[✭] Acuteness

[shinn]

and the habit of decomposing
right before your very eyes

Loyola Grand Villas, Loyola Heights Grand Villas, Loyola Great Village? Well, did it really matter? No matter how you say it, or whatever it really stands for, when you casually go, “Oh hey, I live in LGV”, your audience would go into that corner where they would feel dazzled by your status and the like. After all, LGV is where the “rich” people live.

Isn’t it wonderful?

“I’m part of the elite now,” Bianca Lopez said. She stretched her arms as she welcomed the bright sun. What a fine morning it was for her. It wouldn’t get any finer too. She got what she wanted—what she wanted for many years now.


Bianca just recently moved to LGV, after all. After getting a promotion, finally becoming one of the vice-presidents of the bank she was working for, from being a normal bank manager. It was just great.

The bonus, oh yes, the grand bonus; the sudden influx of thousands of pesos overflowed her with joy. In fact, she spent all that, plus her lifesavings, the ang pao she received from her parents last Chinese New Year, all her Christmas money savings, and well, just spare money that she had, just to buy a beautiful house and lot. A two storey house with four bedrooms and a whole lost of space was what she got. 16M, it cost, furnished too.

Too bad she lived alone.

Ah, the excessive lifestyle of Bianca Lopez.

--

It was just so nice, so peaceful. Being in LGV wasn’t really bad at all! Compared to living in the streets of Sikatuna, LGV was really the place to be. There were no people yelling “TAHO!” in the wee hours of the morning. There were no tambays hanging out outside the gate of your house, getting drunk.

No nothing.

Except maybe for that huge truck—

“Hoy, teka lang!”

Bianca rushed down the stairs, past the glass doors and to her door step.

“Ano ba ito…” she sighed. It was good that she didn’t say it out loud though, being an “ex-commoner” and all. She wanted to have a good impression on the neighbors—a wealthy, fluent English speaker and all. Ah, the means of trying to be sophisticated.

The newly promoted banker looked down at her feet, slowly eyeing what was delivered to her. What was on her doorstep was a box. A balikbayan box, to be exact.

True, she just moved to her new, exquisite house six days back. The thing is, nobody was there in her previous house anymore, so no one would be able to send a box like that, not even her parents. She was sure that she didn’t leave anything behind too.

With what was going on with Bianca’s life lately though, all she could think about was her recent promotion. She quickly disregarded the fact that it could be a package that was sent to the wrong house, or that it was from a cousin or something. This kind of thinking led her to being extra curious on what was inside the box. Maybe it had something to do with her new job after all! Another bonus, perhaps?

Maybe, just maybe.

--

“This just in—In number 16 Nova Scotia Street, Loyola Grand Villas, a resident had just committed suicide. The reasons are unknown, however, it is said to be the cause of drugs. The person’s name is Bianca Lopez, according to the forensic investigators. Tune in for more information. This is Cherry David, NOU news”

--

From the quiet and serene feeling the house of the ‘late’ Bianca Lopez was giving, it gave off the feeling of a small hustle-bustle town. The police were in every corner of the house, and likewise, with one other investigators, checking each and everything in the newly resided house.

Sure, people shouldn’t really be making a big deal about this suicide attempt that was carried out. There were just some people who weren’t sure of it—probably someone with a high sense of justice and a will to know what’s going on with the world, someone like a detective who investigates a lot of suicide cases in the Philippines.

Rio Lorriet.

“There aren’t any proofs of Bianca Lopez committing suicide,” Rio said. He continued looking around. Blood splatters here and there, a rope from where the police say she “hanged” herself. Rio just kept on looking and looking. The police weren’t people to trust, they’re actually just lazy people who just want the money they get from their job. Rio found it quite disgusting, people working for the sake of justice, even though they really don’t.

Well, it wasn’t really his concern. He wasn’t working for the police. He was a private investigator and—ah, interruption from his thinking.

“Why am I being called here? I don’t see any point of being interrogated just because of a suicide case!”

A man came in, coat-and-tied, looking very corporate. He was one of the sons of a senator, Ryan Legaspi. Ryan was also a doctor working at the Medical City.

“Good afternoon, mister Legaspi. We’re truly sorry for—”

Rio interrupted the fake-faced police chief, “Rio Lorriet, a detective”.

Ryan was taken quite aback. He wasn’t expecting a detective to be at the scene of the “crime”, or in that case, the scene of the suicide.

Trying to regain his composure, he smirked and tugged on his tie and fixed it. “A detective? I see no reason for a detective to be investigating a suicide case.” A little hesitation in his tone.

“I believe you mentioned that you just got home from a trip from the US,” Rio took out a notepad and a pen from his back pocket. “Matthew, take notes,” He gave he notepad and a pen to his assistant who was just right behind him.

Of course, the obedient assistant just nodded and did what he was told.

Ryan had ample time to not be nervous in answering. “My wife told me when I got home”, he said, swallowing saliva after he did so.

Rio just nodded and looked at Ryan from top to bottom. The investigation had already begun. “Mister Legaspi, may I ask what you did in the US?”

