CHAPTER 12: DENIAL

SORCHA'S POV

Hindi ako mapakali habang hinihintay na matapos ang mga tao na nasa loob ng conference room sa pag-uusap nila. I'm probably boring a hole in the carpeted floors of Dagger. I've been pacing back and forth, for I don't know how long since the family of Daze's deceased fan, Vanessa Santana, arrived here.

"They're still grieving," Eden murmured beside me. "Judging by the expressions on their faces, the meeting probably won't conclude in our favor."

She wasn't wrong. Even from a distance, the room seems to be full of tension. "I understand that they're grieving." Nilingon ko ang babae. "It might hurt to hear this, but just because one life has been lost, it doesn't mean that another should be ruined as well. If he really has a part in it, I won't bat an eye. But he's innocent, and they shouldn't let him pay for something he didn't do."

"How do you know?"Leo, who just stepped out of the elevator and must have heard our conversation, asked. "That he's innocent?"

"Because I'm going to prove it."

He didn't smile, but his eyes did. "Why do you care so much about Daze? You rarely care about anything else."

"That's not true."

"Hindi kasali ang pamilya mo o ang mga tao rito sa Dagger."

I looked at him blankly. "I care about the fish. I feed them every day."

"Feeding them is necessary. It doesn't mean that you care for them."

"It's not like I can take a fish out for a walk, Leo."

Mahinang napatawa ang lalaki. He started to walk past me, but he stopped and patted my head. "Your boyfriend will be okay, Sorchie. Don't worry."

I would have bitten his hand off, but he pulled it away just in time. Tatawa-tawang naglakad siya papunta sa conference room at kumatok siya sa salamin na pintuan niyon.

"He's not my boyfriend. I just hate when there's injustice, especially if we could do something about it." Nilingon ko si Eden ng hindi siya umimik. Nang nilingon ko siya ay nakita kong nakatitig siya sahig na para bang may nakikita siya roon na hindi ko nakikita. "Eden?"

"H-Ha?"

My brows furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"Oo naman." Her smile seems forced. "Mauna na ako sa baba. May nakalimutan pala akong gawin."

Nagkatinginan kami ni Rage na napatigil sa ginagawa niya sa monitor na nasa harapan niya. Matagal-tagal na rin naming napapansin ang kakaibang kinikilos niya kapag nasa paligid si Leo. Before, they usually just bicker, but something changed, and she's been avoiding him.

"Call me if there's something I can do to help," she added.

Naguguluhan pa rin sa kinikilos niya na tumango na lang ako. "Thank you."

Parehas na sinundan namin siya ng tingin ni Rage hanggang sa makapasok na siya ng elevator.

Napapalatak si Rage. "Pa-weird nang pa-weird ang mga tao rito sa Dagger." Inangat-baba niya ang kilay niya sa akin. "Kasama ka na roon."

I pressed my lips together. "I'm still the same. Wala namang nabago."

"Asus. Kung walang nabago dapat wala ka rito. You're our frosty Sorchie. You're usually unbothered. Kahit kilala mo pa ang involve, mas pipiliin mo na nandoon ka sa opisina ng department niyo kasi doon may magagawa ka."

Hindi ko nagawang makasagot sa sinabi niya. I couldn't deny it when she was right. I should be working. I should be helping the research team. And yet I'm standing here, knowing full well that it won't do anything.

"Hindi niyo pa rin ba ma-kontak si Daze?"

Umiling ako. "Manager niya lang ang nakakausap namin."

Jeremiah Quintana, Daze's manager, was more than eager to let us help. Kung hindi nga raw kami kumontak ay siya mismo ang gagawa niyon. Like me, he also doesn't believe that Daze is capable of what he's being accused of, despite the evidence that has been circulating.

Nagawa kong makakuha ng copy ng audio recording kung saan rinig ang boses ni Daze kausap ang isang babae. The woman was identified as Aubrey Ballard. Isa siya sa mga unang naging fan ni Daze bago pa sumikat dito sa Pilipinas ang lalaki. She died a few years ago. Just a few days after the recorded audio was taken that got buried and hidden because of Daze's team.

