Chapter 44
"N’Sun!" It is Mrs. Jane, walking fast towards him. “We were so worried about you. Thank goodness you are awake now,” she continued, hugging Sun.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Jane. I’m doing quite well now,” replied Sun.
“Come, let us sit.”
“Where are N’Elixir and Mister Robert?”
“Your Uncle Robert is upstairs arranging Exeter’s things. He will be with us shortly. Elixir is at the mall. When he learned you were coming over, he wanted to buy some snacks for you.”
They see Mr. Robert coming down the stairs with a box. Sun gives him a Wai, but Mr. Robert hugs him with one hand in return.
“How are you now N’Sun?” asked Mr. Robert, looking at Sun.
“I’m good now uncle. Thank you.”
“Okay,” said Mr. Robert. They all sit down and waste no time going to the agenda. “These are the things that Exeter left you,” he added.
Mr. Robert draws out a hard disk, an envelope, and a laptop. It is the envelope that catches Sun’s attention first because it is so filled that it nears bursting.
“Uncle. Auntie. Are these money for me?” asked Sun after peeking at the contents of the envelope.
“Krap nong. Look,” answered Mr. Robert. Afterwards, he hands a paper to Sun. It is a copy of Exeter’s Last Will and Testament. In it, Sun reads that the money is from their joint account, which Exeter split equally between him and his family.
“N’Sun, there is a piece of paper inside the laptop. The username and password for it are written there,” said Mr. Robert.
“Have you tried looking into it?”
“Yes. It was used during the investigation of the murder, but the police found nothing in it that is relevant to the case of Mingkit.”
“Speaking of that, uncle, can you recount to me what happened during that time?”
“A certain Prosecutor Remil Wattana filed a case against Mingkit for the murder of Sebastian Yankhun and Exeter. Apparently, this Mingkit is a leader of a syndicate.”
“Who were the witnesses for the prosecutor’s case?”
“Two police officers testified against Mingkit – Sergeant Marlon Wiyapong and Lieutenant Thanat Simaron. You met them here, remember? They went here to tell us the news that Exeter died,” said Mrs. Jane.
“Yes, I remember. Do you know how I can get in touch with them, auntie?” asked Sun.
“Why, N’Sun? What do you need from them?”
Sun thinks carefully before giving a response. “I just want to thank them personally for what they did,” lied Sun. In truth, he wants to get all the information he can about the murder.
“Sure,” answered Mrs. Jane, who pulls out her phone and shows Sun the numbers of the two policemen. “I hope they haven’t changed their numbers yet,” she continued.
“Thank you, Aunt Jane. Did this Mingkit tell the court why he killed Exeter?”
“That is the thing, N’Sun. Only Mister Yankhun was the target. Apparently, he decided to back out of their deal,” answered Mr. Robert.
“I remembered that night when those two officers were here. They showed us pictures of the car that Exeter and Mister Yankhun used. They said the car was shot. Did they catch the shooter?”
“Unfortunately, they did not get him. The prosecution, however, got Mingkit to confess, which was enough for conviction.”
“How about Exeter’s work? Is it in any way related to the murder?”
“They did not touch that topic during the hearings N’Sun. No one from Pharm Institute attended the proceedings to give their side.”
“P’DAUWAN!” shouted someone at the main door. Sun turns and sees Elixir carrying what seems to be groceries in one hand, and a number of packed dishes in a bag on the other. “Wait for me there.”
“Krap nong,” answered Sun.
“He was distraught when he learned about your condition seven months ago, N’Sun. He took what happened to you and Exeter so hard. For months, his routine was just home and school. He refused to go out with his friends – even us. He told us back then that he lost two brothers,” narrated Mrs. Jane.
“How did he get over what happened?”
“He got into graphics designing. We enrolled him in a computer school to improve his drawing skills. Now, he has a part-time source of income, which is designing posters, logos, and other images.” It was Mr. Robert who answered.
“That’s good. His part-time job takes his mind off what happened to me and Exeter.”
“In fact, he has one customer now, and he has designed a logo for their business.”
“Really?”
“You can ask him more about it when he is here.”
