A/N: This is the epilogue part of Chapter 49, not of the story. Since this update may contain a major revelation, I'm asking you not to post any SPOILERS. Reaction posts, memes, and GIFs are okay, as long as they do not give away the context.
Let's not ruin other people's reading experience. Thank you!
LORELEI
"I'm sorry for asking you to meet me on a weekend."
WE FOUND Sir Johannes of BEYOND waiting for us in the Diogenes Cafe. Since it's a Saturday, kaunti lang ang customers dito. He's been reading a magazine before we reached his table. Isa-isa niya kaming kinamayan kagaya noong una naming meeting. He then motioned his hand to the four vacant seats across him.
"Teka, bakit tatlo lang kayo? Nasaan na 'yong isa? Si Jamie, tama?"
I was about to take my seat, but I instantly froze upon hearing her name. Nagkatinginan kaming tatlo nina Loki at Alistair bago ako tuluyang nakaupo. Wala ni isa sa amin ang nakasagot. None of us had the courage to speak of what happened to her.
It's been days since the rooftop incident. Hindi ako nakatulog nang maayos nitong mga nakalipas na araw. Who could sleep sound at night when they witnessed what I had witnessed? Since then, a sight of anything that is red could make me almost puke. It's so tragic that I choke up whenever I try to speak of it.
"Nevermind," sabi ni Sir Johannes nang hindi kami nakasagot. He must have read the mood. "Baka busy siya ngayon kaya hindi siya nakasama sa inyo, 'no? It's the weekend anyway so she might have other plans."
I forced a smile and tried to make it look like that everything's still okay. He's wrong. Jamie had no other plans for today.
"So!" Sir Johannes rested his elbows on the table and put one hand on top of the other. "What should we be discussing first? The contract or the manuscript?"
"The contract, sir."
Inilabas ko na ang folder na naglalaman ng kontrata at maingat itong ipinatong sa mesa. Our eyes met before his fingers dragged it to his side.
"I want to be one of your writers, sir," I said, looking at him directly in the eye. "My lawyer told me that the terms are good and will not put me in a disadvantageous position."
After two days of waiting, I finally got word from my late dad's secretary Nancy. Isinend niya sa akin via email ang opinyon ng isang lawyer na well versed pagdating sa mga kontrata. In his message, he explained the terminologies that I didn't understand and my obligations once I signed it.
So far, a good deal.
Ngumiti si Sir Johannes bago pa man niya binuksan ang folder. Nang makita na niya ang kontrata at ang pirma ko sa ibaba, lalo pang lumawak ang kanyang ngiti. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he put the contract down and signed the part reserved for him.
"Welcome to BEYOND Publishing, Miss Lorelei Rios," he said, offering his right hand while smiling at me. Malugod naman akong nakipagkamay sa kanya. I had to lean forward dahil sa distansya namin sa isa't isa, thanks to the wide table between us. "I will send you a copy of the notarized contract by next week. Then I will assign an editor for your story. Someone who's also into mystery para mag-click kayong dalawa. Maybe in a month or two, you can see a draft of your book."
"Thank you," I replied. So this is really happening, huh? Parang hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala. "I'm looking forward to it, sir."
I was supposed to feel happy, right? I'm going to be one of the published writers in the Philippines. My books would be displayed and sold at bookstores. More people would read the adventures of the QED Club. More people would appreciate our love for the mysteries.
But I could not. Given everything that happened, I couldn't find it in myself to be happy. To enjoy this victory. Something's holding back my happiness. And that makes me feel worse sometimes.
Sir Johannes called for a waiter and asked us to order anything. His treat, again. Kung ano'ng in-order namin noong una kaming nagkausap dito, 'yon din ang aming in-order ngayon. Well, Loki didn't order anything before, so he didn't order anything now. The only difference? Wala ang banana split with vanilla and chocolate ice cream scoops na in-order noon ni Jamie.
"Can we now talk about the ending of Everyone is Sus?" he asked as soon as the waiter was out of earshot. "Alam kong marami kayong case na sino-solve sa school n'yo, pero sana'y hindi ako nakadagdag sa sakit n'yo ng ulo."
