Rey
NASA isa akong cafe na mediyo malapit sa tapat ng school namin, dalawang kanto lang ang pagitan at nandoon ka na. Naisipan ko kasing makipag meet up sa kaibigan ko dahil sa kagabi pang may bumabagabag sa isipan ko.
I can't sleep dahil sa mga nangyari kahapon, dagdag mo pa 'yung minention ni Inspector, Bry, ugh! Even though I want to, wala e, palaban ang psychology spirit ko.
How? Paano niya na take 'yung gamot na 'yon? Sleeping pills? We gave Aspirin as his medicine, pero 'yung nakita nila sa autopsy report is sleeping pills?
I'm here watching those people passing through a huge glass of the window in front of the cafe. As I staring at them mas lalo lang akong nababagot kaka-antay.
Where's that man?
"Gezzz, he's already twenty minutes late." bulong ko habang nakatingin sa screen ng cellphone ko.
While waiting for him, bakas ang amoy ng kape sa loob ng cafe. Also the sweet one. Like, cakes or cupcakes. Habang ang iba namang mga waiter ay abala sa pag se-serve ng mga order ng customers nila.
And speaking of the customers, they're here, chit-chatting with a nonsense things.
By the way, I order mocha latte. I prefer this one than any kinds of flavor. As I stared again to my phone screen. It's already 2:15 p,m already.
Ugh, where's-
CLING! CLING! The bell rang as the man open the door.
"Good afternoon sir, table for one?" masayang bungad ng isang lalaki sa kakapasok lang ng isang binatilyo.
Tinitigan ko sya ng mabuti, habang inuusisa ko ang itsura nya. His a quite well man. May itsura, naka-suot ng maong na pants at white t-shirt.
Nag palinga-linga pa ito ng ilang segundo at hindi abalang sinagot ang tanong ng isang waiter kanina. As our eye glued to each other.
Philip!
Tumayo ako at lumapit naman siya sa akin.
"Sorry I'm late." pag hingi niya ng paumanhin sa akin, sabay hila ng isang bangko sa table ko.
Umupo rin ako sa ka-tapat nyang table at may lumapit na isang babaeng waitress sa aming dalawa. She gave a menu card and waiting for my companion response.
"Can I take, uhm... one kapeng barako?" tumingin siya sa babaeng nag aantay ng sagot nya kanina.
The girl wrote in into his sticky note at nakangiting umalis sa harapan naming dalawa.
I followed her direction at ng mawala na siya sa paningin ko. Tinuon ko na ang atensyon ko kay Philip, habang hinahabol naman nito ang pag hinga nya.
"Ano ka, nag fund racing marathon?" pabiro kong sabi.
May kinuha siyang tissue sa dala-dala niyang sling bag na itim, at saka nya pinunasan ang tumutulo nitong mga pawis.
He looked at me in serious look. "Sa tingin mo bakit kaya hindi ako ta-takbo?" he asked and then he released a deep breath.
"Well there's a two reason why you would run like that, and I'll based it on your sweat and heavy breathe." nag taas ako ng kamay at pinorma ko ang mga daliri sa dalawang bilang. "First: There's a bunch of dogs, that might bite you at the street, and of course because you scared, you run faster as you can just to survive." I put down my one finger. "Second: Your mother might kill you, if she found out that you're not in your room." napa ngisi ako. "Am I wrong Philip Sarmiento?" I complete his name as I saw he smiled at me.
"The first one is correct. You, asshole. Why would I scared to my mom?" naka ngisi nyang saad at tumingin sa akin ng seryoso.
"You never know, Philip. You never know." natahimik kaming dalawa at tanging mga katabing table lang namin ang maririnig naming dalawa sa paligid.
At pag ka tapos naming mag titigan, napa ngiti nalang kami sa isa't-isa na parang ewan.
Out of the blue, may babaeng nag lapag ng kape sa table namin at natuon ang atensyon naming dalawa sa kaniya. A small girl, with the height of five-flat, morena and short bouncy hair na hanggang balikat. She's smiling as she put the mug in front of us.
