(SELF-PUBLISHED UNDER IMMAC PPH)
HIGHSCHOOL DETECTIVES: FILE 1
MAZE. MANIPULATION. MURDER. MAYHEM.
Amie never expected the cryptic invitation from Amethy High-a prestigious school where sharp minds are honed in the art of deduction. The invitation i...
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"Wait! Anong ibig sabihin ng code na 'yan? Dante and Virgil?" tanong ni Xavien.
"The painting depicts Dante and Virgil looking on as two damned souls that are entwined in combat," sabi ko habang may binabasa sa libro. I look at the page where the codes are connected to it.
Page 172.
"One of the souls is an alchemist and heretic named Capocchio. In this depiction, Capocchio is being bitten on the neck by Gianni Schicchi who had used fraud to claim another man's inheritance."
"Then this might be..." I was wondering if our thoughts are the same behind the painting. "A portrait of what it means to be in Hell," Xavien stated.
"I was checking on the information about this lately and what I got is that Dante and Virgil were painted in 1850 on canvas by the French academic William-Adolphe Bouguereau," aniya.
Nakuha ko naman agad 'yun, pero bakit nagpadala ng ganito si Quade? How do Dante and Virgil connect in his deductive disappearance?
"I know where he is," Xavien said. Nakita ko na lang ang sarili ko na sinusundan siya palabas ng school.
"Saan ba tayo pupunta?" tanong ni Athena.
"At the Museum," Xavien answered him. Sumakay na kami sa pumaradang taxi at nagtungo sa isang sikat na Museum. Nagbayad kami at bumaba.
Unang beses ko pa lang makapunta sa ganitong klaseng lugar. Agad naman kaming pinahintulutan na pumasok ng guard kahit na gabi na, kilala rin pala ni Xavien ang mismong naka-duty ngayon. Hindi nga namin inaasahan na makikita namin si Quade. He's looking at one of the most known paintings in the Philippines, the Spoliarium.
"It took you about 9 minutes and 24 seconds to arrive here. That's a record breaking, Xavien." Mahinang pumalakpak si Quade at lumapit sa amin.
"It's just a piece of pie to me," pagyayabang niya na may pagngisi pa.
Piece of pie raw, 'eh, halos ako nga ang nakahula niyon. Ang yabang talaga.
"Akala ko kung ano na ang nangyari sa'yo." Niyakap ni Athena si Quade ng mahigpit at siya namang tinapik ang likod nito.
"That's just a part of a death note," Quade mumbled. Napakunot-noo naman ako sa sinabi niya. Death note?
Nakita ko ang paglunok ni Xavien ng madiin at tila maraming pumapasok sa isip niya ngayon. "H-Hindi ka nagbibiro? You took that fucking case?" Hindi makapaniwalang sabi Xavien.
"I don't have a fucking choice. If I don't solve it within a month, I would end up like them," sabi niya. May pagtaas ang boses niya na parang galit.
Ano ang ibig niyang sabihin do'n at parang sila lang dalawa ang nagkakaintindihan?
"That will never happen," Xavien exclaimed. Bago pa sila magkainitan ay lumabas na kami ng museum at bumalik sa kanya-kanyang dorm. Wala na akong lakas ng loob na tanungin siya sa bagay 'yun.
