Chapter 11: Chapter 10: The Crooked head of the tiger

After taking the money he found, he handed it to Lieutenant Khem and ordered him to deliver it to the family of the deceased, according to procedure. The young inspector took the boy to the interrogation room as ordered. And now he was standing, watching as he was interrogated by the leader of the investigation team.

“I have read the history and the report of the last interrogation, but if I ask again there will be no problem, right?”

"Yeah."

“Ah, even if there is a problem, I probably won't be able to do anything. It appears that Inspector Singha would be derelict in his duties by allowing a murder suspect to wander away.”

“Phi Singha was just trying to get me to relax,” Thup interjected almost immediately. This caused King to look at the young man with even more ferocity in his eyes.

“Phi? They’re already that close, right?”

August, who was in the observation room, cursed under his breath. He wanted it to finish quickly so he could leave, so he asked the sergeant who was with him.

“How long is your interrogation going to last?”

“Do you want me to come in and ask you, Inspector?”

"There's no need."

“Inspector, will you let this child return home? Because, no matter what happens, there is no evidence against him and he cannot be arrested.”

Singha did not answer anything. It is true that if there is no clear evidence against guilt, the suspect should be released. But I couldn't leave it. I preferred to continue watching him.

“This boy volunteered to help us with the case.”

"Hey? As?"

“He has information about the case that could be helpful,” Singha said. He spoke the words as he continued to stare through the glass. Even when he was the one who asked, using a child, he was still very possessive. Not to mention King, he has a temperament and mouth like a bloodhound, and the boy couldn't keep up with him.

“You have a career as an independent artist, so you must have a lot of time for other things, right?”

“I have a lot of work with clients. Both online and drawing on frames. If doing what the police say means going out to commit this crime, I would have to answer that it is not.”

“You know how to respond well. It seems that you have already been advised.” King looked at the mirror, knowing that August would definitely be there to listen. “In the document from the first interrogation, it said that you were at the crime scene before the police. I hope that now you will tell me what made you go there, if your answer is not the same, we will probably have to include Singha.”

Thup knows that if he answers like he answered August, the person in front of him probably wouldn't give him any chance to prove the truth like Singha would. But lying to him would be difficult.

“I knew there were bodies there before.”

“Have you seen this before? “You mean the murder five years ago?”

“No, it happened long before.”

“I know, I read about that research myself.”

“I know it may be hard to believe. But if you review the report that Inspector Singha has found, you should realize that it is enough to confirm that I did not do it. Even the autopsies themselves reveal the day each victim died. And most importantly, I am happy to be able to help Inspector Singha solve this case. "I didn't expect anything else."

Singha looked at Thup's serious eyes before looking at King's cold face. The two did not exchange words. They simply looked at each other. “Tell Lieutenant Khem to call me if all the search warrants have been obtained.”

“Understood, Inspector,” the officer responded. Singha smiled at the corner of his mouth before entering the interrogation room.

“Just in time August,” Duek greeted when he saw a new person enter.

“You can question this kid as many times as you want, it would be best if you just read the file and leave Thup alone.” Thup had followed his instructions.

"I have not finished. You can’t take the suspect anywhere.”

“This child is just a suspect, not an accused. If you're still not sure, look at the CCTV files and read the autopsy results. If you have any doubts, I can bring him back for you to question.”

“Then he must be locked up here.” King walked over and stood in front of Singha, his eyes showing disgust.

"Imprisoned? I wonder if you have become so accustomed to your power of weaving. Tell me, under what evidence do we lock him up? "It's been 48 hours."

“Just based on his behavior and his initial statement. Now you know."

"That you say." Singha approached him, before using his hand to brush the collar of his extremely expensive black suit. King didn't show any kind of bias, so Singha smiled at the corner of his mouth and said, “I'm the inspector here. This is my station. If you are not satisfied, go back and sue me with your father.”

King's shoulder was pushed with such force that he staggered. Singha took Thup and walked out the door, looking around.

The two walked towards Singha's car, got in and headed straight to the young inspector's house without stopping anywhere.

“Will this cause you any problems?”

"What kind of problem?"

“Problems with work and friends.”

