Chapter Five : Detective June and the Case of the Mysterious Girl

"I like someone."

Four words.

That was all Martin said.

Four tiny, harmless words that should have been received calmly by any emotionally stable human being.

Unfortunately, Martin had said them to June.

June sat up on her bed.

"What?"

Martin smiled at the ceiling.

"I like someone."

"I heard you."

"Then why did you ask what?"

"Because I thought maybe I heard wrong."

"You didn't."

Silence.

Martin waited.

June's brain, meanwhile, had already opened an imaginary investigation board.

A red string had been attached.

Suspects were being identified.

Evidence was being collected.

There was no evidence.

But Detective June had never been a woman who allowed small technicalities to stop her.

"Who?"

Martin smiled.

"No."

June frowned.

"What do you mean, no?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Then why did you tell me you like someone?"

Martin thought about it.

Fair question.

"Just like that."

June narrowed her eyes at the phone.

She wished video calls were involved so she could narrow her eyes directly at him.

"Is she from our class?"

Martin hesitated.

A mistake.

A fatal mistake.

June noticed.

"She's from our class!"

"I didn't say that."

"You took time to answer."

"I was thinking."

"Exactly."

"June, that's not how evidence works."

It was adorable that Martin thought evidence mattered here.

June pulled her blanket around herself.

"Tell me."

"No."

"I'll guess."

Martin's smile widened.

"Okay."

June became quiet.

Martin waited.

"Annie?"

"No."

The answer came too quickly.

June frowned.

"Why did you answer so fast?"

"Because it's not Annie."

"Hmm."

Martin could almost hear her imaginary notebook opening.

Suspect One: Annie.

Status: Rejected.

June continued.

"Sarah?"

"No."

"Priya?"

"No."

"Nina?"

"No."

Martin was beginning to enjoy himself.

June was taking this very seriously.

Too seriously.

She asked questions in class.

She observed where Martin looked.

If Martin spoke to a girl, June noticed.

If a girl borrowed his pen, June mentally added her to the suspect list.

Once, Martin asked Annie for a notebook.

June watched the interaction from two benches away.

Interesting.

Annie gave him the notebook.

Martin said thank you.

Very interesting.

Martin returned to his seat.

June looked at Annie.

Then Martin.

Then Annie again.

Martin caught her staring.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm not."

"You are."

June opened her book.

Martin looked at her suspiciously.

June pretended to study.

Detective work required secrecy.

And June was terrible at secrecy.

That evening, Martin's phone vibrated.

June: Annie?

Martin laughed.

No 😂,

Three minutes later—

June: Seline?

No

Five minutes.

June: Pearl?

No 😂

June threw her phone onto the bed.

This was impossible.

There were too many girls.

Why did their class have so many women?

This investigation would have been considerably easier in an engineering college.

Her phone vibrated.

Martin: Give up?

June immediately picked it up.

Never

Martin smiled.

He should have stopped.

He should have understood that June's curiosity was already dangerous.

Instead, Martin decided to help.

Because apparently being intelligent in academics did not prevent a man from voluntarily walking into his own destruction.

I'll give you a clue.

June's eyes widened.

She sat properly.

The case had received new evidence.

Tell

Her name starts with J.

June froze.

J.

She stared at the message.

Then smiled.

Easy.

Far too easy.

There were only a few girls in their class whose names started with J.

Detective June was about to close the case.

She began listing them.

Jenny?

No

Jiya?

No

June frowned.

Jasmine?

No 😂

She stared at the chat.

Who else?

She mentally went through the class.

Front bench.

Middle bench.

Back bench.

Window side.

That one girl who attended class physically but spiritually appeared to be elsewhere.

J.

J.

J.

Then she remembered.

Jane?

Martin looked at the message.

He laughed.

No

June sat there, offended.

This man was clearly hiding information.

The next day, she continued the investigation in person.

Martin was walking out of class when June appeared beside him.

"Is it Jenny?"

"I already said no."

"You could be lying."

Martin stopped.

"Then why are you asking me?"

"To see if your answer changes."

Martin stared at her.

June stared back.

"June."

"Hmm?"

"You would be a terrible detective."

She looked offended.

"You don't know that."

"You have accused half the class."

"I'm eliminating suspects."

"You accused Annie three times."

"She looks suspicious."

"She's engaged."

June paused.

"Oh."

Martin walked away laughing.

June followed him.

"That doesn't prove anything."

Martin turned.

"What?"

June stopped.

Her brain finally reviewed the sentence.

"Nothing."

Martin laughed harder.

June hated him.

At least, that was the official statement.

Days passed.

The mysterious girl became a regular topic in their conversations.

June would randomly interrupt completely unrelated discussions.

"What about Jessica?"

Martin sighed.

"No."

"You didn't even think."

"Because it's not Jessica."

"Hmm."

"Stop saying hmm like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're investigating a murder."

June ignored him.

Martin secretly loved every second of it.

He loved watching her guess.

Loved listening to her dramatic theories.

Loved knowing that the girl she was desperately searching for was sitting right there.

Holding the phone.

Talking to him.

Calling herself a detective.

The answer was so obvious that Martin sometimes wondered if June was intentionally avoiding it.

Then he remembered who he was dealing with.

No.

She genuinely had no idea.

One evening, June was lying on her bed, talking to her roommate while eating chocolate.

"Martin likes someone."

Her roommate looked at her.

"Okay."

"Her name starts with J."

Her roommate continued folding clothes.

"Okay."

"I think it's Jenny."

"Didn't he say no?"

"He could be lying."

Her roommate stopped.

She slowly looked at June.

June took another bite of chocolate.

"What?"

"June."

"Hmm?"

"Your name starts with J."

June stopped chewing.

Silence.

Her roommate went back to folding clothes.

June stared at the wall.

Her brain attempted to load the information.

Failed.

Restarted.

Her name starts with J.

June.

J.

Martin called her every night.

Martin texted her every morning.

Martin remembered when she hadn't eaten.

Martin stayed on calls until she slept.

Martin had said he liked someone.

Someone whose name started with J.

June slowly lowered the chocolate.

"No."

Her roommate looked at her.

"What?"

"No."

"What no?"

"It can't be."

Her roommate sighed.

"I didn't say anything."

June grabbed her phone.

She opened Martin's chat.

Scrolled.

Good morning.

Had breakfast?

Study.

Call me.

Sleep?

Good night.

Good morning.

Her eyes widened.

Suddenly, every conversation looked different.

Every message had become evidence.

Every call had become suspicious.

Detective June had spent days searching for the mysterious girl.

She had observed Annie.

Questioned Sarah.

Accused Priya.

Nearly created an imaginary scandal around an engaged woman.

And all this time—

the prime suspect had been holding the investigation.

June stared at her own name at the top of the phone.

June.

J.

"Oh my God."

Her roommate smiled.

June looked horrified.

"This idiot likes me."

And somewhere in his room, completely unaware that his secret had just been mathematically solved using the advanced formula of LHS \= RHS, hence proved, Martin's phone vibrated.

A message from June.

I know who you like.

Martin stared at it.

His heart stopped.

For the first time since this ridiculous investigation began—

Detective June had finally solved the case

Unfortunately for Martin,

She did not look particularly happy about winning.

And she lied

It's jenny, right?

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