Chapter 22: Wasan's Trial

"After Tao was fired, we suffered a lot." Ging, who was Tao's ex-wife, said with a sad face. Rin turned to look at the girl playing with a doll next to her mother. "When there was no money to pay the debt, Tao worked as a drug dealer for a drug dealer in order to get money to spend. I didn't agree. We fought every day about this, but he said he had to do it for the money. One day, Tao came to me and told me about the doctor and the nurse who were killing patients at home. He said he kept his eyes on the two of them for a long time because they were the reason he was fired. Tao scanned the room. hospital and stole information from the hospital's medical records to observe them for days. He even knew about the psychiatric patient who had seen the doctor kill someone. He went to talk to the patient at his house. Tao was really obsessed with it. He intended to tell the police, but I stopped him because he was using and selling drugs himself. He could get caught up in the chaos. The reason he was shot dead could also be because he was involved with drugs."

"And what was the reason that made you decide to take your son and run?" Em, who was sitting next to Rin, asked.

Ging looked at her daughter, who was at a nice age, and spoke in a low voice: "He was on drugs and hurt our daughter and me," the young woman showed her arm that had scars from being cut with a sharp weapon so that Rin and Em saw it.

"I'm glad you and your daughter are still safe," Rin showed an empathetic expression towards the woman in front of her. "And you believe what Tao told you? That a nurse and a doctor killed patients."

Ging shook his head, "I don't know if I should believe it because sometimes he acted like he lost his mind. The only thing I thought about was getting me and my daughter out of there as soon as possible."

After talking to Tao's ex-wife, who moved with her mother to another district, Rin and Em returned to Em's car that was parked in front of the house. Em looked at the young woman's face who had questions since she left the house. "What's wrong, Rin?"

"Tao's book says nothing about wife and son abuse," Rin said. "On top of that, he also took drugs. Credibility is severely reduced."

"We can try what we have so far," Em looked at the doctor for a moment and reached up to stroke her head to calm her down. "I spoke to Deputy Superintendent Bird. You can report to him when you are ready. When the investigation into your father officially begins, we will surely be able to have more witnesses and evidence to fight in court."

Rin looked at the young man, "Thank you for helping me so much."

Em played with Rin's hair, "When you finish your mission, will you leave me and return to Bangkok?"

The woman did not immediately respond to Em's question. which made the policeman's heart sink. "I thought that at first, but now..." Rin looked at Em, "I'll think about it again."

"Think about it," Em grabbed Rin's hand and kissed the back of it. "Because now you have me as one of the factors in your life."

"Hooray... I really found trouble for myself." Although he said this, his face was filled with smiles.

Not long after the court dismissed Tao's murder case, Gunn received two more arrest warrants for attempted murder and intentional homicide.

To tell the truth, Gunn lost all the energy to fight. All the processes he had to face when entering and leaving the police station and the Court caused him pain. Every second of his was filled with sadness. The worst part was that Gunn was not allowed to examine the patients again, which made him feel worthless like never before. Although lawyer Woravej was so good that the court approved his bail again, Gunn could no longer live happily outside. I was so exhausted from having to keep lying like this.

The heavy storm when Gunn was standing in front of Wasan's brother's fence made his whole body wet from the rain. The once beautiful face was now filled with sadness. Gunn looked inside the house and only hoped to see at least Wasan's shadow. The doctor stood there for about ten minutes before Thongkham opened the door and came out with an umbrella in his hand.

"You shouldn't have come here, doctor," Thongkham said out loud to fight the sound of rain falling on the roof.

"Brother Thong, I have something I need to ask you to tell Wasan." Gunn grabbed the iron fence, "Tell him that if he thinks what I did was wrong, don't hesitate. I respect his decision." The young man released him and took a few steps back. His eyes were red. "I probably won't have the chance to talk to him again. I love him and I'm sorry for hurting him. He deserves to know someone better than me, someone who can really care for him body and soul. Please tell him... not to wait for me. "

As soon as he finished, her tears fell and mixed with the rain that washed his face. The doctor turned around and returned to his own car, driving away quickly. Thongkham's eyes followed the car in the blurry rain. His chest felt so heavy and he couldn't say why, "Don't tell me Dr. Gunn is going to..."

A few minutes later, Gunn's car turned and parked in front of the police station. His expensive soaked shoes led the tall figure inside. All the police officers turned to look at the incoming visitor, not only because he was soaked from head to toe, but also because he was Dr. Gunn, the man accused in so many cases that were like bitter medicine to all the police officers present.

Lieutenant Kong was the first person who ran towards him as if he didn't want Gunn to get any closer to the office, "Why are you here?"

"I killed Dr. Somsak." Gunn said bluntly, but the substance of what he said was as shocking as lightning. Lieutenant Kong's eyes widened.

"Do you realize what you're saying?"

"Dr. Somsak did not die due to complications from his symptoms. I disguised myself as an orderly and injected him with drugs while wheeling him to the general ward. His heart stopped beating shortly afterward."

