Project LOKI ③

Chapter 45: The Scarlet Thread VI (Ruby Riddle)

"Yeah, you two are the goody two shoes in our team." Loki agreed, nodding. That may sound as an insult for some, but for me—and maybe for Alistair too—that's a compliment. "You won't immediately resort to strategies that are against the rules."

"Can we focus on the more important topic here?" Muli kong ibinalik sa dapat pag-usapan ang discussion namin. Napasubo muna ako ng pasta bago nagpatuloy. "I heard that strychnine can kill within fifteen to thirty minutes."

Maybe it's not a good idea to eat while talking about poison. Bigla akong nawalan ng gana sa pagkain.

"In high doses, yes," Loki confirmed with a nod. "But if the amount of strychnine isn't that much, it might take an hour or two. During that period, symptoms will appear such as muscle spasms, jaw tightness, difficulty in breathing, et cetera."

That reminds me. Noong humalakhak si Augustus, may kaunting paghingal sa pagitan ng kanyang "ha." "Ha-ha-ha-ha!" He also threw his head back. That could have been signs of muscle spasms.

"Strychnine is a crystalline alkaloid, right? 'Yong ginagamit din bilang pesticide?" tanong ni Jamie. Parang naging instant chemistry lesson ang discussion namin. "How can you be exposed to it?"

"Through ingesting food or water contaminated with strychnine," Loki answered. Tumingin muna siya sa pasta na kinakain ko tapos sa water bottle ni Alistair. "Or through inhaling strychnine powder. The membranes in the eyes, nose and mouth can absorb it too. Once inside the body, strychnine will sort of shut down the nerve signals to the muscles."

"Augustus didn't eat or drink anything when he's in the boardroom," Alistair recalled, rubbing his chin. "Imposible ring may strychnine powder sa hangin. We breathed the same air that circulated in that room. We should have been dead if that's the case."

"Kung gano'n, paano nalason si Augustus?" kunot-noong tanong ni Jamie. Finally, we're asking the right question. "Was it during the time na nagkaroon ng sandaling blackout? 'Yon lang kasi ang oras na posibleng may nakalapit sa kanya. Except my Loki dear who wasn't there, we were a few seats away from him, right?"

"I saw a red dot on his neck when I got close to him," tugon ko. Muling nag-flash sa isip ko ang mukha ni Augustus habang pinipilit niyang magpatuloy sa paghinga. Napapikit tuloy ang mga mata ko. Alistiar quickly asked if I was okay. That image was gonna haunt me. "Naisip ko nga noong una na baka may nag-prick ng poisoned needle o may nagpatama ng poisoned dart sa kanya."

"But?" Loki cast his gaze at me.

"But he died immediately after the blackout." I returned his gaze. "Isa o dalawang minuto lang ang lumipas nang muling bumalik ang ilaw sa board room. Strychnine couldn't have reacted that fast, right?"

"Besides, if someone shot him with a poisoned dart, bakit wala kang nakitang dart na nakatusok sa leeg niya? If it fell, why didn't the police find it when they swept the room?" Alistair asked. Tanging red dot lang ang nakita ko. "Also how could have someone shot him during the blackout? It seemed impossible."

"Baka insect bite lang ang red dot na nakita ko." Napatingin ako sa aking pasta. I might have mistaken that dot as something related to his death. The dart-in-the-dark angle was becoming less plausible the more I think about it.

"Maybe the blackout was a coincidence?" Jamie mused. Inilipat-lipat niya sa amin ang kanyang tingin. "Nataon na aksidenteng namatay ang ilaw habang may sinasabing importante si Augustus."

"Or maybe someone wanted to mislead us," Loki countered. Napatingin kaming tatlo sa kanya. "He knew that we'd look into the blackout. He expected that we would waste time discussing how the crime could have been committed in the pitch black darkness. We won't look anywhere else because we believe that the answer lies in the blackout."