"What the—argh—what are you thinking? Didn't I tell you not to act rashly? See for yourself! What did they do to your neck? You're lucky the sharp weapons they used didn't cut your throat!"

The deafening sound still didn't stop even though the doctor had left her with dozens of stitches from a minor operation performed to stop the bleeding from the incision in her neck. Freen walked back and forth in front of her, a look of concern was evident on her beautiful face. The woman looked nervous and angry at the same time.

She was asked by the nurse on duty at the emergency room to remain calm and lower her voice since Becca was brought in for the first time. But until the small operation ended, Freen still couldn't close her mouth and became even louder. Honestly, it felt like Becca wanted to hit Freen in the head with the sneakers she was wearing. But on the other hand, she also didn't want her senior to actually order her to do 200 push-ups.

"Why are you so exaggerated? Look, I'm alive." Breathing out with embarrassment at the petty fuss made by the woman surnamed Chankimha, Becca finally tried to talk her out of it to calm her down a bit.

Hearing Becca's words, Freen suddenly stopped her steps and looked at Becca with sharp eyes as if she was preparing to pounce on the woman like a wild animal. She walked closer, and put her left hand on the bed as a pedestal so she could bring her face closer to Becca's. "Alive you say? I—I saw you almost die in my lap! Don't you know that my heart almost popped out when you made a sound like an animal being slaughtered? I thought you wouldn't survive that, bastard."

Becca looked away and exhaled slowly. Her seemingly indifferent response also annoyed Freen—it seemed—because the long-haired woman immediately stepped away a few meters from Becca to sit in a chair near the wall and chose to stare at the cellphone screen with her eyebrows dipping sharply.

The younger woman slowly felt the stitch marks that had been wrapped in bandages around her neck. The rough surface of the rolled cloth touched her fingertips, instantly making Becca suck her lips together. However, she was thankful that the attack didn't cause any serious injuries. She had difficulty speaking once the attack occurred. But the doctor said it was just the result of the shock she felt when she saw blood flowing out of her neck. Her brain overreacted and made her locomotion difficult to control.

It's only natural for Freen to be scared like that. Becca didn't really remember the details because her consciousness was on the verge when she realized that there was blood flowing out of her neck. But she could remember how tense Freen's face was when she helped the medics to put her in the ambulance. The woman's face was white as if she had a serious illness—in this case, she might have nearly had a heart attack.

"Fuck," Freen swore. She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "What on earth are you doing? You should be at home and calling your family!"

The young Armstrong reflexively brought her fingers to her head, tossing back the locks of hair in a quick, rather rough motion. She cleared her throat, then took one foot off the gurney and straightened up on her own two feet. She grabbed Freen's upper arm and pulled the sturdy looking arm slightly to follow her. "We can't talk here. Let's go somewhere else—uh, where's my car? Shit, did I left it in the pharmacy parking lot?"

"Hey, hey, hey! You can't go, Sergeant!" the woman tried to free Becca's grip. She did, but not for long because Becca immediately used her other hand to grip Freen's wrist and pull her even more. Of course she didn't accept it—hey, remember! Her hand was hurting!—so she had to grab Becca's shoulder and force her to face her. "Tell me what you were doing in there, and I'll get the doctor to let you out of the hospital tonight. Tell me, everyone."

Becca snorted. Since what happened recently, she has lost trust in everyone. Freen's words, trying to convince herself that she could entrust everything to her, only made Becca more suspicious of the lieutenant. Why would she force herself to convince Becca when she shouldn't have to.

Who's she? She's just a stranger who just came into her life. She doesn't deserve Becca's trust that easily either. After all, she also doesn't have anything that can make Becca fully trust her, even though she easily accepts her offer to live together in an apartment unit, that doesn't make her let go of her guard—because after all, Freen seems to be keeping a secret behind the look in her eyes.

Now, at this very second, for some reason the touch of Freen's hands on her shoulders sent a wave of heat that coursed deep into the nerves in her head. The memory of what she found in the autopsy report that seemed to have not yet been handed over to the police and the face of Freen facing her now made her emotions jump. Indeed, she didn't really put much trust in this annoying lieutenant but deep down, Becca felt she had been betrayed.

