Dare You To Death: Solve the Mystery, See the Death.

Investigation Part 17

 

Khamin, Jade, Mirin, Manmai, and Thanakun stood looking at the body that had just been placed on the autopsy bed a few minutes earlier. It wouldn't be quite right to call it a body, as pieces of skin and organs were piled up on another bed as well.

 

“There’s still acid stuck inside and around the meat, so let me handle it alone. If you have any questions, just ask,” Thanakun said before putting on a mask, gloves, and goggles and starting to use the tongs to examine the various parts.

 

"What kind of acid can destroy tissue like this, Arin? Oh, Miss Mirin," Manmai asked in a trembling voice before turning her face away, not wanting to see the scene in front of her anymore.

 

“I think it’s partly sulfuric acid.”

 

“Part of it?”

 

"Um"

 

“I agree with you, Mirin. Look here,” Thanakun pointed to the corpse's arms, midsection, and thighs, which had begun to turn grey and black in parts. “The sulfuric acid will turn the skin white, grey, and then black. But in areas beyond that, like here, here, and here, the corrosive is too severe. If that's going to happen, we'll have to soak it for a week.”

 

Instead, you use a small metal rod to point at your ankles, wrists, neck, and face, which have wounds from the acid that have eroded to the bone.

 

“I’ve sent some tissue samples to the lab for testing. If I get any information, I’ll let the lieutenant and the captain know.”

 

"Yes"

 

"Acid corrodes glass." Jade, who had been standing there quietly since he entered, suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to turn to look.

 

“Hmm, that’s possible. Hydrochloric acid itself can cause severe tissue death if it comes in contact with the skin. I’ll check it out,” Mirin said in agreement.

 

Bell said again, "This kind of acid can be bought normally, but in controlled quantities. Who would be able to buy so much that it could be used to soak a corpse?" Mirin looked at the corpse.

 

"I don't know what the murderer has against these children. Why is he so cruel?" 

 

Manmai sighed. She had never dealt with such a violent case since joining the forensic unit.

 

"What about this piece of paper?" Thanakun handed Khamin an envelope containing a piece of paper and a nail. He had pulled it out from the corpse's forehead after taking photos at the crime scene.

 

“The first corpse also has one, but it’s a different word.” Khamin looked at the thing in his hand again, his face calm, but his mind was filled with thoughts.

 

"If it means what they choose," Jade picked up the paper from the letter in his hand and compared it to the one in Khamin's hand.

 

"Tar's is TRUTH because Tar chose to speak the truth. Belle's is DARE because Belle chose to challenge him," Khamin said, then looked up from the letter to look at Jade's. 

 

"She chose to challenge Cherene to die instead."

 

"What if the next victim is Cherene?" Jade immediately took out his phone and called his younger brother. The officers were bringing the two men to the station for further questioning. After a short wait, Jay picked up the phone but didn't say anything. 

 

"Where are you now?"

 

[in the car]

 

“Why are you late?”

 

[Just now, Kla came to see Cherene, so they talked about it.]

 

“Saplings went there? Why did he go there?”

 

[I don't know either. I didn't go in to listen.]

 

“Are you coming yet?”

 

[Almost there. What do you have?]

 

"No, I'm in a hurry." Jade had hung up before looking at Khamin, who was staring at the letter as if he were thinking about something. "What is it?"

 

"If Tonkla can lie to us about the flash drive, then why can't he lie about the missing Tare part from the letter?" Khamin thought out loud and was about to walk out immediately, but Jade grabbed his arm before he could.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“I’m going to open the shepherd’s mouth. Did you get the flash drive?”

 

“Not yet. That kid said he left it in his room, and you called me before I could take care of it.”

 

"Good, so that the trip won't be wasted."

 

"I'm going too."

 

“You should wait to question Cherene and Jay. Those two are also suspects.”

 

“It's dangerous.”

 

"If I encounter danger and have to stop working on a case, I won't be promoted to the lieutenant I am today. I'll call you when I hear something," Jade said as he walked out of the autopsy room until he was out of sight. The only person who has received the letter and is still alive is Tonkla. He didn't know if anyone else had received the letter, because those kids all had secrets that made the investigation even more difficult, and that would only make things even more dangerous for them.

 

“Regarding the autopsy, if there is any progress, please let me know. As for you, Mirin, have you received any information about the substance found on the previous victim’s body?"

 

"Okay, I was just about to tell you. The captain won't be happy."

