8:15 a.m.
An apartment building in downtown Bangkok was beginning to fill with police officers. Barrier tape had been strung across the front of one unit, and several members of the identification team were busy documenting the condition of the room.
Inside the apartment, a woman lay dead.
Her name was Nalin. She was thirty years old. She worked for a private company and lived alone.
Her body had been found by a friend who came to visit that morning. After several unanswered attempts to reach Nalin, the friend had asked building security to open the apartment door.
For now, the police were still gathering information about what had happened. There were no conclusions yet about the cause or manner of death.
A few officers were examining the living room when the sound of a vehicle pulled up in front of the building. Moments later, a woman stepped out carrying a shoulder bag and a small suitcase.
She wore a casual shirt, trousers, and sneakers. She looked more like someone just back from a long journey than a medical professional on her way to a death scene.
The woman checked the address on her phone before walking toward the entrance.
Her name was Earth Rattanakul.
She had only just arrived in Bangkok after completing her forensic medicine residency. Her plan had been to go home first, then visit her grandmother. But a call from the hospital had changed that.
The moment she received the assignment, Earth headed straight for the scene.
At the apartment building, she walked toward the cordoned-off area. The officer on guard immediately raised a hand to stop her.
Earth paused. Without saying a word, she took her professional ID from her bag and held it out to him.
The officer examined the card, then stepped slightly aside to let her through.
Earth took her ID back and crossed the tape toward the scene.
Inside the apartment, Earth found the officer in charge of the scene examination. After introducing herself and receiving a brief account of how the body had been discovered, she began preparing for the examination.
She first took in the condition of the room and confirmed that the initial documentation had been completed. Only then did she approach the body.
Her expression turned serious.
Earth carried out a preliminary external examination, noting the condition of the body, the clothing, and any signs that needed to be recorded. Every finding was documented and coordinated with the officer handling the scene investigation.
From time to time she asked for photographs from particular angles, or for information about the victim's position when she was first found.
The examination proceeded with little conversation.
When she was finished, Earth discussed the transfer of the body to the hospital for further examination. She also made sure the notes and documentation from the scene were handed over to the relevant team.
Some time later, the body was taken to the hospital.
Earth followed once she was satisfied that no further preliminary work remained at the scene.
Elsewhere, Dao Chantarangsi was still at the hospital. She sat in her office in the white coat she had worn since morning. Several files lay open on her desk when her phone rang.
An investigator's name appeared on the screen. They had worked together a few times on earlier cases.
Dao answered.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Dao. Do you have a moment?"
Dao set her pen down on the desk.
"Go ahead. What is it?"
"We're handling the death of a woman. She was found in her apartment this morning."
"Has the forensic examination been done?"
"It's still in progress. But there's some information about the victim's personal life that we'd like to look into further."
Dao opened a desk drawer and took out a notebook.
"What kind of information?"
"A close friend says the victim had been having problems with her partner lately. In fact, in recent weeks she had started pulling away from the people closest to her."
"Has the friend given a statement?"
"We're taking it now. I thought it would be better if you looked at this case from the beginning."
Dao was silent for a moment.
"All right. Send me the preliminary information and whatever files are available. I'll go through them."
"In that case, could you come to the office this afternoon?"
"I'll arrange my schedule."
"Thank you, Doctor."
The call ended.
Not long after, a file arrived on her phone. Dao opened it and began reading about the victim.
Name: Nalin.
Age: 30.
Occupation: employee of a private company.
Relationship status: in a relationship.
The information was still limited. There was no psychological history yet, and no full account of the victim's relationships with the people around her.
Dao read every page carefully. She had no wish to form judgments based only on early assumptions or unverified information.
When she finished, she closed the file and went back to her work.
The follow-up examination of the body took place at the hospital.
Earth was in the examination room with the members of the team on duty. She reviewed the documentation from the scene again, made sure all findings were properly recorded, then continued the examination according to procedure.
The work took longer than she had expected.
When she finally came out of the examination room, Earth removed her protective gear and washed her hands. She took her phone from her locker and found several new messages.
One was from her grandmother.
A-Ma: Are you in Bangkok yet?
Earth typed a reply at once.
Earth: Yes, A-Ma. But something came up at work.
The reply came soon after.
A-Ma: You haven't gone home?
Earth: Not yet. Went straight to a case.
A-Ma: Have you eaten?
Earth smiled faintly.
Earth: Not yet.
A-Ma: Eat something before you go home.
Earth shook her head slightly as she read it.
Earth: Yes, A-Ma.
She put her phone away and walked toward the doctors' room.
She hadn't even sat down when a hospital staff member came up to her.
"Dr. Earth, someone from the police would like to see you."
Earth turned.
"Now?"
"Yes. They said they want to coordinate on the Nalin case."
Earth picked up her examination file.
"All right. I'll go over."
In the consultation room, an investigator sat with a woman Earth had never met before.
