Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Crime Scene

The moment we landed, Sky wasted no time assigning tasks.

“Joong, Dunk—head straight to the local police station. Get everything they have on the case and send the details to Perth back at the office,” he ordered, his tone firm.

“Roger that, boss,” Joong replied, already moving. He practically dragged Dunk along, the younger man groaning in protest.

“You already slept two hours straight on the plane. Isn’t that enough?” Joong scolded.

Dunk, still half-asleep, groaned. “Sleep doesn’t fill my stomach. Can we eat first? I’m starving. More than 48 hours and all I had was a sad little energy bar. I don’t even have the energy to talk anymore.”

Joong rolled his eyes. “You? Running out of energy to talk? That’ll be the day.” He pulled an extra granola bar from his pocket and tossed it at Dunk’s face. “Here, eat on the way.”

I watched them go, a small smile tugging at my lips.

For the past year, my real job wasn’t just handling small assignments—I was observing my team.

P’Joong, our vice-captain, was the squad’s backbone. He looked after everyone, especially Dunk, treating him like an annoying little brother he couldn’t help but dote on.

Dunk, meanwhile, was the squad’s joker—always complaining, always causing a scene. But when it came to investigations, his instincts were razor-sharp. People underestimated him because of his antics, but I had seen him put together cases faster than anyone expected.

Perth was quiet but reliable. He was always in the background, handling support work and tech analysis. He rarely spoke unless it was about something important—but the one thing he did care about was Santa.

Santa was… complicated. A tsundere if I had to describe him. He acted cold, but nothing escaped his sharp eyes. He and Dunk bickered like an old married couple, but without them, the squad room would feel lifeless—like a morgue.

This was my team.

And now, for the first time, I was working directly with Captain Sky Wongravee.

---

The Ride to the Crime Scene

The city stretched out before us as Sky drove, the early afternoon sun casting long shadows across the quiet streets of Narathiwat.

I sat in the passenger seat, my hands resting lightly on my lap, trying to ignore the occasional sideways glances Sky kept giving me.

It was… weird.

Sky had never really looked at me before. Not like this. Not like he was watching, assessing, trying to figure me out. Usually, his attention was clipped and professional—Hirunkit, do this. Hirunkit, report that. But today, there was something different in the way he kept flicking his gaze toward me between turns.

I wasn’t sure if it made me nervous or if I… kind of liked it.

The silence stretched between us, thick and heavy, until—

“Are you hungry?”

I turned to him, a little startled by the question. It was so casual, so normal.

I nodded slightly. “A bit.”

Sky hummed in acknowledgment, then, without another word, pulled off the main road and into a small street lined with food stalls.

I blinked in confusion. “Captain?”

“You said you were hungry,” Sky said simply, parking the car.

I hesitated. I hadn’t expected him to actually do something about it.

We walked up to one of the food stalls, where a woman was busy serving plates of steaming chicken rice. The scent of warm broth and freshly cooked jasmine rice filled the air.

Sky glanced at me. “You wanted chicken rice, right?”

I nodded, unsure why my chest felt a little warm.

Sky ordered for both of us, then gestured for me to sit at one of the plastic tables nearby. I slid into the chair cautiously, watching as Sky placed a bottle of water in front of me.

I stared at it.

“…What?” Sky asked, noticing my expression.

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

It was just… weird. He had never done something like this for me before.

A moment later, our food arrived, and I picked at my chicken rice quietly while Sky ate in calm, methodical bites.

Then, without looking up, he asked, “Where are you really from, Nani?”

I froze for just a second before responding. “Chiang Mai.”

Sky hummed, taking a sip of water. “You lived there until you joined the academy?”

“Until I was nineteen,” I corrected.

Sky’s eyes flicked up, sharp as ever.

“And then?”

I kept my expression neutral. “I moved.”

“Where?”

I hesitated just long enough for Sky to notice.

He leaned back slightly, his gaze thoughtful. “Your file barely has anything before you joined my squad.”

I didn’t respond, taking another bite instead.

Sky exhaled softly, setting his spoon down. “It’s strange. You don’t talk about your past. You don’t seem attached to anything. Even now, you only brought one spare outfit on this trip.”

I gripped my spoon tighter. “I don’t like carrying unnecessary things.”

Sky tilted his head slightly, studying me. “You mean you don’t like carrying attachments.”

His words made something tighten in my chest.

I kept my face carefully blank, but inside, my thoughts raced. He was too perceptive. Too close to the truth.

Sky didn’t push any further, but he let his words linger in the air between us.

And strangely enough… he didn’t seem angry or suspicious.

It felt like he was just trying to understand me.

That made my stomach feel weird.

I wasn’t used to that.

The drive to the crime scene was quieter, but this time, it wasn’t the uncomfortable silence we had before.

It felt… softer.

Sky didn’t say anything else, but I caught him glancing at me again.

Not with suspicion. Not with cold calculation.

Just looking.

It made my ears feel warm.

I pressed my forehead against the cool glass of the window, hoping it would calm whatever was stirring inside me.

I was used to being watched. Being hunted. Being calculated.

But this… this was different.

And I wasn’t sure what to do about it.

---

The crime scene

The scent of burnt metal, gasoline, and something acrid hung thick in the humid air as we stepped past the yellow police tape. The third bombing site—the Narathiwat Bus Terminal—still bore the scars of the attack from two days ago.

