Chapter 37: Center of the Web III

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LORELEI

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LORELEI

LET US believe for a moment—just this once—that Stein Alberts is not involved in this mall incident. Kinda difficult, right? He's been with us the whole time so he has an alibi. Pero hindi naman kasi kailangang siya mismo ang mag-execute ng isang murder plot. He can ask any of his underlings to do it for him.

However, we still should give him the benefit of the doubt. Hangga't walang ebidensyang magpapatunay na may kinalaman siya rito, he is innocent.

"This isn't a murder," he said as he took a closer look on the victim's body bathing in dark red blood. "I know a murder when I see one."

"I have no doubt about that," Loki lifted his head and gazed on the second floor where the victim fell from. "Considering that you've engineered more or less a hundred murders, you would have known if that's the case in just a single glance."

"Oh, you flatter me so much, Loki." Stein crossed his arms across the chest. "But just to set the record straight, I have only plotted forty-five murders. Eighty-five percent of which are successful."

Was that an achievement for him? Proud pa talaga siya.

"How did you know that this isn't murder?" tanong ko.

With a stare that could spell doom, Stein turned to me. "The circumstance of the victim's death. It would be foolish for anyone to push the victim from the second floor. Maraming witnesses na posibleng makakita sa kanya. Committing the crime won't be clean."

He has a point. Hindi rin malabong habulin ang salarin sakaling may nakakita sa kanyang itinulak mula sa ikalawang palapag ang babae.

"If it were me, I would have chosen a less conspicuous place," he went on. "A parking lot would be the perfect spot. Less witness, less worries."

Spoken like a true criminal mastermind, huh? Hindi na kataka-taka.

"Hannah! Hannah!" Lumapit ang isang grupo ng mga kabataan sa katawan ng biktima. Halos maglupasay ang dalawang babae nang makita nila ang kalagayan ng kanilang kaibigan.

"Don't touch anything," Loki told them when they tried approaching the body. "Stay exactly where you are."

"Hey, Lori?" Jamie nudged me with her the elbow. "A suspicious-looking person is on the second floor. Parang hindi siya mapakali."

Iginala ko ang aking mga mata at hinahanap ang lalaking inilarawan niya. But there was no one with that description on sight.

"He just walked away. But don't worry, I can remember what he's wearing! A black hoodie. His height must be around six feet. Habulin natin siya bago pa siya makatakas!"

Basta-basta na lang niyang hinila ang kamay ko patungo sa escalator. Loki and Stein gave us curious stares, wondering why we suddenly strode out of the scene. We did not have time to explain.

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