Chapter Two: First Tail of the Vector

Carnival is still in awe of what Yori said. Her face gave a blank expression though, through the situation, keeping herself intact while still on the phone with the officer.

"Carett?" the officer called for her.

"A-Uhm, pardon. I was listening to someone. Can you give me the address please?"

Yori scoffed in secrecy when Carnival became aware of his existence at a moment. The officer gave Carnival the address where they will head to as per request they left the school premises with their adviser's permission. Hence, the same goes for the school. They headed to where the body was discovered. Both of them were given gloves to check the body and place. The ambulance is more of a distance than their university to this place so they are ahead. They still have time to check the victim.

At first, Carnival was not allowed to enter the crime scene but because of the officer she knew and was with for a long time since she started investigating bodies outside the school grounds, they immediately allowed her along with Yori. They didn't inspect him. Carnival wondered why. He is not with her all the time for the officers to be familiar with him.

"She already reached rigor mortis," Yori said when he tried to pinch the hands of the victim. "I already know that," Carnival answered while still looking around the victim's vest. She is wearing a maroon one, signifying she's still a junior in high school. Elementary wear white long sleeves with a maroon ribbon and the seniors wear blazers. She didn't have any second thoughts about slipping her hands on her vest when she touched something. She gets it out of the pocket and shows it to Yori.

"This is a keychain," he said touching it and borrowing it from Carnival, which she allowed to. She is not typically sharing with a person but she thought he can help her with this case so she just shrugged off her stubbornness and let him do his work. Besides, he told her that he will show her what he can do.

"There's a camera inside of it," she whispered.

After Yori heard of that, he thought of assuaging himself by reaching for his bag and opening the first front pocket he could touch, and bringing out a tape. He made sure that he blurred out the camera inside the eyes of the bunny keychain. Yes, he did notice it with a glance. He just doesn't want to be the first to tell it so Carnival won't feel bad for herself. She's on her intermediate level of investigation and he thought this is only the first vector they are making to solve a resultant.

"Is there a microphone inside?" Carnival asked. She knew his plan. She knew that he doesn't want to talk first before her. She knows that he is more aware than she is. He is skilled in this field which she is interested in. "No," he answered in a manner of answering 'yes'. Her question is screaming reverse psychology so the killer cannot guess they are interacting correctly.

"What should we do though? How can we have clues?" she asked.

"I don't know. This is just the camera. We can bring this along to the headquarters through the detective and have it checked out and traced."

On the other line, the suspect is grinning as he thought he succeeded in what he is planning. He is listening to his target, Carnival Valencia. Cans of beer beside the monitor on his desk can be seen and a pinboard full of Carnival is hung on the wall.

"This is the detective they are talking about?" he laughed. "She is unbelievably dumb."

Carnival and Yori's conversation goes on and on 'til Yori stood up and crushed the microphone and camera which made the suspect pissed off. He threw the can of beer he is holding and his fist landed on his keyboard. "Shit, they got me," he said, grumpily.

"Are you sure it's already crushed?" Carnival asked Yori while still on her knees. She is wearing a skirt but she doesn't care at all and Yori also doesn't care about her thighs. He really just completely ignored it while looking down looking at the crushed devices below his shoes.

"Oi, ore no kutsu wa shinpindakedo, baka yarō ga tsukutta sōchi ni ashi o fumiireta tokoroda (Man, my shoes are new and I just stepped into a device that is made by a stupid bastard)," he said disappointed.

"Aho wa dare? (Who is the stupid?)" she teased while looking up at him with cold eyes.

"Ya! You're rude!" he shouted.

"You're complaining so I asked the question for a stupid one like you," she said getting up and using her hands to dust herself.

"So, do you have a clue?" Her arms are crossed while smirking, and looking at him while he is pissed.

"With the device, yes, and the design of the keychain. They are obviously from the North."

Her smirk faded when she heard 'north'. She is aware he is from the north before he transferred so he probably knew the capabilities of the students there. The only thing she cannot comprehend right now is why this person is targeting the lives of the person related to her. Is it because she is connected now to Yori? But that's a dumb reason if it was because they just met each other.

"Your father sent a letter to Ms. Wilson in a code. Why?" she asked, not having second thoughts which made Yori curious. How did she know? His brows furrowed. He asked her.

"How did you know?"

"I was the one to decode or decipher it in a manner of how I know it is to be easier to read. It's not hard. A letter for your transferee. It's just it," she answered. "My question is why in a coded manner? Your father can send a normal letter to our adviser but instead, he did that which I can read and not Ms. Wilson."

He looked around before walking towards her. She didn't care at all being close to him if it's an important thing to do so to keep a good conversation to continue. It makes her excited for a reason.

"This killer is a physics expert, Carett. The only thing you can do is get the resultant vector by connecting his head and tails. This is his first tail, his first lead. I know who he is but God knows how he is befriending Satan, killing the love of our lives."

"Is this the reason why you left that school?"

"That school is pure hell. The only one who survived through it and got through it was me. That's why they kicked me out before I discovered their secrets."

"Did you?"

"I was able to get information about the South."

Carnival's interest grew as she listened to the boy in front of her. She cannot hate him. He is giving her the information she needed for this case and she is loving every inch of how he is absolutely doing his job for her. He can really help her. He is a hand to be in disguise of what she can hate but she cannot. A red herring in her life she may consider.

"And what of it?"

"North and south are rivals, and so East and West. North is planning to attack you and wiped you out. The cases you solved and the people you did bring behind the jail escaped."

"Escaped?" she unbelievably questioned.

"In another manner of words, they were probably helped by someone whom I don't know yet."

"I thought you just know about the South?"

"This is about South. They are targeting you, your family, and your past relations. Even those who are not close to you to give you a sense of a head and tail."

She started to think about what did she trigger this person to give her this first trial to complete the first vector. Natalia Pagua, the first tail of the first vector, is a high school student who is killed by a cut on her neck and shot in the head. Having a camera with a wired microphone in her keychain and has a message for Carnival's old number which she didn't own now.

The first pin is placed as the next point will be served again to them.