Novel The Spell - Chapter 8

September 6, 2023 (Kiran’s third day at Baven Technology)

That morning was supposed to be a pleasant day for Kiran. She had managed yesterday’s surprising encounter with Jevan and Selia well, despite the irritation on her face caused by the hot coffee spill, and she had washed her uniform cleaner.

Kiran even wore her new work shoes, a thoughtful gift from her mother the day before. Additionally, she had also begun experimenting with makeup, though she could only manage it in a basic manner.

Yes, she did everything she could to maintain her job at Baven Group. She was determined to meet all the necessary standards to excel as a Baven Technology employee. As she walked with a spring in her step and a slightly more polished appearance, her neighbors once again offered words of encouragement before she set off.

However…

“I… got fired?”

Kiran arrived at her office early that morning, completely unaware of any trouble. Suddenly, her complexion drained of color, her legs weakened, and her body trembled as Aldi delivered the blunt news of her dismissal.

“B-b-but why? Why am I fired when I’ve only been working here for three days? What did I do wrong to deserve this?”

Aldi shook his head with frustration. “I don’t know. This decision didn’t come from Baven Technology. It was handed down from the top floor yesterday afternoon after you left. HR people asked me to inform you because I am the one who hired you.”

“T-t-top floor?” Kiran stammered, tears welling up in her eyes. “So, it’s final? But who? Who fired me from the top floor? Was it Mr. Jevan?”

Aldi couldn’t provide a clear answer. “The email did come from Jevan’s secretary team, but he couldn’t be reached. The same goes for Selia and Paskal.”

Kiran broke down. “What am I supposed to do, Aldi? Everyone knows I work here, and I was starting to feel comfortable. But just because of yesterday’s meeting, Mr. Jevan fired me?”

“I need this job; I need the money,” Kiran continued, sobbing. “And tomorrow, I was supposed to get my new uniform that fits better. My mom also bought me better work shoes. What will I tell her if I’ve been fired after only three days?”

Aldi’s confusion deepened. “Kiran, hold on, what happened with Jevan yesterday?”

“I was shocked when he and the Baven Energy group suddenly entered our office,” Kiran recounted, her tears still flowing. “I got nervous and ended up spilling coffee on my face. Then, unintentionally, I bowed and shouted a greeting to him.”

“And then…?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it? He didn’t react or say anything afterward?”

Kiran shook her head. “He just left. I didn’t think he was angry or anything.”

Aldi fell silent. Jevan firing someone without showing anger first? It didn’t make sense.

“Kiran, listen, Baven Technology didn’t fire you,” Aldi said firmly. “Jevan wouldn’t fire someone without informing HR people. Right now, almost everyone on the top floor is unreachable. This decision might be a mistake.”

“You just stay calm,” he reassured her. “I’ll try contacting Selia again later. Usually, in cases like this, she can talk to Jevan, and your job can be saved.”

“Selia?” Kiran murmured. A memory suddenly surfaced. “Yesterday, Selia was angry with me.”

Aldi’s eyebrows shot up. “Selia was angry with you?”

“Maybe this mistake was more significant,” Kiran said, wiping her tears. “Because of the coffee on my uniform, I went to wash it as suggested by Dika. I accidentally entered the men’s restroom and opened my uniform there. Selia found me undressed and scolded me.”

“But it couldn’t be Selia who fired me, right?” Kiran sobbed. “She forgave my mistake yesterday because I’m new.”

“Selia never fired anyone before, so… it’s unlikely,” Aldi said, but his expression uncertain. “Kiran, I’ll protest your dismissal. And Dika got fired too, without any warning.”

At the mention of Dika, Kiran asked anxiously, “Does he know he’s been fired?”

Aldi shook his head. “According to HR people, he’s on leave today because his dad had a stroke and was hospitalized. So, he doesn’t know about his dismissal yet. HR people don’t even know why Dika was fired.”

“Dika getting fired when his dad is in the hospital and he didn’t do anything wrong?” Kiran felt even more devastated.

“I won’t let them do this without a clear reason,” Aldi said firmly. “Especially without consulting our management. This is an insult to Baven Technology.”

“Jevan may own Baven Group, but he’s never fired anyone from middle to lower management before,” Aldi continued, his tone growing more assertive. “I’ll talk to him about this. Go home, take a break for a day or two. I’ll do everything in my power to ensure you and Dika can stay. Trust me, I won’t let you down.”

___

At South Jakarta Police Station

“So, Mr. Dudi Rongso, the suspect in the murder case eight years ago, voluntarily came from Tanjung Priok Port to Mr. Jevan’s house just to talk? After eight years on the run, he went straight to Mr. Jevan’s house?”

A male detective leaned on the table, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he addressed Paskal and Selia, Jevan’s two lawyers, along with Jevan himself. He had anticipated the challenge of implicating someone like Jevan Baven, who seemed to effortlessly evade legal consequences repeatedly.