Not wanting her emotions to flare up in front of many people, Becca shook Freen's soft touch off her shoulder and stepped away from the woman's presence to exit the emergency room into the corridor in the hospital, and stopped in front of a red door marked with an emergency staircase. Harsh footsteps behind her started to be heard and she didn't have to look back to know who it was because it was clear only Freen was willing to chase after her like that for now.

If she can't be taken with me, I'll make you come where I'm headed,she thought.

Becca pushed the door to the fire escape with her shoulder, holding it with her right hand to keep the heavy door from closing on its own. She went inside and a few moments later Freen broke down the door and went inside before closing it with a loud thump. The sound of the door slamming echoed inside the fire escape as it was a closed room that wasn't too large.

The long-haired woman then tilted her head and raised her hands. It's like saying what-are-you-doing to Becca without using her vocals. Once again, Freen walked over and was about to try to touch Becca's shoulder to calm her down.

Biting her lip, Becca pushed Freen's body away from her and whispered, "You should be the one explaining everything to me, Freen."

"What?" Raising an eyebrow, Freen replied, "What do you want me to explain? I've been keeping up with Seng's interrogation progress and all the information we've gotten from her. Regarding the results of the autopsy, we still haven't received a report from CIFS because Doctor Nam is under arrest! OK, we did confiscate all of her belongings including her laptop and cell phone. I should have been in the office rummaging through that laptop but you see? I'm here because someone almost cut off your head!"

Becca looked at Freen with a searching gaze. She tried hard to find any lies that were trying to hide behind the pair of light brown irises. But she found nothing but real concern. Lying, Becca tried to convince herself not to fall into any trap that this tall woman in front of her might have prepared. This person is lying. She is lying. She must be lying.

She chuckled. Emitting a laugh that sounded disdainful. And indeed the goal is like that. She was angry, disappointed, and annoyed because she felt betrayed. Still with a crooked smile made with wide open eyes, the sergeant then took out a flash drive and pointed it right in front of Freen's eyes.

"I need you to explain what's in here, Lieutenant." Becca tapped her finger on the flash drive in her hand, then tucked the small object into her hand. "Just so you know, what's in here could ruin your career in a few days." she continued.

The woman's words sounded more like a threat than a demanding question, Freen could read it from the look on Becca's face and the tone in every word she said. Unknowingly, her hands clenched tightly at her sides in response to the anger that she had suppressed tightly earlier—the emotion slowly began to take its own way to infiltrate out of the fortress she had built herself to get rid of the ego that would cost her money.

However, Freen recognized herself. She wasn't a random person who could be easily threatened by this low-ranking little geek in front of her. Unfortunately, she had promised not to do the same thing she did in Chiang Mai—and that promise had to be kept true, right? After all, she needed to have a good relationship with this woman. So removing her from the police force is definitely not a wise thing to do.

If Becca wanted to threaten her with the flash drive, then so be it. Because what she knows is far more than her.

So that woman could only smile faintly and show a calm face as if she didn't feel any emotion when Becca shamelessly challenged her. "Rebecca," Freen licked her lips, wetting her dry lips for a moment before continuing the syllable no less seriously, "I already know what you've got in there. That's why I didn't ask what you were doing before someone attacked you near the crossroads a few hours ago."

Becca's smile slowly faded from her face, and Freen just stared straight at the half of her dark, light brown irises. She felt guilty for a split second because she would also be lying if she said Becca's smile didn't interest her. But everything has already happened. And just blame her mouth for never being able to brake every word that comes out, not herself.

Stammering, Becca touched Freen's shoulder and gripped her clothes. "How—I knew you were spying on me. You traitor, you must be one of them! Why did you involve me and my family here, bastard!"

"It is not like that!" Frustrated, Freen finally jerked and knocked Becca backwards. She certainly didn't expect Freen to scream at her and Freen actually didn't intend to shout at her either. "Listen, do you remember when Seng attacked you? When we examined the mangled-headed corpse, and also when I found out that Doctor Nam was among the suspects?"

Confused, Becca nodded hesitantly. She released her grip on Freen's clothes and made her touch the surface of her cloth, which was shabby because of Becca.

"You know I was careless and didn't wear gloves when I inspected the car so it's only natural that my fingerprints were found in several parts of the car. But Heng? The guy didn't even come close to the car at all. And why was it that man who took the leadership position after you were laid off when he didn't have any special skills in handling this case? Rebecca, if there's anyone you need to watch out for, it's Sergeant Asavarid. Not me, or anyone else."

