE, © 2006, 2011, 2016 by Jake Raymond Needham
Ebook edition ISBN 978-616-7611-28-0
Trade paper edition ISBN 978-616-7611-27-3
English-language publication history
First edition, ebook: Half Penny Ltd, Hong Kong, 2016, ISBN 978-616-7611-28-0
Second edition, trade paper: Half Penny Ltd, Hong Kong, 2016, ISBN 978-616-7611-27-3
