- 3.2 - Black and White Mystery (The Messages)

LUKE MATTHEW

WE STOOD IN front of the huge Baskerville Apartments. There are six floors with five flats each. The address numbers of each floor are visible to the street.

“It’s my first time here. I just know about this place because of the advertisements on the internet,” I said.

“Well, I live there,” the Detective pointed at the second floor; “in the second unit of 21b.” The ground floor was 21a; the third was 21c, and so on.

“You live here? Why are we led here by the code then?”

“Levy must have visited my place or maybe he lives here. My bet is on the first one.”

“You don’t know your neighbors, don’t you?” I teased but she didn’t seem to like it. “Detective?”

She faced me, “I’m antisocial, isn’t it obvious? Moving on, we still have a mystery to solve,” and then entered the gates of Baskerville Apartments.

I was about to follow when the security guard stopped me. “Log first, kid,” he said, flipping the record book to a new page.

“Ah, sorry,” I smiled and took the pen. I wrote down the time, my name, and the flat I am visiting, 2-21b.

He let me in and I followed her to the elevator. I still wonder why there are no elevators in AMU. Buildings with four floors are already high and tiring enough.

“Why did you choose a flat on the second floor? I saw two vacant flats on the ground,” I commented.

“Do you have any idea about Sherlock Holmes?” She asked in return.

“Ah, not that much,” I answered truthfully. She chuckled as she shook her head.

“His and Dr. Watson’s address was 221b Baker Street,” she said and my mouth formed an ‘o’ as I understood the reference. Her flat’s address when she took the second one on the second floor is 2-21b, similar to that of the famous London detective.

The elevator opened and she led the way. We stopped in front of a door with a number two. She took her key out but before she put it in the keyhole, she paused.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

“Someone’s been here,” she answered, eyeing the bits of paper on the floor.

“You placed those bits on top of the door, am I right? It fell when someone opened it.” She nodded in agreement.

“Major, I think I had a break-in. Go back down and inform the guard. If you could, you should check his record book. Look for Levy’s name.” I quickly obeyed.

“Excuse me, Mr. Guard. My classmate, the one in 2-21b, had a break-in. We would like to see your logs, if possible,” I told him as I arrived.

“A break-in? That’s impossible! I have guarded Baskerville for twenty years; no thief had ever passed through me,” he replied.

“Please, Mr. Guard—”

“Name’s Frank James, kid.”

“Alright, Mr. James. Please, just come with me to the flat. My classmate can explain the matter, just listen to me!” I pleaded and he stared at me for a moment. He huffed and took his record book before leaving his spot. We then headed for the second floor.

“Detective, here’s Mr. James,” I announced as we approached. The door was now open and to my surprise, she was standing in the middle of her flat beside a weird gigantic globe and staring at the tampered cream walls.

A message written in black paint stated: “A game of hide and seek for the young detective. Isn’t this exciting? Somewhere near, somewhere deep; the sound of splashes, I hear. Come, dear Holmes; come and play with me.”

“Miss Cake, nothing’s stolen?” Mr. James asked.

“Nothing, Mr. Jackson. The intruder just left a message, thanks,” she replied which got me looking confused.

“He’s Mr. Frank James,” I explained but I think this is about her ‘trouble in recalling the names of insignificant people’ again.

He tapped my arm and spoke. “She always does that. And I told you, no thief had ever passed through my security!”

“Just a vandal, maybe,” I replied which earned me a glare before he walked away. “May I see your logs?”

“No!”

“Okay,” I sighed and decided to just enter the flat. I stood behind her and roamed my gaze around the flat. It kinda looked a little bit… weird. First was this gigantic globe that stood beside us. Second, who stabs their utility bills on the table? I’m sure there are other ways to keep those from going missing.

There were also different maps of places in the Philippines plastered on the wall, along with a large and framed periodic table of elements. She’s got a tall shelf of books, four layers; most of it were Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels; some Science, Math, History, and dictionaries. Beside the bookshelf was a keyboard which caught my interest.

“Do you play the piano?” I asked.

“No,” she simply answered, her gaze still on the message.

“Why do you have a keyboard, then?”

“I tried to study it but I can’t seem to learn,” she said and faced me. “Music doesn’t seem to be one of my fortes. I just tried because Sherlock plays the violin. However, you do play the piano. Would you mind if I make a request?”

“Ye— wait. I remember… How did you know about my piano-playing?”

“I believe I’ve already informed you of my observation on your hands. The keyboard also caught your curiosity about my unit. I see you’ve been observing, too, Major, and that’s actually good. I also had a further confirmation about my deductions on your talent because of your ringtone.”

“My ringtone!? How could you possibly ‘confirm your deductions’ that I play the piano by my ringtone? I accept the first ones but the last part… Care to explain?”

“It was you playing. Beethoven’s Moonlight has some sort of an intro but your version doesn’t. Stop asking me how I knew it was you. A good magician doesn’t expose their tricks.”

“Well, I could have just cut his intro and then used it for my— Are those snakes?!” I gasped, looking at the two reptiles in a habitat one meter away from the keyboard.

“My pets,” she simply replied and returned her attention to the message.

“Aren’t they dangerous?” I walked closer to the habitat.

“Cat’s scratches would hurt more than their bites. Pantherophis Guttatus’ teeth are very small.”

Ugh, fine. Forget about the snakes. I went back to my former spot and read the same message over and over.

