WHOSE DEDUCTION SHOW?

13: CAST-IRON CERTAINTY

Chapter 13: Cast-Iron Certainty

AMBER

THE room was filled with tension as the QED Club started to show-off their skills when it comes to deduction. Loki was so sure he did not destroy the lock when he used his lock picking kit at sinigurado niya sa ‘yon amin. The case became more complicated as Gray revealed that this was a locked room murder.

The mood was different right now. This was no longer a game.

Jeremy snapped and stood in front of us. “I think I know already what happened here,” he declared, kaya lahat kami ay nabaling ang atensyon sa kanya. I hope he’s gonna say something sensible and not one of his puns. “I know who the culprit is!”

Everyone looked surprised at tila mas nabalot ng kaba ang silid. His declaration was even followed by the loud rolling thunder sound. Nakatulong ba ang pag-retrace niya sa galaw ng suspek para magkaroon siya ng matinong deduction?

“Sino?” tanong ng producer na si Sir Michael B.,” Nabalot din ng curiosity ang mukha nina Sir Arturo at Ms. Veronica.

Jeremy eyed everyone inside the room to add thrill to his deduction show. There was silence. “It’s the ghost of the construction worker!”

I saw Loki flash a disappointed expression at napaface-palm naman si Gray. Jamie eyed him from head to foot and sneered. Lorelei and Alistair maintained a neutral look, mukhang ayaw nilang ipakita kung gaano ka-stupid ang sagot ng kasama namin.

Jeremy took that opportunity to explain his theory further. Kung wala siyang matinong paliwanag, sana’y manahimik na lang siya. He’s not only embarrassing himself, but his entire team as well. “Just look at the setup of the crime! The room is locked and the victim’s head was bashed by something hard and heavy. What if maso ang ginamit ng multo? Dos por dos? Tubo? There are so many possibilities!”

“The possibilities are infinite but I’m a hundred percent certain that your nonsense theory is not one of those. How did you become part of your detective group if you believe in ghosts and stuff that only fools would believe in? Do you screen your members properly?” Loki said, dismissing Jeremy’s idea. He addressed the last question to Gray.

In our defense, our detective group isn’t even as what he expects it to be kaya walang criteria sa pagpili ng mga miyembro.

Pero paano naman niya naisip ang ideyang ‘yon? No matter how Loki and Gray say ghosts aren’t real, hindi ko pa rin maiwasang kilabutan sa naisip ni Jeremy!

It may be nonsense, but still scary. I noticed how Jamie clung to Loki when Jeremy opened that idea.

“This is purely done by someone with a murderous intent inside this house, and not some inexistent ghost that Jeremiah from your team is talking about,” Loki insisted, looking at Gray’s direction.

Sinasadya niya bang maliin ang pagbanggit sa pangalan ni Jeremy para asarin ito sa ‘nonsense’ na theory?

“Don’t mind him,” biglang bulong ni Lorelei. Nabasa siguro niya sa ekspresyon ko ang tanong sa aking isip.
Jeremy scowled at him. “Excuse me lang, Loki, ha? My views and opinions do not necessarily state or reflect those of the other members—and correction, it’s Jeremy not Jeremiah.”

“That’s not intentional,” paliwanag naman ni Alistair. “Loki is not good with names kaya minsan mali-mali ang tawag niya sa mga tao.”

Kakaiba ‘yon, ah? For someone who’s intelligent to not properly recall the names of the people who he has met recently.

Loki purposely ignored my friend and scanned the room. “The culprit is someone who’s brave enough to kill someone despite knowing that detectives are here. Maybe the killer underestimated our capabilities to pull the curtains down to this heinous crime.”