Sunday, October 31, 2021

LITERARY: "The Crimson Glacier" (Inspired by true events) by: Honey Grace Tolentino

Part I: The Guillotine Murder Case(1884)

CW/TW: Murder


In the past years, there were four controversial cases that the people couldn’t stop talking about and left an unsettling memory. First one, the Guillotine Murder Case in 1884. The Police Forensic Unit was called to investigate a homicide case located in Angeles City in Wellington. At the beginning of the year 1884, specifically January 12, a community patrol reported that he had seen something ominous beneath the lake full of dirt. He told the police that when he flashed his light at that spot, it shimmered. The authorities came and saw a sunken car. Surprisingly...a person’s dead body was found inside. The body was not decaying yet and the flesh was still that of a human being, except for the fact that it was ice cold. It mortified the patrol unit who saw the body. They couldn’t have thought that their peaceful community was now a crime scene.


As the authorities started investigating, they found out that the body belonged to a twenty-six-year-old woman, Rica Johanson. She was married last year and moved to Angeles from her hometown, Sta. Lucita. The test that was taken showed that Johanson was fed with something before she died, causing her to lose all her strength. It also showed that her heart stopped first. 


The people started looking at the crime scene since it intrigued them, and at the same time, they felt scared and unsafe. The police had four suspects in total. The first one was the last person Rica saw before her death, Samuel Terino, a part-time worker at the convenience store she last went to. The second suspect was Harvie Gurton who was found sleeping near the lake and the third one was Rica’s brother-in-law, Steve Mandin. The last suspect was her husband, Benjamin Johanson. 


All of them gave their alibis at the police station. As expected, Benjamin was highly accused of killing his wife.

 “I bet ya all my money, mate. It was the husband who killed the poor woman,” a spectator told one of the men standing next to him. 

“Oh dear, for sure! I had heard them fighting ever since the day they came here!” an old woman added. 

Many started to agree to the speculations the two had given. With that said, the police heightened the security on Benjamin Johanson, not only so he wouldn’t escape but also to protect him from the people’s boiling rage.


They already branded him as the killer. 


When the Chief of the investigation department came in, the four suspects were given a chance to retell their alibis. The first one to speak was Harvie Gurton. He said that he was at the club partying with his friends from 10:30 in the evening up until the time of Rica’s death, which happened around 5:30 a.m. Inside the room next to where the chief was, Samuel was being questioned. He told the investigator that he saw Rica when she bought a bottle of water from the convenience store he was working at, and that was the only time he saw her. 


Steve was found in their hometown where he was currently living. “I visited my sister here because my wife said she missed her,” Steve stated. “My wife is pregnant with our first child and since she was sick, I decided to give Rica the message instead.” The investigators who were with him wrote all of what he said on the notepad they were carrying all around. 


“I was at the gasoline station all night since I was sleepy and I wouldn’t want any accident to happen to me you know? I’m gonna be a father soon. Then I left once the sun had risen. Have to travel fast since Sta. Lucita is seven hours away from here, you know?” Steve continued. 

“Thank you Mr. Mandin. Now if you will excuse us.” The lieutenant stood up to left.


“Here’s the most hated man of the year, hahaha!” One of the policemen standing outside Benjamin’s detaining room laughed, though he was the only one who did. 

“This is a serious case, Laroy,” a senior investigator scolded. Laroy couldn’t do anything but look down and apologize. Unlike the other three detained suspects, five investigators went inside Benjamin’s room. 


The chief was also there. He was the first one who sat down and spoke. “Aye, mate. We’ve never had anything like this before so I hope you can understand this security level.” Benjamin just nodded his head. “Now speak,” the Chief ordered. “I–I came home from my work. I didn’t see Rica at all a–and because I–I was ex–exhausted, I just slept on the couch. Though...uhh...although I d-did hear the front door opened. I didn’t pay much attention to it because I thought it was R-Rica,” he finally said after stuttering a lot. The investigators noticed how restless Benjamin was. He continued the loud tapping of his foot and looked around the room. 


All of them were tried in front of the court. None of the suspects was proven guilty by the Supreme Court. The case was almost closed. Not until the killer made his move again.


The second victim was a fourteen-year-old boy living in Sta. Lucita. The boy was Danish Muller. The test showed that Danish died with the same method used on Rica Johanson. His body was found inside a sunken car in the lake. His time of death was at 7:30 in the morning. 


The police of course investigated the issue once again and connected Danish’s death to Rica Johanson’s.


