Murder In The Old Castle
339. Have Breakfast

Jeremy was still tracing the dark passage in the dungeon that looked gloomy. The existence of Stella who is suspected to be in the basement is still not found, even though he has checked every room he passed. He was almost desperate, so he again thought that maybe Stella was still in the forest. He felt very upset about the situation. His feelings were mixed, angry, upset, and confused. He had to stop for a while, just exhaling, to feel a little more relieved.

"I'm sorry, Stella. I'm not a good husband. Can't protect you very well" Jeremy murmured.

For a moment he hesitated as to whether he would advocate Stella's search in the basement, or should return to the top. He realized that the night was very late, even approaching the morning. However, he did not want to return to the top empty-handed.At the very least, he had to find a clue that could point to where Stella was.

"Tolowg! Whoever's in there, toloong!"

Suddenly Jeremy heard a scream from the other direction. The shout seemed not to be too far away, still in the basement. Jeremy was surprised. It was clearly heard in the ear, if all he heard was the voice of a female screamer. In his mind, the name Stella immediately appeared. His hope immediately rose. Half-run he searched for the source of the sound.

"Hold on! Where are you?" reply Jeremy.

The voice that Jeremy heard was the voice of Niken who had just been held captive by a mysterious figure in a room that was not far from where Jeremy was standing. Jeremy was looking for the source of the voice, because he thought that the one who asked for help was Stella. He looked at each room, in case the woman he was looking for was in one of the rooms.

"Please ... please! I'm right here!"

Niken's voice sounded closer, so Jeremy made sure that the sound came from a room that was not too far away. He knocked on every room, and he came to the room where Niken was held. From the bars on the door, Jeremy squats into a dark room. He saw a young woman sitting on the floor desperately and tired. Jeremy made sure that the woman in the room wasn't Stella, as he thought.

"Who are you?" ask Jeremy.

"Please .. please help me. Someone locked me in here. I'm a cop. I'm Niken. If you don't believe me, you can ask Mr. Reno. He must know me. Help me, because I'm on duty looking for a serial killer here but I was ambushed by someone who wasn't mysterious. Help me, please!," asked Niken.

"God! You're a cop? I'm looking for my wife. Sorry, I don't have time to help you, because it's soon morning, and I don't want to be caught by that figure either. After all, the door of this room is padlocked using a large steel padlock, it will definitely be difficult to open it," said Jeremy.

"Then just tell Mr. Reno that I'm trapped here. Please, I don't want to rot in this place. I have a lot to do. Please, I promise I'll help you find your wife, the important thing is that I can get out of this shit!" pinta Niken's.

"Oh, my time is limited. But all right, I'll help you. Later on arrival, I will tell Mr. Reno that there is a policewoman held in the basement. In the morning, it looks like I have to go up. Hang in!" said Jeremy.

"Thank you very much .I will never forget your help. What's your name?" ask Niken.

"I'm .. I'm Jeremy!"

"Well Jeremy, I'll remember all your kindness. Go up and tell Mr. Reno or anyone who can help me get out of this place!"

Jeremy nodded then he thought that he should indeed go up. For a long time he had been rummaging through the contents of the basement, but Stella's whereabouts had not yet been seen. He had to tell Mr. Reno or Mr. Ammar about the whereabouts of the policewoman being held in the room. It seems, there's no way he's telling me tonight either. He has to wait until tomorrow morning.

After Jeremy passes and is no longer seen in the hallway, suddenly a black figure appears again approaching the room where Niken was held captive. Apparently he knew that Jeremy was going to tell the other police that a policewoman named Niken was being held in the basement. He doesn't want that to happen. He immediately opened the lock that locked Niken's room.

"You want what you!" ask Niken with a huff.

In this state of urgency, he tried to be bold and firm. The figure said nothing, because what he was facing was a policeman. He did not want his voice to be recognized by the police. Immediately he acted quickly, pulling out a sharp object from behind his shirt, then immediately he pointed it at Niken, gesturing the policewoman to stand up.

"I swear, if I get out of here, I'll pay you back. I'll drag you to court to get a proper sentence, or else I'll punish you myself. Never mess with Niken, anyone who messes around will ... aah!"

The phrase Niken tehenti instantaneously. The figure immediately glued duct tape on Niken's lips. Now the policewoman was speechless.she grew irritated and wanted to fight back. However, at this time Niken's condition was not ready, so he was forced to obey the orders of the mysterious figure. Before long, the figure pushed Niken's body out of the room. Apparently, the figure did not want Niken's whereabouts to be known. He had to call Niken somewhere else that was harder to find.

The mysterious figure is very know the curves of the hallway, so it easily takes his victim to the room where he likes. Miraculously, he had all the keys to the room in the basement!

***

The long and long night changed in the morning. Red hues were already scattered in the eastern sky, indicating the sun was soon rising. One by one, the inhabitants of the castle began their activities. They try to start the day with things that make you excited, not too late in sadness and fear.

Ryan woke up suddenly from his sleep. I don't know why he felt so tired yesterday, so he fell asleep. She slept under the carpet, and Nadine slept in the bed. The first thing he was worried about was Nadine. He immediately checked his wife's whereabouts, then heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Nadine look sound asleep too. He did not want to wake her.

He then stood up, and stepped towards the window to see the morning atmosphere from the window. For a while, the window was closed with a board, because it had been broken by a glass by someone who wanted to kill Nadine. Ryan looked at the clear sky, starting to look blue with red, because the sun had started to appear. He stretched his body that felt tired. He wanted to take a shower, so that the terrace was fresher.

