SUE DEPP AND THE ONYX RING

Sue Depp crouched near a stinky and heavily stained what used to be sky-
blue coloured bin with faded Alam Flora logo. She had to lay low both
literarily and figuratively. She had to blend with her surrounding. Sue Depp
looked around her. Not much of a surrounding in this back lane, she thought.

She has been sitting there for almost an hour and she started to feel cramps
in all her limbs. The aroma from the overflowing bin was unbearable at first,
but then after thirty minutes, it just smelled like a normally packed LRT
coaches after office hours.

An empty can fell somewhere in the lane but the noise did not startled Sue
Depp. It was a good thing that she did not get shock easily. However, in this
damp lane, any strong person would be anxious even for a slightest noise.
Sue Depp reached for her weapon and aimed at the target. Phew! It was only
a rat, a one big fat rat scurrying across the lane.

This is not getting me anywhere, she grumbled. Sue Depp has been hiding
behind the roro (roll on roll off) bin for almost an hour before she changed
position crouching behind the blue bin for another sixty minutes, but her
contact has yet to make her appearance. Ceh! Who does she thinks she is?
An artiste?

And why did she still doing this job? Sue Depp grimaced. Doesn’t she promise
herself to quit? Ah! If not because of Rajoo, she would already be on her way
to Pulau Kapas by now. Sun baking ops, bathing on the white pristine beach
or swimming and snorkelling and watching the fishes swimming around the
beautiful reefs. Or if the mood strikes, she would go on fishing expedition with
Pak Mat Bot Tambang in Marang.

But Rajoo, her friend since childhood had approached her two days ago; when
she was about to leave for Puduraya Bus Station to catch her 2pm bus to
Terengganu. Rajoo had asked for her help to find his stolen BP onyx ring.

“Please, Sue. I would not have asked for your help if it wasn’t very
important,” begged Rajoo. He kneeled in front of Sue in his own dramatic
Tamil hero style.

“But Joo. I’ve quit. I have not donned my black uniforms for months!” Sue
protested. She was on her way out and was holding her grille keys and
padlock. Her neatly packed beg beside the door.

“Please Sue. You know the ring is very important to me! And I need it for my
future!” Now Rajoo gave her the “seposen” look.

Sue took a deep breath. Rajoo knew she could never resist whenever he gave
her “that look”; the seposen face and batted eyelids. Rajoo is always a good-
looking boy but he was into Tamil movie too much. Not like the youngsters
nowadays who went gaga over Shah Rukh Khan or his other Khan clans. He
was neither into Hrithik Roshan too. Rajoo’s idol was MGR. He even greased
his hair like MGR, walked and talked like the famous actor. But for all his
fashion disasters, Sue Depp valued their friendship because Rajoo is a loyal
friend and had always rescued her during their many adolescent escapades.

“Okay lah Joo. I’ll do this for you!”

Rajoo beamed at her.

“But!” Sue Depp wiggled her finger and gave him a hard stare. “This is the
last time I ever do any favour for you! After this job I would burn my black
uniform and no longer be a spy or treasure hunter! I quit!”

So that was how Sue Depp ended up ransacking her storage room and
looking for the brown box that have the label SPY, opened it and took out the
black uniform and all the tools needed for her trade.

It took her two days to get in touch with all her contacts. It was not as easy as
before. She did not lose her touch but most of her contacts had changed
telephone numbers especially when all telcos are trying to outdo each other
by offering cheap pre-paid packs.

Finally, Sue Deep was able to contact her very reliable source, Jackie. Her
method may be questionable, heck even her gender was questionable, but
her information was always rock solid - almost always accurate. Sue Depp
had never questioned Jackie how she got all the information, because the
truth is, she never would want to know the details.

Sue Depp was in Puduraya Bus Station to sell her bus ticket for half-price and
was not at home when the call from Jackie came in. It was late in the
afternoon when she came back and noticed the blinking red dot on her
answering machine. It was a message from Jackie.

