A/N: And we're back! Did you miss me? Did you miss the QED 4? Let's continue where we left off!

LORELEI

"Strychnine poisoning?"

THEY ALL stared at me with furrowed eyebrows. Loki was the least surprised among the three. He'd probably heard of that poison before kaya alam niya kung ano ang epekto nito. Alistair's face relaxed as he flashed a hint of recognition. Jamie was somewhat clueless, but the name might have rung a bell in her.

Nasa maingay at crowded na cafeteria kami ngayon. Humabol ako sa aming lunch pagkatapos ng pakikipagkita ko kay Luthor sa library. Our secret talk didn't take that long. After he showed me the autopsy and toxicology report, we didn't have anything else to discuss kaya iniwan ko na siya roon. We couldn't be seen together kaya nauna na akong umalis sa kanya. He'd leave the library after ten minutes.

It felt like we were spies exchanging confidential information about our own targets.

"Where did you get this information?" Loki asked. Dahan-dahang naningkit ang kanyang mga mata.

"Wrong question," I replied. Hindi ko pwedeng sabihin sa kanila, lalo na sa kanya, na galing kay Luthor ang impormasyon. That might raise an alarm or something. I must keep my source anonymous. "We should be asking who could have poisoned Augustus."

"Again where did you get this information?" Loki asked again, his eyes still narrowed into slits. He's really persistent. Sinubukan ko na nang ibahin ang topic pero ibinabalik niya pa rin. Why was he so curious about it? "You're obviously trying to deflect my question."

"Because the question is irrelevant at this moment." I sighed. But he's right. Dine-deflect ko nga ang tanong niya. Sana'y makisakay na lang siya. "Kahit malaman n'yo kung saan galing ang info, walang magbabago, 'di ba? Augustus will still be dead. His killer is still at large. Kaya nga gusto kong mag-focus tayo sa mas importanteng punto."

"Lori, posible kayang..." Jamie's voice trailed off as her eyes gave me an intriguing look. Napatigil siya sa pagkain niya ng sandwich. "...ninakaw mo ang reports mula sa campus police? Is that the reason why na-late ka sa lunch session natin? Because you had to break into their office?"

Muntik nang magdikit ang mga kilay ko.

"You do know that's strictly illegal, right?" Loki added. Wow, ah. Sa kanya pa talaga galing 'yon. I wouldn't be surprised kung si Alistair ang magsasabi noon because we know very well that he's stickler to the rules. But from Loki? Kinda unexpected. "I must admit I would have considered that strategy to get what we need. I didn't know you had it in you."

Now they're getting the wrong idea. Kapag nga naman hindi mo agad nilinaw ang isang bagay, lalabo at lalabo ang paningin ng iba tungkol doon.

"I don't think Lori stole anything." Alistair came to my defense. He knew me the most so I wasn't surprised he didn't fall for the I-stole-something angle. Ipinatong niya sa mesa ang iniinom niyang tubig bago nagsalita. "She has her own ways."

"Yeah, you two are the goody two shoes in our team." Loki agreed, nodding. That may sound as an insult for some, but for me—and maybe for Alistair too—that's a compliment. "You won't immediately resort to strategies that are against the rules."

"Can we focus on the more important topic here?" Muli kong ibinalik sa dapat pag-usapan ang discussion namin. Napasubo muna ako ng pasta bago nagpatuloy. "I heard that strychnine can kill within fifteen to thirty minutes."

Maybe it's not a good idea to eat while talking about poison. Bigla akong nawalan ng gana sa pagkain.

"In high doses, yes," Loki confirmed with a nod. "But if the amount of strychnine isn't that much, it might take an hour or two. During that period, symptoms will appear such as muscle spasms, jaw tightness, difficulty in breathing, et cetera."

That reminds me. Noong humalakhak si Augustus, may kaunting paghingal sa pagitan ng kanyang "ha." "Ha-ha-ha-ha!" He also threw his head back. That could have been signs of muscle spasms.

"Strychnine is a crystalline alkaloid, right? 'Yong ginagamit din bilang pesticide?" tanong ni Jamie. Parang naging instant chemistry lesson ang discussion namin. "How can you be exposed to it?"

"Through ingesting food or water contaminated with strychnine," Loki answered. Tumingin muna siya sa pasta na kinakain ko tapos sa water bottle ni Alistair. "Or through inhaling strychnine powder. The membranes in the eyes, nose and mouth can absorb it too. Once inside the body, strychnine will sort of shut down the nerve signals to the muscles."