“The law establishes that a person cannot be detained for more than forty-eight hours without evidence. And as for friends, he doesn't even fall into that category.”

Thup nodded in understanding. But hearing that, the feeling that there was something more between them, arose in the young man.

When he reached Singha's house, Thup took his own suitcase out of the car, he was nervous. I had never slept at a friend's house or anywhere else besides temples and their condo. He never knew how much fun it was to spend the night at someone else's house like he saw in the movies.

The moment Thup crossed the threshold, he felt as if a freezing atmosphere turned into a soft and comfortable breeze.

“You said you had no problem sleeping on the couch.” The person's voice made his consciousness return again. The young man looked around. He discovered that the house was not as he expected, but a little more complicated. What he had secretly seen before was only a fraction of it.

On the dining room table, one part was filled with various documents. and the other part was filled with cups of instant noodles and boxes of instant rice. In the sink there was a glass on top of several stacked plates. There were beer cans scattered in the corners of the house, but the truth was that there was paper everywhere, no matter where you looked. “That's the kitchen. That's the bathroom. Although it is strictly prohibited to go up to the test floor, as for anything below, just do what you want. In the kitchen, you can eat whatever you want, understand?” Thup nodded nervously. Until Singha said. "I'm going to bed."

Then Thup watched him go up the stairs until he was out of sight. He let out a sigh of relief before picking up the papers on the L-shaped gray fabric couch and placing them on the living room table. The young man couldn't help but look inside the house, which made him feel uneasy or anxious. It's great to feel that way. He had never encountered such a situation. After looking around the house again, he grabbed a colorful short-sleeved t-shirt. He went to the bathroom and changed. Since he had said that he would be useful, the first thing he did was clean the house of the person who sheltered him a little.

With her beautiful hands, she collected the trash and placed it in black bags. He collected all the documents and arranged them on the table, trying to organize them by categories.

Several beer cans were stomped flat and placed in a separate bag. The dishes stacked in the sink were washed until they were shiny. Using a broom and mop, he made the home that was full of clutter look clean and fresh. It looked more spacious now. He went to the refrigerator to get some water, and was shocked when he discovered that besides water, beer, and frozen food, there was nothing else. He wondered what kind of life this person really led.

When everything was in order, Thup lay down on the couch. He turned his body slightly to loosen his muscles that had worked for the last hour. But then the sound of someone coming down the stairs must have startled him, and he immediately moved to sit carefully cross-legged.

“Did you clean?”

"Yeah."

Shingha shrugged before walking towards the dining table. He looked at the documents that were organized into cases neatly. Most of the time he tends to take care of jobs that haven't been completed yet, taking the files home to complete them, and so they end up piling up. He would take care of everything at once, and although they were things that he had to take care of, right now, there is an overwhelming murder case, so he still didn't have time to take care of the work piled up at home.

“I brought you pillows and blankets, if you are hot, turn on the fan or air conditioning.”

“Hm…Phi.”

"That?" August looked at the young man who stood up to receive the pillow and blanket with sparkling eyes.

"Are you hungry? “I know how to cook.” Singha crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the table to get a better look at Thup. If it weren't for the fact that he always seemed dizzy and it drove him crazy, and that sometimes he looked a little scared, it was as if the boy in front of him had pricked up his ears at that moment, and was wagging his tail from side to side like a puppy. .

“No, I'm going up to work, don't be so loud.” August started to climb, but suddenly stopped. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

"Yeah?"

“You said you saw the ghost of a woman in the house of one of the murder victims. Did it look like the one you saw twenty years ago?”

Thup nodded.

“Do you remember what she was like?”

"I remember."

“Please show it to me.”

“Do you want me to draw it?”

“Um, uh, and also, do you have family or acquaintances in your hometown?”

“I have no relatives anymore,” Thup said sadly. “But there is a guy who knows me. Yes, uncle was a deacon at the temple while Luang Pu was still there.”

“Do you have any way to contact him?”

“Yes,” Singha took his phone and gave it to Thup. A thin hand reached out to take it first, then he wrote a number there and handed the phone back to the person. “His name is Sanak. He is no longer a deacon, he is seventy years old. Want a coffee? I also know how to make coffee,” August looked up and into Thup’s face.