“Err… Sue?” Paused. “I really hope I got the right number. Anyway, I heard
that you were looking for the BP onyx ring. Meet me at the usual place
tonight, usual time. I have some information for you.”

Paused.

“Err.. Sue. Why don’t you change your message greeting? Bye!”

Click!

So, here she was now, waiting for her contact at the small lane behind the
famous little Jakarta in Chow Kit Road. Sitting among the garbage boxes and
bins and watching the rats and all the night critters having their feasts there!
By the way, what is wrong with her message greeting?

Suddenly Sue Depp heard a tap tap sound. She recognised that sound. It was
a sound of person walking. In a four-inch platform shoes. She knew the
person who made that sound! It’s Jackie! Finally! Sue Depp peeked through a
hole in the bin. Yep! The coast is clear!

With cautioned, Sue Depp stood up, making her presence felt. It was not easy
to spot Sue Depp if one is not sharp enough, what with her black uniform and
all. But, Jackie had known her for a long time so by the time she saw her
Jackie quickened her steps. The tap tap sound of heels clicking on tarmac. A
bit wobbly here and there but sure steps still.

“Hi there, Sue! Long time no see!” Jackie waved at her. Unlike Sue who
blended nicely with her dark surrounding, Jackie was lighted up like a
Christmas tree. Her sequin short dress reflected the lights and she was
wearing her usual Jackie accessories. Dangling earrings, fake diamonds
necklaces around her neck and both wrists and large rings on all ten fingers.
Extravagant!

“So, you said you have some information for me.”

Jackie cocked her head and smiled warmly at Sue Depp. “What?! No greeting
for Mak, Nyah?”

Sue Depp smiled. Typical of Jackie. “Oh Okay! Come here!”

Jackie practically ran to Sue Depp and enveloped her in a tight hug. Yeah!
This was what she wanted. She missed Sue Depp whom she regarded as her
own little sister.

“Okay, so what did you know about the ring?” asked Sue Depp after she
pulled away. Jackie loved to hug and her hug was tight as always. It was
suffocating, especially for Sue Depp who liked to keep minimum physical
contact with anybody. But, she needed this information. She needed to solve
the case. She wanted to get on the next bus to Terengganu!

“Impatient as always!” chided Jackie. “Okay Nyah! Word on the ground said a
certain feline found a precious stone,” she said.

“What do you mean a feline?” Oh no! Did Jackie say a feline? A cat? What
type of cat? Big cats? Domestic cat or…

“No, Nyah! Not the Alleycat members but yes!” exclaimed Jackie. She gave
Sue Depp a hard stare.”It was Pink Panther. She has the stone.”

Sue Depp felt neausea. Please not Pink Panther! Why did she steal the stone?
Why? What did she have against Rajoo? Sue Depp shook her head. Too many
questions but no answers. But, what if Pink Panther did not steal the stone?
What if there was somebody else who disguised as Pink Panther stole the
stone and put the blame on the famous feline?

“Do you have any evidence that it was Pink Panther who stole the stone?”
Sue Depp refused to accept what Jackie had told her. She wanted to believe
that Pink Panther is one of the good gals. That she had not stepped on the
other side to the under world. Anyway, she is too bright coloured to be one of
the dark side guys. Can you imagine a shocking pink baddie?

“Mak was afraid that you gonna ask Mak that.” Jackie slipped a hand inside
her sequin dress bodice and retrieved a small brown envelope. She handed
the envelope to Sue Depp. “Sometimes, it is hard to accept that one of your
family members can turn around against you Nyah, huh!”

“She’s no longer a family if she steals something from family.” Sue Depp took
the envelope. It felt warm. She opened it. Yes, there it was – a single pink
strand.

“Where did you get this strand?” She asked Jackie. She felt no sadness now.
In fact, she was boiling mad. How could she! How could Pink Panther did this
to her? To Rajoo and to uncle as well, the person who had raised her. Who
took and protect her when she was only a skinny kitten who barely able to
stand on her paws.

