Chapter 9: Chapter 8: Kindness combats possession

Thup had retreated after the terrifying incident a few hours ago, and was now sitting in the station inspector's office. The owner of the room is also there, but…

“Damn, I ran into a ghost,” Darin said.

“There are only corpses there, where are there ghosts?”

“If there is a corpse, there must be a ghost. The spirit follows the body, you know?”

“Then why is the spirit you speak of haunting you? Why don’t you follow the person who killed him?” Say raised an eyebrow at his friend who was about to start yelling.

“Well, I may not be able to go.”

“You're annoying,” Singha said quietly. But his eyes still did not stop reading the autopsy report that the medical examiner Say gave him.

“I actually ran into one.” Darin sat down and slammed the chair when he saw that none of his friends believed him. “If he follows me home, what will I do?”

“No, there aren't any following him,” Thup said quietly. But he still caught the attention of the three, who turned to look at him.

“What did you say handsome boy?”

“No one follows the doctor.”

"Oh really!?" Darin got up from the chair in front of Singha's desk to sit next to Thup on the couch. The young man nodded in confusion before looking at the older man. How did he know?

“He said he saw a ghost.”

"Where?" Say let out a laugh from his throat. His life revolved around science, and things that cannot be proven this way are beyond belief.

"Really?" But some people who choose to believe do so without reservation, like Darin. “Did you really see a ghost? Good heavens! You really see them, right? “At first, I thought it was a joke.”

“My name is Darin. You can call me Phi Darin.”

“Yes, Phi Darin.”

“Hey, are you sure this guy isn't involved in the case?” Singha protested.

“There were no fingerprints or DNA from him either on the rope or on the victim's body. Furthermore, the blood on this child's body was his own blood. I have read the test results.” Darin raised an eyebrow at his close friend and gave the boy next to him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“It is not difficult to falsify evidence.”

“Hey, can you stop making a villain out of the little guy. Also, didn’t you say that you checked the CCTV and that he was in his room the whole time?” Singha shrugged before continuing to look at the document in his hand. “Well, I guess he actually saw a ghost.”

Thup pursed his lips slightly because he didn't know whether he should confirm it or not. He didn't want to become a laughingstock in the eyes of others again.

“Thup, you are free then, could you go treat his wound?”

“What kind of wound?

“In his hand ,” August said without looking up. When Thup heard that, he opened both hands for Darin to see.

"What happened?"

“He dropped and crawled on the ground.”

“You are very funny today, why do you hate your Nong so much?”

“I don't think I hate him. He’s just frustrated because King is coming.” Say said, still not taking his eyes off the rubik's cube in his hand.

“King? Why does he come?”

“You just received notification that Mr. King is coming to take over the case.”

“Really?! Don't go beating him up again, okay?”

"I hope so." Say looked at his close friend who was reading the autopsy documents with a neutral expression, “But if you have any problems with him, they will probably transfer you again. After all, he is the commander’s son.”

“Oh, really, what are you talking about?”

“Last time, when he came to take over the job, it was you who was ordered to transfer.”

“Keep thinking like that, Say, what you wrote about what was in the stomach of one of the deceased, is it true?”

“Oh, it's normal food. No foreign matter or poison was found. Except for that kid named Cho who had a hallucinogenic drug found in his body, he probably started taking it a month ago.”

"How weird."

“What's strange?”

“The characteristics of the foods found are similar.”

“I don't think it's that strange, it's true that the stomach contents were similar. It's probably almost ninety percent the same. In particular, two of the victims, the girl named Kaew, and the transgender named Min.”

“The time of disappearance of the two people was almost the same,” Singha added. “Did you ask Lieutenant Khem to look up the history of the crime scene?”

Darin returned and sat back down in the chair in front of his desk to talk about serious matters.

