Third Person
Oeillet de règne Académie: Parking Lot
7:40 A.M.
"Romien, please stay out of this..." whispered Racquel.
"I understand her. What you did was wrong even I can't forgive you?" Romien said with confidence, staring at the girl's flushed red face.
"You don't know what happened so, stop trying to be the goody-two-shoes in every situation!" Angrily, Racquel pounded his chest broad shoulder, but her strength drained like the blood on her leg, "It's fucking disgusting!"
"I was there," confessed the male and made her seat on the bench beside the bike.
"No, you're not! Let me go— I need to get to Raine!" Racquel kept ranting and soon her struggles accidentally hit her paper bag off the bench. She tried reaching for it while Romien bandaged up her bleeding chafe. The male noticed she was having difficulties grabbing it so he offered to reach it and gave it to the girl.
"I got it," he smiled warmly, "Here you go..."
Eyes widened, Racquel gulped and muttered a name, "Gold?"
"No. No! This dirty mind is so— Ugh!"
Racquel shook her head and slapped herself hard while the brown-haired male just flinched and asked if she was alright, but the red handprint on her left cheek said all that needed to be said.
"Please let Raine take a breather," Romien calmed the girl down when she stood up abruptly, attempting to outrun the athletic male, "She deserves it. Let's give her time..."
"She doesn't!" Racquel held her head and dug her pampered nails into her scalp, "She doesn't deserve Saccharide in her life—"
"Why?" Romien asked, holding her sweaty hand in his trembling digits.
"Are you seriously asking me? That guy—" the female laughed nervously and looked Romien dead in the eyes with her hysterical ocean colored orbs.
"You still love him. I heard," Romien broke his own heart by answering in the female's place.
She broke down. Racquel gave in Romien's embrace and cried her eyes out, letting all the distress building up inside her bubbly attitude and voice, "Those two. They— they love each other," she sniffled, "I want to blame Saccharide for knocking on the wrong door! I want to blame Raine for opening the door instead of just ignoring it... But I can't accept it!"
Romien just listened until he gathered sufficient words to say to the crying damsel in his arms. He felt the pain of her tears paint over his back and somehow, it gave him a sense of ownership over the girl at that moment.
"It's my fault for giving up so easily on him. If I stayed and fought the fear inside me when he needed me then maybe—" she stuttered as little hiccups interrupted her words, "If only I hugged him when his disorder kicked then maybe—"
Romien finally had enough of having to hear her past regrets and faced the girl before speaking, "It will not go as you wanted, Racquel..."
The girl was hooked by his statement and he felt her stare cursing him already, she kind of thought after all that she'll at least get some empathy from one of her theatre friends.
Yes, that's what Romien is to her.
Just one of her theatre friends.
Romien started after moisturizing his dried lips with her driving tongue, "Let's say, Saccharide did knock on the right door, you wouldn't answer it because of fear. And Raine, even if she didn't answer the door—"
He giggled and looked up to avoid Racquel's burning eyes spitting all kinds of hatred towards him on that minute before continuing, "Knowing Saccharide he'll break down the door and the two will meet no matter what—" he looked back at her, "If you stayed and hugged Saccharide that night then this moment would not happen for me..."
He hoped she wasn't too dense to sense what he meant by that statement. Her look softened as the male reached for her cheeks to bring their faces together. Something vibrated in Romien's body when their cold lips touched. Slowly, he let his lids cover his sight to strengthen the feeling of their molded lips together but seconds later, Racquel pulled away and stood up.
"I love you, Racquel," Romien stopped her.
"I'm sorry. I have no time for this..." Racquel apologized and limped her way towards the gate again, "I still have to go to Raine. Thank you for this, Romien, but I still love Saccharide..."
The poor boy's eyes followed her movements until she was not present with him on the picture page of the book. Romien looked down and crushed the package of the bandage he used to patch up the girl he wants. He turned his head and spotted the blood-drenched scrunchie wrapped handkerchief. As he picked it up, he smiled before squeezing it in his fist as he felt the anger rise, the blood seeped between the gap between each of his fingers.
"I expected this, but it still hurts" his charming smile turned into a frown, "At least you tried, Romien..."
It was the same thing the girl from 5th Grade said to him when he first auditioned for the play he really wanted to star in.
The first person who believed in him when he was still the underestimated scholar.
Racquel Porscha.
"At least you did your best..."
xXx
Oeillet de règne Académie: Crime Scene B (Male Restroom)
7:50 A.M.
The three males waited for the police officer who they sent to search for the girl. Klavier was leaning against the sink while nipping on the excess skin on his fingers, his teeth acting as an effective nail clipper. Saccharide was kept on the corner seating, his mouth sealed by a lit cigarette tucked by the investigator to calm him down. Easton had one between his lips as well while waiting and thinking for the deduction holes he has to patch up.
"She's by the garden..." a voice called from outside as they all looked up. The officer named Draide Swagger was back and he smiled at the worried boy before winking, "Still beautiful, complete and safe."
"You're being paranoid, boy," Easton uttered and tapped the grey-haired teen's shoulder.
"Now enough with this teen fic—" the older male cleared his throat before asking, "Answer me, how did this screw be compatible with the wound sizes of the victims?"
The officer bashfully interrupted and stood in front of Saccharide, "Sir, I get that he carries the only compatible weapon but considering the time frame, he doesn't have time to do it!"
