Kendall watched as the forensic unit screened the room for clues and dusting for prints, her body inches away from the yellow plastic tape forming the off-limits, no entry zone boundary. A white chalk rendition marking where the body lay, since carted off to a mortuary for post-mortem in a body bag. She swore she could hear the deceased's passing thoughts.
they're going to slice into me avenge me please doctor please don't let them get away with this please get Arman away from her
It gave her the goose bumps, but also reminded Kendall of what Arman and the patient he named Ain had committed together at her hospital. It shocked her the usually sanguine Arman could do such a thing.
it's Ain she goaded him into doing this she's playing with his heart his emotion
Yes. This was all that woman's fault. Arman would not have done it. Not him.
She had concluded the patient had died from a broken neck. The sinews holding his head and neck disengaged using the hospital gown. Extreme force at play. Kendall shared her opinion on this with the detectives first to arrive. They took one quick look inside the room and at the body. Nodded their agreement.
"For the head to be twisted as such, the killers would have to work in tandem. One holding him back and the other snapping his neck. This was no accident," said one, speaking to both Kendall and his colleague snapping photos of the scene.
"Working in tandem. What do you mean? The killers had planned this?"
"Doesn't look that way. Could well be something that happened in the heat of the moment. Whatever it was, they were very resourceful to use the gown. That's quick thinking," he replied.
Kendall saw the detective picking up the twisted-up hospital gown from the floor and placing it inside a plastic bag. He tagged it with a sticker.
"The position of the deceased tells us he was squatting when his killer got behind him, looped this around his neck and then pulled hard and sudden. That would explain the immense force to…"
He finished his sentence with a sideways jerk of his head.
"Even a woman could do this, right?" asked Kendall.
"Possible. Was the patient warded here athletic?"
"I would say so. She's quite petite. Fairly lean. So the other person doesn't need to be active partner, then?"
"Can't be sure. Until we process all the evidence from this room, nothing's excluded. Do you have any CCTV monitoring the patients?"
"Not within their rooms. We must respect their right to privacy. Most of the patients are here on their own accord. You can have the recording from the lobby," said Kendall.
"How about this hallway? We would need that to. Might show us who came and went," he said.
Arman usually handles these things, thought Kendall.
he is gone with Ain bet they are doing it somewhere doesn't have to be comfy when you are horny enough ha ha ha I bet they are from all the killing ha ha ha ha
"I'll have them ready for you, but it might take a while. Our… administrator isn't here," she said, adding, "The recording might be blurry as it covers the whole area. And the halls are quite dark at night."
A forced cough alerted them to someone arriving unannounced. Kendall turned to face a well-built man in dark uniform.
"Dr Kendall? My boss would like a word with you, please."
"Sorry, but you are…?"
"He wished to see you privately."
The voice was steely cold, hammering home the point this was less a request than an order. She stared at the new arrival and decided to abide, moving away from the cordoned off zone and hallway. A tall, clean shaven, slightly balding Chinese man in pink-threaded, striped shirt, the sleeves folded back twice, and black trousers stood next to the sofa where she last saw Arman with Din and Sam the morning yesterday.
"Dr Kendall?" said the waiting man. He thrusted his hands out towards her, and smiled as she held back, a frown on her face.
"I'm sorry if my staff came out too rude. My apologies. Could we use your room so that I can introduce myself properly?"
Grunting her quiet disapproval, Kendall led the man into the administrative staff's hallway and to her room. He stood silent for a minute, looking at the books lining her cabinet on the left, then pulled the visitor's chair and sat down. His eyes beckoned her to take a seat. She obliged. The man's aloofness intimidated her.
No longer smiling, the man took out a card from his pocket and passed it to Kendall. It read, "Samuel Chan Abdullah, Consultant, Internal Security Commission". Embossed white text on black surface. An Honorary title, in gold letters, sat beneath his name. She looked at him, her eyebrows knotting as beads of perspiration appeared on her forehead.
"How may I assist you, Datuk?"
"We sent five patients to your hospital, one of whom is dead and now another one has gone missing. Shall I withdraw the other three before they end up in similar situation?"
"I assure you Datuk…."
"Assure me, what, Dr Kendall? That you can take care of them? May I remind you this is the second reported fatality of patients placed under your trust?"
"…."
"Well?"
She wiped her forehead with her fingers, took a deep breath but still the words came stuttering out.
"We… we weren't at fault last night. It was…"
"Let's look at the facts, shall we? There was only one staff on duty. He went missing together with our patient. The security guards didn't even notice their leaving the hospital grounds. Through its single entrance. Your SOP called for at least two personnel on night duty. Why wasn't it followed?"
Her lips went dry, her mind furious. She wanted to fight back but had to admit he was correct in every assertion. Still…
"One of our staff came down ill and could not make it on time for the night shift. It was too late to call in a replacement."
They stared at each other. Kendall the first to glance away. Heard his sigh, and then a voice much softer.
"Please bring me the personal file of your staff last night. Can I use your room a bit longer?" he said.
She got up, went to her filing cabinet, pulled out a folder.
Too easily accessed, sighed Kendall quietly. The name Arman Shah Junaid written below the passport sized photograph of a smiling young man. She hoped her visitor didn't notice the speed of her obtaining the file as she passed it to him.
"My apologies for the harsh words but this… incident is very unfortunate on our part. I hope you can appreciate the severity of it. I'd like to visit the remaining three before leaving," he said. His eyes were still piercing, but they were less intense than before.
Kendall stood silent a few seconds, nodded and quietly walked away to exit the room, closing the door behind her.
Inside, the man's demeanor softened. He closed his eyes, body slumping slight before correcting his stature. Drawing the file closer to him, his eyes lingered on Arman's picture as if thinking, then began reading the documents within.