VOLUME 2
Chapter Two
The Perfect Crime
FRIDAY'S POV
"What did your dad say? Did they continue the investigation thoroughly?" I asked Effie, panicking. Ever since the incident at the library, hindi ako mapakali. We just covered up a death of a student and staged it as a suicide.
Effie reluctantly smiled. "He thanked me for solving the crime on his behalf. The detectives solved it again and their answer came up as a suicide rather than a murder since apparently, Kenzo was a suicidal kid."
Tumango-tango ako and then I faced Chaos na nagbabasa ng libro at umiinom ng gatas. "What do we do now? Do we just let Kenzo's case fall?"
Sumimsim muna ito ng gatas bago sumagot. "Of course not. We will find this X guy and bring justice to Kenzo's death, whoever that guy is."
Tumango nalang ako. Nasa tambayan kami ngayon dahil vacant time namin. Matix is busy with his laptop thing, Effie and I are busy doing our assignments while Chaos is busy reading mystery books.
Ganon ang ginagawa namin hanggang sa humahangos na pumasok ng tambayan ang ama ni Effie. "We...We need help." Hinihingal nitong sabi.
"Kalma ka muna, pa. Anong nangyayari?" Effie asked habang lumalapit sa ama.
Effie's dad calmed down first while walking towards us. "There was a murder at Cruixe Hotel just this morning. We call this the Perfect Crime."
Chaos smiled smugly. "About time to solve a challenging crime."
A perfect crime.. ito ang nababasa ko sa libro kung saan walang ebidensiyang iniiwan ang suspect. This is a pain in the ass for detectives pero mukhang madali lang ito para kay Chaos.
"Take us there." Utos ni Chaos at bumaling kay Matix. "Ready your gadgets." Matix nodded and carried his laptop and tablet.
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"Where's the body?" Chaos asked as soon as we arrived at the hotel.
"Dinala ang katawan sa ospital para sa autopsy. There were no stab wounds but the skin of the victim were discolored. So we assumed its poison." Anang ama ni Effie.
Luminga/linga ako sa paligid. E was right. This is indeed a perfect crime. Kung titignang mabuti, the hotel room is neat just like any other hotel room. No blood, no evidences.
"The victim, Susan Ferrer is a call center agent. She was found dead this morning by the hotel staff at her bed. Apparently, there were ni footprints, sign of forced entry or any evidences to prove who might be the killer. Even the CCTV is tamprred and deleted." The Chief briefed.
"No criminal leaves a trace." Chaos suddenly said.
"What?" The chief asked.
"I said, No criminal leaves a trace. That's according to a quote a read." Humarap ito sa ama ni Effie. "We will take it from here. You may leave." He politely asked with a glint of arrogance in it.
Tumango ang chief bago tinawag ang mga kasamahan nito sa hotel at umalis.
"How do we know who the killer is?" Effie asked.
Chaos faced Matix. "You found anything?"
Hinarap sa amin ni Matix ang tablet nito. "Susan Ferrer is a home based call center agent. Apparently, she's been receiving anonymous calls so she changed her laptop three days ago and home address. She's been living here at the hotel for a month." Anito.
Lumapit ako sa laptop ng biktima. I tried to open it but there was a password. "Susan's laptop is encrypted with a password." Imporma ko.
"So kailangan natin malaman kung ano ang password ng laptop niya. There might be clues there. Clues about that anonymous caller." Effie suggested.
"Matix could just hack into her laptop's system—"
"I can't. Her laptop system is heavily guarded with a powerful software making it hard to hack. Kanina ko pa sana iyan nabuksan." Ani Matix.
"How about her laptop wallpaper? May kaugnayan kaya ito sa password ng laptop?" I asked while pointing to the wallpaper. It has several numbers in it.
QEB XKP TBO VLR XOB ILL KFK DCL OFP YIX ZHY LU-
"That's right. There might be a connection.." Chaos said while grabbing a piece of paper.
"Does the letter symbolizes numbers?" Effie asked.
I stared down deeply. Nakita ko na ang ganitong code somewhere...
