A/N: And the spree of updates continues! Expect more in the coming days!
LORELEI
IT'S TIME to pick up where we left off in Ephraim Quirino's case.
Kinabukasan, maaga akong sinundo ni Alistair sa apartment para sa meeting namin kay Hel. Dahil sa dami ng mga nangyari nitong nakaraang linggo, hindi na namin naasikaso. While we still have some mysteries to solve, I thought that this might be the right time to address this. Para mabawasan na rin ang iniisip namin.
Hel texted me the location last night. Kahit words lang ang nababasa ko, I could still hear her singsong tone dahil sa tilde (~) na inilagay niya. She could have used the regular punctuation marks. Well, sabi nga nila, walang basagan ng trip. Gusto niyang magkita kami sa mismong crime scene—sa apartment kung saan namin natagpuang patay si Sir Ephraim.
You might be wondering, bakit "ako" lang ang sinundo ni Alistair? I thought that the investigation would somehow pique Loki's interest and give him back the enthusiasm that he always felt whenever there's a case to solve. Kapag kasi bored siya, 'yon lagi ang tried and tested method para magkaroon siya ng gana. Unfortunately, not even this curious incident was enough to make him leave our apartment unit.
"The three of you can do well without me," he told me after urging him to come with us. "The police will only ask you what you can recall on the night of the incident. Also that self-proclaimed daughter of mine is on the case already. I don't think that my presence there is much needed."
Mukhang hindi pa rin siya bumabalik sa dati niyang sarili. He still looked down. The dark circles under his eyes looked more prominent than ever. It might take some time before our pep talk with yesterday would take effect. I understand. Bringing back the usual him wouldn't be easy as I thought it would be.
And so, umalis kami ng apartment nang kami lang tatlo nina Jamie at Alistair. Imagine the awkwardness inside the car while we were en route to the crime scene. Nasa passenger's seat ako gaya ng nakagawian habang solo ni Jamie ang backseat dahil wala roon si Loki. Walang umiimik sa amin. Tanging ang mga song na pinapatugtog sa radio kung saan naka-tune in si Alistair ang naririnig namin.
Now and then, I glanced at Jamie through the rearview mirror, watching her mood closely. Nakapangalumbaba siya sa may window at pinapanood ang paglagpas namin sa iba pang sasakyan at building. She looked so bored since Loki wasn't around. Mukhang wala rin siya sa mood para makipag-usap.
Because of my carelessness yesterday, she found out that Loki and I wanna focus our attention on her late brother. Dapat kasi tinanggal ko 'yong sticky note na may pangalan ng kuya niya. 'Yan tuloy, nagkaroon siya ng idea. Pero wala na akong magagawa. My response? I had to lie about it. I had to pretend that I didn't know what I knew a few days ago—that her brother wasn't who he seemed to be. That there's more to him than meets the eye.
I thought I'd only be dealing with one problem today. It turned out that I'd be dealing with two.
The silence and the uneasiness inside his car must be so deafening and very awkward, Alistair had to break it gently. "Okay, guys. Do you wanna talk about what happened yesterday?"
"I don't think I have anything else to say." Jamie's eyes met mine when I tossed a glance at her through the mirror. She still looked and sounded so pissed. "I already made my case yesterday. Baka 'yang si Lorelei ang may dapat sabihin?"
Napasulyap sa akin si Alistair bago muling itinuon sa kalsada ang kanyang tingin. I had an idea on what she wanted. An apology from me.
I had two options: Pwede akong magmatigas sa kanya at ipagpilitang tama ang ginawa ko o pwede akong magpakumbaba at humingi ng sorry para ma-appease siya. Guess which of the two choices I would choose?
Sighing, I twisted in my seat to face her. "I'm sorry for not telling you about it. Nag-assume kasi ako na walang magiging problema kahit hindi ko muna sabihin sa 'yo. That's too presumptive of me. In my defense, inakala kong okay lang kasi ikaw mismo ang nagsabi sa amin tungkol sa hinala mo sa pagkamatay ng kuya mo."
