Chapter XII

Mak Su Rubiah, tell me what you think!’

On the porch, the two sat smoking cigarettes. Ashikin felt Aliza’s absence keenly; ordinarily she would have been making coffee, listening to the conversation, sitting by the door. And now she was lying in a hospital bed.

‘I’m ignoring the whole pelesit thing,’ Rubiah said briskly, ‘although it’s strange someone could get into a full house and kill Jamillah without anyone hearing a thing.’

‘Unless it was someone in the house to begin with.’

‘Exactly,’ Rubiah said approvingly. ‘But, back to your mother and Aliza, poor thing. It could be Murad himself, or Rahim, or actually Zaiton.’

‘That doesn’t help at all.’

‘No, but first, let’s find Rahim. Thailand?’ she said. ‘That’s a job for Osman. We’ve got to get back to the hospital.’

*  *  *

Aziz walked slowly into the main police station on Jalan Ibrahim in Kota Bharu. He had rarely had reason to visit before, and was visibly uncomfortable. Standing stiffly before the front desk, he asked for Osman, and the young desk sergeant importantly asked his business.

‘I will tell him myself,’ Aziz said slowly. ‘I must speak to him directly.’

‘I don’t know if that’s possible,’ the officer said airily. ‘I’ve got to make sure first, you know, that he can see you.’

‘He knows me. He’s investigating my wife’s death.’

‘A suspect, then!’ He rose and walked around the desk, and reached out to take Aziz’s arm. Before he could grasp it, Aziz pulled back, and pushed him away, knocking him back against the desk, scattering paperclips all over the floor. The commotion brought other policeman over, roughly grabbing at Aziz as their fallen colleague stumbled and tried to right himself.

‘I don’t know what you think you’re doing,’ an older man began, ‘but you don’t treat policemen like that, and especially not here at the station.’

‘I need to see Chief Osman,’ Aziz cried loudly as he wrestled several officers. ‘I need to see him now!’

Osman came out of his office to find Aziz on the bottom of a scrum. ‘What’s this?’ he asked.

The sergeant stood breathlessly, his uniform somewhat askew, his hair sticking up. ‘This man came in to see you, sir, and I realized he was a suspect. He resisted me! So we have disarmed him.’

‘Was he armed?’

‘Well, no, not really. But he was fighting us.’

Osman shook his head and looked unhappily at all of them. ‘He’s part of an investigation. Why are you wrestling with him?’

‘I just asked to see you.’ Aziz was muffled as he was now being helped up and dusted off. ‘I didn’t expect this!’

‘Of course not!’ Osman soothed him as he guided him into his office. He jerked his chin at the sergeant, signalling for coffee and cakes. Aziz would need to be mollified.

‘I’m so sorry, Pak Cik,’ Osman began. ‘I feel terrible at the way you were treated.’

‘Why did they do that?’ Aziz asked, ‘I just came in here and asked for you.’

‘I honestly don’t know. Ah! Here’s some hot coffee for you … and curry puffs. Please, Pak Cik, have something to drink. You’ll feel better.’

Osman gave him a big smile, which he turned off as he looked towards the man bringing in the refreshments, who blushed and quickly retreated.

‘Tell me now, why did you come here?’

‘I can’t find Zaiton.’

‘What?’

‘She’s gone, she’s left. My older daughter thinks she’s gone to Thailand to find Rahim.’

‘But why run away?’ Osman cursed himself for not taking her into custody. How could he explain losing a suspect?

‘Maybe to marry him. Maybe to protect him.’ Or protect herself, Osman thought, but wouldn’t say. ‘To get away from Murad, who wants to marry her to his son!’

‘Really?’

‘Yes,’ he said shortly. ‘Shouldn’t you be finding my daughter before something happens to her? What if she’s run away to get married in Sungei Golok?’

‘Is that where you think Rahim might have gone?’

‘I heard,’ he said expansively, ‘he had relatives outside Sungei Golok.’

‘Why didn’t you say so earlier?’

‘I didn’t know then. And I don’t know now, but it’s a place to start.’

‘Could your older daughter help us?’

He nodded. ‘Yes, we’d do anything to get her back.’

‘Let me talk to her,’ Osman said, picking up his hat and calling for one of the men to drive. Maybe he could find both of them at once, and get the truth out of them.