“Ask me anything you like. I have nothing to hide.”

“That’s better, Stella. You see? Things will go easy for you if you co-operate with us.”

One of the shadows came forward and resolved itself into the shape of a short Malay woman. She took the lid off a bottle of water and tipped it into Stella’s mouth. Half of it went down her shirt, but even that was refreshing. There were no windows here.

“Stella, are you ready?”

She nodded.

“Who is Jackson Cheng?”

She stared. “I don’t know.”

“Are you saying you don’t know who Jackson Cheng is?”

“I don’t know who he is.”

“Are you saying you’ve never met him?”

“I don’t remember anyone of that name. Who is he?”

“Stella, I’m very disappointed in you. I thought you were going to co-operate with us.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

“Aren’t you a good Catholic girl? Don’t you go to church every Sunday, every week praying, praying for what? And you say you don’t know Jackson Cheng.”

“Is he something to do with the Catholic church? I don’t know everyone in the church.”

“Think harder. You surely know this man.”

She bit her tongue, trying to stay calm and think. “Maybe if you tell me who he is, I might be able to remember.”

“Stella.” The voice was scolding now. “You can’t bargain with us like that. Either you’ve met him or you haven’t. Surely you should know? A handsome man like Jackson Cheng, you will surely remember, right? I know you Catholic girls, pretend to be so pure, but actually you’re all hot stuff.”

She refused to rise to the bait. “I don’t remember meeting anyone by that name.”

“Who is Low Woon Leng?”

“Woon Leng? She’s in my church, we’ve volunteered together a few times.”

“Volunteered doing what?”

“A counselling service for domestic workers.”

“What for? What counselling?”

“Just, you know, giving them advice.”

“What kind of advice can someone like you give them? What do you know?”

“Some of them are scared and lonely. Actually, most of them are. They’re far from home, and some of them are very young. We tell them what their rights are. Where to go if they need help. Sometimes they just need someone to talk to.”

“So they come to you?”

“A lot of them are Catholics, especially from the Philippines. It’s natural for them to turn to the church if they’re lonely.”

“Lonely.” A snort. Laughter? “You think Singapore is a holiday camp? The Pinoys come here to work. Why don’t you leave them alone to get on with their jobs?”

“We see them on their days off. We’re only trying to help.”

“So noble. You and Low Woon Leng help them together?”

“We both volunteer with the group, sometimes we’re on the same shift. Has she done something wrong?”

“So quickly you try to push the blame to your comrade? Stella, all of you are in trouble now. You better tell me all about it.”