The investigation department summoned the last four suspects again since there were no witnesses nor thumbprints found on Danish Muller’s body. 

“My! The world is getting more and more dangerous as days go by!” Marites, one of the Muller's neighbors, said. 

“What are you implying?” Danish’s mother, Mrs. Muller, asked. 

“Oh, nothing! Nothing! Surely your young son didn’t meet that tragic ending because of you. Like how your eldest daughter left because of a different reason.” 


Mrs. Muller was about to grab the nosy woman’s hair but her husband interrupted. 


Months and months of investigation and yet there were no answers. Though, there was another victim. Robert Charles, a thirty-year-old man who was living alone. He was living in Marindula which was eleven hours away from Sta. Lucita. The forensic unit discovered that Charle’s death was also related to the first two victims of this lunatic murderer. 


He was the third victim and this was also the third time the last four suspects were called. They did everything and it was all for naught. 


Finally, the authorities had decided to close the case, leaving it unsolved. Making the people question the intention of the killer. They named the suspect “The Guillotine Reaper” since his victims were all left decapitated.


Part II: The Cold Case(1907)

CW/TW: Murder and Gore


The second controversial case, which happened in 1907 was the Cold Case, also known as Sintons’ Murder Case. It was the merry month of December when Ander Sinton found something that his late wife had left. A folder of the unsolved cases that she once handled before. Ander’s wife, Maria Sinton was one of the investigators who died while on duty. 


At 3:00 o’clock in the morning, a report from Lucena City was sent to the police department. A woman in her mid-80’s reported that a nauseating smell was making the whole community feel sick. “Madame, where did you say this smell was coming from?” the captain of the community asked the lady. “There. We’ve been smelling it for weeks now. Even I was having a headache because of that sickening smell!” the lady answered. 


Police came to investigate and the neighbor was interrogated once more. “Alright Missus...Abraham. Can you tell us more details?” 


“Yes, yes. Of course.” Mrs. Abraham nodded her head repeatedly. “If I remember it correctly, the week before Ander left their house, he left his children. Ever since then I’ve never seen him again. Then the fishy smell oozed all over this town!” she continued. The police frowned at her. “Pardon me, Mrs. Abraham, but when we asked the other residents they said they’ve never smelled anything at all.”


“Mister,” a young boy said, getting the attention of both the elders. “Hey kid, you shouldn’t interrupt the elders while talking,” the policeman kindly said. “But mister, grandma is telling the truth,” the kid responded. “Is he your grandson?” 


“Oh no, no he’s not. He’s the son of my neighbor,” Mrs. Abraham said, smiling at the man. The police sighed. He felt as if the investigation was useless and maybe the old lady was smelling something...probably an animal’s dead body. “All right,” he looked at the boy. “Tell me what you know, kid.” The boy nodded his head and started talking.


As the young boy continued what he was saying, the police found it a bit peculiar. “Wait, hold up, hold your horses. Are you telling me that you heard something break inside that house and a shadow of a tall man? Well, that doesn’t make sense.” He looked at the woman.


“Ma’am, I thought you said the owner of that house hasn’t returned?” 


“Yes, I can’t even see his car.” The old woman pointed at the open garage door. 


“One! Two! Three…!” Loud thump echoed inside the empty house they just broke into. They decided to break the door open. That was because no one answered when they were calling outside. 


All of them stopped in their tracks. It was weird enough that no one answered, now it was weirder that a huge hole was embedded on the wall. As a matter of fact, the car that the old lady was talking about was the cause. 

“Hey, careful–!” the policeman’s colleague couldn’t finish his warning when he went to the car and broke its window to open the door. “Oh, bloody hell...!”


“Why–shoot! What...what the…” 


“This is a work of a lunatic…”


All of them fell silent. They already had the necessary information about the owners of the house they were in. And now they found Ander Sinton’s youngest son in the backseat of the car. Dead and half of the body was burnt. “What’s that?” the policeman pointed out. They turned their attention to the thing the boy was holding. 


While the others were trying to get that out of the kid’s clutch, they stated the information they had. “That poor kid is Harold Sinton, seven years old. Man, this is gruesome,” one of the forensic unit members said. “Go and check the back,” the chief of the police department ordered. 


They went behind the car and knocked on its trunk. “I think there’s something inside!” yelled the policeman. One went back in front of the car to open the trunk. “What on a bloody hell!” They all screamed simultaneously. 


There he was, Ander Sinton, thirty-eight years old, was found inside his trunk. Cold, lifeless, and bloody.