“You know kan Nyah, that some of Mak’s clients are high ranking
policemen…”

“I also knew that some of your clients are also high ranking underground
lords, bandits and even pawn shop owners,” Sue Depp said sarcastically. Sue
Depp knew that in this case, no policemen would want to get involved. It was
way out of their jurisdiction. But for SPCA, then it would be another story!
They’d be slobbering with drool to solve the case.

“Okay lah, Nyah. Mak is not going to tell you how Mak got that pink strand.
But, Mak promised you that Mak did not make this up! Mak love you too much
to screw you!”

Ouch! That hurts! Sue cringed.

Suddenly there was a loud crash. Like a lightning Sue Depp turned and saw a
dark shadow scurrying behind a communal bin. It was a split second but Sue
Depp saw a flash of a weapon. There was no place to hide. She reached for
her trusty Glock she named Remington Steele. She took aim…

“Jackie! Duck!” Sue Depp yelled.

Jackie look confused. The situation took them by surprised. But… why did Sue
Depp yell “duck?”.

Jackie stared at the Sue Depp’s back. The girl was practically laying face
down on the damp and dirty lane. “What are you doing Sue? There is no duck
around here! Not even an Ah Pek selling roasted… oomph!”

Like a sack of jackfruit, Jackie felled to the ground.

Oh no! She was shot! Sue Depp scrambled on her feet. At the corner of her
eyes, she saw a shadow of a man running away from the lane. She was torn
into two, to chase after the shooter or to check on her best contact. No! She
can always chase the bad guy another day. Right now she has to check on
Jackie.

Jackie was sprawling on the lane. One shoe off. She was unconscious but she
is still breathing. Sue Depp edged closer. She saw Jackie was shot between
the eyes. With a red and orange plastic dart. Oh! Thank God! It was only a
warning shot.

Wait! There was a small note attached to the dart. With a plop, Sue Depp
pulled the dart off. She took the rolled note and read it. “This is only a
warning”. Sue Depp sighed. The note is redundant. She knew that already.
Whoever shot the dart has no intention to kill them.

Sue Depp looked at Jackie. She was unconscious. Maybe not so much
because of the impact, but of the shock of being shot at. At this situation,
there is not much thing to do except to call for emergency. Sue Depp flipped
her altered Z200 Sony Ericson clamp shell phone and dialled the emergency
number.

***

“Don’t worry miss. Your friend suffers no injuries.” A kind 999 ambulance
driver tapped softly on Sue Depp’s shoulder.

“But why is she still unconscious?” asked Sue Depp. She’s starting to get
worry when Jackie did not recover even after the ambulance arrived about
twenty minutes later.

The kind ambulance driver smiled. For such a big guy, the man sure had a
kind smile. Sue Depp read his nametag – Hassan. “She’s maybe unconscious
because of shock. I guarantee she would be okay after a few days in hospital.
Nobody can stand hospital food for too long!” he said and climbed up to the
driver seat.

The ambulance wailing siren slowly faded away and Sue Depp was still
standing at the lane. She still has the dart with her. She wanted to examine
the dart and look for any special “John Hancock”. Normally like arsonists or
bombers, some shooters like to have their personal signature when firing
warning shots. She was anxious to check the dart.

Sue Depp needed to contact another old friend. Mr. Moore Ron. Ronnie as he
called himself was a genius at doing research but a lousy at stalking.
However, like any college student, he needed all the money he can get to
finance his studies. He was pouting when Sue Depp told him she wanted to
quit from her spy work. But, all would change now. The boy would be very
happy to receive a call from her!
***

It was already 1.45pm. The weather forecast was wrong. It’s hot and not
raining. Sue Depp wondered what the weather forecast department staffs
were doing. Their weather prediction sucks!

Sue Depp parked her grey 1976 Datsun wagon in the garage. Hah! This old
machine still work and purring like a cat. She loved her baby. It may look
ancient but the car was equipped with state of the art gadgets. You named it,
the car got it. Even the James Bond movie director had one time asked Sue
Depp’s advice for secret gadgets to be installed in their modern cars.

