Deception

Chapter 6

    She could hear the people making their critiques on the photograph in front of her. She was sure that nobody would have thought that this picture was taken from a real scenario. People must have had been amazed at the quality and realism evoked in it. But for her, it was a nightmare ready to take over her waking hours. 

    Eli’s face wasn’t recognizable in it because of the certain angle that the picture was taken from. Only a part of Eli’s head and her dangling arms were exposed but the photograph captured the whole bathroom setting— the pills on the floor, the blood dripping from her arms, the water running from the faucet and the post it note taped on the mirror. Her heart was beating so loud that it was becoming hard for her to concentrate. She needed to calm herself and find Kris, she thought. 

    Upon walking around the gallery, she saw Kris standing beside Alan. The two were talking to some people, maybe a few VIPs. She released a shaky breath before she approached them. She realized that they were talking about promotions, but she couldn’t wait any further.

    “Kris, hey. Can I excuse you for a minute? Please,” she asked as she glanced apologetically towards the audience. Kris got the hint of urgency and worry on her voice that she decided to step out of the conversation.

    Lee led Kris towards the photograph and asked, “I need to clarify something so please don’t be offended. Whose works are these?”

    “Most are mine, and some were collaborative works from other artists and photographers. Why?”

    “Did you check all of them before they were displayed? Do you know the owner of each?” By now Lee was practically dragging Kris across the gallery.

    “You’re not making any sense Lee. Yes, I checked the displays. And I hired three more curators for all the submissions. Look, if you are bothered by some pictures, I’d understand. But don’t make a big issue here,” she whispered while smiling towards the guests that they passed by.

    “I am disturbed Kris. Particularly with this photograph,” Lee said in response while pointing at the picture.

    Kris glanced at it and inspected it. At first, she didn’t understand what Lee wanted to imply. So she looked at Lee questioningly.

    “The bathroom. I know you’ve been in Eli’s house more than I have been, so you would recognize it!” Lee said with her voice cracking. She prayed that she was just hallucinating, that Kris would laugh it off as a mistake. But when Kris looked at it again, Lee knew that she was correct. Kris gasped as she understood what Lee meant.

    “Oh god. Oh god. Don’t tell me…” 

    “We need to talk in private,” Lee suggested when she saw that Kris had become shaky.

    They went inside the girl’s bathroom and made sure that the all the cubicles were empty.

    “I swear, Lee. That was the first time that I saw that photograph,” Kris said as she racked her brain for anything that she might recall. “That was not one of the submissions. And I remember the lay-out of the gallery. That was supposed to be Mr. Galeno’s space to hang his entry. I don't understand what's happening.”

    “We need to call the police. I think you should get the list of all the artists who placed their entry,” Lee made the suggestion as she grabbed her phone to dial detective Anton’s number.

    “Ok. Oh god. What if… what if the killer’s here?” Kris asked Lee with her eyes wide in fear. Her fear radiated towards Lee but she kept her mind rational.

    “Breathe with me Kris," Lee advised and the two seemed to calm down a little bit. "We have security guards around. And there are a lot of people. I don’t think he’ll attack with all this much witnesses. What we need to do is to inform the police of this situation. This could be a lead in their investigation."

    Right after the funeral, Detective Garcia asked for the statements of the victim’s immediate family and closest friends. He had also interviewed the neighbors for anything that they might have observed. Still, his information were lacking. He sighed as he stared into his notes because he was going nowhere with it. He was ready to wrap everything up when his phone rang. 

    Huh, it was Lee. He hoped that this was just a social call and not business.

    “Hello, detective?” Lee inquired on the other end. 

    Ah, this was purely business, he thought. “Lee, how can I help you?”

    “Kris and I need to talk to you. It’s really urgent,” she said. She gave the detective the address of the gallery. On the other hand, he told them to wait for about twenty minutes. During the waiting time, Kris instructed the security team to guard the photograph and to take the background information of all the people who come and go.

    “Babe, where have you been? I talked to some investors and they were asking for you,” Alan asked with slight irritation as he approached Kris and Lee.

    “I’m sorry. Something really bad happened.” Before Kris could explain what was happening Lee interrupted her to inform that Anton was already inside the building.

    “The detective? What does he have to do here?” Alan asked.

    “We’ll fill you in once detective Garcia is here,” Lee answered curtly.

    “Why not now? It seems that trouble follows you around Lee and right now, I don't like how we are getting involved,” he replied with a very suspicious tone. Lee just chose to remain quiet because she could feel that Kris was seconds away from bursting. She felt bad because this supposed to be Kris’ event, a celebration of her success. Instead, it became the source of their anxiety and fear.

    The three of them waited for Anton outside the gallery. When Lee spotted him, she sighed in relief that the detective was wearing casual clothes. If he wore his uniform and badge, it would alert the guests. The least they could do was try not to ruin the event so they had to be as subtle as possible.

    Lee explained what was happening while Anton and Alan took everything in. They were huddled in the corner of the corridor, all using hushed tones. Then Kris led the detective to the photograph for an ocular inspection, while Lee and Alan just stayed near the entrance to observe any suspicious activity.

    “I’ve asked Kris for the list of all the people involved— from artists, curators, hired contractors, up to the guests,” Anton explained as he neared Lee. He offered her a glass of champagne to ease her nerves.

    “Thanks. So it was taken from the scene, right?” Lee asked.

    “Yes. I could confirm it. For now I need to call for back up. We need to confiscate the photograph for investigations. I'll go check the CCTV footages. You and Kris need to be cautious so please don't go anywhere alone,” he reminded her then stepped out of the gallery to make a call.

    Left to her own thoughts, she speculated that someone could be framing Kris for the murder. Someone wanted to put the blame on Kris. Another thought popped in her head. What if it wasn’t a set up; and Kris was really the one who put it there? She shook her head. It couldn’t be, because Kris wouldn’t risk her profession by exposing that picture and she was sure that Kris was incapable of murder. Eli was her bestfriend, for god's sake!

    She let her mind run wild and thought that the murderer might not be framing Kris. What if he was actually showing off and bragging about what he'd done? And where else could he best showcase his work? What an egotistical, self-centered bastard, she thought in fury.

    In her anger, another theory weaved its way. The picture could be a sign or some sort of warning. What if… What if Kris was next?