Erudition of Doyle: Volume One

CHAPTER 12: CASE IV - MONEY OR LIFE?

Case 4: Money or Life?
(The Unsolve Mysteries
Chapter, Part Two)

ROSALINDA

"An abandoned hospital basement that’s supposed to be used for storage, utility rooms, mechanical equipment, or even additional medical facilities. But there’s a dark secret," I began as I read through the article. "It says here that the place looks like a gambling den; there are so many guns, more specifically Russian roulette setups, money, and drugs scattered around, as discovered by the police."

I scrolled down further. "The police also found faint bloodstains that had clearly been wiped off during their investigation, and forensics are trying to obtain results from the remaining evidence. Ang may-ari ng dugong iyon ay isang Amerikanong bilyonaryo, who has been wanted for ten years, Frederick Douglass. Until now, the police haven’t uncovered anything substantial about this case."

This mystery happened in the Philippines, in an abandoned hospital called Bayani General Hospital. If we were to track that hospital from the school, it would take about a three-hour drive to get there.

"Are you sure this is the place where you saw your father playing that gambling game?" Ajax asked for confirmation, and he nodded.

"What are we going to do now?" I asked as I saved the article and closed my laptop.

"We’re going to investigate—"

"No," Harriet interrupted, stopping Doyle from speaking. "The hospital may be abandoned, but entering the premises without proper permission could still be considered trespassing. Why? Because the property is still privately owned and has legal restrictions."

"But how can someone write an article with pictures if there are restrictions?" Ajax asked, looking confused.

"The person who wrote this article is a journalist. He might be helping solve the case along with the authorities and detectives. But, as you can see from the article we read, he followed legal and ethical rules. The article isn’t very detailed; he only gave us a glimpse of the mystery," I answered, and he nodded thoughtfully.

"Come on, let’s just investigate the place secretly," Doyle insisted.

"No," Harriet refused again. "Even if a place is abandoned, it doesn’t mean it’s legal or safe to enter without permission. Abandoned properties can be risky, with dangers like unstable structures, hazardous materials, or other threats. We are not going to investigate the place ourselves; we have to contact the authorities or the property owners to get permission before entering an abandoned hospital." She added, then turned and went back to her small office.

"Boring!" Doyle huffed, lying down on the sofa. "I want to go there already."

"Don’t let him go; I’ll try to contact the relevant authorities and the property owner!" she reminded us.

We weren’t complete today; Harley, Clark, and even our moderator, Mr. Ivaldez, weren’t here. We didn’t know where they were, probably busy.

A few moments later, Doyle was fast asleep, and Harriet still hadn’t come out of her office. The two beside me sat in silence on another sofa, waiting for Harriet just as quietly.

"What do you think? Will she be able to get permission?" Raleigh asked me, flipping through the book we had read yesterday.

"If the police or the owner finds out we’re just kids, then obviously we won’t get permission to enter," I said, leaning back in my seat and crossing my arms. "There’s no way they would let us in."

Minutes later, Harriet finally came out of her office with good news, just as Doyle woke up. "I got permission for us to enter the hospital," she reported, her face serious.