"Are you sick?" Aleyah covered her jaw and most of her face with her hair. Smith walked over to Aleyah and noticed what was scattered on the table. Bandages, betadine, various types of pills from the hospital and some make up.
"What have you been hiding all this time?" asked Smith again.
"I.. no, I don't know what you are talking about."
"There are police downstairs, they are looking for you, they say you wander around every night and end up being found at the scene of a murder." Smith slammed the medicine and pills onto the table, "Just what are you thinking! Didn't I warn you not to leave the house at night, especially without my permission?!"
"Smith, just calm down." Jeremy said worriedly.
"Don't interfere, strangers!" Smith snapped at the young man.
Aleyah bit her lip and held back her tears. She must answer Smith's questions and regain her father's trust. She looked around and she finally got an idea to escape her father's wrath. "I left the house to seek solace from my mother's death. I know this is the wrong way but I like riding motorbikes at night."
Aleyah was starting to get good at lying and she felt very guilty when Smith's expression changed when she mentioned her mother. She couldn't think of anything else other than lying and using her mother's death as an excuse. After this, she promised not to let the ghost take over her body again. Never!
Smith sighed. He massaged her forehead and Aleyah immediately held his hand. "Sorry papa, I didn't mean to make you worry. All these injuries are because I fell and it was my fault. Fainting in an inappropriate place is also my fault, I'm sorry."
"No, it's my fault for not paying attention to you all this time. You and Lucy must be lonely, next time just say it if you want something. I will accompany you on a motorbike ride if you want."
Aleyah smiled broadly. She hugged Smith, it was her way of saying thank you sincerely. Then she would remember her guilt over lying until she died. Aleyah glanced at Jeremy who was still standing in the doorway and still wearing his work uniform.
"Something important must have happened for you to see me again at a night like this." said Aleyah, her guess was quite accurate and Jeremy immediately nodded and apologized for the inconvenience to both of them.
Jeremy's politeness made the two reluctant to refuse his visit. Smith was no longer angry with Jeremy or his daughter, "I believe you, whatever they say, I believe my daughter will not do that."
Aleyah smiled wryly, she was very guilty about getting this forgiveness and trust. Smith took a thick, long coat and put it on Aleyah. "Come, I'll help you walk downstairs." he said then supported Aleyah who was still not feeling well and walked little by little.
Aleyah sat at one of the chairs. The bakery's curtains were closed tightly, there were Justin and Jeremy in front of her who looked like they were going to convey and ask about many things. There was another policeman standing and monitoring near the doorway. Smith was watching from quite a distance and for some reason he often peeked out the window. Lucy approached them and placed two glasses of coffee on the table. Jeremy thanked her then Lucy delivered the remaining cup of coffee to the other police.
"Are you alright? You're getting thinner," Jeremy asked worriedly. Aleyah held her cheek and realized what the police were focusing on. They must have been surprised to see how messy her appearance was. "I'm fine, Jeremy." Aleyah said softly then ended with a faint smile.
Justin interrupted their conversation by holding out several pictures. "You appeared again on CCTV near the murder. Our question is still the same as before, did you see the murder?"
Aleyah stared at the lump of black shadow that never left her. Jeremy explained the details of how they found her collapsed in the middle of the road about 50 meters away from the discovery of the dead body. Aleyah honestly wasn't interested in knowing that, not until she heard about a threat.
"What did you say just now?" she asked.
"Answer our questions first, do not divert the conversation." Justin replied, pointing at Aleyah with the pen in his hand.
Jeremy looked at Justin and forbade him from making a fuss. Otherwise Smith will knock him out for real this time. But Smith chuckled on the other end and it made them furrow their eyebrows in surprise. "God what have you all become? You can't differentiate between male and female voices." he said then shook his head at a loss for words. He was very disappointed in the police and at the same time relieved by what Jeremy had said earlier.
Aleyah looked back at Jeremy and it made Jeremy decide to repeat his explanation over that demanding look on her face. "The murderer always leaves a message after committing his crime. He will make a call and say where he was. And then he will mention a date."
"Date?"
"The date he will commit his next murder. We never got around to finding him after that call. And worst of all, he actually committed another murder on that date. After that he will do it over and over again, it's crazy how he still escaped our supervision. This case is our priority and all officers have been deployed to handle it. But there wasn't a single clue."
Aleyah couldn't say anything else. "How could he do something like that? Playing around like death and killing don't matter anymore, he's pure trash."
Aleyah realized something while listening to all of this. "Wait a minute, What do you mean by he? So you know that the murder was he?" Aleyah asked again in surprise. Jeremy knew Aleyah would notice that detail so he left the explanation to his co-worker.
Justin sighed, "The caller's voice was a man's voice. So in fact you have been excluded from being a suspect because of that."
