CHAPTER 12: AN EMPTY HOUSE

According to my advice, the three of us agreed to postpone our mission until nightfall. Dova disagreed with me at first. He said we shouldn't waste time. Then I asserted to him that if he wanted to catch a fish in a pond, we should be able to wait quietly so the prey wouldn't run away.

"Okay, we can use your strategy, Suri," Dova finally said yes.

****

After we waited until evening at the lodge, we again took the city bus in the same direction to visit Seno Joan's house in a narrow alley.

But, this time we were not coming through the front way.

The three of us sneaked in behind his house. I didn't really have a clue how to find this mysterious painter, but after our conversation with a neighbor this afternoon, I started to understand "the game" we faced.

"Did you see any hidden corpses?" Roy turned his back on each home we passed, taking the lead. "Or smell the stench?"

"No," I whispered. "There's just the smell of garbage, not the smell of dead bodies."

Dova put his index finger on his lip as a gesture for not making any noises.

We walked along the slippery green grass. The light here was not very good, and it was good for our hideout. Then finally, I reached that home.

"I think this is the house." I began to take a look through the fence behind the house I was talking about. There was no hole at all in the back fence, probably designed not for in and out function, but only for boundary. Then I created a hole in one of the planks with a twig lying on the ground. Then I peered through the very narrow crack of the wooden fence that I had just made. It was empty, there was nobody, and it was also unkempt. Hmm, as I expected. But there was one thing that concerned me. "It's strange. There's no lock attached to the back door," I whispered.

"Really?" Dova took a peek through the fence. "That back door must have been locked. Maybe this house was designed to have a lock only at the front door."

Then Roy took a peek. "Why don't we check it now?"

"Sure," Dova answered.

Dova walked to a big tree and climbed it. He then hopped over the fence after swinging from one of the branches. Roy and I followed him, trying not to make any noise.

"I will check it out," I said quietly as soon as I stepped to the back door. Then I take my big hairpin and stick it in the lock hole. "Oh, as I expected."

"How's that?" Dova sounded curious.

I pulled my hairpin. "I can't use my hairpin."

"Can you press it, Suri?" asked dova.

"I can't," I answered with a smile. "And that would be great, if you could understand the workings of my mind and that mysterious painter."

"Keep watching. It turns out we're about to get a big prey tonight," Dova said as if he understood what I said.

Dova and Roy broke down the door together. We were unable to reduce the noise which caused by the damage of the door's hinges, and then it became less stable, and it just collapsed. Then I stepped closer to find the key of the lock hole. Sure, there was a key that sticking out. "I knew this door was locked from the inside. The key is still stuck in the hole."

"Come in," Dova ordered, and then he went in first.

Me and Roy followed him while keeping our eyes open for the next possible surprises. A locked door from the inside clearly indicated that someone was already in this house, whereas everyone claimed this house was empty. I waited until nightfall so that 'the owner' would think the three of us were really gone. And he would certainly be in this house as usual.

Because the room was so dark, and I could not see anything, I immediately turned on a small flashlight that resembled a ballpoint in my shirt pocket.

"Oh, my goodness," Roy whispered as his eyes began to catch on in the house.

I saw a bag of garbage that was full of food packs, one of them was bread package. Then I read the expiration date, it was about five days ago. He said the house had been empty for six months.

"This must be the new bread," Roy whispered next to me.

"This house is too full for an empty house. I mean, look at all these food supplies," I concluded, pointing out the kitchen cabinet. It had abundance of instant foods, including noodles and coffee. And everything wasn't expired yet.

"I will try to search the bedroom," Roy said, walking away in the darkness.

Then I turned to the other room quickly. I grabbed an ashtray on the table, and I touched a cigarette roll inside. The flash of light told by grandma could be the tip of this flaming cigarette. "It's still very warm. I'm sure the house is not empty."

Suddenly I heard a loud thump behind me. It gradually seemed closer. I was sure it wasn't one of the three of us, because the footsteps of spies could be very quiet and hardly be heard. It should be someone or something else. This was a bad time.

****

I swung the light into another corner of the house. I knew right from the start that the mysterious person was here. But I never thought he'd have enough courage to show up before we found his hideout.

Dova just kicked a guy who was about to swing a teflon skillet at the back of my head. "Hello, Seno Joan."

I immediately stepped back and pointed the light toward the target. Now I could see more clearly there was a thin man lying helpless with a bruised face. I arrested Dova before he got a chance to knock him out again. "If you kill him, we will lose a lot of information."

I could say that because it looked like this guy didn't attack back. His hands laboriously reached for a skillet stretching far away. His legs were trembling. He looked more like a growling little kitty cat that didn't dare to fight back.

"All right, wrap him up." Dova swung a small knife at Joan's neck. The man was frightened and could only look up, unable to look at the cold blade that touched the skin of his neck.

I hurried to get whatever closest cloth to me then wrapped it up and make it as ropes. Then I wrapped the guy in a sitting position so he couldn't move. Absolutely there was no fight at all. He didn't even have the courage to say a word.

"Where's your painting?" Dova pushed his knife harder.

"I don't have it, now-never," Seno Joan stammered in reply.

Hmm, I guess he wasn't lying. For a man with a knife right at his neck, he had no choice but speaking the truth.

"I guess he's right, the painting isn't here," Roy said suddenly. He approached us after searching too much. "But I found this."

I immediately aimed my lightpen at Roy. He had just dragged along a large suitcase of cash. "Wow, is this all yours?"

"I-it's counterfeit money, take it if you want," replied Seno Joan intensively.

"Tell me where you got this much counterfeit money?" asked Dova while still holding up his knife.

"It was taken by mafia," Seno Joan answered briefly. "They deceived me."

I chuckled at it. "So, you fooled everyone by creating a myth about a cursed painting, and then you stole it again after it's price raising."

"You've had your chances as a former museum security guard. You know the museum's weak points very well," stated Dova, but it wasn't exactly a compliment. "But instead you got deceived by the mafia."

"Where are they now?" asked Roy.

"When did you see them last time?" I asked.

"A week ago, in the harbor," he replied.

Dova immediately checked his phone and sent Mr. Ferdy our entire conversation from a distance.

"We have found the original painter," Dova informed on his cell phone. "Well, we will, Sir!" and then he ended the conversation.

"How's it going?" I asked confusedly. "What did Mr. Ferdy say?"

"Our real goal is not to look for you, but for your painting. That was a superior order." said Dova to Seno Joan.

"You can look for them on boat 27, and silver as password," Seno Joan answered spontaneously.

Good. Looked like he had a real hatred for those harbor bandits, because he'd been tricked before. It wasn't hard for him to expose their location. He probably wished the three of us could throw his revenge on them. How naive.

"But I have to go back to the division center. Mr. Ferdy called me," Dova replied. "There are things I have to report, and we may need help to deal with the mafia."

"Okay, I will take care of this guy," Roy continued. "I will drag him down to the police."

"Well, then let me take the harbor," I offered.

Dova raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure, Suri?"

"We better wait for the help," warned Roy.

"I will try to tell you the exact location of the painting, then come right back," I explained trying to make him sure. "Our time is limited. That painting is prepared to be sent somewhere else, we must get that."

Dova glared at me. "You have to promise me you won't do any more than that,"

"I will try to," I assured confidently.

****