JUSTE

I YAWNED as I reviewed the scribbles in my notepad. How much time has passed already? One or two? I had been trying to fight off the sleep since the first interviewee. I needed to look like I was interested, that I was a professional. Kaya kahit inaantok na ako, nagawa ko pa ring isulat ang mga importanteng detalye sa kanilang mga kuwento. That's an ability that I had developed over the years.

Maybe I could take note of the salient points even if I was dozing off? Nah, just kidding.

So far, three of these kiddos—wait, what were their names again? Anastacia, Beatrice, and Cole—had been cooperative. Only the last one, Desmond, refused to say anything. He had every right to remain silent, and I was kinda impressed that he exercised that right. That's something I didn't expect. His friends—sorry, his acquaintances—had been cooperative so I presumed the same from him. My bad, he's not the same as the bunch.

The three narratives were clear to me. I could already paint a picture of what transpired in the Zafra residence. Kumbaga sa isang surveillance, tatlong CCTV camera ang pinanood ko. Alam ko kung nasaan ang mga tao sa video sa particular na time stamp. Desmond's point of view wouldn't make much of a difference, but I was hoping to hear his side of story to corroborate what the rest told me. Maybe another time?

I closed my notepad, put down my foot from the table, and walked out of the room. It's close to midnight already, and those kids needed to go home. Umalis na kanina si Anastacia. Tatlo na lang ang naghihintay sa lobby.

"Thank you for your cooperation," I told them when I got closer to their seats. I put emphasized on the last word as I shot a glance at their bespectacled companion. "We have, more or less, a vivid picture of the events before the death of your instructor. We'll wait for the autopsy report to know the exact cause of death. I hope I can still expect your cooperation by then?"

"Sure, sir," they all answered, even the one who chose not to cooperate.

"Do you want to be escorted back to your homes?" I asked, craning my neck to the left and looking for an available officer who could drive for them. "Montalbo! Wala ka namang ginagawa, 'di ba? Baka pwede mong—"

"My dad's picking me up here," Cole cut my words short. "He'd be here in about . . . three minutes."

"How about you, Beatrice?" I asked. "And Desmond?"

"I already booked a GrabCar," Beatrice replied. "The driver's on the way rito sa station. Sana'y hindi siya masyadong magtaka kung bakit dito ang pick-up point niya."

"Magko-commute ako pauwi," Desmond answered. "Wala naman silang maho-holdap sa akin. Wala rin namang naghihintay sa 'kin sa bahay."

"Pwede ka naming ihatid kung gusto mo," I offered him out of courtesy. But my gut told me that he would turn it down.

"Huwag na. Baka ano pang isipin ng mga kapit-bahay ko kapag nakita nilang inihatid ako gamit ang police car. Tsismoso't tsismosa pa naman ang mga 'yon."

"Very well." I put my hands together. See? I was right! "Again, thank you for cooperating with us. Be safe on your way home. We'll contact you through the phone numbers you gave if we still need anything from you."

They all stood and walked away from the police desk. I maintained a smile on my face as I watched them leave the area. When they're out of my eyeshot, the curve across my lips vanished in an instant. I returned to my desk and slammed my notepad down.

Kung kanina'y inaantok ako, ngayo'y halos hindi ko na mapigilan ang utak ko sa kaiisip kung ano ba talaga ang nangyari doon. That's exactly why I did not want to accept any case an hour before I clocked out. I might forget about going home and focus on the case at hand.

"What do you think? Did one of them did it?"

"We still don't know the cause of death. But based on what the first responder told me, it looks like that one of them did," I answered. "None of those kiddos struck me as a murderer, but who knows? Criminal intent isn't always on the surface."

"Looks can be deceiving," the female voice went on. "How many cases have we solved na mukhang anghel ang killer? Thirteen? Fifteen? I lost count already. Meron bang nag-stand out sa kanila na kahina-hinala?"

"The four-eyed guy. I know that it's within his right to not say anything to us until a counsel is present, but I find it weird that he didn't volunteer any info—" I turned my swivel chair in a 180 degree. The face of a female police detective with bobcut hairstyle greeted me.

I was too engrossed in my thoughts, I kinda forgot that voice belonged to her. If I had known that she's the one talking to me, I would have shut my mouth tight. "Wait a minute. Why are you interested in my case?"

"Our case, you mean?" Detective Verity Victorina smiled playfully at me. "As of ten minutes ago, the captain assigned me to your case. That makes it our, not your."

"What?!" I almost exclaimed. Napatingin ako sa cubicle ng aming boss. He was on the phone, but our eyes met briefly. He gave me a thumbs up as if he knew the reason why I was looking at him. "Wala ka bang case na iniimbestigahan at gusto mong makisawsaw sa akin?"

