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"JUST read it quietly--" George began, but Raine's voice sliced in, halting him mid-sentence.

"Seriously, sir?" Raine cut in, steering the conversation off course.

Zane fell quiet, and George followed suit.

"IS SHE ALWAYS LIKE THAT?" Zane mouthed silently, letting the DI catch his unspoken words.

"GET USED TO IT." George replied in the same manner.

"What details do you have about the victim?" Raine asked, her tone serious.

"Can I speak now?" George whispered, glancing at her, eager for permission to contribute.

"Go ahead. Just make it quick, please," Raine said.

"But is she confirmed dead? You called the ambulance, right?" Zane shot back, his frustration evident.

"Andrea Rivera, 32 years old," George started. "A neighbour spotted her and reported a gunshot. They were planning to surprise her for her birthday, but when they noticed the door open, they rushed in to investigate."

"Other neighbours said Andrea returned home moments before they heard the shot. It was barely an hour after they'd last seen her. The EMT arrived outside, and she's already confirmed dead on the spot," he concluded. "She'll be taken to the morgue for further investigations after this."

"I just want to be sure about it," Zane replied, aware of his second profession.

"Clearly, this isn't one of the heart-stealing killer's victims," Raine observed, her gaze scanning the scene for clues. Her eyes narrowed as they roamed over the victim, honing in on potential evidence.

"I thought this was one of them," Zane said as she continued. "Auntie said so."

"Fake news. Is that new to you?" Raine replied.

George and Zane exchanged surprised glances as Raine stepped cautiously forward, approaching the side of the corpse. Her gaze fell on the bullet hole in the woman's temple, noting its small size and the minimal burn marks surrounding it.

"Long range," she thought.

Her russet-brown eyes flicked to the woman's right hand holding the gun. She then shifted towards the things around the woman and found a coffee cup placed left, a small plate holding a pancit canton with the fork located on the left, and his phone located left next to the plate.

"Left handed," Raine noted to herself.

She squatted beside the body, running her gloved hand along the woman's hand that gripped the gun. Signs of livor mortis were evident, the blood settling and causing discolouration. The stiffness of the hand indicated rigor mortis.

"Two hours or more after death," she thought again.

She turned her attention to the woman's gunshot wound, noting the absence of any bleeding.

"The heart has already stopped beating."

As she surveyed the area, her gaze landed on a pair of white shoes neatly arranged under the shoe rack alongside the others.

"Organized."

Her attention drifted to the surrounding items...

"Organized."

... and then the way the woman wore her clothes: an oversized gray shirt and pink pajamas...

"Neat."

... before shifting her gaze to the side where the door led to a terrace, noticing the pots with spilt soil.

"Disorganized."

She glanced at the woman's left hand and noticed the silver ring.

"Married." Spotting the absence of photos of the man, she reconsidered. "Unhappily married."

Rising to her feet, she looked down at the woman, a slight smile of satisfaction crossing her face as she made her final deduction.

"What did you find out?" Greg asked.

"I told you we can figure this out ourselves," Detective Sergeant Cruz interjected as she approached the room.

"I just need to confirm my own deductions," George replied, though both of them understood they needed Raine to expedite the process, given their urgency in tracking the serial killer that had the public on edge. "Suicide, is it?" George asked suddenly.

"Highly unlikely," Raine snapped. "If you're not in a hurry, you'll find out the truth."

"What about the letter?" Zane asked.

"It's on the table right there, opposite the sofa. A suicide note, supposedly penned by Andrea," George replied, gesturing to a sheet of paper laid out before them. Beside the coffee cup, a white paper was clipped to a vase, which Raine picked up with her gloved hands.

"Have you taken this already?" she asked.

"Yes, but we placed it exactly where we found it for the experts to see," DS Cruz said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"'I can't fight my conscience anymore. Forgive me...'" Raine read aloud from the note.

"That sounds genuine!" Zane exclaimed.

"Hmm... The paper was torn from somewhere, and the writing appears hasty, likely done in a moment of panic," Raine observed, examining the paper in her grasp.

"That's the crux of the matter. Someone must have orchestrated Andrea's murder to mimic suicide. But this letter..." Raine's grin widened, a glimmer of realization shining in her eyes. "This letter exposes their scheme."

"Was it a mistake? Did they slip up?" George asked.

"I'll make my own deductions, but you can address that once we've sorted everything out with the interviews of the persons of interest," Raine replied.

"Just say it, and we'll filter things out," George urged.

"First of all, the wound was on the right side of her head, and she held the gun in her right hand while Ms. Rivera was left-handed," Raine began. She mimed her point, pretending to aim a gun at her right temple with her left hand. "How could she do that?"

"Left-handed?" George asked.

"Coffee cup handle, fork for the noodles, and so on," Raine replied.

"Now, the paper. It seems to be written by a left-handed person, too," Raine remarked, examining it closely. "However, what makes this case even more intriguing is that Mrs. Rivera was a nurse," she added, causing Zane's eyes to widen.

"I didn't mention-- I didn't tell you that yet," George interjected, his confusion reflecting Zane's.

"How did you know that?" Zane asked.

"It's quite simple, really," she replied nonchalantly. "Did you notice the lingering scent of antiseptic on her clothes, even after she changed? The well-worn white shoes were organized, along with most of her belongings."