"Gaano ba kahirap magbigay ng heads up?" tanong niya. "Gaano ba kahirap ang sabihin na, 'Hey, Jamie. We believe na tama ang hinala mo. It might be worth checking out'? O, 'di ba? Nagawa kong sabihin within five seconds. You could have told me as much, and I wouldn't be feeling hurt right now."
If things were only that simple, I would have done exactly as she told me. May dagdag na layer pa kasi na hindi ko muna pwedeng sabihin sa kanya. I couldn't tell her at this moment kung ano talaga ang hinala ko. Why? Because it might break her heart. It might further complicate the situation. I'd rather preserve the status quo than to drive a wedge into our relationship.
The question is: Until when? This may sound cliche, but only time could tell.
"You're right." I nodded as I spoke with an apologetic tone. "I was wrong. Again. I should have taken your feelings into consideration. I should have been more sensitive since your brother is involved here. I'm at fault."
Ayaw kong makipagtalo sa kanya. Ayaw kong makipagdebate kung bakit nasa katwiran din ang posisyon ko. Ayaw kong palakihin ang issue na 'to. Ayaw kong madagdagan pa ang iisipin namin. Sa ngayon. We would have to deal with this issue in great lengths soon.
"Do you think that's enough for me to forgive you?" Jamie asked.
I understand where she's coming from, but she should also understand my point of view. That's the only way we could have a better understanding of this situation.
"Maiintindihan ko pa kung bakit hindi basta-basta sasabihin sa akin ni Loki dear. But you?" Umirap siya sa akin. "You should know better, Lori. Mas empathetic ka kaysa sa kanya. Mas alam mo kung ano ang makasasakit sa iba at ang hindi."
"For that shortcoming, I am truly sorry." The best way to put out this fire is by acknowledging my mistake. If I'm gonna fight fire with fire, we're gonna burn together.
Naningkit ang mga mata niya sa akin. "Are you just saying sorry para mapatawad kita at makagawa ka ulit ng kasalanan? Baka ulitin mo na naman 'to sa susunod, ha?"
Was she adapting Loki's views when it comes to apologies? Kung makapagsalita siya, parang napakalaki ng kasalanan ko sa kanya. Parang nakapatay ako ng tao. "Hindi. Wala akong intensyon na gumawa ulit ng pagkakamali sa pagso-sorry ko sa 'yo."
"Apology accepted," Jamie said. Medyo nag-relax na ang kanyang mukha. "Alam kong iniisip n'yo na baka overreacting na ako rito, na napakasimple lang ng issue na 'to pero pinalalaki ko. But this is my brother we're talking about. Sensitive ako pagdating sa topic tungkol sa kanya."
How I wish I could jump in and ask her, "Did you know that your brother founded M's organization?" But I shouldn't, out of my respect for her. Not now.
I may sound submissive right now by letting her demand an apology from me (and by giving it to her), but it's for a plan that I had in mind. You think I didn't learn from all the mess that I've been into?
Considering what I already know, Jamie may not be the best person to ask about her brother. I don't want to prejudge her—though it sounds like I am—but her views could be expectedly biased and skewed in favor of him. She strongly believed that her brother was a good man and an ally of justice. Presenting an opposing idea might be something that she would outright reject.
Imagine if I tell her, "Your brother's the one who started all this mess!" She'd probably and instantly reply, "That's fake news!" or "I don't wanna hear any of that nonsense!" See? I was already prejudging her.
So my plan was to play naive, ask her about the late Jaime, and listen to what she had to say. I wanted to make her feel that I trust her words. Not only was it gonna mend our strained relationship right now, but I might see some cracks worth looking into. Cracks that I could fill in with my theory or proofs that we would find later on. Kapag napunan na ang mga lamat, doon na namin makikita ang buong larawan.
