DECODE

CHAPTER 2; The Lost Body

ASHER

A week have past since the last time I solved the last crime committed in our campus. That is also the time, my dream club, DECODE club was founded. My club already have two members, and that's me and Zay Winter Shin. I chose her to be a part of my club because of the wit she showed me in Nicole Ayala murder case. She has this usage in the club that, I'm sure, will be a big help for me to serve the purpose of this club.

The last subject in the morning period ended as the bell rang and echoed all around the campus. This signals that it is already lunch time. I arranged my things inside my bag and stand up from my seat. I saw Zay stood up too.

"Let's lunch together." I told her. She eyed me with a questioning look.

"Is that necessary?" she asked. I shrugged.

"Well, I think, we should stick to each other more often since we are from the same club, especially you're my vice." I said. We went outside our classroom and follow the pool of students walking towards the cafeteria.

"First of all, you just recruited me out of nowhere. It is not my choice. Secondly, I have may friends to eat with." Zay said. I look at her.

"Well, I think, you already gasp the system here. You are far from the shy girl I first saw you. Okay then. Eat well!" I said and left her there. I went to the other hallway instead to the hallway that leads to the cafeteria. I went directly to the abandoned building that is now officially my clubroom.

The signage on the door saying DECODE Club greeted me when I reached my clubroom. I opened the door and enter the room. The whole place looks like a brand new room. The place now have it's decent desk and chairs. But my favorite swivel chair behind my desk is still there.

I checked the drawers of the desk. They replaced the old teacher's desk to a new desk that is much more pleasing in the eyes than the old one. There is also another table in center of the room. The bulletin boards were still there, as well as the old whiteboard. Hayst, how great is this feeling having your dream fulfilled.

I sit on my swivel chair and decided to let time pass inside my clubroom. I took out my phone. I already made a f******k page for my club. This page will serve as the online site for our club where students can post their problems where they need help. In this page also, I post the updates about my club. I post blogs about DECODE club. And so far, I already posted two blogs. They were about the James Luz strangulation case and Nicole Ayala's murder case.

I smiled upon visiting the f******k page of DECODE club. There were likes and positive comments from our schoolmates. Also, they started posting their problems, although not mysterious enough, gave joy to my heart as I know they acknowledge the club I have made. I give possible solutions to their problems as long as I can.

I am busy dealing with the problems of other students that were posted in our f******k page when a knock echoed inside the clubroom. My eyes left my phone as I look at the door.

"Come in!" I shouted. The door flew opened and Zay greeted me as she is gasping for air. Beside him is a lady, also gasping for air. I stand up from my seat and walk to them.

"What's the matter? You seemed came from a long run." I eyed both of them. Until I noticed the sleeves of the girl standing beside Zay.

"Is that blood?" I asked. The lady frantically nodded.

"Y-Yes. P-Princess...she's bleeding in our room!" she exclaimed. I was shocked hearing the news.

"Where's your classroom?" I immediately asked as I closed the door of the clubroom from the outside. Zay answered my question.

"They're from 11-D." she said. We immediately run toward class 11-D. We reached the classroom within five minutes. I immediately enter the classroom, expecting to see a body, lying on the floor. But instead, I saw group of students and teachers crowding inside.

"Miss Jimenez, what foolishness is this?" Mr. Orson asked upon seeing the lady who's beside Zay. She moved forward to look around the classroom. She clasped her mouth when she found no bloody body lying inside the room, just spilled foods. Her eyes widened in horror and shock as she glance to each and everyone of us.

"B-Believe me! I-I saw her bleeding on the floor! Look! Here's her blood when I went to help her! I really saw Princess bleeding here!" the lady said as she showed us the bloody sleeve of hers. The faculty members seems fuming in rage as they listen to her. I scan the whole place to see if what she say is true.

I carefully walk around the classroom as they all talk with the lady who claimed she saw someone called Princess, lying here in a bloody mess. I move the chairs that is everywhere in the room for me to be able to see if something is there. I am moving the fifth chair when my eyes found something under the chair. It's a knife, with blood on its blade!