"Augustus didn't eat or drink anything when he's in the boardroom," Alistair recalled, rubbing his chin. "Imposible ring may strychnine powder sa hangin. We breathed the same air that circulated in that room. We should have been dead if that's the case."

"Kung gano'n, paano nalason si Augustus?" kunot-noong tanong ni Jamie. Finally, we're asking the right question. "Was it during the time na nagkaroon ng sandaling blackout? 'Yon lang kasi ang oras na posibleng may nakalapit sa kanya. Except my Loki dear who wasn't there, we were a few seats away from him, right?"

"I saw a red dot on his neck when I got close to him," tugon ko. Muling nag-flash sa isip ko ang mukha ni Augustus habang pinipilit niyang magpatuloy sa paghinga. Napapikit tuloy ang mga mata ko. Alistiar quickly asked if I was okay. That image was gonna haunt me. "Naisip ko nga noong una na baka may nag-prick ng poisoned needle o may nagpatama ng poisoned dart sa kanya."

"But?" Loki cast his gaze at me.

"But he died immediately after the blackout." I returned his gaze. "Isa o dalawang minuto lang ang lumipas nang muling bumalik ang ilaw sa board room. Strychnine couldn't have reacted that fast, right?"

"Besides, if someone shot him with a poisoned dart, bakit wala kang nakitang dart na nakatusok sa leeg niya? If it fell, why didn't the police find it when they swept the room?" Alistair asked. Tanging red dot lang ang nakita ko. "Also how could have someone shot him during the blackout? It seemed impossible."

"Baka insect bite lang ang red dot na nakita ko." Napatingin ako sa aking pasta. I might have mistaken that dot as something related to his death. The dart-in-the-dark angle was becoming less plausible the more I think about it.

"Maybe the blackout was a coincidence?" Jamie mused. Inilipat-lipat niya sa amin ang kanyang tingin. "Nataon na aksidenteng namatay ang ilaw habang may sinasabing importante si Augustus."

"Or maybe someone wanted to mislead us," Loki countered. Napatingin kaming tatlo sa kanya. "He knew that we'd look into the blackout. He expected that we would waste time discussing how the crime could have been committed in the pitch black darkness. We won't look anywhere else because we believe that the answer lies in the blackout."

"Isang pampalito," bulong ni Alistair na tinanguan ni Loki. "If that theory is correct, whoever's behind Augustus' death is clever... and dangerous."

"If Augustus wasn't poisoned in the board room, he was probably exposed to strychnine minutes or hours before we escorted him there," I said, touching my chin. "Sinundo namin siya sa Clarion office. Baka doon siya nalason?"

I remember seeing him reading the pieces of paper that the Clarion posted on their bulletin board. Loki mentioned na posibleng makapasok sa katawan ang strychnine sa pag-inhale ng powder na 'to. Maybe those sheets were sprinkled with poison? I might be overthinking, but anything could be suspicious.

"If we wanna know the truth behind his death, we need to trace back his steps," Loki remarked. "In the Clarion office. In the classroom. In the locker area. Let's try to interview some witnesses, some of his staffers, some of his classmates, some of his friends—if he had any—you know the drill."

"We can also check the security cameras, right?" Alistair asked. "Doon natin masusundan ang footsteps ni Augustus mula nang pumasok siya sa school. If we're lucky, we might spot the face of his poisoner on the footage."

Mabilis na itinaas ni Jamie ang kanyang kamay. Muntikan na nga niya akong matamaan. "Magbo-volunteer na ako sa interview! You know that my charms are irresistible!"

She had a point. Thanks to her popularity and her ability to pretend that she cared about the people she's talking with, mas madali niyang makukuha ang loob ng kung sinumang kailangang kausapin. May iilan lang instances kung saan 'di tumalab ang charm niya.

"Perfect," Loki said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Lorelei can come with you. She might remember the students who were in the Clarion office before Augustus started his march to death."

"Hindi ba pwedeng tayo ang mag-partner, Loki dear?" tanong ni Jamie. "I'll talk to them and lure out their true selves. Then you deduce based on their facial expressions and vocal intonation whether they're lying or not. We can be a perfect tandem!"

Ang haba pa ng sinabi niya, pero simple lang ang punto niya. Gusto niyang magkasama silang dalawa.

"I will check the security footages with Alistair," Loki replied, making Jamie frown. "He might need another pair of observant eyes to watch every movement in every frame of the security footages. Lorelei will do well as your partner. You two have worked well before, haven't you?"

"Oo, pero..."

"Then it's settled." Loki sealed the discussion with a nod.

"We're going to tell Maggie about this, aren't we?" Alistair asked.