I snapped my fingers. "That's ceasar code!" I said.
Chaos smiled. "You figured it out. Nice."
In Ceaser code, the letter shifts down on another letter depending on any number. Sa code na ito, letters are divided into three which means you count the numbers three times. Q means T. When you count T three times backwards, you get Q.
Pinakita sa amin ni Chaos ang papel na may sulat.
THE ANSWER YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS THE BLACK BOX
Kumunot ang noo ko. "Black box?"
Matix typed in the sentence we got but the password is incorrect. Sinubukan niya ang salitang Black Box but incorrect again.
"Maybe we need to find a black box or something?" Effie suggested.
We started searching the whole room for a black box but nothing came up. Walang kahit na ano sa hotel room na black box.
Matix carressed his chin. "Maybe what the clue means is not a literal black box?" He deduced.
Chaos agreed. "A black box can mean anything. Scientifically, it is a device used for cars that records information and speed about the vehicle. That could be it."
"Pero paano naman natin malalaman kung saan ang kotse ni Susan?" I asked.
Effie waved a key infront of us with a smile on her face. "I found a car key. We just have to find the car."
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30 minutes of finding a single car on a huge parking was hell. Ilang beses pinindot ni Effie ang susi para lang mahanap namin ang sasakyan. Buti nalang ay nahanap na.
We don't know what a black box looks like. Kaya naman hinayaan nalang namin si Matix ang maghanap niyon.
"We still have long ways to go. We are not yet close to finding this killer. We don't even have any possible suspect." Ani Chaos habang hinahawakan ang flashlight para kay Matix.
"Kung mabubuksan natin ang laptop, I'm sure may mahahanap tayo." I ensured.
Chaos nodded at the same time, Matix shouted. "I found it!"
It was a literal black box and Matix immediately worked his thing.
"It's 667291. The Black Box's serial number." Ani Matix.
"Good job, Matix." Puri ni Chaos habang naglalakad pabalik ng hotel room. We need to solve this one. Fast.
•
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Matix typed in the laptop password and much to our surprise, the laptop was clean. No files, no evidences.
"Damn it.." Chaos uttered.
"What do we do?" Effie asked.
"We dig in deeper." Chaos answered bago humarap kay Matix. "Find some clues in the laptop. Hack it if possible. While Friday, Effie and I look for evidences and possible situations."
Matix nodded and sat up straight while doing his work. Kami naman ay naghahanap na rin ng mga posibleng ebidensiya.
While searching, I came across at the kitchen area. May bukas na cereal box at milk. I took the cereal box and looked inside. Just normal cereals. Sunod kong tinignan ang fresh milk. Inamoy ko iyon. It smells like a typical milk.
Tinignan ko ang expiration date. Kabibili lang nito at malayo pa sa expiration date.
"What is it?" Chaos asked.
Umiling ako. "Nothing. I found this cereal and milk box opened. Akala ko may mali pero wala pala."
Chaos took the milk box in my hand and smelled it. "There's something wrong in this milk."
"Bakit? Mukha namang walang mali diyan." Sambit ko.
Umiling ito. Tinuro nito ang mga maliliit na lamok na nasa counter top na patay na. "These insects died probably due to insecticides. I checked the kitchen cabinets earlier and there were no insecticides here. Maliban nalang kung.." inangat nito ang milk box "...may lason ang milk box na ito."
"What poison is it?" I asked.
Chaos shrugged. "Methyl Bromide."
"What?"
"It's Methyl Bromide. It is used to eliminate pesticides or insects. It is poisonous to humans since it may cause injury in lungs." Sagot ni Chaos.
Tinignan ni Chaos ang karton. "The suspect placed methyl bromide in this carton to kill the victim. Methyl Bromide is odorless. It explains why you didn't smell something different to the milk however, it is still gas and can kill insects around it."
I crossed my arms together. "So alam na natin ang ginamit pangpatay sa biktima pero kung sino ang pumatay at paano ito nakatakas ay hindi pa natin alam."
PART TWO WILL BE POSTED SOON!