"Haunting you? What do you mean?"
The Russian asked, with a frown on his face, a bit confused by this unexpected confession in regards to why Kasem was planning on escaping.
"Every time I go to sleep the same scene keeps repeating in my head when I found her after I came back from my trip."
The Thailandese was in tears now, trying to wipe them off with his hands before burying his face in his palms as he sobbed quietly.
"I just can't keep living like this. I can't work, I can't do anything because she just won't go away."
Yao was starting to suspect that Kasem suffered from hallucinations, which would make perfect sense after finding his cousin died in a bathtub. He hadn't experienced any similar in his life before, not even when Kiku died, not a single dream about him or anything. Maybe because he desperately tried to keep on with his normal life, which didn't have the best consequences.
"You mean you don't only see her in your sleep?"
Detective Braginski pulled out his little notebook ready to write down Kasem's answer after his partner asked the question. The man just silently nodded and the detectives exchanged concerned looks, this man definitely wasn't doing well.
"I-I know I sound crazy, but I swear it's the truth."
Ivan was starting to feel sympathy for Kasem, he was a possible suspect yet he sort of understood what he was going through. He too never suffered from hallucinations but he could imagine something so traumatic would definitely affect Kasem.
"That's why I tried selling the house but as expected, nobody wants to buy it and I can't stay here any longer. That's why I am abandoning it and moving back to Thailand, I don't care if someone appropriates it or steals my things, I don't care anymore."
The Thailandese kept talking since the detectives weren't giving him any answers and he was starting to think that they might think he was crazy, and perhaps they were right, he was starting to lose it, which is exactly why he needed to leave this house and country behind for good.
"What about your company? You're just going to abandon it too?"
The Asian was curious now, was Kasem just going to leave it all and go back to his homeland for his mental wellbeing?
"I'm selling it to the competition, we're signing papers on the weekend and that will be the end of it."
He said in a saddened tone, that company was Lien Chun's everything. They started it together and he loved it too, but he knew how special it was for her and how dedicated she was to it. Selling it to the competition was something he really did not want to do but he felt he had no other choice, they were the ones who would keep it successful for sure by unifying it with their company, even Lien Chun would have sold it to them if she was in his place.
"Would you mind telling us what exactly happened the day you came back from the business trip and got back home?"
Ivan spoke this time, hoping that Kasem would collaborate and give them the whole truth now that he had addressed having a problem and was running off to Thailand.
"I traveled to Vietnam for two weeks, Lien Chun wasn't coming with me because someone had to be in charge of the company here. I was usually the one who stayed but she insisted on me going, she said something about that I would have to travel by myself more often soon."
He began with his tale, remembering the day he last saw her when she gave him a drive to the airport and they waved goodbye for the last time.
His trip had been well, negotiations went great and after two exhausting weeks, he was finally on his plane back home. She wouldn't be picking him up because he was arriving at midnight, so he took a taxi back home.
The moment he stepped out of the car he first noticed their front porch, their lawn hadn't been mowed, which was very unusual since she always mowed it, weekly. But for some reason this week she didn't do it. Kasem didn't think much of it at first, assuming that she might have been busy with work since she was alone in charge of the company.
He stepped inside the house that was in complete darkness, there was a strange smell once he was inside. He turned on the lights, dragging his luggage inside before locking the door behind him. It was about 2 in the morning at that time, so he didn't expect her to be awake.
The Thailandese was incredibly tired, it had been a long flight and he struggled to even keep himself awake while riding the taxi, but now he was finally home. Another thing he found strange was how dusty the house was, it was like she hadn't done any of the chores this week.
He had an odd feeling because this wasn't like Lien Chun at all, she always liked keeping the house tidy and clean, especially since she was allergic to dust and pollen. It almost felt like no one had cleaned the house during the time he was gone. Kasem was going to have a chat with her tomorrow because this was unacceptable, she couldn't just stop doing her chores because he was gone for two weeks.
Kasem left his suitcases there in the living room, he would take the day off the next day to recover from the jet lag and also to unpack his things and when Lien Chun gets back from work then they could discuss the company as well as the cleaning duties because the house was even stinking, what had gotten into her?
