A/N: For my 12th update in a row, we have a special POV character! 

HEL

DO YOU know that I can talk to the dead? Sounds crazy, right? I know that no one would easily believe me, but that's the truth! People will easily dismiss something that they haven't experienced. I'm proud to say that I have this unique gift—which others would see as a curse—that I use to help the non-living.

Yeah, I help mostly the dead in their wishes to get the justice that they deserve.

I knelt down stared at the decomposing face of a corpse. Oh, I've seen much worse! I also sensed a foul smell coming from the dead body, but thanks to my prior exposure in gruesome crime scenes and my strong stomach, I managed to look at the body without puking.

"Bakit nandito ka pala, Hel?" a senior police officer asked. "Dumiretso ka ba rito galing sa school n'yo?"

"I went here immediately as soon as my client contacted me," I answered, turning around to face a man in his mid-forties. He has a noticeable moustache that helped me identify him from the rest of his kind in the police. His name's Officer Gareth Estrada from the Major Crimes Division of the Angeles City Police Department.

He mentioned school because I'm still a student. Technically, I wasn't supposed to be here. No teenager should have been allowed to waltz into crime scenes. But thanks to my special ability, I managed to earn a reputation as a consultant among the local police. Me talking to the dead helped them solve a number of cases.

"Client?" the officer repeated.

"I told you that I can communicate with spirits, right?" I replied, crossing over the corpse to take a closer look at the pool of blood near its head. "The spirit of this dead man sought me out in my school kaya dumiretso ako rito pagka-dismiss ng class namin."

I can sense that the officer has some doubts about my story, but what's the point of lying to him? He should already know by now that the dead come to me to tell their stories. Whether I'm in school, at the mall, or at a cafe. It's creepy and not for the faint of the heart. But once you get used to it, talking to spirits would become a normal thing, like breathing.

"Hindi mo na kailangang mag-abala pa," Officer Estrada said, sliding his hands in his pockets. "This is a suicide, not a homicide. May iniwang suicide note ang lalaking 'to. Na-depress siya magmula nang maaksidente siya't mag-resign sa kanyang trabaho bilang teacher sa Clark High. Case closed. Mabuti pa't umuwi ka na at mag-aral ng lesson mo para bukas."

"But the dead man told me he didn't kill himself~" I said in a singsong tone, smiling at the officer. "Paano kayo nakasisiguro na legit ang suicide note niya?"

Even if the physical evidence said otherwise, I would still believe in what the spirit said. If I believed the police over what my dead clients said, I would have never solved a single case.

"Kinumpara namin ang handwriting niya sa note at sa kanyang notebook. Nag-match ang dalawa," he answered, stroking his moustache. "Hindi natin makukwestiyon na may intensyon talaga siyang magpakamatay."

I sincerely doubt that. With enough time and experience, one can perfectly imitate another person's handwriting. Admittedly, I forge my mother's signature on every document that she needed to sign. Don't tell anyone, okay? That's our little secret.

Two forensic experts took the corpse out of the unit, leaving only the dried pool of the blood and the chalkmarks on the floor.

"Tell me, officer, if you're gonna shot yourself in the head, how would you do it?" I asked, putting my hands behind me.

His right hand mimicked a gun and pointed at it his temple. "Ganito ko babarilin ang sarili ko."

"So why did our deceased shot himself in the chin?" It's my turn to do a finger gun and point the tip at my chin. "Why not in the temple, as most people would have done?"

"Irrelevant na kung paano niya binaril ang kanyang sarili. Baka mas comfortable siya sa gano'ng posisyon," the officer argued. "Sapat na ang suicide note para suportahan ang aming conclusion na binaril niya ang kaniyang sarili. Sorry, Hel, pero case closed na 'to."

He can't give justice to the dead if he'll easily fall for what he sees in front of him.

"Handwriting can be forged," I said, hopping around the pool of dried blood. His eyes followed me intently. "But let's assume that you are right, that he shot himself. Why did we only find the corpse just now?"

