"—a suicide is what it is. Look, the victim is clearly holding the gun to his heart, and as you all may know, shooting himself. He did it because he wanted to end his life." declared a man in a button-down collared dress shirt beneath a basic, five-buttoned dark, pitch black vest.
Elucel stifled a laugh, adjusting his cravat to cover up the action. He placed his elbows to rest upon the table as he rested his face atop his crossed fingers. "Only an inexperienced fool would make such a false conclusion," he began, gaining the attention of the other two in the claustrophobic room.
"If you examined the way the victim was positioned, as well as where his belongings are placed, you would indeed find this case involving foul play." Wynstonne raised a brow at the remark, shifting uncomfortably in his velvet cushioned seat.
"And why do say there is foul play involved?" questioned a man, who, by the looks of his greyed hair and saggy wrinkly face, was an old inspector in the long-running business of solving crimes. Though his name was unknown, mostly because Elucel didn't bother asking for it, the man was more than exceptional in his work, well, at least that's what the medals clipped on his uniform say.
"See, the victim's phone was found in his left pocket, including the handkerchief that was discarded on his left side," Elucel gestured towards the image of the crime scene projected onto the wall, "but the gun was held in his right hand. Clearly, the victim was left handed, so why would he use his right hand to kill himself?"
"He might've been ambidextrous," came Wynstonne's reply. Elucel nodded at the suggestion.
"Yes, but based on what the victim's relatives tell me, he's indeed a lefty." Wynstonne opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. He raised his arms in surrender while he heaved a deep sigh. "You got me there, Luc. I must say you've improved a lot since the last time we've had a deduction battle."
Elucel snorted, looking away as he recalled the last time the two have had a deduction battle. He was only ten summers old then while Wynstonne was twelve.
"Anyways, what are you're thoughts on the note that was left in the crime scene?" The old man had suddenly butted in.
"The note that said, 'Winter Hexagon' was quite perplexing. I've searched it up and found out that it was a name given to a constellation." The room went silent as each one fell into a deep trance.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sudden noise made Wynstonne jump as he looked over to what had caused it. His eyes fell upon the watch Elucel wore, the once pitch black screen glowing a faded red.
Elucel looked down, twisting his arm to get a better look at the watch before tapping something. A small smile suddenly spread on his lips as he looked up at the two.
"Well, would you look at that, my time here is done. I've gotta go before the teachers file me yet another detention slip." He stood up, grabbed his belongings, and, without so much as a farewell, exited the room.
He let out a sigh of relief as he briskly trudged down the hallways of the Milirian Yard's headquarters. Elucel smirked at how he easily escaped the walls of that claustrophobic room, as well as the people who practically dwelled in it.
Though the case had piqued his interest, the fact that he had to wake up before the sun even rose annoyed him. Both Wynstonne and the old man called him at around two in the morning, requesting he be present at the case investigation.
Reaching the tall oak double doors of the headquarters, Elucel, with much strength, pulled the doors open. The hinges squeaked, a sign of not being oiled regularly, as the door opened a small enough space for Elucel to slide through.
Once outside, he closed the doors back again before climbing down the stone steps. He admired the building. How the intricate designs and structures of the past still stood proudly. Being a citizen of a technology advanced country, it was only rarely that you could find such a magnificently preserved building like the Milirian Yard headquarters.
He then turned away, walking down the stone pathway leading up to the ten-foot tall bronze gates. He nodded his head to the guard on duty before exiting the headquarters.
Raising his hand, Elucel gestured to a taxi driver to come pick him up. The driver got the message and he quickly drove his taxi towards him. Without so much as a greeting Elucel hopped into the taxi and told the man where he wanted to go—as if he actually wanted to go to school, anyways. He obliged and started driving right away. Throughout the whole ride Elucel was silent and deep in thought.
And before he knew it, the vehicle went into a halt. "Sir, we have arrived," Elucel quickly placed his thoughts aside and paid the driver. Opening the taxi's door, he stepped down onto the pavement below and grabbed his sling bag.
