Manner Of Death English Translation

Chapter 5

I am not an expert in spying. Even if I work in collaboration with this environment, I am an average doctor. I don't know how to follow this car without getting caught—especially on a deserted road such as this. There aren't many vehicles in this small area after dark. The inhabitants are already at home, with their families. The road, noisy during the day, is now completely calm. There is only a pick-up and a 2 wheeler behind me, which reassures me a little.

I've been following Tann keeping a distance of about 50 to 100 meters between us for a long time. The black car in front of me is not moving very quickly. I direct all my concentration to him.

I then see the left turn signal light up announcing a change of direction. I quickly watch where Tann is about to turn. He walks down a small alley, leaving the main road, towards an old wooden house. I slow down and stop on the left side, at the entrance to the driveway, quickly switching off my headlights.

I look at the narrow, dark street Tann has just entered. Only a few lampposts barely illuminate the surroundings. Tann's car stops in front of the wooden house. Inside everything was completely dark, the shade of the surrounding trees hiding parts of the house.

Does he live here? The owner of the largest private tutoring school in the area cannot live here. It just doesn't sound like him.

I make the decision to turn off the engine and get out of the car to take a closer look. I close the door as gently as possible so that no sound escapes. I walk cautiously down the aisle. I know what I'm doing is dangerous, but to unmask the killer, I have no other choice. I must find the evidence that will allow me to confirm my hypothesis. I approach the still lifeless wooden house. No sign of life inside. I look at the rusty gate and the empty concrete fence circling the building. It shouldn't be difficult to get in, but I don't intend to enter Tann's house tonight. I will come back when he goes to his place of work.

After going around to take some information, I quickly return to my car. I take a few steps when I suddenly hear the echo of a voice from the darkness.

"Why are you following me?"

I turn my head in the direction of the voice. A man comes out of the shadows from where he was hiding. I waste no time and run towards my car. I hear the footsteps of the man chasing me. I am on the verge of cardiac arrest when I reach my car, which was only a few meters away.

Long, muscular arms grab me by the chest. The man leads me in his fall carried away by his race. Tann ends up on top of me, I try to push him but he grabs me by the wrists preventing me from moving.

"Let go of me !" I scream trying to escape his arms. He looks at my surprised face.

"Inspector!?" I quickly release my fists and stand up. "I'm sorry I didn't see it was you! Are you okay?"

I roll onto my stomach and straighten up. I feel my body aching from the fall, my arms must be covered with abrasions. Tann rushes over to take my arm and get up, but I push his hand away, refusing his help.

"I'm sorry. I saw that I was being followed. I was scared so I came here to see if I was still being followed. I didn't think it could be you." Tann raises his hands to express his sincerity, his breathing still strong.

I take a few steps back, trying to catch my breath. I take a careful look at this man. Can I believe it?

"So the police still suspect me? That's why you are following me? I already told you that I didn't do anything. I was somewhere else that night. You have the witness numbers to confirm it, my friends. can..."

"You are the murderer." I cut him off before he can finish. Tann pauses, stunned.

"No, it's not me. You don't understand."

"Where is the Prosecutor?" I begin to come to my senses. I try to ask him many questions at the same time to see his reaction. It is a technique often used during interrogations. I can still see his reactions despite the low light.

"What are you talking about ?" Tann frowns, "What's going on, Inspector?"

"I'm not a police officer, I am a doctor."

Tann opens his eyes wide, "What.."

"I am the coroner who performed the autopsy on Ms. Janejira. I was the first to find out that she had been killed."

The reaction of the man in front of me is not what I expected. Tann looks shocked at what he just heard. "You already know that. You asked your accomplice in the police for the autopsy report and you read that I had discovered it was a murder. You threatened me to falsify the report. autopsy. You're done." The more I speak, the more I move away from him.

Tann remains silent. I'm aware that what I'm saying is triggering something in him. I think I will soon have the chance to see this man act and confirm my suspicions.

"Is there any evidence to prove it's me?" Tann asks, still frowning.

Honestly, I don't have any. I have no proof claiming that Tann is the murderer, I only have my instincts and the statistics showing that it is very often the partner the culprit. About half of the murders of women in the world are committed by their spouses.

