GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 8: Kind Hearted Mister Singh

Thup was downcast after surviving a terrifying ordeal just a few hours ago. Now, he was sitting in the inspector’s office at the station, with the room’s owner present as well, but…

“I saw a ghost, Singha.” said Darin.

“There are only bodies; where’s the ghost?” retorted Say, unimpressed.

“If there are bodies, there must be ghosts, Say. Spirits linger, you know.”

“Why would the ghost you’re talking about haunt you? Why not the person who was hurt?” Say raised an eyebrow at his friend who was getting all worked up.

“Well… maybe they can’t move on!”

“Annoying.” Singha muttered nonchalantly, still not taking his eyes off the autopsy report that Say had brought.

“I really saw it, Singha.” Darin slumped back into her chair as none of her friends believed her. “What if it follows me home?”

“Tha… that won’t happen.” Thup said softly, yet enough to draw the attention of the three towards him.

“What’s that, handsome?”

“Nobody followed you, Doc.”

“Seriously!” Darin moved from the chair in front of Singha’s desk to sit next to Thup on the sofa. The young woman nodded, looking up at the older man, “How did you know?”

“He said he saw a ghost.”

“Heh heh.” Say chuckled, his life always rooted in science; things like this, unprovable, were beyond belief.

“Really?!” But for some like Darin, who chose to believe, there were no conditions, “You really saw a ghost, Thup? You really saw it, didn’t you? At first, I thought you were joking.”

“Uh… well, you see…”

“Call me Phii Darin, go on.”

“Yes… Phii Darin.”

“Sure you’re convinced this kid isn’t involved in the case with how chummy you are.” Singha objected.

“There are no fingerprints or DNA from Thup on the rope or the victim’s body. Plus, the blood on him is his own. I’ve read the report.” Darin raised an eyebrow at her friend while confidently patting the kid next to her.

“Evidence can be faked easily.” someone pointed out.

“Hold on. You want this kid to be the villain so bad. We checked the CCTV, didn’t we? You saw he was in the room, right?” Singha shrugged and continued looking at his documents, “So, Thup, did you really see a ghost?”

Thup bit his lip slightly, unsure if he should confirm this. He didn’t want to become a laughingstock.

“Hey, Rinn, since you’re free, why don’t you go treat his wound instead?”

“What wound?”

“On his hand.” Singha said without looking up. When Thup heard that, he showed both hands to Darin.

“Oh, what did you injure yourself with?”

“I was crawling around on the floor.”

“You’ve been quite the flower today, Singha. Do you hate this kid’s guts or what?”

“I don’t think it’s about hating the kid; it’s more about being annoyed with that guy King.” Say said, not taking his eyes off the Rubik’s Cube in his hand.

“King? Why?”

“There’s just been an order for King to investigate the case.”

“Really?! Aren’t we going to end up punching each other?”

“We’re on pins and needles, waiting.” Say looked up at his friend, who was reading the autopsy report with a blank expression, “But if you get into trouble with him, you’ll just get transferred again. He’s the police commander’s son, after all.”

“True, Singha, last time he took your job, you got transferred.”

“We’ll see, Say, about what you wrote was found in the deceased’s stomach, is that confirmed?”

“Yeah, just regular food. No foreign objects or poison, except this kid, who had hallucinogens in his system, probably started using them about a month ago.”

“Weird.”

“What’s weird?”

“The type of food found is similar.”

“I found that odd too. While it’s not strange for foods to be somewhat similar, these are almost ninety percent identical, especially for the victims named Kaew and the transgender person named Meen.”

“Both disappeared around the same time.” Singha added.

“Lieutenant Khem said you want the history of the crime scene?” Darin walked back to sit at the front of the desk to discuss serious matters.

“Um.”

“Here, the lieutenant sent me.” Darin handed three documents to the young inspector, “Singha, I’m telling you, this case is weird.”