Elixir comes out from the dining room and goes straight to the living room where the others are. “How are you P’Sun?” asked Elixir, sitting beside Sun.
“I’m good. I just came here to get the things your brother left for me.”
“I see. Will you be staying for lunch?”
“Yes nong, then I’ll leave probably right after. I have to get home to see what is in Exeter’s computer.”
“I see. I’m into graphics design now P’.”
“Yeah. They just told me. Good thing you found something that interests you to get over your trauma.”
“I thought that since I like drawing by hand, I can enhance my sketches with the use of a computer.”
“That’s great. I hear, as well, that you have one client, and that you are designing a logo for them. Is that true?”
“Krap P’Sun. Actually, it’s done. See here,” said Elixir who gets his phone to show Sun the sample of the sketch.
The drawing is a caricature of an oak tree with a globe in the middle and underneath them are two intersecting stems of wheat with each end stretching in opposite directions.
“This is nice, Elixir. Keep it up.”
“I’m just doing it as a part-time hobby, P’, so, I only have a few customers. For this sketch, I am just waiting for any feedback.”
“That is great. Who is the customer for this sketch?”
“His name is Mister Lee Buphet, and he works at Sebtriex Produce Incorporated.”
“Hmmm. I’ve never heard of that business before.”
“Neither have us, N’Sun,” said Mrs. Jane.
The announcement from the housemaid that the food is served makes them realize that lunchtime has come, and that they have been talking and exchanging news for the past hour and a half.
“What did you buy, N’Elixir?” asked Mrs. Jane, as they walk to the dining room.
“Chinese food Ma. Sorry, P’Sun, they don’t have that congee with tripe.”
“That is okay nong. I’ll have whatever you bought.”
After having lunch, Sun stays for a few minutes to look at the other drawings that Elixir made but to no one.
“Are you leaving now N’Sun? asked Mrs. Jane when she sees Sun filling up his bag.
“Krap auntie. I have already booked a Grab car.”
“Are you sure you don’t want us to drive you home nong? I can give you a ride,” asked Mr. Robert, to which Elixir expresses interest in going with them.
“That is okay uncle. Besides, I have to go somewhere else before home,” said Sun.
After a while, Sun’s cellular beeps to notify him that his car has arrived. “Grab is here. Thank you for the delicious lunch,” said Sun. He pats Elixir in the head, then afterwards Wais to Mr. Robert and Mrs. Jane.
“I’ll take you to the gate,” said Mr. Robert.
When Sun enters the car, he is surprised because Mr. Robert holds the door and asks the driver how much the fare is, which he pays. Sun likes to object, but Mr. Robert prevents him.
“Thank you, uncle. You did not have to do that,” said Sun.
“It’s nothing N’Sun. If you need our help, all you need to do is ask,” replied Mr. Robert.
“Sure thing uncle.”
Mr. Robert closes the door and taps the window, signifying to the driver to go.
Sun alights at a business park, which has both restaurants and offices in it. He enters a bistro that serves Italian dishes and sits in a table at the corner next to the window. He immediately pulls out Exeter’s computer, connects the battery pack to it, and plugs the power source to the socket on the wall. He supplies at the prompt the credentials written in a small piece of paper inside the fold of the laptop, and after a short while, its screen displays the desktop.
“Sawadee krap khun,” said the waitress who approaches him. She hands Sun the menu.
“Sawadee khun,” replied Sun, who takes the menu and opens it immediately to the dessert and drinks page. “I’ll have a Tiramisu and a cup of Macha Latte, please,” he added.
“Krap P’. Serving time is for ten minutes – max.”
“Khob khun krap.”
When the waitress leaves, he starts to access whatever he can in the drives that Exeter’s laptop has, but no matter how much he tries to comprehend the details in the files he opens, he just doesn’t understand them.
He spent the last three hours opening and browsing the contents of the computer. He looks at the window to see that it is nearly sunset, and he has also finished his dessert and tea. He thinks of plugging in the external hard disk that his Grumpy left to him but doesn’t do it. He shuts down the laptop and prepares to leave the establishment. He signals a waiter for his bill when someone sits on the chair in front of him to share the table.