Chapter 12: Reel to Real Mystery

LORELEI

THIS is strange. Sa pagkakatanda ko, bukas pa magsisimula ang deduction game. But the screen
nearby told us that the game has already begun.

Bigla bang nagbago ang schedule? At nasaan ang mga camera? Kung talagang nagsimula na ang second round, dapat nakaabang na ang mga kasama naming cameraman. Or maybe they installed hidden cameras gaya sa Pinoy Big Brother?

“As the first team to unlock the door, we shall have the honor of going in first,” Loki said as he pushed the door inward. “You may enter once we are done inspecting the scene.”

“Ang galing talaga ni Loki dear!” Jamie cheered. Hinawakan niya ang leader namin sa braso. “No one thought of picking the lock of the door except you. Teka, bakit ba ang init sa kwarto ng host? Alam kong umuulan pero gano’n na ba kalamig para i-on niya ang heater?”

Sumilip ako sa kwarto at napansing madilim.

Naramdaman ko rin ang kakaibang init na nagmumula sa loob. I could see a silhouette inside—thanks to the light outside. Alistair stood behind me and leaned his back against the door frame.

“Do you also find it strange?” tanong niya, dahilan para malingon ako sa kanya. “You’ve been looking around, searching for the cameras, right?”

I nodded. “They should already be here, recording how we unlocked the door. Pero ni anino nila, hindi ko makita. At talaga bang walang personal appearance ng host para i-announce ang start ng second round?”

“Maybe that’s the reason why we were asked to go to his room,” Al said. “He wanted to deliver the opening remarks in his room, which is weird. Puwede naman sa isang mas malaking kwarto o hall.”

Natuon ang tingin namin kay Jamie na tila kinakapa ang dingding. “Nasaan na ba ‘yong switch?” she muttered. We heard a soft clicking noise and the room was illuminated.

What followed was horrifying. Jamie screamed and turned her head away from what’s in front of her while I covered my mouth and took some steps backward.

On the floor was a body of a man, lying flat on his stomach. His head turned to the left, resting on a pool of blood. Sa tabi ng kanyang kamay na malapit sa ulo ay isang bukas na one liter water bottle na nabuhos ang laman.

“Ano’ng nangyari?”

Sumilip na rin sa loob si Math na napasigaw pagkakita sa katawan na nasa sahig. Amber also followed, as well as Gray and Jeremy. There were all taken aback by the sight of the bloody body.

“Why are you so surprised?” Loki asked. He was the only one who didn’t seem bothered by what we saw. “Have you forgotten that the second round is crime scene simulation?”

Pinilit ni Jamie na sumilip sa duguang katawan pero agad niyang iniiwas ang kanyang tingin. Hindi ko na rin magawang tumingin sa direksyon nito. “Alam naman naming simulation, Loki dear, pero—”

“The host is doing a great job pretending to be dead. Eyes half-closed, mouth gaping,” Loki observed. “Whoever’s in charge of the prosthetics should get a raise. Not everyone can pull off something as realistic as that!”

“The crime scene looks real,” pag-sang-ayon ni Gray. “Pero parang may hindi tama kung simulation lang ito.”

“The only thing that doesn’t look right at the moment is you charging into this room while we are still inspecting it,” Loki argued. Sinapian na naman siya ng pagiging competitive. “We should take turns, right?”

“Hey, Mr. Host, your trick is working!” Jamie said, averting her gaze from the body. For someone with retentive memory, mahihirapan siyang tanggalin sa kanyang isipan ang image na nakita niya. “Natakot n’yo na kaming mga babae. Baka puwede na kayong tumayo at sabihin na sa amin ang instructions.”

But there was no response from the corpse. Kaya naman lalong sumama ang kutob ko.

“Kina-career ba talaga ni Host ang pagpapataypatayan, o baka naman . . .” Math’s voice trailed off as a hint of horror dawned on her face. Nagkatinginan kami ni Loki. I did not have to say a word for him to get what was on my mind.

“He’s not breathing,” Gray observed. “Kanina ko pa pinagmamasdan ang kanyang chest movement pero wala talagang paggalaw. Either that’s also part of the acting or that means something’s wrong.”

