Murder In The Old Castle
XVII. Jealous
Michael opened the door to the room that used to be occupied by Karina Ivanova. Feels stuffy, because it's uninhabited. The bed looked neat, with a folded blanket. A piece of purple lingerie was lying there. Michael slowly stroked the lingerie, imagining the contents inside. His attention was shifted to the slightly open wardrobe. A few dresses hanging there. All of them are memories. Those beautiful dresses are no man now.
“Poor woman ...,” murmured Michael.
Then he picked up an old diary with the initials AP. The book was on a table near the reading lamp. Until now, the diary still holds a mystery. Who writer? What does this have to do with the basement in the castle?
The first sheet reads introductions in handwriting that are barely legible due to age. Even some of the pages in the book have begun to fade.
“I entered in his mysterious life sheet. The figures continue to haunt, coming every dark before passing through the dark hallway. Handcuffed hands, chained feet. Scream screeching as the ruler of darkness appeared ..”
This sentence intrigued Michael. What does this sentence actually mean. Dark ruler? Dark aisle? It all sounds like something terrible. It was very desirable for him to go back into the basement hallway to explore the mysteries within.
“Excuse me, what are you doing here?”
Suddenly a female voice surprised him. Michael turned back his body, found a tall woman with a stature until staring fully in search.
The woman looked beautiful in a floral morning dress, and her hair was neatly tied. The delicate scent of perfume toyed with his sense of smell.
Michael met many beautiful women in his life, he considered Mariah had her own value in his eyes. The beauty of the woman holds a deep mystery, such as the existence of stonehenge in England. His oval face looks exotic, thinly made up of dark shades.
The cop was lucky to marry her, Michael's inner self.
“Oh, Mariah. I'm picking up something here because the occupants have left,” Michael said as he displayed the old diary he was holding.
“I want to lock this room because it is no longer used. Helen said the occupants disappeared or maybe ran away somewhere. Helen's gonna clean up, and lock this room. I don't understand, uncle built a lot of rooms in a secluded residence in the middle of a tea garden. It used to be said uncle often entertained guests also in this castle,” said Mariah.
“One of the honors could be one of the special invitations Mr. Anggara.”
“About you met my husband this morning? She said she was going to work out around the house, but I didn't see her,” Mariah said.
“I'm sorry, Mariah. You are the first person I have met since morning. As soon as I opened my eyes, I went straight to this room. Maybe Ammar Marutami went to the tea garden.”
“Im sorry my husband said yesterday. He is a very honest man in responding to everything. Not that your novel is bad. He just looked at it from his personal point of view. Don't get into the heart,” says Mariah.
Michael took a breath. To be honest, the spicy words of Ammar Marutami last night had hit him hard. His novel of pride is simply labeled as a novel with an inconsequential logic. If the commenting layman, of course he will react back. Unfortunately this time the one who reacted was a senior police officer who was good at uncovering cases. Automatically he did not bother making it.
“Don't worry about that, Mariah. I can accept your husband's scathing criticism. I admit there are many flaws in the novel, because I made it based on personal view, not on research or police science like your husband,”.
They were about to exit Karina's room when suddenly Ammar Marutami appeared with a suspicious look.
“What are you doing in that room?” ask Ammar.
“Oh, Ammar. I was about to check out the empty room here, but I accidentally met Michael inside. Where have you been? I didn't see you on the front page?” ask Mariah.
“Hmm. Chat in the room?” Ammar squinted his eyes. His forehead wrinkled.
“Iya. Nothing important we screwed up!” said Michael.
“All is well, Ammar. You don't have to be upset. Let's go downstairs to prepare breakfast. Let's see what Helen prepared this morning,” Mariah said as she grabbed her husband's arm.
The couple immediately passed from the sight of Michael who was holding back the anger. He wanted to put his fist in front of the policeman. He felt that his pride was lowered to the most basic level. Yes, it is not perfect in writing. But at least, his work must be appreciated, not trampled on.
***
Yoga ignites his third cigarette. The parasites look tangled with hair. He still seems stressed by the discovery of Karina's body in the tea garden. The woman's face still haunted her mind. The stomach contents were broken down and the blood splashed everywhere kept him awake all night.
Bad thoughts that trigger Yoga sneak in the backyard to smoke cigarettes. The weirdness of his attitude had made Rania suspicious. Slowly he approached the young man who was in a mess of his mind. Rania pulls the cigarette that was in Yoga's mouth, throwing it away.
“Nicotine will burn your lungs!” Rania.
“What do you do?” yoga Protest.
“You why the hell? All day I saw you like a madman. The job is not finished, instead you are engrossed in smoking! I even saw you drinking beer. What are you thinking?” cecar Rania's.
“Don't bother me, Rania! Go!”
“I won't leave, until you explain what really happened. It's not usually you act like this!”
“I'm fine! Don't mind me!”
Rania is inflamed hearing the word Yoga. The change in attitude of Yoga made him worry. But there's nothing he can do. Maybe he'll let the man calm down for a moment.
“Good, I'll go! I'm just reminding you not to torture yourself like that. It won't get you out of trouble. Okay well? I will always be there for you. I love you.”
Rania leaves Yoga alone. The man still looked confused in his mind. The escape was a warehouse located in the backyard. The room called the warehouse was rather dark, dirty and filled with second-hand stuff scattered about. There, Yoga kept cigarettes under piles of cardboard. Yoga is used to spending time in that place when many thoughts.
Rats are large downstream-mudik, also feel the anxiety experienced by Yoga. The man slid his feet on the floor, removing the fatigue. He took a deep breath, trying to take off the heavy weight on his chest. He thought, what Rania said was right. He does not want to keep his own problems.
"I'll tell Rania about this. To hell with secrets! They should know!” muttered.
He got up from his seat slowly, stepping on the rest of the cigarette butts in hand. He wants to meet Rania soon to tell her what he saw in the tea garden.
Braaak!
The barn door slammed hard. Instantly the room became dark. Yoga is quiet, but remain alert. He heard footsteps approaching him.
“Who is that? ” ask Yoga.
But the question was unanswered. Just a royal silence. Yoga grabbed an iron pipe not far from where it stood. He tried to sharpen his vision. Unfortunately the warehouse room was too dark.
A few steps ahead of him, he could see a human standing firm, motionless!
***