"Enjoy your coffee sir." she then place the trey in to her chest at may pa-cute gesture pa siyang nag paalam sa aming dalawa. Wait, that's not mine. It's for Philip.
Hays, this man never learn how to stop flirting with other girls. He never learned.
"So, back to my topic Philip," I said his name just to get his attention. "We're here to discuss about my uncle case, not to flirt nor to hangout with them. Eyes on me." dagdag ko at tumingin naman siya sa akin.
I heard his heavy sigh habang walang ganang pinag-lalaruan ang maliit na kutsara sa tasa na may lamang kape.
"About to your uncle. How the sleeping pills kills him?" Philip asked without giving me a glance.
Habang tuloy-tuloy pa rin ang pag papaikot niya sa kutsara mula sa tasa.
"Base on my own research, twenty-nine dozens of sleeping pills might kill you, already. Lack of breathe, chest pain, and lack of jaw. All of those side effect na experience ni tito." sagot ko.
When I said those lines, tumingin na siya sa akin ng maayos. He leaned forward at nag aantay ulit ng sasabihin ko.
"So the question is, how he obtain those dozens of sleeping pills if the only thing that I saw is two pills when he drink it." dagdag ko, at naririnig pa rin namin ang ibang mga tao na abala sa iba't-ibang table. "And the main question is..."
"...who did it?" sabay naming nabanggit ni Philip ang mga katagang iyon.
Bumalik sa pag-kakasandal si Philip ng mag sabay kami sa pag salita, tumikim siya sa kapeng nasa harapan niya at muling tumingin sa akin.
"Did you see kung sino ang nag pa inom dito at sinong kumuha ng gamot?" he asked.
If I recall...
"Si Spencer ang kumuha, I'm with him when we pick the medicines. And si tita Claire 'yung nag pa inom." I answered.
"Naisip mo bang si Spencer or si tita Claire ang may gawa?" tanong niya.
"Tita Claire is out of list, also she's tito Daniel's wife. So it's to risky if she do that in front of us..." napatigil ako ng ilang segundo. "But Spencer is might be a suspicious— I don't want to jump into that conclusion. Yet, we have no evidence if he really did it." I said.
"What if he inhale it?" he asked sabay tikim muli nito sa kape.
"That's impossible. We have the same air, same ventilation, when he died. Edi sana kung do'n nga siya namatay, edi wala na rin ako ngayon sa harapan mo. Isa pa, hindi ka naman ma-o-overdose sa pag inhale lang ng gamot na 'yon." sagot ko at tumango-tango naman siya sa akin.
"Don't take it serious men, it just a hunch." he said and then laugh in a small sound at the same time. "So what are you gonna do to solve this case?" he added.
I looked at my mocha latte at sinimulan itong paikutin ng dahan-dahan sa lalagyan nito.
"I need to investigate, who really did it. And if ever my relatives were connected, I'll make sure he'll or she, suffer behind the bars." I smiled.
Nag simula ring ngumiti ang kaharap ko, as I smiled in front of him.
"I can see the old Rey, haha! Also I remember the first case you solve during our junior high school days. 'yung araw na i-sinolve mo 'yung death case na nangyari sa ibang section." he take a sip of his coffee and then put it back in to the table. "I want to see the mystery geek again, Rey." he said, at sabay nag iling-iling ng ulo.
Yah, I remember that. My first case.
As we continue chit-chatting about my uncle's case natuon ang pag-uusap namin sa pamilya niya, what happen to their family Christmas party last night?
Habang masaya niya itong i-kinu-kwento sa akin, ako nama'y nakikinig lang at tatawa.
I met Philip when the day I solve the mystery case when I was in junior high school. That day it's hard for me to solve the case, dahil sa sobrang tricky ng ginawa niyang pag patay sa isang studyante.
***
THE KILLER is just a grade nine student and yet he killed a one year grade older than her. Yes, a grade ten student died cause of foxgloves.