Nagbato ako ng tingin kina Loki at Alistair na saktong napatingin din sa akin. I gave them a nod to start the theory discussion.
"There are a number of ways that the story can end," Loki began, crossing his arms. "We want to present you all the possible scenarios before we give you our suggestion. It's still up to you, as the editor-in-chief, to choose which ending fits the story. But we implore you to seriously consider ours."
"Sure." The editor nodded, looking optimistic.
Ipinatong ni Loki ang folder ng manuscript sa mesa. "This is a simple whodunnit mystery, yet the way it's been presented makes it challenging and confusing to make a conclusion. We have formed four theories based on the available facts. Here are the details that we need to remember: The victim has peanut allergy. Two injection pens were found in his room, one with potassium chloride and the other with epinephrine. The four suspects bought food and drinks that could trigger his allergy. Let's start with the first solution: Suspect A did it."
"Suspect A?" Sir Johannes furrowed his brows.
"Anthony Agoncillo," I clarified. Mabuti't binasa ko ang manuscript nitong mga nakaraang araw kaya familiar na ako kung sino sina Suspects A, B, C at D. Loki did not make an effort at memorizing their names. "Siya 'yong bumili ng lumpia na chili sauce ang sawsawan."
"Whoever arranged this ingenious plan, their goal is to make the victim inject himself with the injection pen," Loki said, taking over the discussion. "If we go by the theory that one of the four switched the epinephrine pen with the one containing potassium chloride, the most likely suspect is Suspect A or Antonio. He only had to trigger the victim's allergy to make the plan work. So he chose the spring rolls with chili sauce, which secretly had peanut oil mixed in. Victim dipped the rolls into the sauce. He ate. His allergy got triggered. He used the injection pen. And then he died."
Napahaplos sa kanyang chin si Sir Johannes habang patango-tango. "That sounds like a convincing answer to the mystery. But I want to hear the other three theories."
"The second theory is they're all in it together," Alistair said. Sa kanya naman natuon ang aming atensyon. "Halos kapareho ito ng ipinresenta ni Loki na may nag-switch ng injection pen na may potassium chloride sa epi-pen ng biktima. Ang pagkakaiba, magkasabwat ang apat upang maisagawa ang plano. Maybe the three of them distracted the victim while the other one sneaked into his room and did the switch. Isn't it strange that they chose food that could trigger the victim's allergy?"
"But the story is written from the points of view of the four suspects," Sir Johannes argued, his eyebrows knitted. If I hadn't known our theories, I would have the same reaction. "If they conspired with one other to kill the victim, then..."
"We cannot rely on any of their version of the events," Alistair concluded, nodding. "They have turned themselves into unreliable narrators. Baka iba pa nga ang tunay circumstances ng pagkamatay ng biktima. Pwedeng pinagtulungan siya at pinuwersang in-inject ng potassium chloride. Tapos nagkasundo silang apat sa iisang version ng nangyari upang consistent at mapagtakpan ang kanilang ginawa."
"That's a great plot twist!" The editor's grin grew wide, his finger repeatedly pointing at Alistair. "Imagine the readers being mindblown once they find out the truth! This might become the best Filipino young adult mystery novel out there."
"If I were the reader and that's the conclusion, I'd feel cheated," Loki butt in. He had strong opinion against that explanation. "I want to have the chance to solve the mystery, I want to collect clues as if they were puzzle pieces and put them all together. I don't want to be surprised by a plot twist that I didn't see coming or is not hinted in any way."
The editor nodded reluctantly. "I get your point. But as long as we can get the readers to react as if all their brain cells exploded, it's gonna be fine, right?"
"The next possible solution might be mindblowing as well." Now it's my turn. Sa akin naman siya napatingin. "What if the victim committed suicide? During the party, his friends—or the four suspects—mentioned that he did not look and feel happy. He was depressed, that's why he needed their company, but it didn't make him feel any better. Nataon na na-trigger ang kanyang allergy at nandoon sa bahay ang mga kaibigan niya noong naisipan niyang turukan ang sarili ng potassium chloride."