 

"Come on."

 

“I asked the undercover police to check if there was any distribution there, and there really was.”

 

"Don't tell me."

 

"Yes, The Wild Hunt. They sell this drug there. The captain knows what they can do there," Jade cursed angrily. The place he most wanted to get rid of was this sleazy club. It wasn't just a club where people could drink, dance, and eat like any other. It was much worse.

 

This place was an illegal club that operated with drugs, prostitution, gambling, and, most importantly, a black market for illicit goods and human cruelty by setting up arenas for the entertainment of gamblers. It stayed open because whenever a new police lieutenant arrived, their leader would often come to talk to him. It didn't take long for the station's highest-ranking officer to be bought off. After that, as you can see, just paying a bribe, no matter how depraved the crime, would only result in a small fine. This was the place Jade hated the most when he had a case to deal with, and he hoped that Khamin would respect his duty more than anyone else who had passed through before.

 

On Khamin's side, he was driving to the garage where Tonkla worked because the boy hadn't answered his phone. It was obvious that he was intentionally avoiding him because, from listening to Jade talking to his younger brother, it seemed that the boy had just been to the scene of the incident. And strangely, he didn't see Jay or Cherene pick up the phone to call anyone. So how did Tonkla know?

 

While he was thinking about this and that, a black sedan suddenly drove up beside Khamin's car, even though the road ahead was clear. He reached for a jet-black gun in the glove compartment and placed it beside him. He then swerved to the side of the road when he saw that the black car beside him was starting to get closer.

 

Khamin parked the car and sat inside, observing the vehicle that had pulled up in front. Two men in black got out and opened the back door. A man wearing only a long, unbuttoned suit and black slacks got out of the car, blowing out a long trail of smoke. Khamin sighed in boredom because it seemed like this was going to be a problem for him.

 

A few knocks on the window made Khamin slowly lower the window halfway to talk, but he didn't let his guard down in the slightest.

 

"Hello, new Inspector. It's an honour to meet you today. You seem in a rush. Where are you going?" The man in the suit said teasingly before blowing smoke into the car.

 

"If you saw that I was in a hurry, you shouldn't have stopped me."

 

“I just found out that the new police lieutenant is so handsome. Would you like to come down and talk about some business with me?”

 

"I'm busy."

 

“Get down.” The teasing tone from earlier disappeared, replaced by a serious, stern one. Khamin sighed before opening the door, not caring that it would only narrowly miss the person standing outside. “It’s a little cute when you say it like that.”

 

“I have urgent business to attend to. Give me five minutes. Tell me your business.”

 

"Hey, with such a serious expression, I'm really scared." The rough palm took the liberty of roughly caressing Khamin's chin.

 

“You have four minutes left.” The young man's calm and fearless demeanour made him pause.

 

“Alright, we still have plenty of time to have fun. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Sunjae, and I’m the manager of The Wild Hunt Club.” Khamin didn’t look surprised or worried. He just stood there with his arms crossed, listening to what the person in front of him had to say. After all, he already knew everything. “I’d like to invite the Inspector to talk at the club so that we can talk more easily.”

 

“Is this all you have to do?”

 

“Tee, actually, I have other things to attend to as well. I have to hurry back and deal with those flies at the club,” the half-Korean man in front of him took out a black business card and stuffed it into Khamin’s trouser pocket. “I hope to see you there soon, because I don’t like waiting.”

 

Khamin locked eyes with the man with monolid eyes before turning to get into his car. While driving, he called his friends in the Special Investigation Unit. These people had arrived even faster than he had expected.

 

[How is it going?]

 

“I met someone from there.”

 

[What does it say?]

 

"We'll meet up and talk about bribes like we always do."

 

[The case I'm working on right now is also related to that place. An eighteen-year-old boy's body was found with bruises on his face and body. There were chain marks on his ankles and wrists; after examining many points of the body from the club. The cause of death was probably from heavy abuse. There was also an illegal fighting ring there.] 

 

Khamin listened to his friend's side of the case and could only nod, even though the other party didn't see it. A barbaric fight: if you survived, you would get money to spend, but if you didn't survive, you would be treated like trash, like this. This is why he wanted to close that damn place down.

 

“Will you come?”

 

[I'll send two field agents, Leo and Yuki.] Khamin really knows the latter's name.

 

“Okay, I’ll call you tonight to discuss the details.”

 

[Where is]

 

"I'm working on a case."

 

[Okay, let's talk then.] 

