Goddess Bless You From Death

Case File 12.

The four teenagers sat in the interrogation room in various states: boredom, fear, anxiety, and indifference. When the door opened, Singha walked in with an emotionless face, placing the confiscated digital camera, various belongings, and a stack of documents on the table.

"You four trespassed on an active murder scene to make content for your channel. That's quite bold."

"We didn't cause any harm, did we?" Song nudged his senior for support.

"That's right. We only filmed for a bit and then left."

"Just stepping into the crime scene and leaving your footprints is damaging enough, not to mention fingerprints. You might unknowingly become suspects."

"You're framing us, Mr Policeman! We were just filming for our channel. Besides, we were live-streaming the entire time. Our viewers can vouch for us. If you don't believe, ask our channel owner, right, Jump?" The lone woman in the group turned to her silent friend, who hadn't said a word since the police had brought them in.

"Anything to say?" Singha asked the absent-minded young man.

"No." Even as he responded, the boy didn't look up, his gaze fixed on the wall.

"Where's the phone used for the live stream?" The other three looked at the one and only man.

"Jump, give the phone to the officer," Dear said anxiously.

"I don't have it."

"What the hell, Jump?" Bom glared at his friend in frustration.

"Bro, we might all get arrested. Just give the phone to the police; you were the one holding it." Song, the youngest person in the group, nervously shook the man next to him by the arms.

"I said I don't have it!" Jump shook off Song's hand and stood up abruptly, causing the others to look at each other in confusion at his unusual behaviour.

Singha wasn't surprised. He merely checked his watch before pushing Jump back into his seat, scrutinising his dirty clothes before continuing with his questions.

"Were you filming a ghost-hunting video?"

"Yes," Bom answered for the group.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"A year."

"Interesting. This case hasn't hit the news yet, but you seem well-informed." 

Singha opened the large camera to inspect, although he had glanced at it briefly before. "How did you find out about this?"

"Through email. Someone suggested the location for our ghost hunt."

"Can I see it?"

Song hurriedly handed over his phone. One look at the email address told Singha it wasn't a regular email account. He pressed a button to call Lieutenant Khem from the observation room to take it.

"Trace the email and IP address."

"Yes, sir."

"As for you four, other officers will take over your interrogation and handle the legal prosecution."

"What!? Legal prosecution? Are we really getting charged for real, Mr Policeman?"

"Gosh! My mom's going to kill me!"

"Damn it!" The room filled with complaints and curses, except for Jump, who remained silent.

"I have a question. Did anyone...find any dolls at the scene?"

"A doll?"

"Yes."

All three of them exchanged glances before turning to look at the person sitting in the farthest chair.

"It was me. I found a doll. P'Jump said it was a Sia-Kaban doll."

"Tell me you didn't touch it." Singha frowned, concerned that it could be crucial evidence with the perpetrator's fingerprints.

"We... we did. 'Jump was playing with it before throwing it at P Bom, and it broke. B-But we didn't take it with us."

"Damn it," Singha cursed briefly. The interrogation room door opened again. This time, it was King who walked in, looking displeased, both because of what had happened that morning and because the suspicious kid was sitting in front of the investigation room, waiting for Singha.

"You continue this. I have something else to do."

"Where are you going?" King grabbed Singha's arm, but was shrugged off.

"Just do your job and stop pestering me. It's annoying."

Thup was sketching the ghostly woman from his memory. He had never seen her clearly because of his fear, so it was difficult to recall her promptly. As he pressed the pencil on the clean white paper, the door opened, causing him to look up. When he saw that it was Singha about to walk out, he quickly prepared to stand up. The moment when the door was closing, Thup caught a glimpse of the boy at the far end. 

Not only that, but there was also a woman clad in a torn, dirty outfit. Her body was pale, almost bloodless. Purple bruises ran along her torso, nearly turning black, and there were patches of greenish hues scattered around. Most importantly, she was straddling the boy's neck. Then her head slowly twisted, turning all the way around until she faced Thup, flashing a sinister grin!

"Move, Thup. We have things to do."

"P'Singh."

"What now? And aren't you going to pick up the pencil you dropped?"

"The man seated at the far end..." Singha squinted at the boy in front without interruption. "What has he been up to?"

"Trespassing at the crime scene."

"The... The crime scene?"

"Yep."

"Did he take anything with him? Did he bring anything back?"

"Why are you asking?"

"I saw the ghost from Ms Meen's house... riding on his shoulders."

Singha glanced back at the interrogation room before opening the door and re-entering.

"You four will be", King stopped when the guy who just left burst back in. "Didn't you say you were leaving?"

"Did you take anything from the scene?" Singha stood before Jump, his voice stern, but the young boy merely glanced and still did not answer the question, as he had before. "I asked, 'Did you take anything?'"

"What are you doing, Inspector Singha?" King asked seriously.

Singha yanked Jump's collar roughly and began searching him swiftly, causing shock among onlookers. Upon seeing that, King was about to intervene, but stopped when Singha pulled something from Jump's inner parka pocket.

"What the hell, P'Jump! Why did you bring that?" Song exclaimed, retreating and pressing himself against the wall.

