Detective Rivalry

Chapter 23: Emergency! (The Magician Serial Killing)

Felicine

Nabigla ako sa ginawa ng lalaking nagpakilala na si Horace. Nakita ko na nagpupuyos na sa galit si Eudayme habang hinalikan ni Horace ang aking kamay. Si Cali naman, as usual walang pakialam. Pinanood niya lang kami na parang nagpeperform sa isang stage.

Horace Hecate Salamanca, what a unique name. Ang galing naman mag-isip ng pangalan ang kanyang magulang.

Uminom ako sa baso na hawak-hawak ko. Tinimplahan kami ni Horace ng  juice na may kasamang yelo. Nagpasalamat ako sa kanya dahil kailangan namin ito. Sa tagal ba naman naming naglakad sa ilalim ng mainit na araw, kakailanganin talaga naming uminom ng isang refresher.

Naglakad papalapit sa akin sa Horace kaya naman ay ibinaba ko na muna ang aking baso. Tumigil siya sa aking harap at inilapit ang kanyang mukha sa akin. Napalaki naman ang aking mga mata dahil ilang dangkal na lang ay magdidikit na ang aming mukha.

Inialis ko muna saglit ang aking tingin kay Horace at napatingin ako kay Eudayme na handang talunan si Horace pero hindi niya maggawa dahil nakahawak sa kanya si Cali habang tumatawa. Eudayme kept on struggling to escape from Cali's grip but to no avail. Did the lazy Cali just outpowered the energetic Eudayme?

Ibinalik ko ang aking tingin sa lalaking nasa harap ko. Hindi niya pa rin inilalayo ang kanyang mukha. I swallowed the lump on my throat as I look at his brown colored eyes. He grinned and put his right hand at the back of my head.

He grinned even more and pulled back his hand. He has a red rose in his hand. He flicked it onto my nose before standing straight. He smiled at me.

Kinuha ko naman ang bulaklak at napangiti. This is the first time that someone pulled a flower behind my back.

"How did you do that? Wala ka namang dala-dalang bulaklak kanina ah. Anyways, thanks!" I remarked and placed the flower on the table.

"A magician does not reveal the secret behind a trick because it wouldn't be fun anymore if the secret was revealed." He winked at me and went to the solo couch. He sat there and crossed his legs.

"Don't get cocky Horse." Eudayme emphasized the word horse. Hawak-hawak pa rin siya ni Cali dahil baka bigla niyang sugudin si Horace and its Horace, not horse, or maybe he was teasing Horace? "I can do magic too. But basic ones."

Tatayo na sana siya nang biglang hilahin ni Cali pababa si Eudayme making him sit down again. "No one's interested, Eudayme."

"Aba't kanina ka pa ah!" Eudayme retorted and crossed his arms. "Bahala nga kayo diyan. Sumama lang naman ako para malaman kung ano yung kasong tinulungan mo si Cali. Nothing else."

"Nothing else? I thought you came here with me to drag Felicine with you for a romantic date, leaving me here with that guy." Cali pointed at Horace who was seated comfortably at his couch. I saw Eudayme's face turn red.

Iinom na sana siya sa kanyang baso nang mapatingin siya kay Cali at Eudayme. Ibinaba niya ang baso at isinandal ang kanyang likod sa upuan.

"Oh? I thought you wanna hear the "still not closed" case? Bold of me to think that you don't have a hidden agenda with you." He shook his head repeatedly then looked at me. "Did you know about any of this, Felicine?"

Napakunot naman ang aking noo. What are they talking about? Hindi ako makasabay sa kanila dahil unang-una, wala akong idea kung ano ang sinasabi nilang date. I don't remember anything about that. Tsaka bakit nadamay na naman ang pangalan ko?

Nah-uh. Hindi ako galit sa kanila for keeping me in the dark. Wala rin naman kasi akong pakialam and I don't want to know about it, though may kaunti akong alam. Halata naman sa galaw ni Eudayme 'diba?