THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

That morning, in his home office, Frans was reading a mysterious file he had received the night before. It turned out to be a case file involving the murder of an entire family. The case was still under investigation, and one name stood out as the suspect.

“Freddy?” he said, his face filled with confusion.

Frans continued reading the file carefully. There was a family photo in the file, and he was shocked when he saw it.

“Wait… Didn’t I meet them just two days ago?” he said to himself.

He stared closely at the photo and recognized a little girl.

“Anita? So….” Frans turned pale as he recalled the events from two days ago after returning from Bogor.

He fell silent for a moment. He opened the file and read the witness statements. From the statements, it appeared that the victims had once had a conflict with Wito.

“Hmm… this case also points to Wito,” he thought to himself.

He flipped through the file again, but there was nothing else. Frans felt exhausted. He placed the file on the table and closed his eyes for a moment. Siska came in with a cup of hot tea for her husband. She set it on the table and sat next to him.

“Honey, why do you look so tense this morning?” Siska asked.

Frans gave her a sweet smile and looked at her.

“This, Sis. I’m confused about this file. Last night, a mysterious caller gave it to me,” said Frans.

Siska, who was also a lawyer, was immediately intrigued.

“Let me see it, Mas,” said Siska.

Frans handed her the file. As Siska began reading the mysterious document, Frans enjoyed the aroma of the tea she had made. He took a sip.

“Hmm… this is the best tea ever,” he said with a satisfied smile.

Siska smiled warmly, flattered by Frans’s words.

“Thank you, Mas. I made something special just for you,” she replied.

Siska continued reading the file. Her brow furrowed. It turned out she recognized Anggoro, the murder victim. Then she saw the name of the suspect.

“Freddy?” she said in surprise.

She put the file down and spoke to her husband.

“Hon, this file should be related to the Riyani murder case. It’s not the case you're working on,” said Siska.

Hearing the name “Riyani murder case” made Frans recall another mysterious file he had found.

“But, wasn’t that case closed a month ago, Darling?” Frans asked.

“Yes, but the case went cold. However, this file could be the key to uncovering Riyani’s murder,” Siska said.

Frans looked puzzled. Siska then explained who Anggoro actually was.

“Anggoro was the owner of a financial consulting firm trusted by the government. Meanwhile, Riyani was Mr. Wito’s secretary,” Siska began.

According to Siska, Anggoro and Riyani were colleagues auditing the financial records of Wito’s company. Before the audit was complete, both were found dead under mysterious circumstances.

“Riyani was found dead in Bogor a year ago—in her car. Meanwhile, Anggoro was the victim of a robbery, and his entire family was murdered,” Siska continued.

Frans frowned and thought deeply about the case.

“Wait a minute… The Andini case was also connected to Wito. Now Riyani and Anggoro too. Could these cases be related?” Frans asked.

Siska thought for a moment. She placed the file next to Riyani’s murder case file.

“Let me see the Andini case file, Hon,” Siska said.

Frans grabbed it and handed it to her. Siska read it carefully. After a while, she set it down and shook her head.

“What do you think, honey?” Frans asked, sipping his tea again.

Siska looked at her husband, her face slightly anxious.

“Darling, the Andini case is really complicated. Actually, all three cases are connected. But the missing link is the financial audit conducted by Riyani and Anggoro. That audit file is the key to solving all three cases,” said Siska.

She paused for a moment, then smiled warmly and gently stroked her husband’s left cheek.

“I’ll help you as much as I can. We need a strategy to deal with Mr. Wito. He’s a slippery man, known for being cold-blooded. You should be very careful around him,” said Siska.

Frans smiled sweetly.

“Thank you, darling. I’ll remember your advice,” said Frans.

After finishing his tea, Frans prepared to go to the office. He organized the files, placed them in his briefcase, and left.

Meanwhile, Inspector Abdi headed straight to Jakarta. He went to Wito’s office. Upon arrival, he approached the receptionist.

“Good afternoon, ma’am. I’m with the police. I’d like to speak with Mr. Wito regarding the death of Mr. Rudy,” said Inspector Abdi.

“Certainly, sir. I’ll contact him right away,” the receptionist replied.

Inspector Abdi nodded. With a polite smile, the receptionist invited him to wait in the lobby. Not long after, Wito came to meet him.

“Good afternoon, sir. We’d like to gather some information about the case,” said Inspector Abdi.

“Of course, sir,” Wito responded.