Many detectives, including him, were somewhat skeptical about handling Jevan’s case from the start. Jevan always managed to twist unreasonable excuses into seemingly reasonable explanations. Moreover, he was surrounded by skilled legal experts among his closest circle.

“As I mentioned earlier, he took a taxi from the port to Jevan’s house,” Paskal explained. “He intended to confess to Jevan, our client. However, he was shot dead that night before he could meet Jevan.”

“If you doubt it, check the CCTV from Tanjung Priok Port,” Paskal continued. “Since it seems the police haven’t requested the footage, we obtained it from the port’s security. We’ve already provided the results to your colleagues.”

The detective followed Paskal’s gaze, briefly glancing at the mirror on the wall behind him before resuming his interrogation.

“Did Mr. Dudi confess to Mr. Jevan? What did he say at Mr. Jevan’s house?” he inquired.

“Jevan didn’t get a chance to talk to Mr. Dudi. He was preoccupied with the upcoming Baven Group anniversary event,” Paskal responded. “Unfortunately, Mr. Dudi was found shot dead in the basement of Jevan’s house before he could convey his intentions.”

“He stayed overnight just to talk to Mr. Jevan?” the detective inquired skeptically.

“After eight years abroad, he might have felt guilty towards Jevan, who was once detained because of him. Perhaps he intended to make a confession or offer,” Paskal speculated. “But now, we’ll never know.”

“Listen, Jevan is indeed a bit psychopathic and tends to get involved in fights, torture, intimidation, and hurting people. He’s been reported to the police for these behaviors,” Paskal explained casually. “But, Detective, my client has never killed anyone. He doesn’t have a killer mentality.”

Jevan, upon hearing this, immediately cleared his throat. “Do you want me to torture you too, Paskal?”

Seeing Jevan react to Paskal’s words, the detective immediately turned to him. “Mr. Jevan, Mr. Dudi was found shot dead in the basement of your house. Do you know how he ended up there?”

“Do you think I would let someone who once made me a suspect stay in my guest room?” Jevan replied casually. “Even if he wanted to talk to me, he was lucky I let him stay in the basement.”

“So, how did he end up found dead with gunshot wounds?”

“How would I know about that?” Jevan said. “The CCTV in the lower part of my house suddenly malfunctioned last night. The security guards in the front of my house also suddenly fell asleep, and the front gate of my house just opened by itself. Actually, I was planning to report this to the police because it was odd.”

“But Mr. Jevan, the people in your house said that you were the only one at the scene when the others came down later.”

“He arrived just moments before the servant and my mom,” Paskal interjected. “The upper house CCTV captured his activity when he left his room. He left less than ten minutes before the gunshot.”

“If you review the CCTV footage, you’ll see my client wasn’t carrying anything when he came down. When the gunshot sounded, he had just reached the basement. Shortly after, the closest servant followed, then my mom, who promptly called the police.”

“After her call,” Paskal continued, “the nearest officers arrived. So, Jevan and the others hadn’t tampered with anything. Even the firearms were immediately secured by you. There are no fingerprints of Jevan’s on it, right? Because he never touched it. Everything happened rapidly.”

“Exactly,” the detective agreed. “Because of the swift sequence, Mr. Jevan, who should have been the first on the scene, likely encountered the perpetrator just after the shooting. But why does he claim not to remember anything?”

“If you’ve heard Jevan’s history from the Tangerang police or your former colleagues who worked on the case here, you’ll know that my client often behaves like that,” Selia suddenly joined the conversation. “He went downstairs completely unconscious. This mirrors what happened eight years ago, when he should have witnessed the murders in two cases involving him.”

The detective remained calm. “And why was Mr. Jevan unaware of what he should have clearly seen?”

“Because he’s a sleepwalker,” Selia responded after a pause.

“A sleepwalker?”

“Someone who appears to engage in normal activities while asleep,” Selia clarified. “Jevan has long suffered from sleepwalking. Those with this disorder often experience behaviors that others may not understand.”

“When his sleep disorder acts up, he can wake up and perform normal activities as if awake. He can walk, talk, go downstairs, watch TV, or even drive. However, everything he does during these episodes is unconscious. Those who don’t understand this aspect of Jevan may assume he’s acting consciously.”

“About eight years ago, there were two murder cases involving Jevan,” she continued. “The first occurred during Jevan’s year-end vacation from New York to Indonesia. The victim was his brother’s family.”

“Jevan was essentially a witness in that case. Unfortunately, because it happened during a sleepwalking episode, he couldn’t recall anything when he woke up. Consequently, the South Jakarta Police Station suspected him as the perpetrator.”

“After the first incident, Jevan underwent hypnotherapy. However, the only thing he remembered was my dad being present when he regained consciousness at the crime scene. Because of this, Jevan sought out my dad in Tangerang.”

“That’s when the second murder occurred. My parents were the victims, and Jevan was arrested by the Tangerang police. Since I was in mourning, I wasn’t aware of the suspect in my parents’ murder until two weeks later, when I saw him at the police station. Thanks to my testimony, Jevan was released.”

“Your testimony?” the detective inquired, his brows furrowing.

