GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 16: Wannanongkran

King’s car stopped in front of a small house. Though not in perfect condition, with the house covered in corrugated iron and various wires holding it together, it was still a home.

“Hello.” King greeted.

“Hel…Hello.” an elderly woman, around eighty years old, opened the door, looking weary.

“I’m a police officer.”

“Is this about Jom?” Just mentioning the name of her recently deceased grandson made her voice tremble.

“Yes. I’m here to check on a few things. Here’s my warrant.”

“I can’t see well, young man, but come on in, though it’s a bit messy.” She walked out and sat on a wooden chair at the front, gazing aimlessly at the sky. Her life and her grandson’s had been very hard. She never thought heaven would still torment them like this.

“The forensic team couldn’t work, so be careful, wear gloves, and don’t rummage through things randomly.”

“Understood.” After instructing his team to go inside, King sat down beside the old woman, who at this moment looked extremely weak.

“Grandma, can I ask you a few more questions?”

“Go ahead.”

“Before the day Jom disappeared, did he mention anything strange or tell you any stories?”

“Hmmm… Normally, Jom didn’t talk much; he just did things. He was a good kid. Even though his parents left him, he said he’d survive, take care of me until the day we die, but, sob…” The elderly woman raised her wrinkled hand to cover her face, hiding her tears. She had only her grandson as an anchor to keep living, but now he was gone. She saw no more beauty in this world. “Jom said, sob, Jom would go sell garlands and be right back. Even when he was sick, that boy, sob, that boy still had to work, couldn’t take a break. He didn’t live like other kids because he had to earn money for school. I, sob, saved this money hoping to give it to him on his upcoming birthday.”

She reached into her faded, patched shirt pocket and pulled out a clear plastic bag with some money in it.

“Every month, I saved my elderly allowance for Jom’s tuition. Any money left, he worked for and gave it all to me, sob, oh my poor grandson.” King had to console her, helping her to ease from her grief, while his team inside the house continued searching for anything unusual.

“It smells like the last house, man.”

“Yeah, I thought so too.”

“Just bottles, boxes, and cans everywhere.”

“What did the chief say we’re looking for?”

“A clay doll with a lion head.”

“Nothing here.”

“Nothing here either.”

“Shall we leave?”

Thud!

A sound of something hitting the zinc roof from outside made all three turn to look. They sent one officer to check before turning to look around again for anything unusual.

The young policeman walked out from the back of the house; behind was a cleared ground where grass had been cut, now planted with kitchen vegetables, and further was an abandoned water well. He walked out to where the sound had come from but only found emptiness.

“Doesn’t seem like there’s anything.” he muttered as he was about to walk back, when the sound of something hitting the water made him turn to look at the puddle, where ripples spread out despite no wind or object floating. He slowly approached to look closer, and when he peered down, he only saw his own shadow. But then something floated up, making the water ripple in circles, “What the heck?”

What floated up was a clay doll face down. The young policeman tried his best to reach out and grab it, every time he missed, his hand splashed into the chilling water of the well, sending shivers up his spine. Just as he was about to grab the doll, a pale, bloodless hand with dark, torn nails grabbed his wrist first. His eyes trembled as he looked at the doll lying face down; instead of just murky water filled with mud at the bottom, there appeared the face of a woman, her eyes hollow, flesh visible inside, smiling grotesquely at him from under the water, before yanking him down with force.

“Hey!!!” The last shout before the sound of splashing water followed, his body struggling to climb above water but it seemed the more he struggled, the deeper he was pulled into the well. His body turned cold, numb all over, his ankle felt the pain as if something sharp was piercing it. The water was so dark he couldn’t tell how deep he had sunk. His breath slowly faded as his body was being constricted. No way out, unless…

!!!

The sound of water bursting was the last he heard along with a faint light before his consciousness slowly slipped away.

“Phii Singha!!!”

“Singha!!!”

Everyone on the pavement was shocked by the actions of the young inspector, who, without hesitation, jumped into the water to save his subordinate. He swam down, sweeping his arms around to search for the body of the person who had fallen in earlier.