The conversation wasn't good. Especially for Daze's image. That's why, as expected, people are reeling to throw words at him. Kahit maging ang mga mismong fan niya na noon ay panay ang papuri sa kaniya.

I can't say that it's entirely wrong. Hindi lang naman basta tsismis ang kumalat. There's actually proof that Daze must have contributed to the demise of a person. Something that happened again. Kahit na wala namang nakitang conversation o interaction si Daze kasama si Vanessa Santana, ang pangalawang suicide victim, the fact na merong nauna... it's natural for people to think that he has a part in what happened as well.

It's actually good that people choose not to be blind. Na porke fan sila ay magiging bulag na sila. But I worked in a field where I'm required to look at everything, and from what I'm seeing, there's something more here that we don't know.

People might think I'm biased, but I'm not. I am one of the people who knows too well that anyone has the capability to hide the most horrendous skeletons in their closets. I've worked in cases na kung saan ang mga perpetrator ay iyong mga tao pang hindi mo aakalaing maaatim na gawin ang mga krimen na naganap. But every instinct I have, everything that makes me good at my job, tells me that Daze is innocent.

"Uh oh," Rage whispered. "That doesn't look good."

I saw the same thing she did. Madilim ng anyo ng mga Dawson at ganoon din ang mga magulang ni Vanessa Santana na siyang kausap nila. They all got up, and Santana's parents exited the room without another glance at them.

Before I could stop myself, and before anyone could, I found myself walking in their direction. Humarang ako sa daraanan nila at hindi ako nagpatinag kahit rinig ko ang mga pagtawag sa pangalan ko.

"Mr. and Mrs. Santana," I said as a greeting. "I'm Sorcha Byrne. An employee of Dagger."

Blangko ang tingin na ibinigay sa akin ng lalaki. "We already said what needed to be said, Miss Byrne."

"You probably did, but that doesn't mean you listened to the things you should listen to."

The woman gasped as if she couldn't believe what I just said, while the man's face darkened in anger.

"You have the nerve!" he said through gritted teeth.

"I'm a forensic expert. If you will let us have access to the case, we could give you answers that will just get buried and erased by people who will just look at one part of it and stamp their judgement. I don't merely look, Mr. Santana. I can give you answers."

Thorn Dawson walked towards me. The look he's giving me is telling me to back off, and normally I would have followed, but not this time.

"Ano pa bang kasagutan ang kailangan naming marinig?" tanong ng ginang bago makapagsalita ang asawa niya. "Let us grieve in peace."

"Even if it means not knowing what really happened to your daughter? Don't you think she wants you to know the truth?"

"You don't know anything," the older man said through gritted teeth.

"You're right. I don't. Because you won't let us." Sinalubong ko ang galit niya na mga mata. "She liked him. What he does makes her happy. She persevered in school, worked hard, and when she needed time for herself, it's his movies that gave her a moment to take a breath. Do you really want the man he admires to be persecuted like this when he could be innocent?"

"The audio—"

Pinutol ko ang sasabihin ng babae. "Could be falsified, or there's more to it that we don't know. We only have a portion of the evidence. Hindi iyon buo."

"Tell me, Miss Byrne, if it's not..." The older man cleared his throat as if he couldn't say it. "If it's not suicide, then what is it? She named him in her letter. The letter was analyzed, and it was her who wrote it."

"Or she was forced to."

"Sorcha." Thorn Dawson's voice was low but there was a clear warning on it. Something that I, again, ignored.

"You... you think that..."

"I think that it's murder, Mr. Santana."

The older woman collapsed, and if not for the Dawsons standing nearby, she would have fallen to the floor. Hindi siya magagawang saluhin ng asawa niya na napaatras na tila nanghihina.

