Two Worlds, One Love & A Serial Killer - Janice Wee

Natural Death or Deadly Plot?

George gagged. The pervasive stench of death hung low in the air, daring the private detective to unravel its mystery.

Before him lay Craig. His informant. A half-eaten croissant sat in its plate, flies buzzing over it. The body was stiff and cold. The eyes, wide open. Terrified. There was no breath. No pulse. Two pinpoint holes punctured an exposed arm indicating a snake bite.

Death by natural means?

Or murder?

George would have assumed the former, if not for the ominous call he received that led him to this place. The victim was one of his informers within one of Singapore’s opium syndicates.

The darkness that came with opium hit too close to home.

Rage simmered in his heart as thoughts of an old friend Carl came to mind. That once industrious man had a promising career ahead. Visits to opium dens which began as a form of relaxation, became a compulsion to feed his growing addiction. His opium habit turned him into a hollow shell of himself. Carl spent his days remaining days “chasing the dragon”. His once well-to-do family fell to financial ruin. Carl died of an opium overdose leaving his wife and children, a widow, and orphans.

There wasn’t much he could do about it. The British government benefited from the tax revenue the opium dens brought them and these syndicates paid their taxes.

His gloved hand fingered the note with the dead man’s last message.

Operation Krait. Rival syndicates. Monopoly profits.

That note led him here.

The room was a mess, but Craig had never been one to clean up after himself. An apple core on the floor crawling with ants. Beer and gravy spilt on the rug. Leave Craig alone in a room long enough, that’s what you’d expect.

George scanned the mess for clues.

There was a clump of red soil on the carpet. The soil in this part of Singapore was either black or a yellowish beige.

That clump came from the Bukit Timah Forest.