“Somewhere near, somewhere deep; the sound of splashes, I hear. Isn’t that line pertaining to a swimming pool? There are no beaches around here so the nearest would be a swimming pool. Levy must be waiting for us there,” I said, trying to sound smart.

“Good deduction, Major. Although you got the last one wrong, that is quite good for a beginner,” she commented which kinda offended me. But I guess I should get immune to it.

“Levy isn’t waiting for us— he’s playing with us. A game of hide and seek, and come and play with me— those are what you missed to point out. The next clue will be in the nearest pool. Since there are no resorts whatsoever here in the vicinity, the nearest pool would be back in AMU, the one used for swimming classes,” she stated. And there goes my ‘trying to sound smart’ agenda down the drain.

“So, we’re going back to the uni?” I asked a little confused.

“My, of course, you dense human. Leave your bag and come on!” She exclaimed, pulled the backpack from me, then dragged me out of her flat and locked the door behind.

It only took us a ten-minute walk to reach Gate 4, the nearest gate from the Baskerville Apartments to Albertus Magnus University. We went to the pool and found its entrance chained. The keys were only with the P.E. teachers and the Principal. How did Levy leave a clue here if it’s locked?

The Detective immediately took out her lock picking kit and started. It didn’t take long before we got inside the pool. “I see no message here,” I said as I roamed my gaze around the area.

“No, it’s not around the pool. It’s in the pool,” she replied, staring at the water. “There,” she pointed; “it’s sealed in a zip lock bag.”

“Alright, I’ll dive in,” I volunteered.

“You sure? My apartment unit is not far from here. I could easily change my wet clothes,” she said in a tone that I think I’ve never heard before.

“No, you’ve been doing all the work. Let me do something as your assistant, Detective,” I replied as I took off my coat, necktie, shoes, and socks. “Uhh, would you please hold on to these for me?”

“Sure,” she simply agreed and took the coat and necktie from my hand. I left my footwear at the side.

“Thanks,” I smiled and then dived into the six feet pool.

I found the zip lock bag and tried to take it but it was attached to the floor. I rose up, “Detective, it’s stuck! I’m going to read it, take note!” She nodded in agreement.

“I see, you have found the second message,” I dictated and went back down. I repeated the cycle until we completed the clue.

I climbed up and shook my wet hair. I also jumped up and down to lessen the water on my skin before approaching her. “Well?” I asked.

She read the clue from her mini notepad, “I see, you have found the second message but this is not an easy one. If you are very careful, then you may proceed to the next without any delays. I am up high and when I look below, the people look like ants and they gather around a red rose.”

“I-If you… are… very c-careful?” I asked but my voice came out breathy. I looked her in the eyes— those emerald eyes. “I… I can’t b-breathe!” I gasped and slumped on the poolside.

“Major!” She called out and held my face. “Look at me, Major. Oh, no! No, no, no, no… This can’t be— Matthew? S-Stay with me, don’t close your eyes! Matthew!”

The Detective’s voice began to fade out but I felt her warm embrace before I lost my senses.

I woke up to the sound of a beeping machine. I looked around and I figured I was in the school clinic. The school doctor, Dr. Celina Marquez approached me.

“Hey, you’re awake. Can you speak? How are you feeling?” She asked.

“I feel… weird?” I answered but it came out more of a question. “My eyes also feel like burning,” I added. I noticed that my voice also sounded a bit hoarse. I sat up with the doctor’s assistance.

“Chlorine poisoning, that’s what happened to you, Mr. Vargas,” she identified which shocked me for a bit but then I remembered that I dived into a pool so it’s possible.

“H-How long was I out? We… We were on a case..,” I muttered.

“You’ve been out for about an hour. Many have happened,” she pushed the thick green curtain that separated the beds and revealed an unconscious and pale Detective wearing a hospital gown. Wait, what?!

“Hibara! W-What happened?” I asked, worried.

Dr. Marquez began to explain, “Miss Cake brought you here and explained that you might have received a certain amount of chlorine and then left, saying she will just go to the highest rooftop. She returned about twenty to twenty-five minutes later, with a female classmate of yours and a bleeding side. She got two deep stabs and bled a lot, that’s why she’s still unconscious.

“Your female classmate didn’t introduce her name to me, but she told me that Miss Cake saved her from someone named Levy. She said she was about to be pushed down the rooftop but your companion came right on time. If you need the complete story about how things ended up this way, I guess you should ask her.”

“Is her height visibly shorter than Hibara?” I asked and the doctor nodded. Okay, that’s definitely Irish.

Levy must have tried to get rid of her after she disclosed information about their criminal business. Irish was the red rose where the people will gather; they will look like ants in Levy’s view because he will be standing on the College Building rooftop. That’s what the message is saying!

“By the way, Miss Cake had some sort of a weird message on her mini notepad. I found it inside her skirt pocket when I changed her clothes. I am drying yours; it’s hanged in front of the electric fan if you’re going to change,” she said and handed me the notepad. It had few blood stains that looked like handprints, possibly when she wrote the message.

“This game of hide and seek ends here. At nine in the evening, lots of casualties you’ll see. Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom.”

I sighed and lied back on the bed. This line of work is too dangerous. I think I understand now why she kept an unpleasant attitude. She didn’t want anyone else to be at risk. If she tries to push me away later, I will insist on staying. This is not just for adventure purposes anymore; this is to find and get rid of the evil in our school. But of course, I can’t deny that this is still partly an adventure… and a very thrilling one at that.