Murim Recurve

The moment she turned into a narrow road, Re'Kha noticed how the speed of the jeep had slowed down. After all, it didn't have enough space to drive fast and had to proceed carefully. As a two-wheeler, Re'Kha didn't have such concerns.

She then took a turn into an even more narrow road, driving relatively slower through it before entering a slightly wider road. Before the police jeep could follow her trail, she reached the main road once again and sped forth.

Driving at the maximum speed her bike allowed, she traversed one street after another, soon returning on her path once again. Twenty minutes later, she reached Chaya's house, driving slowly once she reached the street, unwilling to alert anyone with the sound.

She parked her bike near Chaya's house walls, keeping it close to the wall so that no one would notice anything amiss if they were to see out at this time. But even considering how the possibility for something like that was pretty slim, Re'Kha didn't wish to take her chances.

She then climbed atop her bike and leapt over the wall, landing on the other side. She barely made any sounds due to her soft sneakers. Moreover, their household didn't seem to have any interest in raising dogs, so Re'Kha didn't have to worry about them.

She then arrived before the door, dialling the password to the door lock. Thankfully for her, they only had a digital lock and required a password that could be punched in. Otherwise, if she had to use a key, she would have felt some trouble.

As she knew the password, she faced no difficulty in opening the door, gently closing it shut upon entering the house. It was a duplex with three bedrooms. Chaya slept with her daughter on the first floor while Swetha's grandfather occupied the room on the ground floor.

Due to his age, he felt difficulty in pacing up and down the steps, and hence occupied the room on the ground floor. Re'Kha first appeared before his room, locking it shut before changing its password. Now, even if he wanted, he couldn't come out.

Re'Kha then stealthily crept through the flight of stairs, soon appearing on the first floor as she placed her ear on the door, trying to hear the sounds inside. Thanks to her memory from the second exploration, Chaya was bound to be sleeping at such a time.

So, Re'Kha didn't wish to screw up the chance as she swiftly changed the password of the door and retreated, returning to the living room. She depended on the torchlight from her phone for illumination as Re'Kha browsed around, trying to get any clues.

Even though she knew the chances for that were slim, Re'Kha couldn't give up that easily. Any documents, files, etc. were searched through by her. Unfortunately for her, Re'Kha didn't see any information worth of notice.

'What am I searching for?' Re'Kha frowned, thinking for a couple of minutes to straighten her thoughts first. Only with a clear direction could she tackle the issue accordingly.

'Chaya had been a normal housewife. But for some reason, she became a bloodthirsty murderer. Moreover, the victims she had killed seemed to be those that knew her.'

'So, they shared a connection or an enmity of sorts between them, enough to kill each other?' She then frowned, 'No, that didn't seem to be the case. Something is missing here.'

Re'Kha then searched through everywhere on the ground floor, unable to find anything conclusive. She then entered the other room on the first floor, noticing how the room seemed to be a study. A lot of books littered the racks attached to the walls, ranging between various subjects.

Some of them were comics meant for kids. As she flipped through them, all Re'Kha saw were crayon scribbles that Swetha had made while reading it. Re'Kha flipped through all the books, trying to see if she found any clue.

She first planned to do a general sweep before proceeding with a detailed sweep later. Placed in the racks were also some old notebooks that Swetha had used before. They contained her classwork and homework, stuff she filled in school. They seemed to be from a lower grade.

She casually flipped through them before stopping in shock, looking at the bold words written on the last page, 'Die!'

Re'Kha frowned, for the handwriting seemed different from Swetha's. It wasn't Chaya's too. She then flipped through the notebook, unable to find anything else that was odd in it. Finding something amiss, Re'Kha flipped through the other notebooks and books, finding that such words did exist occasionally in the books.

But most of the time, they were crayon graffiti. Re'Kha could immediately guess the markings weren't by Swetha, for the strokes contained weight and clarity to them that only adults possessed.

But, that was it. No matter what else she searched for, Re'Kha was unable to find anything else. She then thought of something, returning to the ground floor as she reverted the password on the room of Swetha's grandfather to the old one. She then entered it, noticing that Swetha's grandfather was fast asleep.

She scanned the room once, unable to find any clues as she slowly exited the room, ensuring to keep the door in the same position as before. She then arrived at the first floor to repeat the same in Chaya's room.

But, she dared not enter. For, that was too risky.

'It seems I have to wait.' Re'Kha thought as she proceeded to climb the flight of stairs, heading towards the terrace. Based on her memory of the day, Swetha had a half-day at school. And, to drop her, Chaya would leave the house at 8:00 AM.

So, that was the only time Re'Kha could use to enter her room and search through her belongings. She opened the door to the terrace and found a perfect hiding spot to hide within and spy around. She then returned to the kitchen, picked up a couple of paper cups and a thin strand of thread.

Heading straight to the terrace, Re'Kha gently closed the door and took position, intending to camp at the terrace all night.