 

Khamin hung up just as he turned into a car repair shop. It wasn't very big or luxurious, and it was located far from the crowds. Out front, there were black, pearl white, and silver cars of various makes parked. From what he could see, they seemed to be waiting for repairs, or perhaps they had already been repaired. After parking the car, Khamin walked inside. Two employees were standing and drinking in front of a blue car with the hood open and no engine inside.

 

"Oh, man. I told you to charge a lot. If you charge this much, I don't know if I'll be rich until I die."

 

"Hey, you're charging so much. Is it better to go to the service centre to get it repaired? We got cheap parts, and we added a little profit, and people came in droves.

 

"We're old now, bro. Kla and I won't be working here all the time, right, Kla?" The blonde-haired boy turned to look at the black car next to Khamin, who had just gotten in, and saw that Tonkla had just slid out from under the car, his face dirty and his hands holding various tools.

 

"Um"

 

"Oh, the customer's here! Hello, Chanchai Garage welcomes you. I wonder what problem your car has?" The person who looked like the garage owner greeted Khamin cordially.

 

“My car has no problems. I just came to see Tonkla.”

 

“What business do you have? Isn’t it enough that you send someone to check on me?”

 

“If that’s enough, how did you escape without my officers knowing?”

 

“Um, are you a police officer?”

 

“Yes, I have something to discuss with him. Can I have a moment with him?”

 

"Okay, okay, Kla. You should talk to the police officer nicely," said Tonkla, wiping his hands before walking out of the garage to sit on a bench under a nearby tree.

 

"What's the matter? In the morning, it's the captain; in the afternoon, it's the inspector. Am I a suspect now?" Khamin was used to the suspect's sarcastic words; he had to work with him.

 

“It could be possible, since you yourself are acting suspiciously, right?”

 

“This is a flash drive.” Tonklao carelessly tossed the flash drive to Khamin. “When you come to arrest me, tell me so I can prepare to pack it up.

 

“When did you get it? Was it when you went to see Cherene at Belle’s condo?”

 

“If so, then what?”

 

“No matter what, I was just wondering how you knew about Bell’s situation when no one told you. How did you know Cherene would go there?”

 

“I just stopped by to take a look.”

 

“Did you just drop by? Or is there something that made you want to check?” Sapling paused for a moment before returning to his normal demeanour.

 

“Bell called me, but I didn’t answer.”

 

"When did Bell call you?"

 

“Last night, she called everyone.”

 

“You don’t seem all that surprised by the departure of the third person in the group.”

 

"I was already shocked. What can I do? I was shocked. Fai, Tar, and Bell didn't wake up. I'd rather spend my time being shocked if there were names to choose from in the letter," Khamin smiled slightly before walking over to Tonklao and picking up the cigarette that was about to be lit and throwing it on the floor. He'd already inhaled enough smoke today.

 

“I didn’t mention anything in the letter, so how did you know?” Khamin’s tone was not serious. No, it wasn’t worth it, but it was full of fault-finding, which made the person being asked feel anxious.

 

"I kept talking."

 

"Are you going to tell the truth, or are you going to stay at the station for a night or two?"

 

“I don't know anything.”

 

"Think carefully, Tonkla. You might not be the only one who receives the letter. You're not the only one who gets to choose. Think about who you can trust." 

 

Khamin didn't know what the relationships were like among the kids in this group, but what he was sure of was that as long as you didn't turn your back on them, you wouldn't get bitten. This was the kind of relationship he'd always seen, and Tonkla himself thought the same thing. The young man seemed to ponder for a long time. 

 

"Before, it was Fai, Tar, and now it's Bell. Who knew that the person whose name was crossed out in the letter, Cherene, might be the last..."

 

"No"

 

“Why do you think that?”

 

"I'll go get ready for work." Khamin watched the young man stand up and walk inside. From Tonklao's attitude and words, even without telling Khamin, he could already guess something. That boy must have received a letter with a dare element, and it probably wouldn't be much different from Bell's. And if he had to guess, the name on Tonkla's letter must include Bell, which shouldn't be too different from what he had thought.

 

It must be... Cherene.

 

Khamin was about to walk back to his car. He had to investigate the club the Korean guy had invited him to earlier, and the flash drive in his hand. But the corner of his beautiful eyes noticed that inside the silver car, there was a shop shirt placed in the back seat. It belonged to the university and faculty where Jay was studying. This made him immediately question his mind.

 

Whose car is this?