Erudition of Doyle: Volume One

CHAPTER 49: CASE VIII - THE MYSTERIOUS FRIENDS OF LITTLE SLYVIA

Content Warning: This chapter contains intense violence including physical assault and psychological manipulation, and references to death. Reader discretion is advised.

Case 8: The Mysterious Friends
of Little Sylvia (The Bluntfire's
Deduction Show, follows danger
Chapter, Part Fourteen)

ROSALINDA

Dmitriy grabbed Mr. Alfred’s shirt at the center of his collar and forcefully pushed him, but Mr. Alfred’s hands remained on the fabric. In the blink of an eye, Dmitriy swiftly struck Mr. Alfred with the right side of his forehead, causing him to pass out. We were all surprised by his sudden attack and impressed by his strength in knocking out Mr. Alfred.

"Dmitriy..." I called his name, and he looked at me with a furious expression. You could tell from his face that he hadn’t picked a fight with Mr. Alfred for fun. "Wag ka nang bumalak na bugbugin siya; you already knocked him out."

Medyo gulat itong napabaling sa'kin. "How’d ya know I wanna beat him up?"

I remained silent, and he blinked twice, still staring into my eyes.

"Can ya—"

"No."

"Oi, I ain’t said nothin’."

"I can’t read minds."

Napakunot ang noo nito. "Then how’d ya know I was ‘bout to ask that?!"

"You’re way too obvious."

We held each other’s gaze; he looked very confused, as if he were trying to comprehend what I’d just said. Why does he look so lost, like a child?

He was the one who finally looked away. An innocent smile played on his lips. "I don’t really get why people wanna hit people—"

"You just hit him."

"Well, it’s valid, innit?"

"Yeah, shut up now." I had to stop this nonsense conversation; it was very irrelevant to the case. "Also, stop smiling like that as if you didn’t do anything."

"What?" Ngumuso siya saka pinapagpag ang kamay niya, na para bang nadumihan kahit hindi naman. "Wala naman akong ginagawang masama ah!"

I looked at the two remaining suspects. I was about to speak when Dmitriy interrupted. "I’m just gonna tie up this old man so he don’t get away, alright? Be back in a bit." Aniya, ngunit hindi ko na ito pinansin at inilahad ang buong atensyon sa kanilang dalawa.

"You are the remaining suspects," panimula ko, at sila'y napatingin sa'kin. "One of you is the culprit, and the other one can be my ally."

"Who's the culprit?" Amanda asked.

"You." Diretso kong tugon, na kaniyang ikinagulat. Hiro widened his eyes and looked at her.

"Why would I kill my sister?" she asked calmly, but I could feel the flames in her eyes as her hands slowly clenched.

"You are very aware that Mrs. Samantha is a member of Herald Mortiferum." Wika ko saka bahagyang napatingin kay Hiro. Hiro knew about it as well. "Your reason is you don’t want other people to get hurt by her, specifically innocent kids." Wika ko, saka ibinalik ang tingin kay Miss Amanda; nakayuko na ito ngayon. "Instead of killing her, why not tell the police about it?" I asked, but I didn’t receive any response from her.

"But how did she murder her when the room was locked? There’s no way she could have killed her without being seen on the CCTV camera walking to her room just to stab her. Dmitriy also mentioned that no one else came out of the room except Alfred. Furthermore, her room is far from Sam’s office, and Dmitriy mentioned earlier that the blackout didn’t last long. So, how?"