Chapter 16: Worried to death

“Please leave a callback number. Beep. Beep.” “Please leave a callback number. Beep. Beep.” “Damn it!”

The expensive phone was almost thrown to the floor. As soon as the young Inspector returned home, he went straight to the bedroom. However, upon opening the door, he did not find his wife. At that moment, his heart sank to his ankles. He called out, but only silence echoed back.

“Mangkon, where are you?”

The young Inspector hurried to the walk-in closet, his fear rising in his chest. What if his younger partner was so angry that he packed his clothes and ran back to Chiang Rai?

“Oh no!” He prayed in his heart that it wasn’t so.

Thian took only a few steps inside. His sharp eyes scanned quickly. The small man’s clothes were all there. Then where could he have gone?

The young inspector quickly left the room. His long legs headed towards the stairs, but at that moment, Pharada opened the bedroom door and looked at her son.

“Gear, where have you been? Why do you smell like alcohol?” “Don’t tell me you went out partying. You’re married now!”

But those words didn’t reach her son’s ears at all. Even though his mother continued to scold him, Thian chose to interrupt immediately.

“Mom, have you seen Mangkon?” “No, son. Why?”

“What’s wrong, Gear? Did you argue?” Pharada began to frown. “Mangkon’s not in the room. And his phone is turned off.”

“I’ll go look for him around the house first.” “Hurry, son.”

The rugged face showed a serious expression. He walked almost ran downstairs. If his partner was angry, he was ready to apologize and improve himself.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. When Mangkon was angry, the kid liked to go swimming which he already knew.

Going back to the past, when Thian was still a police lieutenant or the rank of Captain, he was assigned to be a senior training helper at the Provincial Police School.

The evening atmosphere at the training field was full of diligence and seriousness. Classmates were practicing in groups as usual, but one boy stood clenching his jaw, his round eyes glaring at a friend who had said something sarcastic that he could barely tolerate. And all of that was witnessed by Thian.

“That bastard…he’s gonna get a taste of my fist!”

“Damn it!” Mangkon muttered, his hand clenching into a fist so tight that his veins bulged. He rarely used curse words unless he was really pushed.

But when he turned his gaze and saw the tall figure of his senior, Captain Thian, standing in the distance, he had to stop. Because he couldn’t do what he had wanted to do.

“Damn it… if I punch him, the Captain will definitely punish me!”

The police trainee quickly strode out of the field, heading straight for the school’s central swimming pool, with Thian following at a distance.

Water splashed. Before the older man could even show himself, Mangkon had already taken off his shirt and jumped into the water,

“What the hell is this kid doing?”

At that time, the two weren’t close, but in this cold winter weather, he couldn’t let the kid get sick. So, he quickly walked closer and shouted loudly,

“Are you crazy? Swimming alone in the evening like this? You’ll get cramps!”

The younger man, who was swimming in the large pool, stopped swimming and turned to look with a stern expression before speaking loud enough to be heard.

“It’s better than me punching that guy and causing trouble!”

That answer made the training helper roll his eyes, but a faint smile involuntarily lifted his lips. The older man stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the kid who was swimming to relieve his frustration, feeling weary. He then spoke in a teasing tone,

“If using force to solve a problem makes you feel better, I think it’s not a bad idea to try.” Sometimes, people who like to bully others deserve to be hit, right?

What does the Captain mean?

The listener, not understanding the words, swam back to the edge of the pool, resting his hands on the side and asking with a small smile,

“I can punch him?”

“It might make them stop bullying people, you know.” Instead of giving good advice, he chose to use violence. What a righteous policeman… giving terrible advice.

“Do you want to try it?”

Thian said jokingly before walking closer and reaching out a large hand to gently pat him on the head with fondness.

“Come on, get out. Go take a shower. You’ll catch a cold.” “Yes, Captain.”

Thian watched the police trainee slowly climb out of the swimming pool without hurrying. In his heart, he inexplicably felt fond of this hot-headed kid.

It was as if something was drawing him in. Cut back to the present.

The last place he thought he would find his wife. Upon arriving at the swimming pool behind the house, it was empty. He shifted his gaze surveying the area. He did not find any sign of life, save the darkness of the night that surrounded him.

“Where did you go, Mangkon?”

At this moment, the young inspector was completely lost. He didn’t understand where the smaller man would go at this time. His thick hand picked up the phone again and called someone Mangkon might have contacted.

(What’s up, Thian?) Phuwin answered. “Hey, did Mangkon call you?”

(No, what’s wrong?)

“What about Plub? Did Mangkon call him?”

The person on the other end went silent for a moment before answering with the same answer as before.

(He didn’t call. What’s going on, Thian?) “Nothing, thanks a lot.”

(How could it not? Did you guys fight or something?) “Yeah, if I say no, it’s no. That’s it.”

The person on the other end hung up abruptly. Right now, he didn’t know where Mangkon was. He couldn’t say he had disappeared. If that Phu knew Mangkon had disappeared, then no more than five hours from this minute, he’d definitely find him in Chiang Mai.