Hah! The new James Bond movie, which expected released in a few month
will be just a tip of an iceberg of what the actual spy life is all about. Vin
Diesel's movie was the only one that closes to resemble the real spy game,
but then Hollywood would always be Hollywood!

With a click of a tongue, the car was locked. That was the latest invention.
Sue Depp invented the “click and lock” device when she wanted to quit
months ago.

It was actually by accident. She had a mouth ulcer when she was tinkling with
the new invention. Because of the pain she could not speak properly and had
to click her tongue a few times and viola! A miracle happened. Her car locked
automatically. Until now she still has to find out how it had happened.

Sue Depp rounded to the back yard where the tin rubbish bins were huddled
near the red brick wall. Alam Flora guys had come and emptied the bins early
this morning. She heard the compartment machines from the truck rumbling
away but she was too sleepy to bother especially after the drama at the back
lane last night. It has been months since she was so excited and got a good
night sleep.

Sue Depp slipped her hand into the right pocket of her jacket and retrieved a
forceps and brown paper envelope. She gently picked a few pink furs that got
caught at the rim of one of the bins. Apparently, the cat has been snooping
around her house while her accomplice shot Jackie that left her unconscious
and hospitalised.

Sue Depp had contacted Ronnie and told him what happened. Like she
expected, the boy who was still on his final year at local university was
ecstatic to hear her voice. He almost went berserk when Sue Depp told him
to do some research on Pink Panther and find where her latest hideout was.
Ronnie promised to update her later at night.

Meanwhile, Sue Depp has her own research to do. She has to find out where
the onyx came from and why it was important for both Rajoo and Pink
Panther.
It was already 5.15pm and Sue Depp has yet to hit the shower. After taking
that pink strands from the bin, she immediately hit the Net. She had topped
up her pre-paid Jaring dial up (she still could not afford streamyx) Internet
connection at KLCC this afternoon. Now, the balance showed RM108.45 so
she can surf the net for hours if she wants to.

Sue Depp’s newly upgraded laptop was plugged in for three hours now and it
felt warm on her lap. Well actually if she did not switch off her laptop now it
will burn on her lap and she will suffer cross-eye like Ronnie.

She just finished her research on onyx. Onyx is a beautiful stone in agate
family with colours in different layers from South Africa. But this one
particular onyx is also known as The Lair of Darkness. The most precious
stone of them all even the president of United States of America George W
Bush was said to be interested in the stone that he was willing to pull out
military troops from Iraq to go find that single precious stone.

Sue Depp was about to hit a shower when her hand phone rang. She quickly
picked it up and saw Ronnie’s name on the LCD screen. “What’s up?”

“Heard that PeePee would be at one of the pubs outside town,” Ronnie’s
voice was breaking up.

“What?”

“PeePee. She would be at a pub outside… town.”

“PeePee?”

“Pink Panther lah!!”

“Good job! Give me the name of the pub.” Quickly Sue Depp scribbled the
name of the pub. “Oh Ronnie, change your line to 012 or 017 lah. Your line’s
now very bad!” Sue Depp disconnected the line.

It’s show time! Sue Depp smiled her evil smile.

***

She was sitting in a sleazy bar waiting for PeePee as what Ronnie called Pink
Panther. A glass of ice water is in front of her. Then she saw her, sitting alone.
She must be waiting for somebody. Wah! Now she had shed her pink fur. No
wonder Ronnie had difficulties finding her. She could be Angelina Jolie’s twin
sister. Tomb Raider? Huh! Original Sin more likely!

Then Sue Depp saw him, the shooter. She knew that shadow. The man was
walking towards PeePee a.k.a Lara Croft’s table. He looked so sure of himself.
He was unarmed. Not even a knife. Where did he keep his weapon?
One of Sue Depp’s expertises was her ability to blend in a crowd without
being noticed. That’s what she did. Slowly she stood and walked cautiously to
the table where PeePee and the stranger were sitting. A man with thick arms
waved his stir but not shake orange juice at her but Sue Depp just smiled
back. No point sitting near the muscle man… Its just balloon attached to a
thick neck.

