"I should get use to it, you know being famous and world-known as detectives." Aris said, irritably, she was lying on the sofa reading a fashion magazine.
"We're not that famous yet." Greg said, "But, we still have to be doubly careful, we don't know what's out there." She reminded them.
The people acknowledge them just now when they solved the death of their classmate a week ago. Though, not all people know. They were interviewed about it and how they were able to resolve it in no time. They've been doing this for a long time but they haven't made it to public. They are very grateful from the help of the FBI, IIS, CIA and NBI. Identities were protected and confidential.
They are now together in their leisure place without anyone knowing. They don't want to talk at school with this topic, it's very confidential, especially now that others know them as detectives.
"Someone is inviting us in a party." Said Li as she waved a paper.
"Oh I love parties! When, Li?" Enthused Jim who had previously been busy playing on the cellphone.
"From whom ?" Ken asked without looking. She's on her laptop.
"Anonymous. But knows us. He/She even wrote our full name." Jim shrugged as she read the card.
"Isn't that our enemy?" Andy.
"Ayt.. .Means we're not going?" Jim was disappointed crossing arms in her chest, "Tch. I already prepared something to wear."
"Immediately?" Aris asked in surprise.
"Jim, how many parties have you been into this year?" Li said, "But wait, this is weird. Since the public has known us, many of our unknown messengers have been alerting us. But no threat messages are received and no praises too. Hmmm."
"Do you think so, Li?" Aris asked confusingly.
"If we go to this party we might have some information." Suggested Andy.
"But what if "one of our enemies" is the one who invites, it's anonymous for john's sake, Andrea!" Quoted Greg.
"So? We can defend ourselves." Li replied, "Why else we were trained by CIA?"
"We should be aware that our enemies are everywhere, watching us every move."
"Greg, don't be paranoid." Said Jim. She held her on both shoulders, "Do you think Kelly would be happy with us if we ourselves were scared?"
"Speaking of her, today is her funeral." Snapped Ken, "We have to go. As a respect."
"Yeah?" Surprised, Aris immediately stood up, "Poor Kelly's parents. They trusted the teacher. He murdered their only child."
"Love is al ---"
"Heh!" Li interrupted what Greg had to say full of drawn lines.
"Let's go!" Andy said.
"Jim, you drive!" Ken threw their key at her.
They left their Investigation House to attend Kelly's burial. It's been six days since the incident happened. They did not leave their homes at the behest of the authorities for their safety. They also did not complete community service as their punishment. Many medias are waiting outside their homes. But there are many ways they can escape those who await them. They're currently investigating the Amaphe Organization dealing illegal operations and smugglings, human trafficking and assassinations. They were involved in this investigation because of what happened 8 years ago when they were the government witnesses in the death of their parents and to this day the organization is still looking for them.
"Oh my gosh, Jim, Aris, and Li, do you have a racial syndicate?" Greg sighed while reading an antique book that stopped the four of them from doing so.
"What do you mean, Greg?" Ken's question was unbelievable.
"Kindly, elaborate?" Andy said.
"Aris's dad and Li's dad and Jim's mom were bestfriends that time. But Jim's mom chose to die to protect her family, she was killed when she was more likely to leave the group before anyone could have find out she was an undercover cop. And that's Aris' and Li's dad too, they've been protecting the government." Greg uttered when she read the diary of her father, a novelist. "Jim's mother became a very popular member and favorite of the boss so she got half of the organization's secret information. They used as evidence the recording device that they always attached whenever they were in the group's secret lair."
They're heading to Kelly's burial and they see the media filming the lowering of the coffin as the victim's mother cries. Around it, three are acting suspiciously. They are still a bit far from the entrance but they can guess some issues. They know them because they were interviewed, secretly and not all medias are allowed to see them. They only faced about four known big time reporters.
"WHAT ?!" At once the three asked to Greg.
Jim brakes hard because of what she found out.
"Ouch, Jamie!" Aris complained artfully as she bumped into the back of Jim's chair.
"Duhh, Aurosia!" Andy reacted.
"My forehead really hurts when Jim hit the brake. What if concussion occurs huh? Amnesia will follow."
"Like duhh, it's just--"
"Hey, listen guys! It says here that when you three find out everything you will avoid getting involved in the investigation."
"For pete's sake we're in the middle of the road !!" Andy sighed.