"Whoa!" Sir Johannes clapped once. "That's a clever one! Parang mas mindblowing pa sa naunang dalawang theory n'yo. All this time, the readers are thinking na isa sa apat ang suspect. Tapos sa huli, malalaman nila na ang pumatay sa biktima ay wala sa apat, kundi siya mismo. What a breathtaking plot twist!"
"I would have already suspected that angle halfway through the book," Loki boasted. Yeah, we know. He's good at considering all possibilities. Nothing escapes him. Hindi na niya kailangang ipagmayabang.
"Let's see if the fourth and last theory is equally as mindblowing as the third one."
"Well, it's the most boring," Loki replied. "Aside from the peanut allergy, the victim might be also suffering from low potassium and his doctor advised him to take potassium chloride. When his allergies began to show, he mistakenly grabbed the injection pen with potassium chloride and injected himself with more than what's not considered lethal dosage. Then he died."
Kumurap ang mga mata ni Sir Johannes sa kanya. Hindi gaya sa mga naunang theory namin, walang kinang sa mga 'to. Halatang hindi siya gano'n ka-impressed. "Still a good twist, but kinda anticlimactic. I still prefer the second or the third one."
Dumating na ang waiter at inilapag sa mesa ang aming orders. I took half a spoon of my chocolate parfait while Alistair took a sip from his vanilla smoothie. Loki only watched us eat and drink.
"So which among the four solutions is your most recommended?" tanong ni Sir Johannes matapos uminom sa kanyang juice.
"None," Loki answered. "We have a fifth solution."
"And that is?" Tumaas ang isang kilay ng editor.
"Let the readers decide what ending they want."
"What?" Kumunot ang noo ni Sir Johannes. Hindi na ako nagulat o nagtaka pa. "So you're suggesting that we don't give a satisfying solution to the mystery? You want to leave it open-ended? Up for their interpretation?"
Loki nodded. "Yes, and to respect the writers' wishes. You'd be doing them a great disservice if you write an ending that they never intended in the first place."
"Surely they've made their intentions known in the previous chapters." Sir Johannes motioned to the manuscript folder. "And why are you using the pronoun 'them'? You must know by now that the writer is female. Alexandra Alegre, also known as Bellamy Bernardino."
Nagkatinginan muna kaming tatlo bago muling ibinaling ang aming tingin sa kanya. Salamat sa isinend niyang sagot sa mga tanong ko tungkol sa timeline ng conversations nila ni "Bellamy," mas naliwanagan na kami.
"This might come as a surprise to you," Alistair spoke gently, "but Alexandra Alegre is not the writer of Everyone is Sus, or the two other books in the trilogy."
Nagkahiwalay ang mga labi ni Sir Johannes habang pakurap-kurap ang kanyang mga mata. Binuksan ko ang manuscript at ipinakita sa kanya ang acknowledgment page.
"These four beshies of Alex are the real writers," I explained. "Kung kukunin natin ang unang syllables ng kanilang given name at surname, mabubuo natin ang pseudonym na Be-l-la-my Ber-nar-di-no. Unfortunately, these four women died in an accident."
"Based on the timeline that you sent, you made initial contact with Bellamy—the original Bellamy—two days before the accident," Loki added. "You asked them to submit the first three chapters of their manuscript for evaluation. On the day of the accident, you sent them an email that you want to talk about a potential publishing deal."
"We still don't know how, but Alex managed to access the email address where 'Bellamy' was communicating with you," I said. "Days after you sent them a follow-up email, she took on the pen name and continued the discussions until you met her in person and asked her to sign the contract."
"For all we know, Alessandra learned of the log-in details of Bellamy's email address or the four left her specific instructions on what to do with the manuscripts should something happen to them. You better ask her once you find her."
Mukhang hindi makapaniwala si Sir Johannes. Ilang segundo rin siyang natahimik at napatitig sa ilalim ang mga mata. "Pero kung inangkin na niya ang manuscript, bakit hindi niya pinalitan ang kanyang pen name? You wouldn't have figured it out if she chose another pseudonym."