If she knew more than what she let on, we'd probably know... or not. I wanted to trust her, but not in this topic. Hence I needed to know more about her dead brother. I needed to start asking questions to people who might know him—discreetly, if possible. Doon ko maiko-cross-check kung nagtutugma ba ang sinasabi niya at ang sinasabi ng iba.
That's the only way I could assure myself that Jamie could be fully trusted. Ayaw ko talagang humantong ulit sa punto kung saan pagdududahan ko siya. But I'd rather be suspecting than sorry.
The first step was to humble myself in her presence. Of course, I still had to be careful. She might feel that I was only acting to get something from her. Pinagmayabang na nga niya kahapon na nase-sense niya kung sincere o scripted ang sinasabi ng kausap niya. And that could make matters worse.
Let me see if she's softening up to me. "Do you mind if I ask you questions about him?"
"Of course, I don't!" Jamie replied. "Kung may tao ka mang dapat pagtanungan, walang iba kundi ang pinaka-close sa kanya. And that's me! Kung sanang sinabi mo agad, nasagot ko na ang mga gusto mong malaman. We could have helped each other and we wouldn't be in this awkward situation. What do you think, Al? Tama ba ako?"
Medyo nagulat si Alistair nang biglang madamay ang pangalan niya. Agad siyang napasilip sa rearview mirror. Tahimik siyang nagmamaneho ng kotse tapos bigla siyang ida-drag sa topic?
"Well..." Alistair sighed as his hands remained steady on the steering wheel. "Understandable ang reaction ni Jamie dahil kuya niya ang pinag-uusapan dito. If you put yourself in her shoes, you would more or less feel and react the same."
Napagtanto ko rin 'yan matapos ang biglaang confrontation namin kahapon. But as I said, things weren't that simple. Mas magiging komplikado ang sitwasyon kapag nalaman nila kung ano ang alam ko.
"Pero understandable din ang naging desisyon ni Lorelei. I'm not saying this because we're close friends or what," Alistair kept on talking. "Ayaw niya munang sabihin sa atin hangga't hindi siya gano'n ka-confident sa kanyang theory. She didn't want to waste our time lalo na't natambakan tayo ng mga tanong na dapat sagutin. I won't also be surprised kung talagang nakalimutan niyang banggitin sa atin. We can't deal with many things at the same time."
"So you wanna play safe and stand on the middle ground?" Parang naghahanap ng kakampi itong si Jamie sa isang laban, ah? She sounded like she wanted Alistair to take sides.
Alistair shook his head. "I won't really call it playing safe. I consider it as seeing the good and the bad, the reasonable and the unreasonable in both sides. If I were a random passerby, I'd think that you're exaggerating your reaction. But I went beyond the surface and saw the reason why you reacted that way. Masasabi kong justified ang naging reaksyon mo. No one can blame you for that."
Tahimik kaming nakinig sa kanya na parang siya ang magsisilbing tie-breaker sa contest na 'to.
"Same with Lori." Alistair cast a sideway glance at me. "Sa unang tingin, iisipin mong may pagkukulang siya lalo na't alam niyang kapatid mo ang involved at alam niya kung gaano siya kaimportante sa 'yo. Pero kung susuriin mo ang mga factor na nakapalibot sa kanya, maiintindihan mo kung bakit gano'n ang naging desisyon niya. It's only a matter of understanding the people, their intentions and their reasons."
I expected that he wouldn't take my side. Gaya nga ng sinabi niya, may nakita siyang pagkukulang sa part ko, pero naiintindihan pa rin niya. Gano'n din ang kanyang posisyon kay Jamie. Medyo exaggerated pero understandable. If there's gonna be a debate between two opposing ideologies, he's gonna be the best moderator that one could have.
"Now that you two have somehow reconciled, why don't we review Lori's random theory?" Alistair asked, glancing at Jamie through the rearview mirror before me. "What happened to your brother again?"
