Murder In The Old Castle
174. A Paper Slice

The cold air in the plantation felt piercing the skin. Despite wearing a jacket, Dimas could still feel his body freeze. He was sitting on the front porch, when the early hours began to say hello. He was restless waiting for Mr. Paiman who never arrived. Actually his eyes began to dim, but he should not ignore the responsibility that was placed on his shoulders. He must ensure that the condition of the isolation house remains safe.

The atmosphere also felt very quiet. Dimas took a cigarette he used to keep in his pants pocket. Actually, he is not a smoker, but a feeling of loneliness like this triggers the desire to smoke cigarettes. Before long, smoke billowed from his mouth. He enjoyed it, staring around. Tonight feels lonely and gripping. I can't wait for Mr. Paiman to arrive.

“Sorry, Sir! I'm a little late!”

Suddenly Mr. Paiman came from the side of the house with a little stirring. He wears a black imitation leather jacket that looks dull, and a head covering. It also has a large flashlight in its hand.

“Nothing, Sir. I like sitting here enjoying the night air,”ucap Dimas.

“Pak Dimas can rest, let me replace to keep watch until morning.”

Mr. Paiman invited the police to rest in the room, considering that Dimas had not rested since.

“My father is okay I stay alone?” ask Dimas.

“Nothing really, sir. It's normal,” said Mr. Paiman.

Dimas nodded. He had to turn off the cigarette, which was half in his hand. He walked into the house to go to his room. He is very tired, maybe a short fall can slightly stretch the exhausted muscles.

Dimas's room was on the first floor, along with the other male occupants' rooms. While the girls' rooms are deliberately placed on the second floor to make it safer. When he was about to enter, he was surprised because his room was slightly open. He tried to think positively, maybe Bu Mariyati was cleaning the room, forgetting to close the door tightly.

After all, Dimas felt that there were no valuables in his room, because every day he alternated with Reno, so there was no need to be armed with clothes or other important documents. He just hitchhiked to sleep in this isolation house, so he thought everything would be safe.

Dimas wanted to go to bed that night, so he could wake up in the morning fresh. However, suddenly his eyes were fixed on a piece of paper placed on the table. Small paper, like a tear from a striped notebook. Dimas was astonished. Soon he took a piece of the paper, then he read carefully the writing on the paper.

Sometimes life and death are like two sides of a coin. Close to each other. Sometimes we feel like we're going to live forever, but who would have thought that tomorrow would be the end? Some people who live deserve to die. It depends on how much wrong he has ever made. So who's gonna die after this? Albert Einstein or Marilyn Monroe?

“Gosh!”

Dimas was very surprised to see the writing deliberately placed on a small table near his bed. So it was true, there was someone who sneaked into his room, then placed the writing on the table to make it easily visible. But what does that mean?

The handwriting looked neat, like a woman's writing. However, Dimas did not dare to conclude, because there are some men's writings that are neater than women's writing. So what does this writing mean? Is the killer on a trail, who will die next?

Dimas felt like a puzzle. Who is Albert Einstein? And who is Marilyn Monroe? Were those two famous people long dead? Did the killer intentionally hint that the next dead one was ....

Dimas did not want to speculate further. He tried to analyze the neat writing. The writing was carefully written, without any rush impression. He is not good at reading a person's psychology based on his handwriting. Maybe he should find out, by reading the handwritten samples from each of the residents of the house.

His thoughts drifted back to Albert Einstein and Marilyn Monroe. Not that there is no intention of this author to mention the two names of famous people. There must be some hidden intent behind it. Albert Einstein was a man, and Marilyn Monroe was a woman. Is the next target a man or a woman?

Dimas later identified Albert Einstein as an intelligent man. Is the next target a smart man? Marilyn Monroe is known as an attractive and a little naughty woman. So what does all this mean? Dimas couldn't think further. Plus, his eyes started to dim. The effect of the isotonic drink that he drank earlier had disappeared. He thought that he would continue thinking about this tomorrow. His brain was already too tired crammed with a lot of trouble today.

