by A. J. Low
“I know James is your classmate and no one is going to pay any attention to schoolwork this morning, so let’s talk about what’s happening before we start the lesson.”
Everyone’s hands shot up immediately, but as I was one of the shortest students in class, I sat right in front. I think that was why Mr Lim saw my hand go up first and gave me permission to ask a question. I had given Watson, who sat at the back of the class, instructions to record anything he heard relating to the case.
“How are the police classifying this case? Missing persons? Kidnapping?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Samuel,” Mr Lim replied. “I do know that they are working with the National Park Rangers to search the area around the reservoir and the park.”
I nodded. “May I ask one more question?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Who was with him when he went missing?”
“Well, according to what Mrs Ong told the teachers, James was with his nanny who came with the family from London. They go to MacRitchie Park regularly to walk their dog.”
“I wish I had a dog,” Chin Han said. “Was it a big dog like a Doberman?”
“I don’t know what kind of dog it was, but apparently the dog ran away and the nanny chased after it. But when she came back to where she had left James, he was gone.”
“Maybe the forest momok got him!” Fiona squealed.
“There are no such things as ghosts,” I said.
Mr Lim asked for the next question.
It was Jimmy’s turn. “Did he see an interesting fish in the reservoir? Maybe he went swimming and got lost.”
Mr Lim frowned at Jimmy’s question and was silent for a moment before answering. “I don’t think he went swimming, Jimmy. But the park rangers also have speedboats and I am sure they are searching everywhere for James.”
“My sister said that she saw something moving in the water the last time we went cycling,” Juraihan said.
The rest of the questions involved the supernatural so I didn’t pay that much attention. I turned to Jimmy who sat at the desk next to me and whispered, “We need to have a Supper Club meeting during recess.”
Jimmy gave me two thumbs up and his usual Jimmy-grin.
Mr Lim tried to carry on with the lesson after that, but I think he realised that no one was paying much attention, so he released us ten minutes early for recess. I deduced that a lot of the other teachers had done the same as the canteen was half-full by the time Jimmy and I went down. We immediately headed over to where Wendy, Nazhar and Eliza were seated.
“Here, I bought you your chicken wing and Milo already,” Wendy said, pushing the wing and the hot cup towards me.
While Wendy and I quarrelled occasionally, it was sometimes really nice to have a big sister.
“Thanks, Wendy,” I said, taking a sip of the Milo before making a face. “Wait, you forgot to ask the auntie to put extra condensed milk.”
My sister gave me a look.
“Anyway,” I said, recognising Mom’s glare on Wendy’s face. “Let’s talk about the case.”
Eliza flicked one of her braids and said, “Didn’t Mrs Ong tell us not to speculate?”
“We aren’t speculating, Eliza,” I said. “We’re exchanging factual information.”
“One of our classmates said it was the Loch Ness Monster,” Nazhar said. “And I had to inform him that the Loch Ness Monster only exists in Scotland.”
“The Loch Ness Monster is also a myth. I hope you explained that as well,” I said. Nazhar gulped and gave a weak grin.
“Our teacher said that the dog leash broke, which was why the nanny had to run after their dog,” Wendy said.
“That’s interesting information, Wendy,” I said, taking a bite of my chicken wing. “Wait, you forgot the chili sauce.”
That earned me another look from my sister.
“Anyway,” I continued, wiping my hand across my mouth, “we know that the police and the park rangers are involved. So what this means is that we can contact Officer Siva for a case update.”
“I really doubt Officer Siva is going to talk to you, Samuel,” Eliza said. “It seems like a really serious situation and children shouldn’t interfere.”
“Officer Siva knows that Sherlock is a detective, Eliza!” Jimmy said.
Before I could reply, Eliza’s handphone rang. She had left it on the table and I saw that the call was from “Jake’s Mom”. She frowned and immediately cut the call off before putting the phone in her pocket.
“I wish I had a handphone to call Officer Siva now,” I said.