Meanwhile, those on the shore could only wait anxiously, trying to spot their colleague with concern. Suddenly, what emerged from the water wasn’t what they expected; it was a woman with hollowed eyes, her pale, torn lips stretched into a grin, all the way to her ears, smiling unabashedly at Thup. The young man froze, unable to move, sweat pouring from his forehead as his heart pounded wildly. The closer she got, the more he felt compelled to stay still. Just as she was about to reach him, the smile faded, replaced by an angry, furious expression.

‘Ghosts who are like you, shouldn’t mess around!!!’

   Thup felt a chill down his spine and turned around. What he saw was the ghost of a woman he had seen in his childhood, her eyes and lips still sewn with red thread as before, only now showing signs of wear. She looked ahead with a flat but darkly displeased expression, not bending to notice him as usual, but instead staring at the hollow-eyed ghost in front of her. No one moved, including Thup, until the sound of splashing water caught his attention, turning to see Singha emerging from the water. When he looked back, both female ghosts had vanished.

“Phii Singha!”

“Singha!”

Both Thup and King called out Singha’s name simultaneously, but it was King who reached Singha first.

“Are you okay? Let me see, are you hurt anywhere?” King touched the face and eyes of the man who just came out of the water with concern, but his hand was brushed away carelessly.

“No need to search anymore.” Singha said, holding up a clay doll for everyone waiting on the pavement to see. “King, take your subordinate to the hospital for another check. Let’s call it a day here, and meet back at the station.”

Someone ran up to him, placing the coat that Singha had thrown before jumping into the water onto his broad shoulders. His beautiful eyes glanced at the object in Singha’s hand, realizing it was a horse-head doll.

“I’ll give you a ride.” King grabbed Singha’s arm.

“No need, I have places to go.”

“In this condition, where else can you go?”

“I just went for a swim. I’m not dying.” Singha shook off the arm with annoyance, then walked ahead to the car, with Thup following close behind.

Upon reaching the car, he grabbed a towel from the back to wipe his hair roughly until no more water dripped onto his face.

“Phii, can you drive? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“If I can’t drive, would you take over?”

“I… can’t drive, Phii.”

“Thought so.” Singha tossed the doll on Thup’s lap again. The young man, still not used to it, startled, then bowed respectfully, muttering prayers as he placed it in the evidence bag. “What day is it this time?”

“It has a horse head, named Wannanongkran, a Mae Sue for Monday.” After the second time, Thup knew what to do next. He reached back for the folder to automatically check the list of victims. “Jom, Jom was born on a Monday and disappeared on a Monday, too.”

Singha glanced at the doll on Thup’s lap before cursing softly. This wasn’t a revenge killing or something from past stories, or life’s knots, but a killing for some kind of ritual. And if he didn’t catch the killer this time, soon enough, another case like this would happen.

“Phii.” Thup, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Singha since getting in the car, called to the older man in a soft voice after they’d been driving for a while.

“What?”

“Your arm…” A slender hand gently touched Singha’s arm where there was a long scratch down to the elbow. Though not deep and not bleeding, it looked like it stung quite a bit.

“Wonder if the teacher hit a branch underwater?”

“Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“Even so, we need to treat the wound, can’t leave it like that.”

“Yeah, I know, a wound this small won’t kill me, and can you take your hand off my arm now?”

“Sorry.” Thup immediately pulled his hand back but still kept his eyes on. “So, where are we heading?”

“The kid named Jom didn’t disappear from home but vanished after he went to work selling garlands at a shop near the temple. If we’re going to investigate how he disappeared, we should start there.” Thup nodded in understanding, “And have you contacted that friend of yours who knows about these things?”

“…Not yet.”

“Contact them quickly, so we can figure out what’s going on.”

“It’s just that… if I say something, can you promise not to get angry?”

“Can I just curse you out in advance?” Singha glanced at the kid sitting next to him, seeing a pleading face, he had to look away, “Go on, say it.”

“He’s not here. He’s in Sisaket.”

“Then call him.”

“Can’t call.”

“Why?”

“…Because he’s not a human anymore.”

“Are you messing with me, Thup?”