The chattering of the students was heard from where he stood. Elucel shrugged it off as something normal since it was lunch break anyway. Elucel took a stride towards the twelve-foot high gates.
Elucel was not like those detectives who would climb walls and gates so that they wouldn't get caught. Instead, he was that one detective who prefers to take the easy way in to the destination—through the front door and in this case, the front gate.
As he neared the gate, the chattering grew louder and faces he didn't recognise flash in front of him. He stood in front of the odd but intricately designed gate in front of him, walking towards the huge family crest carved into the gate. He stood in front of it while a laser shot out from a small diamond gem strategically placed on the knight's sword's hilt that was part of the family crest. It scanned him before letting out a satisfying beep. The gate opened and Elucel entered the campus.
There were students near the trees, sitting on the benches, strolling around—you get the picture. It was just a normal day, for them anyway. As Elucel strode across the marble slabs of flooring laid out as a pathway to cross the courtyard, he overheard a few exchanges from among the students nearby.
"Have you heard? There had been this junior, he was . ."
"Oh! Did you mean the vice president of the chemistry club? What was his name again?"
"Michael. Michael Scott. He was found dead at Chemistry Lab, correct?"
"Yeah. I wonder where Luc is. He's always—" Elucel failed to hear the rest for he was already rushing towards the chemistry lab.
Because the courtyard was a long way from the Chemistry Lab mentioned, Elucel had no choice but to run. He let out sharp exhales of breath as he panted through his nose. He was no athletic youth, nor was he a sickly one. He merely disliked engaging in athletic activities such as; running.
As he reached the tall building, he found out that there weren't much students in this part of the campus. And by there weren't much—there weren't any at all. Elucel merely shrugged.
He briskly climbed up the staircase, making sure to keep his balance as to not trip. As soon as he had reached the third floor, the strong scent of blood hastily entered his nose. He quickly scanned over the hallways and noticed a group of police officers and a few students standing just outside the police cordon.
"Hello, Chief Inspector Cal." Elucel greeted, a man in his early twenties quickly responded and smiled. He wore the same clothes as the inspector he had met just a few minutes prior; a dark blue long sleeved shirt, dark cobalt blue pants tucked into ankle high black boots. Inspector Callister wore a bright smile on his face and the aura around him was contagious.
"Ah! Luc, I knew you would come." he announced, a genuine smile on his face. Elucel simply bowed his head in response. The man, Inspector Aethan Callister Venere, was a high ranked official in the Milirian Yard. Throughout Elucel's years solving cases for the Milirian Yard, he had made acquaintance with Callister, thus the familiarity. Callister immediately let Elucel into the crime scene, quickly discussing what intel they had at the moment.
"Look, miss, as much as you want to solve this case, you are pro—"
"Well, I don't care! I want to solve this case and you can't do anything about it!"
"What is happening over here?" questioned Callister, Elucel saw the two face their direction and amusement quickly found its way into his system. There was a man, an officer most probably, his face red from anger as he gripped the woman's forearm. What amused Elucel was the woman, she was a schoolmate of his.
Sure, it's quite normal to see a schoolmate inside the campus, but on those circumstances, Elucel thinks otherwise. She had long green blue hair parted on two sides with her fringe swept to the side of her forehead. Her height was on the shorter side, being at least a head shorter than Elucel, and she wore pitch black Mary Janes.
"Look, mister, this officer of yours isn't letting me solve the case!" she exclaimed, trying to break free from the officer's grip. Elucel cocked an eyebrow at the short woman as he watched her struggle to break free.
"Um, Miss? Students aren't allowed inside the crime scene in the first place, so it's just natural that you're prohibited from solving cases, especially a murder case." the inspector said calmly, as he placed his hands inside his pockets. Elucel looked back at the woman, and to his surprise, she was glaring at him.
"Then why is this guy here? Isn't he a student too?" she said, an annoyed look to her face. Callister only cleared his throat and stared blankly at the woman.
"Oh, this kid? Well, he's different. You see, he's been granted special permission by the higher ups to solve cases such as these." The woman once again turned to Elucel's direction, glaring daggers at him. Much to her dismay, Elucel hadn't even seemed bothered by it, in fact, he was somehow amused at how things were going.