The officer furrowed his eyebrows. If I didn't have enough patience, I would get quickly annoyed by him. "Ano'ng ibig mong sabihin?"

"When was the estimated day of death?" I ignored his question. There are times that I needed to spoonfeed my point to the police. But I'm already used to it so this is no biggie!

"Two days ago, according sa initial assessment ng forensic expert kanina," he answered, browsing his notes.

"So Saturday, huh?" I said, touching my chin. I was careful not to step on the pool of blood. "If he really shot himself, why didn't his neighbors hear any sound of a gunshot? They should have heard a loud bang! Don't you think?"

"Baka wala sila sa kanilang bahay noon," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Come on, officer. You can do better than that! "O baka akala nila, galing sa kanyang TV ang tunog ng putok ng baril."

"Or maybe a suppressor was used to minimize the sound?" I suggested. "But that makes me wonder~ Why didn't we find a suppressor on his gun? Is it possible that someone took it off?"

"Masyado mo yatang ginagawang komplikado ang kasong 'to," the officer laughed at my theory. This case was more complicated than he originally thought because there's more to it than meets the eye! "Marami akong naiisip na paliwanag kung bakit walang nakarinig sa tunog ng baril."

"Why don't you run a paraffin test on the victim then?" I challenged him. "If he really shot himself, forensics should find some gunshot residue on his hand. But if they found nothing..."

"Sige, para sa ikakatahimik ng isip mo," he nodded, taking out his phone. I'm pretty confident that the paraffin test would yield a negative result. He started typing on the screen. "Alam kong kadalasan, tama ang theories mo, pero ngayon, mukhang kailangan mong tanggapin na isa lang itong simpleng kaso ng suicide."

"I strongly believe that this is a homicide disguised as a suicide," I said firmly. "Judging by the potentially forged suicide note, the one behind this killing has planned it meticulously. They want you to think that the man killed himself because he got depressed so you will no longer look any further. But you're lucky to have me, someone who can talk to the deceased!"

With eyes blinking, the officer stared at me for a minute. "What else makes you think na homicide ito?"

"Do you seriously believe that someone who wanted to take his own life would dress up before pulling the trigger?" I asked, thinking of the polo and the pants the deceased were wearing. "Based on how he's dressed, he must have some appointment last Saturday, but he didn't make it because he was killed."

"May punto ka nga riyan," the officer nodded.

"What did you find in the deceased's belongings?" I asked next. His answer might prove my point.

The officer checked his notebook and flipped through some pages. "We've only found his wallet. Nandoon pa ang kanyang identification cards, ATM card at ilang paper bills."

"How about his phone?"

He shook his head. "Wala kaming nakita."

Now that's interesting. "Did you search this unit thoroughly?"

"We left no stone unturned," he replied.

"Don't you find that strange?" I asked, squinting my eyes. Because I do! Most people have phones. I can't help but wonder why he didn't have one.

"Baka naiwan niya sa ibang lugar? O baka dinukutan siya?"

That's possible. "How about his laptop? Did you find it?"

"Laptop?" the officer furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at me.

My right forefinger pointed at the bag near the desk. "See that laptop bag over there? I can't imagine why he would have one if he wasn't using a laptop."

"I swear, wala talaga kaming nakitang laptop. Kaya paanong—"

"Let's assume that this isn't suicide," I said, folding my arms. "Whoever killed him also took his electronic devices. This isn't just a homicide. This is a robbery with homicide."

"Pero that doesn't make any sense," the officer muttered. "Kung ninakawan niya ang lalaking 'to, bakit hindi niya kinuha ang wallet nito?"

"Maybe the killer's more interested in the devices than money," I assumed. "Maybe there's something in there that the killer wants. Judging by his choice of apartment, it seems to me that the deceased is hiding from someone or some people."

"Then na-track down siya sa unit na 'to," the officer continued. Looks like he's finally seeing my point! "At dito na siya pinatay at ninakawan."