Becca was silent, staring at her blankly with a look that was hard to translate. She felt understood. Maybe too much blood coming out of the incision in her neck caused her brain to be deprived of blood supply so she had a little bug in there. It only lasted a few seconds—probably less than ten because suddenly Becca was glaring at her like she was going to put a hole in Freen's head right then and there.

The other woman sighed. She couldn't say everything in this place because she would be discussing something quite sensitive. Becca seemed to be demanding more explanations because of her statement just now so that Freen felt the need to choose another place that was more private—her own apartment unit.

Now look, who broke her own promise. At first Freen said she would take Becca out of the hospital if she told her what she was doing near the rental car, now Freen herself is being honest—forcefully, for Becca's sake—and saying everything.

"We will talk about many things, about your work and also about me. Come on, I'll take you home," now, it's Freen's turn to grab Becca's wrist and lead her away from the lonely fire escape. After they exited through the red door into the corridor, Freen just let go of her grip and took her car keys out of her jacket pocket. She dangled the key with her forefinger, showing it off to Becca. "By the way, I came to your place by taxi. From there, I followed the ambulance with the car you were driving. Hell, you need to fix your car's suspension. That's very, very bad. Pajero is a fine-looking car, but no better than—argh!"

Not accepting the insult aimed at Thunder—her favorite black pajero sport—Becca mercilessly kicked Freen's calf hard from behind, causing Freen to scream reflexively and attracting the attention of several people to her.

Well, fuck you too, Rebecca Patricia Armstrong.

***

Freen actually brought it home to her unit. She kept her promise to get Becca out of the hospital by taking care of all kinds of administrative procedures and also payments—Becca had insisted that she just let herself bear the hospital fees which Freen didn't pay any heed to because the woman casually took out a debit card from wallet to make payments.

The journey from the hospital to Freen's apartment was spent in comfortable silence. Freen sat in the driver's seat, with her focus on the road and the cars in front of the car they were traveling in. Meanwhile Becca was trying hard to keep her neck from bowing. Just turning the neck hurts so much. She couldn't imagine the pain if she accidentally lowered her head just because she was sleepy.

Luckily Freen realized her discomfort so she got Becca a neck pillow in the back seat. The woman even helped put it around her neck and made sure she didn't touch the bandage covering the stitches on Becca's neck.

Even when she got out of the car and when the two of them were about to walk into the lobby, Freen never let Becca take her backpack. The woman swiftly brought the bag and carried it on her arm, letting Becca walk normally without carrying anything. Once again, Becca refused and wanted to take her things back. However, Freen kept insisting that Becca, who didn't want to argue, chose to give in.

And now the two of them are sitting quietly at the dining table, their positions opposite each other without any hot food or drink being served on the table. Only hard feelings, unrestrained emotions, and immense anxiety reside within them. Becca leaned back in her chair, one hand on the table and making several finger taps.

"So..." Becca began, "Tell me how you know all this before I even tell you, and before the papers are sent to the investigation team."

"I know about the autopsy report on the fourth victim's body because I saw it before it was handed over to the police. That day, Mind and I, the criminal profiler I've mentioned to you, came to CIFS to examine the post mortem process as well as ask Nam a few things. At that time I also found a box containing lots of formalin bottles with blood stains which after being identified, the blood belonged to the first victim." Freen bit the inside of her mouth as she paused for a split second to catch her breath and think of a suitable sentence to blow her mind. It was only when she was ready that she continued, "She was taken to the office, and was interrogated by Heng without anyone else helping him. I wasn't inside but I could see through the glass that Nam looked really angry."

"You want to say that Nam was framed by the killer, just like what happened with Seng? Is that so?" Becca sighed. Her hands that were on the table were now clenched into fists. "What kind of nonsense is this? Some time you also indirectly said that Heng took part in this case because of the fingerprints in the car that shouldn't have been there. God, I don't want to waste my time listening to your bullshit!"

Becca would have stood up from her chair if Freen hadn't immediately said, "Seng's confession is true. The man said everything after he was badly beaten by several policemen. He, and several others ordered by the killer to kill you. If they don't, their families will be at stake," she said. Freen held up a finger, gesturing for Becca to have her sit back and listen. "Heng, is the person we are looking. For now."

"What—"

"That man was also the one who brought the cameras and bugging devices that we found in your house to the evidence storage area after being examined at CIFS. He did give the test results and found nothing... but, who knows?"

