Murder In The Old Castle
XXII. A Cut Head's
In the dusty dark alley between the lined bookshelves, Ammar picked up a book that had fallen off the shelf. He never thought about how the book could fall by itself. Silence feels gripping. The smell of awesomeness enveloped the vast reading room. Two supporting pillars rise through the roof, like giant legs . Ammar Marutami was still stunned, thinking hard.
What secrets are hidden from this old castle?
He felt uncomfortable lingering in the reading room, as if being watched by mysterious eyes somewhere. The feathers bristled. In the past, he did not believe in the world of metaphysics and its twists. Ever since he married Mariah Alray, he believed that he was coexisting with something invisible.
He decided to go back to the room, because the night began to creep into the morning. The atmosphere of the castle was completely silent, without the slightest sound. The occupants seemed to be silenced with a cold atmosphere that bit the skin. Still fresh in his memory the appearance of pieces of human body in the plastic bag. So sadistic and horrible. He personally does not know yoga. They only met a few times without any long talk.
Poor young man, he murmured.
He stared at the empty bed, without the presence of Mariah. Suddenly a longing broke out. He hoped that the woman would appear in front of him now.
“Aaaaaahh!”
A shrill scream sounded faint as he was about to lay down on the bed. The sound came from upstairs. His instincts told him that something was not right. He immediately grabbed the gun he had hidden under the pillow. Half-running he climbed the stairs where the screams came from. He passed by Michael who also rushed up.
“You heard that sound?” ask Michael.
“Of course! I'm upstairs to see what's happening!”
The two of them headed for Tiara's room, as long as the sound of screams came from. Several writers were already crowding in front of the room. Tiara looked devastated, her level looked deathly. Adrianna Chen held her shoulder to calm down.
Ammar Marutami soon roams into Tiara's room, finding a cardboard box of instant noodles containing pieces of a human head! The cardboard was deliberately placed on the bed.
The first thing Ammar did was secure the crime scene. He asked everyone there to go back to their rooms. For a while, Tiara hitchhiked in Adrianna's room, while Ammar checked what might be left there.
“You need help?” asked Michael who remained in front of Tiara's room.
“Your position is suspect, Michael. Sorry, I'll handle this myself. More you go back to your room, and prepare for the next investigation!”
There was no other option for Michael than to return to his room.
Ammar was wearing gloves, staring at the dreadful piece of the head. He shook his head as if in disbelief at the sight before him. Slowly he closed the cardboard to move to another place to stay safe.
He met Helen who was washing the cutlery in the kitchen. The middle-aged woman did not budge with the arrival of Ammar.
“Helen, I'll put this cardboard in the basement. No one touches it until dr. Dwi back.” Ammar held up the cardboard with both hands.
Helen just nodded. He focused on finishing the stacked dishwasher after dinner. Helen with a calm and cold face, as if unaffected by the events in this castle. The middle-aged woman did not even look at Ammar.
***
A slightly foggy morning, with cold temperatures biting all the way to the bone. The castle dwellers prefer to drown themselves in blankets. The terrible events that happened yesterday seemed to destroy the desire to go out of the room. Tiara was still sitting on the edge of the bed feeling depressed.
“I can't forget last night ...,” murmured while staring blankly at the window.
“I understand how you feel, Tiara. I can't imagine finding a piece of a human head on my bed. It was a terrible nightmare!”
Adrianna responded while combing her hair in front of a dressing table, then polishing her beautiful lips with natural colored lipstick.
“I won't go back to that room!”
“You can stay in this room for a while while recovering your trauma.”
“Already. Don't imagine anything terrible! I'm gonna go down and have some tea. Would you like to join?” adrianna Tawal.
“I want to be alone first here,” says Tiara.
“Oke.”
Adrianna left Tiara Laksmi in silence, after pecking herself in front of the mirror. Thin makeup swept her beautiful face. He stepped confidently onto the side terrace that connected with the front yard. The morning was still cool, because the sun was still hiding behind the gray clouds.
Ammar Marutami, with his parachute jacket on his way out of the castle. As usual, he looked handsome, attracting the hearts of every woman who looked at him. It was not only Maira who was blatantly teasing him, but also Adrianna who liked to watch silently.
“Good morning, Adrianna!” greet Ammar.
“Good morning, Police Sir! Where are you going this morning?” ask Adrianna.
“I'm going to the tea garden looking for inspiration and fresh air. The air in this castle is a little chest tight. I was hoping to find something there. Would you like to join us?” tawar Ammar's.
The offer was a golden opportunity for Adrianna, of course not denied. In fact, this was another way for Ammar to personally interrogate the inhabitants of the old castle. Ammar wants to dive deeper into the personal of each occupant.
“How are you feeling this morning, Adrianna?” ask Ammar.
They walked down a paved road that stretched out to split the tea plantation. The spruce danced in the morning breeze, followed by the chirping of birds jumping on the branches.
“I'm getting anxious living in this castle. The two murders were shocking. This is an incredible event in my life. Watching horrible things in plain sight, like wooow! I feel like I'm stuck in a nightmare!”
“I'm no stranger to all this, Adrianna! The two murders that occurred were a common sight. How is your relationship with other writers? Was it okay all this time?” search Ammar.
“Of course. We were like good friends gathered at an event. There are some annoying ones like Hans and Maira, but I think it's only natural.”
“Hmm. Do you know Yoga?”
“Yoga? Not personally. But I know he works in the castle well, sometimes helping us too. His tragic death really surprised me. Did not expect anyone to finish the heart in such a way,” Adrianna regretted.
Ammar, a mangosteen, tried to infiltrate Adrianna's heart to reveal how honest the answer was. It is not expert in the perception of a person, but when a person lies, he will read his face easily.
They are now walking down a small path that divides the tea garden. The birds still heard the morning coloring. Adrianna was tired of walking. A drop of sweat drips down his temple.
“You smell something?” suddenly Ammar felt an unpleasant smell in his sense of smell. The stench grew stronger as the wind blew.
“Yes, I guess near here there's some kind of carcass or something ...”
Adrianna closed her nose tightly as the unpleasant smell increased to the nose.
“You stay here! I'm so sorry for this bad smell!”
“You what is this?”
“This stench of human remains!”
***