Inspector Zhang and the Disappearing Drugs by Stephen Leather Page A

thoughtfully as he looked at Inspector Zhang.    "Was that May-ling I spoke to this morning? Your wife?"
    "Yes it was," said Inspector Zhang.
    "How long have you been married now?"
    "Thirty years."
    "That is a long time," said the Senior Assistant Commissioner.
    "It feels like only yesterday," said Inspector Zhang.
    "You are a lucky man," said the Senior Assistant Commissioner. "May-ling was a beautiful woman." He sipped his tea.
    "She still is," said Inspector Zhang. "The most beautiful woman in Singapore. And the best cook."
    "I am divorced," said the Senior Assistant Commissioner., putting down his cup.
    "I am sorry to hear that," said Inspector Zhang.
    The Senior Assistant Commissioner shrugged. "This job puts a strain on relationships. The hours. The nature of the work." He sighed. "Anyway, I did not ask you here to complain. I asked you here because I have a problem. A problem of a sensitive nature."
    "You can of course rely on my discretion," said Inspector Zhang.
    The Senior Assistant Commissioner frowned and then nodded slowly, "Yes, I know that, Inspector Zhang. You are one of the most conscientious officers on the force. Not a blemish on your record. Not a single black mark." He sat back in his executive chair.   "And you have the reputation of being a detective who can solve mysteries."
    Inspector Zhang smiled but said nothing. He could see that the Senior Assistant Commissioner was troubled, and he had learned over the years that people said most when they were not interrupted.
    "I have a case which could be considered as a mystery. A mystery that..."   The Senior Assistant Commissioner shrugged.   "Well, frankly Inspector Zhang, it has stumped me." He sighed and placed his hands face down on his highly-polished desk. "Have you come across Inspector Kwok.   Inspector Sally Kwok."
    "I don't believe so," said Inspector Zhang.
    "She is something of a high-flyer, marked for great things," said the Senior Assistant Commissioner.    "She is currently on attachment with the Drugs Squad. I personally assigned her what should have been a very straight-forward drugs case but somehow it has turned into a…" He shrugged and sighed. "A mystery. That is the only word for it. A mystery." He stood up and walked around behind his chair and leant his arms on the back. It was , Inspector Zhang realised, a very defensive posture.
    "A Customs team discovered a consignment of heroin in a container that had arrived at the port," said the Senior Assistant Commissioner.   "It was a chance thing, a drugs dog was on the way to a job when he walked by a container that had just come off a ship and he indicated that there were drugs inside. The container was opened and a hundred kilos of Burmese heroin was discovered in cardboard boxes. Ten boxes, each of ten kilos. The street value in Singapore would be about thirteen million US dollars. It was a huge haul. We had the heroin but we wanted to catch the men who had imported it. That is when I called in Inspector Kwok."
    Inspector Zhang nodded but said nothing.   It was indeed a big haul, and the Senior Assistant Commissioner must have had a reason for giving such a big case to a mere inspector.
    "The container had been hired by an import-export company who were acting on behalf of customers who were bringing in goods from Thailand, but who didn't need a complete forty-foot container," continued the Senior Assistant Commissioner. "Basically the import-export company paid for the container and then found customers who wanted to bring in goods. It was a mixed consignment. Along with the boxes of drugs there was furniture, soft goods, toys, and foodstuffs.   The container was to be taken to the warehouse of the import-export company where it would be opened and the goods delivered to the various customers. The plan was for Inspector Kwok's team to follow the boxes of drugs to the customer who had paid for them. It should have been a simple enough case but that's not how it worked