A moment of silence came.

Matthew looked intensely at the doctor; notepad in hand and a pen in the other. On, this was going to be big! He didn’t know that being a private eye was so exciting! In fact, he didn’t even know that being a private eye’s assistant was this thrilling.

He started imagining what would happen next. Who knows? By that one question, Ryan fell silent. He might suddenly snap and bring out a gun and start making the house a shooting range. After that, the next thing he might do might be to escape, run back to his house, ride his Jaguar and flee to a mountain or—

Ryan laughed, slowly walking closer to Rio. This laugh was a bit scary, it was kind of like a horror movie, only it was real. A Thriller laugh—you could say.

“All right, all right, you got me,” a wild smirk appeared on the doctor’s face.

A sigh of defeat came afterwards. A hand in the pocket came next. What Matthew had thought of was about to come true! Or well, that’s what he thought. As for the police? They were just in the background now. This was a confrontation between Rio and Ryan (and possibly Matthew as well; he’d want to get some action, of course!).

“I didn’t really go to the United States, okay? I was just on leave for the entire week and did not want to get disturbed by client calls and all that. Does that make you feel better? If you’d like me to say more, I didn’t leave my house since last Monday ‘til Sunday today, when you bothered me,” Ryan said calmly.

“Do you have any proof of this, mister Legaspi?” asked Rio.

Aha, a sudden plot twist. The gunshot scene wasn’t going to happen after all! Matthew felt a bit disappointed on the inside, but it was good either way. At least his boss wasn’t going to get hospitalized or die, or something like that.

Ryan shook his head, “No, but you can check my car. I haven’t touched it in days. I’m an obsessive-compulsive person. I have a logbook.”

“This isn’t progressing,” Rio muttered under his breath. A logbook—like it would really be of any help. An alibi was an alibi, and every suspect is proven innocent ‘til proven guilty. That was how people under the law worked (at least, the honest ones). Rio looked at the police chief with a hint of impatience in his eyes. The police chief was busy enjoying his coffee, but he attended to Rio anyway. “Chief dela Cruz, I’d like to have access to Bianca Lopez’s house for the entire day, hopefully until tomorrow morning. The case should be solved by then.”

The detective looked back at Ryan, “I’d like you to give my assistant your contact details, sir. If I cannot find any proof that my other suspects committed this murder, it automatically means that you are the killer. Of course, I would testify this with proof,” then he looked at Matthew, “Show him the way out.”

Rio just walked away and headed to Bianca’s little office in her house to study some items he found at the scene of the ‘crime’.

At that significant point in time, Ryan just wanted to strangle Rio. That was rude, after all, or well, just for Ryan. Everyone else didn’t seem to mind it though, it was just business. One thing that made him very angry at Rio though was the fact that everyone claimed for it to be a suicide case, but yet, he still keeps on insisting that it isn’t.

He thought about it again.

It wouldn’t be the one humiliated in the end though. Pride conquers curiosity. That was what he believed in.

“Mister Legaspi, your contact details please?” Matthew amiably said, approaching Ryan at the same time.

The doctor growled and stormed off, leaving only his calling card in the late Bianca Lopez’ residence.

Yeah, just business.

“Matthew,” Rio gestured to the telephone beside him. He was holding a little notepad in hand, a few scribbles from what he’s gathered so far back at Bianca’s office. “Please dial Leo Francisco for me. His telephone number should be with the chief.”

The detective headed back to the office to continue what he was doing, which was going through Bianca’s paperwork. He might find a clue about the murder. It was a murder. Rio knew it too well. It couldn’t have been a suicide. A new position in the office, a lot of cash to spend, a new luxurious home, there wouldn’t be anyone insane to commit suicide after receiving such blessings. Filipinos weren’t so crazy to die right after that.

Matthew, on the other hand headed out to ask the chief for Leo what’s-his-name’s telephone number. He actually had no idea what was going on, despite him being the assistant detective and all. But as long as it helped everything progress, then it was good.

Too bad what he was picturing in mind didn’t really happen too. That would have been really exciting, compared to just investigating on people. Well, that was a detective’s job anyway.


A few minutes later, Matthew came back with a cup of coffee and a small piece of paper with some numbers. “Here you go,” he handed the paper to his ‘boss’.

“Thank you, Matthew. The coffee smells good too.”

“Oh, this is for me though.”

Yet, another moment of silence.

Rio stared at Matthew for a few seconds, wearing a stern face on. “Well, are you going to just stand there, or are you going to call mister Francisco?”

“Aha ha ha!” Matthew just went. He almost jumped too. He was probably absent-minded at that time, having embarrassed his boss. He didn’t really intend to though. He just found it… strange. That, and that he worked for someone weird, with a lot of quirks and interesting things. Yet, he found it amusing that Rio was very straight-forward. He was smart too! At the same time, he was also messy, but well, Matthew just ignored that part.

“YES, HELLO.”

The detective jumped from his seat, surprised by his assistant’s sudden yelling. The computer’s mouse fell on the floor. Instead of picking it up though, he got up and grabbed the telephone from Matthew.


