Shouldn't Be This Way

Chapter 15: His heart

" Chim " " Chim "

Jafri was awakened by a message on his phone. The notice from Inspector Somchai flashed on the screen. He had been waiting for this message since yesterday, when the Inspector told him that any updates would be sent to him by SMS once they exchanged phone numbers. The afternoon nap his took on rattan chair outside the balcony is over.

His heart was pounding so fiercely. He became really cold all of a sudden, and his hand trembled as he attempted to open the text. He paused for five seconds before opening the message. Perhaps because of the good news he received from the Text messages, he let out a sigh of relaxation.

" Guys, I received a text regarding the blood on Sarah's bed " He dashed inside to join the rest of them in front of the television in the living room.

" Finally!! " Adam exclaimed loudly, " So, what's the result? "

" The result came out as goat blood " He slid his phone back into his pocket.

" Well, that's a relief to hear " Jasmine crawled to the left side of sofa to the beanbag, " At least it's not Sarah's blood "

" Did you think, this is more weird and crappy because it's like there's something sinister toying with us " Putera hit them with the reality.

" Putera was right. This wasn't good news and in fact, it scared the crap out of me " Adam folded his hand to his chest.

" So--, do you mean that, this is... some... kind of ritual by certain cult? " Melur's face turned pale at the thought of her question, " Goat blood is usually used in sacrifice ritual right? " She continued.

" Ayy, you watch too much western movie " Adam snorted after he heard that theory.

" Not to sound creepy, but in our culture they used human blood of the victim itself for these kind of ritual " Putera rubbed his tired eyes as he sat up straight on sofa.

Melur knotted her eyebrow " I'm relieved but yeah it is a bit creepy "

" Guys... I have something to confess... " " Do you remember the story that you told in the train " Jasmine suddenly raised her in the midst of the conversation.

" Which one, the French guy story or that old lady story told by Jafri? " Melur's lips tipped up.

" The second one " " Actually that night when I went to toilet I saw-- "

" cringggg " " cringggg " A ringtone by the phone halt their conversation.

"-- Wait Jasmine, I need to pickup this call " Jafri interrupted Jasmine.

" Yes Inspector, right, right... " He seemed to be in phone with the police. " What!!? " Jafri suddenly collapsed on the chair stunned by the things he heard on phone.

Adam then pick up the phone lushly, " Yup, Yup, Okay we will go to that address " Adam put down the phone after he finished the call.

" Guys-- Police -- Hmm-- what I'm try to say-- they found a maroon cardigan and pair of vans shoes in the deep bush alongside the railway route, so they want... us to identify the clothes is Sarah's or not " He stuttered to arrange the sentences in his mind.

" Wow, it's a good thing then right? It means that they near to the Sarah's location " Why Jafri looks so shocked then? " Putera asked while looking at his friend.

Adam took a long breath, " The thing is... there's blood covered the shoes and the cardigan, and... that cardigan also torn a bit " He biting his lip try to gather his strength, " Another thing is, the police said--, that--, hmm--, they will stop the operation if the clothes turn out to be Sarah because they suspected that she might become a victim of the wild animals live in the jungle "

Their eyes have a glazed appearance about them. Everyone was taken aback by Adam's statement. After that, without saying anything, they all quickly gather their belongings and head to that particular location. Reckless and careless is the right word to describe how Jafri drove while he keeps hitting the acceleration pedal to rush to this place.

They arrived in a little town in Petchaburi after a 55-minute ride. The location was fairly isolated, with no streetlights and a dense layer of trees. They took a right onto a rocky and muddy road and drove for a while through a splendid wood that stretched over a wide extent. Siren of police cars alarmed them that they reached the destination. They all get out of the car to meet the Inspector.

" Oh no... " Melur came to a halt when she noticed familiar clothes laying on the outskirts of the bush, smeared in blood. Her voice became shaky due to shock, " That's what she wore last night before she went into her room " She pointed at the clothes with a trembled hand.

" Hello everyone " Inspector Somchai approached them as he heard the conversation " hmm-- " He paused to studied their face. " So as you identified the clothes is owned by the victim, looking at the condition of the clothes and also based on my experience, Sarah might be eaten by the wild animals "

" Might!!!???  What do you mean by might??? " Jasmine suddenly opened her mouth yelling, " No... I can't believe what I'm hearing! Yesterday, you told me that you could find her!! " Are you really certain? " She questioned desperately to the Inspector.

" Looking at all this, Yup it might be this way " Inspector took out his hand from his back pocket.

" No... Pleaseee " She finally broke down and sat on the ground, sobbing. She couldn't accept the fact that her friend might no longer alive.

Melur seemed lightly sobbing as well " Jasmine, its alright " She knelt beside Jasmine and hugged her. Tears also flow from her eyes, but it appears to be coming from her heart rather than her brain.

" So do you will stop fully the operation? " Putera who is the only one in the rational state asked the officer.

" We will reduce the amount of the officer but we're not fully shut down the operation " He smacked his lip " It is because the headquarter receive another case regarding drug cartel so the priority had to changed "

" Okay--, how long--, I mean-- do you have any time limitation on this case? " Adam approached from behind, fumbled.

" Yup, unfortunately after one week we will declare this case as an transportation incident " he said. " Let's all hope that we can find her in a good condition before that " Bittersweet smile was thrown by the Inspector to them.

After the clothes were identified, they hopelessly return to their airbnb with one full day left on this trip. This trip really turns into the tragedy. Disaster does not produce a strong mentality but rather, our strong mentality is revealed through the tragedy. Perhaps this tragedy will forever alter their lives.

Investigators were mystified by this very distressing case, which had only one trace of evidence and no corpse discovered. She seemed to have vanished from the face of the planet. Despite the fact that the investigation nearly concluded, Malaysia and Thailand were inundated with "missing person" posters featuring a photo of Sarah. In their search for Sarah, this alternative by the local authority became their last string of hope. The mystery persisted, because life is a secret as deep as death, and what's more mysterious is that they have no means of confirming if Sarah is still alive or not.