Detective Rez Chamba in... The Case of the Restless Shovel

Chapter 3: Mysterious Shadow

REZ AND FRED had no choice but to continue searching for Dr. Caridad's house.

"Just turn at that corner," an elderly person, the second they encountered in the entire village, advised. "You'll see a large white house with a high fence. That's it."

Dr. Caridad's house had a concrete and tall fence with what seemed like a high-tech iron gate, complete with installed CCTV cameras that automatically opened when they pressed the doorbell.

"Should we bring in the motorbike?" Fred asked.

"Of course," Rez was about to pat his friend, "It might go missing too. I don't want to add more to what I'm already looking for."

Dr. Caridad happily welcomed the two visitors and immediately called his two daughters to set the table for the snack they prepared: boiled sweet potato root crops.

"Boiled sweet potato makes a good snack..." the plump and fair doctor said while pulling a chair towards the table, "...especially if you're trying to eat a lot."

"Prrruuuutttth!"

Laughter erupted when the doctor let out a loud fart upon sitting.

"You're really emitting toxic gases... Hehehe!" He joked.

Once everyone was seated and started munching on the boiled sweet potatoes, the doctor began to explain his case.

"I think it's just a small problem," he started. "But I am an honest follower of our religion, so I feel guilt. I bought an old shovel from a junk shop here in our village and used it in my backyard for several months until it suddenly disappeared. Later, a mountain child came, claiming the shovel belonged to their ancestors. I got angry because he couldn't provide any proof. I told him I'd only give it if he could show evidence. He left angrily, cursing me and accusing me of being a thief."

"His saliva was like blood," his two daughters commented in unison.

Rez and Fred glanced at each other. They were thinking the same thing.

The father rolled his eyes at the twins before continuing. "But now, I regret it because I thought maybe it indeed belonged to them since there are peculiar inscriptions on the back of the blade. Like the language of mountain people. I decided that if he comes back, I'll just give it to him, but yesterday, I couldn't find the shovel. It's gone!"

"And that's the mystery we want you to solve!" Dr. Caridad's daughters spoke again. "We know that the Shadow took it to dig up its hidden treasure by the river."

Dr. Caridad glanced at his twin daughters, seemingly embarrassed. "There they go again with their childhood fantasies, influenced too much by their late mother. She used to teach them about unseen entities."

He turned to the young men. "Please don't mind what they're saying. They were heavily influenced by their mother when she was alive. She taught them a lot about 'invisible personas.'"

Rez frowned. "Don't you believe in spirits or ghosts?"

"In spirits, yes. But in ghosts, no."

"But 'spirit' and 'ghost' refer to the same thing: an unseen person, don't they?"

It seems like three mysteries are now in front of Rez Chamba: First, who stole that peculiar shovel? Second, who is Dacumog, really? And third, who or what is the Shadow?