Foxgloves is a plant that's poisonous to human. Foxglove can cause irregular heart function and death. Signs of foxglove: poisoning include stomach upset, small eye pupils, blurred vision, strong slow pulse, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, excessive urination, fatigue, muscle weakness and tremors, stupor, confusion, convulsions, abnormal heartbeats, and death.
Sa kasong ito, mahilig ang grade ten student sa mga halaman. At ginamit itong opportunity ng killer to put that plant hid in to her school garden. At first glance, aakalain mo na nag suicide ang babae.
We saw her hanging into the storage area, tirik ang mga mata niya no'n at ang nakakapag taka ay ang maayos nitong uniporme, and her long skirt was already shred in to pieces halos makita na ang kaniyang short sa loob.
It was accidentally found by a janitor who need to put it back all his used equipment na ginamit nya sa trabaho, and the case was already began.
I never thought that someone can actually did that thing. Imagine we're just a bunch of teenagers na inaatupag puro pag aaral lang pero sa taong 'yon mas inaatupag nya ang pag pa-plano just to kill that person?
When the police arrived at the scene. Agad silang nag handa ng mga gagamitin, forensic science is making their moves, taking pictures to the corpse at iba pang mga maaring maging ibedensiya.
Nakiki-usyoso lang ako ng mga oras na 'yon. But I never thought that my life will drag in to that mystery case.
"So may nakakita ba sa mga pangyayari?" the officer asked to everyone of us at walang nag balak na mag taas nang kamay sa tanong niya.
Mas lalong nagiging palabas ang nangyayari dahil mas lalong dumarami ang mga studyante na nanonood sa labas ng storage room.
"Sinong pumatay?" tanong ng isang studyante na sa wari ko e, grade nine student. I can base their grade according to there I.D lace.
Grade 7 is Green
Grade 8 is Yellow
Grade 9 is Blue
And for Grade 10 is Red.
And for the girl that was hanging onto the ceiling, it has a red I.D lace on it and she's still wearing into her neck.
"Eh? Patay agad? Baka nag suicide siya." sagot ng babae sa nag tanong sa kaniya.
I want to know what really happened, but it's out of my business.
After watching them putting the corpse into the floor. The crowd are now murmuring to much noises.
Kanina mahina lang, ngayon, halos 'di mo na marinig 'yong sarili mong boses.
"Si Cassandra 'yan ng Garden Club diba?" a male voice said it at bakas sa boses nito ang pag ka gulat.
Luckily I heard the girl name.
Cassandra...? Cassandra is the Garden club president in our school. Siya at ng mga member niya ang na a-assign sa mga task about gardens, halimbawa: may pa-parating na visitors or up-coming events, including sa mga hardinero at hardinera rito sa school, sila pa ang naka-toka sa mga halaman.
And yes, Cassandra is also a beautiful girl too. Kaya hindi nakaka gulat ng may mga lalaking nag react ng makita nila ang bangkay ni Cassandra na ibinaba ng mga pulis.
Not just a club president also a top-tier student in Adam University, which is our school.
"Hmm... So basically mas titignan nila ang anggulo sa pag suicide and rape." naka rinig na naman ako ng isang boses ng lalaki. When I turned to him, his just like the other boys who was praising this girl, 'cause she's 'beautiful'.
"Philip, why are you here?" I asked, yeah. Philip is also a fan of this girl at kadiri.
"Eh? Rey nandito ka rin?" he asked sabay tingin sa kung saan-saan.
"Well, I accidentally heard the Janitor yelled so pumunta agad ako rito." sabi ko. "E, ikaw? Anong ginagawa mo rito?" tanong ko.
"Nasa cafeteria kami ni Arthur kanina, tapos habang nag ku-kwentuhan kami, narinig namin 'yung bulong-bulungan about dito sa storage area. So pumunta agad ako." sagot niya.
I see.
By the way, Philip is one of my classmate, but since I'm not that type of person na pala-kaibigan. 'di ko siya ganon pinapansin, pero ng dahil dito, naka-usap ko siya ng diretsyo.