The police conducted an investigation. They arrested Ander Sinton’s daughter, Jessa, as the prime suspect. The old lady was also detained in her house in order to give protection for the time being. 


The file folder seen at the crime scene was also investigated. Authorities found out that Ander Sinton tried to solve the case his late wife couldn’t. He did give another lead that urged them to re-open the case. Unfortunately, the higher-ups didn’t approve it. 


Jessa Sinton was interrogated and tried but was proven innocent. Just like that, the Sintons’ Murder Case was closed. 


People started doubting the power and rights of the Police Department. It left a question in their heads as to why they didn’t dig down further. 


The night was as dark as ever. Only the lamp posts gave light for the people who would take a small walk around the peaceful town of Lucena. The streets were dead silent. Since it was winter already, the wind breeze was cold. 


Footsteps were heard stomping on the icy road. If anyone would only hear it, they probably wouldn’t notice how that person was limping. Trying his best to survive and run away from something chasing him. 


Ander Sinton walked slowly on his house’s front porch. Maybe it was due to the cold, that was why he dropped his keys and it created a loud sound. He felt his heart beat faster. His hands shook as he tried to pick up the keys only to drop them again. This time, Ander sobbed quietly. Murmuring small prayers that his wife taught him. Why would he get nervous with just keys? It was a normal thing.


Ander finally opened his front door and he immediately closed it. Locking the door behind him. “Jessa! Harold!” he shouted in a whispering voice. “Come down! We...we need to leave!” he added. Ander climbed upstairs. His heart almost fell on the floor when he saw his daughter standing in front of him when he turned to his left. “Why didn’t you open the lights, Dad?” Jessa asked. 


“Quiet! Where’s your brother? Go get him! We need to leave!” Ander grabbed his daughter’s wrist so she would walk with him. Both of them stopped walking when they heard a door creak. “D-dad…” Harold’s weak voice echoed throughout the second floor. “Harold?” he called out. 


Ander took his first step towards his son when suddenly, a car bashed inside their house. Glasses shattered. “Ahh!” Jessa screamed. “Jessa!” Ander ran back to her when he heard her scream. To his surprise, Jessa was not where he left her. Worry started stirring up inside his chest. What if that lunatic caught his daughter? He thought. 


“Dad!” Harold cried. At this point, Ander was torn. He couldn’t choose between the two. Who should he save first? Just who should he choose?! 


He fell to the floor as he started to feel hopeless. Ander kept on silently punching his limp leg. If only he wasn’t like this right now, he could save both of his children. “Dad!” Another cry. It was Jessa. “DAD!” Harold cried again. The young boy’s voice was weak and it was as if he was experiencing agonizing pain. 


Ander stood up. He decided to save his son first and come back for his daughter quickly. He carefully threaded the path to Harold’s room. Once he was in front of his bedroom door, Ander noticed something. 


He immediately opened the door and what greeted him made his knees weaker than it was before. 


Harold’s room was burning. His son was inside...burning. “DAD!!!” Harold bawled. He kept on extending his small arms to reach his father. “Help me!!!” Ander, who was crawling towards him, nodded his head. “Wait...wait for me. I’m coming,” he assured. 


One more crawl and he would’ve caught his son’s hand, but he suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from his already limping leg. “Found you,” the guy smirked. He lifted his ax, preparing to stab Ander with full strength again. But the old man was smart. He kicked the guy’s leg, which made him fall. 


It might be adrenaline when Ander ran to his son and out that burning room. He didn’t notice the smoke. It was too dark for him to see. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Harold.” He held his son tighter. Harold whimpered every time the burnt part of his body was accidentally hit. But he endured. Harold was a smart kid. He knew that if he didn’t endure the pain, it would only trouble his father. 


Ander thought about hiding his son on the first floor and start looking for Jessa, but he wasn’t even able to step down the stairs when his head was smacked by something hard enough to knock him out for a moment. Both of them rolled down the stairs and Harold couldn’t contain his agony. 


The guy whom they left inside the burning room slowly walked down the staircase, swinging the ax he brought with him. “Where is it?” the guy asked. Ander didn’t answer. He kept on holding his stomach. Of course, a bright man could be a bright criminal. The guy immediately knew where he was hiding it. 


Ander noticed that so he threw it outside, where the car was parked. “What...you! You nosy damn old man!” The guy lifted his ax and stabbed Ander in his chest. Loud crunches of flesh and bones were the only thing heard all over the house. 


Unbeknownst to the guy, Harold crawled his way towards the file folder his father threw. He knew that it was important. Otherwise, his father wouldn’t put his life on the line. 


