Wednesday, 22nd April
In the morning, they went to meet the owner of the shop, Mark greeted him and then sat down and asked him: How do you know Mr. Max?
He replied: As I told her before, Mr. Max worked for me for four years and then disappeared in 2019 and I haven't heard anything from him.
Then he asked: How was your relationship with him? Did you notice strange people around him or strange behavior before his disappearance?
Sarah: He told me earlier that my father had a man with him all the time.
The shop owner wondered: Mr. Max is your father! Are you Mrs. James' daughter?
She was amazed: You know my mother!
Nod: I didn't expect you to come here after you got the letter.
" Wait! You're Mr. Tan!" she said with astonishment.
He said: Yes. I am the one who sent the letter, but I didn't receive a response from her. Is she okay?
She replied: She died in a traffic accident... Can you tell us why my father came here?
He nodded: He told me that he had come to Thailand because he was looking for work and then he began to investigate with that detective to help him solve a complex case.
He asked him: Do you know anything about the case they were working on? Or who is the investigator?
He replied: I don't know the investigator because I didn't meet him personally, but they were working on the case of Mary's disappearance.
They wondered: Mary?! (she turned to him and said): I hope my father didn't get involved in serious problems!
He asked, "Who is Mary?"
Mr. Tan replied: She's my granddaughter Jane best friend. Mary disappeared in 2012 nine years ago and Jane was constantly looking for her. At that time no one believed her and the police said that Mary had run away. Mr. Max heard about her case and joined to help my granddaughter.
'Miss Jane,' Sarah advanced, ' your granddaughter! What a small world!
Mr. Tan asked: How do you know my granddaughter?
He replied: She helped me with a case.
Then they continued walking until they reached the house and stopped in front of the gate, and she said: This is the house, not far from the market.
He looked at the gate and it was worn out and old, and there were traces of dents, and the mailbox, which was not different from the gate except that it was full of letters. Then he asked: How was the gate when you first came?
She replied: As it is now. I pressed the bell twice, then I was surprised that it was already open. But beware, there is a loose dog running in the yard.
He peeked and found the dog sitting in front of the house, looking left and right. Mark straightened his stance, then said: Where did you say you found the dog?
She replied: When I opened the bedroom door.
Speaking to himself, he said: The dog was deliberately imprisoned to keep people away from the room.
She looked at him: What are you mumbling! Shall we go in?
He answered her: "I will go in first to control the dog. Wait for me here."
After a few minutes he shouted, "Come in!"
Then they crossed the yard of the house full of junk and rubbish, then entered the house and she told him: "I have a theory, I think there were two people who were sharing the house, because of the belongings left, there are two of everything."
He put his hands in the pockets of his pants and answered: The gate to the house was open, that meant anyone could enter and live here.
She advanced towards the bedrooms and said annoyed: This smell is still spreading... (Then she continued): Not with this dog here! Then what about Mr. Tan's statement and the picture, there must be something connecting them.
Pay attention to her words and a strange feeling, he entered the bedroom in which the dog was and looked carefully and then said: Well, suppose your father lived here, who is the second person?
She stood at the doorstep and just said, "Perhaps the man that Mr. Tan mentioned, or the girl who was with my father in the picture."
He looked up at the closet, surprised: you were right. There was someone else.
She noticed his facial expressions and understood what he meant then he said: Can you wait for me outside. I'll join you in a minute.
She nodded in agreement and left, he put on gloves and went to the wardrobe and opened it, the body was completely wrapped in plastic and the victim's eyes were open, Evidence that he died of suffocation, he took it out and put it on the floor .He took pictures of everything and sent the data to the police station, inspect the body carefully and watch for something in his hand, but he cannot take it out because this is a corruption of the crime scene.
Then he got up and inspected the room well and found some scraps of paper hanging on the wall, saying: there were papers hanging here, but they were quickly ripped off.
He continued searching and opening the drawers, he found a worn-out book. He browsed through it and found one of its pages torn. Look closely, saying: "16.15.11".
He tore the page following the missing one, then went out and found her sitting on the doorstep: You said you had come before this time; did you find anything strange then?
She got up: nothing but those trash and broken windows, the dog was trapped inside and when I opened the door he followed me until I came out of the gate. Do you think the body was there then? But why is it here? It's an abandoned house and anyone can enter.
He replied: They use this house as a storeroom, the smell you smelled was the smell of chlorine, they used a lot of detergents so that no one would smell the corpse.