“I once followed the venerable monk on his alms round and passed by an old house, which was an abandoned wooden house with no one living in it. But the monk always stopped at that house before continuing on. One day, I asked him about it, and he said… the owner of that house practiced dark arts. When he grew old, he released something before he died, but… his spirit didn’t move on; it was stuck in that house until it’s karma was resolved.”

“Are you telling me to go ask a ghost?”

“If not this person, I wouldn’t know who else could tell us.”

“You’re really…” Singha pushed his tongue against his cheek in frustration. In his mind, he had never had to deal with a case this troubling before. Not just headaches about the culprit, but now also about nonsensical things. He wondered if what Darin said about being cursed at twenty-five was true, and if so, it was fitting for his age of thirty-five because he truly felt unlucky.

The two arrived at a flower and garland shop not far from the temple. Singha was slightly irritated with his still-soaked clothes; thankfully, his car seats were leather, so a car wash would not be a problem.

“Hello. I’m a police officer investigating the disappearance of Jom.” he wanted to ask about…

“H…Hello, officer.” a woman around sixty years old came out, looking rather unwell.

“Is this a good time?”

“Y…Yes, it is, but I really don’t know anything about Jom’s death.”

“On the day he came to work, did he behave strangely or tell you anything?”

“Not at all. Usually, I hire Jom to sell garlands two days before the holy day. That day, he was quiet, didn’t talk to anyone, but he was stringing the garlands haphazardly, so I… I accidentally scolded him. Suddenly, he glared at me and ran off into the temple. I haven’t seen him since, and… but I’m not involved, officer. I didn’t do anything to him.” she hurriedly explained, fearing she might be blamed.

“What time was this?”

“Around just past six.”

“He ran into the temple, you say? And you didn’t see him come back out?”

“I’m not sure. I wasn’t watching all the time because I had to string the garlands myself.”

“So, has anyone seen Jom walking out of the temple? It might help us know where he went before disappearing again.”

“Try asking at that convenience store; they have CCTV.” Singha looked where she pointed, and indeed, the store was right across from the temple.

“Thank you.”

The two walked to the mentioned store and found a man in his fifties lying on a hammock, fanning himself.

“Hello. I’m a police officer. I’d like to ask a few questions and also check your CCTV, if possible.”

“Hey, I haven’t done anything wrong, officer.”

“Yes, sir, then please cooperate with the investigation.”

“Oh, alright, come on in.”

“Last Monday, did you see a kid entering the temple around six to seven PM?”

“Didn’t see him, I was busy watching boxing.”

“Can I check the camera then?”

“My daughter’s not here, and I can’t do it myself.”

“I can do it.”

The store owner as he got up and led them to the back of the store where the house was.

“Here’s the computer, you go ahead.” Singha nodded and sat down on the chair, “Kid, you’re all wet and messy.”

“Sorry.” Singha was about to stand up, but the store owner stopped him, “Never mind.” He went to get a cloth from the cabinet and handed it to Thup instead, “I sell these for fifty each, pay for it when you come out.”

“Y…Yes, thank you.” Thup replied, placing the bright orange cloth on Singha’s shoulder, “I’ll go pay for this, Phii, you stay here.”

“Okay, okay, go out first, I’ll return it later.” When Thup walked out, he searched through the files, the CCTV footage. From the angle, it should be visible, right up to the front of the temple. He looked for the file with the date he wanted, found it, and immediately opened it to watch. The clip showed a boy walking into the temple from six until six-thirty, but until ten in the evening, there was no sign of him coming out. “He didn’t come out.”

Singha muttered, feeling a hunch, so he clicked to check the clips from Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday as well. In the morning, noon, and five in the evening, more people walked in and out of the temple, probably because it was the time when free meals were distributed. But what was strange was that after that, there were hardly any people going in or out. The Saturday clip, which was the same day the child disappeared, showed a car entering and leaving around seven. So where did it go next? Singha clicked back to Jom’s clip to make sure, just as Thup returned to stand behind him.

“Phii Singha.”

“What?”

“He didn’t walk in alone.”

“What do you mean? I saw it right here, he di—” Singha suddenly stopped talking when he saw Thup staring at the screen without blinking. “What do you see?”

“The ghost I saw at the well today… she was leading him by the hand inside.

 

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