Harold slowly opened the car door, but the creaking sound betrayed him. The guy looked in his direction. That was why even when it was excruciatingly painful, Harold hopped inside the car and locked it. 


He tried his best not to look at his father’s body but he failed. He saw his father’s limbs torn. Organs spurting out of his open stomach. Harold couldn’t even discern if those things beside Ander’s body were his eyeballs. He couldn’t see clearly, making him wonder if it was crushed or not. 


“Hey kid, give it to me.” Harold’s attention turned to the guy outside the car. He hugged the folder tighter and scooted to the side, away from that guy. “I said give it to me!” the guy yelled, smacking the car window with his hand. Though it was scary for Harold, he didn’t let go. He started crying but there was no sound coming out of his mouth. It was already tiring for him to shout amidst the fire burning earlier, he couldn’t waste more energy. In case that guy would break-in.


His hopes were crushed when he heard the voice of someone else. He knew he couldn’t handle two grown-ups on his own. But when he saw that other person, his trust shattered. Mind started to ask questions after questions. 


“Leave that brat.” And that guy did. They left him, to head over his father’s body and drag him to the car’s trunk. The guy threw Ander inside the trunk and locked it. The last thing Harold heard before his eyes closed was something more painful than the burn wounds he got. 


“You never chose me. Not even once. That’s why you deserve this...Dad.”

 

Part III: Clairvoyant’s Case(1998)

CW/TW: Murder


In the year 1998, a fifty-nine year old woman became famous. Not because she showed her talent in acting, singing, or something even more spectacular than the first two. Alexandra Walter. The woman whom everyone was thinking about until their last day on Earth. The clairvoyant woman.


Walter was found on August 11, 1998. The police thought she accidentally drowned. Her daughter reported her missing on July 11 of the same year. Which led them to think that the killer trapped her before finally taking her life.


Alexandra was deemed as a crazy woman who thinks she could see the future. It was because she always told almost everyone she knew that she would die soon. Everyone in town started avoiding her because of that. One day, Alexandra decided to go out for a walk late in the evening. Her daughter found that weird. Her mother locked herself inside her room after discovering something from the boxes full of old things her great grandfather had. 


It was a brown thick folder full of things she doesn’t want anyone to see. Alexandra didn’t leave her room for weeks not until the day she was reported missing. The authorities took the folder Alexandra was so fixated on and investigated it. 


To their surprise, it was hard to crack Alexandra’s code. Those codes could help them solve the mystery Alexandra Walter wanted to shine a light upon. Maybe she already did. 


One of the codes was somewhat easy to obtain since she hid the answer inside one of her belongings. “This? This painting?” Alexandra’s daughter asked, looking at the picture shown to her. “Are you even sure? I’ve never seen her touch this painting ever since my grandfather died.” The investigator sighed. “We could at least see if what your mother gave was accurate,” he urged. 


The woman shook her head and showed them to the room where all the paintings were kept. “Come inside then. Let’s see if it is indeed accurate or not.” Four of them went inside that room including her. “Mrs. Walter, are you sure this is the only room where the paintings are kept?” the policeman who came with the investigator asked. “Our house is not that big. Where else can we keep this massive collection of paintings other than this huge room?” Mrs. Walter retorted. 


The men shut their mouths as they could feel that she was slowly losing her cool. “It’s not here.” They looked all over the place but the painting was nowhere to be found. “Well, that’s odd,” Mrs. Walter wondered. Her hand slowly held her chin. “Mother never went inside this room for decades.” The men looked at each other. 


With just that simple glance, they understood one another. “We’ll take our leave then, Mrs. Walter. Apologies for disturbing you once more,” the investigator said. “Huh? It’s alright. This is for my mother anyway,” Mrs. Walter smiled. 


The authorities were about to lose their hope for filing an official appeal to re-open the case when one day, Mrs. Walter called them. “Hello?” she said from the other line. “Yes, ma’am?”


“Oh thank God someone answered! I’ve got a lead as to where the painting was! It was sold in an auction. Though I don’t know how that happened.” After the call ended, the police department immediately sent out men to look for the address and head there. 


“Good evening,” an elderly woman greeted them. “Miss–wait...pardon me but, miss?” the policeman asked. Perhaps it was unbelievable for him. The elderly laughed. “Yes. I’m not married.” She answered. “Oh, I apologize ma’am.”