He was just going to wash his face and then go straight to bed, right now he was in no mood to think about business reports. The smell was just getting stronger the closer he got to the bathroom. What happened in there? It was like something was rotting, some kind of animal perhaps. It was even worse than when he found a dead raccoon in the driveway.
His hand landed on the cold doorknob of the restroom, twisting it to open the door up. Kasem gagged at the horrific smell coming from inside, it reeked in there. He took a step further, his hand covering his mouth and nose while the other searched for the light switch on the wall since he was in complete darkness. The bulb glitched a few times before illuminating the room completely and Kasem almost fainted.
He could never erase what he saw in front of him. His dear cousin laying inside the bathtub covered in blood with one arm hanging out from the tub. She was fully dressed but there was blood stained all over her chest. Her neck was almost purple and she seemed bloated. There also seemed to be fresh blood coming out from her mouth and nose, a gruesome sight no one would like to witness, but that's what happened when a week old body started to decompose.
Kasem immediately ran out of the bathroom, slamming the door close and rushing back to the living room. His stomach was feeling sick, he felt like he was going to throw up. He was disgusted, scared, confused and he wished he had never opened that door up. The Thailandese did the most reasonable thing which was to call the police.
"I couldn't stay inside for any longer, so I sat outside in the front porch until the cops arrived. Then I spent a few nights in a hotel until the place was cleaned."
Ivan didn't even know what to say, that was definitely something he wouldn't want to see or anyone would want to. He could already imagine the smell and the sight, so awful. Now he understood Kasem even better, of course, he was having all these hallucinations now and freaking out. If he was him then he wouldn't care about leaving the house and everything behind just to find peace in his mind and be able to sleep again.
"How come she was there for a week and no one notified you she was missing?"
Yao continued with the questioning while his partner picked up his pen ready to write down more details.
"I couldn't believe that she had been gone for an entire week too until I went to the office. Apparently, she called in on Monday of that week in the morning and said she was feeling sick and would be absent for the entire week."
The Russian gave a small nod before writing it all down, at this point he was going to need a new notebook because even though it had just been a few days of their investigation, so many things had happened that the notebook was halfway full.
"She called in sick? Who received the call?"
The Chinese man asked, there was something not adding up. Lien Chun apparently was a woman dedicated to her work, it must be unusual for her to call in sick, it was just too much coincidence that she decided to stay home that week and was murdered some day of that same week.
"I believe it was her secretary, Emil."
Kasem replied, a bit more calm than before now that he had finished up telling them what he encountered that day.
"Why didn't he call you? I imagine she didn't take many days off from work."
Detective Braginski was thinking the same, starting to become slightly suspicious of the secretary who didn't report back to Kasem. Or maybe it was someone within her own work that wanted to get rid of her, at this point he had no idea and how it could possibly relate with the other murders. So far there were no signs of a significant other in her life which made a difference between her case and Emma's and Michelle's.
"Emil is new, he was hired a few days prior to my trip since the other secretary retired."
They would have to make a visit to the office and have a talk with Emil, he was the one who got the call so maybe he could replay it for them if it was recorded. Because what if she really wasn't sick? What if she was forced to make that call? They had no idea yet and Yao needed to find out.
"Did Lien Chun have a partner? A boyfriend perhaps?"
The Russian looked up to Kasem waiting for an answer, this could be the key to their investigation if the answer was yes.
"No, she hasn't dated since high school if I remember well, she's always been too busy with work to date anyways, that's what she always said."
Kasem explained, not sure why the detectives were interested in his cousin's dating life but he still answered. He wished the case to be solved, he might be leaving the house, the company, and the country behind but that did not mean he was going to forget her. He still had no idea who would ever harm her and he wanted to know why. Maybe he was escaping because he felt guilty because he was away and couldn't do anything to protect her. He had no clue what happened to her during the time he was gone, but if only he stayed, then maybe she would still be alive.
"Thank you, Kasem."
Detective Wang stood up from the couch, ready to leave and his partner followed. The Thailandese man walked them to the door and watched the detectives walk away towards their car. He closed the door behind, pressing his back against it with his eyes closed for a minute before taking a deep breath.
"Do you think they'll find who murdered me?"
He heard that voice again in his head, yet he kept his eyes closed, not wanting to face the fragment of his imagination.
"I sure hope they do."