I found myself being pulled away, and in the next second, I was in the pantry facing my boss, who was towering over me.

"I can prove it," I told him.

Hinilot ni Thorn ang sentido niya. "I know you can." He didn't ask me how I knew, even though we don't have anything yet. But if he did, I could point out one thing that I already found by replaying the one blurred video from the news of the crime scene again and again. If I had more, who knows what else we could find.

Nagpakawala siya ng malalim na hininga. "They're still grieving. They can't hear because they don't want to at this moment. That doesn't mean we're going to let it go. We have already decided to gather more information so that we can prove it to them. Since we can't access everything, at least enough to catch their attention."

"Every second that we're letting the whole country think that he's a vile person that pushes people to their deaths will only add to his ruin."

"We can't force them."

"But—"

"But it seems to me that you already did." He let out a huge sigh again. "I can't suspend you because you're needed here. I can't think of any more punishment to give you, given that you somehow grew fond of the current punishment you already have."

I decided to focus on the subject instead of denying the implication of his words. "You could dock my salary. I'll work on Daze's case, and you don't need to pay me for it."

He regarded me with a look for a moment. I couldn't read the things that crossed his eyes, but to my surprise, his eyes warmed and recognition set in. It was as if he could see something in me that he had seen before.

"I'm not a monster. You'll still get paid."

"I—"

Naudlot ang sasabihin ko ng bumukas ang pinto at sumilip ang nakangiting si Trace. Nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin niya sa amin at lalong lumawak ang ngiti sa mga labi niya.

"Everything's okay out here." He winked at me. "They agreed. Thanks to your... persuasiveness."

Lumaki ang bukas ng pintuan nang pumasok si Gunter. "Persuasiveness? She bulldozed them." Even saying that, for some reason, I could almost hear a hint of acknowledgement in his tone.

Pinagsalikip ni Trace ang mga kamay niya sa tapat ng dibdib niya. "Ganiyan talaga ang pag-ibig. Hahamakin ang lahat."

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. "I'm not in love with him!"

Parang hindi ako narinig na nilingon ng panlimang Dawson ang panganay nila. "What do you think? Madadagdagan na naman ba ang kayamanan ni Lucienne? Kung ako sa'yo sasabihan ko na ang isang 'yon."

Thorn raises the glass he's holding to his lips. "What makes you think I haven't? She's already ready to draft it."

"Ayos 'yan. Para hindi love life ko ang lagi niyang pinagbabantaan na gawan ng part two para gawing tragic dahil lang wala siyang magawa."

Nalilitong nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin ko sa kanila. I have never been inclined to scream, aside from when Daze's is annoying the hell out of me, until now.

"Umm... excuse me." Bumaling sila sa aking lahat. Everyone was tense just awhile ago, and now they seem to be in tea party mood, but I'm not. "I don't know what's happening, but I need to know how soon we can visit the crime scene and how soon they are going to let us have the body and the other evidence."

Trace glanced at the eldest Dawson. "She reminds me of someone."

"Of everyone," Thorn corrected.

Tumango-tango ang lalaki. "We also can't wait."

Sa pagkakataon na ito ay ang pangalawang nakatatandang Dawson naman ang nagsalita. "Because we found someone we wanted to protect." Gunter Dawson looked me straight in the eyes. "We'll tell you the moment everything is set. For now, maybe you should visit your man. Ang balita ko nagpapakalunod na raw ang isang 'yon sa alak. We need to interview him."

I was already walking towards the door at the mention of Daze drowning himself in alcohol. I'm going to smack that golden retriever on the head!

Bago ako tuluyang lumabas ay sandaling napahinto ako at nilingon ko sila. "He's not my man."

I walked out of the room, but before the door fully closed, I could hear the brothers talking.

"Ganiyan din ba tayo noon? In denial?" tanong ni Trace.

"Hindi," sagot ni Gunter. "Atat kang magkaroon ng love life noon. Hindi ka na dumaan sa denial stage."

____________________________End of Chapter 12.