Scene of the Crime Detectives

1.2

A boy at the Betelgeuse section raised his hand. "Ms. Fuentebella, can I ask question?" The teacher nodded. "Are there any evidence or any suspicious object located at the crime scene?"

"Good question, Mr. Del Fuego." Ms. Fuentebella smiled. "There are suspicious things, as said by Mr. Del Fuego, found at the crime scene. CAT officers will now put the evidences inside. Evidences found are named: trash bin, picture of the crime scene, lubid at isang heater."

May isa na namang tao ang nagtaas ng kaniyang kamay. Galing naman siya sa Centaurus. "Yes, Mr. Sayson?"

"What's the position of the victim when she was killed?" tanong ng lalaki na naka-poker face. He looked like he was not interested but is still going with the flow of the activity.

"Nakasabit siya sa itaas gamit ang lubid na nakagapos sa kahoy na nasa taas ng kanilang bahay. Walang nakitang upuan o kahit na anong bagay na pwedeng apakan ng biktima kaya maituturing itong murder at hindi suicide," paliwanag pa ni Ms. Fuentebella. "I believe everything is clear. Can we now start the deduction showdown?"

"Yes, ma’am," sabay-sabay na ani ng mga estudyante.

"Siya nga pala, bibigyan ko kayo ng fifteen minutes to observe the evidences, maging ang bangkay ng biktima… and the timer starts now," Ms. Fuentebella continued. "As the activity started, only those who want to tell their deductions will be greatly appreciated."

Agad akong tumayo mula sa aking kinauupuan. I can smell something's fishy, e. Inuusig ako ng sarili ko na hindi ito murder, isa itong suicide. Yet, it wasn't still clear kasi hindi ko pa na-a-assure.

Pumunta ako sa lubid. Sinuri ko nang maayos ang lubid. There was still traces of blood na sa tingin ko galing sa leeg ng biktima. Nagawi ang tingin ko sa leeg ng biktima, it is now violet. Siguro dahil sa sobrang higpit ng pakakagapos.

On the other side, there was a receipt from a known supermarket. Ang mga binili ng bumili ay isang kilo ng ice cubes, alcoholic beverage at isang pack ng katinko.

I directly went to the heater. In-open ko ang heater at gumagana pa ito. It's a bit suspicious since summer last month so anong ginagawa niya sa heater? Mysterious.

Pinuntahan ko ang picture ng crime scene. It was printed on a tarpaulin kaya medyo malaki ang litrato na parang nandoon ka na rin sa crime scene. Typical crime scene na rin naman ito, madugo, madumi. Pero one thing got my attention, below where the victim was found, may nakita akong traces of liquid.

"Fifteen minutes is over!" sigaw ni Ms. Fuentebella at pinabalik kami sa aming dating inuupuan. "Who wants to formally start the deduction show?"

A man raised his hand. "Hi, I am Ceasar Del Fuego, from XI- Betelgeuse," he initiated. "When I first saw the victim, I was convinced that it is murder, but as I look at the evidence, nagbago ang isip ko, it was suicide."

"What made you think so?" tanong ni Ms. Fuentebella.

"Base sa crime scene, I deduced that she's the one who bought the bottle of beer and all from the supermarket. Mukhang depressed na siya before pa man siya mag-suicide." The guy adjusted his glasses to his wants. "Though it may not be assured, I think it’s a good ground to formally start the deduction show.”

"So are you saying that she's depressed kaya siya nag-sucide?" Tanong ni Ms. Fuentebella at tumango si Mr. Del Fuego. "Is that a heavy evidence to tell that she killed herself and not that she was killed by the suspects?"

Magsasalita pa sana si Mr. Del Fuego but tumayo ang isa sa Centaurus. "It's not but I agree to what Mr. Del Fuego has just said. By the way, I'm Sofronio Velasquez."

"Same question, Mr. Velasquez. What made you think so?"

"Una kong in-analyze ang pagkakatali ng lubid and I saw something doubtful about sa pagkakatali ng lubid sa leeg niya. The knot is made palabas sa biktima. If a murderer would do the said crime, ang gagawin niya ay paloob ang knot para mas masakit sa biktima. That is one tactic of a murderer to successfully kill a victim na nalaman ko this vacation," said by Mr. Velasquez

"Hmm, nice observation. Pero ano sa tingin ninyo ang koneksiyon ng krimen sa heater?" tanong ni Ms. Fuentebella. A girl with a genuine smile from Betelguese raised her hand.

"I'm Irene Adler De Morgan," said the girl and flashed a smile. Tila ba nahalina ang mga lalaking nasa loob ng gym. "Siguro po ma'am, gumamit ng heater ang biktima as she killed her own self para mas padaliin ang kamatayan niya. We all know that last month is summer, it’s hot and adding more heat will surely suffocate her, idagdag pa ang pagkakahigpit ng lubid sa leeg niya."

