Kiss and Die

Chapter 76

Shrimp looked closely at the computer image of the skull found by the fishermen. It was worn smooth, its right side was missing. The teeth were all there except for the molars on the right at the back. Shrimp clicked on the program until he had produced a projected image of the whole skull.

He took the photo of David’s brother, Ishmael, and enlarged it. He studied it closely: Ishmael had only one significant scar on his face, the one extending from his mouth to his ear on the right side. The skull was missing on the side.

He enlarged and cropped the photo till he was left with an A4 photo of his face. He scanned it into the computer and superimposed it over the skull found by the fishermen. He took it straight to Daniel Lu’s department.

‘I’m impressed. It’s a good match. Can you get his brother in here for a DNA match?’

‘Possibly,’ said Shrimp. ‘They’re a bit wary of police stations.’

‘Okay, I’ll give you a swab kit. Have you time to go back in there? You’re undercover from tonight.’

‘Yes. I’ll ring him. Get him to meet me. I’m not worried about being recognized undercover. I’m not moving from the bar. It’s all travelling businessmen in there. Plus, I have a great disguise.’

Shrimp phoned David. ‘Can you meet me at the park at the back of the mosque?’

Shrimp could see by David’s face that he was expecting bad news. They walked away from the park aviary and past the old men playing chess. They found a shaded bench and Shrimp told him what he believed. David listened, his head down.

‘The scar on Ishmael’s face, how did he get it?’

‘He was hit with a metal bar. It cut all the way from here to here.’ David ran his finger down the side of his face. ‘It knocked out four of his back teeth.’

‘He was doing the same sort of business as you here, wasn’t he?’

David nodded and then shook his head perplexed. ‘I don’t understand. He was doing well here in Hong Kong, he even had a girlfriend.’

‘Did you meet her?’

‘She was someone from the Mansions. He said it had to be kept secret. He said her name was Pearl, or Rose, I can’t remember. He liked her a lot.’

‘Did he tell you anything about her, age, height, second name, anything you can think of?’

‘He said she wasn’t Chinese. He didn’t say if she was tall or not. He said she had a nice figure. She was young.’ He shook his head. ‘My mother will cry forever when she hears this news.’

‘I am sorry, David. I need to ask you something else. Was he married?’

David shook his head. ‘No.’

‘You sure?’

‘Yes.’ David looked across at Shrimp. ‘So, she has killed others?’

Shrimp nodded. ‘We think so.’

‘Why did she kill my brother?’

Shrimp shook his head. The words in his head: there always has to be a first.