GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 1: The Curse of the Solitary Cell

At the police station past midnight, aside from the duty officers and those waiting off their hangover, it wasn’t as bustling as daytime. The quiet atmosphere ended when a van carrying a suspect parked in front. Two officers escorted a composed young man inside. Just then, the previously calm wind suddenly gusted stronger for no reason.

“Who’s this, Lieutenant?”

“A suspect.”

“Ha! Someone this good looking?”

“These days, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Let’s go, open an interrogation room; the sergeant will deal with him.”

“The rooms are full. Two are being repaired, cameras and wiretaps, and one is in use.”

“Then put him in a solitary cell for now.”

“Uh… can you open it yourself, sir?”

“Don’t be silly, go on, hurry! If the inspector sees this kid still roaming outside, we’ll get an earful!”

The young man glanced at the two officers bickering. He was led inside, past desks, past the staff room, until they reached the holding area. The stifling atmosphere made the young man turn away with every step echoing on the floor. He looked around warily, and when they reached the innermost cell, he saw a man sitting facing the corner, radiating a chilling, eerie vibe. This cell felt different from the others, darker and more ominous.

The sound of the iron door creaking was painfully loud. The officer pushed Thup inside without much care.

“Stay here, don’t cause trouble. An officer will come for a body search.”

“Uh… sorry, but do I really have to stay here?”

“Looks like it. The interrogation rooms are full, and you won’t be here long. We’ll call the doctor soon.”

“Uh… but here… will something happen?”

“Hey kid, you ask a lot of questions.”

“So… so that means I have to stay in this room alone, right?”

“And you want me to just sit here and watch? That’s a weird question.”

The young man slowly sat down on the floor, gripping the bars tightly, his eyes slightly trembling, before softly beginning to chant.

“Namo Tassa Bhagavato Araha.”

‘I should have killed them all. I shouldn’t have left any.’

   “Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa Namo Tassa.” The young man recited the chant while looking down at his own feet.

‘I don’t want to be locked up, locked up, locked up.’

   “Bhagavato, a… Arahato, Sa… Samma Sambuddhassa.” A chilling sensation made the young man’s chant become stuttered, his beautiful hands gripping the bars so tightly that veins were visible.

‘Need to escape, must escape.’

   The sounds of movement behind him didn’t arouse curiosity; the dragging footsteps, the sounds of tying something, continuous, like the mumblings of wanting to escape. He didn’t even want to guess what kind of escape that was.

‘Gasp! Cough! Gag! Cough!’

   The sounds of agony made the young man quickly cover his ears. The rustling of clothes, the flesh hitting, screams like someone out of breath, until after four minutes, everything returned to its original silence.

Shaking, the young man slowly removed his hands from his ears. He saw nothing in his peripheral vision, so he gradually turned his head to look behind, only to see an empty room. He sighed in relief, but as he was about to relax, a drop of water hit his forehead, making his heart race again. He breathed heavily and looked up.

!!!!Kid

   The image of a young man in tattered clothes is hanging from an upper beam, a thick rope around his neck. His eyes bulge out, his face is a ghastly green, not like someone who has just died. The source of the water droplets on his forehead is from his tongue sticking out. This horrific sight makes the young man tremble with fear, backing away until he hits the wall. His eyes widen as the hanging body slowly inflates and eventually falls to the ground. Instead of the scene disappearing like when he still had the monk’s necklace, the body now slowly moves, its swollen face glaring at him with vengeful eyes before crawling towards him, mumbling,

‘Run, run with me, do it.’

   “Please, stop, don’t, sob, don’t do it.” The young man pleads, hands clasped, as the ghost crawls closer.

‘Come with me, die like me!’

   The young man shuts his eyes tight, trembling, knowing that believing even a word could seal his fate.

While he sits curled up, eyes closed, hoping the nightmare would end, a cold breeze blows in, like before…like in the forest.

