GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 29: Digging into the Past

The infirmary door burst open in a rush, both Say and King ran inside the special room only to find Jump still asleep on the patient bed.

“I’ll check the lounge.” King said when he didn’t see the two friends of the boy on the bed with him, but before he could move, the door opened again in haste, the newcomer panting heavily with a worried look, prompting King to ask:

“Where are your friends!”

“Mr… Dear, ugh, is Dear here, sir?” Bom spoke out with an anxious demeanor before coughing violently.

“Calm down.” Say, seeing the young man in distress, quickly checked on him, “Where is Dear?”

“I… I don’t know. When I woke up, I went to call her in his room, but the door was open, and… and then she was gone. I’ve searched everywhere and couldn’t find him.”

“I’m heading to the temple.” King said and immediately rushed out to gather men to head to the temple. Meanwhile, Say stayed, gently patting Bom’s back before letting the young man rest, his heavy breathing making Say walk over to get some water for him. Just then, the phone in his pants pocket rang, and he answered it.

“Hello?”

[I’m in Sisaket now. Currently at the police station here.]

   “Hurry up, Singha.”

[Why?]

   “We’ve got a situation here.”

King was driving at nearly illegal speeds towards the temple with several of his men. This time, they might just catch the killer.

Two police cars drove into the temple area, with seven officers disembarking to begin their search as instructed. King approached a group of villagers who seemed startled by the large police presence.

“Uh, he… hello, officer, is there something wrong? You’ve come in such numbers, or are you here for the food at the temple’s kitchen?” A tall, middle-aged woman greeted them with a friendly yet fearful attitude.

“Hello. I would like to ask if anyone has seen this girl. She entered the temple around eight in the morning.” King showed a picture of Dear, one of the four children who trespassed into the murder scene, to the charity kitchen cook.

“Um. I haven’t seen her, dear. I’ve been here since five because I had to prepare, and when the kitchen opened, I didn’t see anyone, just the monks doing their morning chanting.”

“Can I see the abbot, please?”

“This morning he was out chanting at the chapel, dear. I just brought him breakfast at seven-thirty.”

King glanced at the others who were starting to take notice, trying to keep a normal expression. The shocking news from before had spread widely, making everyone think the police were still chasing the murderer, better than them knowing the killer might strike again causing chaos here.

“Is there something wrong?”

“I’m just checking the temple again. Anyway, I’ll excuse myself to talk to the abbot.” After looking inside the charity kitchen and not finding Dear, King quickly walked out to head directly to the abbot’s quarters.

The sound of something hard hitting the ground made King pause; his hand swiftly grabbed the gun at his waist, holding it in a standard defensive stance. His hurried steps turned into cautious heel-to-toe walking until the dense trees disappeared from his line of sight, replaced by the image of a man in bright robes holding a hoe, digging beside a wooden hut. Next to him was a large, tightly tied black bag, which wouldn’t have caught King’s eye much if it weren’t for the wide pool of blood slowly seeping into the ground.

“Stop!! This is the police, put down what’s in your hands and raise your hands above your head, now!!”

“Wha… what’s happening here, sir?”

“Send someone to the abbot’s quarters, urgently.” King radioed his team before turning back to the abbot, who still held the hoe above his head without any intention of putting it down. Moreover, he started approaching, prompting King to raise his hand to stop him, “Put the hoe down.”

“Sir, I don’t understand at all, have I done something wrong?”

King informed the abbot of the rights he should receive according to his duties, then proceeded to use a pocket knife to slit open a black bag in front of everyone.

A foul, bloody stench spread throughout the area as the carcasses of dozens of cats and dogs spilled out onto the floor. The bodies were so mangled that it was impossible to tell which parts belonged to which animal. Some of the newer police officers at the scene froze in their tracks.

“Search this place thoroughly.”

“Yes, sir!” Upon the command, the officers began to urgently investigate the area. Given the situation, the suspect was likely not far.

“Layman, if I have done any wrong, I have no intention of fleeing. But could you tell me what I am accused of?”

“Based on the current circumstantial evidence, you’re a suspect in a recent mass murder case, and possibly in the kidnapping or confinement of this woman who has just disappeared.”

