Free The Singapore School of Villainy by Shamini Flint Page A

shortage.’
    Singh chuckled suddenly – he had never heard a murder referred to as a manpower shortage before. ‘Keep the reputation of the firm intact, eh? Might be difficult as it looks like one of your lawyers bumped off the senior partner!’
    The young man grimaced, the expression emphasising the bump on his nose. Perhaps he was like Pinocchio, thought Singh, and it was possible to tell when he was lying.
    â€˜I’m still hoping there’s some explanation for this key thing.’
    â€˜No harm hoping – but I’m relying on the evidence,’ said Singh cheerfully, ‘and so far the most likely killer is one of your lot.’
    Sheringham nodded pensively.
    Singh was pleased that he was not naïve – or bloody minded – enough to deny the obvious. ‘In fact, based on the partners’ meeting Mark Thompson called just before he was killed, I think this murder had something to do with the firm of Hutchinson & Rice.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’
    â€˜Maybe one of your lawyers was misbehaving and Mark Thompson found out?’
    â€˜Highly unlikely,’ insisted Sheringham.
    â€˜More unlikely than your senior partner being bludgeoned to death at his desk?’
    David Sheringham touched the side of his nose with a long finger to indicate that the inspector had made his point.
    â€˜What sort of things was Mark Thompson working on?’
    â€˜Not an awful lot…’
    â€˜More queen bee than worker ant, eh?’
    Sheringham shrugged.
    â€˜Any smoking guns?’
    There was a quick shake of the head. ‘Not very much would make its way to London anyway.’
    The portly inspector was quick to spot the implications of his carefully chosen words. ‘Not very much? But something did!’
    â€˜It’s irrelevant.’
    Singh didn’t bother to point out that the only thing that was irrelevant was the opinion of the young lawyer. He merely bided his time, chewing on his lower lip as he watched David Sheringham wrestle with the issue.
    As he suspected, the partner from London had a practical streak. There was no point denying anything that could be obtained, albeit with more leg work, from another source.
    â€˜Mark believed that one of the directors of a Malaysian client company, Trans-Malaya Bhd., an infrastructure development outfit, was insider dealing. He wanted to withdraw from the transaction.’ He continued, his voice taking on a pedantic tone, ‘Insider dealing is where a party uses information not in the public domain to trade shares and make an illegal personal profit.’
    Singh growled, ‘I know what insider dealing is – I don’t understand why it concerned London.’
    â€˜Not all the partners believed that Hutchinson & Rice should withdraw on principle.’ David Sheringham ducked his head, his expression sheepish. ‘The transaction was a bit of a cash cow.’
    â€˜Why didn’t you just tell the Malaysian company about the director?’
    â€˜You know as well as I do that insider dealing is difficult to prove – perpetrators use third party brokers and numbered accounts to squirrel away the profits…’
    The inspector pondered the new information for a moment. It was difficult to see yet how it could have led to the death of Mark Thompson. Still, it was the first hint of dissent within the ranks of the legal firm. He would have plenty of opportunity to rattle a few cages and see if the lawyers could be persuaded to reveal more secrets.
    As if reading his mind, David Sheringham said, ‘We would appreciate it if the police conducted their inquiries in the most discreet fashion possible.’
    Singh eyed him curiously. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
    â€˜It would be better if the interviews were conducted in our offices rather than at the police station. It gives us a chance to avoid those reporters in the foyer.’ He gesticulated with his head to