Project LOKI ③

Chapter 36: From the Ashes II

"I assume former inspector and now Officer Estrada told you about me," sagot ni Loki.

"O-Oo, ilang beses ka na niyang naikwento sa akin tuwing nag-iinuman kami. Ang buong akala ko'y isa kang fictional character at gawa-gawa lang ni Estrada ang mga kwento niya!"

"Now that you have seen me in the flesh, let me prove to you that my legend is real."

"Pero wala nang dapat imbestigahan dito. Natukoy na namin ang posibleng source ng sunog. What else is there to investigate?"

"Because this case might be an arson. And a murder one."

Pareho kaming napatingin ng fire marshall kay Loki. What is he saying?

"But I won't tell you my theory until I check the crime scene. So please?"

Ang fire marshall na mismo na humawi sa dilaw na cordon sa harapan namin. In a few words, he managed to convince the officer to let us in. Loki's charm sometimes works.

"Did you just make an excuse to enter the crime scene?" tanong ko habang inaakyat namin ang hagdanan. Napatakip pa kami ng ilong dahil sa amoy ng sunog. It stinks.

"I am not that bored so there's no compelling reason for me to loiter around a crime scene," he answered. "I do think that this is an arson and a murder. Ano sa tingin mo?"

"Hindi ko alam kung saan mo nakuha ang ideyang 'yan. Why would someone burn down half of an apartment?"

Nakarating kami sa second floor at diretsong nilakad ang pasilyo hanggang sa marating ang Room 207. Halos hindi na makilala ang kuwarto dahil sa pinsalang tinamo nito sa sunog. Nangitim ang mga pader, nabutas ang kisame at puro abo ang nadatnan namin sa loob.

Dahil sa nakakasulasok na amoy, napatakip kaming dalawa ng ilong. "Anong hinahanap natin dito?"

But Loki didn't reply. Nagpatuloy lang siya sa pag-examine sa buong unit. Nang satisfied na siya, pumasok siya sa isang kuwarto at doon namin nakita ang kamang yari sa bakal. It was barely recognizable as a bed.

"There's only one bedroom so the two tenants here are probably sharing the same bed," sabi ni Loki.

"And that is where the firemen find the burnt corpse of Priscilla," dagdag ko.

"They said that the body was lying here when they arrived. Do you find anything strange in that?"

I crossed my arms and stared at the disfigured steel bed. Sinubukan kong imagine-in ang mga nangyari bago sumiklab ang sunog. My eyes could see someone lying on the bed, sound asleep as the night fell. Then a fire erupted in the living room and spread all over the unit. Kumalat ang apoy sa kuwartong kinatatayuan namin hanggang sa umabot sa kama. I assume na may foam na hinihigaan ang biktima. The flame then engulfed the victim's body and burned her alive.

But wait, something's weird.

Napaangat ang tingin ko kay Loki. He probably could see from my expressions that I found something that was out of place.

"Your thoughts?" He asked, putting his hands inside his pajama pockets.

"If a fire broke out in this unit, she should have woken up, right?" tanong ko. "Sa init ng paligid niya, imposibleng hindi siya magigising. She would have tried to escape the room and save herself. Pero bakit sa kama natagpuan ang bangkay niya?"

"I can only think of two reasons why she stayed in her bed." Loki raised two of his fingers and walked around the steel bed. "First, she started the fire herself and committed suicide in this room. Second, for some reason, she couldn't move from where she was lying."