---

Timothy stared at David through the darkness. The police officer's face glistened with sweat. The room wasn't bright enough to read. Without prompting, they went upstairs and opened the handwritten diary.

The diary seemed more vibrant as they reached the better-lit rooftop. The entries on the first pages recounted routine events. The next few pages recounted a meeting between the man known as Dad and Mayor Robert Rizzo.

It appeared the diary was written by a woman. Over drinks, a few pages later, she overheard Dad's conversation with Robert Rizzo. They discussed a treasured jewel, the Hope Diamond, a blue diamond known for its curse. The diamond, estimated at between $100 and $300 million, had thrown luxury goods thieves into the ocean from a cruise ship.

There were notes on monkey tapes on several pages. Minor conflicts at school, arts festivals, and repeated mentions of a scheme to embezzle city funds with the support of several city council members, which Dad managed.

Let's say the last page, the city budget was then used to fund the operation...
Timothy shone the flashlight more intently on the writing. However, the ink on some of the pages had cracked, perhaps from splashes of water or other liquids. But what was clear was that the next writing and the next page were unclear.

---

They returned to the basement. Examining the items inside the old wooden chest. The two of them unpacked the items from inside the chest. An old pistol, a map, a key of some kind, several keys and antiques, an antique copper cane, and a small wooden box.

Timothy blew away the dust that had stained the wooden box. Some of the dust got into his eyes, forcing him to close them in pain.

"This dust stings so much," he hissed.

He felt something touch his forehead. It felt a little cold. When his eyes fully opened, he vaguely saw David pointing a gun at Timothy's forehead.

"What's wrong?" he looked at him in surprise, still feeling as if the David he had known for so long was just joking. Glancing at the treasured piece of wood and the old pistol still there, he realized David was pointing his own gun at him.

"You know, I've been following this case since I first heard about it. The Hope Diamond is in that piece of wood," David pointed with the tip of the pistol. As Timothy's hand reached for the small wooden box, David exclaimed, "You better not do it!"

"Okay, but why are you doing this? We've been friends for a long time."

"Not anymore. You know, the Hope Diamond is cursed. Robert Rizzo and several members of the city council used corrupt money to fund the search for the Hope Diamond. But they couldn't have it. Robert Rizzo was arrested for corruption and killed in prison. Trump, the city council speaker, was suspected of being the mastermind. But then the city council speaker was also shot dead, possibly with the gun in the wooden box."

"So who did it?" Timothy's gaze was more to buy time than to satisfy curiosity.

"It's still a mystery now. But that doesn't matter anymore." David pulled the trigger. But before the gun could go off, something sounded from behind the basement door. Maybe someone was hiding there.

David's attention was diverted, and Timothy took the opportunity to grab a copper baton from inside the chest and hit David's head with it, but it didn't quite work. As Timothy ran behind the closet, David fired a shot, hitting Timothy in the groin.

At that moment, Tony appeared from behind the door and hit Timothy in the head with the iron baton several times until the old cop was unconscious. Then Tony grabbed David's gun.

"Tim, get out!"

Timothy, who had already climbed into the hallway behind the closet, heard the screams. But he didn't want to go back. He knew the Hope Diamond was a cursed blue diamond. He didn't want to be cursed. Timothy just wanted to get out of the basement safely and find help.[]

---

---

---

Kebenaran yang Terungkap

Timothy menatap David di balik kegelapan. Wajah polisi itu berkilau dengan keringat. Cahaya di ruangan itu tidak cukup untuk membaca. Tanpa dikomando, mereka naik ke atas dan membuka-buka buku harian yang ditulis tangan tersebut.

Diary itu terlihat lebih lusuh ketika mereka sampai di atas yang memiliki penerangan lebih jelas. Catatan di halaman-halaman awal menceritakan hal-hal rutin dalam kehidupan.Beberapa halaman berikutnya mengisahkan pertemuan lelaki yang disebut Dad dengan Wali Kota, Robert Rizzo.

