A/N: Second update for this week! May iilang nakatama sa coded message sa previous update. Hindi ko sasabihin kung sino-sino pero congratulations!
LORELEI
THE GIRL smiling before me is Hel. I don't know what her surname is. I don't even know if Hel is her full name. Maybe it's short for Helena or Helaine? Kung kasing three letters lang ang pangalan niya, ang tamad yata ng parents niya para makaisip ng unique name.
Admittedly I don't know much about this girl. Ang tanging alam ko lang ay isa rin siyang amateur detective na minsa'y pa-singsong kung magsalita. While Loki and the rest of our QED team consult for the campus police—well, at least, before Inspector Morgan Morales became the chief—Hel works as a consultant for the Angeles City Police Department, under the supervision of then-campus police chief and now Officer Gareth Estrada.
From what I heard from Officer Estrada, she's claiming that she's able to talk to the dead. So she's some sort of a psychic. Loki was skeptic, of course. He never believed in the paranormal. He thinks that people who believe in ghosts are stupid. Baka naisip niyang gimik lang ni Hel ang sinasabi nitong pakikipag-usap sa mga patay.
"Bakit ganyan ang tingin mo sa 'kin?" tanong ni Hel. She tilted her head to one side as she flashed a curious face. "We've met before, haven't we~? Hindi mo na ba ako natatandaan?"
Yes, we did meet before, during the Bascoville incident. Remember that case na may touch ng horror at supernatural? Student council president Emeraude's relatives were being haunted by a grim reaper. May mga nag-aakala na may sumpa ang bahay na kanilang binili at tinutuluyan kaya sila namamatay isa-isa. It turned out that the curse wasn't real and one of the relatives was conjuring a fake image of the grim reaper by using a drone dressed in black cloak.
Come to think of it, that's one of the cases Rosetta referred to us. Doon ko rin narinig ulit ang tono ng "Mary Had A Little Lamb" kapag dina-dial ang phone number ni M. Akala ko noo'y si Jamie ang kumontak sa kanyang boss. Well, it could have been her. It could have been Rosetta. They're both working for the same person after all.
Speaking of Jamie, doon din siya nagsimulang maging mabait sa 'kin. Hindi dahil nauntog ang ulo niya nang malakas sa pader o nagka-amnesia siya dahil sa sobrang takot sa fake grim reaper. On the night of the sleepover, she asked me if I had any romantic interest in Loki. I told her na wala, na kaibigan lang ang turing ko kay Loki. He's like that whiny little brother to me na kailangang bigyan ng lollipop kapag nagto-throw ng tantrums.
Since then, nabawasan na ang pagiging hostile ni Jamie sa akin. She began to treat me as her best buddy. Parang sa isang pitik ng mga daliri niya, nagbago na ang pakikitungo niya sa 'kin. Why? Because she no longer saw me as a threat. Whatever she's feeling for Loki, she thought that I'd be in her way. Joke's on her because I was never in her way. Truly, your enemies can be your allies once your interests are no longer in conflict.
Now I'm curious. Ano kaya ang magiging reaksyon ni Jamie kapag nakita niya si Hel sa campus? She didn't really like her the moment their eyes met. Dumating pa nga sa puntong gusto niyang makipag-alyansa sa akin para kontrahin si Hel. She even asked Alistair if he had any chainsaw in his car trunk. Alam kong minsa'y exaggerated si Jamie, but that only showed kung gaano niya 'di kagusto ang isang tao.
Oh, by the way, Jamie calls Hel "Impy." Short for "impyerno."
"I still remember you." I flashed a smile at her. "You helped us solved the Bascoville case."
She clapped her hands once, her grin widened. "I'm glad that you remember! I thought you saw me as someone forgettable~ I hope that my dad still remembers me. Dads who forget about their children are the worst! Magagalit ako sa kanya kapag nakalimutan na niya ako. I'm not that forgettable? Am I? Am I?"
Dad... My eyes looked down as I remembered something close to my heart. I wonder if my dad knew about me? That I ever existed? Maybe he didn't know. Maybe my mom wasn't able to tell him.
"Are you okay?" Hel waved her right hand in front of me. She leaned her face closer to mine kaya napaurong ako. "Did I say something that upset you? Oh, is it about your dad? I'm really sorry about that~"
Naningkit ang mga mata kong nabaling sa kanya ang tingin. If I hadn't met Loki and known his methods, I 'd be surprised on how she guessed that the word "dad" triggered something in me. She probably read my face.
"Nice to see you again, Hel," Alistair said, stealing the attention of our unexpected visitor from me. Napatingin siya mula ulo hanggang sapatos. "But what are you doing here? Wala ka bang pasok?"
Sinuri ng mga mata ko ang suot niya. She wasn't wearing any visitor's ID. Nakasabit pa nga sa kanyang leeg ang kanyang school ID. Kapag kasi may mga tagalabas na pumapasok sa campus, binibigyan ng ID ang mga bisita kapalit ng kahit ano'ng valid ID card. They had to wear that thing at all times.
