Murderer
CHAPTER 9 - Another Case (Revised)
Again, a body was found and this time, both Citra and Faisal knew the victim. He is Johan, the person they were going to meet last night but did not show up.
"The time of death was about six in the afternoon yesterday, the cause of death was drained of blood, and ...." Hanging his explanation.
"And?" urge Citra.
"His tongue was cut off, on his chest was engraved a quote from Proverbs 2:22 about the traitor, then on his palm was a cross upside down," Bara continued.
They looked at the dead body on the wall. Johan, the witness who they hoped would shed some light on the case, was killed horribly, Citra came out of the half-finished building.
"Aarrgghhh!" He screams in anger. When, where and how the perpetrator knew if he was going to meet the police officer. So why did Johan ask for protection as if he had been threatened before he decided to open his mouth.
Increasingly, the Kinanti case is like a magnet attracting other bloody events. The mystery of the image of the upside-down cross, the remains of Kinanti, Cecilia and now Johan. Kinanti and Johan have a common thread, so what about Cecilia's body?
"What is the relationship between the three of them?"
"And you better eat first."
The image turned to the origin of the voice, Faisal smiled with a pack of burgers in his hand. He placed the parcel on his commander's desk.
"Thank you .. You think the — men Johan mentioned were, how did he know that his accomplice would open his mouth to the police?" ask Citra while biting her burger.
Faisal shifted his gaze from the computer to Citra. "There are two possibilities, his phone was intercepted or he was being watched" Faisal replied.
"It makes sense, because Johan was like someone who was running away from someone ...."
"But, Ndan .. why did the perpetrator not immediately finish Johan if he was afraid of being unmasked? Why wait so long? He could have killed Johan with Kinanti" Faisal said in surprise.
The image agreed. "Yes, that's awkward. Does that person have a reason?"
"This is really a Kinanti curse ...!" grouse Faisal.
...----------------...
May 27, 2021
Breath Cafe & Lounge
Andre went into the employee locker room. His face looks very tired. "Tumben's late, Ndre," reprimanded his bartender friend.
"There's a little business. Bawel lu, kayak mums complex," protested Andre.
"Lu used to be from Crazy Club hotel Artha, right?" ask his friend again.
Andre nodded, his hands busy cleaning the sloki and the glasses on the bar table. "Lately have you heard about the sole heir of the hotel? Reportedly he went missing last night in the hospital."
"So far he has not been found. Poor fiancee, totally paralyzed. A beautiful woman, let alone a model like her must have felt like she was living in hell with her condition." His friend kept telling me. Andre just smiled cynically, his grudge towards Valen has not gone away until now.
"Their business, already, has been .. you do your job, if the boss comes, it can get in trouble!" Andre warned his friend.
Valentino Arthasena's. He is a sinner and a sinner must be punished. Let me be the hand of God that punishes him. Intercede for the hand of God to punish sinners.
If you agree, signal by replying to this letter. Put it in the mailbox of an old church behind Gabriel's elementary school.
The sentence in the letter continued to be overshadowed in Andre's head, a letter without a sender sent to his old address. A month ago.
Since Cecilia died, Andre decided to move and rent out his parents' house. While he chose to live in a small boarding house.
"Yesterday there was a letter addressed to Nak Andre," said his house tenant mother when she came to take the rent.
"Who's letter, ma'am?" ask Andre while checking the water pump. The mother complained yesterday that her water pump was broken.
"There is no sender name. Wait for me to get it, yeah!"
Andre received the letter without the sender.
"Woi! Oh, howdy!" The sound surprised Andre. Annoyed, he threw napkin in his friend's face.
It turned out that he was daydreaming, thinking about what the letter meant. He was asked to reply to the letter, if it agreed with retaliation for the sinners.
He finally decided to reply to the letter a week ago. Then Andre got a reply back containing an instruction.
...----------------...
An empty warehouse in Manggala industrial area.
A man hanging upside down with a chain. Blood poured from the body pierced by an iron hook in a half-dying state. His face was broken by the hard water.
"Leviticus 24:20
broken replace broken, eyes changed eyes, teeth changed; as he made others blameless, so it must be made to him,"
Samar his ears still hear the voice of the kidnapper reciting the same verse of the Bible. He knew his life was over the horns, with no one to help him. The melody of this mysterious man is said to be a death song for the victim. He surrounded his victims, as if he were performing a ritual sacrifice.
The dying man hanging helplessly felt the angel of death draw closer to him. He was tired of holding on, and finally he completely closed his eyes.
The sound of victory laughter was heard from the kidnapper. He left his victims hanging from the ceiling of the warehouse.
......................
5 Days later
The foul aroma of an empty warehouse caught the attention of several people who often passed in front of the warehouse. How surprised they were to see the body that had almost rotted and hung on the ceiling of the factory.
One of them contacted the authorities, and as usual, this case was handled by Citra and her team. Faisal arrived first at the location, which was then followed by Citra and Bara.
"Gruesome! It would be difficult to reconstruct the victim's face, his face was so broken. Probably because of the hard water and also the decay ..." complained Bara.
"Spirit!" taisek Faisal's. Bara punched his friend in the arm, and he began his duties as a forensic doctor. Citra and Faisal went around the warehouse.
"Is there anything you found?" ask the image to Bara. Bara's finger pointed at the body's chest.
...Leviticus 24:20...
...Fractured replacements, eyes for eyes, teeth for teeth; as he made others blameless, so must be made to him....
"Another quote of the verse on vengeance .. the inverted cross?"
"As usual, in the victim's palm,"
Faisal suddenly ran from another corner of the warehouse. "I found a room, Ndan. Maybe here the perpetrator was hiding all this time!" yells.
They headed for the room Faisal pointed to. The room was quite dark, there was only a dim yellow bulb the only lighting in the room. There was a photograph on the wall of the room.
Photos of a group of children set in a church-like background. But there is a signboard attached there.
"Benedict Orphanage." murmured Citra. "What does this photograph have to do with the madness of the man who confessed the hand of God?"
Faisal observed the photo, some faces were cross-marked, five children and several sisters were also adult men. One fat child was placed in a circle of angels on it.
It's like I've seen the man in the photo. The man's face was cross-marked and Faisal felt he was no stranger. The photo was taken as the only evidence of the killer's existence there.
The Burial of Bhayangkara Hospital
Bara will be busy autopsying the body that has been found in the empty warehouse. Her work is further complicated as her face is damaged, with no identity. Tonight he might sleep with the body again.
"The reconstruction of this face will take time ..." he lamented. He then began his work carefully.
While in the Manggala polrestabes office, Citra was called by the boss. Her ears are full and red with the curse, she is pressed, forced to solve this serial murder case as soon as possible.
The media has begun to report on the inability of the police to handle the case. That made the Manggala police officers become angry.
The image returned to his room, seeing the name Benedict Orphanage made his heart ache. He leaned his back on the chair, trying to relax for a moment. Although he could not calm down because he knew the Benedict Orphanage was related to this murder case.
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