Covering the mouthpiece, he said, “Pick the mouse up and get me some coffee.”

And off.

“Good afternoon, this is Rio Lorriet, a detective. I’d like to bother you this Sunday afternoon for about two hours or so. One of your employees just died—no, it’s not a suicide. Miss Lopez was murdered, and there will be enough proof to verify it. For that, I’d like your presence, as well as some answers to my questions. I am currently at miss Lopez’s new home. Please be here by 5pm, along with Bianca Lopez’s officemate, Dante Sanchez. You need to be here, sir. Thank you very much.”

A short conversation, and nothing more. Rio was just about to hang up, he heard Leo reply. True, it was a phone call, the people conversing were supposed to reply to each other, but Rio didn’t really have the time for that. He wanted everything done in a day. It was an easy case for him; the only difficult thing in it was to gather proofs. It looked very much like a suicide case. It was set up as a suicide case. Play your pawns well, and you’ll get to the other side of the chess board.

Rio was currently lacking pawns.

“I’ll try, but I will call back if I cannot.” The conversation ended there.

One of the policemen entered Bianca’s office. “Hey, Lorriet, the other neighbors said that they saw a package delivered to Bianca Lopez early this morning. Maybe it had something to do about your silly murder case.”

“A package?” Rio raised an eyebrow, giving a hint of annoyance from his tone. Silly murder case, hah, yeah—they’re the ones mistaken. That was Rio’s only motivation to solve the case at that moment in time.

The police were useless.

“That’s right. I think it’s somewhere in the dining room, there are a lot of boxes there too. You might want to check on it. Anyway, we’re all leaving now; we’ve got other jobs to do.”

Rio just nodded and went back to his seat, watching all the other policemen leave the house from his peripheral view. It was one of those few cases wherein the police actually gave up their honor and went on with something more ‘important’. Anyway, there was no time to think of them as lazy people who knew nothing else except gaining money.

“Hey, Matthew, let’s get to work.”

--

The aura wasn’t your typical aura. The setting wasn’t your typical setting. They were inside the dining room. The police weren’t there any more. It was a tiring day, even for Rio. The room was filled with different scents: sweat, cologne, orange juice—well, other things that the police left that were able to give off smell. It didn’t matter though. The police said it might be a clue, Rio had to try his luck.

Ruffle, ruffle.

Matthew moaned, “Boss, stop moving too much!” his voice was weak; it seemed as if he couldn’t breathe anymore. Gee.

The older of the two, obviously Rio, sighed. “You’re awfully being demanding today, Matthew,” He moved just a little bit to make himself comfortable. The position they were in wasn’t really that… pleasant. Matthew didn’t seem like he was used to this.

Augh, Rio was at it again! Matthew didn’t like the feeling of inferiority. It just made him feel more uncomfortable with what they were doing too. Rio’s gesture of being a pleasant man wasn’t really that pleasing for him. It just irritated him a bit. But, ah well. Matthew couldn’t really do anything about Rio’s personality. Maybe that’s what drawn him to working for Rio. Interesting guy.

The assistant just sighed and didn’t move an inch. Almost there!

Rustle, rustle.

It was getting move uncomfortable by the minute.

Matthew, being that close to the Colonel, could smell his cologne. Not that strong, not that lacking either. It was the usual men’s cologne. But Rio Lorriet made it smell so different. So uncomfortable. Matthew could just let go any second now.

“B-Boss, could we just take a break for even just a second?” Guy said, panting. He really wasn’t used to this. And it just needed to be emphasized for the nth time, huh?

Rio just laughed, “Oh you can’t be serious Matthew. We’ve almost reached the climax.” He said with this hint of enjoyment in his tone. It was the first time he laughed in a while too. With so many things to do, all he could think about were serious thoughts; and here he was, enjoying his assistant’s displeasure.

And.

Matthew found himself cornered. Just. Cornered. Nowhere to go now. There was a wall behind him. Rio was in front of him.

“Ready, Matthew?”

“Y-Yeah, anytime, boss,” a gulp came after.

Matthew raised an arm and wiped the sweat off his forehead using his sleeve. “Finally! I can’t believe we had to carry that box to this office!” He sighed in relief and smiled at Rio. “We could have just done it at the kitchen though, right?”

Rio sighed, “There was a window. The suspect might be there, we should be careful.”


A gunshot.

Matthew and Rio’s eyes widened. They ended up staring at each other and sticking to the nearest wall afterwards. Matthew peered from the wall to check if someone was there. He couldn’t here any footsteps at all, but he knew that someone else was there. The gunshot came from somewhere near the main door. And it was supposed to be open for the police to come in. Those were the rules, and well—everything was not as planned for Rio.

Rio took out his gun from his pocket and went out for the clear, “All right, who’s out there?” his gun pointing at free space. He looked around; whoever fired that gunshot must be running around the place to look for a suitable hiding spot.

“Time to say good night, Rio Lorriet—”

The detective looked up. The gunner was at the second floor--! “R—”

Bang.


Shatter.

Escape.

Matthew moved too slow. No one would find out what really happened now.

Bad end.