"I didn't bring it," Jump whispered,

"I didn't bring it!!!"

Jump yelled out before shoving Singha aside and bolting out from the interrogation room, colliding with Thup, who was still standing anxiously in front. Both fell to the ground. Thup slowly lifted his eyes only to find that the ghostly woman he had seen clinging to the boy's neck inside the interrogation room was now straddling him. Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes were streaked with bloodshot veins. Her bright red lips split wide, revealing the roof of her mouth. Her laughter grew louder before her long tongue slithered out, licking around Thup's face.

'You have Mae-Sue too.'

"Are you okay, Thup?" When Singha approached to grab Thup's arm, the ghost in front of him disappeared. Thup trembled with fear but couldn't take his eyes off the person still under the King's control.

"Wh-What did he take?"

"A doll." Singha held up the Sia-Kaban doll with its body and head separated in the evidence bag for Thup to see.

"Freeze!" King said, tightening his grip on Jump. "What's next?"

"Lock him up for now. Prosecute the others, and call their guardians too," Singha said, helping Thup up. "Damn it! We're running late."

"What's going on, Inspector?" Lieutenant Khem and Sergeant Prom rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

"Take care of this. And here's another piece of evidence. Get Sei to examine it as much as possible."

"Uh, understood, sir."

Singha dragged the still-shaken Thup to the car. He had no idea what the young man had seen to shock him so much, but asking now wouldn't yield any answers.

The black car sped down the road at a speed below the legal limit. Inside, only the air conditioner hummed as the two men sat in silence.

"P'Singh," Thup suddenly spoke, absent-minded.

"What?"

"That doll... Its head isn't human, right?" Singha furrowed his brow in deep thought before responding.

"Yeah."

"W-what is it?"

"A tiger."

"A tiger..." Thup muttered to himself before looking at Singha.

"Lady Ekalai."

"What did you say?"

"Mae-Sue with a tiger's head... Her name is Lady Ekalai."

"I don't understand. What is Mae-Sue you talking about, Thup?"

"Do you remember the ghost story I told you?"

"The one you saw over twenty years ago?" Thup shook his head vigorously, even though Singha wasn't looking at him.

"No, the one I encountered at Miss Meen's house."

"So, what about it?"

"Just now, when I bumped into that man, I saw her. And she mentioned Mae-Sue."

"And?"

"The Sia-Kaban doll you found has a tiger's head and a human body, just like the Mae-Sue legend"

"What do I gain from knowing this?"

"Wh-What if..it's connected? What if the culprit used this doll for something?"

Singha furrowed his brows even tighter. He didn't have much knowledge in this area; it was quite beyond his understanding. "Explain your Mae-Sue to me."

"It's an old belief. I'm not sure if people still believe it today. Each region has different legends about Mae-Sue, but what I heard from Luang Pu was that Mae-Sue are celestial beings or ghosts that look after newborns. They say Mae-Sue comes to play with the baby, to help cure illnesses, and sometimes to make them cry. When the baby grows old enough, the parents will organise the spirit-child division ritual. After that, the child won't see Mae-Sue anymore."

"Babies might cry because of colic, correct?"

"That's why I said it's a belief."

"So?"

"What I heard is that there are Mae-Sues for each day of the week, each with different appearances and names. One of them is Lady Ekalai, who has a tiger's head. She's Mae-Sue for Saturday."

Singha paused for a moment, glancing at the back seat. "Grab the file behind you."

"Which one?"

"The black one." After Thup reached for the file and placed it on his lap, Singha gave another command. "Now open it and check the birth dates of the victims to see who was born on a Saturday."

Thup nodded and opened the file. He scanned through the victims' information until he found what he was looking for.

"Miss Kotchakorn."

"Kaew..? Kaew went missing on a Friday," Singha muttered to himself. "Check the autopsy report."

"Okay." Thup flipped through the pages, squinting his eyes and turning away at the sight of the gruesome images, but he pushed on until he found Kaew's name. 

"F-Found it."

"What does it say about her date of death?"

"Uh... Saturday."

"Seriously?" Singha immediately pulled into a gas station and parked to double-check the document himself. Upon careful reading, he confirmed it was accurate. The young inspector pulled out his phone and made a call.

"King."

[Where are you?]

"Hold on. Check the homes of all seven victims for clay dolls like the one that the kid found at the crime scene."

[Why?]

"I'll explain later. Just do it ASAP."

[There's been unreasonable behaviour since earlier. It's just a doll.]

"A doll that tells us how the killer chooses the victims. Call me once you've got any updates."

[Wait. Where are you now?]

"On the way to the prison."

[Why?]

"To see how sloppy the police work back then." Singha hung up, handing the file back to Thup before driving out of the gas station and heading toward their destination. 

"Thup, check who was born on which day."

"Yes, sir." Thup flipped through the pages quickly, wanting to ease Singha's worries while driving. Once he found the information, he read out the names.

"James was born on Sunday.

Jom, on Monday.

Orn, on Tuesday.

Meen, on Wednesday.

Nai, on Thursday.

Tee, on Friday.

Kaew, on Saturday."

All seven victims were born on different days of the week.