Night Owl's Café
8:10 p.m.

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Detective Nico Yukishito leaned against the leather sofa and inhaled the heavenly smell of his espresso. 'Damn. Bakit ba ngayon lang ako nakapag-kape?' Hanggang ngayon, hindi niya pa rin lubos maisip kung paano siya nakatagal ng 24 hours nang walang kape sa kanyang sistema.

"Coffee makes everything easy, don't you think?"

Nararamdaman niya ang pagtitig ng dalaga sa kanya.

Detective Briannova Carlos frowned and pushed aside her cup of frappucino. "Maybe for you, it is. Hindi ko talaga gusto ang lasa ng kape," mahinang kumento niya bago inilapit ang binili niyang milktea bago sila magpunta rito. "Coffee still tastes too bitter, even after adding a handful of sugar." She took a sip and started eyeing the papers and pictures on the table.

"I'm not aware that people who dislike coffee even exists on this planet."

Napapailing na lang si Nico at kinuha ang kapeng ayaw galawin ni Nova. Well, that means more for him!

Buong araw na nilang iniimbestigahan ang kaso. Nakakatuwang isipin na parang kaninang umaga lang, inililigtas niya pa mula sa puno ang isang demonyong Siamese cat. Now, he's chasing down an arsonist who left number clues for them. Sumasakit na naman ang ulo ni Nico tuwing iisipin niya ang mga numerong 'yon. Pinipiga na niya ang utak niya sa lahat ng codes and ciphers, trying to decode the message, but none of it makes sense.

"Ngayong nakakuha na tayo ng ebindensya na may pumatay nga kay Mr. Jones, the Eastwood police and our agencies will have no problem backing us up in our investigation."

He almost rolled his eyes, "Any human with a pair of eyes and a functioning brain will figure out that he was murdered. No big deal. Ngayon, kailangan ko---"

"NATIN!" Tumalim ang mga mata ni Detective Briannova Carlos.

Nico raised his hands up in defense. "Okay! Sheesh.. Ngayon kailangan NATIN i-decode ang iniwang mensahe sa'tin ng arsonist. I have a feeling that it will lead me---I mean, us---somewhere."

Paano nga ba nila nalutas ang Heartless Killer case kung hindi sila nagkakasundo?

Huminga nang malalim si Nova at uminom ulit ng milktea. "Sa ngayon, wala tayong alam sa arsonist slash killer natin. Ni hindi ko ma-trace kung sinong nag-deposit ng malaking halaga ng pera sa kanilang bank accounts ngayong araw. The initial reaction of someone who stole that large amount of money is to keep it safe in his bank account. Masyadong delikado kung itatago niya ito sa bahay niya dahil posible itong maging ebidensya laban sa kanya kapag natunugan ng mga pulis ang tungkol dito." Her sharp brown eyes scanned the pictures in front of them, "walang espesyal sa ginamit na murder weapon. It was an ordinary mallet manufactured by Kingstone Industries. Bago pa ito kaya't malamang ay nabili niya sa kung saang hardware dito sa Eastwood."

"Nice work, Nova." Nico smirked, "but I have to correct you on that. Hindi totoong wala tayong alam sa arsonist natin---"

"Robinhood Arsonist."

"What in the name of Sherlock?"

Nova sighed and ran a hand through her pink locks, "The media is calling him the Robinhood Arsonist. Bukod sa nagnakaw siya ng pera sa isang milyunaryo, nakita namin sa CCTV ng Eastwood Heights ang pinaghihinalaang arsonist. He was wearing a hoodie so we can't see his face. In the video, he was holding a black bag that we think contains the riches he stole. Hindi na napigilan ng HELP ang pag-leak nito sa journalists. Thus, the nickname RobinHOOD Arsonist or RA."

Nico sighed in defeat. "And I thought 'Heartless Killer' or 'HK' was already lame enough.."

Robinhood Arsonist.

'What's next? He's donating the money to the poor? Hah! Impossible.'

Pero nang ibalik niya ang kanyang mga mata kay Nova, napansin niyang may tinitipa na ito sa kanyang laptop. Sa unang pagkakataon magmula nang matapos nila ang Heartless Killer case, ngayon lang ulit nakita ni Detective Nico ang seryosong pagtatrabaho ng isang Detective Briannova Carlos.

Sandali niyang pinanood ang ekspresyon ng dalaga na abala sa binabasa sa internet. She bit her lower lip in frustration. Her pink-manicured fingers professionally tapped the keyboard.

Napasimangot si Nico at uminom ulit ng kape.

'Maybe she's not useless afterall.'

"As I was saying earlier before you interrupted me by revealing that lame nickname for our arsonist," Kalmadong inihilig ni Nico ang kanyang ulo sa backrest ng sopang kinauupuan niya. "Sapat na ang impormasyong iniwan sa'tin ng arsonist."

Nova stopped and raised an eyebrow at him.

"The heck?"

