My apologies for the long wait. I hope you enjoy 🐰💛
🌹~PART THREE~🌹
Have you ever, in your entire life, worked yourself to the bone – just for that one, special person in your life?
Knott stood beneath the blazing sun, Kongpob's words ringing in his mind.
Across the street, the first year and second year students remained quietly seated at their desks as classes progressed. The school compound was cloaked in silence.
Knott cast a quick glance at his watch. Arthit should be ending school any time now.
Just then, Knott's mobile phone rang. Picking up his mobile phone, Knott heard Lawan's voice on the other end of the mobile phone, "Phi, I saw the report which you have written regarding Kongpob."
Knott had spared no effort in writing up Kongpob's report. In his report, Knott strenuously emphasized Kongpob's contrition and co-operative attitude whilst confessing his role in Jay's murder, and had also highlighted Kongpob's critical role and extraordinary contributions to the swift resolution of the police officers' investigation into Jay's murder.
After Kongpob had retracted his confession, Kongpob swiftly produced his alibi, as well as several clues which pointed towards Stud's guilt as the raincoat man and Jay's murderer, such as the recording of the harassment committed by the raincoat man which Stud had sneakily hid in Em's house, as well as the numerous stalking and indecent videos saved in Stud's various mobile phones.
The knife which Stud had utilized to murder Jay was also quickly discovered by the police officers. Previously, when the police officers demanded the location of the murder weapon, Kongpob had insisted that it had been thrown into the river, as he still bore some hope – hope that, in the event the police officers managed to discover Stud's knife, and managed to uncover traces of Jay's blood on Stud's knife, he may be able to retract his confession and claim his innocence. And now, the police officers finally managed to locate the murder weapon; however, due to the lengthy period of time during which the murder weapon had been submerged in the river, they were only able to identify the blood type of the blood stains on the murder weapon as being type O – which coincided with Jay's blood type.
Knott had also managed to make use of the texts Stud had sent previously to trace Stud's whereabouts on the day of the murder, and discovered that on the day of the murder, Stud had appeared at the hill behind the school compound. In addition, the forensic department also managed to uncover a blood-stained cigarette butt hidden beneath the fallen leaves at the hill behind the school compound.
The numerous pieces of fresh evidence, coupled with various pieces of technical analyses, all pointned towards Stud as the culprit responsible for murdering Jay. In addition, even though Jay's corpse had been exposed for a long period of time and showed several signs of decay, the forensic pathologist was still able to provide a conclusive confirmation that Jay had been sexually assaulted whilst he was still alive.
The case of the raincoat man, as well as the case of Jay's murder, was finally resolved. Knott had been feeling extremely calm and at peace since the resolution of the case.
Now, having received Lawan's sudden compliment in respect of his literary talents, Knott responded, "Did you call me just to praise my literary capabilities?"
"Of course not. We just finished a training session on thought processes, and thought to share my insights with you. Senior Prem truly has an extraordinary head on his shoulders – his imagination is really wild!"
"Oh?" Knott stared at the empty school compound in front him, his ears picking up the faint chants of students reciting their English passages in their classrooms. However, Arthit was nowhere to be found.
"Do you remember? Every single time we successfully resolve a case, we will each contribute our wildest, strangest and most chilling theory of the case?"
Knott knew about this practice – every single time the team closed a case, the team members would, without fail, all contribute their wildest theories in order to train their ability to embrace and accept even the most bizarre and unlikely case theories.
"Senior Prem's conspiracy theory was, that Kongpob had managed to successfully deceive and trick you into working in his favor."
"Let's hear it."
"That night, after you explained your case theory and analysis to Kongpob in full, Kongpob only responded with a single denial – that Arthit wasn't responsible for Jay's murder. Based on Senior Prem's conjectures, this was, perhaps, a psychological cue. See, Kongpob hadn't actually denied the rest of your case theory; in fact, by denying only that one, single point regarding Arthit's culpability, he had implicitly agreed and accepted the rest of your case theory. Kongpob's acceptance of the large part of your case theory would, in turn, cause you to subconsciously believe in the truth of Kongpob's words – in particular, you would also be convinced that his denial of Arthit's culpability, was also true. Having successfully misdirected your subconscious train of thought with psychological cues, Kongpob succeeded in making use of you to push the investigation in a direction which he wanted us to head into."
