JUSTE

I ALMOST fell asleep as I listened to Anastacia's narrative, but I tried to keep from yawning as it was rude. This was exactly the reason why I didn't want to work overtime. I'd feel sleepy while interviewing witnesses or suspects.

". . . Then Desmond checked his pulse, but he said he's gone. That's when we called for an ambulance. It didn't take long until the police came and invited us to this station. 'Yan ang natatandaan ko sa mga nangyari."

Finally, she's done! One down, three more to go. I hoped the next witness wouldn't lull me to sleep. But I should expect the worst. They'd tell me the same flow of event, but from different perspectives.

"Thank you for your detailed recollection of the events." I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table. "Just to confirm if I got your version of the events right: You and that Cole person went together to the victim's house . . . The victim cooked the meals for your dinner . . . Each of you gave him a gift, yours is a Parker pen . . . The victim talked to you in private one by one . . . You went first, Beatrice was second, Cole was next, and Desmond was last . . . Did I get those parts right?"

Anastacia nodded.

"Afterwards, you all went to the balcony for a toast . . ." I continued reading my notes. "The victim held the wine bottle, Cole brought out the wineglasses, Desmond carried the ice bucket . . . Cole volunteered to open the bottle, but he made a mess . . . So from the balcony, you transferred to the living room . . . You acted as if you were poisoned . . . Then the victim collapsed on the floor . . . Desmond declared that he had no pulse. Still correct?"

Anastacia nodded again. My listening skills were still spot on despite almost falling asleep.

I closed my notepad and raised my gaze at her. The premise of this case was clear to me. "From the moment you arrived at the victim's house, only the five of you were there. Was that correct?"

"Yes," she answered. "As I mentioned, Sir Zack was living alone in his house. Wala siyang ibang kasama ro'n. Kung meron man, ipinakilala niya na sa 'min at malamang nakasama na namin sa party."

"No people from the outside came into the house?" I asked next. Sorry, but I had to be thorough. I must leave no stone unturned. "Like a food delivery man or a courier?"

Anastacia shook her head. "We didn't order anything, and Sir Zack didn't receive any package that day. Kaming lima lang talaga ang nandoon."

So . . . One house. Five people. One of them died. Four witnessed it. No secret tenants or outsiders.

"Do you know what that means?" I looked at her in the eye, and our gazes were locked in a staring contest. "If the victim was murdered, one of you is the murderer."

Her eyes cutting their gaze away, Anastacia nodded. She didn't seem to be surprised by what I had revealed. It's fairly obvious after all. She must have contemplated that angle before she went into this room or while narrating the events to me.

"You and the victim seem quite close, based on how you spoke about him," I went on when I got no verbal response. "How well do you know his relationships with the other three?"

"The four of us have a certain level of closeness with Sir Zack," she explained. "He invited us to his despedida party, so he's on good terms with everyone, I assume."

"None of them has the motive to kill him?" Time to be straightforward. "Do you know if he got into an argument with any of the three?"

Anastacia opened her mouth for a second, then quickly closed it. "I don't know."

Gotcha! I smirked. She should have been more careful with her expressions. "You're about to say something, but you realized you shouldn't be telling me about it. You do know at least someone who argued with him."

"No, I don't—"

"Don't lie, Anastacia," I warned her in the subtlest way possible. "Because I know a liar when I see one."

She went silent, her eyes looking down. The truth was, there's no way for me to know a liar by just seeing them. I needed to observe them. The blinking of their eyes, the twitching of their lips—any or all of these could give me hints on whether someone's telling the truth or not. But she didn't need to know that, right?

I leaned forward, closer to her. Time to use the usual interrogation tactics! "Tell me the truth, or someone else will. If someone does, you'll be suspected of covering up for one of them. You might be even complicit in the crime."

Having no choice, she looked at me. "Cole had an argument with him last week. Some students saw him punching Sir Zack in the face. 'Di ko alam kung bakit o tungkol saan. Wala naman kasi siyang nabanggit o si Sir Zack sa 'kin."

"Cole? Interesting," I muttered as I wrote down the name. Now I got something to work with. "Sir Zack invited the student who punched him to his party?"