"Mr. Orson, I think, she's saying the truth." I told them. They all fell silent as they divert their gazes to me.

"What do you mean, Mr. Monteverde?" Mr. Orson asked. I look at him.

"I think, what this lady say is true. I found something that can support her claim that she saw someone in here in a bloody mess." I told them. I took out my handkerchief and use it to cover my hands to prevent destroying the potential evidence as I take the knife from under the chair. Their eyes widened upon seeing the knife in my hand.

"D-Don't tell me, another crime was committed in my campus?!" Mr. Orson said fuming. I nodded.

"It seems so, professor. Based in this knife, that seems the case here. But the thing now is, where is the body?" I asked as I scanned the whole place. The classroom is so clean, it's not in a mess state. My brows knitted upon realizing that fact.

"Yes. If that's the case, where is the body?" Mrs. Eryan asked.

"I-I don't know. I-I just found her there, lying on the floor, bleeding. S-She asked me to call for help. I don't know where she is now. I don't know!" the lady said, crying as she look at everyone of us with wide eyes, begging for us to believe her. I nodded.

"If that so, we must have your full account of what did you found out here earlier. Mr. Orson, call for the police. They must do some searches for the body. Missy, come with me in our clubroom. I want to hear your full account of the situation in detailed narration." I told them. Mr. Orson did not object on my decision so we immediately went out the crime scene.

"And, one more thing. Mr. Orson, lock the door of this room to prevent students going in and out of it. They might destroy some potential evidences in the crime scene." I said as I took the bloody knife with my handkerchief-covered hand and wrap it inside a sheet of paper to keep. Zay and the lady followed me outside toward our clubroom.

As we walk toward the clubroom of our club, DECODE, my mind is wandering about this sudden event. What happened to the body of the lady this girl is claiming to be seen in that room in a bloody mess? Is she telling the truth? We must hear her accounts about this case. I'm sure, we can learn more if we hear her accounts about this.

I was stopped in my trance as I heard clicks from somewhere near us. I turn around to look to Zay and the lady with her. Her brows knitted upon my questioning her about the clicks.

"What are you saying? No one is taking pictures of us. No one has camera here.." she said. I shrugged then continue walking toward our clubroom.

We arrived at our clubroom after a few minutes. I opened the door and let them in. Zay guided the crying lady on a chair beside the table in the middle of the room. I went to get my own chair and sat across the lady. Zay sat beside me.

"So, we need to hear your full account about this matter. It seems you saw a crime. You discovered a grievous crime. But it happens we don't have time to see it for ourselves. You're the only person, at this rate, that is able to describe the situation you discovered earlier. And we must hear it, from you." I said as I gaze directly to her eyes. She's still sobbing as she look at both of us.

"I-I don't know what really happened. As I have said many times already, I just found her lying in the room, bleeding." she said, as she shiver. I just look at her.

"Tell us your full account of the story. How you happened to see the body earlier and anything more than can light some darkness in this story." Zay told her. I whispered to her that it's better for her to be beside her as she tell the story. She can record the story for us. And also, she can comfort her as she's shivering on her seat, which Zay did.

"I-I am Reiko Ayosen, from 11-D. The girl I found earlier is my classmate Princess Riza Aleno. She is my seatmate and somehow, a friend of mine already. She's cheerful and jolly. But not today. She seems not in her own self. Earlier this morning, she seems always in deep thoughts." she started. I just listen to her story attentively. I can see Zay's phone on the table between us, probably recording her narration.

"Out of herself? How do you say so?" Zay asked. I watch Reiko intently as she narrate to us everything she know.

"She's not talking to anyone. She isn't in the mood to do anything. And I always find her in trance. She didn't join me in breaktime which is odd for she is always with us during breaks. I really believed she was bothered by something." Reiko answered.

"You discovered the body at lunchtime right? What happened to her after first break to lunch?" I asked. She look at me with those teary eyes of hers. She sob first before answering.

"She went back to the classroom crying." Reiko answered. My brows knitted upon hearing her answer.

"She's crying?" I asked, again. She nodded.

"Yes. Although she's trying to hide it from us, I'm sure she's crying." she repeated.

