The Sleuth Project ✓

Chapter 15: Twofold Warning

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Twofold Warning

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THE PLACE was dank and dark and at once, the searchers turned on their flashlights. A steep incline led them to a door which opened into a wine cellar with many kegs. It was apparent that the place had not been used in some time.

At the same instant, she and Ned heard a sliding door scraping open. They looked towards the sound which came from the opposite side of the room. A concealed door was slowly being opened. Two men in Indian dresses walked in. Jahan and Dhan! The latter was carrying a whip which he began to brandish.

"So you thought you would spoil our little game?!" Jahan said. "You underrated us."

He reached toward Ned's hand and grabbed the jewel box. Nancy had a fleeting hope that he would not open it, that the men would leave, and she and Ned could escape.

But her hope was shattered when Dhan ordered excitedly, "Open that box!"

Jahan did so. He gave a cry of dismay upon finding it empty. He screamed at Nancy and Ned, "WHERE'S THE SPIDER SAPPHI—"

Before Ann could finish reading the last sentence of the paragraph, her focus was ruptured by a shrill scream.

Napaangat ng tingin ang dalaga mula sa libro na kaniyang binabasa. She hadn't realized she was already in front of her dormitory room — where the screams seemed to be coming from. Kahit na weekend ngayon, ay naisipan muna ng dalaga na huwag umuwi sa kanila. She wanted to avoid any conversation with her parents as of the moment.

Shutting her book and pushing it inside her body bag, agad na binuksan ni Ann ang pintuan ng kanilang kwarto.

"Sera! Anong nangy—" The young girl demanded, but soon stopped amidst her tracks when she came inside the living room.

Sa gitna ng sala ay makikitang nakatayo si Sera at Queenie na mukhang kakapasok lang rin sa dormitoryo. They had looks of horror as they looked around their living room that seemed unrecognizable now.

"What. The. Hell." Ann muttered under her breath as she stepped over remnants of books strewn across the floors.

Papers and different other items were scattered as well. Some of the pillows seemed to have been ripped out as their stuffings spilled all over the room. Furthermore, the cupboards and drawers were opened as if someone was looking for something, and even their clothes and uniforms were thrown mercilessly around like worthless rags.

"My experiment!" Queenie cried out in alarm. Bigla itong napatakbo sa kaniyang kwarto na nakabukas ang pintuan.

The curly-haired young girl didn't have to run that far inside though because by the time she had stepped in, it was evident that her room was also ransacked.

"No, no, no, no..." She whimpered, kneeling down to gather the pieces of glass shards on her room's floor. Most of her burners and test tubes were shattered and now unusable.

Binuksan rin ni Sera ang kaniyang kwarto at hindi na nagtaka nang makitang binasura rin ito. Ann on the other hand, immediately looked for her burner phone. Nang makitang nasa loob ito ng kaniyang bulsa ay nakahinga siya ng malalim.

Whoever had trashed their rooms was clearly looking for something, and if she had left her burner phone inside the box under her bed, baka natagpuan na ang sikreto niya kasama ni Rein.

"Ugh, they ruined all my fucking makeup!" Sera cried out in annoyance as she picked up a broken compact mirror. In the mirror's reflection ay may nakita itong kakaiba.