"I closed that one homicide case yesterday. Kung ako ang may choice, ayaw ko ring ma-assign sa case mo," sagot ni Verity, nagkrus ang mga braso niya. "But the captain is worried na baka maulit ang ginawa mo sa pinaka-recent case na hinawakan mo. Remember when you harassed one of the suspects and they filed a complaint, so the captain had to reassign that case to me?"

"I've already learned my lesson kaya hindi na mauulit 'yon."

"Nevertheless, he still thinks that you need me in this case."

I chuckled. Nonsense. "I'm not a child anymore, okay? I don't need a babysitter. I can handle this case on my own. Kung serial killings ito, baka pwede pa tayong mag-collab. But this is just one death. We don't need two minds here."

"Kung may reklamo ka, pwede mong sabihin kay captain," Verity said, jerking her thumb over her right shoulder, toward the captain's cubicle. "Sumusunod lang ako sa utos niya. Hayun, oh! Binabaan na niya ang kausap niya. You can raise your complaint to him."

Tch. I clicked my tongue. I got a strike in the last case that I handled. That kinda tainted my image to the captain. I couldn't tell him outright to assign Verity to any case except mine. I no longer had that leverage.

It is what it is, I guess?

"Fine!" I threw my hands up. "Let's work together and solve this very simple case."

"Pwede mo ba akong i-walkthrough kung ano ang nangyari?"

I stretched out my hand holding a notepad. "Pwede mo 'tong gamitin na reference. Nandyan ang important parts ng story na naikuwento ng tatlong witness sa akin kanina."

She flipped over the pages. In every flip, her eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper. "First of all, ang pangit ng penmanship mo. Halos wala akong maintindihan. Second, hindi ko gets ang context ng mga nakasulat dito."

I blew off some air. "Okay. Listen closely to me. Hindi ko na uulitin ang kuwento ko."

For about ten minutes, I narrated to her the versions of events as witnessed by the three kiddos. I told her about Anastacia and Cole arriving together at the house, about Desmond being there to help the victim prepare the food, about Beatrice asking a weird question to Anastacia, et cetera. I briefed her about everything that I had heard, so she couldn't complain of me not sharing info with her.

"We still can't say if this was a murder or accident, right?" Verity asked. She returned my notepad to the desk as I finished my storytelling. "Wala pa tayong autopsy report na pwedeng pagbasehan. Hindi pa natin pwedeng i-consider na suspect ang apat."

"I have a good feeling that the victim was poisoned and that this is murder," I insisted. "Unless, of course, the victim committed suicide and wanted to make it look like murder. Which is kind of a stretch already. Why would a college instructor and guidance counselor do something so complicated?"

"Parang ganyan ang plot ng nabasa kong libro o napanood na movie, ah?" she recalled. "Not the college instructor and guidance counselor part. Doon kasi, the victim committed suicide, but he disguised his death as murder in an effort to frame the suspects."

"You think that life imitates art?" My eyes shot her with a curious gaze. "Kung gusto niyang i-frame ang suspects, I can think one or two ways kung saan hindi na niya kailangang patayin ang sarili niya."

"Sometimes," she answered and shrugged. "Pwedeng gawin inspiration ang detective stories sa pag-commit ng crimes."

"Occam's razor," I told her. "The simplest solution is the answer. Based on three testimonies, no outsider entered the house before, during, and even after the party got interrupted by the victim's death. Therefore, if this is murder, the culprit is among the four."

"All their testimonies matched?"

"Except the fourth kiddo who didn't want to talk."

"Possible din na hindi lang isa ang culprit," Verity floated another point worth considering. "Maybe two of them were in it. Maybe just three—the other one didn't know about the murder."

"Or maybe all of them were in it," I muttered, my eyes squinting. "Like Agatha Christie's Murder in the Orient Express. Wait, should I say spoiler alert? That's the twist in that story."

"Don't worry, nabasa ko na 'yan noon pa at napanood ko na rin ang movie adaptation," sabi ni Verity. "Right now, all we can do is speculate. We need more data."

"'Data, data, data, I can never make bricks without clay,' Holmes once said," I recalled. "How long do we have to wait until the medical examiner releases the autopsy report?"

"Average is four hours, kung hindi masyadong matrabaho ang autopsy," Verity answered, looking at her metal wristwatch. "Kailan ba idinala ang katawan ng biktima sa station?"

"Around nine . . . or before ten," I tried to recall. I sometimes lost track of time. "Bale mamayang alas-dose o alas-tres pa natin malalaman kung ano talaga ang ikinamatay niya? I'd probably go home and sleep for a while."

