Murder In The Old Castle
346. Shouts in the Midnight

The night was getting late, the cold wind began to blow, surging from the direction of the plantation. The cold starts biting the skin. However, in the side garden, five young women were still gathered, as if unaffected by the surroundings.  The gathering of the women in the park beside it began to leave a tremendous tension between them. How not? Clearly, the murder threat was sent through a piece of paper tucked under Mariah's bedroom door. They still can't guess who did it. Is Stella or one of them?

"So how are we moving? Shouldn't we ask Ammar or Reno for help?" ask Lily.

"No! Nay! This is our problem, so we are responsible. I'm not afraid to face that threat. Really am! If it's one of you here, let's try to face me! I'm sick of all this cunning play!" rosita said loudly, while staring at all her friends who were present there.

"I think Rosita's right. Let them investigate, but let our secrets not be leaked to them. Because I'm honestly ashamed of my past. Ammar looked at me all this time as a flawless perfect girl. Of course it's hard for her to accept that I have a past as dark as that" Mariah added.

"Sorry can I talk?" nadine Sela

"Yes please Nadine!" mariah says.

"If I think mending we do not need to accuse each other or suspect. But we have to work together to catch this cunning. We cannot walk alone, but we must help and support each other. If we are at odds with each other, then our position will be easy to weaken" said Nadine.

"Well, I would say that too. I agree with Nadine" Lily continued.

"good. Now we don't have to panic. It was late at night, and we had to go back to the room because our husbands might be anxiously waiting for us. For a while this meeting is enough, later there may be further meetings, while looking at the existing conditions. What is clear is that Aditya has disappeared, and may be in that basement. Is anyone willing to look there?" ask Mariah.

"I'm .. I'm scared, and I don't want to go back there. Maybe the others" said Nadine.

"Why don't you go in there, Mariah? Aren't you the owner of this castle? Surely you will understand more space in the ground there compared to us," said Rosita.

Mariah shakes. It was not that he did not want to, but in the murder case of the writers, he had been held captive for several days in the basement, leaving him with a very deep trauma. he swore he would never be willing to go into the basement again. Let alone to go into the basement, hearing the word basement alone made Mariah's chest feel tight.

"I'm sorry, I can't" muttered Mariah.

"Then leave Aditya's business to the police, and we'll wait for the results. Because none of us know the ins and outs of the basement. Wrong later we get lost and even become the victim of the killer" added Maya.

Everyone was silent, waiting for each other. The silence of the night began to be felt, only the sound of night insects rattling. The cold wind was getting cut to the skin. They're starting to fret. The secret meeting must end. One by one they left the place feeling still overwhelmed with anxiety. They walked in fretfully, entering into the silent castle. They went into their rooms, wanting to rest.

After parting ways with the others, Nadine also entered into her room. He saw Ryan sleeping on the floor, exhausted. There was a sense of compassion when she saw her husband sleeping on the carpet. She took a blanket and covered her husband's body.

While in another room, Rosita finds the husband who is agitated because he is waiting for her. Edwin stood in front of the window, staring at the extremely dark outer area. Rosita was so bad that she had made her husband worried. He tried to calm his feelings.

"Don't worry, Edwin. I went out with the others. So be safe" said Rosita.

"Tumbens? Where are you going these nights?" ask Edwin.

"Mmm, just a walk around the castle, while the stories. Yes, young mothers. This reunion is a must for nostalgia while having fun. I'm sorry Win if it makes you anxious" explained Rosita.

"Stay guard, Rosita. We never know who our enemy really is. Sometimes they wear masks in front of us, but desperately want destruction. You'll know in this castle the situation is chaotic. We don't know who's around us" Edwin said.

"Yes Win, thanks for reminding me. But I've known them since I was a teenager, so take it easy. Everything's gonna be fine. I want to clean my face first, after that we sleep huh? I'm so tired today, I want to get some rest so that tomorrow I can get up early and take a morning walk around here. Stay with me, Win?"

Edwin just nodded. He checked the door of the room, before going to bed, because it is important to make sure the door is locked at night. No one knows what will happen when the occupants sleep. Crime can happen when they are unconscious. Edwin doesn't want anything bad to happen to this castle anymore.

In another room. Mariah felt a little relieved to have conveyed what became her heartbreak to her friends. She combed her hair in front of the dresser, looking at the beautiful image of her face reflected in the mirror. Meanwhile, Ammar saw his movements with a little worried.

"Are you okay, Mariah?" ask Ammar.

"Yes, of course. I feel fine. What's the matter, Ammar?" Mariah still continues to comb her hair in front of the makeup mirror.

"There's something I want to ask you about this castle, Mariah. Maybe you know. The plan is tomorrow I will check the contents of the basement, but Dimas said that the basement is filled with a confusing labyrinth, so to get down there requires some kind of map or floor plan. Does this castle have blueprints or room plans that we can study, so we can enter without getting lost?" ask Ammar.

Mariah put down her comb, looking back. He tried to remember, because it must be admitted that rarely he communicated with Anggara. However, he recalled that his uncle had once shown him a basement floor plan printed on ancient brown paper. As he recalled, the uncle showed the paper in the third-floor reading room, but he was not sure if the plan was still there or not, as it had happened a long time ago, before marrying Ammar. He told this to Ammar.

"Has the workspace always locked?" ask Ammar.

