"Be-because of--" Regarde said as his voice stuttered in nervousness. He probably didn't imagine that he is confessing in front of the police.
"They know, right?..." I interrupted as everyone started looking at my face.
"...about the drugs." Everyone is dumbfounded. If that is really the case, then both Hiroshi and Regarde have to kill or shut everyone who knew about their trade.
"You used your student's apartment for your drug activity while Shina doesn't know of your activity... But it seems like Shina managed to see you doing your activity and told her neighbors since she doesn't know how to deal with these problems..." Everyone is immersed in what I am saying.
"Shina is poor. She has to earn money for herself to continue studying for her ambition as a scientist. If she reported her teacher and her teacher's friends, she might get a reward or she might be accused as an accomplice of the drug users by the police. You know, having someone from your home doing some drug activities for a long time, do you think the police will believe that the owner of the home or apartment is innocent? No..." I said as I shook my head while imagining the things that might happen if she reported it.
"If she got caught, she might be in jail for a year or so... Making her parents more suffer to bail her out" I continued as I stared at Regarde with killing intent.
"But it also seems that it is too late to notice that everyone in the apartment knows about this matter because of gossips. That is why both of you disguised in the middle of the night as everyone in the apartment is sleeping and placed a bomb with a timer on it. You also used gasoline not just to make the place explode but to spread fire all throughout the apartment, fearing that you might get exposed to your illegal activity. Some people knew your faces so of course, they must be erased too." As I continued explaining, Regarde fell to his knees.
"Then, you should f******g die, you old man!" Anfolso can't keep his calmness anymore and started to get more mad.
He swung his fist, hitting the left cheek of Regarde. As he swung the other one, without everyone noticing, it is blocked by me.
"..." I stared at Anfolso as I smirked. I let go of his fist as it slowly softens and gave up attacking Regarde anymore.
"Now that the previous case, let's go to this case we are currently investigating..." I took a piece of paper and showed it to them.
"Isn't that the numbers on the computer?" Luca asked as I smirked and said, "Now that every piece of clues is connected, then the person on this code is undoubtedly the culprit."
The remaining suspects, Janet, Ronalyn, and Anfolso looked at each other as the policemen escorted Regarde with his hands handcuffed out of the monitoring room.
"Then, you really know who is the murderer..." Lemuel said as he stared at me with an amazement expression written all over his face.
As I sat down in the monitoring room again, I rewind the record and then stopped at the moment before Ronalyn and Anfolso.
"After Janet leaves, Ronalyn and Anfolso went together and had a lecture with the professor. And Anfolso was asked by the professor to get what things?" I asked Anfolso and replied, "Lime, specimens, and some charts."
"And for what purpose?" I said and he immediately replied, "For teaching us the correct way of hypothesizing specimens..."
I smirked as I stared at Ronalyn who looks confused. "Then, do you about this too? Ronalyn?"
"N-no, but I know that we needed specimens." She answered nervously and then I continued, "Haha, then it is planned, no?"
"Yeah," Both of them replied as they stared at me with doubts but I didn't mind their eyes and continued, "Then, Anfolso went to the warehouse and Ronalyn continued studying at the library... Then, 5 minutes later, the mysterious guy appeared and didn't leave there until the visit of the mysterious man. But, don't you think that it is weird? Janet didn't saw anyone else besides him and he is probably still alive or... already dead. You didn't see professor clearly because of the dark, no?"
"Y-yeah." Janet replied and I continued, "The reason why is the mysterious guy didn't leave and didn't get noticed by Janet is that he has to do it."
"He has to do it? Why?" Lemuel asked as I smirked and continued, "To make Janet think that professor Hiroshi is still alive..."
Everyone immediately responded with a shocked expression written on everybody's faces.
"Yeah, and it is a simple trick... First, he destroyed the vase inside the room making the professor alarmed and at the same time, lessen the weight of the murder weapon. Second, he will get an excuse that he accidentally hits the vase because there is an insect near the vase. Professor Hiroshi hates bugs based on his student's comments.
Next is, make him focus on the screen of the computer by asking him to research something or making him watch something... Then, slowly approach him while you stealthily sneaked beside him and then, hit him in the back of his head." I said and when I planned to continue, Luca asked, "Why besides the professor? Not at the back? I thought the culprit hits him behind his back?"
"Blood." Everyone immediately understood what I meant.
"To avoid having blood on his/her clothes. He/she probably is not wearing gloves before, during, and after the murder... That is why it is probably no use finding a bloodied clothes or fingerprints on the murder weapon except for his students, acquaintance, and friends... Then, Janet arrived but he can't say anything because the culprit is still inside somewhere. That is when he typed the numbers on the screen. Hitting you at the back of your neck isn't instant death, after all.." I stated as Luca asked, "Then, where did he hide?"
"The capsule used for biological experiments, is 6 foot tall and there is always a curtain outside of it, so no one will know if someone is inside there. Then, when she left, the murderer left the capsule and checked the professor, and at that time, he is probably dead. He/she also probably noticed the numbers but didn't mind it because it might just be a random number. He collected the fragments of the vase and then placed in the blood to hide the truth that it is broken to begin with. Then, left. Afterward, Alfonso appeared with the box in his hands and he opened the door without knocking because his hands are occupied and left immediately after leaving the materials needed." I replied as I stared at them.
"Then, who killed him?" Luca asked.
"There is only one who can do that..." I said as everyone started staring at me.
"The person who is expected to come back by the professor... Alfonso, you are the only one!" After I said the name of the culprit, everyone stared at Alfonso who is in a cold sweat.