“Haunted forest?” Singha skimmed through the details before asking with a doubtful tone.

“Yeah, it used to be just a regular forest, but one year, suddenly, the police here heard about a woman’s body found murdered there, and they never caught the killer. Once the news spread, people started to fear going there, and the locals who couldn’t afford funerals began dumping bodies there, turning it into a sort of no-name graveyard. Over time, more bodies, and people driving by started seeing ghosts crossing their paths or chasing cars, causing accidents. But it’s been decades, and now most folks have forgotten about it.”

“You telling me this means you’ve read up on it?”

“Nah, I sat down with an old cop who told me about it. Creeped me out, man, gave me goosebumps.”

“You love these kinds of stories.” Say teased.

“I think the killer must know this legend too, otherwise, why choose that spot?”

Thup, listening in, nodded, but only Singha noticed.

“I want evidence or reasonable doubts.”

“Some things just happen without reason, you know.”

“But catching a killer needs reason. Can you take ghosts to court?”

“I’m not talking about ghosts; I’m talking about someone using ghosts.” As Darin finished, the room’s lights flickered, and everyone went silent until a knock on the door startled Thup and Darin.

“Inspector, someone’s here to see you.”

“Let them in.”

“Long time no see, Singha.” a deep, teasing voice greeted as soon as he stepped into the room. The newcomer was a tall, lanky young man dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His slicked-back hair revealed a sharp, cunning face, eyes gleaming with mischief as always. “Ah, what’s up, Say, Darin?” His dark eyes fixed on Singha.

“Show your face, finish the job, and get out.” Singha said, tossing a file onto the table.

“Do we really have to work together on this case? Is that the way to talk to me?” The voice, though soft, carried an undercurrent of pressure, making Singha bite his cheek to suppress his irritation.

“Working with you, King, we better keep our evidence tight.” Darin said, clasping his hands together. “Catching the wrong suspect again, and you’ll throw the mess over to Singha like last time.”

“Such a vengeful team.” King, the young investigator, sneered before glancing at an unfamiliar young man on the sofa. “Is this the suspect?”

“Shut up.”

“Heh, still as feisty as ever. Here’s the deal. If you keep opposing me, I’ll send it to the police commander and take over the case. Or do you want to solve it together? Your choice.”

Singha chuckled under his breath, then stood up and walked over to stand in front of the taller man.

“Go ahead, detective, run to daddy.” Singha taunted, stepping closer until they were just inches apart. “Because only your dad can turn your mistakes into victories.”

Singha slammed the entire case file against the man’s chest, then grabbed Thup by the collar, pulling him up.

“You won’t take him anywhere; I’ll interrogate him again.”

“The investigation report is in there, go read it.”

“Parading the suspect around like this, aren’t you scared?” The fierce eyes stared at the young man behind Singha. “If he turns out to be the killer, your record’s doubly ruined.”

As Singha was about to lunge at the man, Thup grabbed Singha’s arm.

“Sure, I’ll go give my statement again, no problem.”

“I’ll call for you after I’ve read through all the files. Meanwhile, don’t you dare step out of this station. I’m warning you.” King said, then walked away, not forgetting to throw a mocking glance at Singha one last time.

“Your friend is really heated up.” Darin nudged Say gently.

“Want to spar with him now?”

“Hold on, I just came from checking on a patient at the hospital.” Darin said, removing Singha’s hand from Thup’s collar and leading the young man to stand by the door. “Singha, I’m taking him to get patched up.”

Singha watched the young man walk away with his friend. He sat back down at the desk, glancing at the file from fifteen years ago that he hadn’t given to King yet.

“Stay calm, Singha. If you lose control again, it won’t just be a transfer this time.”

“Yeah, trying.” Singha leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. “What did you find from examining the rope?”

“It’s a thirty-six millimeter Manila rope, with marks suggesting a mechanical device was used to hoist the victim, then tied to a tree. No DNA, the perp probably wore gloves. Also, all victims’ nails were completely cut off.” Say stood up.