She was so close now. She heard PeePee greeted the stranger….
“Howdy..Sayang, long time no see… Done the deed?”

Sayang? Why PeePee called him sayang? Were they intimate?

Suddenly, there were a loud bang at the door and there stood Ronnie. He
looked like he had just escaped from hell. “Sue!” he shouted.

PeePee saw Ronnie. Her eyes flicked towards Sue. Quickly, she kicked her
stool where it skidded across the bar.

Sue Depp jumped over the skidding chair. “Where’s the stone, Pink!” She
shouted. Sue Depp drew her own Remington Steele.

Pink Panther laughed. “You just have to catch me!” She ducked under the
table. Guns in both hands, ready to do battle.

The Mystery Guy swiveled in his chair. His intelligent eyes roaming the bar
until they settled onto a woman clad in baju kurung with stained apron
balancing a tray of teh tarik on one hand and a gun on the other. So, this is
Sue Depp. Their eyes met. A brief smile lightened up his hard face. Sue
Depp’s heart melted…

“Run Sue Now!” Like a lightning, Ronnie snatched a pack of fruits situated in
glass box beside the door. He threw a 50 sen coin into the coin box.

“Coming!” Sue Depp threw the tray and ripped her apron. She gave the
Mystery Guy last look. With a flip of a wrist, the Mystery Guy threw
something at Sue Depp. She caught it in her left hand, a business card. They
eyes collided again. He gave her another smile and she flew out of the bar.

All hell breaks loose.

***

“PeePee has gone hiding again. It would be near impossible to find her now.”
Ronnie complained. He was slouching on her sofa. They were regrouping at
her house. Although they haven’t found the onyx yet, one thing is for sure.
The Mystery shooter name is Sayang. Nevertheless, Sue Depp was still
unsure whether PeePee called Sayang because it was his name or.. Ah! No
point thinking about that, now!
She knew something like this bound to happen. This was not the first time
she encountered with shooter with unusual soft and endearing names, but
Sayang is just too feminine for a guy. Well, it’s still better than Moore Ron
though.

Though look calm on the surface, Ronnie was full of emotion. He has this
slight personality problem. He wanted to be a kid again. What’s the problem
with that? You may ask. Unlike normal person whose childish act is artful
concealed, Ronnie blatantly showed his child side.

He constantly dressed in blue-checkered shirt with red coloured short tie. He

doesn’t like long pants so he wore Bermuda shorts. His hair was parted in the
middle and heavily greased with Code 10. He wore white socks and blue
sports shoes and he wouldn’t go anywhere without his Nintendo. But,
whatever it is, Ronnie is one loyal hired hand.

“I think, I need to get in touch with Uncle,” said Sue Depp. She had changed
her baju kurung to shirt and track bottom. She had her third shower for today.
She shampooed her hair and now is still wet.

Ronnie got up from the sofa. Too many things happened tonight. He needed a
rest. “While you go meet your uncle, I still need to find PeePee,” he said.

“I thought you said that it was impossible to find her now?”

“I said near impossible. I could track her.”

“What do you mean?” Sue Depp raised her eyebrows and looked directly at
Ronnie.

“I’ve planted a bug on her earlier.”

Sue Depp was impressed. “How on earth did you manage to do that?”

“Remember the 50 sen I threw into the coin box after I took the fruits?”

Sue Depp nodded. Yeah! She heard the clank of metal hitting metal.

“It did not go into the box.”

“Yeah! Your aim sucks!”

“But it was intentionally!” Ronnie protested.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, it may look like a coin, but it was a tracking device that look like a
coin. By the way, I knew PeePee couldn’t resist taking unclaimed so called
money.” Ronnie smiled.
Sue Depp smiled too. “What a brilliant strategy! So you can track the money
as long as it does not change hands.”