“B…but I am a monk, I uphold the precepts, and live under the robe of a monk. I would not think to harm any life, layman.”

“W…what’s happening here!!! Reverend Father! What are you all doing!!” Uncle Khuean, who ran over breathlessly, immediately went to support the abbot. “This is the abbot. How can you treat him like this!”

“Then how do you explain that?” King pointed towards the remains of the dogs and cats spilling out from the bag.

“It… it…”

“Boss!!! We found the victim, unconscious in a storage room under the monk’s quarters, with no external wounds.”

“Secure the area, call in the forensics team and the medical examiner. As for the suspect.” King turned back to face the abbot, “Take him back for questioning at the station.”

“Yes.”

Singha had just stepped into the Kantharalak Police Station, his face tense after ending a call from Say. Although most of the information came from the Sisaket Police Station, if something happened around here, the local police would have to handle it first, so he needed to gather information from here.

“What can I help you with?” asked the plump, honey-skinned police officer in a friendly manner.

“I’m an officer here to inquire about a case.” Singha said, showing his ID to the person in front of him. Upon seeing the position, the officer immediately saluted respectfully, “No worries, take it easy. Who can I speak with here, or is the station chief in?”

“The chief isn’t in yet, shall I call and ask for you?”

“How many years has he been in charge here?”

“Fifteen years.”

“May I speak with an officer who’s worked here for more than twenty years?”

“Uh… then it would have to be Lieutenant Khet, he’s been working here a long time. He’s out for lunch but should be back soon.”

“Then I’ll wait.”

“Let me invite you to wait in the reception room for now.”

Singha and Thup walked into the inner reception room. Once alone, Thup started a conversation with the older guy.

“Phii.”

“What?”

“I know Uncle Khet, but I thought he would have retired by now.”

“I think he must know something about the case that happened. Let’s just wait and see his reaction.” Thup nodded in understanding.

Half an hour later, an elderly plainclothes officer hurried into the room. His black hair streaked with white and his face beginning to show wrinkles indicated he was nearing retirement age.

“Hello, Inspector, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s alright, you must be Lieutenant Khett, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I don’t have much time, so let’s get straight to the point. I’m here about a case from twenty years ago; I presume you were stationed here at that time.”

“Yes, but which case are you referring to that requires such a revival?”

“The case of the group murder where all the victims were killed and had their eyes and mouths sewn shut with red thread.” The startled and frightened expression of the policeman in front of him made the detective lean back and cross his arms to test the waters, “I guess you remember it, right?”

“I… I remember, but…”

“I need all the information you can provide, can you help me?”

“But that case has been closed.”

“If the case was truly closed, this wouldn’t be happening, would it?” A case file was placed on the table, with pictures and information displayed clearly, making the senior policeman’s face turn pale, “The same type of case has been recurring every five years after the incident here. The latest occurred in my area, five and ten years ago it happened in the north, the culprit hasn’t been caught. Fifteen years ago, it happened in the south, but the person arrested was a scapegoat. Now the case is being reopened, and the officers there are under investigation. What do you think happened twenty, twenty-five years ago, and what will happen to those involved back then that let the culprit escape to repeat this so many times?”

The words were flat, the tone calm, yet they exerted immense pressure, even Thup dared not move. Singha now resembled a tiger carefully stalking its prey into its clutches. Not so aggressive that the prey would panic and bolt, but not gentle enough for the prey to feel safe. His sharp eyes fixed on the policeman in front of him were enough to make anyone under that gaze feel uneasy.

“You have only one year left before retirement, correct?”

“I… I…”

“If the culprit escapes again this time, who knows where they’ll strike next, perhaps not even waiting another five years. Are you sure you want to let them remain free like this?” The sweat on the lieutenant’s hands and temples made Thup feel the tension too; if he was truly innocent, Singha’s questions should have seemed harmless, unless…

“Back then!! Back then, I was just a sergeant, you know. When the case of the director happened, the previous one, he sent the police to investigate, but because there was another bigger case at the time, he redirected the manpower to that case instead…”

“So, this case was just done haphazardly because they thought it was just a commoner’s death, right?” The tone was flat but cutting, making Lieutenant Khett bow his head looking at his own toes.

“It wasn’t just that, but the more we investigated this murder case, the more strange things happened. The officers working on the case either met with accidents or were so frightened they either withdrew or resigned.”

