Case on a Silver Platter [Course 1]

Chapter 7: Tom's Riddle

Kalliope

Imagine the frustrated expressions on Mika and Renz’s faces when the Sports Festival was cancelled. Their faces went a bit distorted and Mika seemed to be almost crying. If anyone would see them now, they would think that they are just overreacting. But I know better.

They’ve been through numerous meetings para mag-prepare sa mga laro nila, pestered by multiple messages of reminders, handed with the game schedules just to strategize, and not to mention the training and practices that they attended. It turned out that it was all for nothing. Na parang nagpagod lang sila para sa wala. Kaya naiintindihan ko ang labis na panghihinayang nila nang ipatigil ng University head ang Sports Festival ngayong taon kahit na nasa ikalawang araw pa lamang ito.

The abduction of Gabrielle Villaluz must have worried them, but the sudden death of our department council governor Harold Gutierrez must have been the last straw. No one expected the unannounced demise met by the CEng governor. Well, unannounced was a silly word to use. Who would announce something like that, after all? If it was, the whole school wouldn’t be so shocked by that incident.

The school handled the situation quickly and gave the students the remaining three days of the supposed to be continuation of the Sports Festival as our free time to prepare for the upcoming midterms examination next week. Classes were also suspended at that time.

The death of Harold Gutierrez had me curious the most. I just met him and even talked to him yesterday. I confronted him about being the brain behind the recent cases, he outsmarted me and no proofs could pin him down. He even gave me subtle threats yesterday about my curiosity about things. But now, he's dead. It’s so sudden that even though he was the person pulling Jefferson’s strings, he said he would not resort to something that will spill blood, denying the involvement in the arson case.

But then, his own blood was spilt. Not literally, though. He was not found bathing in his own pool of blood or with multiple stab wounds on the body. It was somehow . . . clean. He was found lifeless on his classroom that morning, cold and stiff. His mouth has bubbles on it and saliva was spilling out. Either way, it was not a sight to behold.

The week quickly passed on without the three of us—Theia, North, and I—discussing about what I have found out. We texted one another and discovered that each of us was busy with our own personal hustles. Theia needs to work and took the opportunity of having no classes to work full time. North was busy enough on his family’s matters. Must be rich things so we didn’t dug deeper into details. And for me, naging abala rin ako sa pag-tutor kay Gaile at pag-aaral para sa darating na exams. College life sure is very busy.

Dumating na ang araw ng midterms examination at naging madugo iyon dahil sa aming major subject at minors na akala mo major. Mika and Lorenzo was heard complaining, again and again, kapag natatapos ang isang exam namin. They seemed to have already moved on from the Sports Festival because they didn’t bring it up anymore during our conversations. Two things remained unchanging: gossips and complaints.

“Hay! Mabuti naman at last na ang exam ni Ma’am Buendia! Nakaka-stressed ang mga tanong niya sa exams!” Paghihimutok ni Mika. “Mas napagod pa ako sa pagsagot n’on kaysa sa pinagsama-samang exams sa lahat nating subjects!”

We were on the last day of our midterm exam this week at kakatapos lang ng huling exam namin kay Ma’am Buendia. The whole week sure was tiring and mind draining. Mabuti at natapos din ang hell week na ito.