Sumandal si Jamie sa kanyang seat at napakrus ang kanyang mga braso. She looked out of the window, watching the cars blur past us. "My brother got into a car accident. He drove a gray sports utility vehicle that day. Pauwi na siya noon nang mabangga ang sasakyan niya. Sabi ng mga naka-witness, nawalan daw siya ng preno."
I listened intently to her version of the story. Napakinggan ko na 'to noon, pero mabuti nang mapakinggan ko ulit mula sa kanya. Hindi ko pa nababasa ang vehicular accident report na ibinigay ni Officer Estrada. Nang iabot ko 'yon kay Loki kahapon, hindi niya shinare sa akin at wala siyang nabanggit tungkol doon.
"I suspect that someone tampered with his brake or something," Jamie went on, her voice slightly cracked. "My brother was a meticulous man. Hindi siya magda-drive basta-basta nang hindi tsine-check nang maigi ang kanyang sasakyan. If he knew something's off, he wouldn't have driven it."
"You think that M had something to do with it?" Alistair squinted his eyes as he darted a glance at her through the mirror.
Jamie nodded. "My brother was the student council president back then. He ordered an investigation into some suspicious incidents at Clark High. Posibleng related kay M ang mga 'yon. Hindi malayong isipin ni M na sagabal siya sa kanyang plano, 'di ba? Kaya nga baka..."
That's one part of the story where I was confused at. Kung tama ang aking timeline, Jaime Santiago should have been the M around the time that the investigations into those curious incidents started.
Maybe he wanted to pretend that he's doing something as an ally of justice? Magiging out of character para sa kanya kung basta-basta siya tutunganga habang may nangyayaring kahina-hinala sa harapan niya.
Maybe he wanted to get a headstart from people who might want to investigate the cases? Inunahan na niya ang iba pang imbestigador para alam niya ang progress ng imbestigasyon at makaisip siya ng paraan upang pagtakpan ang mga 'to.
"You think that M had his car brakes tampered with? Para maaksidente siya?" sunod na tanong ni Alistair.
Muling tumango si Jamie. "Wala na akong ibang maisip pa. While it's possible na aksidente lang talaga ang nangyari, malakas ang gut feeling ko na may nagplano ng pagka-aksidente niya. Hey, it's M we're talking about. Isn't he the one who can make a killing look like an accident?"
That's another thing that confused me. Jaime Santiago is—sorry—was M. In my understanding, Jamie was suggesting that M was behind M's death. That could only be possible if he intended to commit suicide. Which was a strange choice. He could have chosen an easier way out.
After thinking about it yesterday, I came up with two theories: First, Stein arranged the car accident so he could claim the crown for himself and take over the kingdom. That seemed likely if there's any power struggle within the group.
Second, it was an open-and-shut case of vehicular accident. No one's really behind it. Jamie was insisting that her brother's meticulous, but he could have gotten careless that day and failed to notice that something's wrong with his car.
"Question?" I raised my left index finger. "Since the day Stein recruited you into his organization, did he mention anything about your brother's death? Did he brag about it? Did he feel sorry that your brother got into an accident that he planned?"
Sandaling naningkit ang mga mata ni Jamie habang nakatingin sa labas ng sasakyan bago ibinaling ang tingin sa akin. "He didn't say outright that 'I did it,' but he hinted about it. Kaya nga nasabi ko sa kanya noon na nagpapasalamat ako dahil sa... alam n'yo na... para makuha ko ang tiwala niya."
My eyes slowly narrowed into slits as I looked at the vehicles before us. Wait a minute. Something didn't add up. Luthor told me in the hotel more than a month ago that Stein respected Jaime. Well, he respects people who challenge him, like Loki. But Jaime wasn't directly challenging him. Jaime was his predecessor to the throne. Maybe the respect was due to their predecessor-successor or mentor-mentee relationship?
That's the part where it became more confusing. If Stein really respected the previous M, would he think of deposing him through an accident? Ang sa akin kasi, kung nirerespeto mo ang isang tao, hindi mo siya maiisipang gawan ng masama. That's just me, but other people might share the same view.
