The Ambassador's wife

US embassy in KL we used to try to play golf together whenever he came down here.”

Sometimes, Tay thought, if it were not for the game of golf, Singaporeans would be entirely incapable of communication with other human beings.

“Yes, Sergeant?”

“Anyway, sir, I called him and asked him if he knew anything about DeSouza. He said he hadn’t ever met him, only knew him by name. But he said something else that seemed strange to me, sir.”

“Strange?”

“Yes, sir. He said that there was talk DeSouza had been sent out here in the first place as a kind of punishment. That some of the higher-ups in Washington had wanted him to resign, but they agreed to allow him to come to Singapore instead.”

It annoyed Tay that the FBI saw an assignment to Singapore as an alternative to resignation, but he supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Why did they want him to resign?” he asked.

“For beating up his wife, sir. Apparently, he nearly killed her. Put her in the hospital for weeks.”

When Tay didn’t say anything, Kang went on.

“You don’t think, do you, sir, that there’s any possibility-”

“I need you to do a couple of things for me right now, Sergeant,”

Tay interrupted.

“Yes, sir.”

“First, put me on hold and call the American embassy. Find out where DeSouza is.”

“Right, sir. What else?”

“Do that first. I’ll wait.”

There was a click and Tay found himself listening to something that sounded like Greensleeves played on a kazoo. After a minute or two, Sergeant Kang returned and mercifully the idiotic toodling ended.

“Sir? You still there?”

“Of course, I’m still here, Sergeant. Where the hell else would I be? Listening to Greensleeves played on a kazoo?”

Kang hesitated. “Sorry, sir?”

“Never mind. What did you find out about DeSouza?”

“He’s there, sir.”

“He’s at the embassy in Singapore right now, is he?”

“No, sir. He’s there, sir.”

“What are you talking about, Sergeant? Where the hell is there?”

“Bangkok, sir. They said you could reach him at the American embassy in Bangkok.”

Tay’s intuition told him that was not good, and his intuition had always been his best friend. Still, he reminded himself, he had to step lightly here. All he had right now were a few bits and pieces that didn’t feel right, nothing more than that, and looking at an FBI agent as a possible suspect in two murders was no small thing. If he was going to do something like that, he had damn well better turn out to be right. Maybe this time he wasn’t right.

Maybe this time his intuition wasn’t being entirely honest with him. DeSouza was an asshole, of course, and perhaps that was affecting the way he was looking at him. Being an asshole didn’t make a man a killer, did it? Tay decided he needed to talk to Cally. He needed to know what she thought.

Then Tay suddenly remembered. Cally said she was going to the American embassy today. And DeSouza was at the American embassy.

Cally knew none of what he had learned in the last few minutes. He had to reach her. He had to talk to her before she did anything that might accidentally tip DeSouza off as to how much they knew. Or how little.

Tay took a deep breath.

“Go see the boss for me, Sergeant. Tell him I’m…tell him that the investigation…I don’t know. Tell him any damned thing you want. Just let him know I won’t be back for another day or two.”

“Don’t you think, sir, that it might be better if you-”

“Just tell him, Sergeant. You got that?”

“Yes, sir. Got that, sir. Good luck.”

THIRTY-FOUR

As soon as Tanner was gone Cally called the embassy in Singapore and got a cell phone number for Tony DeSouza. She dialed it and he answered on the second ring.

“Tony, it’s Cally Parks.”

“Well, this a surprise.”

“A pleasant one, I hope.”

“Just a surprise. To what do I owe the honor, Ms. Parks?”

“Where are you right now?”

“I’m doing my job, Cally. Out chasing bad guys.”

“Are you in Bangkok?”

There was a beat of silence.

Gotcha, Cally thought to herself.

“Yeah,” DeSouza said, and Cally could hear the caution in his voice. “Yeah, I am.”

“So am I, Tony. I’m sitting in the security office at the embassy and I need to talk to you. How soon can you be here?”

DeSouza chuckled slightly. “How soon would you like me to be there?”

“Now.”

“Okay,” he said.

Then he hung up.

Cally looked at the telephone with a quizzical expression as she returned it to the cradle. What was that supposed to mean? It was only a minute or two before she found out. DeSouza walked in without bothering to knock and threw himself down in a chair in front of the desk where Cally was sitting.

“Soon enough for you?” he asked.

Cally watched the smug look on his face until she had had enough.

“What are you doing in Bangkok?”

“Like I told you. Chasing the bad guys.”

“What were you looking for in the apartment where Ambassador Rooney was murdered?”

For a moment there was complete silence. Then DeSouza asked in a neutral voice, “What are you talking about?”

“You and a bunch of guys who were supposed to be cops but where probably phonies-”

“Watch yourself, little girl.”

“You and these guys turned over the safe house where Rooney was found right after her body was taken out. What were you looking for, Tony?”

DeSouza yawned and scratched at his jaw. “You had that place under surveillance?”

“Does it matter to you?”

“No,” DeSouza said, “I guess it doesn’t.”

“So let’s get back to the question then. What were you and your little buddies doing there?” Cally repeated.

“Just the usual stuff. Examining the crime scene. Evaluating the evidence. You know how these things work.”

“Yeah, I know how these things work. I also know that examining a crime scene doesn’t usually include trashing it. In fact, it usually includes preserving it.”