Mom and Dad thought that Wendy and I were still too young to carry handphones. Nazhar’s dad and Jimmy’s grandma felt the same way too. Eliza was the only one to have a handphone. It was a smartphone and she hung a small My Little Pony charm from its case. Her parents were overseas often and she had told us that they sent her text messages to stay in touch.
“But it doesn’t matter,” I added, “we’ll head to MacRitchie after school and we’ll find James in no time!”
“This-is-a-terrible-idea,” Watson said. “There- is-far-too-much-water-there.”
“I’m still not so sure this is a great idea, Sam,” Mom said.
Dad, who had an important business meeting, took urgent leave from work to accompany Mom to pick us up from school. As we got into the car, I asked my parents to take us to MacRitchie Reservoir so we could help with the investigation. They were a bit reluctant at first (and Watson’s protests of being near water didn’t help), but Wendy managed to convince them. Jimmy and Nazhar had similar trouble, but Eliza just left a message with her family helper. In the end, everybody was allowed to go.
Mom drove us to MacRitchie Reservoir Park, which was just off Lornie Road.
We’d been there once before. A few months back, Mom said that there was a delicious prata restaurant that we had to try. It was called Casuarina Curry and was located at Casuarina Road. I had ordered the double-dough prata with egg that was delicious. Light and flaky perfection, plus it was very buttery as well! The fish curry that was served with the prata was just the right amount of tangy.
I was about to order a banana prata with extra chocolate when Mom casually mentioned that MacRitchie Reservoir was a short drive away. She nudged Dad, who then said in a rather flat tone that the flora and fauna at reservoirs formed a somewhat unique ecosystem. That piqued both my interest and my suspicion. I should have been more alert. We ended up brisk-walking along one of the many trails at the reservoir. I was not pleased.
When we arrived, I noticed a lot of police officers, park rangers and even a few journalists. Most were taking notes and talking on their phones but there were a few television cameras being set up. I also noticed the enormous, almost-onyx Rolls Royce in the car park.
“Excuse me, you can’t be here,” a police officer told us as we stepped out of the car. She was stout and looked really tanned and fit, like she exercised every day. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail. She eyed Watson suspiciously and continued, “The park is currently off-limits to all…civilians.”
“What did I tell you, Boey?” Officer Siva said as he walked up behind the scowling police officer. He was smiling slightly.
The police officer’s eyes narrowed even further as she continued to stare at us. “Let me correct myself. This park is currently off-limits to all civilians…especially kaypoh kids.”
“It’s okay, Boey,” Officer Siva said tapping her on her shoulder. “They’re with me.”
Corporal Boey sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll pay you later.” She walked away to yell at some reporters who had apparently gotten past a police cordon.
“Why does she have to pay you later?” Eliza asked.
“I told her there’d be five kids and a robot here by 2.30pm to help, and she bet me five dollars that it wouldn’t happen.” Officer Siva looked at his watch and was surprised. “You guys made it with 30 minutes to spare.”
“Mom was driving,” Wendy sai
d, as if that was all the explanation needed.
“So long as she drove safely.”
Mom seemed to find her fingernails extraordinarily interesting as Officer Siva said this.
He looked back down at us. “I know the missing boy goes to your school, kids, but this is a very serious case. I know you want to help, but I can’t have you running around the area, getting in our way.”
“That’s what we tried to tell them,” Dad said, “but you have to admit, they’ve been very effective in the past.”
Just then, Jimmy noticed his shoelace was untied and lifted his leg to tie it. He started hopping on his other foot to keep his balance.
“I know,” Officer Siva said. “You guys did very well helping the police in Penang. Sergeant Huda tells me nothing but good things about you. Still, I can only allow you here as observers. You cannot interfere with our investigation and you certainly cannot run off by yourselves. I wouldn’t want you accidentally trampling on any physical evidence or disturbing a possible crime scene.”
“You know we’d never do that,” I said. “We’re always very careful.”
