Charmaine and Bosco hurried into the hospital room where the girl, who was lucky to have survived from her forced drug overdose, sat up and panicked at the sight of the two strangers.  She cowered in her bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin with eyes like a frightened rabbit darting back and forth between the two.  “W-Who are y-you?”

Bosco held his badge out and only then did she relax slightly.  Bosco gave her a reassuring smile and announced, “I’m Inspector Bosco Wong and this is Senior Inspector Madame Sheh from the homicide unit.  We’re here to ask you a few questions about that night.”

The girl tensed and fear leapt into her eyes again.  She cowered back against the bed and shook her head repeatedly.  Charmaine walked slowly towards her and patted her hand in a gesture of comfort.  “I know you want to put the entire incident behind you but we want to stop this guy from hurting more girls.  It’s crucial that we know who he is.  I hope you can help us stop him.”

The girl looked at Charmaine and nodded her head slowly.  In a small weak voice she said, “I want him behind bars for what he’s done.”

Charmaine gestured at Bosco to begin and he pulled a chair to sit beside the girl.  In a soft soothing voice he asked, “Do you remember how he looked like?”

The girl looked away as if in thought then shook her head, “Everything was a blur to me.  I can’t remember much.”

“That’s okay,” Bosco said using that same soothing tone.  “Tell us as much as you remember and take your time.”

The girl stared at the wall in front of her, her eyes dull as she recited what she could remember from that night.  “I was supposed to meet a friend at the bar that night but she cancelled at the last minute.  I got up, about to leave when a waiter came over with a drink.  He said the bar was trying out new concoctions and were offering them to their customers for free to see if they like it.  I thought why not.  It’s free.  I only took a few sips of the drink and suddenly I started feeling dizzy.  The owner of the bar must have noticed that I wasn’t feeling well because he came over and helped me back to my seat and even offered to call a cab for me.  He took me outside and I can’t remember exactly what happened afterwards.”

“The owner?  Do you remember his name or how he looked like?” Bosco pressed.

The girl closed her eyes for a few seconds in thought then snapped them open, “His name is Raymond Lam.”

Charmaine stared at the girl without emotion and asked, “How come you can remember his name so clearly?”

The girl looked embarrassingly away and shyly said, “The only reason why me and my friend decided on going to that bar is because of Raymond Lam.  We heard from our friends that he’s very cute.  After seeing him for myself I can say they’re absolutely right.”

Bosco rolled his eyes and bit back a sarcastic comment.  He pulled out a picture and passed it to her, “Is he the guy?”

The girl stared at the picture with bewilderment and asked, “Who is this?”

Her answer puzzled Bosco.  With a finger he jabbed at the person in the picture, “That’s Raymond Lam.”

The girl appeared to be lost in thought for a few seconds then shook her head adamantly, “No he’s not.  At least he’s not the guy who came over and helped me.”

Charmaine retrieved a picture from her pocket and held it before the girl, “Do you recognize him?”

The girl’s eyes lit up with recognition and she nodded, “That’s him.  That’s Raymond Lam.”

Bosco and Charmaine exchanged looks then their eyes fell on the picture of Kenneth Ma.

-------------------------------------

Raymond walked into Smashbox and saw that the bartender was already there polishing the glasses for the evening.  He walked up to the counter, “Can you call Ken and ask him to come over here.”

The bartender gave him a rueful smile, “Ken is already here.  He’s in the lounge room waiting for you.”

Raymond tapped his fingers on the counter and smiled, “Good.”  He walked with trepidation towards the room and without preamble threw the door open.

Kenneth who was half lying on the couch sat up abruptly.  He stubbed out his cigarette and watched as Raymond walked into the room and took a seat on the adjacent chair.  “Hi Ray,” he said with uncertainty.

Raymond’s smile was fixed firmly in place.  He sat back against the chair, his eyes steady on Kenneth.  “I want you to be open and honest with me and tell me everything.”

Kenneth gave a nervous laugh as he reached out and took a cigarette out from the pack.  Pretending ignorance, he said in a carefree manner, “S-Sure, what do you want to know?  Is it about the accounting again?  I’ll go and speak to Leila.”

“Stop it,” Raymond’s words spoken in a clip tone paralyzed Kenneth who held a lighter with its flickering flame in mid air.  “I don’t want to play any more games with you.  Just tell me what the hell is going on.  Are you really dealing drugs?”

Kenneth lowered his head in shame and said in a barely audible voice, “Yes.”

“I can’t believe you!” Raymond shouted and shot up from his chair.  “Didn’t we agree not to touch that stuff!”

Kenneth looked up at Raymond, his eyes remorseful and full of guilt at betraying the one and only person who ever gave him a chance at anything.  “I’m sorry Ray.  I didn’t want to but I have no choice.”

Raymond took an angry step towards the door but stopped to glare at him.  In a controlled voice he asked quietly, “Did you and kill those girls too?”

Kenneth’s eyes widen with fright at the accusation.  He hurried over to Raymond and clutched his arm crying with despair, “No!  All I did was spike their drinks.  I swear I don’t have anything to do with their and murder!”

Raymond held Kenneth’s gaze and asked, “Then who does?”

Kenneth shrank from the question.  “I-I don’t know.”

But the look on Kenneth’s face told Raymond he did know and was covering up for that person.  Grabbing Kenneth’s arm he pulled him out the door, “We’re going to the police.”

Kenneth flung off Raymond’s hand and screamed, “No!” then ran out of the bar.