***

Mr. Paiman is not a man of self-defense. For this reason, he equips himself with something to survive if there are unexpected events that occur. Tonight he chose to patrol rather than stay indoors. His wife complained about the missing cat. Mr. Paiman was somewhat troubled by those complaints. It was not that he was not affectionate with the cat, but that he thought more realistically. Even if anything happens with the cat, Mr. Paiman feels all that is natural. He's not too disturbed.

Mr. Paiman began patrolling from the front yard, heading next to a house planted with lots of ornamental plants, then moved to the backyard. Of all parts of the house, the backyard is the most creepy place. Besides because there are still many plants and shrubs, the lights in the backyard are not too adequate so that the impression of armature is very clearly felt.

Mr. Paiman shines a flashlight in all directions, illuminating every corner of the courtyard. A few mice as big as cats running around is a common sight that is often seen. Mr. Paiman doesn't really care about that. Suddenly his eyes caught someone near the bathroom. The figure looked a little agitated. Mr. Paiman's hurry is approaching.

“Who's there?” asked Mr. Paiman while shining a flashlight towards the face of the figure standing in front of the bathroom.

“I, Sir!”

The figure covered the face with both hands. He was seen wearing maroon warm clothes and wearing glasses. Mr. Paiman recognized that the figure was one of the residents of the house who was being isolated.

“ Mas Alex?” ask Mr. Paiman again, after knowing who was there.

“ Yes Sir. Its me. I couldn't sleep from earlier. I don't know, I feel like I'm sleep deprived in this place. Always wake up in the early hours. Here I want to go to the bathroom,” said Alex.

“If need anything say yes Mas?” tawar Pak Paiman .

“Iya, Sir. Don't worry about me. Better to go back on patrol. Sorry sir!”

Alex then went into the bathroom. Mr. Paiman doesn't want to be prejudiced. He was going to continue his patrols into the house. He realized that there might be someone in the house who was wandering around without his knowledge. Since the CCTV system is tampered with, it should be more vigilant and increase security.

The first thing I checked was the kitchen. That said, this kitchen is the part that is said to be the most haunted, because some residents feel surprised by some strange things. Actually, Mr. Paiman already understood that, but he did not want to respond further. He felt that the strange things that happened were natural. He himself experienced a lot of strange things in this old house, but he did not want to bother. As long as they don't interfere, Mr. Paiman isn't bothered.

After the kitchen, Mr. Paiman walked down the hallway that separates the kitchen from the dining room. Precisely according to Mr. Paiman, the dining room is a more sinister place. The dining room looks more spacious, with chandeliers and antique cutlery neatly displayed in glass cabinets. The handler one time heard the sound of the cutlery clinking like it was used for eating, but after checking, there was no one there.

After finishing from the dining room, Mr. Paiman checked every room on the first floor. All rooms are closed and locked. Mr. Paiman suspects that all residents in the room are sleeping. He hopes that nothing bad happens tonight, until the morning. Darkness is the perfect thing to do in a crime. He doesn't want that to happen tonight.

After everything was confirmed safe, he checked the second floor. On this floor is the girls' room. He pointed a flashlight around the house on the second floor. Then he went to the balcony. Everything seemed quiet and silent, nothing suspicious. The sound of an owl clearly sounded from above the balcony. Even the sound of the flapping of his wings was clearly heard.

Mr. Paiman made sure that everything was safe and nothing strange. He was about to descend back to the first floor, but he was faintly heard a suspicious sound from the security room. The room is a CCTV room that is no longer used. He guessed, was Dimas who was there in the early hours of this day?

Mr. Paiman was curious. He approached the room slowly, in order to ambush in case there were any intruders there. As he approached the room, suddenly the strange sounds came to a halt. Mr. Paiman also stopped his steps. To be honest, he felt very tense. He had faced a subtle creature, but when facing a psychopath, of course it was something else. He dared himself to go back.

Suddenly, a black shadow pushed him to the side until he fell down. I don't know where the figure came from, or maybe he was waiting for the arrival of Mr. Paiman. The flashlight in Mr. Paiman's hand fell. The figure moved quickly. The darkness makes him unrecognizable!

***