GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 5: Testimonies of the Living and the Dead

A chilled soda can was brought to Singha’s lips; he chugged it down in one go. Though he wished it were a strong alcohol, during work hours, all he could do was dream. His sharp eyes glanced at a white-skinned young man, who had been in a daze ever since they left the scene, two kilometers away. “Here we are, officer. Yesterday, my husband was watching the store because I was at the hospital with our child.”

“Hello.” Singha greeted a man in his forties, trailing behind his wife of the same age. He led them inside the shop for a more comfortable chat.

“Hello, what’s going on? My wife called me home urgently, just when I was about to catch a big fish.”

“I need to ask about last night, between 11 PM to midnight. Did a pink taxi, driven by a man in his forties or fifties, stop here?”

“A taxi… Oh! Yes, yes, he mentioned he dropped off a passenger by the roadside forest but was too scared to pick up anyone from there.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“Just a bit. He was unsure if he should pick up anyone because that area is risky at night.”

“Why is that?”

“There are frequent accidents there. I heard from my father it was once a mass grave for the unclaimed dead.” Singha glanced at the young man still sitting outside. “I’m still puzzled about what that passenger was thinking. When I asked if he was sure about picking up a real person, the driver just sped off.”

“Has anyone been around here or gone into that forest in the last few days?”

“Just last night, the police and an ambulance were coming and going. After 9 PM, everyone here is usually in bed. I stayed up late watching football, so I saw a bit.”

“Thank you for the information.” Singha stepped outside, sighed, and noticed the young man still in a daze, with water droplets forming a wide circle from the can on the ground. He didn’t know what the kid had seen, if anything, but the information matched what Thup had said in many ways.

Singha took out a cigarette, held it in his mouth, lit it, and inhaled the nicotine into his lungs. Now, it wasn’t just about the case; there was also the matter of ghosts. From the perspective of someone who doesn’t believe or seriously follow any religion, this kind of thing was utterly ridiculous.

“Inspector, you smoke?”

“Yeah, want one?” Singha offered a fresh cigarette to the young man sitting in front of him.

“I don’t smoke.” Thup replied, shaking his head, then pressed his lips together. “So, what’s next?”

“We’ll have to wait for the autopsy results. Right now, we don’t have any useful information.” A puff of white smoke drifted into the air after he spoke.

“And what about what I mentioned?”

“I think the perpetrator chose that place because it’s a cemetery. A kid who saw a ghost told me so. What do you think, does it sound believable?”

“…No.”

“Yeah, good to know.” A phone rang, interrupting their conversation. Singha picked it up, exhaling smoke into the air, “What is it?”

[Where are you, Inspector?]

   “Near the crime scene.”

[I’ve already questioned the victims’ families. There are four more to go.]

   “What did you find?”

[It seems the times the victims disappeared aren’t consistent.]

   “The killer can’t just take them all at once; it would be too hard to control and suspicious.” Seven victims disappearing all at once…

[I’m heading to the fourth victim’s house now, and I’ll report back to you, Inspector.]

   “Send me the list; I’ll go to the fifth victim’s house myself.”

[Understood.]

   “Hey, Lieutenant, also look up the history of the crime scene for me. Find out who owns it now, who used to own it, everything.”

Or has it been used for something before?

    [Understood, Inspector.] After Lieutenant Khem hung up, Singha walked over to dispose of his cigarette butt in the designated spot.

“Get up, Thup.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the victim’s house.”

“And… should I come along?”

“Are you the one who killed the victims?” Singha crossed his arms, his eyes level but probing.

“I didn’t kill them.” Thup replied, his voice firm.

“Then let’s go.”

It didn’t take long for Singha and Thup to reach the fifth victim’s house out of the total seven. They parked their motorcycle in front of a clean white townhouse, but the house was eerily silent, with no signs of life. Singha rang the bell several times, but no one answered.

“Uh… the homeowner isn’t here.” a woman from the neighboring house called out.

“Do you know who they might be with?”

“They live alone.”

“I’m a police officer. I need to ask about the owner of this house.”

“Uh, sure. But what happened to Min?”

“It’s under investigation. I can’t give details yet, but Pakpong or Min has passed away.”

“What!!! No… that can’t be true, officer. What happened?”

“Do you know anything about her family?”

“I… I only know Min left home because of family issues regarding gender transition, but I’ve never met them. She’s been renting here for six months, and works as a car salesperson.”

“When did she go missing from the house?”

“I think it was yesterday evening; I was supposed to bring some curry to her place, but she wasn’t there.”

“Had she mentioned or told you anything unusual before?”

“Well, there were some work-related things occasionally. She was kind-hearted, cheerful, always going to the temple regularly.” Singha nodded understandingly, “We were just talking about going to make merit together this week.”

“And before that, had anyone visited her house or been lurking around?”

“As far as I know, no one. I work online from home and haven’t seen any strangers.”

“And the last time you spoke before she left the house, did she say anything?”

“She complained about having bad luck before going to work.”

“What time did she leave that day?”

“Around half past six. Normally, she goes to work at seven, but she was going to the temple to make merit, so she left earlier.”