“Before my parents’ murder, I saw Jevan near my high school. I had just returned from tutoring class and was heading back to school when I spotted him standing in the middle of the street. He nearly got hit by a car. When I approached him, I realized he was unconscious. That’s when I learned about his sleepwalking.”

“So, I followed him while he was still asleep, and he walked towards my house. But I was called by my neighbor and had to leave Jevan. Shortly after, I heard gunshots. We thought it might be military training or something similar, but I distinctly remember Jevan passing by my neighbor’s porch.”

“Jevan wasn’t carrying anything from the beginning. And the timing between the gunshots and when he might have arrived at my house was too close to accuse him of being the murderer. That’s why I knew from the start it wasn’t Jevan. However, when I returned home two hours later and found out what happened to my parents, I forgot about Jevan.”

The police officer nodded. “I understand now. You remembered this two weeks later after seeing Mr. Jevan being arrested at the police station. And it was you who released him?”

“Yes,” Selia confirmed. “Jevan’s former lawyer at that time asked the police to keep Jevan’s sleep disorder issue confidential because it’s dangerous for many people to know about it. You know, things like this can make people exploit Jevan in the worst possible ways. That’s why Jevan’s sleep disorder has been kept very confidential all this time.”

“However,” she continued, “we suspect that there are parties who also know about it. That’s why Jevan often gets involved in cases that seem designed to incriminate him, including last night’s.”

“Our advice,” Paskal said after Selia finished speaking, “is for you to investigate why the CCTV in front of Jevan’s house suddenly malfunctioned all the way to the basement area at that time. Also, why the security guards at the front gate of Jevan’s house could fall asleep. This has never happened before. It’s highly likely that someone drugged something they consumed to exploit the situation at Jevan’s house.”

“We’ve asked all security personnel in front of Mr. Jevan’s house to undergo urine and blood tests,” the detective responded. “I heard you and Mrs. Selia were also at Mr. Jevan’s house that night?”

“I live there,” Paskal replied. “And Selia stayed overnight to wait for updates regarding Mr. Dudi.”

“Detective, you can’t keep Jevan here for too long because it’s close to our company’s anniversary. We’ll incur significant losses if other Baven Group shareholders find out you brought Jevan here without evidence,” Paskal added.

The detective took a deep breath. “I understand. I’ll check the CCTV recordings from Tanjung Priok and the area around Mr. Jevan’s house yesterday. After that, I’ll discuss this with my superiors before deciding whether to temporarily send Mr. Jevan back or not.”

As soon as the detective finished speaking, he stood up and left the room. Meanwhile, Selia, accustomed to taking a diplomatic approach, went out to talk to him.

“The malfunctioning CCTV downstairs, Paskal?” Jevan whispered to Paskal after the two of them were alone in the room. “You dare to mention it even though you’re the one who damaged it to erase evidence of Dudi’s kidnapping.”

“I did damage the CCTV, but the gate being open and the security guards falling asleep is true,” Paskal replied in a hushed tone.

“What about the taxi at Tanjung Priok?”

“That’s true too,” Paskal admitted. “To prevent the police from knowing about Dudi’s kidnapping, I instructed our people to board the ship as soon as it docked. They threatened Dudi and told him to get into the predetermined taxi.”

“And the taxi driver was one of our people too?” Jevan pressed.

Paskal chuckled. “Exactly. This way, we avoid the risk of being accused of kidnapping. Now, we wait for you to be sent back since they have no evidence. You might be declared a witness and asked for a statement later on.”

“But even if they release me, this case will bring back attention to the old cases,” Jevan murmured. “My sleep disorder can’t be exposed. Because of this, the old accusations might resurface.”

“Yes, especially with the anniversary approaching,” Paskal agreed. “The only solution is finding Dudi’s accomplice, but with him dead, what can we do now?”

Jevan turned to Paskal. “Have you located the witness who reported me to the police and got me arrested back then?”

“Wait, you still want that witness to be found? You’ve been uncertain about this all along.”

“What choice do I have? Dudi is dead, and that person is the only one left who might help,” Jevan replied. “Most likely, at that time, the person who reported me wasn’t aware that he or she might have seen the perpetrator outside Selia’s house. That person was too focused on seeing me running out with blood stains on my hands.”

“Hypnotherapy didn’t work, and the street vendor who saw them coming out has passed away. He did witness two people, but couldn’t recall their features. So, only the witness who reported me might be able to help.”

“According to last week’s intel, the witness is a she and now a rain shaman,” Paskal informed him, unaware of her recent employment at Baven Group and subsequent firing.

“A rain shaman?” Jevan echoed, his brows knitting. “Is that considered an official job in Indonesia?”

Paskal shrugged. “I mentioned this to you, but you didn’t seem to think it was important—”

“Find her,” Jevan interrupted, his tone grave. “Find her as soon as possible. She owes me, and she has to pay her debt. I need to speak to her before Baven Group’s anniversary, no matter what.”

8. The Beginning of a Romantic Quadrangle #2