"Paano ka nakapasok dito?" tanong ko na may kasamang pagkunot ng noo.
"You caught on real quick, huh?" Her bubbly tone faded and became more serious. Now she's showing her other side. "I didn't have time to undergo the standard security protocol so I had to find a way inside your school. Such an inconvenience." Muling nagbalik sa mapaglarong tono ang kanyang boses. "Luckily, I met a spirit along the way and he showed me the other way! Kinailangan ko pang mag-ober da bakod para makapasok~"
Mag-ama nga talaga silang dalawa ni Loki. They don't want to submit themselves to protocols that they view as hassle.
But I can't say if she's being figurative that she really met a spirit—or ghost, maybe—somewhere around the campus. Baka pinaninindigan niya ang kanyang narrative na kaya niyang makipag-usap sa mga patay. She's a detective. She likes finding stuff. She could have found a secret passage to the campus using her deductive prowess. I bet Loki's gonna sneer at her for saying something so ridiculous.
Kahit ako, hindi naniniwala.
"At bakit kinailangan mong makapasok dito?" sunod na tanong ni Alistair. I'm curious as well. Why would she have to go through such lengths? What she did obviously was trespassing, which is strictly speaking illegal. "Do you have an appointment with someone here? Are you planning to transfer in this school?"
"I thought of paying a visit to my dad!" she answered, sounding excited. "He must have missed me~ Balak ko siyang i-surprise!"
She kept on calling Loki her dad because of their Norse mythology connection. Hel, the Norse goddess of the underworld, is one of the children of the trickster god Loki. Talagang kina-career niya ang kanilang father-daughter relationship.
I wonder what would be her reaction when she meets Luthor. May pagka-Norse myth din kasi ang pangalan niya.
"Nagtanong-tanong na ako sa ilang estudyante rito," sabi ni Hel na palingon-lingon sa paligid. "They pointed me to the direction of the QED Club office on the third floor. Kaso naka-lock ang pinto~ It looks like it has been locked permanently. So I thought of looking for you. That's why I'm here!"
"Our club has been dissolved," I told her. May kaunting pagkasorpresa sa kanyang mukha. Ipinakita ko sa kanya ang badge na naka-pin sa aking collar. "We're now members of our school's student executive committee."
"An execom?" Her eyes widened. "That sounds so cool~ May pa-gano'n pala rito? What do you do then?"
"We... help the student council," Alistair replied. "Kapag may event, kami ang tumutulong sa kanilang mag-organize ng mga bagay-bagay."
"Oh?" Nawala ang sigla sa mukha ni Hel. "That sounds like a downgrade. I take back what I said. The QED Club thingy sounds way cooler~"
She's somewhat right. Dahil sa QED Club, we can accept exciting and petty cases from students and solve them as soon as we can. Sa execom, we have to deal with mundane tasks (Loki's own words), such as cutting crepe paper into confetti and asking students to properly fall in line. We can no longer do whatever we want freely.
But we could still deal with heavier stuff. The heaviest of which so far was the case of the Clarion. Reviewing the liquidation reports of our student publication and checking if there's any discrepancies were not that easy.
"I guess that didn't sit well with my dad," Hel said, touching her chin and looking elsewhere. Muli niyang ibinalik sa amin ang kanyang tingin. "He likes solving cases, doesn't he? Hindi siya basta-basta papayag na ma-bore siya sa mga boring na activity. Oh, 'di ba? I know him very well~"
Every time she refers to Loki as dad reminds me of the times that Jamie calls him "Loki dear." The more I hear of it, the more annoying it gets. I had no personal beef with her, but sometimes, things could get really irritating.
"May mga problema pa rin naman kaming sinosolusyunan," sagot ko. I felt like I had to defend our decision to join. "Our execom isn't only concerned with the boring stuff that you're thinking of. We can also look into somes cases that involve the students, but in a limited scope."
"So you still do some investigation?" Hel's eyes sparkled as she blinked. "That's amazing~ Dahil nandito na rin ako, maybe I should ask for your help about this case that I'm working on!"
"That case involves someone in Clark High, doesn't it?" Alistair asked. Napatingin sa kanya ang kausap namin. "I don't believe na pupunta ka lang dito para makita ulit at makipag-usap kay Loki. Maybe you're planning to hit two birds with one stone."
"You're pretty sharp." Hel nodded, her voice became serious. "You're right. The case that I'm investigating concerns one of the people here. I thought of asking around to know more about this person."
Bigla akong kinutuban. Napalunok tuloy ako ng laway habang nakatitig sa kanya. Hel is a consultant for the Angeles City Police Department. Therefore, she could have stumbled upon that case.
"Do you know someone named Ephraim Quirino?" she asked.
Dahan-dahang nanlaki ang mga mata ko. Sandaling nagawi ang tingin ko kay Alistair na napasulyap din sa 'kin. Mukhang pareho kami ng iniisip. Bumilis yata ang tibok ng puso ko. Lumakas ang pagkabog.
We didn't kill that person, but it felt like we're trying to get away with a crime that we didn't commit.