"Inspector? I'd like to ask one favor. Why don't me and shortie have a deduction battle? Wouldn't that solve everyone's problems? We get to solve the murder case and she gets to solve the case, alongside me, of course." Instead of being thankful, the woman's eyebrows knitted together as she pointed her index finger towards Elucel.
"Shortie? Did you just call me shortie!?" The accused man only ignored the woman and approached the body of, what he presumed, Michael Scott. As Elucel was in the middle of scanning the victim, a hand grabbed his forearm and pulled him to a standing position.
"If you may have observed, I'm in the middle of a case, shortie." Her face turned into a shade of scarlet as she glared daggers at him. It's amusing how she gets provoked so easily.
"If you hadn't been informed, my name is Aurum! Not shortie." By this time, her hand had now released the taller man's forearm and was walking away.
"And if you had not been informed as well, my name is Elucel. Luc for short." Elucel replied, an amused look to his face. This woman had just sparked up his interest.
Back to the case, Elucel had found out that the victim had received a fatal blow to the heart and had been dead for quite a few hours now, according to the state in which the body is in right now. According to the report the forensics have sent, the victim had also suffered three stabs on the chest and two on the abdomen. It was also identified that the killer had used a broken Florence flask to kill the victim.
The victim is Michael Scott, an eleventh-grade student and the Vice President of the chemistry club. Scott was also at the top of his class and was supposed to compete during the Science Quiz Bee. Too bad he was due early. He was killed between 9:30-10:45 am.
There were three suspects; Niel Ocampo, an eleventh-grade student, president of the chemistry club, and is a close friend of Michael. Haeven Clint, the victim's girlfriend and childhood friend, was the first one to discover the body. And lastly, Azuro Montero, a classmate of the victim, second in class and is also a member of the chemistry club.
"Have you figured out who the killer is?" Elucel's head turned to the direction of the voice. It was the inspector, he held his phone on one hand and a cup of coffee on the other.
"Yes, quite an easy case I would say," Elucel replied rather arrogantly. It was the truth though, he had already solved the case.
"Well, why don't we wrap up the investigation already?" he asked, sparkles dancing in his eyes. Elucel bet that he had a date with his fiancé again. Elucel's head turned from side to side, indicating he thought otherwise.
"Why don't we see what that shortie can do," His forehead creased and his eyebrow formed an arch, indicating that he was curious as to why the youth had decided to do such a thing.
Elucel sighed, "She seems to think she can solve this case, at first I thought she wanted to just play around, but looking at her now," His head turned towards the said woman who was currently talking to the prime suspects. "she looks quite serious about what she's doing." A smile slowly formed on the Inspectors' lips as he nodded in approval.
"I see. You've taken interest in her, I presume?" Ignoring the question, Elucel merely walked over to Aurum to check out what she has been doing all this time. When the detective prodigy had stopped beside her, Elucel noticed the crimson red notebook she carried in her hands as she continued to investigate the case. Elucel also caught her scribbling notes here and there as well. After a few minutes, she had finally took note of Elucel's presence and acknowledged him.
"What are you doing here?" She arched an eyebrow as her feet shuffled slightly.
"I just came to check on your work," Elucel stated simply, roaming his eyes inside the chemistry lab.
"Does that mean you've solved the case?" His head bounced up and down, indicating a yes. She seemed to be hesitant, so the two ended up staring at each other for a few moments until she spoke once again.
"If so, why aren't you reporting to them your findings?" Her hand gestures towards the inspector and the other policemen. Elucel's head turned towards the inspector who was currently drinking his coffee in one corner of the room. It still intrigues Elucel as to how the inspector can eat in the middle of a crime scene.
"It wouldn't be any fun if I'd done that. You see, I voluntarily solved this case for them, I'd at least want a bit of amusement in exchange." Her forehead creased and the blood rushed up to her head.
