The rain started falling when Pistachio's car stopped fast in front of the Supreme Court. The big white pillars on the Supreme Court building looked like the bones of an animal, and they seemed really cold and did not care. The security people were running around. They were trying to stay in control. Black cars were blocking the doors, and special teams with guns were walking all around the outside of the Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice is still inside, Malik said, checking his radio. He did not want to leave the place. The Chief Justice refused to evacuate. The Chief Justice says that if The Chief Justice leaves, The Chief Justice is admitting that The Chief Justice is afraid of a ghost.
Pistachio did not wait for someone to show him the way. He walked through the heavy doors of the main courtroom. It was really cold inside. It smelled like old books and candles. At the end of the room, under the shiny symbol of the Scales of Justice, was Chief Justice Wardana. Chief Justice Wardana was all by himself, reading a stack of papers.
The Trial of a Shadow
Detective, you are late Wardana said without looking up. I guess the Detective is here to protect me from the Cleansing Angel.
"I am here to follow the rules, Your Honor," Pistachio said, his boots making a noise on the marble floor. The process is not working. The Minister is dead. The prisoners are all gone, turned to ash. The Executioner has a system that does not wait for your signature. The process is failing, Your Honor, and the Executioner's system is moving forward without waiting for you to sign off on it. The Minister is really dead. The prisoners are nothing but ash now.
Wardana finally looked up. His eyes were really tired. They were still sharp. He said, "Do you know why the scales are held by a woman who cannot see Pistachio? It is because justice should not see who people are. This is the killer who sees everything. The killer sees all the secrets that we hide in the basement of this building, the secrets that the killer knows about.
The lights in the room started to flicker all of a sudden. Then the digital clock on the wall did something weird. The clock's red numbers began spinning around very fast before they stopped and showed the familiar countdown of the digital clock.
00:05:00
The Weight of a Secret
Malik told the technicians to shut down the server right now. Pistachio yelled into his comms device.
I tried, Detective. The problem is not coming from the server, Malik said. His voice was shaking with panic. The problem is part of the building's power grid. We cannot turn it off without turning off the power to the block, Malik said. The power to the block will be cut off if we try to shut down the problem, with the building's power grid.
Pistachio turned back to the judge. "What did you do, Wardana? The judge must be in some kind of trouble. What is Wardana holding over the judge?"
The Chief Justice looked really sad. He took out a little silver key from his pocket. He put it on the bench. Ten years ago, a man was put to death for something he did not do. The Chief Justice saw the proof that the man was innocent. The Chief Justice did not tell anyone about this proof because he wanted to protect the reputation of the court. The Chief Justice thought that one man's life was not so important if it meant that people would still believe in the law. The Chief Justice said this was a trade of a man's life for the stability of the law, the law that the Chief Justice was supposed to uphold.
The clock hit 00:01:30. It was thirty seconds past midnight. The clock was still ticking, the clock showed 00:01:30.
The Final Verdict
A low hum started to vibrate through the floor. This was not something that came from a machine. It felt like a kind of sound, a sound that made Pistachio's teeth hurt. The big screen, behind the judge, started showing a video. The video was of the execution that happened ten years ago.
Pistachio figured it out, his heart beating fast. The man is not just killing people; the man is telling everyone why he is doing it. The man is making the public decide if it is right or wrong. The public is like a jury, for Pistachio and the man and his actions.
Let them watch Wardana whispered, closing his eyes. I have been waiting for this silence for a long time. Wardana wanted the silence to stay like this. The silence was what Wardana needed.
When the clock hit 00:00:10, Pistachio jumped forward. He did not do this to save the judge. Instead, Pistachio wanted to get the key. The silver key was the physical evidence of the old crime that Pistachio was looking for.
00:00:03 00:00:02 00:00:01
The hum stopped. The lights went brilliant white.