UNPSYCHIC.

Case 01.5 :: Paper Airplane

"We are live tonight at an old property of Baguio's former mayor, Philemon Lucero, where we received an inside tip that a horrendous discovery was just made hours ago."

The camera panned behind the male reporter; industrial work lights on tripods illuminated the facade of the familiar house surrounded by the shadows of the night. The entire property was now cordoned off with yellow tape as several police officers came in and out of the house. A pair in particular trudged out carrying a stretcher, the bone fragments on top of it was clearly captured as though daytime by the camera as it zoomed in. 

"Several skeleton remains were unearthed at the basement of this house by the current owners." The reporter continued off-screen. "Children. To be exact. But the number is still yet to be determined as the police continue their search around the property,  leaving no stone unturned. Oh, Inspector Diaz!"

The camera shifted to a close-up shot of an older man donned in a thick brown jacket as he exited the gate, who was about to light a cigarette jutted between his lips. Instead, he frowned at the reporter who blocked his way, and gave the camera an annoyed look. 

"Inspector Diaz, is it true that Philemon Lucero conducted these gruesome kills during his reign as mayor?" He all but shoved his mic at the inspector's face. 

His jaw locked in return as he lowered his hands from lighting his cigarette. "We'll be releasing a statement by tomorrow. Now, please stand aside--"

"Are the current owners--" the reporter interjected and looked down at his notes, "Evangeline and Dominic Macaraeg, available for a quick interview instead? How did they discover the bodies--"

"Where the hell did you get that?" He suddenly hissed while his nose flared as though about to bite the reporter's head off. "That's classified information and we haven't disclosed this to the press yet. Who the fuck is your source?"

The reporter blinked, obviously taken aback by the inspector's anger and language. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to divulge my source--"

"Then your supervisor will hear from me tomorrow." He shoved the mic away before striding towards a battered police car. 

The reporter coughed and the camera shifted its focus back to him. He adjusted the collar of his inner shirt before gaining composure. "As mentioned, the police will issue a statement tomorrow regarding this case. Please stay tune as we provide updates on this evolving story. Back to you, Mel."

I paused the video of the breaking news from last night and unplugged my earphones. With a deep sigh, I dropped my forehead onto the library table and ignored the popping notifications from my phone of messages from friends back home who saw the news. It made headlines in several channels and went viral in social media all in a span of several hours. Based on Mrs. Suliman, after we left for Noelle's, a swarm of media people set up shop in front of our house and even asked her for an interview, which she impolitely declined. 

The first two classes I had for today, on the other hand, went as expected. I was bombarded with loads of questions from my classmates that my professors had to intervene just to finish the lesson at hand. But that didn't stop them from doing some snooping themselves. 

So now I was hiding out in the library until my last class for the day. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

I shot up straight on my seat. Since it was Saturday, there weren't any students at this hour, while Mrs. Alonzo was at her desk with some papers. I strained my ears to pick up the same sound. And I was not disappointed. 

Leaving my things at the desk, I followed the faint tapping noise. My eyes strained against midday sun that shone through the skylight as I tried to search for the translucent figure of the young boy. I snorted at the thought that I was now hunting down a ghost with such confidence as opposed to screaming like a little girl last night at the face of the ex-mayor.