Sandaling napatitig sa kanya si Loki, hindi muna agad kumibo. "Of course, we are. She's our boss and she needs to know what we're doing."

Parang may kaunting duda ako sa sinabi niya. He might have just said that so Alistair would stop pestering him about the protocols.

"Baka may napansin din si Maggie noong pumunta kami sa Clarion office," dagdag ko. "At the very least, she must be informed about our plan."

"Yeah, yeah." Loki nodded.

"How about Rosetta?" Jamie asked, turning to me. "Sasabihin din ba natin kay Maggie ang nalaman natin tungkol sa kanya? Everything that she told us? From being an associate of Stein to her request of helping her get out of the organization?"

Nagkapalitan kaming apat ng tingin. Patong-patong na ang mga bagay na hindi pa namin sine-share sa aming "boss." Kapag dumami pa 'to, baka malunod na kami sa sikreto at mahirapang umahon.

"We can decide later," Loki answered. "We have an execom meeting after class, don't we? We still have four hours to decide."

***

We left the cafeteria fifteen minutes before the bell rang. Nagkahiwa-hiwalay muna kami ng landas sa may stairs patungong second floor. Sabay kami ni Alistair na naglakad sa hallway patungo sa aming classroom. Then I remembered something. Nahinto ako sa paglalakad.

"What's wrong, Lori?" may pag-aalalang tanong niya.

"Can we check something first?" sagot ko sabay tingin sa kanya. "Something bothers me."

Tumalikod ako't naglakad pabalik sa hagdan. Without asking anything, Alistair followed me as I trotted down the stairs. We landed on the ground floor and kept on walking across the corridor until we reached the Lost & Found section.

"May nawawala ka bang item?" tanong ng kasama ko nang huminto kami sa tapat ng office.

"I forgot to mention something," sagot ko. Sa sobrang dami na ng mga bagay na hinaharap namin, nakalimutan kong i-bring up kanina. "Remember when an anonymous person texted me to check my locker? I suspect him to be the third party. Hindi ko binura ang message niya kaya nasa phone ko pa ang number niya."

"You tried to call him?" Alistair guessed.

I nodded. "I was hoping na maliliwanagan ako kung bakit ako ang pinili niyang pagbigyan ng hard drive. Susubukan ko rin sanang hingin sa kanya ang password. Rosetta said that she couldn't access the files because of that, right?"

"How did your conversation go?"

Umiling ako na may kasamang buntong-hininga. "Iba ang nakausap ko sa phone. Apparently, the real owner is a student who happened to misplace his phone yesterday. Ginamit ng anonymous third party ang number niya para i-text ako. Pagkatapos noon, isinurrender niya ito sa Lost & Found section. Kaninang umaga lang na-claim ng totoong may-ari ang phone."

Ipinihit ko ang doorknob at dahan-dahang itinulak ang pinto paloob. Binati kami ng isang malawak na ngiti ng isang estudyanteng nakabantay sa counter. She must be the student aide assigned to this office.

"Good afternoon!" bati ko sa kanya. "May itatanong sana kami tungkol sa isang nawalang item. Meron bang nag-surrender dito ng phone kahapon na kinlaim kaninang umaga?"

Kumunot ang noo ng student aide. "May I know kung bakit n'yo tinatanong?"

Sandali kaming nagkatinginan ni Alistair. Baka hindi siya comfortable na i-share sa amin ang gano'ng impormasyon. Baka may confidentiality rin pagdating sa mga lost item.

Pasimpleng hinawakan ni Alistair ang kanyang shirt collar kung saan naka-pin ang execom badge niya. I see what he's trying to do. Ipinakita ko rin ang aking badge. "We're from the student executive committee. We've been tasked by the student council to confirm cases of lost and found items in the campus."

The way he offered the explanation was natural. Aakalain mo talagang inutusan kami ng student council sa tono niya. Mukhang napaniwala naman ang student aide.

"Gusto sana naming malaman kung sino ang nag-surrender at sino ang nag-claim sa phone na tinutukoy ko," I continued. "Do you keep record of their names?"

"Itse-check ko lang ho 'yong records namin," nakangiting sagot ng estudyante sabay yuko at kuha ng isang logbook. I could hear her flipping through the pages.

This is one of the perks of wearing this execom pin. It could literally open any door and ask for anyone's cooperation easily.

"Al, can you also check the security feed yesterday?" I shot a sideward glance at him while we're waiting for the student aide to find what we're looking for.

"Yesterday?" He knitted his eyebrows. After a few seconds, his face relaxed again, looking enlightened. "You wanna check kung sino ang pumunta sa locker area at posibleng nag-iwan ng hard drive sa locker mo?"

