Inspector Zhang Gets His Wish Read Online Free

Zhang and whispered in his ear. "Inspector Zhang, I need to talk to you," she said.
    "Sergeant Lee, I am in full flow here," he said. "Can’t it wait?"
    "No Sir, it can not," said the sergeant.
    Inspector Zhang sighed with annoyance then nodded at the door to the bedroom. "This had better be important," he said.
    They went through to the bedroom and stood at the foot of the bed. "What is it, Sergeant Lee?" asked the inspector. "You seem concerned."
    "Sir, we really should be calling in the Forensic Department," she said. She looked at her watch. "It will soon be midnight."
    "Not yet," said Inspector Zhang. "I think we can solve this case without resorting to science."
    "But it’s procedure, Sir. And we have to follow procedure."
    "Sergeant Lee, you know that I speak Japanese, don’t you?"
    She nodded. "It came in very useful when we were working on the case of the sushi chef who ran amok in his restaurant," she said.
    "Exactly," said Inspector Zhang. "But do you know why I studied Japanese?"
    The sergeant shook her head.
    "There is a famous Japanese writer named Soji Shimada who wrote thirteen locked room mysteries, only one of which – 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders' – was translated into English. I wanted to read his other stories, which is why I taught myself Japanese."
    "I understand, Inspector Zhang."
    "This is important to me, Sergeant Lee. This is a mystery that I can solve. I want to prove that to myself." He smiled. "And perhaps to prove to you that even in the third millennium there is a need for real detectives."
    "Like Batman?"
    "I was thinking more like Sherlock Holmes," said Inspector Zhang.   "We have an opportunity here that we may never have again in our lives. In Singapore we are lucky if we have one murder a year."
    "Lucky, Sir?"
    Inspector Zhang put up his hand. "You are right; lucky is not the right word.   Murders are rare in Singapore. Our island state is the most tightly controlled place on the planet; our Government knows everything there is to know about its citizens, so our crime rate is one of the lowest in the world."
    "Plus we execute our murderers," said Sergeant Lee. "Which does act as something of a deterrent."
    "Exactly. So do you not see how special this case is, Sergeant Lee?   Most detectives would give their eye teeth to work on a case such as this, yet all you want to do is to hand it over to the scientists." He looked around as if he feared being overheard. "And what if we have a serial killer, Sergeant Lee?"
    "We have only one victim," said the sergeant.
    "That we know of," said Inspector Zhang, fighting to stop his voice from trembling. "What if there are more? What if we have on our hands a real live serial killer?" He shuddered. "Can you imagine that, Sergeant Lee?"
    The sergeant nodded, but didn’t reply.
    "You know that Singapore has only ever had one serial killer?" said the inspector.
    "Yes, Sir. Adrian Lim."
    "Exactly, Sergeant," said the Inspector. Every detective on the island knew of the case, of course. It was taught at the academy.   The Toa Payoh Ritual Murders. The killings had taken place in 1981, the year that Inspector Zhang had joined the Singapore Police Force. Adrian Lim, who murdered two children as sacrifices to the Hindu goddess Kali. Lim and his two female accomplices were hanged in 1988.
    "But he was caught by forensic evidence," said Sergeant Lee. "Police found a trail of blood leading to the flat."
    "Exactly," said Inspector Zhang. "Which is why I want to use deduction to solve this case. All the evidence we need is here, Sergeant Lee. All we have to do is to apply our deductive skills. Do you see that? Do you understand?"
    The sergeant nodded slowly. "Yes, Sir, I understand."
    He patted her on the back. "Excellent," he said. "Let me now finish my questioning," he said. "And you might give some thought as to what this case will be called, because I am sure that it will become the subject of much discussion so it will need a name."
    "A name, Sir?"
    "A