“Gear! Come look at the security camera, son!” Pharada’s voice called out, prompting her son to run immediately.

The security camera footage showed Saming picking up the younger man about thirty minutes before he arrived home. Thian didn’t hesitate and immediately grabbed his phone to call the scoundrel.

The ringing tone went on and on. He didn’t pick up the first call, but long fingers pressed the call button relentlessly, ignoring everything else. Until the third call, he answered.

(What’s up, Thian? Calling so late?) “Where did you take Mangkon?”

(Huh? Isn’t Mangkon home yet?) The tone pretending to be surprised came out softly.

“I checked the camera. Where did you take Mangkon?”

(I took him to a milk cafe, but he said he would go back on his own about half an hour ago.) (Hey, Thian! Have you called Mangkon yet?)

“I called, but he’s not answering.”

(Maybe his battery died. Maybe you should wait a little longer?) “Which milk cafe did you go to?”

Thian didn’t listen to the advice. After getting the location, he told his mother to wait for Mangkon at home, while he quickly grabbed his car keys and drove off immediately.

His mind was confused and overwhelmed, thinking about one of the words of the Black Bull gang.

‘I’ll kill him myself. Definitely.’ Even if they’re inside, I can’t trust them. If anything happens to Mangkon, he would never forgive himself.

The young inspector drove to the location that Saming had given him. As a policeman, we shouldn’t believe anything easily, so he had to verify the evidence himself.

When he arrived at the shop, it was about to close. But when he asked and showed the picture of the younger man to the owner of the dessert shop, he confirmed that the two had come to eat here and left together.

“Where? Where did Mangkon go?”

He continuously called his mother. The answer he got was that Mangkon still hadn’t come back. Saming also called to ask about the progress periodically.

Where could he be?

His heart felt empty. He couldn’t think of anything good. The marriage to change fate was to improve his fate, but did Mangkon’s fate get worse?

Dark eyes stared at the bright screen showing one o’clock in the morning. It was time to go to bed.

“Or did he go to drink? The liquor stores aren’t closed yet.” “Or did the Sergeant Serm invite Mangkon out?”

Many hypotheses were considered. Thian quickly drove back to the nightclub he had left and, upon reaching his destination, burst inside without hesitation.

Several policemen were drunk and enjoying the music they heard. Kanin was also trying to grope his man and was repeatedly pushed away by Nadol. But those things weren’t the issue. The issue right now was finding Mangkon.

“Oh, Inspector Thian, you’re back?” Sergeant Serm slurred drunkenly, barely able to get off the sofa.

“Sergeant, Lieutenant Nadol, has Mangkon been here?”

“No, sir, not that I’ve seen. Is something wrong?” Lieutenant Nadol, who seemed the most composed, replied.

“Mangkon’s gone missing.” “Huh? Mangkon’s gone missing?” Snap!

“What did you just say, Thian?” Kanin, who had overheard the previous sentence, straightened up from the lieutenant’s lap.

“I went back to the house. Mangkon wasn’t there. I checked the cameras. Mangkon went out with Saming. I asked Saming, and he said they separated, and Mangkon would go back on his own.”

“Shit, Thain. But wait…”

“Is Mangkon staying at your place? Doesn’t he stay at the police quarters?” “Yeah, Mangkon sleeps at my house. But I won’t explain now.”

Which should he be more stunned by? Kanin almost sobered up instantly. Tension filled the air. The three policemen looked at each other.

“You’ve called him, right?” “Yeah, I’ve called him.”

Calling Chiang Mai a safe province at night was something he couldn’t confidently say. Bad things could happen any time, to anyone. But it couldn’t happen to Mangkon.

“I think we should go back to the station, right? Let’s go back and regroup there first,” Nadol suggested.

Thian gritted his teeth, trying to suppress his feelings. But what the Lieutenant suggested seemed like the best course of action right now.

The three separated and went back to their cars. Kanin, now almost completely sober, got into the car with Thian and helped coordinate with the authorities, because he felt just as anxious.

“Did you tell Phu, Thian?” “Not yet. Don’t tell him, okay?”

“Yeah, or else mine and your heads might be chopped off our shoulders too.”

Before he came to help with the case here, Phuwin had repeatedly emphasized that he should help take care of Mangkon. Lukplub had also said so. And Mangkon was also one of the younger brothers that he loved very much. Kanin would never let anything happen to him.

“Answer, answer, Mangkon…”

Silence. As the car moved, Thian didn’t stop calling, but the other end remained silent, without even a connection.

“Damn it!”

The car’s speed increased with his emotions. He took only five minutes to drive from the entertainment venue to the police station. The brakes screeched, tires rubbing against the road, leaving faint smoke trails. The young inspector got out of the car in a hurry, but before he could walk into the police station, a familiar voice came from the parking lot.

“Have you found Mangkon yet, Thian?” “Saming!”