"Okay, that's impressive!" Zane exclaimed.

"Aren't nurses trained to maintain composure in high-pressure situations?" Raine continued. "The handwriting? Did it match hers?"

"Well, that explains it," DS Garcia said sarcastically. "No. No, it didn't match. According to the SOCO members I put on hold because you came here, the signature is fake, though it bears a resemblance."

"You might want to lower your pride, Inspector. Or perhaps stop arguing with your wife, as she seems to be messing with your head," Raine suggested.

George grimaced and shook his head. "What about the letter, then?"

"Not written by her, of course," Raine replied. "She might have just come home from work, and when she was ready to enjoy her well-deserved merienda around three in the afternoon, someone arrived here before her and shot her."

"What about the letter, though?" George pressed.

Raine's gaze fixed on Zane, who stood near the door with his arms crossed. "What do you think, Mr. Nuñez?" she asked.

"Of the letter?" Zane replied.

"Yes, clearly, what else?" Raine said sarcastically. "You're a nurse, too, right?"

"Okay, that's enough. We don't need any more help with the investigations," George interjected, raising a hand. "The whole team is waiting outside, and we've got medical experts and trained professionals back there."

"What, then you'll just label this as a murder by an unknown individual?" Raine shot back, her sarcasm evident. "Or you'll eventually find out who did it, but it'll take months. Meanwhile, the murderer will be out there, enjoying their life of solitude."

"You're just new to the CSI team, and remember that you're mainly here because of your research project," DS Cruz remarked. "You're not even in uniform."

"But you called me because you're impressed with my progress," Raine countered. "I'm on holiday, and isn't it right to volunteer freely?"

George remained silent, as did his partner, who rolled her eyes at the exchange. "Go ahead, Nuñez," she said, glancing over her shoulder to see the team waiting outside. "Just a couple more minutes," she added before closing the door.

Zane stepped forward into the scene, his gaze wandering around the area. The hole in the wall on the right side caught his attention first. He approached the closet in the small bedroom to the right and found white uniforms, confirming that the woman was indeed a nurse. Next to the hamper, he noticed another piece of blue clothing, suggesting she had just come home from work.

He then made his way to the terrace with DI Ferrer, where they examined the spilt soil and noted the height of the building. They were greeted by a forest at the back, and the view of the sunset waving at them goodbye, its golden rays stretching across the horizon.

George's eyes were drawn to a scratch on the green metal railings, a mark that suggested a rope had dragged a heavy object up or down.

"Well?" Raine asked, appearing behind them.

"What?" Zane asked, surprised. "Why me?"

"So your presence here won't go to waste," she replied.

"But I only came to make sure you wouldn't get into trouble," Zane whispered.

"Yes, and now once you help me make a point, I will stay out of trouble of losing my new job," she whispered back.

"Well, the woman's a nurse. She has her uniforms," Zane said.

"They already know that. They've probably searched her identity already," Raine replied.

The two paced back to the front of the body, where Zane knelt to inspect it. "A bullet entered and fractured her skull; that's likely the main reason she died," he noted. He examined her further. "There's no smell of alcohol in her system, which means she was probably sober when the shooting happened."

"That's enough; you've already consumed more than a minute. What have you all got so far?" DS Cruz reminded them.

"Oh, Raine. There's a rope mark by the terrace that I think is linked to this," George said. "Also, two bullet casings were found in the area, but the neighbours only reported one gunshot."

Zane stood up, ready to wrap things up.

"The victim had probably just came home from work. She changed her clothes and organized them, then cooked her meal in the kitchen on the first floor. Someone had slipped into her house without her noticing," Raine said.

"Who could that person be?" Zane asked.

"The same person who wrote that fake suicide note--a person with access to her keys. Someone she trusts, who knows her well, including her habits," Raine continued. "The person shot her with a silencer, then stayed for a while, possibly to mourn or feel guilty about what they had done. After about an hour and a half, they planned their escape, removed the silencer, and fired the gun again, hitting the wall toward her bedroom. Knowing the neighbours would soon arrive, they hurriedly placed the gun in the victim's hand, wrote the note, tied a rope to the terrace to escape into the forest, and then left."

"Then why did they shoot the gun again without a silencer? Wouldn't it have been easier for them to just leave her here until the neighbours arrived?" Zane asked.

"Because of guilt and their conscience," Raine replied, walking toward the hallway as she began to remove her attire. She took out her phone and started scrolling through it. "You should investigate the landowner. If he or she is too old, find her friends. However, if those friends don't seem to like her much or if she has no one she truly trusts, interview her husband."

She hurried down the green-tiled staircase. "I've gotta go! You should check the news about the failed attempt of the serial killer," she said, pausing briefly before reaching the main door.

"The aswang struck again?" George asked, his eyes darting around.

"Funny how that creature left a witness. Poor one," she replied before finally walking away, seemingly forgetting about Zane.

"Well, there goes our chance to uncover that creature's identity, too," George said as they finally allowed the team inside.

"She did that in just a few minutes?" one of the crime scene investigators asked.

"I guess," George replied, shifting his gaze to Nuñez, who remained awestruck by the victim as the team carefully placed her body onto a stretcher after taking another set of photos. "Thank you for your time, Mister. You may go now."