Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Yak Nongyao

The evidence unit, police and forensic team rushed to the area after August disconnected the call. Less than twenty minutes passed before the place was filled with people moving around.

Say and Darin had to enter the area alone, so there was a loud murmur throughout the area that changed the lonely atmosphere there.

“How did you find this car? “The team has been looking for him for many days and has not been able to find him.”

“The ghost told him.”

"Hey?"

“Oh, Thup's ghost told him,” Say looked at the young man having a wound treated by a nurse, “What did you find?”

“Fingerprints and drug paraphernalia.” Say held up the evidence bag for Singha to look at. “I can definitely identify whose it is.”

“Well, I'll tell you my suspicions later. I have to go look for the last remaining doll.”

“Just looking for them almost kills you. If you find her, are you going to die?” Singha did not respond. He just looked at Thup, and thanked the nurse.

“I'll go see my mother.”

"Today?"

“Um.”

“Did I tell you that last night, when Darin was sleeping, he sleepwalked and talked?” Singha looked away to look at his friend, who was looking at Darin.

“What was he saying sleepwalker?” Singha turned to look at Darin, who was taking pictures around the place. Say didn't answer his question. He simply took out his phone and handed it to the person next to him, and played an audio, where Darin's voice could be heard.

Jijeruni citta ṃ nibbāna ṃ akaccāmi.

Beeeeeeep!!

The loud sound of a car horn echoed throughout the area, causing everyone present to turn around looking for the source, but they could not find which car it came from. Say and Singha looked at each other before silencing the phone.

“He sleepwalked a couple of times around 3:00 a.m. So, if you find something you can give the boy for protection, you better get it for Rin too.”

“So what else happened?”

“Nothing, but when I heard it, it was near the statue of Thao Wes Suwan, if that's what you want to know.”

“After I find the last doll, I won't be home for a few days.”

"Where are you going?"

“To Sisaket.”

“What will you do there?” Say turned to look at him. Singha put both his hands in his pockets and looked at the sky. His eloquent face flashed with a serious expression. I had rarely seen him act like this, probably the last time was when he was accused and investigated for disciplinary investigation

“Find the origin of the story. “I think it all started there.”

“Do you want Rin and I to go with you?”

"Alright. I don't know what I'll find. Dragging them with me

is probably not good.”

“But can you put yourself at risk?”

“Um,” the two friends looked at each other, and laughed softly together. In their work they always put their lives at stake, the worst that could happen was death.

After talking enough, August walked and stopped in front of Thup and looked at his face. He was sitting with his gaze on his right hand, which was wrapped in white gauze. “Did you get hurt a lot?”

“The nurse said it was just an abrasion. “It was probably from when we fell.”

"Thank you." Sing's words were soft, but they made Thup's eyes shine. The young man raised his head to look into his elder's eyes before facing him, at his full height.

“Why are you thanking me?”

“Because you pulled me in just in time.”

"Thanks to you too."

"Because?"

“For letting me take care of you.” Thup smiled so widely that his eyes almost closed. In this life he had never been able to protect someone because he was simply afraid. This had been the first time that he did not stand still, cry or run away after seeing the ghost, but instead turned his back and continued walking forward to protect someone instead.

“I'm going to find the last doll.” Singha put a hand on Thup's soft hair and looked into his jet black eyes with different shades of brown eyes. “Would you like to go together?”

“Come on,” Thup responded in a firm voice without hesitation.

…

When they left the place, it was almost noon, and August passed by a small food store on the side of the road, to find something to eat. Being chased by ghosts on an empty stomach was quite frustrating.

“Just order whatever you want to eat.” Thup nodded nervously and turned to ask the waiter for food. When he finished, the young man began to ask questions about the case.

“About what was found in Khun Min’s car, what do you think?”

“Judging by the appearance of his house and the words of his neighbors, I don't think he is a person who uses drugs. Otherwise, some missing evidence should have been found in his house.”