Justin glanced at Smith then immediately looked down and apologized to him and Aleyah, whom he had accused carelessly a few seconds ago, "I'm sorry, I said something I shouldn't have. I just made myself look stupid."
Meanwhile Smith just listened and didn't show any further reaction. He was just relieved that his daughter was off the hook. The next thing he had to do was protect Aleyah and Lucy from all these incidents, finish the job from NYX and then send his two daughters to the capital.
"I understand why you think that way. All this happened because of that psycho killer. Then regarding your question earlier, I'm sorry, I didn't see the murder. You're just wasting your time meeting me like this. I really want to help but I can't."
Justin and Jeremy couldn't hide their disappointment. But there was nothing Aleyah could do to help them. She doesn't remember anything from when she was possessed so she can't testify. This case is a big case so it's impossible for her to lie or get involved any deeper.
"Well, call me if you remember anything." Jeremy said. He was sure that Aleyah didn't remember the incident because she was too shocked and he would wait patiently for the right time for Aleyah to confess and maybe be willing to be their eyewitness.
Aleyah didn't have the energy to argue so she just nodded briefly so that this would all be over soon. But her wish couldn't just come true. The teenage ghost came again and looked very happy when he saw the arrival of the police. The ghost excitedly raised his arms. "I know who the murderer is! I saw his face clearly!" shouted the ghost excitedly. "Aleyah, let me in, I'll explain it to them," he said again.
That's when Aleyah was very shocked and afraid. It turns out that she actually witnessed the murder and she's thankful she can't remember it. She almost threw a punch at the ghost because she was so annoyed by the ghost's impudence. But she didn't, she wasn't careless and stupid and then announced she was strange in front of these people.
Instead, Aleyah closed her eyelids and then muttered exorcist readings in a low voice. The ghost approached Aleyah because he thought the woman had not heard what he said.
"What are you mumbling about? Listen, I have proof of the murderer's crimes. It's in your pocket Aleyah." whispered the ghost, which now sounded echoing in Aleyah's mind.
Oh God! He's still there, Aleyah thought, annoyed. She always showed her palm when chasing them away, but there was no way she would do that now. Once again, not in front of these people. Then announced that she could see ghosts and her current action was to exorcise them. They will call her crazy.
"It's in your pocket, the evidence is in your pocket. Quickly hand it over to Jeremy." whispered the ghost again, he was in a hurry because Jeremy and his friends would soon leave here.
Aleyah was also curious about what the ghost said. She pinched her trouser pocket lightly. She moved as little as possible so as not to be noticed by the police and Smith who were watching her with those eagle eyes. It's true what the ghost said. There was something in her pocket. She felt around to feel its shape. It seems the object the ghost is referring to is her cell phone.
"I took a photo of that bastard's face. Hand it over to them quickly. That man will become a fugitive and everyone will know his face. CCTV footage of buildings and streets could not capture the man's face but imagine what would happen if all the citizens of this city became CCTV. Soon the bastard will be caught. Ah, I'm very clever..." said the ghost then he clapped his hands to make Aleyah's thoughts fade. "Quickly hand it over so I can get over my revenge." he said again.
Aleyah shook her head. She had promised to not get involved in this case again, she wouldn't care anymore, never. She did say she wanted to help Jeremy and the victims but not in this way. If she handed over whatever the ghost said about the evidence to Jeremy, Smith would see through her lies and she really didn't want that to happen.
"Aleyah? Are you alright?" the policeman interrupted. Aleyah looked straight again and put her hands on the table.
"What are you doing?" asked the ghost in surprise. Aleyah ignored him and answered Jeremy's question with a shake of her head and a few sweet, occasionally forced smiles. "I'll be fine after taking an hour nap, a lot of hours actually. Thank you for worrying about me, and forgive about my father's words." said Aleyah, completely ignoring the ghost's words.
"I'll hand it over myself if you don't want to." The ghost added a sentence that succeeded in making Aleyah even more dizzy. Aleyah closed her eyes and tightened her grip. She was struggling to prevent the ghost from taking over her body.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Do you want to poop?" Justin asked in surprise because Aleyah suddenly closed her eyes and seemed to be holding something in until she was sweating quite a lot. Jeremy nudged his friend and admonished him to stop playing around.
"Papa," Aleyah called a little hoarsely.
Smith immediately approached them, "That's enough."
Aleyah held her father's arm tightly. She was still sitting and looked down deeply until her bangs covered her face. She was there closing her eyes and trying her best to refuse to lose consciousness. She could feel that the teenage ghost was trying to pull her soul out. She wouldn't let that happen, not this time, she had to be strong against them. "Just do what you usually do, don't let them take over," Aleyah muttered softly to herself until a few more drops of blood dripped from her nose.