Becca fell silent. She recalled the time when she infiltrated Nam's office to get clues. As Becca leaves there, she hears Heng's voice approaching Nam's office. Then... perhaps he had come to remove her name from the report?

"Really, I don't know what kind of crime you have committed or... what your family has ever done to have a heinous person do all this just to finish you off." Freen said, agitated. "Nam's interrogation also yielded nothing. She still persisted in what she said, assuming someone else was setting her up. That's probably true since we didn't find her fingerprints on the box. But that doesn't mean she can be released from the list of suspects because her words can't be proven yet."

"Okay," Becca interrupted, "okay. You said that you already know what the contents of the documents that have not been handed over to the police are. That's why you knew where I was going before the assault incident happened, right?"

Freen nodded "Yeah. Yes of course. 7/11, right? The place where the victim with the crushed head worked? I went to ask the manager for an explanation and she said that the victim was last seen with a woman with long hair in a ponytail, in a car that was also found at the crime scene. I bet you got the same information as me."

Oh, turns out the woman in question is Freen.

"But if the victim was last seen with a woman... why is Heng the one we suspect now?" Freen brought her fist to cover her nose. The direction of her gaze turned to the ceiling of the apartment—the woman seemed to be deep in thought. "First possibility; Heng was the mastermind and he didn't want to do the dirty work. Second; Heng is an accomplice and he is the one who can bring us closer to that mysterious woman."

Becca exhaled harshly from her mouth. Her head seemed to be filled with millions of questions. The case that she originally thought would be finished in just a few weeks, suddenly turned into a very complicated long case. She never thought that she, and what is in her family is the reason why this series of crazy things happened.

She didn't know if Freen's statement was the truth she could believe. But if she thought about it further, it all seemed to make sense. Starting from cases that don't make sense, to all the evidence that seems to indicate that whoever is behind all of this is waiting for the right time to take her life.

Everything went perfectly. Whoever it was, she really carried out her plan well to slowly destroy Rebecca. The killer plays with human lives in her hands, assuming that all of this is worthless and not worth the revenge she takes.

But, if the person she should be suspecting now was Heng... then, what was the motive for this man to do all these crazy things?

"Rebecca... the police are one of the most untrustworthy people. I don't know about Saint because I've never seen her deal directly with the cases we work on. Unlike Heng, I've been with you all this time. I'm trying to help you as much as I can though, well, I know I'm such a pain in the ass. But I was trying to help you save yourself from whatever was going to kill you," Freen gasped. Her breath seemed to run out as she kept talking without giving the other women a chance to respond. "The two of us can work this out, together. There is a lot that needs to be cleared up and that can be started by saving Nam from being accused. And to do that, I need you to trust me."

"You're saying that I can trust you?" massaging the bridge of her nose with her fingers, Becca lifted her face and dropped her gaze on Freen who was looking at her with difficult eyes. "How am I going to believe you if you are even hiding a lot of things that I don't know about this?"

"You didn't believe me because you knew there was something off with me." Freen got up from her seat and walked over to the fridge. The tall woman took out two cans of cold drink and placed them on the table, one near Rebecca and one she opened for herself to drink. "I... want to tell you the reason why I was transferred to Bangkok. This is important because it is because of this that I dare say you shouldn't trust the police. You must have heard the rumors that I had murdered, right? Well, that's true."

Becca's hands were shaking slightly as she took the can. She didn't drink it immediately, but just played with it in her hand while occasionally pressing its cold surface. "I'm sorry. At that time, I overheard the conversation of one of the personnel.

"Oh, don't worry. After all, you'll find out soon," Freen laughed. However, her laughter slowly disappeared and was replaced by a sad expression. "I shot nine people to death. Six in the head, three in the legs and heart. The last three people should have been saved, but I still killed them. You can call me a murderer, psychopath or something but... I never intended to do that."

PRAK

A heavy impact landed on Freen's cheek and sent the woman tumbling sideways. The loud sound of a drink can fills the silence, accompanied by a groan of pain from a woman whose cheek was just hit by a drink can. Becca growled angrily. She had already stood up from her chair and lunged forward, grabbed Freen by the neck then pushed the woman so hard that she fell off the chair and landed on the floor.

"How can you live carefree and roam free after shooting nine people, huh?" one more raw punch Becca smashed into Freen's face, "You psychopath! What's the difference between you and the killer? Oh, or maybe you're the real killer, am I right?"