“Did she drive?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. If there’s anything more, we might need to call you to the station again for further statements.” Singha bowed politely, then glanced towards the deceased’s house.

His phone rang again; Singha answered without looking, guessing who it was.

[Inspector, we’ve interviewed the victim’s family and close friends.]

   “Meet me at the station.” The young inspector replied, hanging up. He quickly mounted his motorbike, put on his helmet, and when he turned back, he cursed seeing the young lad, Thup, still standing there, “Thup, what are you spacing out for? Get on, quick!”

“There’s… someone in the house. No, not someone, something.”

Singha furrowed his brow, looking back at the house, only to see emptiness.

A young man hurriedly grabbed Singha’s shirt, the clear window showing a gap in the curtains just enough to see inside. At one moment, Thup saw eyes, stark white, staring right at him. The corner of the mouth slowly curled into a sinister grin, a smile beyond what any normal human could muster.

“Tha… I… I need to inspect it.” Thup, in fear, made the young man look back into the house again, but no matter how many times he looked, all he saw was an empty house.

“Get in, we don’t have a warrant today, can’t go in.” The young man quickly got into the car, burying his face into Singha’s shoulder, trembling.

“Who told you to—”

“Th… I won’t lean on you then.” The young man looked up, eyes closed, his hands that were on his thighs while riding the motorcycle now clutching Singha’s shirt instead.

The bodies of six victims were taken to the forensic institute, while another was brought to the lab for an autopsy.

“Damn it, I’m going to sue Singha!”

“About what?” Say replied to Darin while putting on gloves.

“About bringing the victims’ bodies here!”

“I told him, otherwise, how would we handle so many corpses?”

“Just use your staff here, why drag me into this?”

“Come on, get dressed. We’re starting the autopsy.”

“Goddamn it!” Darin, frustrated, started putting on her work clothes, dragged back into this despite trying to avoid it.

“Autopsy starts at ten twenty-four.” The sharp eyes looked at the victim on the table, “Male, forty-three, signs of strangulation and deep neck wounds.” The assistant repeated, jotting it down.

“And do we cut this red thread?” Darin asked hesitantly.

“Don’t be like that. Normally, they don’t touch it; it’s sewn and closed so you can’t see. Don’t want to talk about it, Say?”

“How are we supposed to do an autopsy if we don’t cut it? Should we ask him personally?” Say shook his head slightly before turning the body to look for more clues.

“Knife” – the sharpness of the blade slashes through, Darin raises her hand.

The tip of the surgical knife reflects the light shining down, precisely tracing from the neck to the abdomen. A prayer before helping his friend spread open the ribcage to view the internal organs.

The ribs are cut away with pliers to allow Say to remove the internal organs for examination. Every step is meticulous until they reach the stomach.

“Did the deceased have any medical history?”

“Yes, diabetes.” Darin replies after checking the file. Before Say looked into the mouth of the deceased again, he noticed dentures.

“This isn’t the first murder victim.”

“Obviously, the other two in that freezer already have maggots.”

“Have you sent the maggots to the entomologist?”

“Yes, I have.”

Say scrapes the stomach wall into a bottle and hands it to the assistant with the camera, “Take this to toxicology, and I need a list of all medications the deceased was taking.”

“Yes.”

“The food wasn’t chewed properly. Plus, being diabetic probably slowed digestion. Look, there are still chunks of chicken.” Darin remarks, shaking his head slightly.

The autopsy continues until completion, only a red thread remains uncut, which Darin requested to be left for later.

“Scissors.” Say takes the scissors from his friend, slips them under the red thread on the victim’s eyelid, and as soon as he cuts it, the lights go out.

“Shit! What the hell!”

“It’s just a power outage. Why are you freaking out?”

“This place never has power outages!!” He gropes around, “Aaaah!!!!”

Darin shrieked just before the lights went out. Darin, who had fallen to the ground, was grabbing Darin while screaming as a loud thump echoed. Moments later, all the lights in the room flickered back on. His face was a mask of shock.

“Just now… did you grab my hand, Say?”

“I was holding scissors, how could I grab you?”

“Someone grabbed my hand!” Darin glanced at the figure on the bed before backing away. “I told you not to cut the thread!”

“Get up, get up!” Say put down the scissors and helped his friend up. “You might have just touched the corpse’s hand by accident.”

“I know where the corpse’s hand is supposed to be; it was outside the bed just now!”

“Look, the hand is still in the same place, and with that chest cut open, how could it move?”

“…” I mean when it’s not alive anymore! I really felt it, Say!”

“If you can’t handle it, wait outside. I’ll continue the autopsy.” Darin slowly stood up, looking at the corpse, unchanged from before the lights went out, except the left eye where the thread had been cut. He swallowed hard and clenched his lips.

“I’ll stay.” After all, she was a doctor; abandoning her duty wasn’t in her nature.

A chill ran down Darin’s spine as she turned around, but there was nothing there. This case was strange from the start, and the deeper they dug, the stranger it got. She wasn’t sure if she was dealing with a human killer or something beyond death.

 

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