He assumed that the objects found could belong to the culprit, who sought to destroy the evidence.

“So, it means that Khun Min himself might have also disappeared into the temple, right?”

"It's possible. At this moment, the place that makes me most curious is that temple. Well, the most suspicious person is probably the abbot.”

“In addition to that, the temple apart from being a really good spiritual refuge, it can also be a good place to hide.”

“Each victim has a story of suffering and they all had things that worried them.” Thup sighed before putting some soup into his mouth.

“Hmm.” August took the case file, and read all the information, for example, each victim had problems in their life. I didn't know if that was what made them victims. Because after seeing that each one had not entered the temple and disappeared, there were still several days of coming and going before the incident occurred.

James is worried about the university entrance exams. When her sister said she was afraid she would not pass, she learned that she would probably attend the temple, which is the only one in that area.

Jom had financial problems.

Orn was in trouble because she became pregnant, but she didn't tell her parents.

Khun Min probably had problems in life, maybe with his family, from what his parents had told him.

Thee was still mourning the death of his wife. But Kaew, the fourteen-year-old girl. What problems could you have, when the family seems normal? The truth is that he didn't seem to have any problems.

“After I finish taking care of matters here, I will go to Sisaket. Do you want to go?"

“Are you going to investigate the policeman's house and the murder incident?”

"Yeah."

“So, what do you think we should go on?”

“Maybe by train? “I’m too lazy to drive.”

“So, should I ask uncle to come pick us up at the train station? “Uncle told me we could stay at your house.”

“I will be considerate. “I’ll rent a car and book a hotel.”

“But there aren't many hotels in that area.”

“Let's talk about it later. Now hurry up and eat so we can go to the next place.” He said when he saw that his plate of chicken rice was almost empty.

…

Singha's car was parked in front of the fence of a house whose garden extended for several square meters. The elevated wooden house inside made the atmosphere seem so lonely that it was difficult to bear.

“Is it okay if we go in?”

“Um, I called to ask about your kids. They will arrive in Thailand tomorrow morning. “This matter is urgent, so I can’t wait.”

"Okay, then let's go in."

"If you see something, tell me first, don't go alone."

"Yeah."

The two entered the house without needing to pick up the key like in the past, because Thee's children had told them where the spare key was kept.

The cool atmosphere after the rain and the coolness of the trees made Thup have to raise his hands and rub his arms up and down. Looking around, his eyes still didn't see any ghosts, spirits, or monks around here. It was probably because there weren't many deaths here. Nor is it a crossroads or a three-way road.

The house had a nice tile floor, he noted the decorative pots and plants in the garden. The garden is arranged in a well proportioned manner. There were plants that produced flowers, and others that produced beautiful fruits. You could see that the owner of the house must be a very hard worker.

The sound of the stairs creaking as he walked made him reach out to shake the older man's shirt.

“Is the only thing missing for Friday?” August said to break the silence, because he knew the boy behind him was shaking.

“Yes, it's the doll with the cow head, her name is Yak Nongyao and she is the Friday Mae.”

“What else do you know about her?”

“I know the general legend of Mae Thua. According to both stories and legends, Mhae is just an angel who helps protect the baby, I don't know. “I don’t understand why the person who did this uses them to do bad things.”

“So… you say Mhae is only used to help take care of the newborn, right?”

“Yes,” Thup responded as he watched the older man open the door to the house.

“Mhae, one name a day. And if you have them at seven, it means that the child would always be taken care of, right?”

"Yeah."

August didn't have time to continue asking, because the wooden door opened, and they entered. Inside were appliances and furniture arranged neatly, illuminated by sunlight.

Two open windows let the sun into the house. Surely Uncle Thee probably left them open before going to the temple every day, because... who would have thought he would never come back?

“Let's search calmly.” Singha said before walking to look, they passed Thup in front of the locker, next to the TV, there was a photo of the family together, their happy faces made Thup smile. But when he realized that there were two people there who would no longer have the chance to see their children, he became sad, since he himself had no father or mother either.