"So you think this is all just a game? You think people just die for your amusement!?" A ghost of a smirk hovered over Elucel's lips as he tucked his hands into his pockets. Aurum was feisty and she had a short temper. Another thing to amuse Elucel.
"You could say it that way," Her face flushed a dark red as she attempted to slap the taller youth. Elucel caught on the moment and caught her by the wrist, her hand inches away from his cheek. Aurum was stupefied, she could not fathom as to how the lad had been able to catch her wrist without breaking a sweat. She made a mental note not to judge someone by their looks, seeing as Elucel absolutely does not look like he could do that.
"How could you say such a thing!? Do you not know of justice?" Aurum's rose-red lips trembled as she said those words. She continued, "Do you at least know of any mercy? Did you know multitudes of people die because of crime?" Elucel could clearly see she was only putting up a brave face. Based on his observations, she seemed to be hiding something—like a dreadful past.
"And so? Who are they to me?" Before Aurum could utter another word, a booming voice resounded from the hallways.
"How long are you both planning to stand there!? We want to know who killed Michael!" the voice screamed, most probably female, Elucel's head turned towards Aurum who had a blank look to her face. She noticed his eyes on her, causing her hands to tremble on her sides.
"I believe the battle of ratiocination is about to inaugurate." An abrupt quiver ran down Aurum's vertebrae as she focused her gaze on the lad as he traipsed the other way, towards the throng of students waiting outside. Her hand gripped the fabric of her blazer as she tried to stop the fast beating of her heart. Aurum was agitated. She couldn't help but notice that she was, in a spur of the moment, having an adrenaline rush.
Aurum's head whirled, facing towards the crowd outside. Her feet unconsciously started to walk towards the crowd, standing beside her companion, Elucel.
"Took you long enough," Elucel blurted, a smug look to his face. Aurum merely shook it off and faced the crowd. They all stared at her wide-eyed, undoubtedly astonished as to why Aurum was there. It was no shock, really, to be able to see her in these type of crime scenes. Aurum was quite persistent when it came to things like forcing herself to take part in an investigation. The eyes of the crowd lingered on her, not masking the looks on their faces that conveyed the message that they wanted to know more.
"Shall we begin this deduction battle?" Aurum nodded towards Elucel and brought out her notebook. In her small fragile hands was a small, black notebook, just the size of her palm.
"Well? Ladies first," Aurum merely threw an annoyed glare at him before once again facing the crowd. She opened her notebook, beads of sweat running down her forehead while her nerves throbbed anxiously.
"So the victim, Michael Scott, was murdered using a Florence flask found a few meters away from the victim. The three main suspects are; Niel Ocampo, Haeven Clint, and Azuro Montero. Among these three, I have found out that—" Aurum was abruptly interrupted by the sound of Elucel clearing his throat. She head turned towards him, bending it slightly to the right as if asking what he had wanted. "Don't reveal to them the culprit just yet," he whispered, his warm breath caressing her skin. Aurum's forehead creased as she watched him straighten his posture, facing the crowd with a calm, calculated stare.
"Allow me continue, the victim had suffered a total of five stabs; three on the chest and two on the abdomen. Though only one blow to the heart was essential to rid the victim of his life, it seemed that the killer had wanted to inflict more pain than needed." he had said, staring disinterestedly at the array of students before him.
"As stated in the report the forensics have commissioned, they have stated that the victim had been killed around 9:30-10:45 am. In accordance with the testimony of the suspects, I have found out that the the convict is none other than Mr. Azuro Montero." A sudden boom echoed throughout the hallways as the said man appeared before the two. He had an enraged look to his face and Aurum could feel the unsettling aura around him.
"You!" He raised his voice whilst pointing a finger at Aurum, "How could you accuse me of such a thing? I am but an innocent man!" he hollered, gripping his chest as if he had been shot. Aurum couldn't stand him, not one bit, he had an air of arrogance to him that made her gag. Well, not like her companion, Elucel, was any better.
"Why don't you tell us your testimony?" a stern voice commanded. Aurum's head whirled towards the direction the voice had come from and she was taken aback as she saw the sober-minded look to Elucel's face. "What were you doing between 9:30-10:45 am?" The respondent looked at the man and his eyes widened in fear.
