Chapter 39: The Deal to Murder

TRIGGER WARNING:

This CHAPTER may contain explicit depictions such as death, killing, self harm or suicide, sexual assault or harassment, vulgar words, swearing, and many disturbing gestures or depictions. TRIGGER WARNING shall be taken into consideration.

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DENVER

Finally Jammy has regained her consciousness. May nakabalot na benda sa ulo nito dahil sa sugat na natamo niya roon mula sa pagkakahampas sa kanya ng baril ni Kristine.

“Hey, Jammy, how are you feeling?” I asked. I can't hide my deep concern towards her. Lagi na lang siyang napapahamak because I always choose to stay away from her. I choose not to interfere with her or to be attached, same way as I got attached to Samantha. As far as I am pushing her away, is as much as she become more vulnerable. What am I gonna do now? She's an excess baggage that doesn't benefits my welfare but may worsen my chase upon this evil organization.

“Denver. Anong nangyari?” tanong ni Jammy nang maglandas ang tingin nito sa akin. May kung ano muna itong napagtanto bago muling magsalita. “Si Kristine! Si Kristine at Sheila! Mag—”

Pinutol ko na ang sasabihin ni Jammy when I started to talk, continuing what she wanted to tell me.

“Magkasabwat sila. Yeah, I already know. And it's too late when I realize you're in a great trouble. I'm sorry, Jammy,” I said in apologetic way. I feel so guilty about it. Masyado akong pabaya! Especially in the first place, I commanded her to investigate more and help Austin na dapat ako ang gumagawa. Ako pa naman ang nag-imbita sa kanya to join the Mystique Club. If only she hasn't moved to Mnemosyne, I will not be entitled to look after her knowing what happened that day.

“B-but, Denver. I saw the evidences from Sheila's room. T-the black suit they wear before destroying the CCTV cameras around the two buildings, a-and the cocoa powder,” she said while trying to stand up from lying on bed.

“Yes, Jammy. We already found it. Your hunches were right. Kristine and Sheila are responsible in killing Eloise and Isay,” I answered. Her eyes were glittering in tears. Para bang sinisisi nito ang sarili sa nangyari.

“W-where is Sheila, Denver? Where is she?” tanong nito na tuluyan nang bumagsak ang mga luha sa unan nito.

She's trying to get up so I help her to do so. Tumingin ito sa mga mata ko na parang binabasa ang nasa isip ko. I didn't immediately answered her question. Hindi ko alam kung pano 'to sasabihin sa kanya. Paano ko sasabihin sa kanya na ang mga bago niyang kaibigan ay nauwi sa pagkitil ng buhay?

Sheila intended to kill Eloise because of her jealousy towards her best friend. How could I tell to Jammy that Sheila intended to kill Eloise because of Austin, and Sheila commits suicide after seeing her love one bursting in extreme rage because of what she did to Eloise. That Sheila was swallowed wholely by jealousy.

How can I even explain it to her? Knowing that Jammy is a kind of a soft hearted person, and can easily attached to people around her.

“Denver? Naririnig mo ba ako? Bakit 'di ka sumasagot? Naririnig mo pa ba 'ko?” nagugulumihang tanong nito sa'kin. Her brows knitted in confusion as she fixed her eyes at me.

“Ahmm. Jammy, Shh—”

Hindi ko na natapos ang sasabihin nang pumasok sina Gab at Andy.

“Sheila is dead. She committed suicide,” entra ni Andy na tila enjoy na enjoy sa subo-subong lollipop. How childish!

“W-what?!” gulat na tugon ni Jammy. Her eyes widened and her lips curved in circle. She gently shook her head in denial on what have heard.

“Yes, Jammy. Sheila felt guilty about what she did to Eloise. Kaya ayun, nagpakamatay siya in front of Austin,” sagot naman ni Andy.

“No, no, no, no!” hagulhol nitong sabi habang umiiling. She's being hysterical kaya't sinubukan namin itong pakalmahin. Aside from Andy na wala atang pakialam sa pinsan niya.

“Shhh, Jammy, calm down, okay. Please calm down,” wika ko rito.

She stared directly in to my eyes. I stared back and tried to communicate with her without uttering any words.

“T-totoo ba, Denver? P-patay na rin si Sheila?” wika nito nang 'di inaalis sa mata ko ang tingin nito.