"How do you say so?"

"Her shoulders heaved as she sob. We can also hear her faint sobs and sniffs. And when she tried to reach for her scarf, we saw her eyes wet in tears." she described. I nodded in satisfaction in her answer.

"Pray continue." I said and let her talk again as I listen to her.

"The class resumed and after a while, she excused herself that she doesn't feel well and needed to go to the clinic. She was excused until we had our lunch." Reiko narrated. My brows knitted upon hearing this part of her story.

"You mean, after breaktime, you just saw her went back to your class, crying, then after that, left for clinic. Is that correct?" I asked. Reiko nodded. I glance at Zay beside her. She's thinking intently too upon hearing her narration. Reiko continued.

"Then we all went to have lunch. I ate with my friends in the cafeteria. But I needed to come back to the classroom earlier than them for I needed to finish something. That is when I saw her lying, bleeding on the floor." Reiko narrated. I raised a question to her.

"Did you see anyone in the room?"

"None. It was just me and her in the room. Then she reached out her hand to me which I immediately attended and she spoke something. She told me a name." my eyes went to slit upon hearing that part.

"What did she tell you?" I asked, eager to hear the part she will say.

"Marco. She said Marco and she asked me to call for help which I immediately did. I called the faculty then went directly to your club for I know your club can help." she said. I think carefully at what she had just told me.

So, the lady, who they called Princess, is acting strange the whole time before the crime. And when this lady, Reiko, discovered her body, she told her a name, a very important name, Marco. If that's the case, we must see and have a short talk with someone named Marco.

"The food spilled there is yours, right? You bumped it?" Zay asked.

"I am not sure for I'm panicking that I don't have time to notice such things." Reiko answered. I eyed her from head to toe. My forehead curled upon noticing something on her. But I shrugged it. I must put my whole percent of focus in this strange crime.

"Do you know who this Marco is? The one Princess told you when you discovered her?" I asked. Reiko nodded at me.

"Yes. He is Marco Natividad, a varsity player. I believe there is something going on between him and Princess. But, I heard they are having misunderstandings and such." Reiko said. I noticed she already calmed down from her sobbing.

"Okay. We must have a look on that Marco Natividad. I can say he's somewhat connected on this case since Princess spoked his name when you saw her. He might know where the body is. By the way, do you know Princess' roommates?" I asked Reiko. She nodded.

"Yes. Donabel Lucracia and Mikhaela Bendicion." I nodded.

"I think, our questioning to you ends here. Thank you for your help. I'm sure, through everything you have told us, we will shed some light in this dark mystery. Thank you." I told Reiko and stand up from my seat. She stood up too. I shook hands with her and Zay guided her outside. When she have left the clubroom, Zay went back to me as I pace back and forth in front of her again as I think about the case.

"Something is off about this case. The bloody lady said, she was stabbed that made her bleed. But, the only mess in that room is the spilled food. That doesn't make sense to me." I told Zay. She's sitting in front of me and is in deep thought too. My mind made up a decision. And I voiced out that decision to Zay.

"Zay, find and talk to the roommates of Princess. They might light some part of this mystery. I will go see Marco. He's now the prime suspect in this case. I will have a short talk with him. Also, give that recording and knife to Inspector Marcus. I'm sure he's already at the crime scene. Let's meet here after one hour." I told Zay. She nodded to me and we both left the clubroom. We went in different directions as I'm about to go to the clinic.

I arrived at the clinic and went directly to the nurse assigned to our school. She's Ms. Janet Dadoria, the head nurse and the only nurse in our campus too. She's known for her modesty and charming personality in our school.

"Hello Nurse Janet." I greeted her at her desk. She looked up to me and nod slightly to me. I continued.

"May I ask if someone named Princess Riza Aleno went here earlier? Around ten in the morning?" I asked. Ms. Janet asked me to wait as she scan her logbook.

"Aha! Princess Riza Aleno, entered at ten-ten and left the clinic at ten-twenty, headache." she said as she smiled at me. I nodded. She went here at ten-ten and left at ten-twenty. She spent only ten minutes of time here. Hmm...

