GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 14: The Sixth Sense of Wednesday Night

The young detective stood in front of James’s house, the first victim of the disappearances in this case. The sound of sobbing echoed from the front occasionally. It was a modest townhouse, and the neighbors had gathered to watch, so he had his subordinates hold them back.

“Chief, we’re ready.”

“Hmm.” King entered the house, scanning everything meticulously. Suddenly, someone bumped into his shoulder hard. Who would dare?

“Get out of the way.” said Say, passing through, “If you’re just going to stand there, do it outside.” Followed by Darin.

“Don’t let anyone into the house until the forensic team finishes their work.” King said, shaking his head slightly in dismissal before beginning to direct the others.

“Understood.”

“Also, find a clay doll shaped like an animal head. If anyone finds it, report immediately.”

“Yes.” King followed Darin and Say upstairs. After questioning James’s parents, it was clear that no one had entered their son’s bedroom, so all evidence should still be intact.

Say opened the left door. As soon as the door cracked open slightly, a putrid smell wafted out, forcing all three to turn away. The door was opened wider for a preliminary inspection inside. As the stench slowly dissipated, he turned to Darin, who was clinging to his arm, signaling him to let go. But because of their long friendship, the only woman there gave her friend’s arm a firm hit, not holding back.

“I’m not letting go until we go in and make sure there’s nothing there.”

“And how am I supposed to investigate, ma’am?”

“You walk in first, then we’ll talk.”

“Still scared of ghosts?” King asked, “Why not worry about your own business, detective?”

“Calling it out like that, isn’t that a bit harsh?” Say feigned a voice of surprise before entering the victim’s bedroom, ignoring King’s chuckles from behind.

The bedroom seemed like that of any ordinary teenager. Nothing particularly special. Darin released Say’s arm and looked around while rubbing her own arm.

“Don’t you feel goosebumps or a bit cold?” She asked, turning to Say who was opening the curtains. Despite the room appearing normal, it was devoid of light, stuffy, and too damp to breathe comfortably.

“If the deceased had left the house before disappearing, there probably wouldn’t be many traces here.” King remarked as he picked up a book from the shelf.

“Did Singha mention anything about the doll?”

“Clay dolls, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

“It was sent for inspection.”

“What kind of doll?” Darin looked back and forth between King and Say, each doing their own thing without making eye contact.

“A clay doll, with the head of a tiger.” The young detective elaborated, “A clay doll?”

“They said to try looking in each victim’s house. If you find one, bring it back to the station.”

“What kind of doll is this?” Inside the room, she walked over to Darin’s bed, muttering as she checked for anything unusual, but then she had to cover her nose quickly when she turned towards the headboard too late. The foul smell of waste made her try to trace its source, while Darin was lifting pillows and blankets. Suddenly, she felt like someone was watching her find something. So she started picking up the decorative cushions one by one.

‘Heh, heh’

   The laughter echoed from the direction of the headboard, making Darin pause, his hand still lifting a pillow, and he slowly turned to look again. She was sure she hadn’t misheard, but when she looked, there was no one there. Yelling out now would only get her scolded by Say.

“Di…did you hear anything just now?”

“Hear what?”

“Oh, never mind.” Darin pressed her lips together tightly before turning back to look at the bed again, “Bless me. I am not here for harm but to help, please don’t scare or haunt us.”

Darin murmured softly to herself, hands clasped to her forehead. She took a deep breath to muster courage before switching from searching on the bed to under it. The flashlight was turned on, shining underneath, the light slowly moving from the headboard to the middle of the bed, until it reached the foot of the bed where her eyes met with a clay doll, positioned facing her, its body twisted and its head…

“Lion head?”

Bang!!!

The lights in the room went out simultaneously with the loud slamming of the door; the curtains also closed, plunging the room into darkness once again. Only the light from her flashlight and Say’s remained on. Darin, startled, looked around as the situation grew increasingly strange. She turned back to look under the bed to grab something and leave quickly, but when she turned around, what was under the bed was no longer just the clay doll. Instead, there was the face of a woman right in front of her, a young woman with a deathly pale face, hollow eyes that seemed to see through to the inside, and a smile creeping on her thin, pale lips. From lips of normal human size, there appeared a tear, stretching all the way to her ears. This face was now less than a hand’s breadth from Darin and was tilting its head, looking at her.

‘Take it, if you want it, take it.’

   The clay doll was pushed towards Darin by a pale hand and she felt as if she couldn’t breathe. She felt like screaming but no sound came out; tears streamed down her cheeks, yet she couldn’t lift her hand to wipe them away.

‘Heh, heh, take it, take me with you.’

   Just as that terrifying face was about to move closer, her ankle was grabbed, pulling her out into the light again.

“Why the hell are you crying?” Say asked in shock. He had just reopened the curtains and noticed Darin had been under the bed for too long, not moving, so he decided to pull her out by the leg.

Darin felt the weight of her body lighten. She quickly got up and ran out of the room in panic, ignoring any protests from the two behind her.

“What’s with her?” Say bent down to look under the bed, shining his flashlight. He found a doll with a lion’s head, picked it up, and put it into an evidence bag. After retrieving it, he left the room, thinking there wouldn’t be any more evidence to collect.

“That’s the doll Singha wanted us to find.”

“Yeah.”

“Then it means the other victims’ houses might have them too.”