I decide not to answer and quickly return to my car. I hear Tann fighting back, but I don't listen. I open the door slightly to slide into the driver's seat, then lock the vehicle before starting the engine. I see Tann running and getting in front to block my way. Seeing this, I back up and turn right onto the main road. I didn't get any proof this time around, but I'm sure if Tann is the real murderer, my presence here will make him realize I'm not an i***t. If he can find me, I can find him too.

This is the first time that I want my attacker to come back, because if it's Tann, I will recognize him very easily. However, Tann is a smart person, he shouldn't dare to threaten or hurt me anymore, lest I expose him.

Hide your face and come back to see me. I challenge you, Tann.

...

"Dr. Bunn!" Tik, one of the emergency room nurses, catches up with me as I leave the room to go to the Forensic Examination Room, a place reserved for autopsies during investigations. This small examination room occupied a few square meters of the emergency department. Despite its small size, it's better than nothing since this type of inspection requires an isolated location, as clothing could be removed from the bodies. Performing an autopsy in the midst of emergencies is not really appropriate. "Dr. Bunn!"

"How many cases do I have today?" I ask him without looking back as a panicked expression appears on his face.

"Will you be okay, Doctor? You haven't taken a break?" Tik speeds up and blocks my way before I can rush into the room. "You can send the interns to do the consultations for you Doctor."

"No need to disturb them, I'll do it myself." I look down on the middle-aged nurse standing at the door to the autopsy room with her arms on her hips blocking the entrance.

"But you left the hospital yesterday."

I sigh softly before giving him a front smile. "I'm perfectly fine, Beauty."

The night before, after returning to the hotel, I couldn't fall asleep. I ended up staying in the lobby until 1:00 am. So I decided to come to work today thinking I would feel better. I prefer to be in a place surrounded by people, it seems safer. As cowardly as it sounds, I don't want to be alone. It is now that I regret living alone, in this remote place, far from my family and loved ones. No one can keep me company. This is the first time that I wish I did not have to leave work at the end of the day. I want to stay in the hospital.

At least I'm doing the job I always wanted to do. My mission today is to establish legal documents, medical certificates for insurance in particular. I rarely see patients who have been physically or sexually assaulted. When it does, I examine them from head to toe for signs of injury, assess the severity, determine how long they have been around and how long they will take to be treated.

The first patient is a boy with a tall, slender figure wearing a T-shirt and shorts. His limbs are covered with scratches and by just a glance I can tell this kid was in a traffic accident. The nurse makes him sit on the examination table in the middle of the room and gives me the patient's chart. I put on gloves as she shows me the wound.

"Mr. Sorrawit Kamma, is that right?" I ask the young boy, "How old are you?"

"18 years old."

"What happened? What day and what time? I'm listening to you."

"Uh, I was riding my motorbike. It was 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., over there. There was a hole in the road but I didn't see it. I rolled over and fell. wasn't driving fast though."

I take a moment to understand his way of speaking due to his accent and his way of cutting words. These two years in the North have allowed me to understand the local dialect somewhat, but I am unable to speak like that. I still understood his story: At around 9:00 p.m. last night, this kid had a pothole in the road on a motorcycle. "Haven't you put on a helmet?" I ask him with my accent from Bangkok.

"I wasn't wearing one."

I jot down the details on the file before lifting his clothes to examine the wounds on his body. He has abrasions on his forehead, cheeks, right arm, and ankle. I don't find any unusual injuries. I sketch a drawing and transcribe a description of the injury inside a human schematized on the file to facilitate recording of the injuries.

"What's your name Doc?'" The youngster gives me an admiring look. "You're cute Doc, you know?"

The nurse giggles as I ignore this remark. In other circumstances, I would probably have responded with a joke. But, I don't want to. "Raise your arm like that," I tell him, raising my arm so that my elbow is pointing forward and my hand is resting behind my head. The patient calmly imitates me. I don't really expect any other injuries except a few scratches.

Eh...?

On the boy's forearm are two parallel bruises, separated from each other by a band of his normal skin color. These bruises are mainly caused by a long contending object, such as a bar for example. They are located in an area of the body that a person would use, in the event of an attack, to protect themselves. Imagine if someone hits you with a golf club, you will automatically raise your arms to block the shots. This will result in traces of defensive injuries on the forearms.