Suddenly, he heard a meow. He looked down and saw a cat rubbing on his legs. He squatted down and rubbed the body of the black cat that was curling up.

“Are you Uncle Thee’s cat?”

Bright golden eyes looked at Thup, and he walked towards the room to his right. Then the young man got up and followed him. The black cat stood in front of the door as if it wanted to come in, so Thup reached out, turned the knob, and pushed it in.

“This room belongs to Buddha.” Thup crossed the threshold before walking to sit in front of the altar table. The withered flowers in the vase indicated that no one had been here for a long time and the black cat from earlier came over and sat in front of the altar comfortably.

As for Singha, he was searching the bedroom, because it was the most private place. Normally, he had found the dolls in places like this. He walked and inspected the room carefully so as not to miss anything. He smelled a putrid smell, making him pause next to the bed, before opening the veil and looking at the dried corpse of a black cat stuck to the bed, making Singha sigh. It wasn't in condition like the one in the photo Darin showed him that he found in the temple. He seemed to have died a natural death.

Where was Thup? Where had he gone?

“Phi, I found her.”

"Where did you find it?"

“In that room.”

"How did you find it?" The expression of the young man at the door made August lower the veil on the bed.

“That cat took me there.” Thup stared at the bed, and turned to look at the ghost of the black cat walking comfortably between his legs. “I guess he died a long time ago. He was probably looking for his uncle to feed him, but when he didn't return, he went to sleep there because it clearly smells like an uncle.”

“Um, bring me the doll here.” Singha took the cow-headed Siakbal doll from Thup's hand and put it in a bag.

“Can I bury him? “It will only take me a moment.”

"Yes, come on, I'll go dig a hole for you."

"Thank you."

August walked out, but didn't bother to turn to look at his back. Thup lifted the veil and wrapped the cat's remains in a blanket to put it in his arms. The young man stood up and continued speaking to the ghost of the animal that seemed to be at his feet. Even though he knew he had to face things like this every day, Singha wondered how much it weighed on him to do so? But from the expression on his face, which although it seemed normal, showed cloudy eyes, he must have seen these types of lights all the time. He always dealt with life-threatening issues in his life, but never like this.

August used a shovel placed under the house to dig a hole next to a tree of the right size, finished in minutes. Thup then gently placed the body wrapped in white cloth into the hole. The young man raised his hands in prayer before smiling into the air in front of him.

“In the next life, he is born as a human being. There are lots of fun things to do, even if it is a little difficult. Then you can go find the uncle. “You don’t have to be here.” Thup reached out his hand and stroked the soul of the cute cat in front of him. It meowed pleadingly and licked the hand in gratitude, then its spirit disappeared. His mission was over.

"Then... let's go back." Singha said, looking at the young man as he walked back to the car in silence. On the way back to the station, Thup

seemed more subdued than usual. Until then, it had to be Sing who initiated the conversation.

“Do things like this happen to you often?”

"Yeah. The first time was with Oi, the first time I met him was probably when I was Says years old. He was a playful little puppy. He was in the temple, and on days when it was not so hot, he played with him until late, until Luang Pu arrived and said that it was just a spirit, because the puppy had been poisoned a month before. He wouldn't go anywhere because I wouldn't let him go. After that, I met others just like it,” Thup said as he looked at his own palm. It was something he had encountered many times. But he never quite got used to it: “Probably the only thing I'm not afraid of is animals.”

“If you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to force a smile. I will not say anything." Singha rubbed the soft strands of her hair.

"I am very afraid. I'm afraid that one day I'll see the spirit of people I know. “That scares me more than all the ghost sightings I've seen in the past.”

“At least you can say goodbye to them.”

“It's not that easy to say goodbye.”

“Um, maybe you're right.” Saying goodbye is really not easy.