The short-haired woman raised her hand high. She would have knocked Freen to the floor if only Freen hadn't used her hands to grab Becca's hands and hold them down. "I didn't know you could be this aggressive, Armstrong," Freen kicked Becca's smaller body and she immediately stood up while holding on to the table. Becca's punch was hard enough to make her head spin. "argh, you can kill people with that blow."

"You killed nine people in the line of duty, and the only punishment you received was demotion and transfer of duties—"

"Listen to me first!" Freen shouted. She then shook her head slowly, approached Becca and helped her stand up. "At that time I and several personnel tried to free the hostages from armed robbers. They ignored all the peaceful efforts we offered, instead... they threatened to shoot all the hostages and kill all the police who were there. You know what I did next to save myself."

"It all just happened, Rebecca. Gunshots, blood, screams of people, groans of pain, everything. I don't know what happened next because what I remember is that time I was immediately taken to the office for interrogation. Okay, I'm not going to tell that part because it's very long. So, why am I in front of you as a cop and not as a convict? It was thanks to the help of my father who cleared everything up. He and... several people from the police erased and falsified evidence, fabricated fake scenarios to be published in the media, covered up the mouths of eyewitnesses and... yes, that was it. That's why, I dare say that the institution you work for can be the most hypocritical bunch of people," Freen took a deep breath, then let it out in one rough exhale.

Unable to take it anymore, Becca got up from the chair and stepped away from Freen to enter the restroom. The sound of running water was heard, it seemed that the woman was standing in front of the sink to cool her head by washing it with cold water. She did. Because as soon as she came out of the restroom, Freen could see her face and a bit of her hair wet with water.

"Listen, I told you the truth. If that still doesn't make you believe me then..." Freen covered her mouth for a moment, taking her time to stare blankly at the balcony. "I don't know anymore what can make you believe in me." she continued.

Becca walked back to the dining table and sat down in a chair. She dropped her hand on the table and made a pretty loud thump. "What is your purpose in helping me come to this? You—a killer like you want to help the police who are being targeted by a serial killer? You're not going to kill me once you catch the culprit, right?"

Freen sighed and shook her head, "This case makes me uncomfortable. I just get the feeling that the psychopath won't be satisfied with just killing five or so women, and we can't let that happen."

"Good! Well done, Sarocha Chankimha." Becca laughed sadly, "Because if that happens, I'll make sure that I'm the one who kills you first."

The other woman shrugged her shoulders as she got up from her chair. The long-haired woman intended to end the conversation and go to her own room to spend the night.

She wasn't lying if the conversation they were having had drained her energy. If they continued, Freen wouldn't have the stamina to go to the office and face those faces again—along with the case files piling up on the office desk.

"Rebecca," Freen stopped in her tracks. The woman stood in front of the bedroom door with one hand outstretched and ready to turn the doorknob. She called Becca who was still sitting in the dining room chair, still with great raging thoughts. "You can't do everything alone. You need me. So, think carefully." Freen turned around and smiled warmly, "good night."

The sound of the door closing indicated that Becca really had been left alone. She didn't intend to go to her room in the next few minutes—Becca was still sitting comfortably in the chair, staring blankly at the can of drink she'd used to smack Freen in the face. It was lying in the corner of the room, left alone and maybe Becca would pick it up for a drink later.

Freen's words had opened her mind to the situation that was happening. Through that, slowly but surely, she can assemble the scattered bits of clues and combine them into one like a complicated puzzle. Now she is fully convinced that this serial murder case is based on revenge on her family. Becca didn't know why, but she would soon.

What she did next would probably be difficult. But she can start by seeking information from the rental car while attending therapy sessions with Doctor Billy, receiving information from Freen and secretly investigating the case with her to save Nam from being accused, proving Heng's involvement in the murder case to uncover who the mysterious woman is, and back to the office to take charge of the situation.

She could probably trust Freen. Because, why would the woman divulge such a secret to her if she didn't ask Becca to believe in her sincerely. Freen places her trust in Becca, and she hopes that Becca will do the same so that the secret is set as guarantee.

We'll see, Freen Sarocha. Are you really responsible for what you say or not?

Becca took her phone out of her pocket. She looked up a name in the contact list and started calling someone. "Dad, there's something we need to talk about."