- Chapter two - THE DETECTIVE

Phoenix’s POV

I looked at the man after he said that, while Patrick stood up and they handshake, “S!” He said happily to the man. He is wearing a black-faceless mask. 

I stood up as well, and I looked at him, “Who is he?” I asked Patrick that made him smile.

“I want you to meet S,” he introduced the man, “He is a detective that solved many criminal cases not just in the Philippines but also in the other countries,” he added to me.   

“I don’t care,” I said sarcastically because I only asked who the man was, I did not ask him what he accomplished, and I feel that the man he introduced to me is so arrogant. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Phoenix,” he said, “And I think I don’t need to introduce myself to you because Patrick already did that,” he continued to me. He is using a device right now to change his voice to hide his identity. 

He is very arrogant! He walked towards my brother’s corpse, and Patrick followed him, “What do you think happened to the victim?” He asked Patrick; it seems like he is testing his intelligence quotient. 

“Many policemen believe that he committed suicide—” he did not manage to continue to talk when S spoke. 

“They are calling themselves ‘cops,’ they don’t even know what happened to the victim,” he said sarcastically to Patrick, “It’s not suicide,” he seriously said. 

“What do you mean?” Patrick asked him. He is very arrogant! I am so annoyed by the way he acts.

“It’s murder,” S answered. My patience with him was now gone. He looked at my brother’s body in the classroom. 

“Hey,” I called him that made him look at me, “You are a detective, right? Tell me, why do you think it’s murder?” I asked. 

“Exhibit one, he can’t die by hanging because his feet are still touching the floor, and exhibit two, I have seen wound in his lower left abdomen; it means he was stabbed there by someone,” he explained, “Any questions?” He asked, which made me close my hand. 

If he is tough, he should remove his mask right now! 

He decided to go outside of the classroom, and he talked in front of the students there, “All people that I am going to call must enter the classroom,” he said. 

“Melody Lamperouge,” he called, so Melody entered the classroom; she quickly looked at somewhere when we accidentally looked at each other, “Athena Lazaro,” he said, so Athena entered as well. 

“Juaqin Dizon and Sebastian Young,” he called, and the two boys entered the classroom, “Elisa Cruz,” he said, but Elisa did not immediately enter the room; she walked towards S to ask. 

“What is this for?” She asked that made S look at her.

“I will explain later,” he answered. So, Elisa entered the room. S also entered the classroom, and he closed the door, “Lastly, Phoenix Keehl,” he called me. 

What is this? “What is the meaning of this?” I asked that made him take a deep breath, and he started to talk.

“All of you are the suspects for killing Nate Keehl,” he seriously said that shocked us. 

“What?! Are you crazy?!” Juaqin asked S. 

“No,” he answered Juaqin, I am not going to lie; I am so angry at him right now! “My accusations have a basis,” he said. He must not accuse someone of a crime without presenting evidence; I am sure all of us did not kill my brother. 

“S, can you please tell us the reason—” Patrick did not manage to continue speaking when S started to talk. 

“Athena’s boyfriend is Nate, so there is a big possibility that they were together during prom night. While Melody, Juaqin, Sebastian, and Elisa are his friends, they may be with him that night,” he explained, “And I feel that Phoenix killed his older brother,” he added, which made me close my hands.

“That’s it? You accused us because of your senseless reasons!” I angrily said to him. 

“I know my accusations are not everyone’s cup of coffee, but—” S did not manage to continue to speak when I spoke again. 

“Because it’s senseless!” I angrily said. So, he looked at me seriously, and he spoke. 

“You have selective amnesia, right?” He asked me, “I have talked to your mom, and she told me that last Friday night, your classmate, Melody, saw you unconscious in your car—” he did not manage to continue to speak again when I talked.

“So, are you saying that I don’t have amnesia? That I am lying? Then why don’t you look at my doctor’s findings to me for you to know that I did not do anything wrong!” I angrily said to him.

“I did not say that.” He defended. He breathed deeply again and spoke, “I will know the truth soon, but for now, you can be happy because once I learn who killed Nate, I will make sure he will rot in jail,” he seriously said, and he left the room.

………………………………………………………………….

A few minutes later, cops removed my brother’s corpse in the classroom, and meanwhile, Principal Olivia Brakett arrived outside of it. She took a deep breath and spoke, “Students, due to what happened, the school administration decided to suspend the class for today in this section,” she said that irritated many of my classmates. I feel that some of them are happy because there’s no class today, “You all must go home,” she added, and a few minutes later, she left.

At this moment, only six of us left the classroom, and silence accumulated in us. 

Athena and Juaqin are sitting beside the door while Sebastian and Elisa are at the teacher’s table. I am sitting beside the blackboard while Melody is beside the bulletin board. Honestly, I couldn’t believe that we all be accused today of a crime we never did.