“Yup! And PeePee being PeePee…”

“She would put the money into her piggy bank!” Sue Depp finished the
sentence. Ronnie nodded. He whistled and walked out the door.

***

Sue Depp put the pink strand into the envelope. She wanted to show the
strand to Uncle or affectionately called Chacha. She had called Chacha just
now and his slurred voice showed that he was almost sober.

She hoped that she could talk to Chacha when he was sober and discussed
about Pink Panther stealing the ring from Rajoo. She would use whatever
influence (except booze of course) she got on Chacha to catch the feline and
get the stone back.

This was the first time Sue Depp met Chacha after ten years. She could see
that Chacha was very happy to see her. Even Paabhi was wailing her hearts
out when she saw Sue Depp at the doorstep.

Like mama who had just seen her daughter for years, Paabhi kissed Sue Depp
face like bullets. Sue Depp stood erect. She was full of emotions but she
could not show it even to Paabhi, the woman who had raised her as her own.

“My baby, my baby... Where have you been? Don’t you ever think of your
Paabhi? Whether she ate, she slept... worried about her missing betti?”
wailed Paabhi. Her tears dropping like waterfall and soaked Sue Depp front’s
black t-shirt.

From corner of her eyes, Sue Depp saw Chacha’s eyes glazing. Me being here
meant so much to them, thought Sue Depp. She knew both Chacha and
Paabhi loved her. She has no doubt about it but she is a grown woman and
need to find her way herself.

“Wipe your tears my dear. Betti is here now. There is no need to cry.” Chacha
stern voice stopped Paabhi wailing. She retreated to kitchen mumbling
something about pot left on stove.

Sue Depp looked at Chacha. She can see Chacha took care of his appearance
today. His white “jeppa” and pants were crisply ironed. His hair.. Wait he has
no hair! That is a big surprise! Only his eyes were red. Sue Depp doesn’t
know whether it was from the booze or crying.

Sue Depp looked around. She would like to think that Chacha has sobered up.
He had gained weight and she could see that his potbelly was getting bigger.
“Do sit down betti. You must be thinking why I shaved my hair don’t you. For
the past few years I could not stop thinking about my sins. What I have done.
I am a new man betti. I have stopped my bad habit. I am a pious man now. I
went to temple every year and carry kavadi to ask for God Muruga
forgiveness...”

Sue Depp kept quite. The whole house was quite. Only the sound of Paabhi
wailing coming from the kitchen can be heard. Poor woman, she must have
been cooking curry. The smell of curry always makes her cry. Like people
allergic to onion, well Paabhi was allergic to curry leaf.

“Chacha.. I came here because of business...”

“Stop there, betti. I still have a few things to say. First I want to ask for your
forgiveness for turning you into my sidekick and introducing you to the
underworld. Not to mention working for the Don.”

“Its okay Chacha. That life has taught me so much. Now I’m using my skill to
help people. Even now Imp planning to quit and live like any normal person.
Chacha, I’m coming here because I have a favour to ask. It is about Pink
Panther...”

“Hmm you don’t have to say anything. In every family there is a black sheep
but in my case a pink and not a sheep but a sloppy cat!” Chacha's eyes
became redder.

Uh uh must not let him get mad. “Anyway Chacha, she has been making my
life difficult. She stole a ring from Rajoo, my best friend. I need your help in
this.”

“You don’t worry about anything betti. I will do my best to help you get back
the ring and to “remind” her about her position in this family.”

***

As she left Chacha's house, Sue Depp switched on her handphone.

Tit tit tit... 1 message received. She called the voice system. It was from
Ronnie.

“Hey you Sue! I’ve got what you want. Listened! I parked near PeePee’s new
hideout and whom did I saw leaving? Sayang! Yeah you right! I can see better
if I wear my glasses. Wow! Sue Depp, you are so smart! Hahahaha

Yeah yeah right! What time did Sayang left PeePee’s place? Sometimes she
can understand how Ahmad Nisfu’s felt when he auditioned P. Ramlee when
dealing with her hired hand. But hey, he comes cheap!