“No need, young man. Life is full of uncertainties. Maybe that’s why I didn’t get the chance to find a man who will stay with me,” she added. “Oh. Uhm. May we come in, Ms. Eudora Alter?” The elder opened the door wide enough to let them in while she was nodding her head. 


“This is the painting you were looking for, isn’t it?” The men immediately saw the huge painting hanging on the wall. “They told me that the woman in that painting was the beloved wife of this talented painter,” Eudora said. She was looking at the painting as her eyes shimmered with delight. “Do you know the man who painted this?” the man asked. 


Eudora laughed. “No. But the way his granddaughter told the story was very entertaining,” she replied. Eudora’s eyes suddenly lost their shimmering light. “Sadly, she passed away.” 


With what she said, the policemen confusingly looked at each other. “She passed away? Ma’am, didn’t you buy this in an auction?” the investigator who came, asked. “Auction? Hahaha, young man, I’ve never been in an auction.”


“But the daughter of this painting’s previous owner said you bought this in an auction…” His voice trailed off. “Huh? Isn’t the previous owner was Alexandra Walter? She sold this to me herself,” Eudora said, starting to get confused as well. The men didn’t answer, or rather, they couldn’t. Confusion engulfed their heads. 


“Isn’t Alexandra the granddaughter of this painting’s painter?” she asked, disrupting the silence. “Who was the painter?” the policeman asked. Eudora went to the painting and took it off the hook, the other policemen helped her since the painting was quite big for her. Eudora turned the painting and pointed at the signature. “Look,” the investigator said, pointing in the same direction as Eudora.


“Ander Sinton,” he read out loud. They opened the painting and saw scribbled numbers. “Five, one, eighty-four, one, twelve, eighty-four, eleven, five, eighty-four, twelve, twelve, seven–what does this even mean?” Eudora shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know either. This is the first time I saw those numbers,” she replied. 


Now people wondered what happened. 


Why couldn’t they solve this mystery? Why did the policemen and even the investigator disappear?


And...why did Eudora Alter die a few weeks after the meet-up? 


Part IV: The Glacier Murder Case(2021)

CW/TW: Murder


In the early weeks of November. Ava Walter, Charlotte Rayer, JamesVildon, and Carter Henry went inside the attic which was at Ava’s house. “Are you sure your grandmother’s things are up here?” James asked. “We’ll find out,” Ava answered. “Why didn’t you throw it before?” James asked again. This time Ava looked behind her. “Can you please stop asking?” James looked down and started climbing up the stairs. 


Moments later, one of them called for Ava. “I found it!” Carter shouted. “Great, Carter. Now the whole neighborhood realized we’re up here when Ava’s mother said not to,” Charlotte rolled her eyes at him. “Sorry,” Carter whispered. 


They went down after finding what they were looking for. Ava slowly closed the door of their attic and they all tiptoed their way to her room. “Halloween is supposed to be fun with thrill anyway.” She told herself. Truth is, Charlotte forced her to do this. Ava never disobeyed her mother, not until this day. 


“Close the door,” Charlotte ordered. Carter closed it and sat down with them. “Woah look at this. Cool!” James said, roaming his eyes at the papers bunched up together. “Ugh, what the hell,” Ava threw away the picture of someone which she had accidentally taken. It was used before as a piece of evidence. 


The four of them started looking at the contents of that folder one by one. “Guys! I have an idea!” Charlotte blurted out. “Why do I feel like it’s not a great idea because you said it is,” Carter countered. “Shut up.” The guy just smirked at Charlotte’s reaction. 


“Alright. Let’s solve this,” Charlotte then continued. Her eyes lit up in excitement. But it was only her who was anticipating the fun and thrill that was about to happen. She looked at her friends who went dead silent. “You are not serious, are you?” James finally said. Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Stop rolling your eyes, Charlotte. Do you have nystagmus?” James added. 


“Oh shut it, wimp.” Charlotte crossed her arms, raising her brow. She looked at Ava and pleaded. “Ava? Please?” Ava didn’t know what to do. Her mind kept on saying that they shouldn’t. “But...this might be dangerous. I-I mean...these are real cases that my relatives handled before,” Ava answered, stuttering. She was scared that Charlotte might get mad at her. “Finally, a sensible mind,” James said.


“What could go wrong guys? As if we’ll report what we found anyway,” Carter said, siding with Charlotte. “Well, Mr. Carter “Smartpants” Henry, one’s curiosity should not be underestimated!” James shouted. “Yo, chill dude.” 


“Let’s just solve this, can we? It’s not like we’ll die. The killer should be dead by now. It’s been years! Scaredycats!” Charlotte said, forcing them to follow what she wanted. In the end, they did what Charlotte demanded. 