“Who said to take this kid to Khun Darin, lieutenant?” a deep voice asks from the front.

“Uh, Khun Darin said to take the suspect to the room, but no one dared to come.”

“Too scared of nonsense to work, eh? Pathetic!” The irritated voice makes the teary-eyed young man look up from the sneakers to the dark jeans, tight black t-shirt showcasing abs, to the leather jacket sleeve brushing back hair in frustration, “Get up, follow me, and if you think of running, you’ll regret it.”

The ghost is gone…it vanished.

   Singha looks at the young man, who is looking around in panic, just like when he first saw him.

He had just returned from directing the scene when he asked others about the new suspect; they all pointed to the solitary confinement room. On his way, he heard sobbing mixed with chanting from inside, confirming it was this kid.

A young man is handcuffed, led by an officer at the front and another at the back. They are heading to the nursing department for a body check before the interrogation process begins.

A rough hand pushes open the door to a clean, white room, indifferent to whoever might be inside.

“Damn! You scared me, Singha!” a tough-looking woman exclaims. Her jet-black hair is clipped up hastily, and she pushes up her thick-framed glasses before throwing a half-eaten apple at the newcomer. “Ever heard of knocking? Manners, dude!”

“I’m a police inspector.”

“And?”

“Brought a suspect for a body check.” He pushes forward.

“Suspect?”

“Yeah, murder case.”

“Seven bodies, in the forest, right?”

“How did you know?” Singha pulls the young man forward.

“Your buddy’s got a mouth like a loudspeaker. How do you shut him up?” Darin, a former forensic pathologist turned nurse because she couldn’t handle the ghosts, puts down her files and walks into the examination room, followed by the suspect and Singha. “Say called to prepare the autopsy room. He painted such a vivid picture, I’m still creeped out.”

“Delusional.”

“Yeah, because tough guys like you aren’t scared of anything.” Darin hands over the consent form for the body check to the young man, who is staring at the floor. “Read it carefully, then sign here, so we can start the check.”

“Uh… me…” The young man suddenly stops talking and starts reading the document.

“You sure we’ve got the right guy?” Darin whispers to Singha, standing beside him.

“He was at the crime scene.” Singha whispers back, his sharp eyes not leaving the visibly nervous young man.

“About the size of you but seems like a light kick could topple him, yet he supposedly killed seven people and hung them on a tree. That can’t be right.”

“Out of anger, intentional murder, or even a cover-up, anything could have happened until we investigate.”

“Done.” The young man handed the file back to the two.

“Because I’m a woman, I need Singha to find a man to be with, are you okay with that?”

“Yes.” The young man stared at the person leaning against the wall with a gleaming look.

“Alright, let’s begin.” Darin placed the file on the bed, starting to examine the young man, including drawing blood for tests. Even external bloodstains were collected, “Look at this wound.”

Pulling up the trouser leg revealed an open wound. Though not deep, it was suspicious enough not to be ignored. The routine examination proceeded, with the young man occasionally glancing at the person by the wall, but upon meeting eyes, he quickly looked away.

“Yes.” The young man stared at the person leaning against the wall with a sparkling look in his eyes.

“Okay, let’s get started.” Darin picked up a file from the side, placing it on the bed before beginning to examine the young man’s body, including drawing blood for testing. The external blood stains were collected as well. “There’s this wound.” she noted during the examination.

The rolled-up trouser leg revealed an open wound. Though not deep, it was significant enough not to be overlooked. The procedure continued with basic steps. Occasionally, the young man glanced up at the person standing by the wall, but when their eyes met, he quickly looked away.

“Name?”

“Uh…yes, sir?”

“What’s your name?”

“Thup. My name is Thup.”

“Age?”

“T-t-twenty-five.”

“Oh! The year of misfortune.” Darin chimed in. “Sing, you’re also in your year of misfortune, right?”

“Get back to work.”

“I know, I know!” Darin continued the examination. After documenting everything, including photos and data in the file, she then proceeded to dress the wound.

