ON GOING: SURGERY [ COMPLETED ]

chapter seven

V a u g h a n

I scribbled on my notes and inspect the vicinity before leaving. Wala namang ibang kakaiba bukod sa nawawala na naman ang bangkay, kaso nga lang, yun nga yung nakakabwisit, kung ano pa yung pinakamalaking lead yun pa yung nawala and aside from that fucking lead wala ng ibang naiwan ang suspect.

Bago ako lumabas ng ospital tinawagan ko muna ang number ni Montenegro. After three rings she picked up.

"Nakapag out ka na ba? Come pick me up now!" May pagkademanding 'tong babaeng 'to.

"Ok. I'm going to change my clothes first but I'll go there right away. I have something to tell you too"

Binabaan ko na sya ng tawag at naglakad na tungo sa parking lot ng ospital kung saan naka park ang kotse ko. I started the engine as soon as I got in.

"Dude! Saan ka naman pupunta, gabi na a?" Oo nga pala, kailangan ko ba syang dalhin? I mean diba gusto nya din namang sumama sa pag iimbestiga?

"I'm going on a private investigation with Montenegro, you wanna come along?" Tanong ko sakanya na kaagad naman nakapagpa-ningning sa mga mata nya. Agad syang sunod sunod na tumango saakin, di ko nalamang sya binigyan pa ng pansin at nag deretso na ng lakad patungo sa kotse kong nakaparada sa tapat lamang ng apartment namin.

Pagkasakay na pagkasakay ko sa kotse andon na kaagad sya kahit na hindi pa nakasuot ng maayos ang tshirt na kakapalit palang nya.

"So saan tayo pupunyta?" I did not bother answering since nasa tapat na ako ng address na binigay ni Montenegro. I grabbed my phone and dialed her number, after rings she picked up and hang up immediately. After a while bumukas ang pintuan at lumabas ang isang lalaki na naka short at kasunod nya si Montenegro.

"Sa kabilang bayan tayo, sa Crest, katabi lang iyon nitong Steele.. the psychiatric clinic is just by the Rice River, kung tutuusin malapit nga ang lugar ng krimen at ang lugar na pupuntahan natin, kailangan mo lamang tawirin ang ilog." Pagkapasok na pagkapasok ni Montenegro yan kaagad ang binungad nya.

"They must have captured the lady because she saw them or something?" Pangangatwiran ni Warren. May posibilidad naman na ganon nga, pero kailangan padin ng mga lead at koneksyon para mai-relate sila sa isa't isa.

"How long to get there exactly by car? Kase kung aabutin tayo ng isang oras I think it would be best to just use a boat."  Suhestyon ni Warren. Well as expected from him, mabilis kase ang utak nito sa nga ganyan, pero sa pag dating sa trabaho, ambagal ng processing skills.

"It would take around an hour to get there by car. Pero siguro 30 minutes or around 20 minutes kapag pa bangka, but I won't recommend it, the waters may not cooperate and I won't take the risk of drowning to death para lang makatawid ng mas mabilis."  Napatango tango nalamang ako at ipinag deretso ang pagdrdrive ng matulin.

Sa bayan ng Steele ang bayan na 'to, payapa dito, hindi gaano nagkakaroon ng mga gantong mga krimen, I can't say that its really a completely peaceful city, pero you can say that crime doesn't happen very often, ang mga krimen na nangyayare lamang dito ay mga pagnanakaw, o kaya akyat bahay pero never pa sya sobrang lumala to the point na ibinabalita sa buong city through newspapers, this is the first time that the bad once went loose.

"The suspect always leave his mark, ang pag tarak ng kahit anong matulis na bagay sa dibdib ng biktima, halos lahat ng nakikita ay matulis na mga patalim, not just usual kitchen wares, I can assure you I think it was personalized. Whoever the suspect is meron siyang access sa mga gumagawa ng patalim. Di ko pa nasasabi ang mga nabubuong spekulasyon sa ibang kapulis at kayo palang ang sasabihan ko, I just don't trust other policemen, hindi ko pa sila ganoon ka kilala--"

"Pero kame, bakit pinagkakatiwalaan mo na kami, e hindi mo pa nga kame ganon ka kilala."

"You're an expemption of course. You are a renowned doctor, well trusted. And I guess medyo katiwa-tiwala ka naman since you're background says it all, wala kang record of any dirt in you, and, well yang kaibigan mo, I don't trust him, we just need him so I'm making him tag along."  Napatikhim ako at tumango tango, well I really can't spell out this woman.

We drove in silence after what Montenegro said, walang nag sasalita, tila ba lahat kami ay sobrang linalamon ng sobrang pag iisip, satingin ko ay nag iisip sila ng malalim kagaya ko. Thinking about the possible things that links everything together.

Why that guy has a mark? Why that woman and that Man's dead body was taken away from the morgue? Paano nagkaka-access ang suspect sa mga facilities?

"Tsaka nga pala. Here." Sinabi ko atsaka kinuha ang maliit na notebook na binigay nya saakin noon, I wrote all the things I've noticed through my whole detour on the morgue.

"The guy's body is fucking missing!?" Pabulyaw na sigaw ni Montenegro.

"Yepp. Read all the details there I wrote everything."

"You psycho. You wrote a fucking detailed sht. Meron ka bang photographic memory? At alam na alam mo ang mga nangyayare sa araw mo?" Ikinatango ko naman bilang sagot, I do have photographic memory, with one glance I can never get it out of my head, the bodies of the murdered victims were still engraved in my head.

"You told me to write every single detail and to not leave one detail behind, you asked for it."

"Yeah whatever. But damn! That was the only lead we have! Damnit. Now we're back to square one! Bwisit."