2

INSPECTOR MISLAN LATIF AND Detective Sergeant Johan Kamarudin of the Special Investigations Unit (D9) arrive just as Chew Beng Song and his team from Crime Forensics HQ are unpacking their equipment.

“Hey, Chew, what brings you here? I thought D10 is handling this.”

“Lily called for help, said they’re not equipped to handle this. What brings you here?”

“District thinks it might be a case of public interest. Usual thing, trying to pass the buck,” Mislan sniggers. “Let’s see what this is all about.”

Inspectors Murad and Lily Chin greet them as they walk under the crime-scene tape held up by a patrolman.

“What do we have here?” Mislan asks.

“A male victim, Mahadi Mokshin, sixty, executive chairman of MM Harapan Holdings, address in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. A female victim, Zaleha Jalani, thirty-four, managing director of Rakan MM Harapan Sdn Bhd, address in Beverly Heights, Ampang,” Murad says, briefing him. “MPV checked the vehicle. It’s registered to the male victim. Talked to the caller, but he says he didn’t witness the accident. When he got here, the car had already crashed into the railing. He stopped to help, but when he saw the two bodies, he called 999. We got the call around 20:48 hours.”

“Why are you referring to the deceased as victims?” Mislan asks, curious. “You figure there’s foul play?”

“No, but what do you want me to refer to them as?”

“The deceased, until you know for certain there was foul play.”

“OK, the deceased.”

“Any other witnesses?”

“If there were, they’re long gone. Hari Raya’s what, three days away. It’s back-to-hometown time. I suspect those who saw the incident would’ve simply continued with their journey.”

The holy month of Ramadan and the Hari Raya celebration, as Eid is known here, is one of the biggest events in Malaysia, as the majority of its population is Malay-Muslim. A week or so before Hari Raya most of the city dwellers, especially in Kuala Lumpur, start preparing and leaving for their hometowns. This is especially so for those from the East Coast states like Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang and those from the northern states like Kedah. States that are Malay-dominated.

“Jo, can you interview the caller? See if he saw or noticed anything worth following up on. Is the car the way it was? I mean, did anyone move or do anything to it?”

“Apart from the responding MPV, we’re the first to arrive,” Lily answers. “The car was locked from the inside and we had to break in. The key was in the ignition, headlights, radio, air-con, and alarm were on, but the engine was dead.”

“By dead, do you mean it had stalled or was the ignition turned off?” Mislan asks.

“Stalled. The key was in the On position. I believe the engine stalled on impact,” Lily says.

“What about the deceased?” Chew asks.

“The male has a single GSW to the head and the female one GSW to the head and another to the chest. That’s gunshot wound,” Lily says for Murad’s benefit.

“Yes, thanks for the education.”

“We found a Walther PPK .32 and three casings. I’m pretty sure it was the weapon used. Nothing stolen—wallet, handbag, and valuables all intact. I guess Crime Forensic is better equipped for this than us,” Lily says to Chew.

“Let’s see what we can do. Can you tell your guys to hand over whatever they’ve bagged to my boys?”

“With pleasure,” Lily replies, signaling to her assistants.

Chew, Mislan, and Johan approach the black Mercedes E200, and the Forensics supervisor switches on his flashlight. The body of the male deceased is on the right, in the driver’s seat. The safety belt unstrapped, with the head and torso facing front but slumped a little to the left, toward the passenger seat. A small hole, no larger than the girth of a pencil, is on his lower right temple close to the ear. There is a patch of dried blood around the hole with the stain running down the cheek. The side and front of the deceased’s shirt are damp with blood. His left hand hangs between the seats, and his right rests on his lap. The female deceased’s body is also not buckled in. Her head is tilted to the right, resting below the jaw of the male deceased. Her upright torso faces the front, slightly angled toward the steering wheel. Two gunshot wounds are visible—one on the right temple and another in the center of the chest. The right side of her face is covered with dried blood, and her dress is damp. Blood spatters dot the cream leather seats, windows, dashboard, windshield, and the inner roof. The smell of blood and death fill the interior, overpowering the lemon fragrance from the car’s air freshener.

“What do you think happened here?” Johan asks.

“Hard to say,” Chew replies, as he bends over carefully into the car’s interior on the driver’s side.

“Didn’t Lily say the car was locked?”

“Yes, we had to slim-jim the door open,” Lily says.

“The alarm?” Johan asks.

“The key was on the On mode, so the alarm was not on,” she explains.

“If the car was locked, and the ignition key was on, they must have been the only two people in the car,” Johan suggests.

“I suppose so.”

“Lily, did you get all the photographs?” Chew shouts above the traffic noise.

“Yup.”

“OK for me to move the deceased and exhibits, then?”

“Yes, unless you want your boys to have another go at it?”

“OK, let’s do that, just to be sure. Not that I don’t trust your work,” Chew adds, making sure Lily’s people hear him.

He signals to his photographer to have another go at the interior.

“Chew, is that the gun?” Mislan asks.

“Yes.”

“Hmmm. Anything on the back seat?”

“A box of tissues.”

“Lily, were the victims moved?” Mislan asks.

“No, why?”

“Is this the way they were, when you got here?”

“Unless they moved themselves, because none of my guys did.”

“Who recovered the victims’ handbag and wallet?”

“I did,” Lily admits.

“You think this is murder-suicide?” Murad inquires.

“I don’t know, what makes you think that?”

“Only two of them in a locked car, it’s the victim’s own gun . . . sorry, the male deceased’s own gun, what else could it be?”

“How do you know that’s the male deceased’s handgun?” Mislan asks.

“I’m just assuming. They’re only two of them in the car, who else could it belong to?”

“Murad, since you think this is suicide cum murder, I suggest you take this on for now. I’ll brief my boss and see what she says. Chew, to be on the safe side, I’d rather you handled the forensics instead of D10 in case this turns into something unexpected. I have a bad feeling about this, but it’s not my call. Where are you sending the victims?”

“KL General Hospital, it’s nearer,” Murad says.

“You think it’s not suicide cum murder?” Chew asks.

Mislan gives a noncommittal shrug.

“Okay, let me know if something comes up. In the meantime, Johan and I will check out what we can find out about the two deceased. We’ll do whatever we can at this hour, so we’ll know a little more when we brief the boss.”