Despite the cleanup efforts, the pavement remained charred black in a jagged radius around the blast site. Glass from shattered bus windows crunched underfoot, and the back half of the vehicle—where the explosion had originated—was twisted, its luggage compartment torn apart by the blast.

Sky walked ahead, flashing his badge to the officers on site. A man in uniform, likely a local investigator, approached us, nodding in acknowledgment.

“You’re the team from HQ?” the officer asked.

Sky nodded. “Captain Sky Wongravee, Special Investigations.” He gestured toward me. “Officer Nani Hirunkit.”

I bowed slightly, offering a polite greeting.

The officer exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ve already cleared most of the debris and collected the bomb fragments, but to be honest… we’re still hitting dead ends. We’ve got conflicting witness reports, no surveillance footage of the planting, and the forensic team hasn’t given us anything conclusive.”

Sky’s gaze flickered across the wreckage. “Where was the bomb placed?”

“Luggage compartment, right in the center,” the officer said, pointing to the charred remains of the storage area beneath the bus. “Based on the blast radius, it was either a pressure-triggered device or a remote detonation, but we don’t have enough to confirm which yet.”

Sky hummed thoughtfully before turning to me. “What do you see?”

I hesitated for only a second before stepping closer, scanning the area carefully.

The burn pattern on the pavement.

The twisted metal of the luggage hold.

The shockwave damage—not completely symmetrical.

I crouched near the remains of the bus, running a gloved hand along a warped piece of steel. I didn’t speak immediately, choosing to piece together my thoughts before answering.

“The explosion wasn’t meant to destroy the entire bus,” I murmured. “If they wanted to cause mass casualties, the bomb would’ve been inside the passenger cabin or closer to the fuel tank.”

Sky stepped beside me, his arms crossed. “Then what was the goal?”

I tilted my head, focusing on the luggage area. “They weren’t aiming for random casualties. They were targeting something—or someone specific.”

Sky studied the damage alongside me. “What makes you think that?”

“The placement,” I said, gesturing toward the compartment. “A luggage hold is an odd place to put a bomb unless you’re targeting a particular bag or someone traveling with that luggage. The bomber didn’t want to take down the entire bus—just a specific section.”

Sky’s brows furrowed as he considered my words.

I stood, turning toward the officer. “Where was the victim who died?”

The officer flipped through his notes. “His name was Tuman Wichit, 42 years old. He was seated toward the middle of the bus, directly above the luggage compartment. He was one of the five injured and later died in the hospital.”

Sky and I exchanged glances.

“That can’t be a coincidence,” I said.

Sky nodded. “P’Joong is already pulling his background. If this was a targeted hit, then we need to figure out why.”

I turned back to the bus, something nagging at me. I scanned the shockwave damage again—the way the metal had bent, the pattern of the scorch marks.

The bomb hadn’t been at the bottom of the compartment. It had been placed higher up—likely inside a suitcase or duffel bag, positioned toward the middle section of the luggage area.

I glanced at Sky. “Do we have any surviving luggage from the scene?”

The officer nodded. “Some of the less-damaged bags were collected for evidence. Most were burned beyond recognition, but a few were recovered.”

“Where are they now?” Sky asked.

“Local station. We can have them brought over if needed.”

Sky nodded. “Do it. We need to check for traces of explosives or items the victim might’ve been carrying that made him a target.”

---

Sky’s POV

Nani wasn’t just following orders.

He was thinking ahead—putting pieces together before I even asked him to.

I had expected him to be careful, maybe even hesitant, but the way he analyzed the crime scene was methodical, efficient—like someone who had done this a hundred times before.

Not just as a cop.

As something else.

I watched as he traced the burn patterns on the pavement, his fingers barely skimming over the edges of the wreckage. His precision was too practiced to be luck.

This wasn’t just textbook training. This was lived experience.

And that… unsettled me.

Chief Sakda’s words echoed in my head. “Give him a chance. He can be useful.”

Useful, huh?

I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting when I brought him along. But now, as I watched him work, I realized something.

I wasn’t the one observing him.

He had been observing all of us—this entire time.

---

The Breakthrough

A phone rang, shattering the silence.

Sky pulled out his cell. “P’Joong, tell me you have something.”

P’Joong’s voice was brisk. “Tuman Wichit. He wasn’t a random passenger. He used to work for the Kuapha gang, the group fighting the Raksin gang for territory. Specifically, he was a money launderer—handled accounts, finances, and a lot of dirty money before he supposedly left that life behind five years ago.”

Nani’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“He was targeted,” I murmured.

“Looks like it,” P’Joong confirmed. “It’s possible Raksin took him out as revenge—or to silence him before he could expose something.”

Sky ran a hand through his hair. “Which means this isn’t over.”

“This wasn’t just a bombing,” I added. “This was an assassination.”

Sky nodded, already processing the next steps.

“Alright,” he said. “Joong, keep digging. Find out who he was last in contact with and if he had any remaining ties to Kuapha. If he was carrying anything important in that luggage, we need to know what.”

“On it.”

Sky hung up and exhaled sharply. “Looks like we have a new problem.”

I nodded, my mind still racing.

Something about this still didn’t sit right.

The bomb placement.

The precision.

The efficiency.

This wasn’t just gang warfare. This was something else.

And I had the sinking feeling that we were running out of time to figure out what.