"Oh, is that a hint of recognition~?" Hel grinned from ear to ear as she looked at me then at Alistair. "Why do you look so surprised?"
"Familiar kasi ang name niya," palusot ko. Kailangan kong maging maingat sa sasabihin ko. I had nothing to hide from her, but I wasn't supposed to know what happened to Sir Ephraim. We weren't supposed to be in his apartment where we found him dead.
At this moment, I don't know if I can trust Hel. Hindi ko nga in-expect na magiging involved siya rito. Kaya hindi ko pwedeng basta-basta sabihin sa kanya na "Yeah, we saw his corpse in his apartment." Eventually we would, but maybe not now.
"He's a former English instructor here," Alistair added. "Hindi namin siya naging teacher, but he attended the memorial service of a student who passed away recently."
"A memorial service, huh? That's interesting..." Hel's eyes narrowed into slits. She looked at me straight in the eye. "By the way, he's dead. The police believe that he shot himself."
"Oh..." I tried to look surprised and saddened by the news. Am I doing it right? Only the ones who could see my face would know.
"But you knew that already, didn't you?" she asked, smiling. "Based on your not so surprised reaction, alam n'yo nang patay na siya."
"Well, we didn't—"
"You've probably read the news, right?" Hel cut my words short. "It's all over the local newspapers!"
I haven't seen the newspapers. 'Di ako mahilig magbasa ng diyaryo. I get most of my news from my online feed. But if what she's saying was true, what happened to Sir Ephraim was no longer a secret.
"Y-Yeah, may nabasa nga akong diyaryo—" sagot ko.
"Lori..." Alistair nudged me on the arm. Napatingin ako sa kanya nang nakakunot ang noo. He gave me a look as if I shouldn't have said something.
That was the moment I realized that I messed up.
"Gotcha~" Lalong lumawak ang ngiti sa mga labi ni Hel. She looked like someone who's about to win in a game. "The local media hasn't picked up the news yet about his death. So how could you have read it in newspapers that haven't reported it yet?"
"Maybe I was mistaken," palusot ko. I fell to her verbal trap! "I thought the one that I read and the one that you're talking about are the same."
"Can't you just admit it?" Hel sighed, her shoulders slumped. "You and that girl with braided hair were asking around about the deceased, showing his photos to people in his neighborhood. There's no use to denying it~ May mga nakausap na kaming tao na positively nag-identify sa inyong dalawa. On the day of his death, you were looking for him."
We only exchanged stares as silence ensued among the three of us.
"I doubt that the victim shot himself," she explained. "He was murdered. But I don't think you and your friends—especially my dad—are capable of that crime. But you must be holding some pieces of the puzzle that we need to solve the case."
Well, she's right. Wala nang saysay pa ang pagtanggi namin. We might as well embrace that fact.
"The fact that you already knew he's dead means that either you were there when he was killed or you arrived at his apartment after he was killed," Hel went on. "Nagtataka ako kung bakit 'di n'yo agad ni-report sa mga pulis. I expect my dad to do that. I wonder why he didn't."
"It's quite complicated," Alistair replied.
"I'd be happy to listen—" Hel looked like she was interrupted. Lumingon siya sa likuran na tila may tumawag sa kanya. "But for now, I need to say goodbye to the two of you~ My invisible friend here is telling me that my admirers are getting close. Tell my dad that I came by. Talk to you soon!"
Saktong nag-ring ang school bell nang tumakbo palayo si Hel mula sa amin. Sumabay siya sa daloy ng mga estudyante na nagsimula nang magsipasok sa kani-kanilang classroom. Napatingin kami ni Alistair sa direksyong nilingunan niya kanina. Parang may nakita kasi siya. Pero wala naman kaming maaninag na kahit ano o sino. When the hallway was cleared, we saw Rye Rubio and a bunch of male execom members running to our direction.
Meron bang emergency? Bakit nagmamadali sila?
"Hey," bati sa amin ni Rye na huminto sa harapan. He was biting a lollipop stick between his teeth.
"Is something going on?" tanong ko.
"May natanggap kaming report sa Office of Campus Security," sagot niya. "May isang babae na nag-trespass sa campus premises natin. They saw her enter this school building. Maiksi ang buhok niya at iba ang suot niyang school uniform. Did you see anyone with that description?"
Oo nga pala. Hel illegally entered our school. Nag-ober da bakod pa nga raw siya para makapasok dito. Rye and the other execom members must be the admirers she was talking about.
"She went to that direction." I pointed to my right. I had no reason to not reveal where she went kaya hindi ako nagdalawang-isip.
"Thanks." Rye ran off to the direction that I pointed at. The students behind him followed.
How did she know that her so-called admirers were coming? Totoo bang may invisible friend siya na nagtimbre sa kanya? Or maybe gano'n kalakas ang pakiramdam niya kaya nalaman niyang paparating na sila?
Well, that's the least of my problems right now. We have a coded message to crack later. We would deal with Hel and the case of Sir Ephraim soon.
q.e.d.
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