Inspector Abdi paused for a moment, then showed Rudy’s phone.

“Mr. Wito, did you receive a phone call from Mr. Rudy around 8:00 PM?” asked Inspector Abdi.

Wito thought for a moment, recalling that night.

“Hmm… yes, I was busy at the time. I only saw the call around 11:15 PM. I called back, and someone answered—but the call was cut off and I heard strange noises,” Wito said.

Inspector Abdi was momentarily shocked. He looked at Wito in disbelief.

“Are you sure it was Rudy who answered?” asked Inspector Abdi.

“Yes, sir. I know his voice very well,” Wito replied.

Inspector Abdi showed him the autopsy report, handing over the forensic results.

“That’s the police forensic report,” said Inspector Abdi.

Wito read the report, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Inspector, this can’t be right. Rudy answered my call around 10:30 PM. I’m sure it was him,” Wito insisted.

Inspector Abdi smiled slightly and responded.

“At first, we thought the same. I even verified the call log. We conducted three autopsies, and the result was the same. We suspect Mr. Rudy died of a heart attack. His blue lips and fingernails indicated asphyxiation,” said Inspector Abdi.

He then showed a photo of Rudy’s body. Wito’s eyes widened in fear.

“This is how we found Rudy. But we also discovered another fingerprint on the car dashboard—Riyani’s,” Inspector Abdi continued.

Wito was stunned. His face showed fear.

“Riyani? That’s impossible! She died a year ago,” he thought.

Inspector Abdi went on.

“Oh, and Mr. Wito… our cyber team analyzed Rudy’s phone. Based on their analysis, the phone should’ve powered off at 10:00 PM due to a dead battery. So, we don’t believe it was Rudy who answered your call,” said Inspector Abdi.

Wito was terrified but tried to stay calm. He answered several more of Inspector Abdi’s questions. Once satisfied, Inspector Abdi left.

After Abdi’s departure, Wito grew more anxious. He remembered the terrifying voice he had heard. He rushed back to his office.

That evening, Siska, who was secretly investigating Anggoro’s murder, was waiting for someone at a café. Before long, the person arrived.

“Excuse me, are you Miss Siska?” the person asked.

Siska looked at her.

“Yes, that’s me. Are you Miss Widya?” Siska asked.

The woman smiled warmly at her.

“Yes. How can I help you?” she replied.

Siska invited her to sit. Then she began her inquiry.

“Sorry to bother you. I’d like to ask about Anggoro. I’ve been reading his case file, and I saw you were his former secretary. Do you remember what he was working on before the murder?” Siska asked.

Widya looked around nervously. After a while, she spoke in a soft voice.

“At that time, we were visited by a tax officer. They gave a mandate to audit the financial records of Wito’s company,” she began.

Siska listened carefully. Widya continued.

“On the first day, everything went smoothly. But on the second day, we accidentally saw Riyani arguing with Mr. Wito,” said Widya.

Siska grew even more curious. Widya continued her story.

Widya's Story Continues

That afternoon, Widya, who had come with Anggoro, accidentally overheard a heated argument between Riyani and Wito.

"Riyani! How could the audit team be here?" Wito asked angrily.

"Sir, they were assigned by the tax office. They brought an official mandate," Riyani replied firmly.

Hearing the intense exchange, Widya tried to stay focused. Not long after, Riyani stormed out of the office, clearly furious. Meanwhile, Anggoro, who was checking the accounting department, found several irregularities in the company’s finances.

“With this kind of revenue, they should be paying much higher taxes. But this… it looks like something is being hidden,” he thought.

Anggoro continued investigating the company’s financials. Eventually, he uncovered evidence of tax fraud. After finding the evidence, Anggoro went to confront Wito.

Widya's Story

"That night, after speaking with Wito, Anggoro was robbed, and his entire family was murdered," Widya said.

"And what happened to the audit results?" Siska asked.

"They were never found. Even though we worked on them all day from noon until late. Mr. Anggoro’s laptop also disappeared—and the audit data was stored there," said Widya.

Siska fell silent. Widya continued her story.

"The next day, Riyani was found dead in the Bogor area. The police suspected she was murdered, but for some reason, the case was closed," she continued.

Siska nodded, beginning to understand the link between Anggoro and Riyani’s cases.

"That’s all, ma’am. I have to go now," Widya said nervously.

Widya quickly left in a hurry. After she was gone, Siska paid for her order and immediately went home.

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