I nodded. "Unfortunately, there's no CCTV camera on this street. We can't trace who was secretly watching him from the outside. But maybe, we can check the cameras of the business establishments nearby. They might have spotted a car or a motorbike that has been roaming around the area."

"Officer Estrada, excuse me?"

A young police officer entered the unit.

"Ano 'yon?" the senior officer asked.

"May nahanap ho kaming tao na nagsabing may nakasalubong siyang mga tao na naghahanap sa lalaking nakatira sa unit na 'to."

"Teka, wala akong inuutos na ganyan, ah?" the officer wondered. "Sino ang nagsabi sa inyo na—"

"Don't worry, officer! I asked your men to find potential eyewitnesses," I told him. "I hope it's okay with you. This is for a case, after all~"

A middle-aged man carrying two large aluminum buckets that hang from each end of a pole went inside. He carefully put down what he was carrying and stood upright.

"We appreciate your cooperation, mister!" I greeted him with a smile on my face. "Tell us, what did you see?"

"Nitong weekend ho kasi, may nakasalubong akong dalawang babae," the taho vendor recounted. "Tapos 'yong isa sa kanila, ipinakita sa akin 'yong litrato ng isang lalaki. Nawawalang tatay niya raw 'yon. Nataon na suki ko 'yong lalaki kaya naituro ko sa kanila kung saan siya nakatira. Dito siya nakatira."

"Saturday or Sunday?" I asked.

"Sabado yata?" the taho vendor responded, looking up. "Family day ang Sunday kaya hindi ako naglalako tuwing Linggo."

"Pwede mo bang i-describe sa amin kung ano ang itsura ng dalawang babaeng 'to?" the officer asked.

"Halos kasing edad lang niya yata?" the taho vendor pointed at me. "'Yong isa, naka-braid ang buhok at artistahin ang itsura. Medyo malaki rin 'yong ano. Tapos 'yong kasama niya, may mahabang buhok at bangs. Medyo payat ang katawan."

A teenager with braided hair and another teenager with long hair? Those descriptions sound familiar.

"Sir," I called as I turned to the senior officer, "do you still remember my dad?"

"Dad? Ah, oo!" Officer Estrada exclaimed, realizing who I was referring to. "Si Loki! Bakit, gusto mo bang hingan natin siya ng tulong?"

"You've been with him for months, right?" I asked, smiling. "The descriptions that the taho vendor gave... don't they match the two girls who are always with him?"

"You mean, Lorelei and Jamie?" he recalled. "Parang nagma-match nga ang descriptions sa kanila. Pero baka coincidence lang? Hindi lang naman silang dalawa ang may gano'ng itsura.

I took out my phone and made a quick search on Facebook. QED Club. A number of search results appeared on my feed. One of them was a photo where four teenagers stood on stage. It appeared to me that they were being awarded. I can definitely tell that it's them because I recognized the face of my dad. I zoomed in on the faces of the two girls.

"Kuya, are these the girls who asked you questions?" I said, showing the photo flashed on my phone screen.

The taho vendor squinted his eyes for a few seconds, then his face lit up. "Ah, oo! Sila nga 'yong dalawang babaeng nakasalubong ko!"

"Thank you for your cooperation!" I smiled at him as the police escorted him out of the unit.

"Ano'ng ibig sabihin nito?" Officer Estrada asked. "Bakit hinahanap nina Lorelei at Jamie ang biktima sa apartment na 'to?"

"The deceased was a former teacher at Clark High, wasn't he?" I recalled. "There's your connection~ I don't know exactly how they fit in this puzzle, but we can safely conclude that they're interested in the poor dead man."

I can't help but smile. It's been more than a month since I last saw the four of them.

"I believe that my dad and I are overdue for a chat."

q.e.d.

For those who forgot, Hel is another high school detective acting as a consultant for the Angeles City Police Department featured in Chapter 32: The Haunt of Bascoville in Volume 2. 

Catch Hel and her fellow paranormal detectives in their upcoming spin-off story, "What the Hel?"

If you've enjoyed reading this special update, share your thoughts or theories on Twitter using the hashtag #ProjectLOKI!