Free Inspector Zhang And The Falling Woman by Stephen Leather Page A

staring at the body, her eyes wide. He put his arm around her. "You have to go home, my dear," he said.
    Mrs. Zhang frowned. "Aren’t you coming?"
    "I’m the first officer on the scene," he said, putting his arm around her slim waist. "I have to stay. I’m sorry."
    Mrs. Zhang nodded.   She knew what it meant to be married to a policeman, especially one who was as conscientious as her husband. "I’ll wait up for you," she said and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek.
    "You’d better," said Inspector Zhang, giving her his car keys. As Mrs. Zhang headed towards the car Inspector Zhang used his mobile phone to contact headquarters to report the death and to cancel the negotiating team. The operator promised to despatch an ambulance immediately.
    Inspector Zhang ended the call and phoned Sergeant Lee. She was at home and he asked her to come to the scene as soon as possible.
    A small crowd was gathering around the body and Inspector Zhang went over and asked them to move back. "There is nothing to see," he said, even though he knew that wasn’t true. There was something to see - a dead body.   During his career as a policeman, Inspector Zhang had seen many dead bodies but most people were rarely confronted by death and when they were they tended to stop and stare in morbid fascination.
    The woman was lying face down, one leg twisted awkwardly, one arm under her body, and a pool of blood was slowly spreading around her head. He didn’t need to check for signs of life.   Her dress had ridden up her legs exposing her thighs and Inspector Zhang tenderly pulled it down.
    As he straightened up, a patrol car arrived and two uniformed policemen got out. Inspector Zhang showed them his warrant card, explained what had happened, and asked them to help keep the onlookers away. There were now more than fifty people pressing around trying to get a look at the body.
    Sergeant Lee arrived just ten minutes after Inspector Zhang had called her. She was wearing a dark blue suit and had her hair clipped up at the back. "I’m sorry to bring you in so late but I was the first on the scene," said Inspector Zhang.
    "But you’re not on duty tonight," said Sergeant Lee.
    "An inspector of the Singapore Police Force is always on duty," said Inspector Zhang.
    "But isn’t it your thirtieth wedding anniversary tonight?" asked Sergeant Lee, walking over to the body with the inspector.
    "My wife understands," said Inspector Zhang.
    "Did she jump?" asked the Sergeant, leaning over the body and taking out her notebook.
    "She was calling out saying that she was going to jump and I was trying to talk to her but…"   He shrugged. "Sometimes there is nothing that can be done to stop them."
    Sergeant Lee looked up at the building and shuddered.
    "This is your first suicide?" asked the inspector.
    Sergeant Lee nodded solemnly.
    "It is not uncommon in Singapore," said Inspector Zhang. "We have an average of four hundred a year, more during times of economic crisis."
    "I don’t understand why anyone would kill themselves," she said. "Especially a young woman."
    "It’s usually because of money, or an affair of the heart. But our suicide rate is still well below that of Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea."
    "I suppose because our lives are better here in Singapore," said the sergeant.
    "Do you know which country in the world has the highest rate of suicides?" asked the inspector. Sergeant Lee shook her head. "Lithuania, followed by Russia," said Inspector Zhang. "Their suicide rates are four times ours." He looked down at the body. "And like you, I can never understand why anyone would want to take their own life."
    "I don’t see a bag or a wallet," said Sergeant Lee.
    "That’s not unusual," said Inspector Zhang.   "Suicides generally take off their glasses and leave their belongings behind. A man, for instance, will often take out his wallet, keys and spare change and place it on the ground before jumping." He shrugged. "I don’t know why, but