Knott completed the rest of the conspiracy theory, "In the end, through my unceasing, relentless efforts, I succeeded in meeting nong Kongpob's expectations, and paved the way for him to retract his confession, without realizing that he had, since the start, always intended to retract such 'false' confession?"
"That's right. Senior Prem also said, that with respect to Jay's and Stud's murder, while Kongpob's final confession could be the true version of the events that actually transpired, it could equally be a falsified version of the events that had transpired. Assuming that Kongpob possessed an inordinately high IQ, and was extremely meticulous in nature, Kongpob would be entirely capable of directing the 'true' version of events which he wanted the police officers to 'discover' by manipulating the evidence – after all, both Stud and Jay, the only persons intimately connected to the case at hand, are both dead, and dead men tell no tales. Perhaps Stud raped, but did not murder Jay, and Kongpob had been the one responsible for Jay's murder; alternatively, Arthit could have been the one responsible for accidentally causing Jay's death, and Stud had simply raped a person who was near death."
"Isn't Senior Prem's conspiracy theory wild?" Lawan exclaimed, "Every single time we contribute our wildest, strangest and most chilling theory of the case, Senior Prem always emerges as the winner with the craziest imagination!"
"I will participate the next time we successfully resolve a case." Knott responded halfheartedly, the entirety of his attention being devoted to the school compound before his very eyes.
"Sure! But, in the end, Senior Prem concluded that it was impossible for a seventeen year old to come up with such an intricate and delicate plan; if he did, he would be more than capable of going undercover and being a top spy."
"Yup." Knott squinted at a tiny figure in the distance in an attempt to determine whether the tiny figure belonged to Arthit, "Now that I think about it, Kongpob is truly an extraordinary master in concealment and deception. Both his confessions were extremely logical and reasonable, and perfectly fit the case theories which we had formulated at that point in time. In addition, no matter how many psychologically strenuous and intense interrogations we put him through, we were unable to break him mentally, and make him confess the truth. His mental strength is remarkably tough."
"An extraordinary master in concealment and deception? You and Senior Prem both said the same, exact thing – just that Senior Prem was referring to Arthit, and not Kongpob."
"Arthit?"
Yes – Arthit's behavior was, in retrospect, nothing short of incredible either. He outperformed himself in his graduation exams, and managed to improve his usual ranking of being the top twentieth to thirtieth student in his school, to being the top student in the entire city.
The extreme calmness in which he handled the flurry of events prior to his final graduation examinations was frightfully chilling . The horrific bullying incident, the intense interrogations, the unquashable rumors' and whispers that constantly hounded him – although these events beat down relentlessly on him, never giving him the opportunity to catch his breath; and yet, Arthit was still able to conduct himself as though none of these events had happened to him. Knott didn't know whether Arthit continued to maintain this distant and cool exterior which he presented to him, to his teachers, and his fellow classmates, in front of Kongpob, but:-
It was unlikely that he did.
"What did Senior Prem say?"
"Senior Prem said, that Arthit was the kind of person who wouldn't bat an eyelid even if his world came crashing down on him. This meant that, in the event any such apocalyptic event happened to him, Arthit would either rely on the simplest method to cope with the apocalyptic event, and ruthlessly cut off the rest of the world in order to dwell simply in his own, miniature world, or he would be extremely cruel and callous to himself, and force himself to continually operate as per usual as though he was akin to a robot, until he managed to achieve his goals and desires.
Knott listened to Lawan's recount of Senior Prem's clinical analysis and dissection of Arthit's personality, his heart tinging with tiny, muted jolts of pain. The tiny figure which was originally some distance away gradually grew bigger – Knott was now able to conclude that the tiny figure was, indeed, Arthit.
"Senior Prem also mentioned, that Arthit was exactly like Kongpob, and that we should all hope that both Arthit and Kongpob are good and law-abiding citizens; because if people like them ever turned to crime, the likelihood of them getting caught is extremely low."
"They will grow up to be good and upright people." Knott asserted.
Gazing at tiny figure that was gradually nearing, Knott said, "Lawan, my intuition – my restless, annoying intuition that continuously screamed that something was amiss – has finally calmed down. I believe in Kongpob. I believe in Arthit."
Hanging up on Lawan, Knott turned his gaze towards the gates of the school compound, as well as the tiny figure that was Arthit. All of a sudden, he was struck by a sudden thought – It was exactly this position. This position – right here.
Previously, during the course of countless afternoons and evenings, the persistent, stalwart male youth had stood guard in this exact position, patiently waiting for the younger. What did that steadfast, unfaltering male youth feel then?
