DARE YOU TO DEATH CHAPTER 26

Kamin hung up with Jay, feeling uneasy. After getting clues from the scrap collector, they immediately headed to the station. Before arriving, Kamin asked Jade to stop at a nearby store to buy a few things.

"This is for you."

"It's not mine, it's yours." Jade glanced at Kamin, who was reading emails on his phone, and then at the shopping bags.

"What?"

"Medicine." Kamin looked at Jade.

"You need it."

"Then, the bread and water..."

"Yes, eat something. We’ll be at the station for a while."

"Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be my nurse?" Jade raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"I don’t want to pick up your corpse if you collapse. Jay called. Why don’t you call him back?"

"What did he say?"

"He just asked how we were doing. You should call him; he might want to talk."

"I’ll do it when we get to the station."

When they arrived at the station, they went straight to the investigation room, equipped with technology and databases. Kamin had been using a private room to store evidence since the start of the case.

"Where do we start?" Jade asked, biting into the bread.

"With this." Kamin showed Champ’s USB drive and plugged it in. After verifying it, he found an audio file. Kamin put on his headphones and handed another pair to Jade.

"Sit down." Both listened to the file, which started in silence before a woman spoke. Kamin glanced at Jade, recognizing Cherreen’s voice.

"Hello."

"What’s wrong?"

"Where are you, Champ?"

"Outside." It was a conversation between Champ and Cherreen.

Kamin paid closer attention when he noticed Cherreen’s worried tone and sobbing.

"I got the letter, Champ. What do I do?"

"I want to ask you something."

"What?"

"The day Fai died, what did you two talk about?"

"About her health."

"Don’t lie to me."

"We talked about..."

"I saw you take a bottle from Fai. If you don’t tell the truth, not even my lawyer can help you."

"Fai and I planned to fake a heart attack. She gave me sleeping pills to put in her glass."

Kamin and Jade frowned, surprised by Cherreen’s confession.

"And then?"

"I didn’t know how much to put, so I put it all in. I thought she’d pass out." "If she just passed out, why did she die?"

"We hired a doctor to say Fai was dead, but I didn’t think she’d actually die. It wasn’t my intention." The conversation ended there. Kamin listened to it again to be sure and handed a note to Jade. Jade left the room and immediately called Tankhun.

"Where are you?"

(I’m in my room. What’s up?)

"Go to the hospital and find the coroner who was at the crime scene that day."

(More details?)

"He’s the first coroner who arrived. His name is Puth."

(Got it. I’ll look for him.)

"Request Fai’s body to bring it to the unit."

(Understood.)

"And... check on Jay too."

(With this much work, my salary should go up.) After hanging up, Jade went to the forensics department. He entered without knocking, startling the occupants.

"Captain!" Manmai screamed, hiding in Mirin’s chest.

"Such bad manners, Captain."

"How was I supposed to know what you were doing?" Mirin covered her girlfriend with a blanket and put on a shirt over her black lingerie.

"Ready?"

"What do you need?" Jade looked at Mirin, now dressed.

"The letters and the tape." Mirin rolled her eyes and brought the items along with a report.

"The letters have the deceased’s fingerprints. The tape has no prints."

"Thanks. What about the latest body?"

"The same drug as the other victims. I don’t know why the killer uses drugs if they’re going to kill."

"Maybe they want them to remember something. I’m leaving." Jade stopped before exiting.

"Next time, close the door." Manmai blushed and covered herself with the blanket. Even though Jade knew about their relationship, it was still embarrassing.

"Shall we continue?"

"No, Rin. I don’t want to." Mirin laughed and closed the door.

"Think again." Mirin caressed Manmai’s leg, moving up to her bare thigh. Manmai blushed as her girlfriend kissed her knee.

"I don’t know anything!" They continued their activity without interruptions.

Jade returned to the investigation room and saw Kamin listening to the same file. Jade gently removed the headphones and handed him the evidence bag.

"Listening again won’t change the conversation."

"You said you heard something when you talked to Jay on the day of the incident, right?"

"I forgot."

"Did you ever think it could be the sound of someone moving?"