This boy's problem isn't just a car accident, he's been assaulted.

"Did someone hit you?" I ask him. He jumps in panic.

"... No, just the bike," He quickly drops his arms and crosses them over his chest.

"If you tell me, I'll tell you my name." I use his previous request to my advantage to make him talk.

Sorrawit stutters a bit before admitting. "I got beaten up by gangsters before the accident,"

"Ok," I take off my gloves, then jot down more details in his file. "You didn't tell the police, did you?"

"No, I don't want any problems. I just want a medical certificate for my sick leave." The boy then exclaims "You are amazing Doc!"

"Alright, I'll give you your certificate. Wait outside." I turn to the young kid who is looking at me with anticipation. "Oh... my name is Dr. Bunnakit by the way. If you need to, you can come find me."

...

It took me two hours to get out of the exam room after all the patients had been checked out. A nurse then approaches me and tells me that the body of a dead person in the hospital awaits my post-mortem examination at the Medico-Legal Department. I wanted to eat somewhere outside the hospital before going back to work. I pull out Pert's phone and stare at him. No one calls me on this phone. It's not really a surprise since it's not mine.

"Doctor!" A familiar voice calls out to me as I walk through the emergency room. On alert, I quickly raise my head to look at the person calling me. A man of tall stature approaches me with a long stride, his face filled with apprehension.

Tann! I automatically step back looking at the man who in front of me. My heart quickens with fear. It's the murderer. Obviously, he knows where I work but I never though that he would come in person like that—under his real identity too.

"I came to show you that I'm not the one who did this. you are available, can we discuss it, Doctor?"

"I'm busy" I walk away quickly. Tann follows me, relentless.

"After what happened last night, do you really have nothing to tell me?" Tann raises his voice, all eyes—nurses and patients alike are on us.

"What's going on? What happened to Jane? I tried asking the police but no one wants to answer me."

I don't answer him. I'm looking for a way to get away.

I will not fall into your trap...

I take advantage of my familiarity with the place to sneak through the crowd to successfully get rid of Tann. I go straight to the Forensic Department, thinking of the autopsy room as a sanctuary.

I see a man waiting on one of the chairs in the department. He gets up as soon as he sees me. As for me, I almost scream when I see him—Captain Aem. He was in civilian clothes, his tall figure approaching me. "Why can't I contact you, Dr. Bunn? I asked your colleagues and they keep giving out your old number."

"Aem!" I run to him, "I lost my phone."

Captain Aem lets out a breath, and looks at my wound on the forehead. "What has happened to you ?"

"..." Maybe this is the opportunity to tell him. Should I tell him all about it? IF I do, will the killer know? And what will he do if he knows? Can I trust this police officer? Is he his accomplice? I find myself in complete darkness.

"Aem, what brings you here?" I quickly changed the subject.

"Two reasons: the first is the fact that I couldn't reach you. The second is about the Prosecutor..." My throat heals when I hear the end of the sentence. "I'm on the case. Guess you already know?"

I agree. He continues, "Doc, do you know a few things? I know you're friends. Was he having problems with anyone?"

I remain silent for a few seconds before slowly shaking my head. "I don't know either."

"When you're available, Doc, come to the police station for a longer chat. And I'd like to have your new number too."

I don't know the number of this device either, so I ask for the Captain's number and dial him to call him. Once the numbers have been exchanged, we say goodbye and he leaves the premises. I collapse into the chair in front of the forensic department. All of this is too much for me to bear.

Although I know I can't trust anyone, I want someone to know what is happening to me. I want someone to help me find out what's going on. That person should be Pert, but he's gone. I don't even know if he's dead or alive. I look up at the ceiling aimlessly. So far the police haven't really found any evidence? Is it possible that no security camera or person saw something suspicious? I really wanted to ask Captain Aem these questions but if I do what will be the consequences? Will anyone disappear again?

I rub my temples and close my eyes as I take a deep breath to try to calm myself down.

At this moment, I hear footsteps coming closer to me.

"Doctor..." Tann found me.