The harsh, blistering sun continued to beat down relentlessly, its blistering rays scorching the Earth, causing the air to shimmer in the heat.
Squinting his eyes in Arthit's direction, Knott was barely able to make out Arthit's white school uniform. Arthit trod down the steps in front of the gates of the school compound and gazed at Knott from across the street. Arthit remained rooted to the spot, his still frame betraying no indication of him crossing the street to meet up with Knott.
Knott crossed the street, handing over the cup of iced tea in his hands.
Tiny beads of water droplets had already formed on the walls of the plastic cup. Taking the cup of iced tea from Knott, Arthit poked his straw into the cup of iced tea and slowly sipped on the cool liquid.
The sunlight shone the gaps between the branches of the parasol trees, bathing Knott and Arthit in its warm glow.
Knott recalled that Kongpob had never been granted an opportunity to walk alongside Arthit on this very street. No, Kongpob was always forced to gaze at Arthit from behind, playing the role of the silent, distant protector.
Shaking the thoughts from his head, Knott asked Arthit, "Have you submitted your application?"
"Yes."
"Which university did you apply to?"
"A university in Korea."
"Korea?" Knott was momentarily stunned by the unexpected answer.
"Yes. There are scholarships that offer funding for students to study in Korea." Arthit responded. "Many scholarships."
"Have you decided which major you will be pursuing when you enter University? Mathematics? Engineering Or Physics?"
"Law."
Knott was, once again, stunned by the unexpected answer, and was unable to formulate a response for a long period of time. Finally, Knott nodded his head in slow and deliberate manner, "That's great. Law's great."
As Arthit didn't attempt to further the conversation, Knott posed another question. "When are you leaving?"
"Today evening, at 6:00 PM."
"So soon?"
"Yeah."
Knott lapsed into a momentary silence, before piping up once more, "I will write to you once you have reached Korea."
Arthit remained silent. Undeterred, Knott pressed on, "Let's have a meal together. We can go to court together once we're done eating."
Although Arthit had been given a stern warning for having provided false testimonies to the police officers and perverting the course of justice, no other punishment had been meted out to him. He was, however, nevertheless required to attend court as he was a key witness in Kongpob's case. Knott had originally thought that Arthit would cheer up slightly at the thought of seeing Kongpob once more, but...
Arthit shook his head resolutely, "I will go over to the court by myself, sometime later this afternoon."
As Knott showed no inclination for the approval or rejection of Arthit's suggestion, Arthit asked, "Are you afraid, that I will run away?"
"No. — It's just that I thought it would be a good idea to treat you to a meal since you're about to leave for Korea."
Arthit fell silent for a few seconds, before finally saying, "I have something on." He was about to see Kongpob in a few hours – he needed time to prepare himself thoroughly.
"If the sole purpose of the meal is just to bid farewell to me, then there's no need to expend time and effort in holding a farewell meal." Raising the cup of iced tea in his hand, he continued, "A cup of iced tea is more than sufficient."
Knott felt as though his heart had been pierced with a sharp arrow.
Knott and Arthit were already past the midway point in the journey between the younger's house and the school compound. Seized with the sudden fear that he would no longer have an opportunity to speak to Arthit face-to-face in the future, Knott started to ramble, "After the judgment is passed and Kongpob has served for a sufficient period of time, he would be granted the right to receive visitors."
Arthit remained mum.
Knott persisted, "Once you have reached Korea, focus on studying and don't worry about anything else. Leave Kongpob to me – I will visit him frequently."
Finally, after a long period of time, Arthit spoke up, "Thanks."
"No worries."
"I also wanted to thank you for your persistence. If it weren't for you, P' Kong would have had to bear the punishment for crimes which he did not commit. You saved him, — and you saved me, as well."
"......"
"Officer Ittikorn, you're a good policeman."
Knott looked away, and inhaled a single, deep breath.
Silence.
Knott and Arthit plodded along the road leading to Arthit's house. Although Knott had a million and one things to say to Arthit, he found that he was unable to say a single word to Arthit.
Knott and Arthit arrived at an intersection. Arthit paused and turned to Knott. "I will be taking my leave now."
Despondent, Knott was unable to muster any other response other than a simple nod. The tiny beads of water droplets that had previously formed on the walls of the plastic cup had, by now, combined to become a small, steady stream which continually dripped onto the pavement. Staring at the small stream of condensation, Knott felt as though each droplet was trickling, not onto the pavement, but into his heart.