"Posible nating i-classify na 'organized' ang killer natin. Planado niya ang pagpatay kay Mr. Jones, at kung mapapansin mo, maayos rin niyang nai-fetal position ang bangkay bago niya sunugin ang mansyon. Alam niyang makikita siya sa CCTV camera kaya nagsuot siya ng hoodie. He already planned this to make it look like an accident, but left a code for us to solve."

Inusog papalapit ni Nico kay Nova ang larawang kuha ng numerong nakasulat sa dugo.

"Hindi ka ba nagtataka kung paano pa rin natin nababasa ang nakasulat dito, despite both the body and the builing being eaten up by flames? Sa natural na setup, dapat masusunog rin ang sahig.. but he used fireproofing chemicals to preserve this for us."

The arsonist is smart, that's a given fact. Alam nitong mabubura ang isinulat niyang mga numero sa sahig sa sandaling sumiklab ang sunog, kaya't sinigurado na muna niyang fireproof ang sahig bago niya pa man ilagay doon ang bangkay ng negosyante. 'Considering the floor was made out of wood, he most likely used some kind of transparent wood fireproof coating,' Nico thought.

Hindi na bago ang paggamit ng mga fireproof paint, coatings, o sprays sa mga gusali. Depending on the chemical properties, posibleng maging fire resistant ang mga kahoy o kahit ang bakal mismo.

Marahang tumango si Nova. She stopped typing on her laptop and gave him her full attention. "Well, that only proves he's smart enough to consider chemistry in his crime."

"Exactly. Bukod dito, gumamit rin siya ng isang common accelerant na hindi paghihinalaan kapag binili mo ito nang maramihan."

Ang isang "accelerant" ay anumang material o kemikal na ginagamit para ipakalat ang apoy. Pinapabilis nito ang pagsiklab ng sunog. Common accelerants include flammable liquids, such as isopropyl alcohol, paint thinner, acetone, kerosene, etc. Sa mga kaso ng arson, unang iniimbesitigahan kung "accelerant-initiated" (kung gumamit ba ng accelerant ang arsonist) o hindi.

"And what accelerant do you think RA used?"

Nico tried not to cringe at that nickname. Uminom muna ulit siya ng kanyang kape at ngumisi sa partner, "Gasoline."

Kumunot ang noo ni Nova. "And how can you say it was gasoline? No, wait.. paano mo ba nalaman na may accelerant na ginamit ang arsonist natin?"

The young detective shrugged and made origamis out of the tissue papers on the table. "When we reached the scene earlier, I've noticed the burnt trail pattern on the wood. Dahil mas mabilis ang pag-ignite ng mga accelerants, mas mabilis ring masunog ang mga parteng nilagyan nito. I figured out that it was gasoline since the pool of water outside the house has a mixture of rainbow colors on its surface.. since gasoline is a mixture of oil and water, it separates into layers. Kapag nasisinagan na ito ng araw, nire-reflect ng oil ang liwanag. The difference in light frequencies and thickness of the oil on the surface of the water gives it a rainbow-like illusion."

Detective Briannova Carlos sighed, "Very well. I'll request Inspector Ortega to have the debris of the mansion undergo a chromatography test. Para ma-confirm natin na gasolina nga ang ginamit ng arsonist." Matapos nito, agad na nag-iwas ng tingin ang dalaga at ibinalik na ang atensyon sa ginagawa.

Detective Nico Yukishito watched her for a few moments before he finally concluded, "You're still mad that I called you a brat earlier."

Mabilis na sinamaan ng tingin ni Nova ang binata, "O-Of course not."

Nico leaned closer to her over the table. His dark brown eyes bore into hers at a very intimidating manner.

"Nasabi ko na ba sa'yong hindi ka magaling magsinungaling, Ms. Carlos? I can read you like an open book, and it's fairly amusing." He smirked mischievously.

Napalunok si Nova at inis na tumayo. 'Damn those dimples!'

"Bahala ka kung anong iniisip mo, Yukishito. While you enjoy pissing me off, I'm busy doing my job." At marahas na niyang isinara ang kanyag laptop. Akmang aalis na sana si Detective Nova nang pinigilan siya ng tanong ni Nico..

"Do you want to have dinner with me?"

Natigilan si Detective Briannova Carlos. Teka, tama ba siya ng dinig? She tried to calm herself down and glared at him. "Ano na namang kalokohan 'yan?"

Pero seryoso pa ring nakatitig sa kanya ang binata. Hinihintay nito ang kanyang sagot. And in that moment, Nova felt her heart beat irregulary. Bakit ba siya kinakabahan? It's just dinner with her asshole partner. Huminga siya nang malalim at ibinuka ang bibig para magsalita nang biglang tumunog ang cellphone ni Nico.

The greatest detective in Eastwood glanced at his phone and sighed.

"What is it?"

"It looks like have to postpone dinner, Nova. May nangyari na namang sunog."

Nanlamig ang kanyang katawan. "S-Saan?"

Nico stood up and finished his coffee in one gulp. "Kingstone Industries."

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