"Shut up, piggy!" shouted Easton as he tried to shove the officer on his firm position in front of the boy.
"I'm sorry Sir but as much as I admire you. I'm still a keeper of the law and the honest witness of this boy," Draide stood up from his idol and kept a hard stare, "I would use that title to defend him!"
"Wow!" cheered Easton and laughed, thinking it was just an act, but then stopped for a second or two, "For a hot second there, I thought you were serious!"
All the people stared at him like he was a crazy mime performing on the part.
"He could do it in 2 minutes with his abilities!" he declared at them before showing them again the 3-inch screw inside a plastic bag.
Draide put his fingers to pinch his chin to think. The longer he stared at the weapon, the more he realized the nonsense within the accusation within it, "But isn't this screw too little to penetrate two people. Yes, there are on top of each other to make the deed faster, but this 3-inch screw won't be enough to stab them multiple times with the weapon hitting the floor by hand," expertly, he explained, "And there is no water service because they were using it for the fire at that time, we found him clean without a single trace of blood..."
"This got more confusing..." Easton said and massaged the bridge of his nose before tossing the plastic bag on the sink countertop.
He turned to the silent one on the corner and dictated, "You there! Say something!"
Klavier blinked a few times before thinking for a response, "The clinking was from the weapon so that means the only way was from stabbing," he looked at the spaced-out Saccharide and said, "I don't think he did it..."
Easton punched the ceramic countertop sink and moaned in anguish, "Are there anything? Anything at all besides the bodies, the goddamn phone and the janitor's trolley with a water bucket full of hydrogen pero—"
He stopped, straightened his posture and like speed rummaged inside his pocket.
"Give me the picture of the trolley! Quick!" he instructed the officer and the bald man slightly panicked, but neatly laid the pictures on the top before they examined it closely.
Their eyes traveled to the 3 trash cans.
Bucket of water.
Broom.
Cleaning materials.
Until they found the hole that they've been looking for.
...
"That's how it is! He can get it done in less than 20 minutes," Easton cheered, "The mop was used as the handle, this screw was attached on the wooden part. With the length of the mop, someone can stab the bodies without the blood getting splashed on them!"
"The mop has no blood on the handle..." Draide pointed.
"That's where the water with hydrogen peroxide came to play. Dip and the traces of blood disappear," Easton revealed a trick about the acid and danced around like a goof.
Klavier put a pause on the Investigator's celebration and said an essential fair point, "Then all that. He would still have blood on him because as you demonstrated, he kneeled and cut the private part then shoved it to the officer's ass..."
Draide said to the teen, "There are no fingerprints."
With all their contradictions, Easton was able to prove his point. All he needed was to make the convict plead guilty, but he wasn't sure how. The shreds of evidence are clear, but not crystal enough to be considered by the court.
"He used a glove and when he finally showed on the garden. All he needs to do is to toss the gloves to the fire and it will disappear as if it didn't come out of the factory it came from," said the professional Investigator.
"Oh my! It was like a game of chess, my head hurts!" Easton complained as an acute pain struck the sides of his head.
Klavier realized something and waited for no second to tell it, "You do know, you could have used your method and make him confess right?"
"That won't work... Heinz-s are known for controlling the effects of alcohol in their veins," Easton yet again, has an answer
Still doing his work as Saccharide's witness, Officer Draide asked, "What's his motive then?"
"To frame him," Easton turned to Klavier and pointed his finger at him, "You mentioned that you hated each other and I am one of the witnesses to that. That's the reason why he removed the handcuffs so, you would be the first suspect in question."
Easton walked towards Saccharide and loomed above him, "What do you say?" He bragged to the silent teen, "It's the perfect crime, but once I put my eyes on the suspect, he's the suspect till the end..."
"The fire," whispered the grey-haired teen.
"What?"
All of them asked.
"I'm not the one who started the fire. I'm not here when the fire started. I could not bring myself to do it. Not to Raine," he said with a sad smile on his pallid face. The cigarette on his lip was barely lighting anymore so, Easton flicked it off his mouth and inserted a new one before lighting it up.
"Is it possible that—?" Draide paused and let the inspector continue his idea.
Easton agreed as she nodded his head, "Yes, there are two suspects in that one day..."
"Why would Saccharide choose that day to do the crime?" Klavier queried.
"It wasn't planned..." he told Saccharide what he anticipated, "Isn't that right, Saccharide Heinz?"
Having no words ro say, Saccharide kept silent and drowned in the smoke coming from his cigarette. He was afraid of the fact that he was losing his confidence about his own memories.
He was afraid that he might be the imposter, himself...
The concerned inspector softened his eyes and took out the cigarette between his teeth before crushing it beneath his leather boots, "Racquel Porscha mentioned about your DID and PTSD. A lethal combination..." Easton said with a hint of sympathy in his voice.
Draide raised his brows for questioning, "What do you mean?"
"I said he did it—" Easton whispered, but loud enough for them to comprehend, "But he wasn't guilty. He didn't know he did it..."
"AHHH!"
There was a scream coming from the left wing.
"Fuck..." Easton bolted outside.
'Not again!' Saccharide looked up and tossed the cigarette on the floor. The other two male followed behind him as they heard the continuous screeching coming from the garden.
"Raine!"
'Oh god... Please, not her!' Saccharide thought.