Her message tone tinkled again.

Sue Depp read the message. “I hate your answ machine. Call me back,
urgent. Rajoo.”

Sue Depp pressed button 2. It rang twice before the line was picked up.
“What’s up?”

“House was ransacked. My photocopy on the research of the ring was

missing. By the way, change the greeting on your answering machine!”

“No intention to. Any suspect?”

Cluck. The automatic alarm for her Datsun station wagon was off. Sue Depp
slided into the driver seat and pressed the ignite button. The car purred
smoothly.

“I don't like Ahmad Nisfu calling me bahlol.. My guess is Pink Panther or her
accomplice. You know how sneaky that cat is? I found pink strands on my
window. Speaking of the old devil, how's your meeting with your Chacha?”

“Fine. Ahmad Nisfu did not call you bahalol but he called P. Ramlee bahlol.
Chacha promised to take care of the matter. How? I don’t know and I don’t
intend to find out.” Sue Depp switched on the air-cond. She had told Rajoo
about Pink Panther and her meeting with Chacha tonight.

“Find other dialogue to copy from then. I want my ring, Sue.” Rajoo voice
became serious.

“You’ll get your ring. I promised you that!”

“So are you going to do anything about that cat?” Asked Rajoo.

“Of course, you know me. I'll come up with a plan. My answering machine is
just fine. So, how’s your house? Anything else missing besides the report?”

“None that I know of. I will update you later. Gotta go. I’m re-arranging my
furniture. You know, in a way, this break in gimme a reason to re-decorate.
Chow!”

Sue Depp slipped her phone back into her pocket. Redecorating? At this time?

Sue Depp sighed. What is wrong with her greeting? She called her own
number and listened to the greeting.

“Kenapa kao tak cakap bahlol! Aku cekik kao!” Ahmad Nisfu’s voice killed the
silence in the car.

Okay what? Why Rajoo asked me to change the message? Huh! He must be
jealous of my greeting message.

***
“Is she still inside?” whispered Sue Depp to Ronnie. She had quickly come to
meet Ronnie after she left Chacha’s house.

“Yup. Sayang had just came back and he is inside with her now.” Ronnie
whispered back.

They were in a car parked not far away from a double storey house in Jalan
12 Taman Chempaka. From the outside, the house looked like any other
normal house, but who knew what was inside the residential.

They were sitting in Sue Depp’s trusty Datsun Wagon. Ronnie’s scooter was
too glaring to be used for the special stakeout. Sue Depp had repeatedly told
Ronnie to change the colour, but the boy refused profusely. He wanted his
orange coloured bike that was decorated with Garfield stickers.

There were toys strewn around the small courtyard inside the house. It
baffled Sue Depp and Ronnie. They knew that PeePee was single. She has no
children. So what were these toys doing strewing all over the courtyard. Was
this a new strategy to evade the police or investigators like them?

“What are they doing inside there?” asked Sue. Her feet were already
cramped and she did not like to be confined in the car with Ronnie.

“Should we just storm inside?” asked Ronnie anxiously.

“It is too quite. I don’t like it!” Sue Depp protested.

“But, we can’t just sit here and wait. God knows my bladder is full now!”
Ronnie grimaced causing Sue Depp to scowl at him furiously. “Don’t you even
dare!” She warned.

But, Sue Depp has been thinking the same thing. They could not just sit in
the car. They have to do something. Besides she could not let Ronnie
discharge his bladder in the car.

“Okay then. We must take them by surprise.” Sue Depp and Ronnie quickly
got out from the vehicle. Sue Depp clicked her tongue and the alarm system
was automatically switched on.

Like a pair of odd-looking thieves, the duo approached the house slowly and
cautiously. Only a single light was on at the living area. Both Sue Depp and
Ronnie ran to the back of the house and tiptoed to the back door. Slowly, Sue
Depp turned the knob and to her surprise, the door opened without a squeak.