The woman wore a white coat, her hair neatly arranged. Her face was calm, almost expressionless. She was reading a few sheets of documents when Earth walked in.
"Dr. Earth," the investigator said in greeting.
Earth nodded.
"Good afternoon."
"Allow me to introduce Dr. Dao Chantarangsi. She's assisting us with the psychological analysis of the victim."
The woman looked up.
"Dao Chantarangsi."
"Earth Rattanakul."
They shook hands briefly, then sat back down.
Dao opened her file.
"I'd like to know how the forensic examination is progressing. Are there any results you can share yet?"
"The examination is still ongoing. For full results, I need to complete a few more stages first."
"Understood."
Dao didn't press. She went on to explain that the police were gathering information on the victim's background, including her personal relationships and any changes in her behavior before her death.
Earth listened as she opened her notes.
"If there's any information about the victim's health history or medications, I'll need that as well," Earth said.
"We're collecting it now," the investigator answered.
Dao added, "I'll be taking statements from the people closest to her. If anything relates to the medical examination, we'll pass it on to you."
Earth nodded.
"Good."
The investigator then went over a few technical matters regarding the coordination of reports and follow-up examinations. When everything was settled, the meeting ended.
Dao rose first.
"Thank you for your time, Doctor."
Earth nodded.
"Of course."
Dao walked out with the investigator.
Earth watched her for a moment before turning back to her file.
Very serious, she thought.
But she didn't dwell on it. They had only just met, and had no business with each other beyond this case.
That afternoon, Pimchanok sat in an interview room at the police station.
Since morning, her mind had been filled with what she had seen at Nalin's apartment. She had tried to calm herself, but every time she thought of her friend, her chest tightened again.
Dao sat across from her with an investigator.
"Thank you for coming in," Dao said.
Pimchanok nodded slowly.
Dao opened the file.
"I'd like to hear about Nalin from you. Starting with your relationship, and anything that may have changed in her life recently."
Pimchanok drew a long breath.
"We've been friends since university. A very long time."
"Did you still see each other often?"
"We used to almost every day. Lately it's been harder."
"Why?"
Pimchanok toyed with the edge of her sleeve.
"Nalin kept canceling plans. When I asked her out, sometimes she'd say she was busy. Sometimes she wouldn't give any reason at all."
"Did you ever ask her about it?"
"I did. But she always said it was nothing."
Dao waited a moment.
"Do you think she was dealing with something?"
Pimchanok nodded slowly.
"I think it had to do with her boyfriend."
Dao looked up from her notes.
"Was there trouble in their relationship?"
"From the outside, no
He then picked up his phone and began searching for their conversations.
As he opened the old messages, Pimchanok stopped at one exchange.
"This one," she said softly.
Dao leaned in slightly.
"What is it?"
Pimchanok read the message once more before handing her phone to the investigator.
"She once said she wanted to go away for a while. She said she wanted to clear her head."
Dao read the message.
There was no long explanation. Just a few short sentences that, at a glance, looked ordinary.
But to someone who had known Nalin for a long time, the message felt different.
"Do you know where she wanted to go?"
Pimchanok shook her head.
"No. I thought she just wanted a holiday."
Dao handed the phone back to the investigator.
"All right. We'll look into that conversation further."
Pimchanok lowered her head. Her eyes began to well up.
"I should have asked her more questions back then."
Dao let her be quiet for a moment.
"You shouldn't blame yourself for not knowing something that was never told to you."
Pimchanok wiped her cheek.
"I just wish she'd told me."
Dao gave no answer. He only closed his file and gave Pimchanok time to compose herself.
Night was falling by the time Earth finally finished his work at the hospital.
He sat for a moment in the doctors' lounge, checking his phone. There was a new message from A-Ma.
A-Ma: Are you still coming home tonight?
Earth: Yes, soon.
A-Ma: A-Ma has dinner ready.
Earth: Then Earth had better hurry home.
A-Ma: Don't speed.
Earth smiled as he read the message.
He slipped the phone into his bag and stood. The suitcase he had carried since morning still hadn't been unpacked. He supposed he wouldn't get to his things until after he had rested.
Before leaving, Earth checked the schedule for the next round of examinations. Nalin's case wasn't finished. There were still results to wait for and reports to write up.
Meanwhile, Dao went back over the notes from Pimchanok's interview.
There were several things that needed to be traced further, especially concerning Nalin's relationship with her partner.
Dao didn't want to draw conclusions yet. A friend's account could be a lead, but it still had to be checked against other information.
He wrote down a few points to follow up before closing the file.
Today, Dao and Earth had met and learned each other's names. Yet both still viewed the case from the standpoint of their own work.
Earth was trying to understand Nalin's death through medical examination.
Dao was trying to understand Nalin's life through the stories of the people who had known her.
They did not yet know that the further the investigation went, the more things would connect the two of them.
And Nalin, who had always seemed to live an ordinary life, had in fact been keeping a story she never got the chance to tell anyone.