"Are you awake?"

Suddenly he heard Nadine's voice greeting him from behind. Ryan turned his head, seeing Nadine already sitting on her bed. It looks fresher than yesterday.

"Eh, yes. I was looking at the atmosphere this morning that was so bright. How are you doing?" ask Ryan.

"I've been sniffing. I think I can have breakfast with the others at the dinner table. But I better clean myself first, because it's been a few days I don't shower" said Nadine.

"I'm glad you're back to how Nadine was. Hopefully after this there will be no more bad events, and we can all get out of this castle safely" Ryan said.

"Ryan, thank you for taking care of me and sacrificing so much for me. You are an amazing husband. I'm sorry that I've been bothering you all this time" Nadine said in a hoarse voice, like she was about to cry.

"That's Nadine. It is my duty as a husband. You don't have to think about that. No need for a mellow episode. The important thing is that now you are healthy and passionate, it makes me happy. Now take a shower, then we'll go to the dining room together for breakfast!" continued Ryan.

"Oh, what about Stella? Has he been found? I think he was in that basement too" Nadine said.

"That's Nadine. Jeremy's looking for Stella's whereabouts. We pray that Stella will be found safe soon. As hard as you think."

***

Today the one who cooks breakfast is Maya, because Mariah feels very tired since yesterday's incident.he chose to just rest in the room today. Maya does not mind cooking, although she feels less able. He prefers to sit in the reading room and read his favorite books. He deliberately cooks simple food and does not require a long cooking process.

Maya cooks chicken-based food, then blends it with white rice. Quite quickly he cooked, so the food was immediately served at the dining table. The residents of the castle were already waiting at the dining table enthusiastically. Ammar and Reno had sat down the earliest, followed by Juned.

"Where's Mariah? Not eating with us?" ask Reno.

"He felt bad because of fatigue. There was so much he thought" replied Ammar.

One by one the castle residents began to arrive. Jeremy, who looked sleepy, had also arrived there. His face looks dull due to lack of rest, because last night he was still in the basement to look for the whereabouts of Stella. He glanced at Reno, as there was something he wanted to convey, just looking for the right time.

Nadine and Ryan are in the dining room. Both of them seemed radiant, Nadine looked healthy, only her neck was still wrapped in bandages due to wounds hit by a rope to hang herself. Everyone greeted Nadine with a smile. Similarly Rosita was also present in that place in a happy state. She was accompanied by her husband, Edwin. Rosita was also seen beaming that morning. Lily also looked beautiful, with thin makeup, she spread a smile to everyone present there.

However, before the morning meal began, Reno noticed everything on the dining table one by one. He felt that there was no one present there, Aditya.

"Hadithya hasn't been here?" ask Reno.

Everyone looked at each other, feeling like they didn't meet Adit this morning. Jeremy also seemed surprised, because he last met Aditya last night, when he went down to the basement. At that time Aditya asked for permission to go up first, but why is there now not?

"Try me to check into his room!" said Jeremy.

The other residents have not continued eating breakfast without Aditya present. They waited patiently, without any words. Instead they feel tense, worried if anything happens with Aditya. Before long, Jeremy returned to the dining room worriedly.

"He's not in his room!" said Jeremy.

"Is there a last one to meet him?" ask Reno.

"I .. I, sir. But can we talk about it somewhere else?" said Jeremy.

In order not to cause unrest, the breakfast event was still taking place led by Ammar, while Reno and Jeremy immediately stepped aside to the reading room. They sat facing each other, like a patient who was consulting with his doctor. Jeremy hesitates to tell the story until he finally tells him that last night he took the initiative to look for Stella in the basement, but not alone, because Aditya forced her to come along. Unfortunately, he does not find Stella, so Aditya permits her to climb to the castle first. After that, Jeremy thought that Aditya had gotten to the top, but in reality he disappeared this morning.

"Don't I tell you never go to that basement, Jer? Why did you break my warning! We don't know what's really in that room! Very dangerous, Jer! Moreover, you take Aditya there. And now, he's gone!"

Reno is upset because he had previously reminded Jeremy not to go to the basement. He was upset that Jeremy broke his warning.  Especially now that Aditya disappeared, it would certainly be even more troublesome.

"I never took Adit, sir! He himself forced to come. I also did not expect that he was not there this morning, because last night he had permission to go up first. But ... ah! I hope he's okay!" mumbling Jeremy.

Although Jeremy does not feel Aditya taking him to the basement, however, he feels guilty about Aditya's disappearance. He was also confused as to what steps he should take now.

"Now gini. You don't have to talk to anyone else about Adit. If there's anything, say you don't know. I don't want the other residents to panic because Adit disappeared. Later after breakfast, we go down to the basement, we find Adit. Okay?" reno said firmly.

"Good, Sir! All right, we're helping a police officer who was arrested in that basement, sir. Poor him seems to really need help," said Jeremy.

"Police? Who was arrested in the basement? Did you meet him directly?" ask Reno curiously.

Reno has no new police deployed from the city to replace Ramdhan.

"A policewoman, sir. Name's Niken. Last night I met in one of the rooms downstairs, she said someone was ambushing her, and took her into the room. At first I thought it was Stella. I wanted to help, but the room was locked, so there was no way I could open it alone. So I told him that today I'm going to deliver to you" Jeremy said.

"God! Why is he here too? Make the business more chaotic! Well, after breakfast this morning we both go down and look for people who might be held captive down there!" reno toilet.

***