The Sleuth Project ✓

Chapter 25: A Reopened Case?

/25/
A Reopened Case?

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QUINN STOOD as stiff as a statue under the afternoon sun as he stared at the newspaper in his hands. The young man felt as if there was a significant pause in his surroundings as he tried to read the article below the headline.

WRITERS' SCHISM: FROM STOLEN ENTRIES TO HACKED NOVELS
by Kyle Digmaan

There has been a new revelation in the unsolved mystery behind the stolen novel entries of those participating in this year's Writers' Schism, Castillo High's most prestigious writing event that would earn the winners not only in terms of compensation, but in academic benefits. Apart from claims of missing flashdrives, journals, and other materials significantly related to the process of writing their entries, participants are now clamoring that their digital copies have been also mysteriously hacked! Drafts and early works of most participants have been either erased or replaced with nonsensical files. This is reminiscent of Faith Lorenzo and Angelique Rosmeña's earlier case, where their drive's Writer's Schism related-files were hacked and replaced by photos of corpses and murdered bodies; as interviewed by Elysia Arcedes, feature writer for the Castillian Gazette.

The reason and culprit behind these accuses are still unknown, and the board of the Writers' Schism has yet to comment on this latest development after the successful interview of its participants last Thursday; October 20, 2016. It is unsure whether or not this will affect the future of the prestigious Writers' Schism, as participants are now contemplating to withdraw from the said competition.

"Withdraw...??" Bulong ng binata, stunned that the case's development had drastically led to something as serious as this. 

Napakurap ang binata. He knew that once enough participants withdrew from the Writers' Schism, there would be less competition between those who'll remain, which would make it easier for the culprit to win — if that was the culprit's goal anyway. 

Dahil dito ay binasa muli ni Quinn ang article, wondering who in Castillo High could be so arrogantly desperate enough to sabotage the Writers' Schism. Before he could even think of a suspect, two consecutive beeps snapped him out of his engrossment over the school paper's newest issue.

Beep! Beep!

Blinking rapidly, agad na napalingon ang binata sa pinanggalingan ng tunog at nagulat nang makita si Jarrell, parking his car in one of the campus grounds' vacant parking slots — a few meters from where he was.

"Jarrell!" Quinn spluttered in surprise, folding the newspaper.

Mukhang lumabas 'to ng campus. The spectacled boy thought to himself as he approached the vehicle. Habang papalapit si Quinn ay nagmamadali ring bumaba sa kotse si Jarrell na para bang tuliro. There was a strange look in his face that made Quinn's stomach turn. Galit pa rin ba ito? Quinn asked himself anxiously. Nevertheless, the words of apology soon flew out of Quinn's mouth as soon as the two were in close proximity.

"Jarrell, I'm sorr—"

"Quinn, alam ko na kung sino—"

There was a pause — the two boys looking at one another in genuine surprise. 

"Ha?" They both asked at the same time, stunned at each other's sentence.

There was a pause before two started laughing heartily. Eventually, both boys then embraced one another in a warm, brotherly hug.