"CASSANDRA!" Rinig naming sigaw ng isang studyante. We looked at her direction and now she's starting to cry.
A short girl na medyo may pag ka mahaba ang buhok na hanggang bewang, and base on her I.D lace grade 10 student same grade like Cassandra.
Halos ipag tulakan na nya ang mga iilang studyante, maka-pasok lang sa pinangyarihang krimen.
"CASSANDRA! S-sinong gumawa sa'yo nito?!" Sigaw ulit nito, pero ngayon pinigilan na sya ng mga pulis maka-pasok.
She's familiar, but I can't recall who she is.
Nung una nag pupumiglas pa sya sa mga pulis pero sa huli, naawat naman sya. Kumaripas ng takbo ang isang pulis sa loob at lumabas naman ang isang lalaki na nag tanong sa aming lahat kanina.
I moved my eyes in to his name-tag and then I read it.
Inspector, Mike Anthon.
Base on his appearance, age thirties ang edad. Mediyo makapal ang balbas at katamtamang kulay na balat, brownish ang kulay ng mata at mediyo mataas rin na lalaki.
May itinatanong siya sa babae pero hindi ko sila marinig mula sa puwesto ko.
"Wanna sneak in?" sabi ng katabi kong lalaki, lumingon ako sa kaniya making a face saying 'seriously?'
"Moron! Do you want to arrest?" I asked. "If you want then go, don't invite me." aalis na sana ako sa lugar ng biglang may humawak sa kamay ko at hinila ako pabalik sa puwesto ko kanina.
"I know you want to know, who's the reason behind this case." nakipag titigan pa siya sa akin ng ilang segundo. 'Di ako nag patalo sa una pero sumuko rin ako sa huli.
"Fine, so how can we sneak in? May pulis na nag ba-bantay sa harap. At masyadong matao ang lugar na ito." tanong ko, habang natingin sa mga studyante at pulis sa paligid namin.
"Edi sa likod. If we can't sneak in, in-front door, likod ang option nating dalawa." sabi niya.
Muli akong lumingon sa kanila, hays.
"Fine."
Agad akong hinila ni Philip at kinaladkad niya ako papunta sa likod ng storage room. Nang makapunta kami rito, he's right, no one's here. Except to both of us, mas nakatuon ang mga pulis sa harap kesa rito sa likod.
"So, saan tayo tutong-tong niyan?" tanong ko.
Walang ibang puwedeng matungtungan rito dahil ni isang bagay walang naka-lagay o sandal rito.
It's just a flat wall at mga halaman.
"Edi yu-yuko ako, and take your time to see what really happened." sagot nya.
Seryoso?
"You're gonna be kidding me right? Ako? A-apak sa likuran mo?" I asked.
"Geez, bilis habang nandito pa sila. Once matapos nila ang pag i-imbistiga, they leave without a single trace how to solve this case. I bet my side on you Rey. I know you can do it." he said, bakas sa boses nito na seryoso siya.
As I said, I'm not in to a socialize person except for my closest human in my life. Pero itong taong ito, pupusta talaga siya para lang malaman namin sino ang may gawa?
I take a deep breath at nag simula nang yumuko si Philip. Inalis ko ang sapatos ko, at medyas nalang ang tanging suot-suot ko.
Nag pa-balance ako at sabay apak sa likuran ni Philip, ng maka tungtong na ako, dito na ako sumilip sa maliit na bintana ng storage room.
Ng usisain ko ang loob. May tatlong kumukuha ng litrato sa bawat puwedeng maging ibedensiya, nandito pa rin ang bangkay ni Cassandra na naka-takip ng puting tela.
Habang pinapaikot ko ang paningin ko sa buong paligid. May isang sulat na naka pag pa-pukaw ng atensyon ko, naka sulat ito sa whiteboard at red marker naman ang ipinang sulat rito.
As I tilt my head, it says:
Dead Man's Bells
"Hoy!"
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