Sepertinya, diary itu ditulis oleh seorang perempuan. Dalam beberapa halaman berselang, dia mencuri dengar pembicaraan Dad dengan Robert Rizzo. Mereka membahas tentang sebuah harta karun, sebutir berlian biru Hope Diamond yang terkenal dengan kutukannya. Berlian itu diperkirakan seharga 100 – 300 juta US dollar dibuang pencuri barang mewah di tengah samudra dari sebuah kapal pesiar.

Ada catatan cinta monyet di beberapa halaman. Konflik kecil di sekolah, festival seni, dan kembali menyinggung tentang modus penggelapan dana anggaran kota dengan dukungan sejumlah anggota dewan kota yang dikelola Dad.

Di halaman terakhir, anggaran kota itu kemudian digunakan untuk membiayai operasi…
Timothy menyorotkan senter lebih fokus ke tulisan. Namun, tinta di beberapa halaman tersebut pecah, mungkin terkenal percikan air atau benda cair lainnya. Tapi yang jelas, tulisan berikutnya dan halaman berikutnya tidak terlihat jelas.

---

Mereka kembali ke ruangan bawah tanah. Meneliti barang-barang yang terdapat di dalam peti kayu tua. Keduanya membongkar barang-barang dari dalam peti. Sebuah pistol tua, peta, kunci entah apa, beberapa kunci dan benda antik, tongkat tembaga antik, dan sebuah kotak kayu kecil.

Timothy meniup debu yang mengotori kotak kayu tersebut. Dan debu-debu itu sebagian masuk ke dalam matanya sehingga membuatnya harus memejamkan mata yang perih.

“Debu ini rasanya perih sekali,” desisnya.

Dia merasa ada sesuatu yang menyentuh keningnya. Terasa agak dingin. Ketika matanya terbuka sempurna, ia melihat samar David mengarahkan pistol ke kening Timothy.

“Ada apa?” tatapnya heran, masih merasa David yang dikenalnya sejak lama, hanya bercanda. Ketika melirik ke peti kayu dan pistol tua masih di sana, ia baru sadar David menodongnya dengan pistol sendiri.

“Kamu tahu, aku sudah menelusuri kasus ini sejak mendengar pertama kali. Hope Diamond ada dalam kontak kayu itu,” tunjuk David dengan ujung pistol. Ketika tangan Timothy hendak meraih kotak kayu kecil itu, David berseru; “Sebaiknya jangan lakukan!”

“Baiklah, tapi kenapa kamu lakukan ini? Kita bersahabat sejak lama.”

“Kini tidak lagi. Kamu tahu, Hope Diamond adalah berlian kutukan. Robert Rizzo bersama beberapa dewan kota menggunakan uang hasil korupsi untuk membiayai pencarian Hope Diamond. Tapi mereka tidak bisa memilikinya, Robert Rizzo ditangkap kasus korupsi dan mati dibunuh di penjara. Trump, ketua dewan kota diduga dalangnya. Tapi kemudian ketua dewan kota juga mati ditembak, mungkin dengan pistol dalam peti kayu itu.”

“Lalu siapa pelakunya?” tatap Timothy lebih kepada upaya mengulur waktu dibandingkan memenuhi rasa ingin tahu.

“Masih misteri sampai sekarang. Tapi itu tidak penting lagi,” David menatik pelatuk pistol. Tapi sebelum pistol itu meledak, terdengar sesuatu dari balik pintu ke ruang bawah tanah. Mungkin seseorang bersembunyi di sana.

Perhatian David beralih, kesempatan itu digunakan Timothy untuk meraih tongkat tembaga dari dalam peti dan menghantamnya ke kepala David, tetapi tidak kena dengan sempurna. Ketika Timothy berlari ke balik lemari, David sempat melepaskan tembakan dan mengenai paham Timothy.

Saat itulah, Tony muncul dari balik pintu dan memukul kepala Timothy dengan tongkat besi beberapa kali sampai polisi tua itu tak sadarkan diri. Kemudian Tony meraih pistol David.

“Tim, keluarlah!”

Timothy yang sudah merangkat ke lorong di belakang lemari, mendengar teriakan itu. Tapi dia tidak mau kembali. Dia teringkat Hope Diamond adalah berlian biru kutukan. Dia tidak ingin terkena kutukan. Timothy hanya ingin keluar dari ruangan bawah tanah itu dengan selamat dan mencari bantuan.[]

---