Time-Locked Romance (Timeless Series #2)

CHAPTER 4- DISAPPEARANCE

CHAPTER 4- DISAPPEARANCE
Wavee Wyndee Wheeler

I took a deep breath before stepping into the LC Condo Units Building. One of my professors had just emailed me about my application to the International Quantum Cognition Laboratory, so I had to come back to the Philippines.

I had only worked up the courage to apply to the IQCL last month, so I felt nervous hearing that the results were already in. Since I used my official student email for the application, I needed to go through my Physics professor to find out the outcome.

“Ma’am WWW!” kaagad na tawag sa akin ni Crystal.

Sila nina Aiah at ang bisayang baklang si Rendel ang naka-duty sa front desk kapag umaga. Kagaya ng mga staff ba paggabi ay maganda rin ang relasyon ko sa kanila.

“Oh, hey, guys! How’s life here?” nakangiti kong usisa sabay lapit sa kanila.

Alam ko rin kasing may parcels akong dapat i-claim. Kahit kasi nasa New York ako ay tanging pag-order online ang nakagawian ko. Hindi naman na rin weird ang ganitong hobby. Napakarami ng mas pabor ang online shopping kaysa sa ang pumunta sa mall o kahit anong physical stores. Bukod sa traffic ay mahaba pa ang pila sa mga counter. May mga maa-attitude na nilalang ka pang makae-encounter. Kung minsan ay hindi pa available ang product na hinahanap mo. Mas hindi kaya ng pasensiya ko ang gano’n.

“Ito po, maganda pa rin,” pabirong sagot ni Aiah.

“Baga dyud kaayo ang imong nawong, ’day, ’no?” sabat naman ni Ren. Hindi ako nakapagsasalita sa lenggwaheng ginamit nito ngunit naiintindihan ko iyon kaya natawa na lang din ako.

“Ay, Ma’am Wave, ito na pala parcels mo. Papirma na lang po nito,” untag sa akin ni Crystal.

“Ah, yeah. Thank you,” tugon ko at pumirma na sa form na inabot nito. “Kamusta rito sa LCCUB?” ulit kong tanong. Napansin naman siguro nilang seryoso ang ginamit kong tono ng pananalita kaya saglit pa silang nagkatinginan.

“Uhm, alam niyo na po ang tungkol sa kay Ma’am Klarisse Anne Planck?” alanganing tanong ni Crystal.

“Yeah, I heard she was murdered. Uh, the same night I left for another country?” Once again, I caught them exchanging knowing looks. “What? Just tell me. Mga ganitong chismis ang dapat na sini-share ninyo sa akin, ’no? Isang linggo rin akong wala rito. Hindi ko alam ang ganap dito,” I added.

“Eh, kasi po... ano, uhm, may mga detective kasing halos araw-araw dito at tinatanong ang whereabouts mo,” pag-aamin ni Aiah sa kabadong boses.

“Ah, really? Baka iniisip nilang posibleng ako ang suspect?” walang pag-aalinlangan ko pang deklara. Natawa ako nang bumakas sa mga mukha nila ang gulat. “Honestly, nalaman ko nga ring hinahanap ako ng mga detective. Huwag kayong mag-alala. Hindi ako killer. Ni ipis nga ay takot ako, eh.”

They all laughed, and I knew their suspicion of me had faded. A homicide case is serious, so it made sense that everyone who had contact with Miss Klarisse that night would be questioned. It just happened that I was dealing with my own issues at the time. I didn’t have time to play along with them, and they wouldn’t get anything useful from me anyway. Accusing me would only waste their time. Since that night, Hance Cameron has been the one on my hit list, not Klarisse Anne Planck.

“They might have left a contact number for you to call if you see me here. I have plenty of time now to answer their questions. Oh, and could you point me to my unit as well? They’ll need to pick me up,” I said with a smile.

“Are you serious, Ma’am Wave?” Rendel asked, wanting to be sure.

“Yes, just trust me. I want to clear my name too, you know? I’ll be fine because I’m not guilty,” I reassured them as I stepped into the elevator, heading up to my unit.