Both walked out of the house before King separated to talk with the victim’s family. Meanwhile, Say headed to the car where he saw his friend sitting inside, looking traumatized.

“What’s wrong with you, woman?”

“Get it out.” Darin said before glancing at the evidence bag in Say’s hand, “Take it out, Say, get that doll out of here. Otherwise, I’ll leave myself.”

“What’s up with you?”

“If I told you I saw a ghost, would you believe me? If I said this doll is weird, what would you say? So, I’m serious, Say, take it out. Leave it with the forensics car, and then take me to a temple.”

Normally, Say would curse back if a friend brought up such matters, but this time, Darin seemed more frightened than ever, his face showing clear paranoia.

“Alright, wait a sec.” Say got out of the car to take the doll head and place it with the separate forensics vehicle. After he had arranged for it to be placed on a table and sent ahead from the next victim’s house, Say returned to the car, showing both hands to Darin, “It’s gone now. Happy? Which temple are we going to, at this hour?”

“Yeah, any nearby temple will do, just for a brief visit.”

“Okay, okay, as you wish.” Say drove out from the village heading towards a temple he remembered passing by, if he recalled correctly, it was called Santitham Wararam Temple.

Meanwhile, King was questioning James’s parents and older sister about the doll, how it got there, and where it came from.

“Sniff, did you find anything else, officer?” James’s mother sobbed, her eyes red and swollen from the loss of her son.

“We didn’t find anything unusual except for the doll under the bed.”

“A doll? What kind of doll?” asked James’s father, who was supporting his wife, with curiosity.

“A clay doll with a lion head. Can you tell me if you’ve seen that doll before or know where he might have gotten it?”

“I don’t know, but before he disappeared, he was acting strange, kept locking himself in his room, barely eating, and when he did, he’d vomit. My wife and I thought it was stress from university entrance exams, so we tried leaving soft food outside his door.”

“And before that, did he show any strange behavior or encounter anyone unusual?” Both James’s parents shook their heads while hugging each other tightly, but his older sister, standing with them, seemed like she wanted to say something, “Do you have something to tell me?”

“Well… before this, James complained to me about being scared he wouldn’t pass the entrance exam for the faculty he wanted, and he said he might try making a wish. I didn’t know if he was serious, so I didn’t object. One night, when I came down late, I saw James standing facing the wall, mumbling something. When I got closer to listen, it was… a chant.”

“A chant?” King asked again for confirmation.

“What chant, dear?” James’s father asked.

“I don’t remember it all, but I remember the beginning.”

“How does it go?” King took out his notebook, ready to write, “Ji Jeruni Chittang Jetasikan Rupang, that’s what I heard.” King wrote it down as James’s sister described. As he finished writing, a gust of wind made him look towards the second-floor window, where a thin white curtain fluttered, revealing for a moment the shadow of a woman standing there, but she disappeared when the curtain fluttered again.

“Thank you for your cooperation. If there are any updates, I’ll let you know.” King said his goodbyes and ordered his team to prepare to leave for the next house. Despite feeling uneasy about all the events unfolding in this case.

A luxurious white car parked in front of the temple’s main hall at Santitham Wararam Temple. Once Say turned off the engine, Darin hurriedly opened the door and stepped out without delay, walking in to kneel and worship the large, golden Buddha statue. She chanted and bowed with urgency, causing Say, who followed him in, to remark:

“You’re mumbling so much, do you think the Buddha can understand?”

“I don’t know, I just need something to hold onto right now, Namo Tassa Bhagavato…”

“Are you here to make merit?” A deep voice from behind made them both turn, “Abbot! Yes, to make merit, please. I just saw a ghost, what should I do? Is there a ghost following me? Can you bless me with holy water, please?” Darin spoke anxiously. A monk, around sixty years old, entered the hall with a smile, sitting down on a seat in front of them.

“Calm down, my child. Ghosts are just spirits, spirits are people who have passed away. The dead are inanimate, so how can they follow anyone?”

“I really saw it, Lord Abbott… a very scary female ghost.”

“Alright then, I’ll sprinkle holy water for you to calm your spirit. No matter what you’ve encountered, fold your hands in prayer.” Darin quickly folded her hands, touched her forehead immediately, then bowed her head to receive the holy water. The cool water on her skin helped cool down Darin’s feverish mind. She sighed before bowing to the monk once again. “By the way, where are you from?”

“A nearby village, Reverend Father.”

“Do you live there?”

“No, Reverend. We are forensic investigators here for a case, Reverend.”

“I see.”

“Have you been here long, Reverend?”

“Many years now, I am the abbot here.”

“Ah, that’s good, Reverend. Then I can come often for blessings these days; I keep encountering things, I don’t know what.”

“Keep making merit, child. When free, come sit, walk in meditation here at the temple to calm your mind.”

“Yes, Reverend.” Darin chatted a bit more before excusing herself. Meanwhile, she glanced and saw a Buddha statue for her birthday positioned not far in the pavilion. She decided to make merit by dropping all her coins into the alms bowl in front of it. Darin took out all her coins and dropped them into the silver alms bowl in front of the Wednesday night Buddha statue, then raised her hands in a slight bow, “Amen, may I not see anything like that again. May my life be smooth without disturbances, please.”

After finishing, she walked back to the car with a calmer heart. Although still a bit scared, she thought that making merit and praying might improve things, but who knows if everything can be solved just by making merit…

  

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