"Maybe it's out of respect for their friendship, if she received instructions from them," Alistair answered after taking a sip. "Maybe it's out of conscience for stealing and owning what isn't hers to begin with."
"Whatever the case is, this is the reason why Alessandra can't send you the final chapter revealing the solution to the mystery," Loki said. "The four true writers failed to finish the story, and she had no idea how they intended to end it. Having known a part of the truth, you and your publishing house shall respect the real creative minds behind this story."
Sumandal si Sir Johannes sa kanyang upuan at nagkrus ang mga braso. He seemed to be in deep thought before he addressed us again.
"I need to talk to Alex first, and confirm from her what you've just said."
We couldn't stay any longer, so we left him in Diogenes Cafe with something to think about. Hindi pa namin alam kung bakit nawala na parang bula si Alexandra Alegre, pero sana'y magpakita na siya o makipag-usap sa kanyang editors upang malinawan na sila sa katotohanan.
Normally Loki and I would go home to our apartment and take a rest. Alistair would also be commuting back to his condo unit. But today's different. The past few days have been different. We're going somewhere else. The three of us.
We rode a jeepney on the way to Marisol Subdivision. That's going to be our last stop for today.
"Komusta ya ing lakad yu?" tanong ni Aling Dolores na bumungad sa amin sa gate. "Ali kayu migaganaka! Binante ke manibat yang meko kayu. Ay, ali kayu pala makaintinding Kapampangan, ne?"
That's right. We went straight to the Santiago residence right after our meeting with BEYOND's editor-in-chief.
Pinapasok kami ni Aling Dolores sa kanilang gate at pinagbuksan pa kami ng pinto. It's been a while since I went here. The last time we did, we tried to cheer Jamie up from the traumatic experience she had been through, thanks to one of M's minions. Kaming dalawa lang ni Loki noon ang pumunta rito. Ngayon, kasama na namin si Alistair.
Pagpasok namin sa bahay, hindi ko naiwasang mapatingin sa portrait ng magkapatid na Jamie at Jaime Santiago. My gaze lingered at the boy whose young face looked pure and innocent. Ibang-iba na ang tingin ko sa kanya ngayon kumpara noong una kaming bumisita rito. He was not who seemed to be.
Umakyat na kami sa second floor at nilagpasan ang ilang pinto hanggang sa makarating sa kuwarto ni Jamie. We knocked on the door, which was left unlocked, and swang it open.
We found her resting in her bed. Her hair was no longer in braid. She also had a thick bandage around her wrist. Her loose shirt, I hope, made her feel more comfortable.
Seeing her in such a distressing state reminded me of what happened on the rooftop a few days ago. I could still remember it very well.
"I'm so sorry."
"JAMIE!"
My God.
My freaking God!
I stared at her in horror as blood gushed from the slit on her wrist. Kumalat na rin nga sa uniform ko ang kanyang dugo. I didn't care anymore if my blazer got bloodstained.
Muling sumagi sa aking isipan ang gabi na iniharang ng papa ko ang kanyang katawan upang maprotektahan ko mula sa bala ng baril. I remember how his blood splattered on my light blue dress that night.
Paulit-ulit kong iniling ang aking ulo upang mawala ang thought na 'yon. It's not time for reminiscences!
Hindi ko alam kung sinong santo ang tatawagin o kung kaninong Diyos ako mananalangin. I had to do something! I couldn't let her die!
Sinubukan kong hawakan nang mahigpit ang kanyang pulso at pigilan ang paglalabas nito ng dugo. Wala na akong pakialam kung madumihan na ang aking mga kamay. If she loses a huge amount of blood, she could freaking die!
My mouth gapes as I looked at Jamie's face. Halos sumara na ang kanyang mga mata at paikot-ikot ang mga pupil nito. I was gently slapping her cheeks to keep her awake. She must be going in and out of her consciousness.
My God! Please don't leave us, Jamie!