"Hindi kasi siya nagtatanim ng sama ng loob. I think days before the party, nagkabati na ang dalawa. Cole bought him a book as a parting gift and a peace offering. They even exchanged apologies when they met at the house."

So all's good between them? That seemed to be the case. But some people could hold grudges despite—and even after—reconciliation. Attending the party of the person you resent and giving him a gift could just be a front to do something more damaging—or in this case, fatal.

"How about Desmond?" I asked.

"All I know is that he's the errand boy of Sir Zack," she replied, shrugging. "Ipinasok siya sa student aide program at na-assign kay Sir kaya parang assistant na ang turing sa kanya. Laging nagkakasundo ang dalawa kaya 'di ko ma-imagine na magkakaroon sila ng misunderstanding. Still possible, but I'm not aware of any."

That, we couldn't say for certain. The vic could have mistreated that student aide during their time together. In return, the latter decided to do the former harm while he still had a chance. If the vic would successfully get away, then the aide wouldn't have any more chance to do it.

"How about Beatrice?" I asked next.

"Bea has high regards for Sir Zack," Anastacia said. "I heard na she always seeks advice from him regarding academics and student council duties. Maybe they're quite close in their own way."

Information not sufficient for me to come up with theories. There could be a thing or two that could give her motive to do the unthinkable. My talk with that Beatrice later might shed some light to their relationship.

"How about you?" I asked, flicking my eyes up from the notepad to her. Palalampasin ko ba siya? Siyempre, hindi. "Did you have any issues with him?"

She took a deep breath and looked away from me. "As you've mentioned, close kami ni Sir Zack. 'Di na siguro mawawala na magkaroon minsan ng isyu. Pero hindi gano'n kalaki o kaseryoso. We always work things out."

She's weighing her words carefully, huh?

"Forgive me," I began, "but you're giving me the impression that your relationship with the vic isn't just the simple teacher-student friendship. Also, the way you described him sounds strange to me. I think . . . there's something else."

I saw her swallowing the lump in her throat. One of the advantages of talking to witnesses or suspects this late was they sometimes let their defenses down. I suspected there's something between the two because Anastacia's holding back some details, especially during their one-on-one conversation. It's a gold mine waiting to be exploited.

"Is it more than the teacher-student friendship with you two?" I asked, eyeing her intently. Come on, tell me the truth. Huwag ka nang mahiya. Tayong dalawa lang ang nandito.

"I admire Sir Zack," she answered. I was hoping that she'd elaborate, but she chose not to. Well, I already got the answer through what was left unspoken. She didn't have to say the words.

"You wouldn't kill him, would you?" I asked bluntly.

"Not in a million years," she answered.

"Well, let's go to the—"

The door to the interrogation room swung inward, and a woman with long hair entered. She wasn't a police officer or a civil servant in the station so I was guessing she's the lawyer or the mother of Anastacia.

"Mom!" Anastacia exclaimed, getting to her feet and dragging her chair back.

"Good evening, ma'am!" I greeted her, rising from my seat. "What can I do for you?"

"I came here to fetch my daughter," her mom replied, turning to her. "I advise her not to answer any of your questions."

I nodded. Here's the part of the system that I wasn't particularly fond of. "That's perfectly within her right."

"But mom!"

"Not a word, Stacy! Aalis na tayo rito."

The mom grabbed Anastacia's wrist and dragged her out of the chair. The daughter had no choice but to follow her outside.

"Thank you for your cooperation!" I said as the door was slammed shut. I didn't get all the information that I needed, but she gave me a lot. "Please call the next one."

The door to the interrogation opened once again, and another girl went inside. I motioned to the vacant seat in front of me, and she settled down there. She looked more serious and cautious than the first one. I hoped she'd be cooperative and she'd be of use to me and the investigation.

"Beatrice, am I right?" I called her name.

She nodded slowly.

"Thank you for taking the time. I know it's late already. Before we start, let me remind you that you have the right not to answer any of my questions, but I implore you to cooperate so we can have a complete picture of what happened to the victim."

"Understood, Sir."

"Please be reminded also that I'm recording our conversation."

"Understood."

"So . . ." I learned forward. Here we go again. "Can you tell us the events that led to the victim's death?"

-30-

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