Chapter 6: Chapter 5: Information on the living and the dead

August raised the soda bottle to his lips to take a long drink. I thought it would be better if I could replace it with alcohol, but I was working.

After leaving the place, they went to a supermarket about two kilometers away. This was the store the taxi driver said he had gone to after dropping Thup off at the edge of the forest. There they met a middle-aged man, whom Singha asked some questions.

“Excuse me, I am Inspector August Singha. I would like to ask you a few questions. Last night between 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m., did you see a pink taxi? The driver was an older man, about forty years old.”

“A taxi… yes, I remember that. “He told me that he left a passenger near the Elephant forest, but he did not dare to stay there.”

“Did he talk about anything else?”

“We talk very little. He said he wasn't sure if he should return to pick up his passenger because it was too late and the area was not safe. “He didn’t dare drive there again.”

"Can I ask why?"

“Well, it is known that there was an accident in that area. I have heard from my father that in that area there used to be a cemetery for corpses without relatives before.” Singha immediately turned to look at the young man sitting in front of the shop. “It still surprises me what he was thinking about that passenger. When I asked, are you sure the man you picked up was a real person? “The taxi driver fled.”

“And in the last three or four days, did you see anyone else come here or go into the forest in that area?”

"No. It seems like it was last night when the police and ambulances were coming and going. Other than that, no one else. In this area, starting at midnight, everyone locks themselves in their houses and goes to sleep. “Last night I stayed late cleaning the store because I was waiting to watch the soccer game, that's the only way I could see the taxi driver.”

"Thanks for the information." Singha walked out before sighing and then discovered that the young man was still sitting there, his gaze blank. He didn't know what this boy saw, what he claimed to see or not, but based on the surrounding information, in many ways it was consistent with what Thup had said.

Singha took out a cigarette and held it in his hand before lighting it and inhaling the nicotine into his lungs. Now, it wasn't just a case, there was also a ghost story, but for a person who didn't believe in or take any religion seriously, things like this, it was all totally absurd.

“Inspector, do you smoke?”

“Yes, do you even want one?” August handed the pack to the young man sitting upright.

"No, I do not smoke." Thup said with a serious face. Before bringing their lips together, “So what do we do next?

“First I have to wait for the results of the autopsy. Right now I don't have much useful information.”

“What about what I told you?”

“…” White smoke rose and floated in the air.

“About the murderer chose that place because it was an old cemetery.”

“Do you think they would believe a child who says he sees ghosts?”

"...No."

“Well that.”

The sound of the phone ringing interrupted the conversation. Singha took it out of his pocket while blowing white smoke upwards.

It was a call from Lieutenant Khem, who reported on the progress of the investigation. According to his report, he had spoken with the families of three of the victims, obtaining information that the time of the victims' disappearance was not at the same time.

[Now I will go to the fourth victim's house.]

“Send me the information. I'll go myself. Also, I need you to find out about the crime scene, if that area was ever some kind of mass grave or not.”

[Understood Lieutenant.]

As soon as he hung up the phone, Singha quickly walked away and went to Thop.

"Get up, let's go."

"Where we go?"

“To the family home of one of the victims.”

“Um…and is it okay for me to go?”

“Were you the one who killed one of the victims?” Singha said as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him with a calm but understanding expression.

“I didn't kill anyone,” Thup himself responded in a firm tone.

"So get up."

The two headed to the house of the fifth victim on the list. The motorcycle stopped in front of a clean white house, in which there was silence, there were no signs of life. Singha rang the bell again and again, but no one came out.

Shortly after, someone appeared from next door.

“The owner of the house is not here.”

“Good morning, excuse me. Do you know who the owner of the house lives with?”

“With no one, live alone.”

“I am a police officer. If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you a few questions about the owner of the house.”

“Uh, but did something happen to Min?”

“This is currently under investigation. I can't give you details yet, but Mr. Phakaphong or Mr. Min, passed away.”

"Ha?! “Oh, it can’t be, officer, what happened?”

“Do you know his family?”

“I, I only know that Min left home because there was a problem to take care of. He happens to be a transgender person, but apparently his family didn't know it. Says has been renting here for months and worked as a car salesperson.”

“So, what day did he disappear from the house?”

“It should have happened yesterday. “I was going to bring her curry but I couldn’t find it.”

“Was there anything strange or did you see anything that you know and can tell me?”

“Nothing more than some labor problems here and there. “He is a kind and cheerful person who attends temples and practices regularly.”

As he listened, Singha nodded in understanding. “I can't believe it, the last time we spoke we said we were going to make merits together.”

“Have you ever seen someone come to your house? Or someone hanging around here?”

“As far as I know, I haven't seen anyone. I work online at home, and I haven't seen anyone strange.”

“Regarding the last time you spoke, was it before you left your house? Did he say something to you?”

The young woman thought a lot before answering.

“He only complained that he had bad luck, and said he would go to make merit in the temple.”

“What time did you leave that day?”

“About the Says and a half. He usually goes to work at seven, but that day he went early to make merit.”