"Wha-what do you mean?" He said nervously as he started looking back at everyone who is intensely glaring at him.
Ronalyn is holding her mouth, not expecting that the person who is another apprentice of the profession is the one who killed his own mentor.
"I c-can't do that to my own mentor?" He continued as I stared at him as continued making excuses.
"And on top of that, why would I come back on the crime scene after knowing that my mentor is dead?!" He asked as I smiled and I said coldly, "To create fake proof to mislead the people that you are not the murderer. I already saw your socks with blood on it, also the jacket that looks exactly in the CCTV camera and the apparatus you used to destroy the vase, the small sledgehammer that you can hide inside your jacket. But the biggest evidence of all is the professor's dying message." Everyone stared at me as I stated those.
"You already found the evidence? What is the deal with the sock with blood?" Lemuel asked and I answered.
"There is a stain of blood there that looked like it contacted with something. I thought it was because of the fragments of the vase but it is stepped on by someone. On the room, the professor is a Japanese person, they also have their own etiquette and it is already their culture. If I am guessing correct, they are removing their shoes inside, right?" I asked and continued, "That is why I know it should be a sock."
"Then, what is the dying message? Is it his name?" Luca said as I smirked and I simply replied with a nod.
"27, 19, 16, 14, 32, and 16 is a very simple code. Professor Hiroshi is a scientist and a mathematician so he knows these two things and hides the fact that it is not a simple code. Scientists have a list or table of metals, non-metals, and a lot more things created by Dmitri Mendeleev... the [Periodic Table of Elements].
The charts are arranged through the atomic number alongside their name of the chemical elements such as H of Hydrogen or He of Helium. Normal people or scientists who aren't interested in chemistry or physics are not bothering themselves to memorize the important thing in this table... Their atomic masses.
Yes, these 6 numbers are all atomic masses, and the most important of them all, they are all rounded up. It is one of the things that you can study in the subject of numbers, mathematics. After series of calculating because there are a lot of possibilities of the answer to the code, I managed to write 6 names of the chemical elements with the word "Alfonso" in it... 27 must be Al or aluminum. The atomic mass is 26.98. Then, the element of Fluorine which is the only F in the table with 18.99 atomic mass, O which is the most popular, oxygen has a mass of 15.99, N which is the Nitrogen has an atomic mass of 14.00. Then, S, the sulfur with 32.06 atomic mass, and finally, another O which is still the oxygen...
Thus, 27 (26.98), 19 (18.99), 16 (15.99), 14 (14.00), 32 (32.06), and 16 (15.99) are Aluminum, Fluorine, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulfur, and another Oxygen. If you only used their chemical name, it must be Al-F-O-N-S-O, Alfonso..." I explained very accurately as they stood there dumbfoundedly.
"Wh-what? Just because of that code, I am the murderer?" Alfonso continued panicking as I stared at him, "Are you an idiot or you really forgot what I just said? I already have the evidence and I already handed it over to the police..." I smiled widely as the door suddenly opened, hearing the shout of the policeman reporting to Lemuel.
"The schoolboy- ah! That boy handed some things and asked the forensics to examine the blood on the socks and the fragment on the sledgehammer!" The police officer reports as he points his index finger at me and Inspector Lemuel asked, "Then? What is the result?"
"The socks with blood matched with the victim and the small fragment on the sledgehammer is also matched with the vase on the crime scene!" He replied as Alfonso fell to his knees, who doesn't have any more hope of escaping his punishment.
"Why, Alfonso? Why did you kill him, do you know about the incident?" Without asking Alfonso, everyone can deduce that the reason of his killing his mentor is because of Shina who died on the apartment.
"Yeah, I heard them talking on the phone yesterday about what they did. And then, he said "The student that is under me died on what we did, brother...", At first, I didn't mind it because I think that it is just a joke but when I heard the news and read the article about it, I am sure that it is not just anyone's apartment but it is also Shina's apartment!" He said as his eyes started to get wet.
"Why? Why kill our mentor? I am also enraged but--" Ronalyn hesitated and I suddenly interrupt her and said, "You're a hemophobic, right? Plus, I surveyed the people around me. Your friends and your family, they said that you will never do such a thing..."
"If you can't but I can! She killed her!" His tears started to flow as he looked at Ronalyn who is holding his face.
"Alfonso's main reason for killing the professor is because..." I hesitated as I stared at him with pitiful eyes and continued, "His own professor killed the only person he has."
Everyone in the room is silent, the only thing that can be heard is the sound of the heavy breathing of Alfonso.
After a while, it is broken by Alfonso itself and said, "Yeah... my parent died when I was 5 years old and my auntie is taking care of me after. After those painful days... I met Shina..." He started sobbing and continued, "She cheered me up and always there for me despite being strangers, and then we started to become best friends. When my auntie died, she is also by my side, letting me cry by her side... I like her... She is my childhood friend, my first love and the most important of all, she is the only one I have now, I don't trust anyone and I only trust her... But..."
That is when he cried a lot, his face is completely filled with tears and sweat. I can sense his pain and despair as he continued, "When I heard the news... that there are 25 unidentified bodies there... I immediately called her... but... she didn't answer... I called her and called her but no!... She didn't answer... I immediately went to the police station to get permission... to see if she is one of the bodies... And I... saw her... It is definitely her!... Her pink burned phone... it is definitely hers! That is why I definitely want the person who killed her!"
"But now... I lost... to a junior..." Alfonso said as he wiped his tears.
After a while, everyone recovered and Alfonso didn't retaliate. I followed them to see the departure of Alfonso.
As Alfonso stood in the door on the backseat of the police car, he looked back and said, "Thank you for stopping me..."