"Eitherway. I'm always locked, but I don't always live here. Usually the key that takes care of is Kara. Many guests have visited the castle before. So I can't be sure" replied Mariah.

"alright. Tomorrow I'll look for that plan right there. I hope to see you" said Ammar.

***

The night is getting cold pricking the skin. Juned was on patrol that night. He combed the back of the castle, starting from the back door that connects with the kitchen, swimming pool, warehouse, and back wall. The area there is always dark and quiet, so it is ideal for hiding places. Juned acted more alert, while tightening up the jacket. I don't know why it's colder than usual tonight. He also wears a head covering, to protect from the cold. In addition, before his duty, he always equipped himself with a bottle of black coffee. The caffeine from this coffee prevents it from excruciating drowsiness.

While inside the castle, Reno is also on guard from all possibilities.However, he realizes this castle is gigantic in size, like a neglected kingdom. Sometimes he felt like he was lost inside the castle because of the many hallways and rooms that were inside. He simply memorized the path to his own room, and important spaces, such as the dining room and reading room. The rest, a lot of space that has not been explored.

Tonight, he passed through the hallway to the reading room. The hallway looked dark because the lights were deliberately turned off. However, he looked towards the reading room whose light was on.  In his assumption, when the reading room lights up, there are certainly people who are reading in it. But isn't it very late? Who wants to read on a night like this? Is there still time tomorrow?

Reno turned herself into the reading room, looking at who was inside. However, the reading room looked quiet and deserted, there was no sign of anyone inside this room. Then why is this room left in a state of lights?

He decided to get out of the reading room, but suddenly he saw an open wall, showing a dark inner side. He had never seen this wall before. It is usually covered by a bookcase. Reno. Perhaps this is what is meant by the secret passage to the basement. No more wrong! Someone has opened the lever of the secret passageway, until the wall opens.

Although Reno did not know what was inside, she ventured to try to step into the dark passage behind the open wall. He saw a passageway extending forward. The hallway was rather narrow and dark but looked straight. He suspects that this secret path is often used by psychopaths to get in and out of the underground, because it is safer than through a window near the kitchen.

He entered the dark hallway while lighting his flashlight. It seemed like the passageway extended forward, then he saw the passage stop on a stepped staircase leading down. Yes, this is a sign that this hallway will bring into the basement. It was doubtful that Reno went down the steps, but he was eager to check, what was really underground, when passing from this secret passage.

He began to enter the hallway area flanked by rooms. When compared to the rooms in the hallway near the kitchen, these rooms look a little more spacious. However, the atmosphere was equally creepy. Reno could still feel the negative aura lingering in this passageway. Reno remains alert, using her five senses to sense everything around her.

Dug .. dug .. dug!

Suddenly Reno heard like the sound of a wall being hit. The voice sounded like it was not far away, but Reno could not tell where the source was. It might be a hallucination, he thought. He did not think too much about the sound of the knock, but again the voices were heard, even louder. Reno began to feel uncomfortable being in it. Is there anyone else in this basement? Who is knocking on the wall?

Actually the knocking sound came from a spacious room occupied by Niken. Apparently the mysterious figure had already untied the hand of Niken and also opened the duct tape from his mouth. Niken didn't waste the opportunity. His brain moved to try to get out of the room. The door of the room cannot be opened just like that, because it is padlocked. He tried to break into the wall, because he found a stone at the end of the room. He deliberately knocked on the wall, to measure how thick the wall was. Who knows if someone passed by and could sting his beat, so he could help him get out of this shit place.

In fact, when in the police, this basement is often touted as a haunted and creepy place. It was even opened as a tourist spot to be offered to people who have high courage. However, Niken never imagined that now he was directly in this creepy basement. Now, the thing he wanted the most was to get out of the room immediately, and return to breathing free air. He was already feeling depressed in the room.

In the hallway, Reno walked on alert. He heard strange sounds that he thought were common. Yes, a place like this is certain to bring invisible negative auras. That is why Mariah is very reluctant to be in this basement, because she has an open inner eye, so that she can feel the presence of things that do not make sense.

"Geekerrgh!"

Suddenly, Reno's sneers heard a heartbreaking scream. Reno immediately reacted.he knew the voice of the scream was the voice of a man, but it is uncertain where the direction of this screaming voice came from.he looked to the right and left sides, but he could not be sure where the voice came from, there are several branches in this hallway, even in the room, sometimes connected to other rooms. It's really confusing. The scream was very clear, only Reno could not confirm its existence.

"Who's yelling in the middle of the night? Oh, dearGod. My feeling is that something is not good here. The voice of a man. I hope I can help him!" reno muttered.

Reno made up her mind to continue following her footsteps. He can't just give up. He put a gun in his hand, in case something unexpected happened.

"Is anyone here?!" cry Reno in a loud voice.

Reno's voice echoed along the hallway, sounding in the surrounding rooms. Even the voice was heard in Niken's ear, though not so clear. He immediately walked towards the steel door, trying to peer outside, but he could see nothing.

"Please! Help me!"

Niken tried to scream, but somehow his voice just settled down in the throat, unable to be heard out loud. His strength began to weaken, and his energy drained to knock on the wall.he tried to shout again, but felt weak. He just resigned. All the arrogance he had built up before getting inside the castle slowly collapsed like a sand palace that was crashing in waves.

***