Murder In The Old Castle
XL. A Secret Invitation
Elina took two pictures on her bed. The picture in the photo instantly made him aghast. A picture of a man in the body tied to a chair, and his mouth gagged. It's not clear which room it is, because it's a little dark. He suspected that the figure was very tormented by such circumstances, because it could not move anywhere.
“Doctor Dwi. Yes, no doubt this is dr.Dwi. Who did this to him? Where is he?” muttered.
Elina immediately put the photo in her pants pocket. He did not want to tell Aldo about the discovery of the photo in his bed, because after all Aldo's position was suspect. He doesn't trust anyone in the castle. He plans to report to Ammar about this strange discovery.
Aldo was waiting for him at the door of the room, with a question mark. Elina looks agitated. He dared not look Aldo in the eye for longer.
“Where's your camera? Let's get down!” bring Aldo.
“Sorry, Aldo. Suddenly I'm not feeling well. I think I'll take a break for a while. My head is a bit dizzy,” said Elina.
“You sick? You were just okay? Suddenly you are like this? What are you feeling?” Aldo looked worried to see the change in Elina's face.
“I just feel tired and dizzy. Probably due to lack of sleep last night. We'll just postpone the shooting plan. I will lie down for a while to restore stamina,” Elina said.
“Alright, Honey. I-i understand. You seem to need some rest. I'll leave you so I can rest soon. See you later today!”
Aldo left Elina with a heavy heart. He left with a look as if he could not be separated from Elina. The girl gave a small wave, while entering back into the room. Once again, take a photo out of his pocket. He is still inexhaustible with what happened with dr.Dwi.
“It should be stopped immediately!” muttered.
***
Inside his quiet room, Cornellio was still wondering if he should meet the mysterious invitation written on a small card in a bouquet of flowers. He was very interested in the mysterious author. As curiosity grew, he met Ammar in Anggara Laksono's study.
The police are also being troubled by the disappearance of Dr. Dwi. He did not expect that the senior doctor would also be the target of the psychopath roaming the castle. Now he is increasingly convinced that the series of murders has no motive. The killer deliberately killed his victims just for pleasure reasons.
His mind was dead-end, unable to find any correlation between the death of one victim and another. The killer seemed to randomly choose his victims, indiscriminately. His task now is not to find a motive for killing again, but to protect the occupants of another castle, so that the victims do not fall more.
Ammar made many small scribbles in his small notes. At first he wrote the name Anggara, then switched to the names Karina, Yoga and Rania. He tried to draw a line that could connect the names, but all seemed deadlocked.
“Sorry, am I interrupting?” ask Cornellio.
“Oh, certainly not. Be sitting. Anything you want to say?” answer Ammar.
Cornellio threw himself on the slightly dusty sofa. Since Anggara Laksono died, the room was rarely cleaned by Helen. The window is also rarely open, so the atmosphere becomes stuffy. Some furniture also started to get dusty. Yoga death also worsens the problem. The castle became increasingly unkempt.
“I do not want to linger bothering you, because I know you are currently being messed around by the disappearance of dr.Dwi. This really surprised me too. I hope he's okay. Actually something is a little troubling my mind.” Cornellio took a breath before starting to tell a story.
“Something has happened?” ask Ammar.
“Hmm. Bouquet flower? A secret admirer perhaps? Can I see?”
“Sure.”
Cornellio handed Ammar a bouquet of fresh flowers. The red roses were even still wet with the remains of the dew last night. The stems are picked untidy, not by using cutting tools. There were five rose stalks neatly tied together with a bright red ribbon. A small piece of paper is embedded between the flower arrangements.
Ammar read the message conveyed in the paper carefully. A few moments later, he scrunched his forehead.
“There is the initials of the importer behind the paper. Have you seen?” ask Ammar.
“I didn't check the back of the paper. Whose initials were written there?”
“Here it says AC. I don't know why my memory goes straight to Adrianna Chen. Could it be he who sent this invitation to you? Considering your relationship with him is pretty close. Maybe he admires you so much that he sent you this invitation,”, said Ammar.
“Adrianna? I doubt it was written by Adrianna. But I don't know. I think we met a lot, there's no need to use an invitation like this. But I don't know. Maybe also he wants to talk about something important, so he has to meet me in a special place,” said Cornellio.
“One thing you need to know, Cornellio. This guy invited you in the old barn back. What reason? The warehouse was never used for years. Last I checked, the warehouse was also the same place where Yoga was finished off and mutilated. The place is very dirty and I think it's a little creepy. Certainly not an interesting place for romantic talks,” continued Ammar.
“Gosh! It doesn't seem like Adrianna wrote that. There was another who was trying to vilify his name. I hope it's not him!”
“How so? Will you still come to the invitation or what?’ ask Ammar.
“What do you think?I'm here to ask for consideration.”
“I have an idea that I think is good. Look, have you told anyone this?”
“I don't think I need to tell anyone about this. Because even if I come to fulfill that invitation, I will come alone. This curiosity is so strong,” said Cornellio.
“Then it's good. Because I I have a plan that you can't divulge to anyone. Maybe after this I'll cross you off the suspect list. Or it could be that you will be a suspect, because it could be you who engineered this bouquet of flowers, to be hands off from all applicable events.”
Cornellio laughed at Ammar's explanation and said, ”A policeman always has a bad prejudice against suspects. Including the charge of the fake flower bouquet. Then what do you think is in it for me to make a bouquet of flowers like this?”
“I'm sorry, Cornellio. I was just asking. This bouquet of flowers is made in a hurry with untidy pieces. I don't recognize this handwriting either. Anything can happen, so naturally I suspect like that,” continued Ammar.
“Good. Now tell me, what are your plans with this invitation?”
“You keep coming to the invitation! I'll come there early, lurk from a hidden place, so it's not easy to figure out. I'll catch the psychopath wet before he does his act.”
***