BHO CAMP #8: The Cadence

Chapter 33: Mind Games

"Nervous?"

Nilingon ko ang nagsalita at bumungad sa akin ang isang babae. Jessica Lauren. Isa siya sa mga modelo mamaya at siya rin ang nag-iisang anak ni Camille Lauren.

She's a stunner. Not because of the appeal that models usually have but because of her angelic face. Kaya nga bansag sa kaniya ng karamihan ay Angelic Lauren. Iyon ay dahil sa maamo niyang mukha. At dahil sa isa pang rason. Katulad ng typical na modelo ay maliit ang pangangatawan niya. She's about 112 lbs with a height of 180cm.

Hindi ko kinalkula ang bagay na iyon. I memorized all her information because she's in my file. She's one of the prime suspects.

Dalawang beses ng hindi matuloy-tuloy ang Sunset Glow last year dahil dalawang beses na rin silang nagkaroon ng issue. Two models died before they can even open the runway for the show. Ngayon taon naman ay isinugod sa ospital si Vallery Valencia. She was in the hospital for two days before she died too.

Her mother, Isabela Valencia is our client.

According to her there's no way her daughter had a cardiac arrest at such a young age. She doesn't want to believe especially not when she saw the elevated glycoside in the autopsy. Walang kahit na anong maintenance ang biktima at wala ring iniinom na gamot ang anak.

One of the other two victims on the other hand had history. One of them had a heart surgery when she was a child while the other model's family refused an autopsy of her daughter because of religion.

Isabela Valencia asked for BHO CAMP's help to investigate her daughter's eath. Hindi niya nga lang alam kung hanggang saan ang gagawin naming pag-iimbestiga and of course hindi niya alam na ako ang may hawak sa kaso niya.

Ang alam lang ng lahat ay ako si Hera Scott. Anak ni Cloak at Fierce Scott na kilala sa mundo ng business, kapatid ng sikat na reporter na si Hermes Scott, at girlfriend ng miyembro ng nangungunang banda hindi lang bansa kundi sa iba pa na si Thunder Night. Aside from that I'm basically surrounded by known people.

"A bit."

Ngumiti ang babae sa paraan na para bang nakikisimpatya bago siya may binaba na tasa ng tsaa sa harapan ko. "It's suppose to be soothing." paliwanag niya nang makita niya ang pagtataka ko.

"Thank you." I said to her with a practiced smile plastered on my lips.

"This must be new to you."

Nilibot ko ang paningin ko sa mga tao na nagkakagulo pa rin. Most of them are finally clothed. Thank the heavens. "Medyo. Pero matagal ko na kasing gustong subukan na pumasok sa ganitong industriya. I just didn't have the right motivation since you know..." I shrugged and look at her pointedly. "Mataas ako pero hindi kasing tangkad ninyo."

"We have a model with a 5'4 height. Hindi na sobrang requirement ang height ngayon. We're a bit...diverse." Halos kaparehas ang ngiting nasa mga labi ko ang nasa kaniya. Practiced. Too sweet. Fake. "It's a good thing you have the right connections. Now you can try what it's like to walk the runway."

Hindi ko kailangan maging henyo para hindi marinig ang nakatago sa likod ng sinabi niya. Despite her careful words and the soft expression on her face, I can still hear the bite of her words.

Hindi ako katulad nila na pinaghirapan makarating kung nasaan sila. She doesn't want me here.

I met her eyes, not losing my composure. "Yes. It's a good thing right?"

Marahan siyang tumango habang ang mga mata niya ay tila ba pinag-aaralan ako. Wala na ang ngiti sa mga labi niya. She's probably wondering why I don't sound apologetic or even embarrassed.