Look at Loki. Despite being the challenger, hindi pa rin siya tuluyang ipinapa-dispatya ni Stein. I might be comparing apples with oranges here, but some lines didn't seem to connect.
Ugh. The more I think about it, the more na sumasakit ang ulo ko. Ni hindi pa nga kami nag-i-start ulit sa case ni Sir Ephraim. Masyado pang maaga para maubos ang energy ko.
Our conversation was interrupted when we arrived at the meeting place. Alistair pulled the car to the side, on the same spot where he parked it a few weeks ago. That brought me back the moments when we had to do a stakeout. Nagpa-deliver pa nga kami mula sa isang fast food resto para malaman kung saan sa tatlong apartment unit nakatira si Sir Ephraim.
The three of us got off the car and walked toward the unit to our right. May mga barricade tape pang nakadikit sa may pintuan. It looked so desolated here.
"Welcome~!"
Hahawiin na sana namin ang tape nang may biglang tumalon mula sa loob at binati kami nang pagulat. Hel grinned from ear-to-ear as she welcomed us with stretched out arms.
"Gusto yata tayong patayin sa heart attack nito," bulong ni Jamie.
"Thank you for coming today~," bati ni Hel sa amin sabay baba ng kanyang mga kamay. "I know that you had a busy and tiring week, but you still chose to come. By the way, where's my dad?"
"He's not in the mood to do some detective work," I replied. "Don't worry. The three of us can answer any questions that you may have. We have Jamie here who has a retentive memory and Alistair who may not have missed anything of importance."
Alistair acknowledged my compliment by nodding while Jamie only kept an annoyed face.
"What a shame." Hel frowned. "I was looking forward to meeting him again. Mukhang ayaw pa kaming pagtagpuin ng tadhana. How long must I wait, I wonder?"
"Baka gusto niyang pagtagpuin ko siya at ang kamao ko?" pabulong na side comment ni Jamie. Normally I would have shushed her, but I was still reading the room if we're already good.
"Anyway, shall we get to work~?" Muling nanumbalik ang ngiti sa mukha ni Hel. She jerked her thumb toward the unit. "Quick! We don't have too much time left in this place! The landlord wants us to wrap up the investigation today so they can clean the mess inside."
Hinawi niya ang barricade tape at pinapasok kami sa loob. The arrangement of the room looked almost the same to me. Parang walang pinagbago. Well, I couldn't really tell since it was dark back then. Nandoon pa rin ang pool ng dugo sa sahig.
"Nasaan pala si Officer Estrada?" tanong ko habang iginagala ang aking mga mata.
"Oh, today's his day off~" masiglang sagot ni Hel. "But he gave us permission to see the crime scene for the last time."
"Shouldn't we be wearing gloves or something?" Jamie asked, fluttering her fingers in the air. "Ayaw naming ma-contaminate ang crime scene. If Loki dear was here, that's the first thing he'd ask us to do."
"Don't worry about it!" Hel shook her head. "The police is already done turning every stone in this place. They won't mind if you leave a strand of hair or spit anywhere in the room."
"If you say so."
Tumayo kami sa palibot ng natuyong dugo sa sahig na parang may gaganaping seremonya roon. I could still picture the victim's body there. I shook my head to remove the image in my mind. Thank God I don't have Jamie's memory.
"The victim's name is Ephraim Quirino, 45 years old," Hel read from her phone. "As you all know, he's a former instructor at Clark High. English subject, I think? He's still unemployed by the time he was killed."
We nodded. He's also the former adviser of Clark Clarion and Augustus' confidant. Dahil sa aksidente, kinailangan niyang mag-medical leave hanggang sa mag-resign. Pumalit sa kanya noon si Sir Friedrich Rivera. Come to think of it, I haven't decided about his publishing offer.