Hours passed by and that was when Carter noticed the sun rising. “Oh, what can I say? It’s morning already. Should we share our conclusions now?” Carter asked. “Ha! I’m in!” Charlotte replied confidently. “Let’s see what you guys solved,” James, surprisingly, agreed with those two. 


Charlotte opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Ava interrupted her. “What did you say?” She asked. They waited for Ava to speak louder since she was murmuring to herself. “Did she fall asleep?” James went to Ava’s side and peeked from the hair covering her face. “I said get out! Get lost! Don’t ever come back! OUT! GET THE HELL OUT!” The three were astounded at how Ava suddenly shouted. As if she became a madman. 


“What’s wrong, Ava? What’s your problem?!” Charlotte yelled back. Ava looked at her and she paled even more. “What’s happening?” Mrs. Walter asked. She went inside her daughter’s room after hearing their shouts. James and Carter stood up to hide the mess and thankfully, the woman was focused on Ava and Charlotte.


“G-get them out of here,” Ava said. She walked towards her bed and hid underneath the blanket. Mrs. Walter sighed and showed Ava’s friends to the door. After that day, Ava went to her university. Her mother noticed that something was off, but she didn’t ask. 


Her friends saw her walking inside the campus and decided to talk to her. But they couldn’t get close to Ava. When she saw them, she immediately walked away. Avoiding them. 


The next time they saw each other was at a crime scene in an empty house. “The body was recognized as Carter Henry. Twenty-three years old,” the forensic unit member announced to his colleague. “What?! That’s impossible!  We saw him yesterday at school!” Charlotte shouted, running towards the scene. James held Ava’s arm and helped her walk. They both went inside the house and tried to block Charlotte.


“Out of my sight!” Charlotte yelled. James took her arm and forced her to get out of the house. “Ava, let’s go,” James called out. He stopped to look back at her. “Ava?” He called out again. She didn’t answer.


Ava kept on staring at Carter’s body found inside that house. “Ava!” Charlotte hollered. Finally losing her patience, she walked to where Ava was and grabbed her hand, but Ava harshly took her hand back and ran away. “No! NO! NO!” Ava screamed while she was running outside. 


She stumbled at a rock which made her fall. Everyone became terrified when she started pulling her own hair and smashing her head on the ground. Blood oozed out and the people screamed in horror. “AVA!” Mrs. Walter ran to her side and tried to stop her but to no avail. “NO!” Ava cried out.


The town was full of buzzing bees for a while. Especially when Ava was accused as a killer. “Ava Walter, you are under arrest for the suspicion of Carter Henry’s murder. You have the right to stay silent. Everything you do may be used against you,” the policeman said, handcuffing her. 


The trial day came and a lot of people waited inside the Supreme Court. The lobby was packed with reporters and journalists, as the cameras flashed here and there, ready to tell the tale. People anticipated Ava Walter’s arrival, but they started asking questions when the time passed and she was not there yet.


“Your Honor!” a man shouted. He caught the spectators’ attention as he continued running towards the Judge. “What is it?” the Judge asked. “A news came. It’s urgent,” the man said. “Ava Walter, Charlotte Rayer, and James Vildon...were found dead inside a sunken car in the lake.”



January. It was New Year. People were celebrating, yet Mrs. Walter kept on pacing back and forth. “Clear her name,” she demanded. Handing over the brown thick folder to a police officer. A Sergeant. “We will ma’am,” the man replied. 


Speculations started popping up. They kept on talking about the killers’ motives. Some said it was because of jealousy, others said it was because of the permission to elope. The other speculated that it was to protect their secret or it was simply a family tradition. The last one gave shivers down their spines.


The killers were named, though they are indeed dead. Except for the two. Steve Mandin, Rica Johanson’s brother-in-law, who was later found out also related to Danish Muller, the younger brother of Rica. Peter Sangton, Jessa Sinton’s husband and Steve’s step-brother. Mattheo Sangton, Peter and Jessa’s only son, was later found as Alexandra Walter’s cousin. 


The authorities also found out Carter Henry’s killer wasn’t Ava Walter, but their friend, Charlotte Rayer. She was related to Mattheo Sangton. Having her grandfather marry his daughter, Rowena Sangton Madrid.


“So? Why did you kill them?” The woman turned to the cell behind her, staring eye-to-eye at the man locked up inside. “Sergeant William Madrid?” Instead of answering, he just kept his mischievous smirk. 





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