The Lie Beneath

Rhianne

Lazarus crouched back down beside the body, eyes gleaming with amusement like he just stumbled into a riddle rather than a dead girl. "You see, Rhianne, dead silence in a room isn't always silence. Sometimes it's hiding something. Just like this girl."

I narrowed my gaze. "The paper in her pocket says 'I'm not scared, the game isn't over'," I said, unfolding it slightly. "But the ink... it's uneven. Jagged. The strokes don't match her notebooks."

Marcus, standing a few feet away, raised a brow. "You checked her notebooks?"

"Her bag is still on the scene," I answered, still eyeing the message. "Her bag is with her after the jump incident happend, all her notebooks and books are inside. Talking about her handwritten, The pressure points, the angle of the strokes are completely different. This paper wasn't written by her. Maybe if this wasn't a suicide, sinadya ng killer n'ya na guluhin ang sulat para hindi ma-identify."

Well, kahit naman guluhin n'ya ang handwriting nito, the piece of it's paper is still are lead on finding whoever did this.

Lazarus chuckled, straightening his posture while still crouched. "A fake suicide note. Now that's a cliché straight out of a third rate mystery novel." He tapped the side of his head with one gloved finger, smiling. "But still effective if you're trying to steer attention."

I nodded slowly. "But it didn't work. If this was meant to mislead, it was sloppy. Or deliberately meant to appear sloppy."

He looked at me with interest, his pupils dilated a little too wide. "You think the killer wanted someone to notice?"

"No," I replied, firmly. "I think they wanted us to question it just enough to chase a shadow. Make us doubt ourselves. Waste time."

Lazarus's grin widened. "Oooh, You're good. I like you." Then he leaned closer to the body, eyes scanning every inch of her. "No phone, no ID, no name tag. She wasn't carrying anything that might help us know what kind of person she was."

That actually makes me question something, how could possibly her important things is not with her but she's carrying her backpack.

"There's a possibility that her killer took those important things before the fall." I muttered.

"And don't forget the missing watch," he added, voice sing-songy. "Our lovely victim wore it daily according to the mark that leave her wrist. Yet she's not wearing it anymore? That's pretty odd!"

Marcus shifted on his feet, clearly trying to process everything flying between us.

I glanced at the fourth floor balcony. "We need to check the hallway where she fell from. I want to know who saw her last and who was in that corridor during the time of the fall."

"I'm on it," Marcus said, nodding. "I'll ask campus security to retrieve the class rosters and CCTV."

Lazarus stood and stretched like someone who just woke up from a nap. "Meanwhile, Rhianne and I will keep dancing with the dead."

His words made my spine stiffen. Not because it was gruesome, but because he meant it. Every twisted. Tinignan ko ito.

There's something unsettling about him. Ngayon ko lang siya nakita ever since i got in this school. Lazarus Salvador smiles like everything is a joke for him, talks like a child, and analyzes like a surgeon. I've met people with intuition, but his is a different breed. closer to obsession than brilliance. He looks like enjoying solving a case like it's a meal.

And yet, I can't deny it that a student like him can chase after a mind over cases.

"I don't think she landed flat," he suddenly said, stepping toward the concrete path. "Look at the angle of the impact. Left leg fractured, but the right one's twisted awkwardly. And the blood trail's more to her right."