"Thank you, nurse!" I said and immediately left the clinic. I am now taking the path towards the gymnasium of the campus. I heard the varsity is already conducting tryouts and trainings for the upcoming district meet competition. I'm sure, I can see Marco here.

I entered the gymnasium and saw group of men sitting on the bench. One of them had his towel cover his head as he look down the floor. The other players, tapping him on his shoulders. I think, that guy is Marco Natividad, the man I am looking for.

I went to them and they all look at me. I just ignored their look and call the man I am here for.

"Who's Marco Natividad here?" I asked. The towel-hooded man, lifted his face to meet my gaze. He stood up in front of me. He's as tall as me, well-built and have shaves on his face. His dark eyes look directly to my cool, cold stares.

"That's me, why?" he asked, his voice cracked upon answering.

"Can I talk to you, in private?" I asked him as I eyed his teammates. I saw their jaw clenched as my gaze pass to them. I just ignore them and walk away from them. Marco followed behind.

"Why do we need to talk? What are we going to talk about?" he asked. I stood in front of him and say directly to his teary eyes the reason I'm here.

"You're the prime suspect in the case of Princess. The lady spoke your name before her body disappeared. We have witness to that. What can you say about that?" I said. His eyes widened upon my words.

"Me?! How come I became a suspect on something that I am not aware of?" he said in a loud voice. I saw his teammates stand up from their seats upon hearing his voice.

"Look, that's why I'm here. I want to know what you're doing around nine-thirty to eleven-thirty, lunch, and what happened to your relationship with Princess?" I said. He was taken aback by my questions. But he still answered.

"I'm here the whole day so far. We're training for the next game and we don't have time to chill. I'm with my teammates the whole time. They can verify my words for you." Marco said. I nodded at his answer.

"What about your relationship with her?" he took a while, hesitating to answer my question. But in the end, he answered.

"Well, she found me kissing other woman. I am drunk that time. I tried to make amends but she refused listening to me. She always claim she gave everything to me yet I broke her heart and trust. She refuse my sorry. I love her so much, but she's in the verge of cutting our relationship. She told me she's going to transfer to other school, far away from me. I love her so much, and I regret the day I drunk that beer that cost me her heart and trust." he said.

"She's planning to left the school?"

"Yes. She's already decided about that. She's about to leave on Friday. But this happened. It was a shock really that it happened to her. But I just hope justice would be served for her." he said and started to cry. I just look at him. But the next happenings surprised me as they occur.

Inspector Marcus Marion, together with three constables, marched inside the gymnasium. Their eyes were searching something. He walked to me upon seeing me on the other side of the court.

"Asher! Finally, I found you. I just want to thank you for the recording that you have while interviewing Reiko. It really helped a lot in solving the case." Inspector Marcus said. My brows knitted upon hearing his remarks.

"You already solved the case?" I asked. He nodded with a smile.

"Yes. We solved it first before you this time. The culprit is none other than Marco Natividad. The owner of this." he said and lifted a transparent plastic bag where a shoe was in there. My eyes narrowed into slits upon seeing the shoe in the ziplock. I saw bloodstains in the sole of the shoe. I heard a gasp beside me. I turned and saw Marco, with wide eyes staring at the shoe.

"W-Where did you get that?!" he asked. Inspector Marcus chuckled.

"Where else? Of course in the crime scene. We found it under a chair. The most intriguing part on this shoe is not the owner, but the bloodstain we found on its sole. It matches the blood present on the knife." the inspector said. I was taken aback by that discovery of them.

"Are you certain about that?" I asked. He nodded.

"If you will think about it, the building where the class 11-D is located is just in front of this gymnasium. It is not a hard task to execute a murder plan.." Inspector Mar said. I fell in deep thought.

"We solved it first this time, Ash. Constables, handcuff him already. We'll bring him to our headquarters. We have so much questioning to do, especially for us to know where the body is." the constable held Marco by the side. The man was shocked to this sudden turn of events.

"I did nothing wrong!I'm innocent! I do not know what you are talking about! Believe me! I lost that shoe some days ago! Please, believe me!" Marco shouted as he was dragged outside the gymnasium. Inspector Marcus tapped me on my shoulder.

