Excerpt of Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge by Ovidia Yu

"Somebody killed the puppy killer!"

Aunty Lee announced, coming into the back kitchen where Nina and the helpers were packing food into bento style meal packs. There were seldom many customers in the lull between brunch and high tea, but if anyone did come, Nina had a selection of 'Specials' for them to buy.

Nina had worked for Aunty Lee and her late husband for years. Back in the days when Aunty Lee sold yam cake and pineapple tarts and achar out of her Binjai Park house it was thanks to Nina she had not given away more than she sold. Now it was still the business-minded Nina who managed the shop accounts. Thanks to careful investments of her pay, Nina was already one of the largest landowners in her village back in the Philippines. On her last visit home, it had seemed that every friend and neighbor had a husband for her to settle down with. They could not understand why, if she no longer needed the foreign money, did Nina want to go back to Singapore?

"What happened to her?" Nina had not understood Singaporean rage over the case. With people in the world struggling to afford food and medicine it was difficult to get worked up over a dog that had been humanely put down. Even now she had more important things on her mind than what had happened to the woman. "Why are you walking around? What are you looking for?"

"Salim didn't say yet. But I'm sure she was murdered or why would they send him here to question the sister, right? I want to give them something to drink. For the shock, you know."

"I'll get it. You go and sit down." Nina did not call her 'Madam' and Aunty Lee, pleased, sat where she was. While waiting for the kettle to boil, Nina put a mug of homemade soya bean milk in the microwave to heat for Aunty Lee. She was tired of being angry with Aunty Lee, but the old woman was like a puppy that had to be disciplined for its own safety.