Doppelganger: Detective Frans' Adventure
Sky Hints
The weather looks friendly, the sky is not cloudy and not too hot. Thin clouds marching to north— are quite bright and cool, making people look excited about their activities. We decided to end the search this time and plan to return to Frans' house to continue the discussion related to the information that has been obtained and some other things. The threat from Mr.B really succeeded in making us anxious.
“If the perpetrator behind all these crimes wants money, of course he has asked for ransom against the families of the victims or family members they took advantage of. However, in fact not so, the mastermind behind this crime wants a confession. That's right, the recognition of the results of the competition, because clearly Mr. B challenge me to defeat him.” Frans back and forth near the desk.
“I think he feels disturbed by your intelligence, Frans—which he might consider rivaling himself. If we dig deeper, the letters he sent to us, as if hinting that he was depressed and feeling rivaled. So, he decided to make a silly game like this. Games involving the lives of others for the sake of recognition and self-esteem.” I chimed.
“Why self-esteem?” Frans stopped and looked at me.
“Yes, I think this guy also has very high self-esteem just like you, Frans. He does not want to be rivaled in terms of thought, action, and strength. I thought it was so embarrassing, because it only felt rivaled, he was willing to do vile. His thoughts may have been possessed by demons, or maybe he was really out of his mind.”
Moreover, there was something very surprising we found when going to Frans' house. In front of the car stood an unknown man. He wears a hat and glasses and a black jacket. According to my estimate of his age of about 30 years, his cheekbones look prominent and his skin is dark brown. He smiled at us as he reached into something from his jacket pocket.
“Master, there's a deposit for you. Please accept.”
The foreign man threw a paper that was squeezed into a lump. Frans caught him with his left hand. I saw his behavior a little suspicious. His smile was very cynical and seemed condescending. The man immediately ran and Frans did not have time to ask who the seat was from, Frans hurriedly opened and read the writing on the crumpled paper.
Go into the woods west of town, at night at 22:00 and you should be on time. I'll start the real game, if you've failed at this stage. I will take it all down mercilessly.
Mr.B
All were shocked to learn the contents of the shabby letter, very quickly, the person who gave the letter ran away from us. He disappeared between the narrow alleys. Frans was silent for a moment, he tried to reanalyze the writing. Not long after that he had decided to obey the command written on the paper.
“What we're going to leave now?” my many. Frans began to calm down, he sat in his chair.
“If we obey a foreign man the introduction of the tangled letter, then we will know what will happen. However, surely aka risk that we definitely get, I do not want to involve my clients further.”
“We are ready to come! After all, this is our case and already his shoes I am also involved in the investigation you did.” Great ambush.
“Good. It's a pretty tough decision. I'll take you with me.” Frans has made a decision.
We entered the car and headed straight for the forest. The trip is quite long and now it is 4 pm, chances are we will get there at 9 pm. Because we agreed to stop first and have dinner at a side street restaurant. We followed Frans' decision to respond immediately to the strange letter, even though on the way Irfan had protested. Irfan thinks it's too hasty. Even if it's only a moment, I think their debate is a little difficult. However, all can subside because of the Great's help. Finally Irfan agreed to continue the journey to the forest.
We stopped at a restaurant that was not too crowded for dinner. The sun was about to disappear, the golden sky began to fade. Frans admitted that there was no preparation at all. After we finished eating, we continued our journey to the forest. Luckily in the car there were two flashlights and Agung also brought matches.
At nine o'clock in the evening we were already at the edge of the forest. We immediately entered the forest to look for answers from the contents of the shabby paper earlier. There are no clues in this writing. Just telling me to come to the forest, I don't know what kind of game Mr. has designed. B. I can't guess at all. Yulia looked cold and her lips began to pale. The air was very cold, the smell of plants pierced our noses.
The flashlight was not so bright through the thick wilderness that began to be shrouded in fog. The big trees stood firm as if besieging us. The clump starts to get wet as it starts to dew. Our steps are always careful and observe around with great concern.
Anti insect repellent, moisturizing lotion, drinking water. All of that we don't have at all. They came empty-handed with no preparation. We walked for fifteen minutes and were accompanied by unequaled anxiety. I don't know where we are in the woods next door. Obviously we are very worried about the threats that might occur. For example, being bitten by a snake, or meeting a bear.
All of a sudden it became panic when we heard a voice from behind the bushes. We walked to the source of the voice, Frans was at the front, Yulia and I was in second and third positions then behind me Irfan, then Agung was at the back. There were only two flashlights, held by Frans and Agung.
Sometimes I step by turning my back so I walk backwards. The lack of light makes my eyes always squeak and work extra to see in the dark. With careful steps, we walked down the grass that is a little high. The vines are seen twisting on some tree trunks, the loud sound of deafening crickets and occasional owl noises are heard.
Three main stars and one of the farthest but brightest, just follow the brightest stars. I waited for you.
It turns out that the plate was a clue to us. Definitely the one preparing is Mr. B or his men. Frans seemed to think about the sentence, we were still glued behind him. Then Frans turned around and rubbed his chin and said, “Hm, this puzzle should be quite easy. However, I need time to think about it.”
“Do we stop here first?” ask Yulia.
“Yes, it's good we rest here while solving this puzzle. Does anyone carry a compass, or a sophisticated device?”
“Nothing at all brings, our phone is just a regular phone. Not a smart device that is equipped with GPS or compass,” Irfan chirped.
It seems that Great also, he uses a device that can only be used to send short messages and phone calls. I glanced at Yulia— the rich woman, did she not carry a sophisticated device either? The jewelry he was wearing was pretty flashy, right?
“I myself do not like to use the device, and more often receive calls with home phones or reply to messages via email,” I said. “Well. Miss, do you have a device?” I looked at Yulia.
“Ah. A. I, my salary was left at home when I hurriedly met Mr. Frans. Really, I do not carry a sophisticated device.” Yulia's voice was slightly flattened.
“Forced we have to try harder,” Frans.
Silly enough, this sophisticated era no one carries a smart device. Is this team filled with people who are lazy with technological advances? I myself admit, if it is very rare to use a device. I think it's very disturbing.
The air pierced the skin more sharply, I rubbed both palms to reduce the cold. Frans plopped down on the grass and bent his legs to cross-legged, his facial features looking solemn. He asked us if anyone knew the meaning of the sentence on the steel plate. We shook our heads not understanding what the writing meant.
Ten minutes passed, the clock would already indicate ten o'clock in the night. The time set by Mr. B is fast approaching. Frans frowned then smiled widely. It seemed like he was starting to find the answer from the sentence on the plate.
“Don't worry, you guys calm down. I have found the answer to this writing. This sentence is a clue to the place where Mr. B is.”
“Really? Then what does it mean?” my many.
“The three main stars and the one farthest away illustrate a clue from the sky. There are four stars in question, which indicate a constellation of rays or often called the constellation crux. The three main stars are close to each other, this indicates the direction of the north, and the farthest and brightest star indicates the direction of the south. Follow the brightest light, meaning we have to go south following the constellation of the beetle. Now we look for the constellation.”
“How to? This forest is lush and covered in tall tree leaves. We're hard to see the sky,”.
“Find a slightly roomy place, there must be.”
We finally found a place that was not covered in trees, and could stare at the sky freely. The constellation in question has also been seen. We follow the brightest starlight. We were on the wide river bank. Suddenly we heard gunshots coming from behind us.