Wahab never had the chance to finish his setence for Lee lifted his featherlight frame bodily from the chair and swug him into the air

CHARLES LEE HAD been a successful detective for a long time, too long perhaps. He was feeling frustrated now for he was confronted with a baffling case. Why had the accaused by the named  of Razak been spotted at the bus station  when he had been confirmed dead?  Charles had himself witnessed a post mortem by doctors of the local hospital on Razak a few weeks ago.  Perhaps he had only imagined that pale, solemn face, crowned by mop of unruly hair.  After all, the bus station had been very crowded. But no, a detective just could not afford to imagine a thing like this for it could lead to the re-opening of the whole case which had been closed for good.

    In the corner of his room, his elderly assistant, Wahab, watched him.  Ten years of service with this unpredictable man had taught him a lot about his unpredictable man had taught him a lot about his boss's behaviour. Lee, blisfully unaware of his assistant's scrutiny, continued pacing the room, alternately stopping to run long, sernsitive fingers through his thick, greyish-black hair. Those steely black  eyes that could radiate a world of gaiety, laughter and warmth at times, could also freeze to deadly slits at others. Yes, Charles Lee was inch a detective.

    "Excause me, Mr. Lee, sir......" began an anxious voice from the corner. lee wheeled round on Wahab and wagged a finger under his nose.

    "Excause me! How many times have I told you that in our world we have no time for excauses?" he barked in a stentorian tone. "And when you stutter like that, I feel I will never make a good detective out of you! What up?"

    "Well, I was wondering," Wahab went on casually, "if you still wanted to see Sergeant Teo for the discussion you had arranged."

    "Sergeant Teo can go to the dogs as far as I'm concerned," began Lee..... then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he turned round and seized the unfortunate Wahab by the shoulders,"Wahab, doesn't Sergeant Teo have TWIN sons?" HE almost roared the word "twins".

    "I'm not sure about that for ......" Wahab never had the chance to finish his setence for Lee lifted his featherlight frame bodily from the chair and swug him into the air.

    "I'm sure you're right, sir," Wahab began and added with as much dignity as he could gather, hanging there, midway in the air, "and now perhaps you would kindly put me down!"

    The next few days found Lee tracing Razak's twin brother. He was sure that the man who bore a striking resemblance to the late Razak was a twin brother. Finally, he came face to face with the man himself.

    Ahmad, as Lee learnt his name to be later, when presented with the question of his double announced with great dignity that his brother, Razak had been disowned by the family years ago and that if Lee was thinking of fastening someone else's crimes on him, he had better start looking elsewhere. He has an hinest-to-goodness journalist and was a crook or a murderer in any respect. He certainly was not, as anyone including Lee could see; those eyes were dry, cold and uncommunicative, but at least they were honest.

    As far as Lee was concerned the case was closed. He had done a good job of works and he knew it. Alive or dead? Just who could say for sure? Razak was dead in one sense, and in the other? Well, his twin brother, Ahmad, would see to that!