“Wouldn't it be better to take some time to think about where you lost the amulet so you can stop chasing me?” After saying this, he went upstairs again.

The young man stared at him, and with nostalgia, he returned and sat alone on the sofa.

“And what will I do if I don't find it?” Thup muttered to himself in the silence.

…

August entered the work room next to his bedroom. The room was full of photographs and notes, held together by strings. He tried to find the connecting points of all the cases. But it just had the same old story. The young man sat first at the table, re-reading the report that summarized everything. I was pretty sure this case might not work. It started happening fifteen years ago. And the culprit could be a ghost. Suddenly, the phone on the desk rang silently. He looked at the name on the screen, and accepted without hesitation.

"Hello."

[Hello, Inspector Singha. Regarding what you requested, everything is already arranged, you can come tomorrow.]

"Thank you so much."

[However, he can be difficult to talk to. Prisoners do not talk to people outside, even if family comes to visit.]

“It doesn't matter, I think I'll make him talk.”

[Okay, then call me tomorrow when you arrive.]

"Yeah." Tomorrow we will know if the culprit they said they had caught is the real person or a ghost. His phone rang again. This time it was an unidentified number. Singha answered the phone before raising it to his ear and beginning to read the document.

"Hello."

[I want to talk to you.]

“What a waste of time.” Singha rolled his eyes as he heard the voice of the person on the other end of the line.

[If you hang up, you could miss important news.] When I was about to press hang up, Drew intervened first.

“If it's not about the case, I'm busy.”

[Are you busy, or don't want to talk to me.]

“I don't want to talk,” the direct response made the other end of the line chuckle internally.

[Where did you put that child?]

“Why do you want to know… King.”

[Come on...]

“Are you sure you want to use that voice on me?” Singha admonished him for the tone of his voice that the other party used with him, because it sounded like he was giving orders to a subordinate.

[I came to help because I wanted to make amends for the case first.]

“You don't need to, this is even more complicated than before. You can take care of search warrants.” August didn't pay much attention to the other end of the line because he was looking at the crime scene photos.

[If I do that, will I be able to talk to you later?]

“No, and even if you don't, you can't. Are you already out of business?”

[Where is that child?]

"At my place."

[Did you take him home?!]

“That's right… And?”

[Do you think it's a good idea to have it in your house?]

“I didn't think about it too much.” August stood up and turned on the computer, before clicking to view the image file of the evidence file, looking again and again to reveal the object he was looking for. While waiting to adjust the clarity of the image, he heard a sigh from the other end of the line.

[There is also a safe house. Didn't it occur to you to take him there?]

“Who do you think you are, King?”

[Someone you had something with before.]

“…”

[We need to talk.]

“If that's what you want to talk about, don't call me anymore. You will only waste your time.”

[Aren't you the one wasting your time with that murderous kid?]

Singha rolled his eyes in annoyance. He chose to cut off the phone for a reason. What he had found in front of him was much more important. The image was correct. There really was a doll, after he opened the website and typed the word “Sikkakban Doll” in the search box, it didn't take long before images of human-shaped but not very sharp clay dolls appeared on the screen. With a pair of sharp eyes, he looked at each character carefully. “The Sikkakban Doll. It is a clay doll that is molded by hand, it can be female or male, they are not sculpted with great precision because it is considered that they are made for ghosts. The word 'kabal' comes from the Khmer language, which means head. That's why dolls like this are often seen with a broken head or neck. Often broken. According to superstition, people often make this doll when they feel pain. Or it is meant to ward off bad luck, such as tricking ghosts and karmic enemies into following you. It is used to represent that a living person has given an offering and a doll to represent it. For this reason, these types of dolls are often seen in offerings, placed along the road. Sam Phraeng or on the floating river.”

When he finished reading what he was looking for, he compared the photos of the dolls on the Internet and the places where they were found.

"Is not the same. Is not the same." He murmured with a serious expression on his face: “The doll at the scene. His head was turned back, the head of a tiger. “The doll in the scene had the head of a tiger.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the glowing phone screen once more, and the message on it made him rest his arms on the table and let out a tired sigh.

Meanwhile, without him knowing, someone broke into the crime scene.