Suddenly, Jimmy lost his balance and crashed into Corporal Boey, who had come back with a canned soft drink in her hand. She fell backwards, spilling the drink on herself, and they both rolled down a small hill.
At the bottom, Jimmy jumped up and shouted, “I’m okay! My shoelace is still tied!”
“We’re almost always very careful,” I said.
Corporal Boey’s shirt was soaked through, and she did not get up as quickly as Jimmy.
“She-will-need-to-change-her-clothes,” Watson said. “I-know-from-experience-how-quickly-spilled-soda-becomes-sticky.”
He looked at me, but I ignored my robot.
“Are you treating this as a missing person or a kidnapping?” I asked. “Or something else?”
“We’re treating it as a missing persons case involving a minor,” Officer Siva replied.
“So you haven’t received any ransom notes or anything?”
Officer Siva waved his hand in my direction. “I can’t talk about that, Sherlock. All I can say is that we’re assisting the park rangers in the search for James Mok.”
“We’re not the press, Officer Siva,” Eliza said. “I had hoped we had earned a bit more professional courtesy as consultants.”
We all stared at Eliza. She was right, of course, but I probably wouldn’t have phrased it as confrontationally.
“Like I said, Eliza, as great as I think you kids are, my hands are tied in this matter,” Officer Siva said. “And I can’t imagine what would happen if any of you kids went missing too.”
One of the park rangers called for Officer Siva, and he quickly excused himself and left.
“I guess that’s that, kids,” Dad said. “I’m sorry, but I think you’re going to have to sit this one out.”
“Not so fast, Dad,” I said. I noticed a middle-aged Chinese man and a lady with blonde hair yelling at another lady who had light brown hair. The lady with brown hair was seated on a park bench, crying. She was holding a very excited dachshund in her arms that was straining to run free. I deduced she was James’ nanny and the dachshund was the dog that had gotten away when James went missing. The Chinese man and the lady with blonde hair were James’ parents. He had his mother’s eyes.
As I walked towards them, I could hear James’ parents saying things like, “How could you take your eyes off him?” and “Why would you think the dog was more important than our son?” while the dog barked incessantly.
Once I reached them, I said, “Since the full facts of the case are not yet known, it is illogical to place any blame on anybody as of yet.”
Watson’s hand suddenly covered my mouth. I turned to look and realised he had stretched out his arm as he walked towards us.
“What-he-meant-to-say-was-that-he-was-sorry-your-son-has-gone-missing-and-he-hopes-he-is-found-soon-safe-and-sound,” Watson said.
“It’s almost like that thing James has been building…” James’ mother said as she stared at Watson.
I removed Watson’s hand from my mouth and said, “Your family is very wealthy. Have you received any ransom notes or any calls asking for money?”
“Who is this impertinent boy?” James’ father said. He was a tall and imposing man. His hair was graying at the temples, but he still looked like he could do a hundred push-ups without breaking a sweat.
“I’m very sorry about my son,” Mom said, catching up to us. “He doesn’t always know when to stop being a detective.”
“It’s okay,” James’ mother said, as she rubbed a slender hand across her face. Her make-up was badly smudged. “And he’s right, we shouldn’t be yelling at Emma. It truly wasn’t her fault. She’s taken excellent care of James ever since he was a baby.”
James’ father seemed to deflate when he heard that and abruptly sat down.
“Our boy’s been miserable since we moved from London to Singapore,” he said. “By the way, my name is Henry Mok and this is my wife, Jane.” Auntie Jane nodded at us.
“It’s true,” Auntie Emma said in between sniffles and trying to keep the dog on her lap. She appeared to be slightly younger than James’ mom. “He prizes everything he brought with him from London, as if they’re the only connections he has to his previous life. He won’t even let me throw away his old magazines.”
“I’ve been afraid he would run away for some time now,” Auntie Jane said, avoiding everyone’s eyes. “I should have done something, but we’ve been so busy.”
“Did he leave a note of any kind?” I asked.