"Mas mabuti nga kung magpapahinga muna tayo," sabi ni Verity. "This case can wait tomorrow. Hindi mo kailangang magpuyat para hintayin ang result. At kailangan din fresh ang isip mo para makapag-process 'yan nang maayos. You might come up with absurd theories if your mind is not well rested."

"I know, I know," I lazily replied. Then I remembered something. Tumayo ako't pinuntahan ang isa sa mga officer na humihikab na rin sa kanyang desk. Sumunod si Verity sa akin. "Guerrero! Na-contact mo na ba ang next of kin ng biktima para ma-inform sila sa nangyari?"

The police officer sat upright and stopped himself from yawning a second time. "Nagtanong kami roon sa mga bata kung sino at paano mako-contact ang mga magulang ng biktima. Pero ang sabi nila, maaga na raw siyang naulila."

"Baka meron siyang kamag-anak?"

"Hindi nila alam kung meron. Kaya wala kaming napagsabihan."

"Maybe we can inform the university where he used to work?" Verity suggested. "They need to know that one of their former employees died."

"Good idea," I commented before turning to the officer. "Get in touch with Clark University and inform them of Zafra's untimely demise."

"Got it, Sir! Siya nga pala, ano'ng gagawin natin sa personal belongings ng biktima kung walang next of kin? Tinanggal kasi namin ang damit, sapatos, at relo niya. Meron ding kasamang phone."

"Let's keep them until the investigation is over—" I paused and looked at him again. "Wait, did you say phone?"

The officer nodded. "Nasa bulsa ng pantalon niya."

"Can we have someone open it?" I asked. "We're expecting this incident to be a murder case anyway, so we better look through his messages and see if he received any threats or he talked about it to someone."

"Or if this case is suicide," Verity butt in, "we might have a better understanding of why he did it. Baka may note siyang iniwan digitally."

"Sinubukan naming i-check ang phone niya kanina, pero kailangan ng fingerprints bago mabuksan," sabi ng officer. "Meron ding pin code, kaso hindi namin alam ang i-input. Magpapatawag na siguro ako ng technician para ma-unlock agad natin."

"Fingerprints?" I repeated. A thought occured to me. "The body's in the morgue down below, right?"

Verity turned to me. "Are you suggesting na—"

"We don't need to call for a technician just to unlock the phone." I didn't let her finish her sentence. "We just need to make the victim unlock it for us. Press his finger on the sensor and surely we'll have access to it."

The officer looked at me, then at Verity. He appeared to be having second thoughts, or he might be afraid to ask for the dead's help. What's the hold up? Come on!

"What are you waiting for?" I clapped my hands twice. "Do it!"

Nagmadaling tumayo ang officer at umalis sa harapan namin. May alanganin pa siya, pero wala siyang magagawa kundi ang sumunod sa amin.

"Is it ethical for us to unlock the victim's phone through his fingerprints?" Verity asked. "Alam kong patay na siya, pero . . ."

I scoffed. "What's the dead gonna do to us? File a case in court? Once a person is deceased, they no longer have privacy interest in their body. No one can stop us from using fingerprints to access the deceased's phone."

"I'm talking about the act being ethical, not legal," she replied. "Alam kong walang habol sa atin ang patay kaya pwede nating gawin 'yan."

I smiled at her. "As long as we solve this case and give justice to the victim, does that question matter?"

She rolled her eyes. "This is the exact reason why the captain wanted me to assist you in this case. Minsan kaduda-duda ang mga method mo, eh."

"Then tell the officer to not do it," I challenged her, my eyes locking into a staring contest with her. Walang kumalas ng tingin sa aming dalawa. Tumagal siguro ng isang minuto ang titigan namin hanggang sa mapakurap siya. "You won't, will you? Because you know that this is the fastest way to get more info that we may need."

"Huwag mo ngang i-corrupt ang utak ko," balik niya sa akin. "What you asked the officer to do is not strictly speaking illegal. Hindi ko siya uutusan na huwag gawin 'yon."

"See?" I turned my back to her as I returned to my desk and grabbed my coat. "It's all about expedience, Verity. The faster we solve the case, the better. As officers of the law, we must not delay justice."

"Nor must we cross the lines that we shouldn't cross," she added. "Basta't nandito ako para bantayan ang kinikilos mo, Juste. If you do something you're not supposed to, I'd pull in your reins."

I inched my face closer to hers, leaning forward. "I wanna see you try." I leaned back. "Well, that's all for today. Let's continue the investigation tomorrow. Good night, Verity."

-30-

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