Arthit was as quiet and pale as before, when he first met him;
Recalling the times when he fetched the younger to and fro from school, Knott felt his heart begin to soften once more. Knott raised his hand, and was about to pat Arthit on the shoulders as a form of encouragement when Arthit, sensing his intentions, turned his body away slightly.
Knott froze. With his hand still hanging in midair, Knott felt himself engulfed with waves of bitterness.
Arthit was going to leave at any moment now. And yet, there was still one final, unresolved matter that lay between the two of them, "Arthit, Kongpob told me, that you had originally wanted to turn yourself in on the day you returned from the hill behind the school compound, but he managed to successfully dissuade you."
"No – I never thought of turning myself him." Arthit replied firmly.
Knott was caught by surprise.
Arthit cast a quick glance at Knott before retracting his gaze, "Officer Ittikorn, are you curious, about how Kongpob and I communicate?"
Knott remained silent, his unwavering gaze glued to Arthit.
Arthit used his finger and pointed to his eyes, before gradually lowering his hand and pointing towards his heart.
"Officer Ittikorn, the words professed by one's mouth often do not correspond with the thoughts contained in one's heart. As a police officer, you are in position to understand this disconnect more than the common man on the street."
Knott was stunned. Yes, every single person on Earth possessed a conscious, and subconscious mind. This resulted in there being two types of lies – the conscious lie, that one was fully aware of when making, and the subconscious lie, that one was unaware of when making.
"P' Kongpob always knew what I truly wanted to say, what my heart truly desired – whether consciously or subconsciously." Arthit continued, "And for me, it's the same – I always know, what he truly wants to say, and what his heart truly desires."
Knott was shocked at the intensity and depth of Arthit's and Kongpob's connection with each other.
The use of their eyes and their heart to communicate with each other, helped to explain why, both of them was able to instantaneously understand what the other person is thinking through the exchange of a single, solitary glance. Even if one party relied on verbal communication to convey his or her 'desires', the other party would be able to look past the feeble words, and discern that party's true desires – even if that party's true, inner desires remained buried in his or her subconscious mind at the point of communication.
"That night... when I shoved you into Kongpob's interrogation room. What did Kongpob's eyes convey?"
This time, however, Arthit no longer continued the conversation. Nibbling on his plastic straw, Arthit let his gaze drift over the mundane hustle and bustle in front of him as a gentle smile made their way towards his lips.
This time, Arthit was really going to take his leave.
Once again, Knott's heart was flooded with feelings of bitterness and regret. Knott was close to the brink of choking up, "Nong Arthit."
"Yes?"
"In the future, make sure you live a good, and wonderful life."
"... What's considered a good and wonderful life?"
"We only live once, after all."
"Yes, we only live once." Arthit said, "But if we live it right, then once is more than enough."
"But, what if, we live it wrong?"
"I guess... even if we live it wrong, there's nothing we can do about it."
For reasons unknown to him, the corners of Knott's lips curved upwards to form a small smile.
The smile was a bitter one, and Knott gradually retracted his smile. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry, Arthit."
Arthit shook his head gently, "The fault does not lie entirely with you."
Knott felt as though his organs were in upheaval. The rusty, old arrow which had been wedged in his heart had, at long last, been extracted and removed. Relief.
But, Knott didn't tell Arthit, that despite all that had happened, Yok Saelim and the other bullies who had left earlier on the night of the bullying incident were still not required to suffer harsh and severe punishment, that the counselling sessions conducted for those bullies and the parents of those bullies had been very successful, and that those bullies, together with their families, had undergone a complete and total transformation, and possessed nothing but optimism and hope for the future.
No, Knott was unable to bring himself to tell Arthit such things at this point in time, because Knott wasn't sure whether Arthit would be able to accept the slight 'punishment' that had been meted out to such bullies. In fact, Knott wasn't sure whether Arthit would be able to accept such facts even after completing his undergraduate studies in Law after four years.
Forgiving the crimes committed by children and youths, and granting them an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, was a form of kindness extended by adult society to children and youths. But, when children hurt children, and youths hurt youths, what should adults in those instances?
What can the adults do for the children and youths who have been hurt? Why did the pain and suffering endured by such children and youths only serve as stepping stones, to help other children and youths grow and mature into responsible citizens? Why did the pain and suffering endured by such children and youths serve as the symbol of the transformation of wayward children and youths into prodigal sons and daughters?