“How many officers resigned back then?”

“Three.”

“Can I have their names, please?”

“There were two officers from here, and one from Sisaket who came to help. The first one was Lieutenant Narong, but he passed away five years ago. The other one was Lieutenant Aisuen, who suddenly disappeared. The third one is Lieutenant Montat. He resigned due to health issues.”

“Which parts of the case did Lieutenant Montat work on?” Singha asked for more information about Uncle Khuean, only basic official details because that’s all he had.

“He was the one who went to examine the body and inspect the crime scene.”

“And he just suddenly resigned?”

“Yes.”

“And the other one named Aisuan, do you know any more about him?”

“I worked with him. He was a good senior, kind-hearted, and liked to help others, but during this case, he said he encountered something strange, became very quiet, and not long after, he withdrew.”

“I’d like to have all their additional information as well.”

If possible, I’d like photos too.

“It might take some time, because the registration here wasn’t done by computer back then, we might need to dig through a lot of documents.”

“Okay, and what about the case? Did you find any information, anything different from this data?”

“Uhmm, yes. When we found the victim’s body, it was in a scattered state in the graveyard, not hanged like this.”

“How many incidents were there in total?”

“Two.”

“Phii… I saw that ghost woman before that.” Thup whispered to the person.

“Is it possible that this case might have happened before, but it was the first time the killer acted so there were still mistakes?”

“I’m not sure myself because we’ve only encountered a body like that twice, five years apart as you, inspector, mentioned.”

“And what about the rumors among the villagers, about the policeman living in the house behind the forest with his wife and two children?”

“Well… nobody wants to talk about it because they’re afraid of attracting bad spirits.”

“Spirits?”

“If you’ve heard some stories, inspector, you’d know about the chants, the foul smell, and the wailing sounds coming from that house, right? That’s why they say that that house is involved in dark magic, so no one dares to mess with it.”

“But I heard the owner is a policeman, with a nurse for a wife, right? How could it be that no one knows who they are? No neighbors at all?”

“Nobody goes to live there anymore, it used to be an old shaman’s place.”

“A shaman’s place?” There’s only that one house because

“Yes, but after the shaman there died, the house was left on the market. Ordinary villagers wouldn’t think of living there but… but the one who bought it was Lieutenant Aisuan. He started his service here and wanted to buy a house to settle down with his wife. He saw that the house was cheap so he bought it, despite many people warning him not to live there, saying it would only bring gloom. His wife was pregnant at the time too.”

“Did he ever tell you anything?”

“At first, he said it was just an ordinary house, you know, fixed up and decorated until it was comfortable. He even invited us over for dinner, but none of us dared to go. He mentioned it was good that no one lived nearby; he could make noise without arguing with anyone.”

“I need the information on Lieutenant Aisuan as quickly as possible, and also on Lieutenant Montat, please.” Singha furrowed his brows tightly because he felt this matter was somehow connected, but where was the link? Suddenly, his phone rang, drawing his attention. Seeing the number made him even more uneasy, “Lieutenant, go handle it.”

“Yes.”

After the room was left with just the two of them, Singha immediately answered the call from King.

“What’s up?”

[We’ve got the culprit.]

   “What?!”

[The culprit is the abbot.]

“How can you be sure?”

[The kid named Dear was found locked in a storage room under the monk’s quarters. I caught him trying to hide the bodies of some dogs and cats.]

   “And how is Dear now?”

[Still unconscious, probably drugged with a sedative. Say and Darin are watching him before sending him to the hospital.]

   “The abbot?”

[Yeah, he’s been brought back. We’ll proceed with the legal process.]

   “And the second case?”

[We haven’t found them yet. Might be locked up somewhere in the temple too. We’re mobilizing officers to search.]

   “And where is the abbot now?”

[Taken to the station already.]

   “I need to check something first, then I’ll hurry back.”

[What else do you want to check?]

   “Something. That’s all.” Singha hung up before hastily packing his things, “Hey, Thup, get up.”

“Where are we going, sir?”

“To the hospital.”

“Why, sir?”

“To find out who that nurse is.”

And more importantly, to find out who this Aisuan is, why does he seem so familiar

  

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