She replied anxiously: If this man is killed here, then my father...
He continued: Don't worry, I will help you find your father, but first we must get out of here, you can never go back to this house again.
She nodded in agreement and asked: But what about the corpse, won't you report it?
He said: I have already submitted the report, it will take time, but we will find the killer.
They left the house and went to a restaurant. Mark returned to the table and said: Who would have expected that Mrs. Valen 's last victim would be the granddaughter of Mr. Tan, Jane.
She nodded in agreement and said: You are right, he must have been worried when he heard the news.
Then he said: In the house before, you mentioned a girl with your father in the picture. Can you explain?
She replied: Of course, when I searched among my mother's books, a picture of my father fell and there was a young girl standing next to him, I think she is two years older than me. Behind the picture, this is what was written "12.1.23.1.14.3.1.16.20.1.9.14", after I analyzed it, the result was "Captain Lawan".
He said: This is how you reached the Commander then.
She replied: Exactly! My mother mentioned his name in her letter and asked me to meet him, but Mr. Lawan doesn't seem to know much.
Then he asked her: Is there anything other than the letter and the picture and the phone?
She replied: Yes, the kingdom of rhetoric.
He asked: What is that?
She replied: The kingdom of rhetoric consists of three books.
He said: Is there something special about the three books?
She replied: Certain numbers were written in each book that indicated the year of my father's birth. I don't know exactly what is special, but I searched and read them. The first book (ECADOLI) talks about the conflict between good and evil, and the second book (OPAL) talks about the struggle over prestige and kingship, while the last (AMANOS) talks about the conflict between the individual and the society surrounding him, I did not find the relationship between them and the cause of my father, or why she chose them in particular.
He returned the phone to her, saying: These numbers must have led you to another puzzle.
She nodded: Don't remind me! It turned out later that my mother rented a safe in the bank and put this phone in it. The password is 3962.
He told her in a serious tone: Your mother must have reached a big issue, which made her take such a step.
She said: That's right. I hope we get to something... (Then the alarm rang, and she said): Let's go to the hospital to see Jane.
They got out of the car and went to the emergency department, he asked the receptionist: Please excuse me, I'm a detective in the police station, can I meet Miss Jane, she's a nurse in the emergency department.
She told them to go to the waiting room, the employee went to Jane and told her: Miss Jane, there is someone waiting for you in the waiting room, a detective from the police department and a young lady.
She went to the hall looking around, then Sarah noticed her and stood, then they all went to the nearest cafe to talk, Sarah sat next to him and in front of them Jane, saying: I can't believe we met again after that terrible night.
She said: Yes, the detective Mark told me what happened, thank God for your safety.
She smiled, "Thank you." I know you're not here to ask me how I'm doing, so what's the urgency of waiting for me?
He replied: There is a case, and you are maybe the connection that leads us to the truth.
Sarah took the picture out of her bag and handed it to her. Then she said: Do you recognize this picture?
Her expression suddenly changed and then she said, "Yes, it's a picture of my friend Mary, and this is...Mr. Max."
Sarah: Do you know my father?
Jane wondered: Are you his wife's daughter?
She nodded: Yes, I'm here because I'm looking for him. He disappeared five years ago and no news of him.
She looked at the picture and said, "He was helping me find my friend Mary, but I stopped looking."
She asked her: Why did you stop looking for your friend?
She replied: I was afraid. I almost lost my life, I didn't want to give up, but... What's the point of looking for someone who might not be alive anymore or has gone far away.
Sarah stared at her glass and then looked at her: If I were your friend, I would want to be found and not ignored as if I were nothing. That is true, the chances of finding them may be low, but we must search for them and find them even if they are not with us anymore. so that their souls and our consciences can live in peace.
She got up and left, so he got up in turn and said: "Thank you for your time, we must go."
She was walking with him with an expression of sadness on her face, he didn't know how to console her, only looking at her straying, thinking about what Nurse Jane had said.
After a while she stopped when she noticed that she was walking without a destination, she turned to the right and found him standing next to her, she asked: How did we come here? Did I keep walking with my mind wandering?
"Yes," he nodded, "how about we get some ice cream?"
They sat eating ice cream, and he said to her: Don't think too much about what people say and focus on what is in your hands until you reach the truth. you didn't go all that far to listen to what others say, right?
She looked at him and smiled: You are right.
***