"When I sneaked into your school, I managed to talk to some faculty members," Hel went on. "Apparently, he's been separated from his wife for quite some time and he's been living on his own. His colleagues—or former colleagues—described him as a lonely but kind man. A good teacher. Et cetera, et cetera. Nothing really noteworthy to the investigation."
He wasn't one of my instructors so I couldn't say much about him or his teaching style. Hindi rin gano'n ka-familiar ang itsura niya. We may have walked past each other on the corridor without me knowing.
"He used to live in an apartment not far from here," Hel said. "But he was forced to move out because of financial challenges. Medical bills and therapy sessions drained his finances. He no longer could afford the rent, the landlord said, so he needed to be evicted. I assume you also visited that area when you were looking for him?"
Nagkatinginan muna kaming tatlo bago tumango. Mission failed kami roon dahil wala na pala ang target. There's no point in denying it, was there? We weren't being considered as suspects anyway.
"About a month ago, he met an accident when he was on the way home," Hel shared, still reading from her phone. Her tone changed from normal to curious, as if she noticed something off in her notes. "A hit-and-run incident. A car almost ran over him, breaking some of his bones in the leg and tearing up some of his muscles. That explained why he had to use a cane while walking."
Which reminded me of Loki and Luthor's dad, Odinaire. I didn't see him in Maggie's burial ceremony.
"There's something strange about it," Hel said after taking a pause. She raised her eyes and cast a glance at each of us. "Sometime after the accident, he called the police and reported that he remembered something about the car that hit him. Sinabihan niya ang mga pulis na kailangan muna niyang i-confirm bago sabihin sa kanila."
"Oh?" My left eyebrow arched.
"Later on, he retracted his statement and said that he might be mistaken," Hel continued. "Hindi na niya itinuloy ang pagre-report at wala siyang nabanggit na kahit anong karagdagang detalye tungkol sa car na bumangga sa kanya. Which I found odd."
"Odd?" Jamie repeated. "How so? Baka nag-o-overthink ka lang. You're seeing things that aren't there."
"I do see things that aren't normally there. You know, things that aren't visible to the naked eye." Hel gave us a creepy smile. Kinilabutan ako sa sinabi niya. "He could have told the police right then and there about any details that might help his case. But he chose to confirm it by himself~ He should have let the police confirm it for him."
Alistair touched his chin as he looked down and thought deeply. "What if he tracked down the person who drove the car that almost ran over him and offered a settlement? Para hindi na i-pursue ng police ang kaso?"
"Same idea here~" Hel waved her right hand like she was asking to be called in a recitation. "We tried to check the surveillance cameras near the street where he got hit by the car, but we found nothing there. There aren't any cameras nearby. The city should do something about that."
"Possible kayang sinadya siyang banggain?" sabi ko. That's the first thought I had in mind nang banggitin niyang wala kahit ni isang camera sa malapit. "Hindi ba't napaka-convenient sa kung sinumang nakabangga sa kanya?"
"I also considered that possibility~" Hel nodded at me. "Either our mysterious driver is too damn lucky that he wasn't caught on cam or he knew that's the blind spot. Now that I've told you what I know, it's your turn~"
I exchanged glances with Jamie and Alistair, mentally asking who's gonna tell her about our version of the events. My childhood friend and I nodded at Jamie who shook her head and initially refused.
"Bale ganito kasi 'yan," panimula ni Jamie. "There's a student in Clark High na may hawak na blackmailing materials sa iba pang estudyante, faculty member at school personnel. He made it clear to us na sakaling may mangyaring masama sa kanya, mali-leak ang lahat ng mga sikretong nakatago sa hard drive niya."
"And? Was he killed or something?" Hel asked.
Jamie nodded with gritted teeth. "So noong nag-rest in peace na siya, we committed ourselves to stopping the leak from happening. You know, we wanna maintain the peace and order in Clark High kaya we started to look for his confidant who might be in possession of—"
"The confidant is Ephraim, correct?" Hel asked again.