"I was studying at the library." he managed to choke out, Aurum could hardly even understand what he had said. Her brows furrowed at his answer for she had just realized something.
"Haven't you heard? The library has been closed for about a week now, it's under construction." Aurum had spit out rather bluntly. His face seemed to have lost its color and his hands uncontrollably started to shake. He started to speak yet we could not understand what he was trying to say. The students gathered in front of us started to whisper to each other, most probably sharing their theories and the like.
"I—I hadn't meant to say that . ." he said in a soft tone whilst playing with his fingers. He looked much like a child who had gotten in trouble for something he hadn't done. Azuro thought it was the end of the line, that he had been finally caught.
"Speak the truth and only the truth. I'm giving you one last chance." Elucel demanded. For someone who had already solved the case, why would he still waste his time on doing these? Whatever it may be, Aurum simply could not read him. He seemed to have put up walls around him as to not be seen through.
Aurum could clearly see the nervousness in Azuro's orbs. He seemed to be intimidated by the aura of the so called detective prodigy. "I—I killed him . ." Gasps were heard around and everyone had seemed stupefied, except for her companion, of course. "He was always in the way! Ever since he's transferred here, I've always been in second. I never win against him . ." Azuro confessed, slightly shaking his head once he had realized what he had said.
"I told you to speak of the truth and only the truth, correct?" Elucel inquired towards the male, the latter nodding his head. "Then why hadn't you confessed that it had not been you who had committed the murder?" Aurum's brows furrowed and she quickly turned her head towards the man beside her, Azuro. The crowd was now extremely confused, looking back and forth from the students before them. They were much too slow to understand what was happening.
"What?" Aurum asked, clearly confused as to why the case had taken a sudden turn. Elucel only gave her as much as a smug smirk and looked towards the cowering suspect. He roamed his eyes around the crowd, halting at the direction of which the other suspected culprits stood. Aurum followed his gaze and realized he had been staring at Haeven. His gaze left hers and he faced the man before us.
"The real convict is Haeven, am I mistaking, Azuro?" The latter only shook his head and continued to stare at the floor. Before the two could even react, Haeven had already walked up towards Elucel and attempted to slap him but failed, obviously. She had a stupefied look to her face as Elucel released her wrist from his devilish grip. Even Aurum flinched at the sight.
"How dare you accuse a woman of such a crime?" Haeven's head bowed and her face flushed red while she balled her hands into fists. Aurum took notice of her companion smirking towards the woman's current state, enjoying how she was enraged at such a trivial matter, well for him anyway. Aurum watched quietly, she was garnering information and observations while her colleague resolved the case.
"Why? Do you think only men commit crime? Would you like me to list a few crimes women commit all the time?" He had continued provoking her, enraging her even more than before. "Fine! Just what do you want from me?" she surrendered, weakly raising her hands in defeat. A smirk hovered over Elucel's lips as he watched the woman sigh.
"Just simply confirm the following; you were the first to discover the body, correct?" he had started whilst the woman nodding her head as an answer. "You were also the one who had murdered the victim, am I right?" The young detective's lips formed a sneer while he watched the woman tremble in fear. Her blonde locks covered almost half of her face, her dark green eyes glazed with uncertainty.
"I—I hadn't done what you've been accusing me of." the woman stuttered, not being able to make eye contact. Her hands trembled, looking like that of a prisoner, about to be executed. Her blonde locks cascaded down the right side of her face, covering right eye. Albeit only one eye was visible, I could see her pupils diluting—a sign she had been lying.
"Oh? Well, why don't you explain to me as why there are shards of glass on the soles of your shoes?" Aurum's widened in bewilderment as she listened to her companion's deductions. She couldn't quite fathom as to how Elucel had found out about the shards of glass on the soles of the convict's footwear.