“This doesn’t look good,” Al muttered, staring at the body on the floor. “I doubt he could hold his breath for this long. Kailangan nating i-check ang pulso niya. But we cannot contaminate the crime scene.”

Doon na nabahiran ng kaunting pagkabahala ang mukha ni Loki. “So he isn’t acting at all, huh?”

Footsteps from the hallway grew louder as three figures emerged from the doorway—Sir Michael B, Sir Arturo Cruz, and Ms. Veronica Vega. They stood there dumbfounded at the bloody sight. Napamura at napaiwas sila ng tingin nang makita ang katawan.

“A-Ano’ng nangyari dito?” tanong ni Sir Michael B. “Bakit nakahandusay d’yan si Damian? At bakit duguan siya?”

“Someone told us that the second round has just begun,” kalmadong sagot ni Gray.

“Nagre-relax lang kami kanina nang mabasa namin sa malapit na screen na puntahan namin ang kwarto ng host,” Amber said. “Hence our presence here.”

“The door was locked so we had to find the key,” Math added.

“But we, the QED Club, managed to unlock the door without the key—thanks to my Loki dear’s lock picking skills,” pagbibida ni Jamie even if it’s not the right time to boast.

“And then we found him lying on the floor,” Loki finished, his eyes transfixed on the corpse. “I thought he was just acting for the crime scene simulation thing. But as we have observed, he may not be acting at all.”

“I can tell you na this isn’t in the script,” Sir Michael B. said. Pailing-iling ang kanyang ulo at nanginginig ang kanyang baba. “Balak pa lang namin mag-meeting mamayang eleven o’clock.”

“And the second round isn’t supposed to start tonight,” Ms. Veronica said, glancing at the other two staff for confirmation. She was covering her eyes from catching a glimpse of the body. “Bukas pa darating ang iba naming crew at hindi pa totally naka-set up ang mga equipment namin.”

“Kung gano’n, sino ang nagtawag sa kanila mula sa Entertainment Room?” tanong ni Sir Arturo sabay ayos ng kanyang salamin. “If not Damian, who else could have sent that message to them?”

“We will figure that out,” Loki said, looking back at the corpse. “Right now, we need to preserve the crime scene and confirm whether Damian is really dead or not.”

“Meron ba kayong latex gloves na puwede naming suotin?” Gray asked. Tumingin din siya kay Jeremy. “We have to move around the crime scene.”

“Madalas na ‘kong nagdadala n’on para sa atin. Kaya lang . . . hindi ko nadala ngayon dahil inalis ko pala sa bag ko,” sagot ni Jeremy.

“The police also needs to be involved here. Would you mind calling them?” Loki instructed.

Inilabas ni Sir Michael B. ang kanyang phone at nagsimulang mag-dial ng number. Walang tigil sa panginginig ang kanyang mga kamay. “Magpapakuha ako sa PA namin ng gloves. Ako na rin ang bahalang tumawag sa mga pulis.”

If the host was really dead, then the whole program would be in jeopardy.

Pumasok ang isang production assistant sa kwarto na may dala-dalang walong set ng latex gloves. Napaurong siya nang makita ang nakahandusay na bangkay ng host sa sahig. The producer explained to him the situation as briefly as he could. When he understood what was going on, he distributed the gloves to the members of each team.

We put on the gloves and started the untimely deduction show. Jamie and I couldn’t stand looking at the poor victim. Oo, marami na kaming hinarap na kaso kung saan mas brutal pa rito ang aming nakita, but that doesn’t mean na nasanay na kami at puwede na naming titigan nang ilang minuto ang isang bangkay.

“Sorry, hindi ko kayang makita nang matagal ang bangkay. My retentive memory is storing the unsightly image of the crime scene.” Jamie excused herself and left the room.

Loki and Gray, being the lead detectives of our teams, took this opportunity to inspect the crime scene. Nilapitan nila ang bangkay, maingat na hindi matapakan ang pool ng dugo sa sahig.

“Let me confirm the obvious: He’s really dead,” Loki concluded, carefully touching the right wrist of the corpse. “Cross off the possibility that he was only playing dead for the sake of pulling a prank on us.”