"Guys, pay attention." Scolded Ken.
"I mean, we're an Amaphe member by blood?" Li asked frowning.
"Unless you have a scar at the bottom of your spine." Said Greg.
Andy and Ken looked at the back of the three at the same time. The two friends sighed at the same time.
"I thought it was because of the accident. Weird because the three of us are really the same?" Aris said coldly.
"And he/she who has the Amaphe's pendant will be the next boss and marry the youngest boss." Greg looked at the three, "Maybe none of you are holding Amaphe's pendant right?"
Li intervened, "Wait! If we're Amaphe by blood it means we have to keep this a secret, my gosh we're still detectives and we're already Amaphe. Greg, where did you find your dad's diary?"
"I saw it in the basement the other day."
"We have to burn it!" Li ordered as she grabbed it from Greg's hands, "If anyone sees it, we'll be dead before we know it."
"But--" Andy's words were cut short.
"Can we just keep it?" Suggested Ken, "We need this diary. We don't know if anyone copied it."
"Who else knows this, Gregoria?" Jim asked.
"I do not know."
*beeeeeeep*
Jim looked out the window to see who had blown the horn for so long. It looks boring. It's been pressing its horn but they didn't care. Jim went inside as soon as she met eyes with the man and pulled over the car.
"AHH, SHEEEET JAMIE !!" Squealed Ken. "What's the matter with you? You just glanced and you drive like that?"
"I'm sorry." She apologized as she parked the car far from the crowd but enough to see the burial ceremony.
Each of them wears a disguise to avoid the media. They are just far away from the group afraid what will happen when others find out they are there. They watched till people are slowly going off.
The bereaved family chose to stay at the grave for a moment. Watching a mother mourning to her daughter touched the heart of the girls.
"Maybe we've already done justice to the heinous murder of Kelly." Ken said in a low voice.
"We have to go before anyone sees us." Said Li.
"We're going to the party whoever invited us." Aris said.
"Maybe we can find that anonymous sender." Andy added.
"Let's go." Enthused Jim.
The party they went to was very formal. They just showed the invitation sent to them and they were admitted. As soon as they enter, the invited people are busy talking to each other. They are the only teenagers in the crowd.
"We need to split up. Aris and Jim since you're the photographer, you go together. Ken and Andy keep an eye on big time people. Greg and I will be inside the house." Li gave work to her friends.
They were already separated according to Li's orders. They have been trained by the CIA for a year so they already know the procedure of an agent. Equipped by their ear devices, it's convenient to work as planned.
"Do you think anyone has already recognized us here?" Jim asked after consuming a glass of champagne, they stood at the champagne table.
"Do not know." Aris answered simply as her body kept up with the beat of the music without looking at Jim.
Jim watched at the crowd. A man dancing, drunkily at the middle near the poo. Some businesspeople talk about real estate, stocks and shares. Some exchanging business cards.
"Hi girls!" A man greeted them and break their silence.
Aris did a survey by looking head to foot at the stranger while Jim was busy looking around. She's perceptive and seems to look cognizant. Her past sometimes haunts her. They have to be sharp, though.
"Who are you?" Aris asked calmly after observing him, intensely.
"Oh, I'm Justin Martinez."
Jim turned to look when she heard the name. Eyebrows frowned.
"Jim?"
"Do you know each other?" Aris asked, perplexed.
"He's just someone I know."
He is the only man her Grandfather approved of marrying her and she hates nerd guy. She was just shocked when its appearance changed now. He has become hunk, the sense of fashion has changed and he looks handsome like never before.
"Mind if I join?"
Jim bit her lower lip when she realized the owner of the voice. She didn't want to look back. She could still feel her heart pounding. She also couldn't move when she felt its breath in her hair.
"Hi, Aris!" Goosebumps occured when he talked again.
"Hi, Christian." Aris smiled at the same time, she turned to Jim, "I'll go to Li and Greg first." She said when she got the signal it was thrown at her.
Aris grabbed Justin. He followed, hesitantly. The remaining two were left awkwardly.
"Are you still on a mission?" It was a cold question now.
Jim didn't answer instead she left to get a cupcake but the young man still followed her. Christian Mason "Chace" Sarmiento was her long-time ex boyfriend. And to this day she still doesn't know why her heart is still responding to him. She didn't expect to see Chace again until earlier, the guy who horned at them. It's been 3 years since they met after the break-up. He's 7 years older than them.