The accused woman cleared her throat while playing with her hands as beads of sweat ran down her forehead. "I—I had accidentally stepped on a broken glass at the cafeteria." The crowd's foreheads creased as they started to murmur among themselves. Quite suddenly, a student, most probably from the eighth grade, raised her hand and said; "If I may interrupt, we don't use glass cups at the cafeteria. Instead, we use paper cups, am I mistaken?" The crowd's heads bobbed up and down, nodding at the statement.
The woman had suddenly shook her head vigorously, as if trying to prove the crowd wrong. "Y—you're mistaking!" —was all she managed to choke out while tears caressed her cheeks. Her sobs were quiet although audible to the people standing at the hallway. Everyone had suddenly became quiet and silence had enveloped us all. Pity welled up in Aurum's stomach as she watched Haeven.
In a spur of the moment, Elucel's voice boomed throughout the hallways. "Alright. Then why don't you throw light upon that," the young lad started, his index finger pointing towards the hem of the woman's sock. Looking closely, Aurum noticed the bits of blood splattered on it. It wasn't quite visible so it took a while before she found what Elucel was pointing towards.
"As you may have known already, the victim was stabbed using a broken Florence flask. If you were to stab someone using such a weapon with an irregular cut, it isn't impossible for the victim's blood to splatter over you. Though seeing as you hadn't gotten any blood on your uniform means that you are quite skilled. But, of course, justice will always prevail." A smug smirk had suddenly hovered over the young detective's lips while he snuck his hands back into his pockets. The convicted woman gasped, clutching her skirt as tears continued to flow out of her eyes.
"Fine! Y—you caught me . . I was the one who had killed him—I was the one who killed Michael!" she shouted, her head lowered while staring at the floor.
"He was abusive. He constantly beats me up and isolates me from my friends. I once told him I'd like to break off our relationship, but he refused. He brought out his phone and showed inappropriate photos of me. He had told me that he would be forced to post them on the internet if I left him. He was desperate. I was desperate. My eyes just suddenly darkened and the next thing I knew I had already killed him . ." Her voice died out while her knees bucked beneath her, causing her to start to sink to the ground. She held her head in her hands as she wailed.
Everyone was quiet, once again swallowed by the silence as the crowd listened to her wails and sobs. Elucel didn't care about this woman, nor did he have the sympathy in him to comfort her.
"Well, since she had already confessed to the crime, might as well close this case now." Elucel disseminated the tidings collectedly, walking towards the inspector who had just arrived to the scene. He called up his guards as they escorted the sobbing woman to the police station.
"Hey shortie, it would be best if you would return to your class now. The teachers might think you've been doing some funny business with someone." Aurum's cheeks flared while she hit him on his shoulder. Elucel simply let out a low chuckle and started walking towards the opposite side of the hallway.
A sigh escaped Aurum's lips as she trudged towards the opposite direction. Thoughts swarmed inside her head as she recalled the case they had solved just now. It was surprising to know that someone just her age could solve cases in a matter of minutes.
Aurum stood in front of the door, thinking of excuses as to not be given a detention slip. Her hand curled around the doorknob whilst turning it. The knob gave a satisfying click as she pushed the door open.
Pairs of scrutinising eyes bore into the young woman as she entered the room. Only silence greeted her as she nervously waited for the angry sermons she would receive, but it never came. The teacher, Ms. Lanter, only raised her hand and gestured for her to sit down.
Aurum obeyed, not wanting to speak in front of so many people. For some reason, her confidence from speaking in front of the crowd just minutes ago had been diminished into nothing.
As she reached her seat, she placed down the backpack she'd been carrying the whole time. As her muscles rejoiced at the lack of pressure, Aurum turned her attention to the teacher who continuously spoke in monologues as the students tried their best to keep up.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, as you can see, I have merged my previous chapters 1 and 2 into one chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter for there are more to come! The next update will be updated sooner or later so keep an eye out for that!
Do leave a comment or message me on what you think of this chapter.
WORD COUNT: 5,104 words (excluding the author's note)
[Grammatical errors, plot inconsistencies, and other errors that are yet to be edited, please do inform me. Feel free to message me or comment what I must change. I am open to constructive criticism.]