Arthit left. Knott stared at Arthit's receding back view, his tiny figure gradually becoming consumed by the crowds thronging about him.
Knott could still recall that night – the night when the police officers subjected both Arthit and Kongpob to intense, relentless interrogations, the night when Arthit wrapped himself in a thorny, livid aura – when Knott dropped Arthit off at his house, he had asked the younger whether the reason why he mentioned Titanic in Phana's presence, was because he wanted to utilize Phana to provide a reliable alibi for him.
Arthit readily admitted to Knott's conjecture.
Knott followed up with a second question, and had asked Arthit whether the reason why he brought a knife to meet Jay at the hill behind the school compound was because he entertained thoughts of murdering Jay.
Once again, Arthit readily admitted to Knott's conjecture.
Arthit was only able to put up a façade on the morning after the bullying incident, pretending that nothing had happened and appearing in school as per usual, as he was solely focused on turning up for his appointment with Jay.
Knott asked, whether Kongpob knew about these thoughts that coursed through Arthit's mind at that point in time.
Arthit simply replied Knott, that Kongpob was much smarter than him.
That night, Arthit had wrapped himself in a thorny, livid aura – the complete opposite of the Arthit who stood in front of him today, a Arthit who was peaceful and calm, as though all the injustices and suffering which he had undergone, had never happened to him. It was precisely like what Senior Prem had said – Arthit was an extraordinary master in concealment and deception. He was exceptional at concealing secrets and masking his true emotions, at forcing himself to operate as per usual, to the point of being cruel and callous to himself.
In actuality, Knott knew, that Arthit had been intentionally and brutally upfront and honest with him that night. Knott knew, that there was ultimately a difference between thoughts and actions; that even if one entertained evil thoughts, one may not necessarily translate such thoughts to action, and commit criminal or evil acts.
Arthit could have reduced his culpability, by not confessing to the full extent of his thoughts and actions, when Knott had fired those questions at him that night. Arthit could have presented a "clean" version of himself, that allowed Knott to believe that he still remained kind at heart, that no matter what obstacles, trials and tribulations he had undergone, he had never possessed any evil thoughts, or harbored any ill intentions, towards Jay.
But, no. Arthit showcased to Knott the full, unadulterated version of himself that night. Arthit revealed to Knott the entire, complete transformation which he had undergone, successfully awarding Knott with a silent, painful slap across the face and a stab in his chest, before turning away and forcing Knott to watch his retreating back view.
Knott could still recall, that when he first met Arthit, he had promised the younger, that he could always give him a call if he ever needed help. And yet, all he managed to do was drag Arthit further into hell.
If he hadn't caused Arthit to lose his trust in him, Arthit would have called him immediately after he had stabbed Jay, and the entire tragedy could have been easily prevented.
But, although the world is filled with infinite possibilities, it was simply not possible to reverse the passage of time.
Thankfully, he did not give up on Kongpob. Thankfully, he had persisted, unyieldingly, in his efforts to uncover the truth. Thankfully, he managed to prevent the two youths from continuing down a wayward path.
That was the sole, feeble comfort he could offer himself.
The blazing sun hung in the azure blue sky, its flaming rays blinding the people down below.
Knott continued gazing at Arthit's back view as his retreating figure became gradually enveloped by the crowd of people and steel, grey traffic surrounding him.
For a split second, Knott was convinced that he saw another figure trailing behind Arthit, a male youth donned in a white t-shirt, steadfastly and patiently guarding Arthit's figure for all eternity.
Knott knew, that the two youths would remain together for the rest of their lives.
And you? Have you ever, in your entire life, worked yourself to the bone – just for that one, special person in your life?
....
Yes, I have.
But, it appears, that I was too late.
Knott continued staring as the final remnants of Arthit's white school uniform slowly disappeared from view. Finally, Knott lowered his head and raised his hands to cover his face, in an attempt to hide the tears that were escaping his eyes.
[A/N]
We were finally able to witness how our Kongpob and Arthit along with the police officers gradually moved towards the conclusion of the case and caught glimpses of the near future that awaits them. With all the events that have happened and the hardship which they have gone through, we could sense that the relationship between Kong and Arthit have irrevocably transformed, and one can only hope, that the future that awaits them are filled with nothing but goodness and hope.
Thank you for reading, commenting and voting....See you at the next (last) chapter sweeties. 🥰❤️
11/5/2022