"It’s not a voice, it’s the sound of footsteps and movement. Could be anyone."

"Call Cherreen, ask where she is, and bring her in for questioning about what happened."

Kamin handed the tape to Jade and carefully opened Time’s letter.

Inside were black-and-white papers and photos of the eight young people. The faces of Fai, Tar, Bell, and Tonkla were crossed out. Another image had a white background with a username and password, and a bluebird symbol. Kamin visited the website and used the credentials to access an account.

Kamin left the page open and read the letter, sure they were related.

TRUTH OR DARE TIME

TRUTH

"Do you like secretly recording? How about you step in front of the camera? Would you like your last photo to be at your funeral, Time?

"Is it true you record your partners and upload the videos online without their consent? Is it true you recorded your friends, Fai, Belle, and Cherine? Is it true you posted videos of Fai with Jay and Champ? Voyeurs don’t change. How about you become the center of attention?"

DARE

"If you value your life, retrieve the car. Go to your friend’s workshop and take it to the
warehouse outside the city. If you think you can do it, give it a try."

Jade, who had placed the tape in the player, used the mouse to check the page Kamin had opened. The last pinned post showed a photo of Time’s corpse. The comments speculated it was a prank or a photoshoot, unaware that it was a murder victim.

As they scrolled down, they found many secretly recorded videos, both of men and women.

"Have the IT team investigate and shut down this account," Kamin said, running his hand through his black hair, trying to relieve stress.

"Shall we take a break?"

"No, I’m fine."

"Wash your face, Min." Jade gently brushed Kamin’s hair aside, his frown not relaxing since they entered.

"I’ll go." Kamin stopped before leaving and touched Jade’s forehead. "Did you take your medicine?"

"Yes." Kamin nodded and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

The cold water cleared his mind. Kamin looked at himself in the mirror, reviewing the information.

If Champ also suspected Cherreen, where were they now? In the recording, Cherreen said she received the letter, but she contacted Champ first, not Jay, whose brother is a cop, nor Kamin, who gave her his number. Also, the scrap collector mentioned a woman in the abandoned building. If Cherreen received the letter, what’s the truth and the dare?

At this point, everything is getting worse and more violent. The scary part isn’t the truth about to be revealed, but the dares in the letters. The criminal seems to have foreseen everything. If they don’t know their friends well, they must have planned carefully. Making Time retrieve the car from the workshop was sure to kill Tonkla there. Whether to make him see the crime scene, divert police attention, or stop Jay, the result was that, choosing truth or dare, everyone ended up dead.

Jade tried to decipher the sounds on the tape. It wasn’t the damaged cassette or incomprehensible words. "It’s... er..." He was so focused, he didn’t hear someone approaching.

"Ow, Jade, it’s me!" Jade let go of the hand he’d grabbed and helped Kamin up.

"Sorry. Did I hurt you much?" Kamin rotated his shoulder gently. He knew Jade was strong, but not this strong. Luckily, he’d shouted, or his shoulder would’ve dislocated.

"What are you doing?"

"Listen to this tape. It sounds like something..." Kamin sat next to Jade and put on the headphones. The choppy, distorted sound didn’t form words. Kamin adjusted the player to increase the speed.

"Lo... Se..." Kamin sped it up more.

"Sorry... Cherreen... let me..." The words were clearer. Kamin maxed the speed and finally understood. "Sorry, Cherreen, let me go."

"Inspector, Captain, trouble!" Chai shouted, entering without knocking. Both looked at the alarmed officer.

"What’s wrong?"

"Someone wants to see the Inspector."

"Who?"

"The deputy and... the commissioner."

"Alright. Take them to my office. I’m coming."

"Yes, sir." Kamin sighed. He knew this would happen since he decided to see Champ at home.

"I’ll go with you." Jade took Kamin’s hand, worried.

"No. Go and summon Champ and Cherreen. Find the coroner from the hospital that day."

"Kamin..."

"I’m the boss, and you’re my subordinate. If you don’t obey, I’ll remove you from the case and put someone else in." Kamin spoke firmly and left without looking back.

At least, if someone were removed from the case, Jade would stay.