Chapter 100 - 101. A Testimony
"We met at a shop near that traffic light last night. Now you remember!" that middle-aged woman sounded so sure after saying so. Then, I could recall well where I had met her.
"Yes, she's right. We went shopping at the same shop." I admitted it.
"What time did you go shopping?" That investigator seemed to suspect me.
"I'm not really sure, it's just it was over midnight when I arrived home." I knew for sure that I read the news last night. It was around 00.30. So I thought I would arrive home around after midnight.
The second investigator asked us a lot about who was in the shop between 22.00 to 12 at night. That old woman arrived at the shop earlier than me, and she said that no one was in the shop until I showed up.
Soon after that, another policeman arrived with a man in his thirties. He was a customer who came around ten at night. He also was questioned like us with the same questions and his answers were the same, no other visitors were located on the spot beside himself until he left the shop.
The conclusion was that from ten to twelve at night when the shop was about to close, there were no other visitors but three of us.
The shopkeeper was Mirien, a 4o years old woman who was found dead in the shop. There was a small door leading to the alley or a small passage between the shop and the building next to it near the cashier's table. She was found lying in the middle of the door so that half of her body was in the shop.
"The autopsy report will be released tomorrow. I really expect your cooperation in this case," said one of the police officers there. To be honest, there was something strange they were trying to hide from us.
Erick just arrived when I had finished the investigation. "How is it, Tha?" He was panting.
"It is done," I replied, tired, "But tomorrow I have to go back here. For now, we are still waiting for the release of the autopsy report and the CCTV record" Erick nodded to understand my explanation.
I went home as soon as possible because I still had lessons to teach from noon until two in the afternoon. I had thought it would have been very long and didn't expect it to be faster than I had expected.
…
Arriving at school, all the teachers swarmed around me. They asked me a lot of questions that I even could not answer. The news Mirien's death spread so quickly. A criminal case usually would go to the public either in print media or television after the police investigation. But mouth news spread much faster than any others.
"How could you get involved in such a dangerous case like this?" Mrs Lim looked so panicked. "How could you happen to be there?"
"I just bought food and I didn't know if I would be involved in an incident like this." I tried to reply patiently.
I quickly walked to my seat to pick up the attendance book, then I walked to my class. I paid no attention to their concerns or whatever it was. I really felt uncomfortable with such things because for me it was not the first time. I had been through the same thing with Zie's death.
My students went silent instantly when I arrived in class. I tried to behave naturally but still, they were all quiet. After I finished with my classes, I contacted Winnter and told her I would pick them up.
At three sharp, I just left my school. A message went to my phone. 'We are in front of your door now'. It was from Winnter.
I was so surprised to know that and hurriedly pedalled my bike. "How possible?" I questioned myself as I speeded up.
I found Winnter and Mirai had already waited for me when I arrived in front of my gate. "I'm sorry, I just arrived home," I apologized as I jumped off my saddle and met my guests. "How could you find your way here?" I was curious.
"Naar took me here," Winnter replied. Oh sure, how could I forget he and Azalea had been here previously to send me a knife through Erick.
I opened the gate and asked them to go in. Mirai was obviously so fond of Mickey. That teenager held the grey, ignoring the fatty tummy of that animal. I myself felt that the grey got so heavy and I could not hold him for too long.
And, it seemed that Mickey liked Mirai as well. He didn't mind her stroking him and making his fur a mess. "Tha, I'm hungry," He whimpered in that girl's arms. I knew it was only his way to get extra food from me.
I asked Winnter and Mirai to eat because I knew it took three hours to reach this place and they might miss their lunch.
"Tha, is internet connection good here?" Winnter asked as she enjoyed the pasta I made for them.
"It's good," I replied quickly, "Wait, let me write down the password." I wrote the passwords on a piece of paper I used for taking notes, especially shopping lists.
"Do you know the murder news of two people?" She asked again. The next second, her eyes focused on the iPad screen of hers as she had finished her dinner.
"Yes, I do" I sat down next to her after I cleaned up the dishes from the table.
"Do you think it is strange?" Winnter asked, looking at me eagerly.
I told her what I had in my mind and it turned out that both of us had the same predictions. I wanted to tell her that the Manjis had met and told me something that night, but I didn't do it because I did not know that woman very well.
…
Unfortunately, I had one room unoccupied and Winnter would occupy my mother's room. She didn't mind with all the stuff belonging to my mother, including her clothes. I planned to give her one more wardrobe so that she could put hers in there. Meanwhile, Mirai would stay in my room so I needed to change the bed into a bunk bed which had to be retrieved from the home store.
"Why doesn't that child occupy this room?" Winnter pointed to my brother's room.
"My friend's stuff is still in it. She can stay here if the stuff has been removed," I replied to her as I put Mirai's suitcase up.
Mirai didn't want to stay away from Mickey so I had to move his sleeping basket in my room, too. It was so obvious that Mickey enjoyed Mirai's treating him, whimpered to her all the time, or perhaps that girl was the only one that called him cutie.
'He is not cute at all, he is so barbarian and fatty, and his meal portion is like a starving animal!' I protested as he was called cutie.
I was having a discussion with Winnter in the dining room. "Tha, have you ever heard about a collector?" She asked. Instantly I was thinking about a stamp collector or some sort of thing. But I knew it was not.
"What is that?" I asked eagerly.
"Collector is creatures with no shape, they occupy other things like their shape, like rocks, trees, or other things. The things they occupied can only be temporarily used or forever." Winnter was trying to tell me but t was not easy to understand. perhaps it was because I had never heard about it and never known it.
"What is the connection with Aras?" I asked again.
, Winnter showed me a searching web about that creature to me, then she said, "Actually Aras is not a bad creature although the story about it is made in such a way to make it is." I listened to her as fixing my eyes on the screen about that animal.
"The purpose of making up such framing is that people will hunt Aras for their horns. The horns can produce such mystical melodies when they are played. This of course is a very valuable thing. The horns can also attract other animals and plants so that they are submissive to you, another melody they make is death melody." It was exactly like what I had ever read, even the article on this website.
"Once, King Alban, the First Elder of the wizard of the south won a battle and he expanded his territory to the largest. This was done with the help of Aras's horns. He knew the death melody and used that horn without a battle so that all his soldiers the enemy's soldiers died when they heard it.'' That was a new story I just heard.
"Hen, where is the horn now?" I was in awe and in curiosity.
"It is kept in the City Hall," Winnter replied. "In Sofis, the centre of wizards.." She then continued her search.