"Ako na!" Alistair took off his blazer and ripped his left sleeve. He knelt beside Jamie and asked me to carefully remove my hands. The moment I did, he quickly wrapped the cloth around the wrist and tightened it. "The blood is darker red in color. She must have missed an artery! We can still save her!"
"I-I'm going to call an ambulance!" Nanginginig ang mga kamay ko nang subukan kong ilabas ang aking phone. Dahil sa dugo sa aking mga daliri, dumulas pa 'to at nahulog sa sahig. Mabilis ko 'yong dinampot at idinial ang numero ng emergency hotline. But the blood! The blood was getting in the way! I had to wipe them clean on my skirt, and the screen as well.
Dialling...
My phone started ringing, but no one's picking up. I bit my bloodied nails as I glanced at my dying friend. Sa bawat ring, mas lumalakas ang pagkabog ng puso ko. Parang kakawala na nga 'to.
What the hell were they doing? Why was no one answering my freaking call?! Please answer! Anyone?
"Hello, you've reached—"
"M-My friend s-slit her wrist, she's losing a lot of blood, and s-she needs medical a-attention," my voice was cracking as I was speaking. I tried to wipe off the tears rolling down my cheeks. Hindi ko na alintana kung madungisan ng dugo ang mukha ko. "The address is C-Clark High. Please lang, pakibilisan n'yo!"
"Calm down, ma'am. An ambulance is being readied."
Calm down? How could I freaking calm down? My friend is losing her life. Who in their right minds could calm down in this situation?
Ibinaba ko na ang tawag at hinayaang dumulas sa aking kamay ang phone ko. I leaned closer to Jamie and checked if she's still conscious. Pansin kong humihinga pa siya, pero puno na ng dugo ang cloth na ipinangtapal sa sugat niya.
Alistair already ripped off his other sleeve and also wrapped it around Jamie's wrist. The cloth was quickly soaked with blood. "We need to apply pressure to control the bleeding! We need more strips of cloth!"
Ibinigay ko na rin sa kanya ang aking panyo kahit hindi gano'n kalaki. Loki also took off his blazer and ripped one of his sleeves. Pinalibutan namin si Jamie at binantayan ang kanyang paghinga at paggalaw.
Don't die on us!
"Jamie! Jamie!" I told her, my cracking voice was turning hysterical. Tumitirik na ang kanyang mga mata at halos mawalan na ng malay. "Please hang on! Please stay with us!"
"Jamie, can you hear us?" Alistair asked. Nababahala na rin siya habang hawak-hawak ang pulso ng kasama namin. "Can you hear us? Can you hear us? Please nod if you still can. Please, Jamie?"
Marahan siyang tumango sa amin at bumukas ang bibig. "I... am... sor...ry."
"If you want to correct your mistake, there is another way!" Loki told her. He's losing his cool as well. "Taking your life is not the solution!"
Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Jamie at tila nag-focus ang kanyang mga pupil. I don't know whether to feel relieved or not with her reaction. Hangga't hindi siya nadadala sa ospital, hindi ako basta-basta mapapanatag. Hindi mawawala ang kaba sa aking dibdib.
"She's still responsive so that's a good sign!" Alistair commented. He raised her arm above her chest. "Let's hope that she receives immediate medical attention. We've already done what we could to stop or slow down the bleeding."
Parang mas intense pa 'to sa bomb threat case na na-solve namin ilang buwan na ang nakararaan. It's a race against time. Literally! Every second, every minute that passes really counts.
Thankfully the ambulance arrived just in time. Ako na ang sumundo sa kanila sa baba at iginuide sila sa rooftop. Students became curious as to why medical responders were running with me along the hallway. But I didn't care about them. I had no time for them!
Pagkarating namin sa rooftop, they carefully lifted Jamie to the stretcher and brought her to the ground floor. Sumunod kaming tatlo sa kanila. We were met with questioning gazes as to what happened, but we didn't have time to explain to them. We don't have to explain anything to them.
