Detective Horror

Chapter 27 - Cyanide Poison

The jeep, driven by Zulfikar, has arrived at the Polsek yard. The steward and Mr. Tejo went down, followed by Zulfikar.

"How's it?" ask AKP. Wijayanto is still in the police station. It seemed that he did not want to go home before hearing the results of the investigation conducted by the Preamuja and Zulfikar.

"It seems I already know the cause of the victims' deaths." Steward smiled.

AKP. Wijayanto and the villagers who were working were immediately shocked and curious about the recognition of the flight attendant.

"So right, if they were killed by being strung out?" ask one of the residents.

"They didn't die from being stuck, they died from poisoning." The servant said calmly.

"So Paimin's grandfather poisoned them?" ask other people.

"They were not poisoned by anyone, but they poisoned themselves" said the servant.

"That really doesn't make any sense, Mom! Don't fabricate! How could they poison themselves. It's suicide, her name. There was no sign they were going to commit suicide. They look fine before they die." A resident denied the Preacher's explanation.

"Do you know anything about cyanide poison? They died of the poison." The servant said again.

"Is that the poison in the coffee that killed Mirna with the suspect Jessica whose case had been stirred up in the media? How can there be people in this village who have the poison," said a resident who still does not believe in the speech of the priest.

"Of course in this village it is very easy to find the poison." Steward smiled.

"Well, that's really impossible, Mom! There are no pharmacies in our village. Even if there were, it would be impossible to sell such poison." Residents who had continued to deny the speech of the flight attendant.

"According to experts, there are types of cassava and also its leaves that contain cyanide. This type of cassava tree has a large trunk and wide leaves. Under normal conditions, cassava is a source of carbohydrates and dietary fiber although it has little protein, but in some types of cassava there are potentially toxic compounds, namely linamarin and lotaustralin which include cyanogenic glycosides. Linamarin is rapidly hydrolyzed into glucose and acetone cyanohydrin. Lotaustraline is hydrolyzed to cyanohydrin and glucose. Under neutral conditions, acetone cyanohydrin is decomposed into acetone and hydrogen cyanide causing poisoning to those who consume it." The steward explained at length.

"We don't understand the terms that Mas mentioned. So the point is Mas want to say that cassava and its leaves contain cyanide poison?" A villager tries to draw conclusions.

"Yes, that's how it is," said the servant.

"That makes no more sense, Mom! The cassava includes our daily meals. Neither the tubers, nor the leaves we often eat and the proof is that we are okay." A villager denied the words of the Pramuja.

"Cassava or leaves can be dangerous if consumed in raw conditions, in large quantities, or if the processing is wrong. That's because cassava contains chemicals called cyanogenic glycosides, which can release cyanide substances in the body when consumed. But if cooked properly, the substance will decompose." The attendant explained it more simply.

"That's right! We have asked Mang Engkus as the owner of the shop. He said the victims added their own raw cassava leaves to the carts they ate." Zulfikar reinforces the explanation of the Master.

"I have also questioned Mr Tejo as the first person to find the bodies of the victims. He said that the victim's eyes were bulging, the mouth was bluish and slightly frothy. The victim's skin is also reddish in color. All of these are characteristics of people who have cyanide poisoning. If further investigated, there will be an almond smell that smells from the victim's mouth. That's a typical cyanide smell." The steward explained that according to the evidence seen from the victim's corpse.

"If you still don't believe me, we'll wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow the autopsy results will come out. From there, the cause of death of the victims will be known. For now, please go home to each other." AKP. Wijayanto called on villagers to disperse.

AKP. Wijayanto offers Pramuja and Zulfikar to stay at his house while waiting for the results of his autopsy out tomorrow.

Tomorrow, the autopsy results are out. And it turns out true, the victims were declared dead due to poisoning and found cyanide substances in their stomachs, as well as raw cassava leaves that have not been completely digested.

The villagers who returned to hear the results of his autopsy, inevitably had to trust all the analysis of the flight attendant. Before the autopsy results came out, the flight attendant was able to guess the cause of death of the victims very precisely.

Based on legitimate and convincing witnesses and evidence, Grandpa Paimin was finally acquitted of all charges. The villagers also apologized to Grandpa Paimin.

"Thank you, this Mas-Mas has helped me." Paimin's grandfather saluted the Steward and Zulfikar.

"Together, Cake! I hope Grandpa can live well together with the villagers" Zulfikar said.

"I intend to move out of the village. The villagers almost burned me alive. It traumatized me." Grandpa Paimin looks moody.

"Where is Grandpa going?" ask Zulfikar.

"Don't know. I'll follow where the footsteps take me. I can hang on to life by being a traveling masseuse." Paimin's grandfather said confidently before actually saying goodbye to Pramuja and Zulfikar.

Pramuja and Zulfikar decided to return to Jakarta. On the way, the flight attendant looks dreamy. It seems like he is thinking of something.

"What's up, Pram? Did anything disturb your mind? Didn't we solve the case?" ask Zulfikar from behind the wheel.

"Come, Zul! I feel like there's still a mystery in that case. The ghost of the man I met last night seemed to want to tell me something. And again, I felt a mystical air when I entered Grandpa Paimin's house, also when shaking hands with him earlier." The steward told her of his unrest.

"That's just your feeling, Pram! The evidence for autopsy is very clear. Paimin's grandfather was innocent" Zulfikar said.

The steward was silent while looking at the street before him.

***

Grandpa Paimin has arrived at his house and started cleaning his things. He intends to move to the city. He shifted the cots where he used to do massage practice, then pulled the mats that covered the wooden floor of his house. There was a small secret room there.

Paimin's grandfather took a small piece of cloth, then opened it. Inside were jenglots, pocong ropes, spell-written fabrics, as well as other mystical items. He picked up a voodoo doll with paper on his chest that was pierced with dozens of needles. The paper says ... 'SLAMET RAHARJO'

"You're the first one looking for me, Slamet! You accuse me of killing people with witchcraft and inciting people to burn me alive! Now it's just that you feel for yourself my witchcraft, hahaha ..."

Paimin's grandfather soon left the village, before anyone like Pramuja realized Mr. Slamet's unnatural death.

***