“Here you are, this is the report the lieutenant gave me.” Darin handed three documents to the young inspector. “Damn, I'm telling you the truth. I think this case is strange.” He said in a suspicious tone. “Well, back then it was just a normal forest. But there was one year, when the police suddenly received the news that a woman's body had been murdered there and they could not catch the culprit. As soon as the news broke, people began not daring to enter that area until it was deserted. When the villagers did not have money to make a burial, they took the body to bury it there, and over time, that place became a kind of cemetery. As the days passed, there were more and more corpses. And they say that people who drove by used to encounter spirits that caused accidents, but it was decades ago. Now people have forgotten everything.”

“How detailed is it that you've read this before?”

“I didn't read it, I heard it from other police officers who have been here for a long time. “It was so scary I got goosebumps.”

“You really like this kind of thing,” Say said.

“Maybe the murderer also knows this legend. Otherwise, why else would I choose the same place?”

The listening figure nodded silently, alone, and only Singha noticed.

“I would like to have more evidence or reasonable suspicions. “Some things that happen may not make sense.”

“But catching criminals must have a reason. “Can you take a ghost and take him to court?”

“I'm not talking about a ghost. I mean people who use them.” As Darin finished speaking, the lights in the room flickered on and off, and the entire room fell silent. Before a knock sounded on the door, causing both Thup and Darin to flinch.

“Inspector, someone has come to see you.”

"Forward."

“Long time no see, August,” a deep voice murmured jokingly, greeting him as soon as he took a step forward, entering the room. The newcomer was a tall, thin young man wearing a jet black suit. Impeccable from head to toe. His black hair was combed to reveal his clearly eloquent forehead. A pair of black eyes stared at the object with the same cunning gleam as always. “Ah, hello Say, Darin.”

“Introductions are done, let's go,” Singha said as he threw the file on the table.

“We have to work together on this case. Is it okay for you to talk to me like that?” His voice was soft and contained a hidden pressure, causing August to use his tongue to push against his cheek to contain the irritability in mind.

“Wow, working with Mr. King. I guess I need to gather some good evidence,” Darin said before clasping his hands. “I hope we don't catch the wrong criminal again. I will hit you like last time.”

“You are very vindictive,” King said to the young researcher. He scoffed before looking at the unknown boy sitting on the couch. “Who is this person? I heard you were hanging out with a suspect. I guess it's him. Let's do this, if something happens, I will talk to the commander and tell him to transfer the case to me alone. Isn't that better? Or do you want to close this case together?”

August laughs to himself. before getting up from his chair and walking until he stopped in front of a person who was almost three inches taller than him.

“Go ahead, detective. Run back and accuse me of your father.” August replied. They were only a few centimeters apart. “Because if you make a mistake, you will have to answer to him alone.”

August slammed all the case files on the chest of the person in front of him before walking over and touching the collar of Thup's shirt to take it away.

“You can't take it anywhere. Because I must question him again.”

“The investigation report is there. Open your eyes and read it.”

“Take the suspects this way. You are not afraid?" Sharp eyes looked at the young man behind August. “If he really turned out to be the murderer in this case, his story would ruin you twice.”

While Singha was about to pounce on the person in front of him. Thup grabbed the older man's arm first.

“I can testify again. Alright."

“I'll read all the files and then have someone call you. In the meantime, don't take him anywhere, or set foot outside the station. Otherwise, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” King finished speaking and walked away, not forgetting to leave one last mocking glance at the others.

“Your friend is very angry.” Darin gently pushed Say's waist with his elbow. “Are you going to be his training partner now?”

“I'm on break, so I'll take him to the hospital to treat his injuries.” Darin approached and freed Thup from his shirt and took him by the arm until he left through the door.

August looked at the young man's back as he walked away with his friend. He came back and sat at the table, and looked at the case file from fifteen years ago, which he did not give to King.

"Relax friend. You are so angry that you can't control your temper again. This time, it’s not like you’re just moving.”

“Oh, I'm trying.” Singha rested his head on the back of the chair before looking up at the ceiling. “You checked the rope and what did you find?”

“It is manila rope, 36 millimeters thick. The rope has scratches as if it had been used as a device to lift the victim's body and then tie the end to the tree again. But it has no DNA attached to it. I assume the perpetrator was wearing gloves and, more importantly, all the victims had their nails completely cut.” Say got up and played with the rubik's cube in his hand. “Criminals know how to cover their tracks. So this is definitely not the first time.”