“The next step is an interrogation. So, don’t make it hard on yourself. Don’t lie, and don’t think about running.”

“I…I really didn’t do it.”

“Everyone caught on charges like these says the same thing.”

“Can…can I ask for something?”

“The only right you have is to a lawyer.”

“Can…can I stay somewhere else? I can stay anywhere, even in this room, but not that cell, please.”

“The cell? The one at the very end?”

“Yes.”

“I see. I told them to bring you in, and they were reluctant, turns out it’s because of that rumored haunted cell.”

“When are you guys going to stop believing in this nonsense? Ghosts, really? It’s all in your heads, just psyching yourselves out.”

“Sing, I won’t argue if you don’t believe me, but there’ve been several detainees who ended up killing themselves in there. Not just one or two.”

“By…by hanging, right?” The young man looked up, and both Singha and Darin raised their heads.

“Yes, how did you know?” Darin said, startled. “The first detainee caught for a family massacre used his own blood to write a farewell on the floor before hanging himself with a cord hidden in his pants. After that, anyone locked in that cell has tried to kill themselves, some succeeded, some didn’t. It’s creepy. Even though it happened five years ago, hardly anyone uses that cell anymore. Okay, we’re done here.”

“Stand up.” Singha ordered the young man again. “When you get the test results, bring them to me, and if Say comes back, let him know too.”

“Right, right.”

Singha escorted the young man to the interrogation room, which had just been repaired. Standing next to each other, he noticed the young man was only slightly taller than him.

“Thup Thammawat Wirakitthada, twenty-five years old, currently working as a freelance illustrator. No record of parents. No criminal record.” Singha read through the profile of the person sitting across from him, item by item. Meanwhile, Thup just sat there, nodding along. “The current address is twenty kilometers from the crime scene. Want to explain why you were there and how you got there, seeing as there’s no record of a driver’s license here?”

“I can’t drive.”

“And then?”

“So, I took a taxi.”

“Do I have to dig for every detail, or are you going to spill it all at once?”

“Sorry. I…I had a dream. I dreamed that something bad would happen there. So, I went. I told the taxi driver to wait, but he didn’t.”

Thup looked up at the young inspector across from him, who had a stern look on his face.

“Are you going to tell the truth, or spend another night behind bars?”

“I’m telling the truth. You might not believe me, but I’ve told you everything I can. I remember the taxi’s license plate. I remember everything.”

“Then tell me.”

The young man wrote down the taxi’s license plate and slid the paper over.

“After I got out of the taxi, I saw an old lady about to walk into the woods. I followed her, and the deeper I went, the more I felt like I was going somewhere I shouldn’t. Next thing I knew, I was standing there. I was so scared I tried to run, but no matter how I ran, I kept circling back to the same spot until the police found me. I tripped over a branch and fell, and then you caught me.”

“If you saw an old lady, where is she now? Who is she? Why would you follow a stranger into the woods?”

“I didn’t see her face clearly, but she was wearing a blue collared shirt, a green floral scarf, and she was carrying an old-fashioned lantern. I heard a sound behind me, so I turned for just a second, and when I looked back, she was gone.” After hearing the story, Singha sighed and puffed out his cheeks in frustration.

“Did you listen to what you’re saying? Anyone believing you is an idiot!” Singha stood up, slamming the file onto the table, making the young man jump. “You think you’ll avoid prison with this ridiculous story?”

“I…I’m telling the truth. I really didn’t do it.”

“Damn it!” Singha stormed out of the room in frustration. It wasn’t just the young man’s story that angered him; it was also the fact that the young man’s physical demeanor didn’t show any signs of deceit. If he wasn’t telling the truth, he was certainly a skilled liar. “Lieutenant, go take his statement, and bring me the case report.”

“Yes, Inspector.”

“Lieutenant, look up the taxi’s information and bring the driver in for questioning.”

“Understood.”

That problematic kid.

 

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