He’s the first person to doubt that the man was already dead. Nang makita pa lang namin ito kanina, agad na naming naisip na patay na nga ang host.

“Rigor mortis is already starting to set in the body,” Gray deduced as he knelt, pulling the victim’s stiff left hand closer to him. “Ang kanyang time of death ay posibleng nasa pagitan ng mahigit isa hanggang tatlong oras.”

“But the time of death may be misleading,” Loki argued, standing over the body. He slid his left hand into his pocket. “Remember the condition of this room when we got in? The heater was already turned on in an unusual temperature.”

“I know,” Gray nodded. “Mas pinabibilis ng mainit na temperatura ang paninigas ng katawan ng tao matapos ang kanyang kamatayan. Kung meron siyang lagnat o katatapos lang niyang mag-exercise nang patayin, makaaapekto ‘yon sa bilis ng rigor mortis. He could have been killed between thirty minutes to one hour.”

“We can confirm that he was still alive before we went to the Entertainment Room,” Loki recalled. Tama, siya pa nga ang nagsabi sa amin na puwede kaming pumunta sa Entertainment Room para magpalipas ng oras.

“That was around an hour ago,” Gray recalled. Naglakad siya pabalik sa amin at napatingin sa tatlong staff na kanina pa siya pinanonood. “So the victim was killed between eight and nine o’clock in the evening. And the person who has no alibi that time must be our killer. Tama ba, Loki?”

“You beat me to the punch,” Loki returned to our side too, observing the three staff as well. “As much as I want to avoid agreeing with you, I can’t deny that you are right. The only lingering question in my mind right now is why did the killer go to the trouble of turning on the room heater? Was it to speed up the rigor mortis process or was it for something else?”

“Wala rin namang kwenta ang pagpapabilis niya ng rigor mortis,” Gray agreed. “Alam naman natin kung anong oras huling nakitang buhay ang biktima. Hindi rin tayo mahihirapang ma-determine ang time of death.”

“Paano pala siya pinatay?” tanong ni Jeremy.

“Possibly a blunt object,” Gray touched his chin. “May humataw sa kanyang ulo nang ilang beses, dahilan ng pagkamatay niya.”

“Or he could have slipped and hit his head on the floor,” Loki suggested. But he must be joking. “His skull cracked, causing his death. Of course, I wasn’t serious. The scenario fails to explain why the heater was turned on in his room.”

Naglabas si Amber ng camera at sinimulang kumuha ng mga litrato. She walked past our leader. “We should take some pictures for initial documentation. Baka kasi may manggulo rito sa crime scene. Do you mind?”

Loki motioned his hand. “By all means. Take as many photos as you like.”

Amber turned to us. “Baka gusto n’yo ring kumuha ng pictures para may sarili kayong kopya?”

“Let me do it for our team,” Al volunteered sabay labas ng kanyang phone. Like Amber, he took photos of every angle of the crime scene, careful not to step on the pool of blood. Inilapit niya ang kanyang phone sa ulo ng biktima at kinunan ito ng litrato. Sinunod niya ang one liter water bottle na tumapon ang lamang tubig malapit sa kamay ng biktima. Mabuti’t matibay ang sikmura nina Al at Amber, nagagawa nilang i-document ang crime scene.

Nang matapos sa mga close-up shot, iginala ni Al ang kanyang mga mata, mula sa sahig hanggang sa nakapaligid na pader. Wala namang kakaiba sa room na pinasukan namin. The arrangement was similar to our room, except much smaller. May kama sa gilid, maliit na table sa tabi nito, at aparador sa sulok. Nakalapag lang sa may paanan ng kama ang travel bag na pag-aari ng host.

“I can’t see the murder weapon around,” Al commented after checking under the bed. “The killer must have taken it with him no’ng lumabas siya. O posibleng inihagis niya sa labas ng bintana.”

“I don’t think so,” pag-iling ni Amber na nakatayo sa gilid ng bintana. “These windows were shut. Imposibleng maidaan dito ang murder weapon.”

