Kai's residence....
Mr Anaki returns home from work
Aloha makua (welcome dad), Kai greets
Mahalo (thank you), Mr Anaki replies
silence ensues as Mr Anaki takes off his work clothes
Pehea ka hana ? (how was work) Kai asks
Mai ka'i (fine),Mr Anaki replies
I went to see mum at the hospital today, Kai continues
How is she? Mr Anaki asks
She's better, but she's still sick, Kai replies
Good to know, Mr Anaki comments sarcastically
You promised to check on her....you haven't Kai adds
Did you make dinner? Mr Anaki changes the subject
I'm talking about mum, Kai insists
hun...Mr Anaki sighs heavily, rubbing his temples, I told you I'll see her when I have the chance
Yeah you said that two months ago, Kai persists indignantly
well that should tell you that all I do is work! work! every single day!, he slams his hands on the table, I'm not the reason she's sick, he continues, we both know who is, I already put her in a hospital and who takes care of the bills? Me!, he shouts angrily, not to mention someone's gotta put food on the table, I'm trying my best..he sits head down, hands going through his hair
I'm not the one you're angry at, Kai responds unmoved
you're right, you're not, Mr Anaki replies head up,..he is,..... did you make dinner? he asks again
Ma ka pu'u wai (it's in the fridge), Kai replies
Mahalo (thank you) Mr Anaki says walking away.
Next day.. Cedar Creek drama room...
So Kai has a brother, piper says
he was a senior which means he's in college now, Sebastian adds
Okay, Sierra dated this guy, what now? Liana asks
He wasn't a part of their friend group, I reply, Sophie said they never got along, instead they had a lot of squabbles
That reminds me, Sebastian cuts in, James, the first victim was also a bully and a rich kid, one time he got suspended for fighting with a certain classmate, I'm not sure who it was
Probably Keanu, I added, Sophie did mention he'd been roughed up by James before..and his friends actually
The reoccurring character...Liana mumbles to herself, we might have have found her killer
Um..you guys, piper spoke up, I just went through the yearbook, Keanu didn't graduate with the rest of his mates, it seems he left school before then
But the first case occured on the night of prom, Sebastian says, how was he able to kill James if he wasn't there
Simple, he was there that night, Liana responds, he didn't have to be a student, he could come as someone's date, Sierra perhaps?
Even if he did, how was he able to carry out the other murders after they graduated, he must have needed Intel, Sebastian insisted
So maybe he had help from someone in school, liana replied, didn't you guys say he has a brother?
You guys think Kai is involved in this? Piper asks unsure
We can't cross out anyone, Sebastian replies, but we need to find out if he is, Amari can you...
Don't bother, I cut him short, I can't read him believe me I've tried multiple times
That must've been a pain, Liana said mockingly
I smirked at her, it really is, all I can do is watch out for any suspicious behavior, we do share a project together
Okay, piper replies, what about Keanu, how do we prove he's the killer when we have nothing substantial against him and don't even know where he is?
I might be able to help track him, Liana said, but I'll need his phone number and his social media account details
Sebastian do you have access to the school's students profile page? Piper asks, we might find his details there
Sure, I'll check, he replied
I wonder what Sierra did the whole time her boyfriend got bullied by her friends, I suddenly spoke up, how did she keep being friends with them, is that why he killed her?
I also wonder how Taylor got involved in all of this, Liana added, she never mentioned any of this before, and I still don't think getting roughed up is enough reason to kill people
I guess it's not, I replied, but remember we don't know the whole story.
...............
I think our project's gonna be sick, Cleo states excitedly, don't you guys think so?...hello?...Amari?...Kai?
He's always reading, probably to avoid conversing with people. to think I was right about him the whole time...not only is there something off about him, he might also be an accomplice to murder... several murders and why the hell can't I read him!?
Seems like Kai noticed he's been under my gaze for a while...oops, I forgot not to stare too hard
Why're you looking at me like that? he asked with an annoyed look
I guess I've always wanted to thank you, I replied, you're the one who came up with our project idea and it looks sick like Cleo said earlier
Yeah it does, Cleo adds smiling, thanks Kai
No need to thank me, he replied
I get it now!..he uses very few words to express himself making it easy to hide his true feelings thereby making it hard to read him, smart..let's test it out..
I Know you don't care to know but the reason I chose you as my teammate is because you seem like a challenge, and I like a good challenge, I continue
Good for you, he replied
there it is... that's the secret...
I return to my seat
Why are you smiling like that? Piper asks noticing the big smile on my face
I move closer to her and whisper as low as I can..I finally figured it out, about Kai.. he's no alien or magician, he just never reveals his true feelings, that's why I can't read him.. that's psychology
Well I'm glad you finally figured it out, she replied staring in his direction, do you really believe he could be involved in all of this, she asks
It's possible, I reply, it's like Sebastian said, it could be anyone here and you know how smart he is, you can imagine his brother will be too.
But what if we're wrong about Keanu and Kai like we were wrong about professor Matt and Liana, she asks
That's why we wait till Liana does her findings before we make our move, I replied.
Drama room..again...
Liana, we were in the middle of lunch, this better be good, Sebastian said with a half eaten sandwich in his hand as we stroll into the drama room
Liana is sitted on the floor with her laptop on her lap, she has on an unnerving look, you have bad news for us don't you, I asked reading her
She cleared her throat as she began, so thanks to piper i was able to get a hold of Keanu's social media, unfortunately I found nothing, all his accounts had been wiped out clean, also his phone line had been disconnected a long time ago, so there was no way I could track him, I was about to give up when I noticed something,.. all his accounts were linked to a particular server that means he had been operating all the accounts from a single system. After a lot of digging, I was able to find the name of the server but I needed a password..to cut the story short, I was able to hack into the server using an illegal software app don't blame me, still I found nothing, everything had been deleted...luckily, his files were still backed up to the cloud, so I went through them till I found something useful which i had to download and airdrop to my PC... Anyway, it's a video, check it out.
First of all, thanks for your efforts, I stated before she clicked play.
Keanu....
with tears flowing down his cheeks, his eyes all puffy, his skin pale and looking overly underweight,..I can't believe what I'm about to say and do and I know it's stupid but I've never felt so heartbroken and useless before..to all those who love me, I'm so sorry for doing this, if you want to know why I even thought of this..ask squad six....most importantly I'm sorry Kai please find a place in your heart to forgive me and I love you... He injects himself and cuts the video....
We glance at each other confused
And FYI..Squad six is what Sierra's group used to call themselves, Liana adds
Oh man! the whitish stuff in the syringe, I think that's arsenic, I comment,
He killed himself! Sebastian exclaims, his sandwich forgotten on the floor
Piper gulps suddenly with teary eyes
are you okay? I asked
Look at the date at the bottom of the video, she replied,hands covering her mouth
July 2023..I read out
The first case happened in September, piper added
He's not the killer, we concluded.