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    Inspector Zhang and the Dead Thai Gangster (a short story)
    Inspector Zhang and the Dead Thai Gangster (a short story)
    Inspector Zhang and the Dead Thai Gangster (a short story)
    Ebook69 pages54 minutes

    Inspector Zhang and the Dead Thai Gangster (a short story)

    By Stephen Leather

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    About this ebook

    The inscrutable Inspector Zhang of the Singapore Police Force is Bangkok-bound on a passenger jet when a passenger is found dead in the first class cabin. But who killed him, and why? It's up to Inspector Zhang and his assistant, Sergeant Lee, to solve the case.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStephen Leather
    Release dateJul 7, 2011
    ISBN9781466184879
    Inspector Zhang and the Dead Thai Gangster (a short story)
    Author

    Stephen Leather

    Stephen Leather is one of the UK’s most successful thriller writers, an eBook and Sunday Times bestseller and author of the critically acclaimed Dan “Spider’ Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective novels. Before becoming a novelist he was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mirror, the Glasgow Herald, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He is one of the country’s most successful eBook authors and his eBooks have topped the Amazon Kindle charts in the UK and the US. He has sold more than a million eBooks and was voted by The Bookseller magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the UK publishing world. His bestsellers have been translated into fifteen languages. He has also written for television shows such as London’s Burning, The Knock and the BBC’s Murder in Mind series and two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were filmed for TV. You can find out more from his website www.stephenleather.com

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      Book preview

      Inspector Zhang and the Dead Thai Gangster (a short story) - Stephen Leather

      INSPECTOR ZHANG AND THE DEAD THAI GANGSTER

      Stephen Leather

      ****

      Published by:

      Stephen Leather at Smashwords

      Copyright (c) 2011 by Stephen Leather

      ****

      All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

      Smashwords Edition Licence Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      * * * * *

      INSPECTOR ZHANG AND THE DEAD THAI GANGSTER

      By Stephen Leather

      Inspector Zhang looked out through the window at the fields far below. There was so much land, he thought, compared with his own Singapore. The near four million population of the island state was crowded into just 253 square miles and there was little in the way of green space. But Thailand had green in abundance, criss-crossed with roads and dotted with small farms, and in the distance, mountains shrouded in mist. He closed his book with a sigh. It would soon be time to land.

      Are you okay, Inspector? asked Sergeant Lee, removing her headphones. She was twenty four years old, and was wearing her hair long for a change, probably because while they were on the plane they weren't strictly speaking on duty even though they had been sent to Bangkok by the Singapore Police Force.

      Of course, said Inspector Zhang. Why would I be otherwise?

      I don't think you like flying, she said. You did not eat the meal, you have not availed yourself of the in-flight entertainment system, and you seem – distracted.

      Inspector Zhang shook his head. I am fine with flying, he said. In fact I have a Singapore Airlines frequent flyer card. Two years ago I flew to London with my wife, and the year before that we went to visit relatives of hers in Hong Kong.

      London? she said. You went to London?

      Just for a week, he said. It was always my dream to visit 221B Baker Street, and to follow the trail of Jack the Ripper.

      Who lives at 221B Baker Street? asked the Sergeant.

      Why Sherlock Holmes, of course, said Inspector Zhang. Though I have to say that it was something of a disappointment to discover that in fact there is no 221B and that the only building that comes close is the home of a bank. He shrugged. But it was fascinating to see where the evil Ripper plied his trade and to follow in his footsteps.

      He was a serial killer in Victorian London, wasn't he?

      And never caught, said Inspector Zhang. He sighed. What I would give to be on a case like that; to pit my wits against an adversary of such evil. Can you imagine the thrill of the chase, Sergeant?

      I'm just glad that I live in Singapore, where we have one of the lowest crime rates in the world.

      For which we are all thankful, of course, said Inspector Zhang. But it does tend to make a detective's life somewhat dull. He sighed again. Still, I have my books.

      What have you been reading, Sir? asked Sergeant Lee.

      Inspector Zhang held up the book so that she could see the cover. The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie. It is one of my favourites, he said. It is the book that introduces the greatest of all detectives, Hercule Poirot. I never tire of reading it.

      But if you've already read it then you know how it ends, said Sergeant Lee. There is no mystery.

      The solution is only part of the enjoyment of reading mystery stories, said Inspector Zhang, putting the book into his briefcase. Agatha Christie wrote thirty novels featuring Poirot and I have read them all several times.

      She frowned. I thought that Sherlock Holmes was the greatest detective, not Poirot.

      There are those who say that, of course, said Inspector Zhang. But I would say that Sherlock Holmes relied more on physical evidence whereas Hercule Poirot more often than not reached his conclusions by astute questioning. He tapped the side of his head. By using ze little grey cells, he said, in his best Hercule Poirot impression.

      The plane shuddered as the landing gear went down.

      Have you ever travelled abroad for work before, Inspector? asked Sergeant Lee.

      "This is the first

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