Part 1: Starting Tune
by _ghost_in_the_shell_
'Lupe! Over here!' shouted Uni as she waved at Lupe over. Lupe saw Uni wave and started slipping through the crowd towards her. They hugged each other than sat down on the chairs in the tenth row from the back. That night, Usul, the pianist most known for her elegance. was to perform her songs to almost four hundred people at the Faerieland Theatre.
The lights started to dim and soon the theatre darkened. The only bright spot was around the piano, located on the far right of the stage. Usul walked slowly towards the piano from the left side while waving at the audience. They, in turn, stood to clap and cheer.
'She looks as beautiful as ever. This is her twenty-fifth performance here. She must be really happy tonight,' commented Lupe. Usul sat, and the audience followed suit.
She began playing her songs. The first was the best of all, Wind Bloom. Like a black hole, the audience had no means of escaping Usul's enchanting music. Lupe noticed at one point, the length of the music was not long enough, Maybe she didn't press the pedal hard enough, thought Lupe.
Suddenly, there was a loud, long gunfire.
KYAA!!!
The audience was a state of disarray. Everyone was running everywhere. The guards tried to suppress the situation. Lupe looked towards the direction where the gunfire was heard. It was at the gallery that was out of bounds on that particular day, since it was used to hang boards and signs.
Sniper?
Lupe and Uni ran to the gallery to find out what had happened.
The police came ten minutes later. They inspected the gallery thoroughly. An Eyrie wearing sunglasses and white and blue clothes was lying on his back on the floor, dead. A hole could be seen on the right side of his head, above his ear.
The police found out the dead Eyrie's identity later. They searched his house and found a letter typed on the computer. In it, he described how he hated Usul and wanted to destroy her but he did not have the courage to do so.
'So, this is a sad case of self-destruct. Eyrie wanted to destroy Usul but didn't have the guts to. I pray he rests in peace,' said the head officer at the scene.
'Wait! This is not it. Eyrie is wearing sunglasses. Why would he wear sunglasses in this dark room? Even still, he can't possibly aim at Usul either! There's also a tape stuck on his right hand. It's a bit strange, don't you think? This is definitely a murder.'
'Who are you, kid?'
'Just a normal guy who happens to be Head Police King's son. Name's Lupe King.'
Part 2: And so it began
'So you're his son. Fine. You can walk around the scene, but you better not interrupt our work. You hear me?' said Inspector Techno. As Lupe and Uni walked towards the body, Lupe gave Inspector Techno his trademarked move, raising his right hand upwards through his hair while his thumb was up.
Lupe and Uni investigated the body first. Uni was always a good observer and she saw things the Lupe could not see. That, besides all her abilities, was one Lupe liked. Uni pointed out to Lupe about the tape and the rope markings on the body. Lupe stared at the tape and saw a wounded area underneath, like a burn mark. There was a dent around the hand, upper arm and body. It looked like a rope mark. Lupe smiled. Slowly pieces were being fit in the puzzle. But who could have done this murder?
'There were three people that entered the second floor. The first was the manager, Cybunny at eight a.m. He told me he wanted to make sure the decorations and signs were perfect and in place. The second was Usul at twelve. She wanted to view the signs to give her comments, as usual. The last was another guard at three. I’m a good friend of his. His name is Meerca. He checked the second floor to make sure everything was all right. Then, we closed the theatre fifteen minutes later and reopened it at seven for tonight's performance.' said the guard who stood at the stairs leading towards the second floor and the gallery.
So the victim could be at the gallery during the four-hour period or else someone might spot him. But how? Everything was locked. The guard said only the manager has the master key to the theatre. Hmm...
Lupe decided to ask the three of them if they knew about the victim.
'He's been to this theatre a lot of times to see Usul perform. And whenever he came, he would always make a commotion. One time he even shouted to Usul that she was really bad in music. He threw plastic cups at her and she left the stage that very instant. We had to force him out of the theatre. Most of the time, he littered the place with rubbish. I hated that man. He... he even laughed at the theatre, saying that a theatre that allows Usul to play is a poor, low quality theatre. Now that he's dead, I don't know if I should be happy or not,' said the manager in a low tone when confronted by Lupe in his office. The next suspect to interrogate; Usul herself.
'If you ask me, I'd rather rejoice than cry for his death. You know, I should thank the murderer for finishing him off. He's been a real pain for everyone. Or maybe he ended his own life? He's always been crazy and insane,' commented Usul.
'Of course I know that man! I've been his 'babysitter' for months now. Whenever he does bad things. I'd start forcing him out of the theatre. We've had lots of fights. Anyone who hates the theatre or Usul is my enemy,' said Meerca angrily to Lupe.
What's the meaning of this? It looks like almost everyone hates the victim. But those three are very suspicious. It looks like I'll have to obtain more evidence.
Lupe whispered to the guard to ask a question.
'How did you know that?' Only the staff knows about it. That person's like a family to us,' answered the guard.
Lupe knew he was close to the answer. That person did it. But how? He ran to the first floor to search for clues. Uni decided to sit and take a nap, thinking that she was not needed anymore. Besides, it was almost eleven, almost two hours had past since the incident. Everyone was forced to sit in the theatre to wait for further orders.
Lupe searched the far right of the first floor and found a long stretch of cable, with its ends right below the gallery and near the stage. The end below the gallery was forcefully cut open, probably by a knife or scissors.
Lupe grinned.
He searched the stage, looking for more answers. And then he remembered something. He searched the nearest rubbish bin and found the missing link. He ran back to the gallery.
'Gentlemen, I have found the answer. All the pieces now fit.
'Not you again. Hey kid, get lost! I know your father's really good at these things but we don't need someone. EVEN King's son, to interfere with our work,' shouted Inspector Techno.
Cocky as he was, it was only up to Lupe to solve the murder case.