She then flashed a smile. Nagpalakpakan naman ang mga tao na kanina'y bored na bored na. Her style of speaking is damn sexy, how I wish I was like her.

"Does that mean you're agreeing to the statements given by your batchmates?" Ms. Fuentebella asked.

"Yes." She answered. "I won't deny my answers and I won't push this case as murder."

"Nice observation, Ms. De Morgan," our teacher then gazed her eyes on our section. "What about Andromeda? Masyado ata kayong tahimik. Can someone tell me how did she hang herself if wala naman doong pwedeng matapakan. I am actually expecting a lot more from your section…"

Maybe it's time to boost my self-confidence. I raised my hand. "Oh, sure Ms. Corpuz, the transferee girl." Wow, she even has the guts to give me that title, huh?

"I agree to what they said and I am here standing in front of y'all to tell some addendum," I said. "By the way, I'm Mary Russell Corpuz, the so-called transferee girl from Andromeda." There's a sudden commotion from my batch mates. I did not give them even a single glance and just looked directly to our teacher at our center.

"Yes Ms. Corpuz, ano pang idadagdag mo?" tanong ni Ms. Fuentebella.

"Just like what they said, I agree that it's suicide. But to be particular, it is a suicide attempted to look like a murder." My batchmates made a noise because of shock. "It may be a shocking observation but I think it’s a more based ground for this case."

"Bakit naman iyon gagawin ng biktima?"

A man from Centaurus stood up to speak. "I'm JD Sayson and I agree to Ms. Corpuz about what she said regarding the suicide attempted to look like a murder," aniya. "It's because she is depressed and she want someone to be blamed for her death, right? And because of the said reasons of the suspects, she thought that all of them may be suspected to be one responsible for her death. Unlucky for her, I already knew her tactics."

"If it's true, then what's your evidence na magpapatunay sa suspetiya ninyo? How did she execute her suicide?" tanong na naman ng teacher namin. I raised my hand for the second time around.

"As I can see sa crime scene, sa ibaba kung saan niya isinabit ang sarili niya was traces of water. What suspicious is how can she step on water para mabitin ang sarili niya sa itaas? The answer is make water into its solid state which is ice. Kaya siya bumili ng ice cube na makikita natin sa resibo. Bago siya tumapak sa ice cube ay binuksan niya muna ang heater para mapadali ang pagtunaw at pagtuyo ng tubig sa lupa, but what Ms. De Morgan said is somehow true, to more suffocate herself at mas mapadali ang death niya. Meron din siyang alcoholic beverage dahil, like what Mr. Sayson said, she is depressed. She also bought katinko to lessen the pain she is experiencing pero naisip niya nga 'yung plano kaya napagpasiyahan niyang magpakamatay na lamang. What Mr. Del Fuego and Mr. Velasquez said are also true. 'Di rin nasabi ni Mr. Sayson na may galit din ang ating biktima sa apat na suspek na kinasusuklaman din siya, inisip niyang pabigat lang siya so she decided to just kill herself. The reason why she was depressed and kaya hindi niya nasusuwelduhan ang mga employee niya ay dahil nabankrupt ang kaniyang business, nabasa ko ito sa isang article sa isang newspaper last month."

Everyone was still silent nang matapos akong magsalita. Am I wrong about my deductions? Sabi na nga ba't dapat hindi nalang sana ako nagsalita, e.

"Excellent, Ms. Corpuz," ani Ms. Fuentebella then she clapped. Everyone maging ang mga estudyanteng nagsalita't nakatayo kanina ay nagsipalakpakan din. I felt uncomfortable. I hate this feeling. "Excellent to the five of you! Congrats to the five of you for solving this case!"

The bell then rang. Thanks, bell! Thanks for saving me! Everyone is now preparing to go back to the classroom. Kampante naman na ako na pagbalik sa classroom, mawawala na ang fame na dulot ng deduction showdown kaya ayos na 'yon.

Dala-dala ko na ang binder at ballpen ko at ready nang lumabas nang muling magsalita si Ms. Fuentebella. "Mr. Sayson, Mr. Del Fuego, Mr. Velasquez, Ms. De Morgan and Ms. Corpuz, go to the principal's office immediately. Everyone except those students I said, you can now go back to your respected classroom. Goodbye."

I knotted my eyebrows. Did I do something wrong? Bakit ako pinapapunta sa principal's office? Will I have a record in just the first day?

The girl with the genuine smile approached me. "Hi, I'm Irene Adler De Morgan. I'm so impressed of your deduction skills! I want to be your friend." Ngumiti lang ako sa kaniya at tinanggap ang kaniyang kamay.

"I'm Mary Russell Corpuz. Hi," tipid kong sagot sa kaniya.

"Sabay na tayong pumunta sa office. Alam mo I'm wondering din kung bakit tayo pinatawag dun. Nag-deduce lang naman tayo, hindi 'yun krimen! Pero don't worry, 'di naman terror principal natin..." at ang dami niya pang sinabi habang naglalakad kami papuntang principal's office.