The Open Coffin: Prelude to Murder

CHAPTER 1

                As usual, Myra Buencamino, woke up very early in the morning to tend her garden of different ornamental plants. Being a plantita, Myra, the forty-six- year old wife of Glenn Buencamino, had spent a considerable amount of money to procure ornamental plants, and some of them were quite expensive. Her 400 square-meter garden was indeed a beauty, just like Myra, who, despite her age, looked like a twenty-five year old girl. Acquaintances of Glenn said that he was lucky to have a very beautiful wife—ala Miss Universe, as they always said. Glenn Buencamino was tall, be-mustached forty-eight year-old lawyer gunning for congressman for the fifth congressional district of Pangasinan. He and his family lived in a plush subdivision in Patalan, Kisikis, Alcala, Pangasinan.

Still yawning, Myra opened the front door of their two-storey concrete house. Her eyes grew wide, while she screamed in terror when she saw an open coffin lying just in front of the doorway. Inside of the coffin was the enlarged half-body picture of Glenn Buencamino. The letters R.I.P. were scribbled across Glenn's face. Glenn came rushing out of their bedroom when he heard his wife screaming. He ran downstairs and rushed to the front door where his wife was.

"What's going on!" he asked his wife who was shaking with fear.

"Look at this!" she pointed a trembling finger to the open coffin.

Glenn exclaimed in horror as he stared at the coffin, "Jesus Christ, what the hell is this!"

"Glenn, this isn't just a joke! Someone's trying to send you a threatening message!" Myra exclaimed. Her voice trembled with fear as she looked at her husband.

Glenn clenched his jaws as his momentary terror turned into a rage, "That son of a bitch did this! No one else has the temerity to do this but Casimero!"

Julian Casimero was the political rival of Glenn. He, Julian, was also running for congressman for the fifth district for the 2082 national elections. Like Glenn, Julian was a lawyer, and campaigned hard to win the votes of the electorates. As usual, both candidates resorted to massive vote-buying. They knew that this was against the law, so they did it secretly. Each candidate doled out money and basic goods to prospective voters. Then both camps also resorted to mud slinging, hurling accusations and counter accusations against each other. For example, Glenn Buencamino accused Julian Casimero of being a pervert. Buencamino alleged that Julie (Julian) was a homosexual and that he had been sleeping with his male secretary. Julian countered that Glenn was a cheap sex maniac who solicit sex with second-rate hookers in Urdaneta. He even urged Myra to divorce her husband!

But Glenn remained unmoved. He had to dig deeper into his arsenal. In one of his campaign sorties held in Villasis, Pangasinan, Casimero's hometown, he thundered, "Julian Casimero is so perverted that he is not contented with his male secretary. He even had a sex with one of his male cousins! Are you going to vote for a dirty, lying sward like Julie Casimero? The hell if you would!"

Casimero was furious when he was told of Buencamino's allegation. He hollered, "That's a brazen lie! That bastard has gone out of line! I'm gonna kick his goddamned ass!"

The truth was that the accusation of one to the other was partly true. Casimero was indeed a gay, and like any ordinary gay, he was attracted to handsome males—like Herbert Uson, his male secretary. Indeed, he was very close to Herbert, but only on a professional level. He was also attracted to Tommy Villa, his cousin from Baguio City. Whenever Julian went to Baguio, he would stay in Tommy's house. However, Julian never practiced homosexualism with anyone.

Meanwhile, Glenn being a nice guy and a macho type, had many women admiring him. In some cases, he succumbed to the advances of some beautiful women. After all, he was just a man. His flings with other women was always the bone of contention between him and Myra. True, he once gave a ride in Urdaneta to a woman, who happened to be an acquaintance. Contrary to Casimero's allegation, the woman was not a hooker—and he never solicited sex from her.