I nodded. "We can put an end to the mystery of the anonymous texter kung nahagip siya ng camera. Alam kong walang camera sa mismong locker area para protektahan ang privacy ng mga estudyante. But maybe, the camera outside the locker room might help us."

"Sure, we will also check that angle."

"Thanks."

"Heto po." Ipinatong ng student aide ang notebook sa counter at itinuro ang isang pangalan na nasa listahan. "Siya ho ang nag-surrender sa amin ng phone tapos... siya naman 'yong nag-claim kaninang umaga."

Napabukas ang bibig ko nang mabasa ang isang pamilyar na pangalan sa logbook: Jim Morayta.

"Si Sir Jim ang nag-surrender sa phone?" bulong ko. Ilang beses kong binasa ang pangalan dahil baka namamalik-mata lang ako. Teka, baka may iba pang tao sa campus na may kaparehong pangalan niya?

"Nakita niya raw 'yong phone sa faculty room," paliwanag ng estudyante. "Medyo weird nga, eh. Kasi ayon sa nag-claim, hindi siya pumasok sa faculty room kahapon. Maging ako nagtaka rin kanina kung paano napunta roon 'yong phone."

That confirmed it. The "Jim Morayta" on the logbook is the Jim Morayta we know.

"Maraming salamat!"

Pagkalabas namin ni Alistiar sa Lost & Found section, nagkatinginan kaming dalawa. He realized what I had realized. We probably had the same question in mind.

"Do you think Sir Jim is..." My voice trailed off. Ayaw kong i-entertain ang idea, but it's one of the possibilities raised by our trip in the Lost & Found section.

"Whoever left the hard drive in your locker is very cautious," Alistair answered, his eyes had a faraway look in them. "Ibang number pa nga ang ginamit niya para i-text ka. If I were that person, I wouldn't have surrendered the phone to the Lost & Found section. Hindi ko rin ila-log ang pangalan ko dahil posibleng ma-trace ako. Iiwan ko na lang 'to sa kung saan. If Sir Jim is that person, do you think he'd be that careless?"

Marahan akong umiling. Parang nakahinga ako nang maluwag. I couldn't imagine Sir Jim being part of this mess. Parang wala kasi sa ugali niya na magagawa niyang pumatay o magpapatay ng tao para makuha ang gusto niya. I still have little doubts about him, but some threads dangling around couldn't tie him to that dark thought.

At least, we got that issue settled already. Umakyat na ulit kami sa hagdan patungo sa aming classroom. We still had five minutes.

"Have you made a decision regarding Rosetta's request?" tanong ni Alistair nang paliko na kami sa hallway.

"I'm not yet decided," sagot ko nang may pag-iling. "I might need some time to think about it. Hindi rin kasi natin 'to pwedeng madaliin. Kapag mali ang naging desisyon natin, we might lose something valuable that we can use against M and his organization."

"I agree." Alistair nodded, sighing. "I still have doubts on Rosetta based on how she approached us and what her motives might be."

I looked at him. "What does your gut feeling say?"

"My gut feeling?"

"Remember that time when you told me na may itinatago si Jamie?" I recalled. "You were right. Meron nga siya. Maybe this time, your gut feeling might be right too."

Gut feelings may not be fully reliable, but when you're too confused on what to do, it might be worth listening to it. As for me, my gut's telling me to trust Rosetta, but not that much. There might be some truth in what she had told us but some parts might be lies.

Huminga nang malalim si Alistair at napatanaw sa malayo. Napakurap ang kanyang mga mata. "What does my gut feeling say, huh? Hmmm..."

Yumuko siya't humawak sa kanyang chin, tila nag-iisip nang malalim. Ilang segundo rin akong nakatitig sa kanya.

"Is it strange for me to say that maybe we can trust her? She may have put a stain on herself by being one of them, but something tells me na dapat natin siyang pagkatiwalaan. I don't know exactly what that is, at the moment."

"How much doubt do you—"

Ilang hakbang na lang ang layo namin sa classroom nang mapahinto ako sa paglalakad. May naramdaman kasi ako mula sa aking nakabulsang phone. It kept on vibrating. Who would call me during class hours?

Inilabas ko ang aking phone. Naningkit ang aking mga matang nakatingin sa screen.

"Is something wrong?" tanong ni Alistair.

Ipinakita ko sa kanya ang mga numero sa screen. "An unknown number."

I was tempted to decline the call, as I usually do. But with everything that was happening, I might take it. For all we know, this could be an emergency. So I did.

