It happened during our 1st year field trip, I've just started being a detective. I've helped the police on several cases, and because of that many requests were made for me to investigate. I thought I could take a break for a day during the field trip, but I was wrong.
September
"Amarah let's go, we'll be late if you don't move quickly."
"Vin, it's only four in the morning, the call time is 5 am. We don't need to rush."
"This is the only time I got to get out of this town, meaning I can get at least a break from murders, kidnappings, and other criminal cases, and I want to make every second worth it."
This is our first field trip in high school, I'm hoping this would be different from the elementary field trip but seeing the places we're about to visit, it's not as different from the past trips. But hey, I'll take what I could get just to get a little break.
"Vin, come on. You're the one who's rushing me but you're still standing there staring at nothing."
By the time we arrived at the school some students were already inside the buses. We approached our class adviser to know which bus we were going to take. Since we're not in the same section we go into separate buses. I sat at the front most seat of the bus just right behind the driver, beside me was JB, his family owns the JBC computer shop. We go there every afternoon to play games, surf the net, or just hang out. Since we became fast friends we decided that the two of us should sit together in the bus during the field trip.
Before the bus could even start an email made its way to my inbox, a request to investigate a case, I redirected the email to the inspector so he could look into it. It's not like I'm running from the clients but, I'm still new to this detective thing, From the past ouple of moths I've seen murder happen right before my eyes, I've confronted cold-blooded killers, and saw the victim's bodies lifeless lying there. I really could use a break from all of that, I need to rethink if I should continue being a detective or not. This trip should do it, I hope it could clear my thoughts.
I fell asleep all the way to our first stop, the house where one of our national heroes once lived. It showcases old furniture, portraits of the members of the family, and a bronze statue of the hero outside.
The next stop was the Airspace museum. Different types of aircrafts are displayed inside, prototypes of different machines can also be seen inside. There was a simulator for flying different aircrafts on a room, anyone can try it but not everyone can.
At lunch we went to a bus stop to grab something to eat and do whatever we want. I bought some bread, chips, and sodas from the store nearby and went back to the bus. Since we'll be here for another hour, I decided to go back to sleep, but my phone kept ringing and ringing, so I turned it off. JB shook me awake and said that we're about to go to the last stop of our field trip. I straightened myself up and turned my phone back on. There were messages from the inspector but I ignored them.
The bus got back on the road and I was just staring outside the window. The scorching sun is still up in the sky and there were no clouds to be seen. The roadside pans with open fields with green grass growing in it and occasionally shows some houses just beyond them. We went under a long tunnel and it covered the scenery with concrete walls and lights above us giving an orange glow everywhere. When we exited the tunnel the scenery had changed from a serene sight into an irritable visual pollution. Factories, commercial buildings, and overcrowded areas with the houses so close to each other that it looks like a one-gigantic-looking house that was made from scraps of what a normal house would have.
A few minutes later the scene outside the bus changed back again to the open grass fields. A stretch of storm canals lined the roadside, grass growing from the cracks on the concrete. But something caught my eye, at first I thought it was just a mannequin, thankfully there was a toll gate ahead and cars were slowing down. I looked as hard as I could and realized that it wasn't a mannequin at all, it was a human body. A dead human body, but I need to make sure.
"It was supposed to be a break from the detective work…"
I quickly stood up and have the bus driver opened the door. A traffic officer was just outside our bus, i approached him and have him come with me where I saw the dead body. It was then I confirmed what I saw from the bus, it was unrecognizable from the distance due to the weathering, but what stood out was the cut on the neck like someone sliced it open. Our class adviser went to where me and the traffic enforcer are standing, I told him how I saw the body and why I acted on my own.
The traffic enforcer already called the police and minutes later they arrived, I didn't let anybody touch anything including the body, but in this case it was useless, the rain probably washed out all the evidence here. The police started their preliminary investigation on the scene and I informed our class adviser that I'm staying behind to help with the investigation. But our class adviser refused to let me stay, so I didn't have much choice left. I called the inspector.
He was angry at me for not replying to his calls and messages, but I explained to him why I didn't. I also explained to him the situation, sadly it was out of his jurisdiction but he told me that he'll notify the inspector in this area that I am helping with the investigation, and with that I will surely be excused on the field trip.