“The perp knows how to cover his tracks. This isn’t his first rodeo.”

“Merk said this happened fifteen years ago, the perp was caught. Then five and ten years later, similar cases occurred. It might be a copycat. Check the autopsies from five, ten, and fifteen years back.”

“If it’s an old case, it’ll take some time. I might have to go back and forth between here and the forensic institute.”

“Yeah, just find the similarities and differences. I don’t think it’s just a five-year copycat.”

“I’ll report back when I find something.”

“Thanks.”

Thup is following behind Darin, listening to her endless stories. He keeps looking back, unsure about Singha’s condition.

“Get in there, so I can treat your wound!”

Both enter the same medical room where they once had a physical check-up. After sitting on the bed, Darin carefully removes a translucent white plaster and starts cleaning the wound anew.

“Where did you fall?”

“At the temple.”

“You went to the temple?”

“Yes.”

“What were you doing there? Was Singha with you?”

“Yes, Phii Singha was asking about the missing people.”

“Ah, so some victims went missing around there?”

“…Phii Darin?”

“Yes?”

“Do you believe in… ghosts?”

“I do.” Darin immediately looked up from cleaning the wound.

“Then… Do you believe in rituals?”

“Oh, now you’re giving me the creeps, why are we talking about this?”

“I don’t know how to tell Phii Singha because he doesn’t believe me. Could you tell Phii Singha to search the victim’s house?”

“Why? What are you suspicious of?”

“I’m not sure either. Just… thought it might yield something.”

“Those guys, Say and Singha, they don’t believe in the supernatural. Say is really into scientific principles, likes things that can be explained, proven. As for Singha, he prefers things with a logical explanation, but before he was indifferent, sometimes believing, sometimes not, until something happened, and he stopped believing in all that stuff entirely.”

“What happened?”

“You should ask him yourself about it. Ah, looks good now, the wound dressing is way better than that silly plaster Singha gave.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be afraid of Singha, he might have a sharp tongue but he’s kind-hearted.”

“I think so too.”

“And where are you staying tonight? I saw your bag in Singha’s office.”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Go sweet-talk Singha, he can’t resist a plea.”

“Sweet-talk him? I’ll probably just get yelled at.”

“Give it a try. Right now, Singha is probably venting at the gym. Go find him.”

“Can you take me there, Phii? I don’t want to go alone.”

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, I’m all softened up now. Let’s go, but I won’t go in, or he’ll use me as a sparring partner.”

“Is Phii Singha really that fierce?”

“Depends on when. If he’s just training, it’s bearable. But if he’s in a bad mood, multiply that by ten… no, twenty.”

“Can I change my mind and stay here?”

“Too late, dear, because the lovely Phii Darin is going to help Say with some autopsy results. Get up and follow me.”

Thup had been following Darin all the way without making a peep or looking elsewhere, afraid he might see something he shouldn’t. When they reached the gym, he heard a loud crash from inside. Moreover, two policemen in tank tops and sweatpants were standing at the front, peering through the glass door.

“What’s going on in there?”

“Doctor! You scared us!”

“Look, inspector.”

“Why inspector?”

“Inspector broke one of the sandbags.” Darin nodded understandingly before turning to lightly pat Thup on the shoulder, “Listen, kid, this sacrifice will benefit the public.

“Go be a sparring partner for Singha for a couple of minutes; it might cheer him up. Are you up for it?”

“Pardon?” Thup raised his eyebrows in confusion, but before he knew it, he was pushed inside the gym.

His wide eyes met with the sharp gaze staring back at him. Thup swallowed hard before approaching Singha, who had just stepped away from the sandbag and was grabbing some water.

“Why are you here?”

“Phii Darin brought me.”

“Leave.”

“But—” The young man’s words were swallowed back when Singha flicked his eyes towards him, “I… I’m here to be your sparring partner.”

 

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