The Adelphi Hotel is a grand building on Coleman Street. It used to be the most popular hotel in Singapore, until a few others opened along the same street and competition among the hotels became greater.
The hotel has two levels. Offices and ten rooms on the lower one, and twelve rooms on the upper. The building was designed in the shape of a “U”, with a courtyard in the middle. It had a high wall around it and curtained windows for privacy.
When Ma and I got there, we saw Constable Flint standing in the reception area with two of his patrolmen. He looked tired.
“Everything’s under control,” he said hurriedly when he saw Ma and me. “Please leave the matter to us!”
Ma smiled and responded with a quick nod.
“We’re not trying to interfere,” Ma said. “My son and I thought you might appreciate a little help. I know the circus just came in today. That must be keeping you and your men very busy.”
Constable Flint sighed.
“Do you know how many pickpockets we caught along the pier earlier this morning?” he said. “Twelve. All belonging to one gang or other. Taking advantage of innocent people who just wanted to get a look at the circus animals.”
“Miss Priya is a dear friend,” Ma said. She sounded a little shaken. “Do you know what happened to her?”
Constable Flint gave his men a signal, and they went off to perform their duties.
“I’ve spoken to three people here,” Constable Flint told us. “The manager, the watchman and a guest from Penang by the name of John Chung.”
I couldn’t help myself. “Our house maid mentioned something about a ghost,” I said. “What did she mean?”
Constable Flint seemed a little baffled. “There was an explosion on the second level this morning. The man I mentioned, John Chung, was just back from his morning walk when he heard it. He saw a masked man in black clothes outside Miss Priya’s room. Mr Chung called out to him, but the man ran off. Mr Chung reported this to the manager, and they went to check on Miss Priya.”
A masked man? In black clothes? It sounded sinister.
“When they reached Miss Priya’s room,” Constable Flint continued, “they found the wood around the door handle heavily charred, and still warm from the explosion. But the lock was unusually strong, and wasn’t damaged. The manager kept knocking. At last he went to get a duplicate of the room key from his safe.”
Constable Flint paused to catch his breath.
I was anxious to hear the rest. “And then?”
Constable Flint raised his eyebrows. “They found no one in there. We checked with the girl at the reception desk. She confirmed that Miss Priya hadn’t stepped outside the hotel at all today. So where could she be? The watchman then insisted that the room was haunted, and that Miss Priya had been captured by a ghost.”
It sure sounded creepy. I made a mental note to speak to the watchman later and check on his story.
Ma pursed her lips. “Ghost or no ghost,” she said, “we have to examine Miss Priya’s room. Right away.”
Ma grabbed my hand and dragged me across the courtyard.
Constable Flint stumbled after us. There was panic in his voice.
“Wait! You can’t go in there! You’re not authorised!”
We climbed the stairs and found ourselves staring down a long corridor.
Somewhere near the end, there was a door with a note stuck on it.
“That’s the one,” Ma said.
We hurried over and as we got closer I was able to make out the words on the note.
“Keep Out. Police Investigation.”
Ma was right.
Constable Flint knew better than to argue with my mother. With a reluctant sigh, he took out a key and let us inside.
The room was dark. It had a window, quite a small one, on the left. This was latched. There was a curtain too, pulled aside.
There was a bed just next to the window. And on the other side of the room, there was a long and tall cupboard that almost reached the ceiling.
Against the wall, between the bed and the cupboard, there was a writing table and a chair.
I recognised some of Miss Priya’s books on the writing table. I also noticed her brown suitcase under the bed.
There was a red string tied around the handle. She sometimes tied red strings to her belongings. I had always been curious but never got around to asking her about it.
“Did Miss Priya keep any valuables in here, that you might know of?” Constable Flint asked. “Money? Or jewellery? If someone tried to blow off the lock, they must have been desperate to get their hands on something. Or someone.”
In the time it took him to utter those words, Ma was able to conduct a quick search of the room, even checking under the bed and inside the suitcase.
She was swift yet very thorough. I watched in admiration.
Ma took a deep breath. Something was wrong.
Constable Flint sensed that Ma was holding back important information. He stared at us long and hard. “Would you have any idea who might want to hurt Miss Priya? Or kidnap her?”
The room turned so silent that I suddenly noticed a faint sound. I thought it came from the street below. Something tapping and scraping softly, over and over again, like a small animal caught in a tight space.
“Mrs Hong?” Constable Flint said. “Please, I need your cooperation.”
“Miss Priya had something very valuable with her,” Ma finally admitted.