The Ambassador's Wife Read Online Free PDF Page A

marks on the woman’s wrists and ankles,” Kang went on. “He says he’s not sure yet, but they appear to be consistent with restraints of some kind.”
    “Restraints?”
    “You know, sir … ah, like she was—”
    “Having kinky sex?”
    “Yes, sir. Exactly.”
    “Wonderful,” Tay muttered as he stubbed out his cigarette. “Sex and death. My favorite subjects.”
    Two Japanese-looking men carrying black leather briefcases passed close to the table and Tay watched them until they were gone.
    “Is there any evidence the woman had intercourse before she died?” he asked when the men were out of earshot.
    “We won’t know for sure until the autopsy.”
    Tay grunted.
    “Even then,” Kang went on, “if it was normal vaginal intercourse, it may be difficult to tell for sure whether it was forced.”
    “Why would it be difficult … oh, the flashlight.”
    “Yes, sir. The flashlight.”
    “Maybe we can at least find out where that came from.”
    “We already know, sir.”
    “We do?”
    “There’s one in every room. The hotel has them in the closet for emergencies.”
    Tay picked up the empty espresso cup and slipped his forefinger through the handle. Letting the cup drop, he watched it swing back and forth.
    “What did they find in the room?” Tay asked after the cup stopped swinging.
    “That’s what’s strange, sir. It’s not what they found; it’s what they didn’t find. No suitcases, no toilet articles, no clothing. She certainly wasn’t staying there.”
    “What about the clothes she was wearing?”
    “Nothing, sir.”
    Tay blinked at that. “Her clothes were gone?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Well, even if there is an electronics trade fair in town, she sure as hell didn’t walk into the Marriott completely naked.”
    “No, sir. Probably not.”
    “What about her jewelry? Rings? A watch?”
    “No, sir. Nothing like that. Both her hands show marks from rings, but they’re gone now.”
    “Somebody cleaned up. And they made a thorough job of it.”
    “Yes, sir. A guy takes everything, packs it into a suitcase or maybe a laundry bag, and walks out. Who notices a man walking out of a hotel with a bag?”
    Tay leaned back, knitted his fingers together behind his head, and thought for a moment.
    “What makes you think it was a man?” he asked.
    “Oh come on, sir. No woman could have done that.”
    “Why not?”
    “A woman just couldn’t do something like that, sir.”
    “Don’t be naive, Sergeant. You need to get out more.”
    “Well, sir, at the very least you have to admit no woman’s strong enough to beat another woman that badly.”
    “Really? You obviously haven’t met any of the women my friends have been fixing me up with recently.”
    Tay thought about what Kang had just told him for a second, maybe two.
    “There won’t be any prints in the room,” he said. “Not the woman’s. Not the killer’s. He was too careful for that.”
    “Probably not, sir. FMB says the whole room’s been wiped down. But they’re still checking everything anyway. Maybe there’s something that didn’t get wiped.”
    “Have they found anything at all that would help identify her?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Do they know what was used to beat her face in?”
    “Not yet.”
    “Can they tell if the beating was the cause of death?”
    “They’re not sure.”
    “Are they at least certain she’s dead?”
    “Pardon me, sir?”
    “Never mind.”
    Tay drummed his fingers on the table. He picked up the half empty box of Marlboros and then put it down again.
    “Have our esteemed colleagues even managed to come up with a time of death?” he asked.
    “They say she’s still in rigor, but the air conditioning was turned down so much it might have delayed the time it took her to reach it. They’re just guessing, but they figure it was something like twelve to twenty-four hours ago.”
    Tay looked at his watch. He already knew more or less what the time was, but he looked at his watch anyway.
    “Then