Ibinaling ko ang tingin kay Gab. Seeing Gab's facial expression, he seemed like he's trying to tell me na wag ko nang subukang magsinungaling pa at diretsahin na si Jammy tulad ng ginawa ng kaniyang pinsan.

So I turned my eyes back to Jammy at humawak ako sa magkabila nitong balikat.

I nodded to her in response. The moment she saw me nodding, the moment her tears had fallen with consecutive sobbing.

Ni 'di ko na maintindihan ang gusto nitong sabihin. Ang naririnig ko na lamang sa kanya ay mga paghikbi at paghagulhol.

“But why?” saad nito sa'kin. Tumingin rin ito sa iba pang narito sa room na tila inaalam sa mga mata nila ang sagot sa kanyang katanungan.

“She felt guilty in killing Eloise. Kailangan ba paulit-ulit? Di ka na bata, Jammy! Napakamadrama mo!” mariin namang sabi ni Andy na ngayo'y mas naging maingay ang pagsipsip nito sa subo-subo niyang lollipop matapos magsalita.

“Andy! Stop!” singhal ko sa kanya. Napaka-insensitive naman ng lalaking 'to. He doesn't even care to what will Jammy feel kapag naririnig nito ang mga sinasabi niya.

“But how?! Alam niyo na ba kung paano nila nagawa yun kina Isay at Eloise? And why they killed them?” mapag-usisa ang itsura nito sa pagtatanong. She tried to calm herself for a second then I started to tell her all the things that I know.

“They did the murder switching,” saad ko.

Namilog ang mga mata nito sa'kin giving me a what-is-that face.

“Kristine killed Eloise for Sheila's favor and Sheila killed Isay for favor of Kristine,” dagdag ko. Hindi pa rin ito nagsasalita. She's waiting for me to explain more what I have told to her.

“Sinabi sa'kin ni Inspector Tan that you had already found out who killed Eloise and it was Kristine dahil sa other earring ni Eloise na natagpuan mo sa room niya. Because of that, I searched for profile of Kristine and found out that she was a consistent gold medalist in archery. Pero dahil sa pansasaboy ni Isay noon kay Kristine ng toxic chemical sa mukha, causing her right eye to be blind, she didn't get the gold medal and lose the competition the next day. She attempted to assault Isay back then, she stabbed Isay using a pen at her back and she was reported to the school admin. She wasn't expelled because of the promise na di na niya pwedeng lapitan si Isay kahit kailan. Nababaliw na siya kaya I immediately ran back here in the campus and look for you. You're in danger. Sa dorm, doon kita nadatnan na wala nang malay. Kasama si Austin, we saw Sheila and Kristine, and Kristine was armed and was pointing her gun to Gabriel who was the first one tried to rescue you,” wika ko saka ako lumingon kay Gabriel. Nakapakrus lang ang mga kamay nito habang nakikinig sa mga sinasabi ko kay Jammy.

“And?” tanong ni Jammy. Ibinaling nito ang tingin kay Gabriel and whispers ‘thank you’ to him as I read her lips synching the word.

“And Kristine warned us not to move. She even ordered Sheila to keep an eye on us. Kristine was too desperate that time. Desperate to stop us and keep her secrets on her own. However, when Austin asked Sheila ‘why,’ she suddenly get emotional, and say sorry to Austin before using the gun she was also holding that time and killed herself. She felt, guilty, Jammy. She felt guilty for what she had done,” sagot ko.

Bumagsak ang balikat ni Jammy sa narinig. Tila nanghina sa mga sinabi ko.

I continued talking, “noong mga oras na pinatay si Eloise, kasama mo si Sheila, hindi ba? She used you para maging alibi while Kristine is making her way to our room unit and killed Eloise. Narecover ang susi ni Sheila sa room ni Kristine. That only implies na nag-switch din sila ng susi. Ginamit iyon ni Kristine upang madali siyang makapasok sa unit natin and kill Eloise habang magkasama kayo. After that, inabisuhan ni Sheila si Kristine na pabalik na kayo sa unit. Kaya naman maagang nakaalis sa crime scene si Kristine because of the help of Sheila. At mas convincing na walang kinalaman si Sheila sa pagpatay kay Eloise kung parehong kayo ang unang makakakita sa katawan niya. Ginawa ka lang na alibi ni Sheila, Jammy. Sa sumunod na araw, it was turn of Sheila in killing Isay. Since may duplicate na si Sheila sa unit nila Isay, na posibleng ginawan ng paraan ni Kristine dahil sa matagal na nitong balak patayin si Isay, madali ring nakapasok si Sheila sa unit ni Isay and killed her.”

