The Videotapes

"The first murder happened in Elton, and the second murder happened in a motel on the outskirts of the city.

The first two deaths in town are both well-planned murders. Kier's death is disguised as an accident, and Cesar's death is suicide.

During the past five hours, the police traced all dots and connected them to solve Herbert's murder, but surprising at it was, all the traces were pointing to someone unexpected. Mr. Cordova, or should I say, the principal."

Officer Gavia knew from the start that there was no way a high school student could be the suspect, so he discussed his plan with the authorities. They declared a campus lockdown to restrict the principal from leaving their sight and made it look like they were investigating the students. I thought it was odd for the police not to inspect all of our belongings, but it turns out it was only a show.

"The estimated time of death is around 12:30 and 1 AM. The principal was caught on a security camera installed at a bar leaving with Herbert around 11:54 PM last night, and Mr. Cordova's car got caught on the security cameras along the highway that leads to the secluded areas in town. He drove back the same road, probably, going home around 12:50, almost an hour later, and by 2:13 AM, Herbert's body got dumped inside the school. But, the principal didn't come home last night, according to one of his neighbors.

There is no clear and direct evidence to show that the principal murdered Herbert, but the time frame is close enough."

I didn't know why, but I wanted to know everything about this case. Officer Gavia didn't seem that enthusiastic about the unexpected linkage of the principal in this case, and it was somewhat confusing. Honestly, I didn't get what he just said.

"What about the first two deaths?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh, that?"

I rolled my eyes. "You didn't explain to me how it is a serial murder."

Officer Gavia laughed and then touched his nape as he carefully looked around. He leaned forward, which I find super uncomfortable, and then hissed— even though we're the only people in the area, "That's just my conclusion,"

My jaw clenched. Seriously?

"You're educated but dumb, officer," I said while looking at him blankly. "You couldn't just conclude things--"

"I know what I am doing, Miss Nase," he seriously replied as he straightened his stance and tucked his hands inside his pockets.

The seriousness in his voice got me listening to him again, despite knowing he could be bluffing. Well, it's not impossible, though.

"I am investigating my brother's death, and while doing so, I stumbled upon a suspicious post regarding the death of the principal's nephew. The person who posted used the initials B.D. And I shrugged it off because I am not interested in unrelated stuff other than those that might give me the answers to the questions I had about my brother's case. But then, you showed me the initials on Cesar's death and then pointed out the initials on the body. I thought it was only a strange coincidence, but when I discovered something common about the three, I decided to pay close attention. Who knows, somehow, the dots that may be too vague to see might have a string attached to them."

Vague, just like his explanation. "What's that one thing they have in common, though?"

"They're all sex offenders."

"Still, it wouldn't be enough--"

"I know. That's why I am not disclosing the information to my colleagues just yet. You and I were the only people who knew about this. I knew I could be wrong, but I have a gut feeling that there is something fishy about these deaths."

"Aren't you being a little paranoid?"

"After I saw the post of the user Black_Dahlia_666 about the third victim, it confirmed this conclusion. That community is no longer just a hate speech site. It's a crime center."

The community and the similarity in the victim's background— could be a thing. I mean, that could be a possibility. What he said all makes sense.

But, wait--

"How did you know that Herbert's a sex offender?" I mindlessly blurted out upon realizing that he never told me how he knew. I'm sure he knew that Kier is a sex offender because of the multiple videos circulating in the community, confidently showing his face, and Cesar because of the news. Herbert never uploaded a video showing his face because he's selling those tapes on the black market.

Herbert is a drug addict, which is why he has such business.

"I was hoping you would ask that," officer Gavia said and smiled. "We discovered after going through the principal's belongings. The text messages between him and Herbert revealed that most of the videotapes in his collection are adult videos, and I think six of them are Herbert's."

"The principal bought videos from Herbert?" I asked, my eyes widened with shock.

His eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean...bought?"

Oh, shit. I slipped.

I face palmed as I realized that and once again, I made a terrible mistake while talking to this goddamn police officer, and now I couldn't think of any way to escape his suspicious stare.

I gulped and then looked away to the almost empty school gate. "H-Herbert's selling videotapes," I confessed.

"Oh," he said. "That's interesting."

The school was almost empty now, and I knew I should be leaving now. I need to look for a part-time job to support myself and my pride to survive without my father's help. I couldn't afford to hang out with a busy police officer like officer Gavia because I'm sure he wouldn't care whether I'll live or starve to death as long as he's getting everything he needed for his job and got a promotion.

"I'm going home." I took a step forward and tried to leave, but officer Gavia grabbed me by the arm and stopped me.

"Aren't you going to tell me how'd you know?"

As if I will.

I let out a sneer before looking back at him and saying, "I'm the SSC captain. I heard all sorts of things," Then, I gently pulled my arm away from his grip. "I'm leaving, officer. Thank you so much for working hard to serve this country." Then I left, taking the widest steps I could to get away from him.

I stopped a few steps after I made it out of the school's main gate to look back inside. Most of the Police officers had already left, and only a few, including officer Gavia, stayed for further inspections and investigation. I haven't seen the principal since morning. I wonder if they already took him or had him temporarily detained inside. No, they cannot detain him inside Elton. They had probably brought him with them to the police station.

Should I be sad that Elton suddenly turned into a crime site? Should I feel worried and scared? The principal and I— obviously— don't like each other because of his deceased nephew. Is that a valid reason for me to be happy?

I know it's mean, but the principal is not worthy of his job and title, especially now that I discovered how disgusting he was. He's keeping videotapes of Herbert, and those tapes are all taken while Herbert is raping and molesting his juniors and batchmates. How inhumane! He deserves to rot in jail. I'm sure Herbert's burning in the deepest and hottest pit of help by now.

'It's blooming.'

Jyo's voice suddenly rang in my head, reminding me of something I must see today. I was too distracted by the conversation I had with officer Gavia that I almost forgot about it.

I'm so excited. It finally bloomed.