Lumapit ako sa bintana at inobserbahan ang window panel. “Amber’s right. Walang break sa dust pattern kaya matagal na ‘tong hindi nagagalaw.”

“That reminds me,” Math muttered, folding her arms. “Hindi rin mabuksan ang mga bintana roon sa kwarto natin. Did the staff intentionally lock the windows?”

“Pinasadya naming hindi mabuksan ang mga bintana,” sagot ni Sir Arturo na nakataas ang kamay. “Baka kasi maapektuhan ang mga element ng crime scene simulation kung mabubuksan ang mga bintana.”

“If the window is out of the question, that means the culprit took the weapon when he left the room,” Al deduced, pointing at the door. “Doon niya lang maidaraan ang ginamit niyang pampatay sa biktima.”

“Pero ang galing naman niya, ‘no?” komento ni Jeremy. “Nagawa niyang mailabas ang murder weapon nang walang bakas ng dugo paalis ng kwarto! Dapat may mga splatter ng dugo d’yan, ‘di ba? Except na lang kung itinago niya sa isang plastic or nagawa niyang pawalain gamit ang magic!”

Lumapit si Jeremy sa may bangkay at tila may hinawakan na bagay na gawa sa hangin. He must be reenacting what had happened. “Bale hinampas ng salarin ng matigas na bagay ang biktima—blunt weapon gaya ng sinabi ni Gray—‘tapos . . . sabihin na nating ipinasok niya sa plastic bag ang weapon at . . . maingat siyang naglakad palabas ng kwarto.”

All eyes were on him as he was trying to trace the steps of the culprit.

“Kailangan niyang i-lock ang pinto para hindi maging kahina-hinala,” sabi niya nang nasa tapat na siya ng pintuan. “Gray, puwede mo bang ipahiram sa akin ‘yong susi na nakita mo?”

May kinapa ang kasama niya sa bulsa nito at inihagis ang tinutukoy na susi kay Jeremy.

“Salamat!” nakangiting tugon ni Jeremy. Pagkatapos, lumabas siya ng kwarto at dahan-dahang isinara ang pinto. Nakita kong napasilip si Jamie, nagtataka kung ano’ng ginagawa ng lalaking ‘yon. Hanggang sa humina na ang dinig namin sa kanyang boses. Math asked him to speak louder. “Gamit ang susi na nakuha ng salarin sa biktima, ini-lock niya mula sa labas ang pinto. Nang ma-lock na—teka, bakit ayaw?”

“Ano’ng problema, Jeremy?” tanong ni Math, bahagyang napalakas ang boses. “Nasira mo yata ang lock, eh!”

“Hindi, ah!” bulalas ni Jeremy. Binuksan niya uli ang pinto at nag-demonstrate sa amin kung paano niya ipinasok ang susi. “Ayaw talaga niyang maikot.”

“Baka nasira ng QED Club habang nila-lock pick nila kanina?” Math darted a sidelong glance at Loki.

“I have a master’s degree in lock picking and I wouldn’t do something so amateurish,” depensa ni Loki. “Either Jeremiah doesn’t know how to properly insert the key or you are using the wrong key.”

“Pero ito ang susi na nasa ilalim ng floorboard, ‘di ba?” tanong ni Jeremy habang inoobserbahan ang susi. “Remember? Sinabihan tayo sa instruction na hanapin ang susi sa paligid?”

And instead of playing by what was obvious, Loki decided to pick the lock of the door.

“What if that’s a fake key?” tanong ni Gray na muling lumapit sa bangkay. He began searching the victim’s pockets. The left pocket yielded nothing, but the right one? May susi siyang nakuha. He rushed to the door and tried out the key. When the knob turned, a realization dawned on his face. Well, not only him, but almost everyone in the room.

The windows that were shut, the door that was locked, and the key they found under the floorboard that did not fit in, the lack of other openings . . . I see where this was going.

“This room can only be locked from the outside using the key. Kung nai-lock ang pinto mula sa labas ng kwarto kahit na nasa bulsa pa ng biktima ang susi . . .” Gray turned to all of us. “. . . this is, without a doubt . . .
a locked room murder.” 

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