“It was wayy… to quite lah Sue,” whispered Ronnie. He felt edgy. Not just
because he felt there was something wrong with the whole scenario, but he
felt he almost lost control of his bladder. Please! Please! Hold on for a few
minutes!
From the door, they could see a shadow of a person sitting on a chair next to
a table. There seemed to be no movement. Ronnie tapped Sue Depp on her
shoulder. He pointed at the shadow. Sue nodded. She drew her Remington
Steele and stepped cautiously inside.

This is it! She thought. It’s now or never. In a flash she switched on the light
and the whole kitchen brightened up. She gasped in shock. The person sitting
on the chair was none other than Pink Panther a.k.a PeePee a.k.a Angelina
Jolie ak.a Lara Croft. She was bounded and gagged.

“What the heck…” She stared stupidly at Pink Panther. The cat was
conscious. She could see the anger shooting from her eyes.

“Excuse me!” Ronnie ran toward the toilet. The door shut immediately.

Sue Depp stepped closer. There was a small black box and a note written on
pink paper on the table. She immediately read the content.

“Dear Sue Depp,

I present to you Pink Panther. I have been looking for her. She’d been naughty
these past few months and had collaborate with “Nurse Wicked” and stole
the Government’s latest invention “laser coil” used to fight Dengue in the
world. This device is worth millions of ringgits. Thanks to you we got back the
coil. I hope we will meet again someday. Anyway, I hope you like your
present. Love, Lieutenant Sayang. Malaysia Federation of Investigation.
P/s: the stone’s worth peanuts. Its just batu pasir.

With trembling hands, Sue Depp opened the box. In there lie a beautiful black
stone tied with small red ribbon. The onyx. The BP Onyx ring; the Batu Pasir
Onyx ring that belonged to Rajoo.

“Ah! Pinkie. You could’ve run away with the coil and become rich. Instead you
became too greedy and stole Rajoo’s worthless ring. You forgot the old saying
“Orang tamak selalu rugi,” said Sue. Pink Panther made some angry sound
but she was tightly bounded to the chair. She could only glared at Sue Depp
who smiled sweetly at her.

There was a sound of flush. Ronnie came beside her. “So, case is close now?”
he asked.

Sue Depp just nodded her head. Yep! The case is close. She just hoped that
someday she would have the opportunity to meet Lieutenant Sayang again.

***

The heat was unbearable! Sue Depp crumpled the note in her hand. The
black shirt she wore felt like a second skin. She has been standing at the
Kedai Kopi Ah Hong for an hour now. Only the CNI kopi tongkat Ali banner
shielded her body from the scorching sun.
A few apeks sipping the thick black coffee looked at her and chatted noisily
and laugh. There’s a melt ice cream beside her hahahaha and she did not
realize it hahahahaha (translation)

They apparently discussing about her, but Sue Depp was oblivious to her
surrounding. She has been standing there for hours with plastic bag
containing her groceries beside her.

She was doing her shopping when she suddenly received a note Chacha. A
nerd looking Indian boy disguising himself as a supermarket helper threw the
note into her cart when he “accidentally” slipped and knocked a stack of cans
of laici near her.

A blarring horn followed by a string of curse words jerked Sue Depp from her
daydreaming. A man in his thirties driving a Mercedes showed finger at a lady
driving a kancil in front of him. Ah…. fighting for an empty parking lot. The
lady got it. Atta girl!

Suddenly a yellow envelope flew out from the Mercedes and landed right on
Sue Depp’s foot. The driver sped away. Sue Depp took the envelope an
opened it. A smile curved on her face. A ticket. Her ticket! The one she sold
for half price! Her bus ticket to Terengganu.

She looked at the note. It was from Chacha. Looks like she could still have her
vacation in Pulau Kapas after all! She threw her melted ice cream into the bin
and walked away. She laughed. The apeks looked at her. She looked back and
laughed out loud.

THE END