Kong had never felt so shocked before in his life. Although he put up walls between Gunn and him all the time, he never thought that Gunn would say this from his own mouth. "You...what else did you do?"

"For now I'll just say this," Gunn looked down at the ground. Rainwater from her black hair dripped onto the ground. "I'm ready now. Let me pay for what I've done, Lieutenant Kong."

The warm breeze brought the scent of rain through the window of Wasan's house, which was completely silent at the moment as everyone inside the house, except Wasan, had already fallen asleep. The young man opened the door to his bedroom and walked slowly towards the shelf in the middle of the house. There were photo frames there that were placed in front of the coffins of Wasan's mother and brother on the top of the shelf. Wasan stood in front of the frames and looked at the photo of his mother's face with a heavy feeling inside his chest.

"Mom..." the young man's voice trembled. "When you said it was your decision, was it true?"

In that second, the warm breeze turned cool. Wasan could hear the sound of the wooden floor creaking behind him and then found that the surroundings inside the house became incredibly bright. Raweewan, his mother, in her beautiful youth, was dressed in white while sitting on a wooden bench. He had a thread and needle in his hand as he carefully patched his son's uniform that had a hole in it.

"Wasan, you ran naughtily and your uniform got caught on the tree branch. The uniform now has a big hole. Can you see?"

The young woman looked at Wasan and smiled gently.

"Mom..." Wasan walked towards the young girl and looked at her as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

"I already told you that I'm very happy now." The young woman stood up and walked towards Wasan. Her face was very beautiful and her skin was shiny. "I don't have pain anymore."

Wasan was stunned. Tears ran down her cheeks.

"Gunn killed you."

Raweewan shook his head, "It's not like that, son. Dr. Gunn didn't kill me. It was the cancer that was killing me. What he did was put an end to my pain. This was the best treatment the doctor gave me."

" The young woman used her hand to wipe the tears from Wasan's face. "

If I hadn't asked him, he never would have done it."

"What did the doctor do to you?"

"It's not important what he did. I want you to focus on the end result for me." The bright light around him dimmed and Raweewan stepped back to sit on the bench. He picked up Wasan's uniform and continued mending it. “You can try asking Thongkham and you will understand.”

GASP!

Wasan woke up with a start and jumped up to sit up while panting. His heart was beating fast and dizziness attacked him due to the lingering effects of the alcohol. Wasan looked out the window and found that it was already morning.

Since Gunm was arrested again and imprisoned without bail, Wasan fell into a state defined by everyone as "a big disaster." From a talented investigative inspector, he has now been demoted and his salary has been cut by the superintendent due to his inefficient work. At this time, Wasan had to stay at home all the time and was under the care of his brother and sister-in-law.

"You've lost a lot of weight, Wasan," Thongkham looked at his little brother in the same t-shirt that had become baggy and loose when it previously fit him perfectly. Wasan did not pay attention to Thongkham's words. He sat at the dining table and put boiled rice in his mouth, "Reduce the amount of alcohol and eat more rice."

Wasan put down the spoon when he still hadn't eaten half of the plate, "Let me ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Hypothetically, if Gunn... had really killed our mother..." Wasan swallowed and remained silent for a moment, "How would you feel?"

Thongkham put down the spoon and stared at Wasan's thin face: "You weren't there to see mom when she was experiencing the worst pain of her life. She was crying all the time. All day, all night. No matter what." "No matter what we did or how we adjusted the painkillers, the pain never went away. Mom asked us to do anything to stop it, she didn't want to suffer that kind of pain anymore."

Wasan was stunned. He stared vacantly at the rice that remained on his plate. “You mean you agree with the fact that Gunn killed mom?”

"I don't agree that mom was murdered, but I agree with the fact that mom didn't have to endure that pain anymore." Thongkham looked Wasan in the eyes and said, "Mom was at the end of her journey. Whether Dr. Gumn did it or not, she would have died of end-stage cancer anyway. Do you understand what I'm saying, Wasan?" .

Wasan stumbled upon hearing Thongkham's last sentence. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more, but Wasan couldn't say anything.

Thongkham stood up and put his arm around Wasan's shoulder, "I don't want you to think too much about Dr. Gunn. If he is guilty, let's leave it to the law." The older brother gently patted his younger brother on the shoulder. "I'm going out to the garden. If you want me to buy you something in the stores, you can call me. And finish your boiled rice."

Wasan drowned in his own thoughts after his brother left the kitchen. As a police officer, he was well aware that killing someone, intentionally or unintentionally, was illegal and punishable by law. However, what about the Gunn case? Did he break the law? The answer was "yes".

But was he wrong to be someone who understood death so well and decided to do something that he could do in some countries without breaking the law? Was he wrong to allow someone to perfectly dictate his own death with his dignity intact?

It wasn't just about her ex-boyfriend's fate, but also something ambiguous in terms of morality, society, culture, and her own beliefs. No matter which path has been chosen, there are some right and wrong elements to them.

