The Incomplete Detective [Volume 1]

[12] Dead End

Sebastian

MURDER IS the case.

Many will argue that the death of Leonardo is suicide. However, we clearly see through the complex tactic of the culprit in order to execute the almost impossible crime. Whoever he or she is, the murderer did spend effort to complete this murder-disguised-as-suicide scenario.

Malapit na kami sa katotohanan. Nararamdaman ko 'yon ngunit mailap pa rin ang kasagutan. We can reveal the tactic behind this murder, pero hindi namin matatanggal ang maskara ng killer. It must be the deliveryman. Papahanap namin dapat siya kay Inspector, pero matapos naming makita ang findings ni Lola, mukhang malabong mangyari 'yon.

One vital finding of our tech genius is a peeling skin on the right side of the guy's neck. No flesh or wound is found, but there's just another layer of brown skin.

Pinuntahan namin ni Delvin sina Beverly, Claire, at ang iba pang mga boarder para muling tanungin. Kinumpirma namin ang ilan sa mga impormasyon na maaaring bumuo sa pundasyon ng aming teorya. Hindi naman nila kami binigo dahil umaayon sa amin ang lahat.

Pinakiusapan namin ang inspektor na tumungo kaming tatlo nina Delvin sa isang bakanteng kuwarto sa fifth floor para makapag-usap. The guard received permission from the owner to lend us a room beside the unit of Leonardo, Room 44.

Inspector accepted the request despite the doubts hinted in his face—can't blame him. Masyadong malinis at maayos ang setup ng plano ng salarin—the suicide pill, the neat crime scene, the locked door and windows, and the length of time that the body stayed unseen.

"May nadiskubre ba kayo?" Inspector asked, furrowing his brow. "Imposible talaga ito, hindi ba?"

Delvin shook his head as he sat down on a bed. "Posibleng miyembro ng Ichthys si Leo, Inspector. Alam mo namang limitado lang ang ating kaalaman patungkol sa kultong 'yon kaya kailangan nating mag-ingat. Mas mainam na tayo-tayo muna ang nakakaalam."

"Alam kong kasapi siya. Ako ang unang nakadiskubre ng tattoo niya. Kaya ko lang naman patuloy na pinapatignan ang kasong ito dahil sa posibilidad na iyon." The inspector etched a slightly clenched teeth. "Sa palagay n'yo ba'y may kinalaman ang kulto sa pagkamatay niya?"

"Wala pa tayong gaanong nalalaman sa kanila bukod sa hilig nilang parusahan ang mga pasaway na miyembro. It's just a theory, but I want to act with care," Delvin remarked.

"If they have dark secrets, and they have the tendency to kill just to hide it, we can't involve other people," I added in the conversation to raise the level of security needed to deal with this. Gusto ko rin sanang i-point out ang posibilidad na kabilang ang Ichthys sa mga kaaway ng dati naming club, pero hindi pa namin pinapaalam 'yon kay inspektor. Better to zip my mouth for now.

"Teorya lang naman ang nabuo ninyo, hindi ba?" Tumango kami ni Delvin. "Sige, pag-uusapan natin iyan. Hindi ko lang mapapangako na masusuportahan ko ang ideya ninyo."

"Walang problema inspektor," Delvin ensured as he smiled with the formation of a thumbs up on both hands. "Ang mahalaga lang sa amin ngayon ay ang mapakinggan mo kami."

Isang tango ang ginawa ng inspektor followed by the motioning of his right hand—a signal for us that we could start to air our deduction show.

I raised a finger to give the first point. "Una, ang salarin ay ang deliveryman ng Grab—or the culprit who disguised himself as a deliveryman. We confirmed this after calling the Angeles Grab Corporation who assured that they didn't receive any service request in this dormitory at that time."

"Kung ganoon, sino ang salarin?" tanong ni Inspector habang kinukrus ang kaniyang braso.

"Still, unidentified." Kumunot ang noo ng inspektor nang marinig ang aking sinabi. "The culprit recorded a fake identity in the logbook. Kung mapapansin natin, mayroong dalawang Noynoy Maninang na naka-record, pero magkaiba ang sulat kamay nila. Most likely, the culprit just copied one of the visitors' name when he wrote one—given na hindi kailangan ng ID, madali lang pekehin ang detalye ng isang tao. Also, the CCTV footage also shows two different Maninang."