"Where's Jim?" Li asked when Aris arrived.
"She's talking to Chace. Let's go so that the two can have their closure." Aris shrugged.
"Destiny again." Greg commented.
"Eh, you, Greg when are you going to find a serious relationship? You're always dumping them. You always think of the mission and investigations." Li badgered.
"Whatever, Lindana! Maybe you forgot what you did to Mr. Hacker and look at him now." She laughed, evily. A backfire to Li's nagging.
"I don't give a sh*t there, do I?"
Aris laughed at the behavior of the two same amazons.
She cut the two catfighting "Is there anything new?" Aris asked seriously.
Greg answered, "Not at all."
"Same place, same topic." Li's answer was boring.
"Where's Ken?"
"You didn't see them?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH !!"
They gasped in unison at the scream they heard. The six immediately met inside the house.
"Where is that?" Li asked.
Ken and Andy nodded at the question and searched everywhere. Everyone was bewildered at the woman running in panic.
"What is it, Diana?" Confused, the old lady asked a mid 20s woman, "Why are you trembling? Are you the one who screamed?"
Suddenly blacked out interrupted when the woman was about to answer. People murmured, indiscreetly. Nothing can be seen around but cellphones' screens. Everyone is panicking at what is happening, the MC of the party is also talking about what to do, calmly. And then, the six heard the lady said 'in the backyard'.
The girls immediately went to the backyard where the garden lies. They used their watch-flashlight to go there since the others could not move because it was too dark. They moved from place to place to find what the woman was saying. Jim stepped on a hard object in the middle of her curiosity. She illuminated it with a flashlight.
"Metal?" She picked it up wearing her glove, "What's this?" When she saw the iron up close.
"Guys, here!" Aris shouted and the others approached.
A pit opened in their light with the body of a man lying on his back. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open as if he was surprised by what the killer would do, with a knife stuck in the back right in the middle of the spinal chord. His right hand was numb and he was still wearing a white tuxedo that had been bathed in his own blood. Its murder looks disgusting. Gruesome and ruthlessly done. Greg approached its head to investigate when she noticed its strange appearance.
"There's a lump on the back of his head."
"The victim was dead for two hours according to the rigor mortis of his body." Jim commented as she held out his hand.
"Name of victim: Herman Ferrer, 46 years old, bank manager of Jao Bank." Li's story while holding his ID from the wallet.
"Let's call the police." Suggested Ken.
"How can we solve this crime if blackout? I can barely see." Aris's artistic complaint.
"It's okay with that flashlight, Aris." Greg stopped and then approached the knife stabbed in the back, "He was only stabbed once and right in the middle of the spinal chord, it means just a few minutes after being stabbed the victim died."
"Jim, you said 2 hours about the victim's death means the crime took place before the program started?" Li clarified.
Jim nodded, "We need to ask each of them."
"First of all we need to find out what the offender needed from the victim. Is there a trace that was snatched from the pocket?" Said Jim.
"Nothing was lost on him. The only thing he has is just a wallet." Li replied.
"The offender's motive doesn't seem to be money." Ken uttered.
"How? How did the suspect commit the crime without being seen. . .not a single person saw it?" Aris asked. Puzzled. Uncertain of her own answer. "And there are so many of them. How can we ask?"
Greg's words were cut short when the garden light came on. Indicates that the power has returned. The whole scene of the crime scene unfolded to them, the body would have been buried based on the ground at the feet of the victim.
"Andy and Ken, tell everyone there's no leaving. I have a suspicion one of us who attended the party was the murderer." Jim said determinedly.
The two obeyed and returned inside the house. Gradually everyone picked up their jackets to go home.
"Sorry for the interruption everybody but we need your cooperation to stay here until the crime is solved." Announced Andy.
"Sadly to say, Mr. Herman Ferrer was found dead in a pit." Ken added, "Before the police arrive, can we interview everyone?"
"What does that mean?" Angry question was thrown from a woman of mid-30s.
"Are you kidding? It's not a good joke, hija." A man who was with the woman insisted, "How did you get in here and joke like that? There's no one here as old as you." He looked around to justify his point.
"That's right, who invited you to make a funny scene? And who are you to order us?" Another person from the crowd seconded.