And what about Wasan... What kind of judgment should I make?

"I'll take care of it for you," the thousand-eyed detective, Arsha, told Inspector Em over the phone while standing in front of Wasan's house. "I can't guarantee if I can get anything out of this or not. If he's really drunk then the only thing I can get might be his kick as a souvenir for everyone."

Kong took the liberty of opening the front door and entered Wasan's house. As Tum said, the glue that connects everything was probably Wasan. Although Gunn gave testimony that Wasan did not know and was not at all involved in the things he had done, Kong did not fully believe it. Wasan was one of the mentally strongest people Kong knew, if he could break himself that much then he must have known something that other people didn't know.

Today, Wasan seemed surprisingly refreshed. He left the house and went directly to sit on the bench made of bamboo located in the basement of the house and showed his hands for Kong to come and sit next to him. "Thank you for coming to visit me."

"I bought you some food, not alcohol." Kong held up the bags of traditional northern food he bought at the market for Wasan to see. "Northern food and a kilo of sticky rice to fill your belly. All of this has to be eaten, inspector. The laab at this restaurant is very delicious."

"Don't challenge me. I'm hungry very often these days," Wasan received the food from Kong. "Thank you so much."

"I'm relieved to see you eating deliciously and looking brighter." Kong sat next to Wasan.

"What do you want from me? Say it." The young inspector looked at the other person comfortably. "Someone like Detective Kong goes out to find information and never returns to the police station empty-handed, right?"

Kong smiled widely, "I was planning on coming here all dramatic, but I don't know what to do now seeing you so relaxed like this. I'll get to the point," the young lieutenant coughed. "At this time we are gathering evidence strong enough to confirm that Dr. Gunn actually euthanized his patient to add to one more allegation against him."

Wasan listened carefully to Kong with stable emotions: "With these accusations alone, he can no longer escape a life sentence."

"He won't be in prison for long, we all know that. Except we can confirm that he is a serial killer and that he has killed many people." Kong moved his hands to grab Wasan's arm. "It's okay if you don't know anything. But if you know and you haven't told anyone, you can tell me here. You know I won't judge you. We are good friends and we understand each other."

"Where did you learn to speak so well, Lieutenant Kong?" Wasan looked at his hands and was silent for a long moment, as if he were making a decision. In the end, he said. "Before returning to this house, Gunn gave me a key and an access card."

Kong's eyes widened because this was really new information that no one knew before. Not even the accused himself said anything about it. Wasan reached into his pocket and pulled out the access card and key to hand to Kong. The young detective quickly grabbed it to look and discovered that the key card belonged to S-Storage. "This is S-Storage, right? And you went and looked at what's inside?"

"I did it."

"What's there?"

"You better go and take a look yourself," Wasan smiled slightly. "I don't know if they will be useful, but this was the last thing Gunn gave me."

Kong looked bewildered, "And why didn't you tell anyone about this?"

"I wasn't in my right mind at first, Lieutenant. I forgot that I should have said this during the interrogation."

Kong felt strange, but he couldn't tell what it was. When he saw Wasan's unusually calm face, he became curious. It was as if the person in front of him had made a decision to do something and was very sure of that decision: "Thank you very much, Inspector."

Less than an hour after that, Kong traveled to S-Storage. After receiving confirmation from the staff that the owner of the rented warehouse was actually Dr. Gunn, Kong stood in front of that warehouse. The Thousand Eyed Detective did not hesitate and turned the key to enter the room.

Kong found a large gray plastic box in the middle of the empty room. The policeman's heart immediately started beating faster. Is this the glue you were looking for? Kong ran in and opened the lid without hesitation. The sound of the lid hitting the ground echoed throughout the area.

What was inside the box were needles, syringes and a box of rubber gloves, nothing more.

Flames were burning on a large pile of firewood that Wasan had built in the open area of a longan orchard. Wasan was standing there holding in his hands the vials of medicine with potassium chloride, morphine, midazolam, the documents he took out from the folder and the photographs he took out from Gunn's storage. Wasan looked at the photo above. It was a photo of him receiving the condolence wreath from Gunn. It took Wasan many minutes to look at that photo. He absorbed a variety of feelings and emotions. The initial sadness after losing her mother, the unfamiliarity with the new workplace and the slight excitement when Gunn reached out to ask for his number. After that, Wasan became this person's love. The person who made Wasan love him so much that he completely lost himself.

Whatever happened, it happened for a good reason because Wasan learned something that changed him forever.

Wasan threw Gunn's photographs and recordings into the flames. He then put the medicine vials on the ground and took out a hammer that he prepared. He raised it above his head and hit the vials until they broke into pieces. The clear liquid inside the vials splashed onto Wasan's feet while the rest was absorbed into the ground. The young man struck repeatedly until the pieces of glass mixed with the ground. There was no way to know what they were previously. At the same time, the flames devoured all the documents and photographs until they turned into ashes.

And this... Was Wasan's judgment on what Kantapat had done.