"Patatapusin mo ba ako o gusto mong ikaw na ang magkwento?" naiinis na sabi ni Jamie. I could see the nerve in her temple pulsating. "Let me finish, okay? I'll answer your questions. Where was I? Ah! Sinubukan namin siyang i-track sa address na nasa record ng school, but we found out that he was no longer staying there. So we used our secret weapon and tried to track him using his IP address. It sounds geek to me, but the tracking had something to do with triangulation—whatever that word means."
"So you found him? Let's skip to the juicy part."
"We didn't find his exact address. We found the area where he might be located." Jamie rolled her eyes. "Kaya nagtanong-tanong kami sa neighborhood at ipinakita ang picture niya sa mga taong nakasalubong namin. We pretended na tatay namin siya na matagal na naming hinahanap."
Tumingin siya sa akin at tumango ako. I could clearly recall kung paano siya nagpanggap na naluluha at nagdrama sa harap ng ibang tao.
"That's where you met a magtataho along the way, right?"
"Alam mo na pala. E 'di ikaw na magkuwento!" naiiritang sagot ni Jamie. I instinctively nudged her with my elbow. Oops. Hindi ko alam kung okay na kaming dalawa, pero wala naman siyang naging reklamo. So I guess we're cool? "We tracked him here. Nataon na noong araw na 'yon, may naka-schedule siyang session sa kanyang physical therapist. We waited for him to leave the apartment."
"But why did you wait for him to leave? Shouldn't you confront him and ask him to change his mind about leaking whatever materials he had?"
"Aba, bakit parang mas alam mo pa sa amin?" sagot ni Jamie. Muli ko siyang siniko sa tagiliran para umayos siya. Wala pa ring negative response sa kanya. So I guess we're really cool na. "We thought na mas mabuti kung kukunin namin ang hard drive na nasa possession niya. Talking to him might alarm him and speed up the whole leakage."
"I see~" Hel nodded, smiling. "Can you walk me through what you did that night?"
"Kayo naman ang mag-explain," sabi ni Jamie sabay tapik sa aming dalawa ni Alistair. "Nakaka-high blood na sumisingit-singit siya habang nagsasalita ako. Kung alam na pala niya, bakit pa siya nagtatanong?"
She wanted confirmation. That's all.
"Do you want a reenactment?" Alistair asked.
"Sure!" Hel replied happily. "I might understand the whole scenario better through a demonstration."
"Let's go out for a moment, shall we?"
Alistair led us out of the apartment and back to the spot where he parked his car. We shaded our eyes from the blinding sunlight.
"Gaya ng sinabi ni Jamie, hinintay muna naming umalis si Sir Ephraim ng apartment. He probably booked a car that would bring him straight to his therapist. I doubt he'd take public transportation which could be a hassle for someone with a disability."
"Good point," Hel agreed, looking impressed.
"As soon as the car drove away, Loki and I rushed to his apartment," Alistair narrated, walking across the road to reach the unit. Sumunod kami sa kanya sa paglalakad. "How did we get in? Loki's some kind of lockpicking expert so opening the door wasn't that difficult for him."
"I wish he could show that to me!" komento ni Hel na may halong excitement. As a consultant for the police, shouldn't she be scolding us for illegally breaking in to someone's property?
Tuluyan nang pumasok si Alistair sa apartment at naglakad patungo sa sala. Una niyang itinuro ang mesa bago ang cabinet. "We found his laptop there and the hard drive over there. Just when we were checking if it might be the thing that we're looking for..."
He motioned his hand to me, passing an imaginary microphone. So it's my turn now, huh?
"Napansin naming bumalik ang sasakyan na binook niya," pagsalo ko. Nagawi ang tingin ko kay Jamie na tumango sa akin. "Lumabas si Sir Ephraim sa kotse at pumasok ulit sa apartment. Mabilis naming in-inform sina Loki at Alistair na pabalik na siya."
I motioned my hand to Alistair.