The throng start to make noise again. Some are agreeing and some are protesting.
"We're not kidding. If you want to see the crime, go to the garden." Said Ken. "Hard to believe but we are detectives."
The man laughed at the last thing Ken said.
"They're right, I saw a corpse there earlier, with a knife stab in the back and bloody." A woman who screamed earlier named Diana defended the group.
"Are you sure, Diana?"
"Yes mom." She started to cry out of fear again. The scene had traumatized her.
"No one is going there until we investigate." Uttered Andy.
"Hey, kids, whatever game you're thinking, can you not interfere for this situation?" Weighing the man's line, "If there's a dead body, should you call the police?"
They are right in thinking that it is difficult to convince elders in such things so they decide to keep what they are doing a secret. Their identities cannot be exposed in case they show their IDs. Kelly's case was an exception to reveal their true identity.
"Yeah, what do you know about the investigation? You're just teenagers. Leave this job to the police, kiddos." Another woman in her mid-40s agrees.
"Maybe he just committed suicide, Miss. I found out they always quarrel with his wife." Another woman's story, "They're my friends."
"They're not just kids, Mrs. Jimenez."
Everyone turned to the speaker sitting on the sofa. He had a cigarette in his mouth and both hands were resting on the back rest of the sofa. Skinny and pants are ragged, upper's worn formally as to fit in the party's theme.
"Who are you ?" The woman earlier asked.
"Is he invited here too?" Poor question of a woman in her mid 20s.
"I do not know." The one with her shook his head.
"Me?" It stood up, "I'm a newspaper reporter. Those two teenagers are famous college school detectives we know, Andy Salvador and Ken Bernardo, aren't you?"
Half of the crowd gasped in shock when they found out their identity. They know that very few know them. They have no intention of introducing themselves to everyone while they are still investigating.
"There is no case that they can't solve and they are good at deducting. I would have liked to interview them but it is difficult to talk to them, so whoever of you committed the said crime, you can't escape what you just said as a teenager."
"Salvador? Bernardo?" Trembling, the woman said, "Does that mean the rest of them are here too?"
"Right!" Newspaper reporter's answer.
"Can we talk about that later?" Ken requested and faced the crowd again, "May I know which of you knows Mr. Ferrer or was with him at work to attend here?"
"Please remain until this case is solved." Second is Andy.
The people started making noise again. Four of them raised their hands. One woman. Tall, dressed in black, with long curly hair, carrying a silver purse. Her face is blank and it looks bored while smoking. Her male companion scolded her, his hair is blonde, he's skinny but has good looks, his eyes were wide. One is fat and with glasses, estimated age around 40s, fat and carrying a brief case and biting the pipe.
"Hmmm. .Interesting." Ken's mind was skeptical as she looked at it.
The last one was just sitting on a stool at the bar counter, holding a glass of champagne and holding a notebook. Nothing special.
Andy stared at it as if there was something strange about this man. He looked uncomfortable and worried.
Meanwhile. . .
"What's up, Li? Have you found a new hint?" Aris asked as she shot every angle of the victim.
From the mouth that is gaping and the eyes that are wide open, where there was a big lump on the head that almost bled. Its color changes based on the time and season when it dies. And back with a sharpened knife.
"Its wound is deep." Jim's shaky comment, "Does the victim have no family?"
"Ken will take care of his background." Greg ordered as she wrote something in her notebook, "I'll check the circuit breaker to see if the suspect has it set."
"But first thing first, what is the victim doing in this garden when there aren't many people?" Li asked head-on.
"I have a hunch that only an acquaintance of the victim killed him. Maybe he's being sent here." Aris replied.
"Look, there are still footprints on the ground." Greg said as she pointed at the same time.
They looked away when they heard the sound of a police patrol car. There is also a chance that they need the help of the police but there is also a reason why they want them to be the ones to solve it. Especially when they found out about the membership of the Amaphe Organization by blood the three of them.
"If our deduction is right, I'm sure the evidence is still here." Li smiled mischievously.
"I see, we both think the same, Li." Agreed Jim looking satisfied and amused both their minds working, geniusly.
"When Greg cimes back here with the news that the circuit breaker was set up, that only meant one thing." Aris added.
"Yeah. Alright. Let's go two inside." She finished the conversation.