"Is there a toilet here?" he asked. I pointed to the cr nearest to us. I was deep in thought again. Is Marco the real killer of Princess Aleno? Is this how it ends?

"Ash, is there any other toilet here? Those you told me were out of order, both male and female toilets." I pointed to the other cr here in the gym. I was still in deep thought when Zay appeared.

"Ash! I heard they already took Marco. Is this case solved?" she asked. I shook my head. It's not the end.

"I am not convinced that this case was solved already. What did Princess' roommates told you?" I asked.

"Well, I found out that last night, they saw Princess, arranging her things in a bag, packing things for she said she's leaving. It seems connected to her breakup with Marco. That–"

"Aha! Yes, that's right! Now, I see how it happened!" I exclaimed upon realizing the whole case that made her stop. I pace back and forth again as I fit every pieces of this puzzle. I see it now. That's how it happened!

★★★

It was already eight-thirty in the evening as I sit in front of the 11-D classroom. I was sitting, my back leaning behind a pillar when I heard noises coming from the front of the building. A smirk formed on my lips. I heard footsteps walking away. Now, it's checkmate.

"You need help? You're carrying too much." I said as I stand up from my hiding place. The footsteps stopped.

"Good evening, Princess." I said as I flashed a smirk to her. She turned to me. The moon shine above us.

"W-Who are you? A-And how did you–"

"The show is finish already. I already see through all those lies you set on us." I told her. I can see her saddening face under the moonshine.

"At first, I thought, the case was a real one. But upon seeing the crime scene where you were suppose to be lying, I started to have doubts about it. The crime scene was so clean. Not the expected crime scene for a stabbing case. Not even a single blood was there, just the spilled foods. I'm sure the killer don't have to clean his mess if ever he did killed you. From that, I started to think there's something more behind it.

"Then, slowly, truth revealed itself. You purposely tell Reiko the name of your boyfriend for us to divert our attention to him. And then ask her to call for help for her to leave. And when she's away, you immediately execute your plan and abandoned the classroom, where in the process, you bumped the food that made it spill on the floor. That's why there is that smudge on your shoe.

"You also planted the shoe of Marco to pin him more in this planned act. But the thing that made me believe his innocence is that, instead of the smudge of food, we found bloodstain on his shoe. First, he's not that dumb to leave his shoe after he committed a murder, and secondly, there's no blood on the crime scene where he can step on and made that bloodstained shoe.

"And after that, you went hiding. Hindi gaano katagal ang pagdating ng tulong. Walang kahit na sinong nakakita sa'yo. That means you hid near the fake crime scene. And the nearest possible place for you to hide is in the "Out of Order" cr in the gymnasium. I thought I should catch you there on the spot upon my realization of the case, but I thought it would be better if you will come out on your own there. That's why, I waited here until you went out your hiding place. You planned to run away after you got your revenge to Marco, am I right?" I told her. She kept quiet. And then, she started to laugh.

"I forgot that our campus has a detective that is very efficient and cleverl. I was wrong in thinking that I can outsmart and fool everyone. I was wrong." she said as she look directly to my eyes. I just look at her.

"But still, you can't do anything to stop me leaving. Marco will rot in jail." she said. I chuckled.

"Really?" I said. And lights started to appear everywhere the dark place. I saw her surprised expression on her face. I smirked at her. Police started to arrive.

"Well, I think, I made a better plan for you." I said as Inspector Marcus marched toward Princess Riza Aleno, the mastermind of this fake murder case.

"Thank you, Ash. You saved us from this embarrassing situation." Inspector Mar told me. I just smiled to him and nodded.

★★★

My mind wanders to who this person who posted a blog about the latest case I have solved. There were also pictures there, together with the story. I was tapping my laptop as I read the post.

DecodeMeNot...

Who's this guy?

I started typing on my keyboard to post a comment on the post.

We need a blogger. Come at once in our clubroom. I want to know you.

I posted the comment. And after a few seconds, there was already a reply.

Goodness! I'm coming, sir.

Then, a knock echoed in the room...