Inilapit ko sa aking tenga ang phone pagkasagot ko sa tawag. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Hello, Lorelei. Nabuksan mo na ang regalo ko sa 'yo?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang marinig ang mala-robot na boses sa kabilang linya. Tumabi ako sa may railings para hindi ako nakaharang sa hallway. Sumunod din si Alistair, nagtatakang nakatitig sa akin.

"It might be the anonymous texter," I whispered to him. Sandali kong inilayo sa aking bibig ang phone bago muling ibinalik ito malapit sa tenga ko. "Ano'ng regalo ang sinasabi mo?"

"Nakalimutan mo na ba? 'Yong iniwan ko sa 'yong locker."

Confirmed. Siya nga 'yon! The mysterious texter. What a coincidence. Pinag-uusapan pa lang namin siya kanina tapos ngayon, tumawag na?

"The hard drive," I muttered.

"Napansin mo na sigurong hindi mo basta-basta mabubuksan at malalaman kung ano ang nasa loob noon."

"Dahil password-protected," sagot ko. Muling nagawi kay Alistair ang tingin ko. "Kung regalo mo talaga sa 'kin ang hard drive, bakit kailangan mo akong pahirapan na buksan 'yon?"

He might not know yet na ninakaw na sa akin ang hard drive. Baka ibibigay na niya sa akin ang password. If I tell him that the hard drive was no longer in my possession, he might think twice of telling me the password. I had to pretend as if it's still with me.

"Dahil hindi lahat ng bagay ay basta-basta mo makukuha. May mga bagay na kailangan mong paghirapan."

"Gusto mo muna akong pahirapan bago ko mabuksan ang regalo mo?"

"Hindi ka siguro mahihirapan sa ipapagawa ko. Alam kong mahilig ka at ang mga kasama mo na alamin ang tunay na mensahe sa likod ng mga coded message. Bakit hindi natin subukan?"

"Paano?"

Then he hung up. That's it?

"Ano'ng sabi niya?" tanong ni Alistair.

"He's probably thinking na nasa akin pa ang hard drive," sagot ko. Hininaan ko ang aking boses dahil may ilang dumaraang estudyante. "Balak niyang ibigay sa akin ang password, pero kailangan ko raw munang i-decode ang isang coded message."

Nag-beep ang aking phone. I checked the newest message in my inbox. Kumunot ang noo ko at naningkit ang mga mata habang binabasa ang nakasaad dito.

The message ran like this:

I hope this mail finds you well.
Last year, I had a trip around Luzon.
I bought handmade clay ceramics in Tiwi, Albay.
I drank kapeng barako in Lipa, Batangas.
I prayed to our Lady of Manaoag in Manaoag, Pangasinan.
I saw the hanging coffins in Sagada, Mountain Province.
I bathed in the Magibuay Falls in Tagkawayan, Quezon.
You can say that I've been to many places,
always with only four of my trusted acquaintances,
but the ones and thousands don't matter,
because only those in the middle ground shall come together.

This looked like someone's travel bucket list with some strange phrases added on. Parang sasakit ang ulo ko sa paulit-ulit na pagbabasa at pag-a-analyze nito. When he mentioned coded message, I thought he's gonna send a string of letters or numbers or both.

"Let's try to crack that later." Alistair glanced at the clock display on his phone. "Afternoon classes are about to start."

Tumango ako't sabay bulsa sa aking phone. I had to focus on our classes. Kapag patuloy kong pinag-isipan kung paano ide-decode ito, baka hindi na ako makapag-concentrate sa lessons namin.

Nagpatuloy na kami sa paglalakad patungo sa aming classroom. We were only a few steps away.

"Uhm.... Excuse me, miss~"

I felt that was directed at me so I turned around. Napalingon din si Alistair. A smiling girl with bobcut hair greeted me. She's obviously not a student of Clark High dahil iba ang suot niyang uniform. Pinagtitinginan siya ng mga estudyanteng napapadaan sa gilid namin.

Wait a minute. Her bubbly face looked familiar, even the way she spoke. Saan ko na nga ba siya nakita noon?

"Isn't she that detective girl from the Bascoville case?" Alistair whispered to me.

"Sorry to call your attention~" she said in a singsong tone. "I'm wondering if you can help me find my dad?"

Hel?!

q.e.d.

It took me some time to think of this riddle. Let me know your answers!

If you've enjoyed reading this update, share your thoughts or theories on Twitter using the hashtag #ProjectLOKI! Also, please avoid directly mentioning the names of characters that can be considered as spoilers.