“Ai Mek said that this case occurred fifteen years ago but the culprit has already been caught. Five and ten years later it happened again, it is presumed that it was a case of imitation. I would like to ask you to check the autopsy results from five, ten and fifteen years ago.”

“If it's an old case, it will take a little time, you may have to do some back and forth between here and there to the Institute of Forensic Medicine.”

“Um, just investigate the similarities and differences. Because I think it's not a case of copycat murder. And I think it happened fifteen years ago too. I’ll tell you what I have.”

“It is appreciated.”

…

Thup walked down the hallway, listening to the endless stories of the people in front of him. He turned around and looked back many times because he didn't know which direction August would take. How would it be?

“Come in, little one, so I can dress your wound.”

The two entered the same hospital room where he had been examined. Once she was on the bed, Darin removed the now dirty white bandage and began to clean the wound meticulously.

"Where did you fall?"

"In the temple."

“Did you go to the temple?”

"Yeah."

“Did you go to the temple with the inspector?”

“Yes, Phi Singha went to ask about the missing person.”

“Oh, there are some missing victims over there.”

“Phi Darín, do you believe in ghost stories?”

“Yes I believe them.” Darin immediately stopped cleaning the wound on the young man's hand and looked at him. ”Do you believe in rituals? Oh, I'm going to get goosebumps. What do you want to talk about?"

“I don't know how to tell Phi Singha what's missing, because he doesn't believe me. I tried to tell him. He needed me to search the house of one of the victims. Could you do it?”

"Because? What is there?"

“I don't know, I just thought I might get something.”

“Singha and Say are the ones who don't believe in supernatural things. They say they are more interested in science. What kinds of things can be explained and proven? Regarding this, what kind of thing has a reason behind it? Before, I was simply indifferent, sometimes I believed or not, sometimes I believed until something happened. So I had to believe in these things. Be You better talk to him about this yourself. Ah, it's already settled.”

He had cleaned the wound and put a new clean bandage on it.

"Yeah."

“There is no need to be afraid of him. He has a bad mouth, but he is kind.”

"I think so."

“So where are you staying tonight? “I saw your bag in the office.”

"I do not know yet."

“Talk to Sing. “This guy lost twice to the commander’s son, but if you stay with him… he probably won’t say anything.”

“Are you sure?... I'm sure they'll just scold me.”

"We'll see. Right now, this guy is probably venting his emotions at the gym. Try to look for it there and you will see.”

“Phi, can you take me there? “I don’t want to walk alone.”

“Oh, don't look at me like that. My heart is all weak. I will accompany you there but I will not enter. He will end up facing me.”

“Is Phi Sing so cruel?”

“Sing? If you just practice, then it is tolerable. But if not, it's ten, no, twenty.”

“Can I change my mind about staying here on time?”

“It's late, boy. Because the beautiful Darin will help Say check the autopsy results. Get up and follow me.”

Thup walked behind Darin the entire way without being distracted and didn't turn to look for fear of seeing something that shouldn't be seen. Upon arriving at the gym, he heard a loud noise coming from inside. In addition, there are two uniformed police officers in front. One, very muscular and wearing sweatpants was looking through the glass door.

"What are you doing?"

"Doctor! I am in shock. Look at the inspector.”

“To the inspector, why?”

“The inspector broke one of the sandbags.” Darin nodded in understanding before turning and patting Thup gently on the shoulder.

“Listen boy, this sacrifice will benefit the people. Go be his training partner for a few minutes, he'll probably feel better. “Fight hard.”

"That?!" Thup raised an eyebrow at the doctor in confusion. But he was soon pushed to the gym.

He arrived with big round eyes and long eyelashes, meeting a pair of piercing eyes staring at him. Thup swallowed before walking towards August who had just taken the sandbag from him and then go get some water to drink.

"Why did you come?"

“Phi Darin brought me.”

"Salt."

“But…” the young man's words were swallowed as August moved his eyes to look at him, “I, I will be your training partner.”