“K-kaya pala nawawala si Sheila nang maganap ang pagpatay kay Isay,” wika naman ni Jammy.

“Oo. While Sheila is in killing Isay, si Kristine naman ay gumawa ng eksena sa harap ng cafeteria for her alibi. Hindi natin matuturong si Kristine ang pumatay kay Isay kung alam ng lahat kung nasaan siya sa mga oras na pinatay si Isay. But when I searched for where was Kristine nang patayin si Eloise, hindi siya nakita around the campus. Wala rin siya sa dorm nila. That only implies na pareho silang wala when it's their turn in killing their targets,” sagot ko. “Since si Claire ay related kina Eloise and Isay, they both have the history of quarrel, gumawa sila ng paraan to put the blame on her. Inilipat nila ang fingerprints ni Claire sa crime scenes using a clear tape and cocoa powder which was found in Sheila's room. Naroon din ang ekstrang tape with copy of Claire's fingerprint. Posibleng nag-smuggle sila ng baso na ginamit ni Claire sa cafeteria and dusted the fingerprints of Claire on it and transferred it sa tape using the orignal dusted one. But they did not realized na they both wear fabricated gloves when they committed the crime kaya't imposibleng may maiwan na fingerprints si Claire sa crime scene assuming that she wore those gloves. The truth is, they exchanged their targets upang mas maging mahirap ma-detect kung sino talaga ang responsible sa crime, pero when they attempted to put the blame to Claire, doon nagkaroon ng hole sa perfect murder trick they had committed. They failed about the fingerprints,” dagdag ko.

“Wow! Awesome!” usal ni Andy.

Nabaling ang tingin namin kay Andy at pawang mga masasamang titig ang natamo niya mula sa'min.

Is it awesome to kill someone just because of shallow reasons? That's injustice, not meant to be cool!

Ibinaling kong muli ang atensiyon kay Jammy at pirme akong nakatitig sa kanya. Tila nahihirapan pa 'tong i-sink in ang lahat-lahat.

“K-kaya pala umiiwas si Sheila sa'min ni Eloise before killing her dahil ayaw nitong mapansin namin ang balak niya. Ayaw niyang mabasa namin ang di nagsisinungaling niyang mga mata. Kaya pala nakikipagkita siya kay Kristine dahil may binabalak silang masama. At naroon rin siya sa restaurant kung saan binaril si Sam, it's because she's following me and Eloise. K-kaya pala!” she's sobbing in tears again while uttering those words.

“Nakita ko rin na sinundan ka nina Sheila at Kristine papuntang Athena's building kahapon kaya sumunod na rin ako. And there I saw that they knock you off,” wika naman ni Gabriel. Nag-aalala na rin ang itsura nito ngayon.

“Siya nga pala, Jammy. Darating si lolo maya-maya, so ready yourself. Kailangan mo parin mag-explain sa kanya. Ginawa mo nang bahay 'tong clinic, pabalik-balik ka na rito,” wika naman ni Andy saka muling isinubo ang 'di maubos-ubos nitong lollipop.

Nabaling ang tingin ni Jammy sa huli. Marahan itong tumungo sa sinabi niya at muli ay umiyak nang umiyak.

Ano ba ang depenisyon ng pagkakaibigan?

Kung mauuwi ito sa pagkitil ng buhay ng isa't-isa, may sasapat bang rason upang humantong ang dalawang magkaibigan sa naturang sitwasiyon?

Marahil ang pagkakaibigan na meron sina Sheila at Eloise ay walang matibay na pundasiyon. O marahil si Sheila ay nabulag lang ng labis na paghanga at pagsamo kay Austin na siyang nagtulak sa kaniya upang tapusin ang pagkakaibigan nila ni Eloise.

At sa kasamaang palad, natapos ang kanilang pagkakaibigan — ganoon rin ang kanilang buhay.

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