Read Online THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW (The Inspector Samuel Tay Novels Book 4) by Jake Needham - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jake Needham
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small platform. On the platform was a long wooden table with four chairs behind it, three of which were occupied.
Tay was surprised to see he knew one of the men on the platform although he tried not to show it. He had encountered Philip Goh several times in cases he was working. Goh did something or another at ISD, but Tay wasn’t sure what it was and he had never gotten Goh to give him a straight answer to the questions he had asked him about that subject.
If Tay were feeling generous, he could probably say he and Goh had worked together, but saying they had worked together would be stretching it a bit. It would be more accurate to say they hadn’t worked against each other. At least, not that anyone would notice.
Goh was a man of average height and weight and mostly forgettable appearance. He could have been the manager of a grocery store or a guy who worked at an insurance company. Perhaps it was that very anonymity which qualified him for ISD. He had a square Chinese face and black, badly cut hair. His most prominent feature was a scar that started somewhere inside his hairline above his left ear, meandered more or less diagonally across his cheek, and then disappeared below his jaw. It looked like a dueling scar on the face of some nineteenth-century German aristocrat and seemed completely out of place on a man like Goh who was otherwise so ordinary.
“Inspector Tay,” Goh called up from the front of the room. “So glad you could join us. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Tay said nothing. He merely nodded and sat in the first empty seat he saw. Kang glanced around, spotted Sergeant Lee one row further down, and slid in next to her.
“Not back there, Inspector,” Goh called out. “You’re down here.” He pointed to the empty chair on the platform right next to him.
Kang glanced over his shoulder at Tay, who gave a half shrug. Tay stood up and walked down to the platform and sat in the chair Goh had indicated.
“What am I doing up here, Goh?” Tay asked in a low voice.
“You’re in charge of the CID people. I figured you should be down front with me.”
“And why are you down front?”
“I’m running ISD’s operation.”
“You mean you and I are jointly in charge of this?”
“I guess we’d better get this straight right now, Tay. ISD and CID aren’t partners and CID isn’t here to help me. If I had my way, you wouldn’t be here at all. But to get the snatch approved, we had to agree to have you here. If it becomes necessary to make arrests under Singapore law, that’s your department. Everything else is my department.”
“Snatch?”
Goh looked annoyed. “What?”
“You used the world snatch . I just thought that was an odd way to characterize an operation to arrest a man.”
“I should have guessed having you here was going to be a joy, Tay. I ought to have my head examined for not refusing to let them stick me with you.”
“And yet here I am.”
“Look, ISD is taking down Suparman and holding him under the Internal Security Act. That has nothing at all to do with CID. But if anyone interferes with us, you might actually be useful. Something like that wouldn’t fall under the Internal Security Act. That would be a breach of civil law and CID will be responsible for making an arrest, if one is necessary.”
“In other words, you’re saying—”
“Can I conduct my briefing now, Tay? Would that be okay with you? If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them when I’m done.”
Goh flashed a grin he probably thought looked nasty. Tay just thought it made Goh appear constipated.
“Who are they?” Tay asked, jerking his head at the other two men sitting on the platform.
“Everything in this operation is on a need to know basis. And you don’t need to know that.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Goh, give it a rest. Where do you guys get all this spy crap?”
“How much do you know about this operation, Tay?”
“Nothing at all.”
“Then, for once in
Tay was surprised to see he knew one of the men on the platform although he tried not to show it. He had encountered Philip Goh several times in cases he was working. Goh did something or another at ISD, but Tay wasn’t sure what it was and he had never gotten Goh to give him a straight answer to the questions he had asked him about that subject.
If Tay were feeling generous, he could probably say he and Goh had worked together, but saying they had worked together would be stretching it a bit. It would be more accurate to say they hadn’t worked against each other. At least, not that anyone would notice.
Goh was a man of average height and weight and mostly forgettable appearance. He could have been the manager of a grocery store or a guy who worked at an insurance company. Perhaps it was that very anonymity which qualified him for ISD. He had a square Chinese face and black, badly cut hair. His most prominent feature was a scar that started somewhere inside his hairline above his left ear, meandered more or less diagonally across his cheek, and then disappeared below his jaw. It looked like a dueling scar on the face of some nineteenth-century German aristocrat and seemed completely out of place on a man like Goh who was otherwise so ordinary.
“Inspector Tay,” Goh called up from the front of the room. “So glad you could join us. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Tay said nothing. He merely nodded and sat in the first empty seat he saw. Kang glanced around, spotted Sergeant Lee one row further down, and slid in next to her.
“Not back there, Inspector,” Goh called out. “You’re down here.” He pointed to the empty chair on the platform right next to him.
Kang glanced over his shoulder at Tay, who gave a half shrug. Tay stood up and walked down to the platform and sat in the chair Goh had indicated.
“What am I doing up here, Goh?” Tay asked in a low voice.
“You’re in charge of the CID people. I figured you should be down front with me.”
“And why are you down front?”
“I’m running ISD’s operation.”
“You mean you and I are jointly in charge of this?”
“I guess we’d better get this straight right now, Tay. ISD and CID aren’t partners and CID isn’t here to help me. If I had my way, you wouldn’t be here at all. But to get the snatch approved, we had to agree to have you here. If it becomes necessary to make arrests under Singapore law, that’s your department. Everything else is my department.”
“Snatch?”
Goh looked annoyed. “What?”
“You used the world snatch . I just thought that was an odd way to characterize an operation to arrest a man.”
“I should have guessed having you here was going to be a joy, Tay. I ought to have my head examined for not refusing to let them stick me with you.”
“And yet here I am.”
“Look, ISD is taking down Suparman and holding him under the Internal Security Act. That has nothing at all to do with CID. But if anyone interferes with us, you might actually be useful. Something like that wouldn’t fall under the Internal Security Act. That would be a breach of civil law and CID will be responsible for making an arrest, if one is necessary.”
“In other words, you’re saying—”
“Can I conduct my briefing now, Tay? Would that be okay with you? If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them when I’m done.”
Goh flashed a grin he probably thought looked nasty. Tay just thought it made Goh appear constipated.
“Who are they?” Tay asked, jerking his head at the other two men sitting on the platform.
“Everything in this operation is on a need to know basis. And you don’t need to know that.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Goh, give it a rest. Where do you guys get all this spy crap?”
“How much do you know about this operation, Tay?”
“Nothing at all.”
“Then, for once in
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