“No,” Auntie Jane said. “We would have told the police immediately if that were the case.”
“One more question,” I said. “How did the dog get away from you, Auntie Emma?”
“The leash somehow suddenly snapped and Sebastian ran off after a monkey,” she said. “Dachshunds aren’t very fast, I know, but as you can tell he’s very excitable and he was fast enough that when I finally caught up to him, James was gone.”
I thanked Auntie Emma, Uncle Henry and Auntie Jane, and I apologised for my earlier behaviour. Mom and Dad stayed behind to console them as the Supper Club and I moved a little further away from the grown-ups.
“I feel so sorry for Uncle and Auntie,” Nazhar said. “I wish we could help them somehow.”
“Of course we’ll help them,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Wendy asked. “Officer Siva said we can’t.”
“No, he said we can’t get in their way,” I said.
“So what are you going to do?” Eliza asked. Her eyes were narrowed and her arms were crossed.
I smiled. “We’re going to do what Sherlock Sam and the Supper Club always do—”
“Run-away-from-your-flatulence?”
“No,” I said, glaring at Watson. “Investigate!”
“I don’t know, Sam,” Wendy said. “Officer Siva seemed pretty clear.”
“Yeah,” Nazhar said. “Maybe we should ask him first.”
“You guys are just being chicken,” Eliza said. “We need to help regardless of what the adults say. He’s our schoolmate.”
We stared at Eliza.
“Who-are-you-and-what-have-you-done-to-the-real-Eliza?” Watson asked.
“Since when have you cared about school-mates?” Wendy asked.
“Since one has gone missing,” she said. “I’ll go back to being mean and snotty when this is all over, if that makes you feel better.”
Wendy looked hurt, but didn’t say anything.
“Eliza’s right,” I said. “But we’ll stay in the park, where there are plenty of police around, okay?”
Wendy and Nazhar looked at each other and nodded. Jimmy had double-tied his shoelaces for additional security and was raring to go.
“This-is-a-bad-idea. Excessive-humidity-can- cause-irreparable-damage-to-my-circuits,” Watson said, but he followed along behind us anyway.
We left my parents with James’
parents and wandered around the park. Mom reminded us not to stray too far away. There was a fitness area that I was sure didn’t have anything to do with the case. There were also a few covered shelters where people could sit to escape the sun.
We walked on a boardwalk that stretched across a small part of the reservoir. There was a bandstand in the middle. We looked into the water and saw some turtles and fish swimming.
When we reached the other side, I noticed bees pollinating some flowering bushes.
“I have been interested in bees for some time,” I said.
“Why?” Jimmy asked. “Because of their soothing buzzing?”
“He wants to make his own honey,” Wendy said, snickering.
“Well, yes, the health benefits of making your own honey are very well known, but that’s not why. Honey bees have a very interesting social structure. They live in colonies where the queen makes all the decisions for the hive, including what the other bees will be, but unlike human monarchies the queen is chosen at birth by the worker bees. Also—and this is even more interesting—if the workers think the queen is ineffective, they’ll overthrow her and install a new queen. I’m thinking about starting my own apiary so I can observe them in a controlled situation.”
The Supper Club stared at me. They were smiling and nodding, but with vacant looks in their eyes. Jimmy was making a buzzing sound under his breath.
“We should go up that hill,” Nazhar said suddenly. “Lim Bo Seng’s tomb is up there!”
We followed him up and saw a large but simple monument. The tomb was made of granite and had a tombstone with Chinese characters etched into it.
“Lim Bo Seng was a World War II hero,” Nazhar said. “He worked with British Intelligence and recruited and trained many spies for the Allies.”
“Oh yah. Our teacher was talking about him the other day, right?” Wendy said. “He helped establish Force 136?”
“Yep, and he mounted Operation Gustavus to set up an espionage network in Malaya and Singapore. But it was discovered by the Japanese before any real work could be done and Lim Bo Seng was captured. He died of dysentery in captivity and was buried here with full military honours after the war was over.”