Sumakay kami sa ambulansya patungong ospital at binantayan si Jamie hanggang sa mabigyan siya ng agarang medical attention. She was unconscious in a hospital bed. They removed the strips of cloth around her wrist and changed them with clean bandages.
Nang sabihin sa amin ng doktor na okay na ang kanyang kalagayan, doon pa lang ako nakahinga nang maluwag.
I couldn't stop thanking God for giving us a chance to save her life. Kung may nangyaring masama sa kanya, hindi ko alam kung ano ang gagawin at kung ano ang mararamdaman ko. She may have lied or hidden the truth from us, but she's still our friend. At this very moment, her survival was the only thing that mattered to me.
My consciousness snapped back to the present when Jamie opened her eyes and cast a glance around. Nakapalibot kaming tatlo sa kanya at binati siya ng malawak na ngiti pagkabaling ng kanyang tingin sa amin. Even Loki wiped that grim look off his face. He wasn't smiling, but he looked glad.
For the past few days, dito muna kami nakitulog nina Loki at Alistair. Mabuti't may mga bakanteng kuwarto pa sa kanyang bahay kaya may nagsilbi kaming pansamantalang matutuluyan. Malugod kaming winelcome ni Aling Dolores at tinulungan kami sa mga kailangan namin.
Just because we saved her from bleeding out doesn't mean she's already safe. We feared that she might hurt herself again. Mas mabuti na kung nasa tabi niya kami para i-cheer up siya at bantayan ang kanyang kalagayan. I even skipped one whole day of class just to be with her.
She was there for me before. I should be here for her now.
"Knock, knock!"
Kumatok sa pinto ng kuwarto si Aling Dolores na sumilip mula sa labas. We all turned to her.
"Ating nagpapabigay nito sa hinyo," sabi niya sabay abot ng hawak niyang envelope sa akin. "Indi nagpakilala kung sino, basta iniwan na lang 'yan sa akin. Para sa hinyo raw."
Naningkit ang mga mata ko sa hawak kong envelope. The timing was strange. Why would someone send this to us? And why here? Alam ba ng sender na nandito kami? Well, obviously. Kaya nga dito niay ipinadala.
I searched for any name or hint on who might have sent this, but I saw nothing. The surface was blank.
Iniangat ko ang aking tingin kina Loki at Alistair na agad lumapit sa akin. Maging si Jamie ay napatingin sa direksyon namin. Sinubukan niyang bumangon upang tingnan kung ano ang nilalaman nito.
I lifted the flap and slowly took out a card.
To the esteemed members of the QED Club,
You are cordially invited to the last full show of the game.
It is about time for the curtains to fall and for the cast to take their final bow.
Could it be from Moriarty? Or from someone else?
I searched for any signature on the card, but there was also none. Malakas ang kutob kong may kinalaman 'to sa Moriarty case. There's only one game we're playing at the moment. And it's a dangerous game.
Sinilip ko ang envelope dahil parang may laman pa ito. I took out four rectangular cards and showed them to my friends. Those were tickets to a cruise ship named "Dreamhill."
"What a coincidence," Loki chuckled, showing us a wry smile. "The name of this ship, Dreamhill, is an anagram for the Norse god Heimdallr. He and my namesake trickster god were foretold to kill each other during the Ragnarok. And they did."
For a moment, I stared at him as if his words were ominous.
I have a bad feeling about this.
q.e.d.
A/N: And there you have it, the end of Chapter 49! Can you believe it? We're now down to only ONE final chapter. One final battle to win. One final equation to solve.
The stage is set. The curtains are about to fall. Our characters will soon take their last bow.
I'm pleased to announce that Project LOKI Volume 3 will end on DECEMBER 30, 2020.
I will take a break for a week to prepare for the finale and give some readers the time to catch up. The beginning of the end will start on December 20 or onwards.
See you all in...
If you've enjoyed reading this update, share your thoughts or theories on Twitter using the hashtag #ProjectLOKI!
Please avoid directly mentioning the names of characters that can be considered spoilers. Again: Reaction posts, memes, and GIFs are okay, as long as they do not give away the context.