"We tried to look for another way out, but the entrance was also the exit." Pumasok siya sa kuwarto at itinuro ang kama. "Wala kaming choice kundi magtago muna sa loob at hintaying umalis ulit si Sir Ephraim. Baka may nakalimutan lang siya kaya siya bumalik noon. So Loki and I crawled under the bed, almost holding our breaths."
"While Sir Ephraim was inside, may napansin kaming motorcycle rider na huminto sa tapat ng kanyang unit. He was wearing a jacket that bore the logo and name of a courier service," I went on when Alistair passed the invisible mic to me again. "Kumatok siya sa pinto at pinapasok siya sa loob."
"So you were still under that bed the whole time?" tanong ni Hel kay Alistair.
Tumango siya. "We didn't see their faces, but we definitely saw two pairs of shoes walking around. May saglit na physical struggle. Then we heard a muffled gunshot. Sir Ephraim dropped dead on the floor, his head turned away from us."
"At doon na kami pumasok dalawa ni Jamie," dugtong ko. "Pero hinintay muna naming makaalis ang rider. Doon na namin natagpuang patay si Sir Ephraim."
"Wait a minute." Hel raised both of her hands, freezing us from where we stood. "Let me get this straight. You decided not to report the crime as soon as you saw the body? But why?"
"We didn't," I admitted, shaking my head. "While we had nothing to do with the crime, the police might find it strange why we trespassed into this unit. We can't tell them that we're here to steal something, can we? Also we don't have time to deal with the investigation that would follow if we chose to report the body. May deadline kami na kailangang unahan. Hindi namin afford na ma-distract."
Ilang segundong natahimik si Hel, palakad-lakad sa palibot ng natuyong pool ng dugo. "Now I have an almost complete picture of what happened here. I sincerely appreciate your cooperation. Oh, the soul of the poor instructor also sends his thanks."
Nanindig ang mga balahibo ko pagkasabi niya sa huling sentence. Hindi ko alam kung tinatakot lang kami ng babaeng 'to o legit na may kumakausap sa kanya at nagpaabot ng pasasalamat.
"But I can offer you more details," Jamie added. "Sabihin mo muna 'please' bago ko i-share sa 'yo."
"Please~?" Hel said in a cute way.
Jamie looked slightly disappointed. Akala niya siguro'y luluhod pa sa harap niya ang kausap namin. "I can tell you the courier company he's working at—or pretending to work at—as well as his motorcycle's license plate. Pwedeng fake ang ginamit niya, pero baka makatulong sa imbestigasyon n'yo."
"Really~?" napapalakpak sa tuwa si Hel. "That will be a great help!"
"He must also be six feet tall, possibly left-handed," I recalled. Lumabas ako sa apartment at tumayo sa may pintuan. "I remember him standing here around this height. He also held a box with his left hand and used his right to knock on the door."
"Paano mo nalaman na left-handed siya?" tanong ni Jamie sa akin. Hearing her ask me question might be a good sign.
"While it's not applicable to everyone, most of us use our dominant hand to hold something of value, right?" I answered.
"That isn't a one-size-fits-all deduction," Hel said, "but I'm gonna take note of those descriptions~"
"This may or may not help your investigation, but I noticed something in the rider's shoes," Alistair added, looking down at his own. "They had a lattice lacing. The shoelaces were crossed at a steep angle and woven through each other. Not everyone ties their shoelaces the same way, so this might be a clue."
"Thank you so much!" Hel hugged us one by one. "You don't know how much you three helped me and the police bring the poor victim's killer to justice."
Masyado pa yatang maaga para sabihing nakatulong talaga kami. They haven't caught the killer yet—or any suspect at this moment.
"Please let us know if there's any development in the case," I said.
"Sure, I will!" Hel promised. "It's the least thing that I can do in exchange for your cooperation."
There's a chance that Sir Ephraim's killer might be the elusive third party. If not, he must be connected to him in some ways.
q.e.d.
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