“You were driving a car, right?”

"Yeah."

“If you remember anything else, I ask you to come and make a statement at the police station.”

"I will do that."

"Thank you."

Singha bowed politely before looking inside the deceased's house.

The phone in his pants pocket rang again. August picked it up and looked at the screen, although he already guessed who it would be.

[Inspector, another team and I went to question the other victim's family, and another group is at the police station.]

“See you at the station,” the young inspector said before hanging up. He went towards the motorcycle and cursed under his breath, because the young man who had been following him from the beginning was still standing in the same place and going nowhere… “Damn, what are you doing standing there? “Let’s go quickly!”

“In the house... there is someone in the house.” Singha frowned until they almost collided. He turned to look inside the house and saw only emptiness:

“No, it's not human.”

They both approached the window, and the young man grabbed the hem of his shirt, looked through the window, in a space between the curtains, to see inside. At that moment, Thup saw white eyes looking at him. The corners of his mouth slowly lifted into a satisfied smile, a smile that was beyond what any normal human could muster.

“I… I have to go in and check.” Thup's expression made Singha look inside the house again, but no matter how many times he looked, he could only see an empty house.

Let’s go, we don’t have a search warrant, so we can’t go in.”

…..

The bodies of the victims were transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine for preservation. Meanwhile, another body had already been taken to the laboratory for preparation, and they were about to begin the autopsy process.

“You bastard, you red-haired bastard, I'll sue you for doing this to me.”

"What did I do to you?" Say responded to Darin while putting on gloves.

“Why did they bring the victim's body here?”

"I already told you. There are so many corpses like this. I must finish the autopsy. Help me."

“Why don't you use your subordinates? Why do you have to drag me?”

“Come on, put on the suit and let's get started.”

“Damn it,” Darin cursed angrily before beginning to put on his work clothes. He had tried to escape this duty, but couldn't and ended up involved.

“The autopsy begins at ten and twenty-four minutes.” He held his hands tightly and looked at the body. “The victim is a man. Forty-three years old, with marks of having been strangled with a rope. He has a deep wound on his neck.”

As he said the words, the assistant took notes.

“So, that red thread, do we have to cut it?” Darin asked bravely.

"Do not be like that. Normally, if you come across something like this, it doesn't bother you. It seems like they sewed him up as if he didn't want to see anything. If I don’t cut it, how can I continue with the autopsy?”

Darin shook his head slightly before beginning to turn his body to look for other traces.

The autopsy continued as usual, but Darin was a little worried, more precisely scared, because his eyes had to be opened and his lips had to be sewn expressly with red thread.

The tip of the scalpel reflected the light shining on it as Say cut through the layers of flesh, from the collarbone to the stomach.

Darin raised his hands in greeting, before beginning to help his friend open the two chest plates to see the internal organs. His ribs were cut so Say could remove his internal organs for analysis.

“Does the deceased have any pathology in his or her medical history?”

“He had diabetes,” said Darin, who turned to look at the file and responded. Meanwhile, Say opened the deceased's mouth and discovered that he was wearing false teeth. “This person is not the first murder case.”

“Sure enough, the other two people in the tank had worms.”

“Have you sent the worms to Entomology yet?”

“I sent them.”

Say scraped the wall of the victim's stomach and placed it in a bottle, before handing it to a subordinate holding a camera to take to the toxicology department. “Please analyze and give me a list of all the medications the deceased took.”

“The food was not chewed well. Plus, he's also diabetic, which probably makes his digestion slow, there were still pieces of chicken left,” Say said before shaking his head slightly.

Once finished, all that was left to do was cut the red thread in the eyes.

"Scissors." Say took the scissors from his close friend and Darin placed them under the threads in the victim's eyes, soon they were cut, and suddenly, the lights in the room went out.

"Shit!!! What the hell ?!"

“Only the power went out. “Why are you screaming?”

“Where has there ever been a power outage here?!” Darin shouted before he began to extend his hand. Shortly after, all the lights in the room came back on. Darin, who fell to the ground, held his wrist with a surprised expression on his face.

“Just now, did you hold my hand, Say!?”

“I'm holding a pair of scissors. How can I do that?"

“Someone just grabbed my hand!” Darin looked at the body on the autopsy bed before leaving. “You shouldn't have cut it!”

“Get up,” Say put down his scissors and walked over to help his friend up. “You may have accidentally touched the victim's hand. If you can't stand it, wait outside. “I will proceed with the autopsy.”

Darin slowly stood up before looking at the corpse that was in the same condition as before the lights went out, only the left eye had a cut thread. He swallowed before pursing his lips tightly.

"Can I stay." After all, he is a doctor. Abandoning homework in the middle of class is not his nature.

A shiver ran down his spine causing Darin to look behind him, but found nothing but emptiness. At first this case was said to be strange, but the more you investigate, the more you solve, and the more you search, the stranger things become. He barely knew what he was fighting.

A murderer who is still a person. Or were they struggling with something beyond death?