WHOSE DEDUCTION SHOW?

14: KEY TO MYSTERY

Chapter 14: Key to Mystery

LORELEI

LOKI led our way to the kitchen where the producer Michael B. had gone around the time of the murder. Malalaki at mabibilis ang bawat hakbang niya kaya kinailangan naming sabayan ang kanyang paglalakad.

He was smirking. Yes, that smirk that he flashes whenever he gets too invested in a case. He’s enjoying this investigation too much. And we all know that too much is bad.

“Can you please slow down?” I asked him as we took a turn to the kitchen. Sa sobrang bilis niyang maglakad, napabitiw na si Jamie mula sa pagkaka-cling sa kanya habang humabol naman ng lakad si Al.

“There’s no time to waste now that the competition is heating up!” Loki replied with so much enthusiasm in his voice. “We need to beat the Detective Quadrumvirate before they beat us.”

“Someone died, Loki,” Alistair reminded him. That was already obvious, but Al probably felt that he needed to slap Loki with some sense of sensitivity. “There’s a dead man in that room and all you think about is competing with the other team?”

“And this is no longer that game that we thought we would be playing.” Hindi ko na natiis na pangaralan siya. I did not like how Loki walked out of the living room earlier and declared that the game was still on.

Nahinto sa paglalakad si Loki at ilang segundong tila nanigas sa kanyang kinatatayuan. We were only a few steps away from the kitchen. He slowly turned around as his dull, gray eyes gazed on us.

“So what do you suggest that we should do? Mourn the dead? Cry for the tragedy that befell on him?” he asked mockingly. “Or we could solve this murder and bring his killer to justice.”

“I’m all for justice.” Al nodded. “Pero puwede naman kasi nating i-set aside ang competition sa Detective Triumvirate Plus One. As Lorie said moments ago, this is no longer a game. This is a real crime that needs to be solved. There should be no winner or loser here.”

“The first shot was already fired earlier this evening,” Loki insisted. “There’s no stopping this war now.”

“Al’s point is that maybe, we can cooperate with our rivals instead of competing with them,” I reiterated. “Maybe we can solve this case much faster if we work with them and compare notes instead of keeping what we know from each other.”

“Lorie, para namang hindi mo kilala si Loki dear,” Jamie interrupted before our dear leader could rebut. “He is naturally competitive and he’s always on the mood to solve cases kapag meron siyang naaamoy na competition. As long as we solve the case in the end, isn’t that what matters?”

“At last, there’s someone who understands my sentiments!” Loki exclaimed. “Whether or not there are cameras rolling, whether or not there’s an officiator to facilitate the game, the show has already begun. And I’d rather be the performer than the audience in this segment.”

“I see.” Al nodded slowly. “The reason why you want to take this competition seriously is not because you are too eager to solve the case, but because you are afraid that the other team might beat us to finding out the truth.”
Kumunot ang noo ni Loki. “Excuse me?”

“You crave for competition. You are naturally competitive, to quote Jamie,” Al went on. “You want to show everyone here that you are superior. Kung makikipagtulungan tayo sa Detective Triumvirate Plus One at makikipagpalitan tayo ng deductions, walang lalabas na winner o loser. Walang lalabas na superior at inferior. At ‘yon ang ayaw mong mangyari, ‘di ba?”