#DS5Unbowed #EmbRace #PuppyCouple #DaggerSeries
CHAPTER 17: ARTICLE
EMBER'S POV
"My grandparents?"
It felt like forever before I found the will to speak up. I couldn't stomach what was in front of me, much less believe that someone was actually wicked enough to do something like this. Pero ano nga bang aasahan ko sa taong kayang kumitil ng buhay na parang isa lang laro iyon? This is nothing compared to what that person already proved that he could do.
"You're saying that someone actually dug up my grandparents' graves and displayed them in front of the mansion?"
Kumilos si Thorn at may inilagay siya na isa pang larawan sa harapan ko. "We also found this."
It was the same arrow that was also found near the other three victims. Dalawa iyon na mukhang ang isa ay para sa lolo ko at ang isa naman ay para sa lola ko. "Ang mga empleyado ko ba ang nakahanap sa mga 'to? Were they the ones that discovered the remains?" Bumumuntong hininga ako. "Sinabihan ko na silang huwag pumunta sa mansyon."
Umiling ang panganay na Dawson. "Nagpapabalik-balik doon sina Coal at Domino. They studied the field and they identified the hot spots around the area for our crime mapping. We presumed based on the other victims, that the next one would be closer, so we focused on a more tighter perimeter. Tama ang hinala namin dahil natagpuan ang hinukay na mga bangkay sa harapan mismo ng bahay niyo."
"Is there no way to prevent more murders? We were lucky that that person only dug out a grave. Paano kung pumatay na naman siya sa susunod?" tanong ko.
"It would be possible to prevent it if the crime took place on the land, but the perpetrator doesn't have any pattern. Hindi lahat ng biktima ay binawian ng buhay sa mismong lupain niyo. Adding to that was his latest move."
May inabot si Thorn at ilang sandali lang ay bumukas ang malaking screen na nasa unahan ng conference room. Doon ay kita ang buong crime analysis na ginawa nila para sa case na ito.
"The approach and the nature of the physical interaction between the victim and the perp were also different. Out of the three victims, only one appeared to have been badly beaten. The body also showed signs of struggle. The others look like they've been struck and incapacitated in some way before they got killed. Their origins also differ, so we can cross that out as having any connection," Thorn elaborated.
"But they all have been mutilated at some point. We can say that this is anger-fueled than this giving a sense of relief for the perpetrator," Gun said, entering the conversation.
"Sense... of relief?"
"Some killers consider murder an art. Not everything is done through blunt force. Some get drugged and killed. Sa perpetrator natin, there's a chance that one or two of the victims were alive when he dismembered them."
I feel like I'm about to throw up. Nagpapasalamat na lang ako na hindi nila ipinapakita sa akin ang aktwal na mga larawan ng mga biktima.
"The choice of weapons was also different. Some were struck with a knife, a hard object on the back of the head, or strangulation. Methods of body disposal weren't posed in a patternized way as well, but the perp didn't exactly try to hide them. This indicates that he's just not trying to use your land as a dumpsite for his kills, nor was he deliberately setting them up to be found. It's like he kills them, then he drags the bodies to a place that he has decided to be their grave. It doesn't matter where as long as it's inside your land," Gun continued.
Nabago ang nakalagay sa screen at napalitan iyon ng tila listahan. Most of what's written on the list was crossed out.
"There's no consistency with his crimes," si Pierce na siyang nagsalita sa pagkakataon na ito. "Walang resemblance sa physical aspect ang mga biktima, iba ang approach, and there's no similarities with the victims' deaths. Ang tanging nagkokonekta sa kanila ay ang lugar kung saan sila natagpuan. Idagdag pa ro'n ay ang paghukay niya sa bangkay ng grandparents mo. That one was very inconsistent with the perp's supposed MO."
"But we did pinned down an important link while you were in Cambodia," sabi ni Axel na kanina ay abala sa laptop na nasa harapan niya. "The victims all worked at the ranch."
My eyes widened in surprise. I've seen their identifications before. "I don't recognize any of them."
"That's because they started working for your family before you were even born. Ang ama mo ang nakatukoy sa kanila pero hindi agad-agad. Sa dami niyo rin na empleyado ay duda ako kung matatandaan niya lahat ang mga nagtrabaho para sa inyo. Lalo na at karamihan ng mga empleyado niyo noon ay nagtrabaho rin para sa pamilya ng nanay mo. Mr. Calderon wasn't sure how long they worked for the ranch, but he said that it was possible that they quit after your mother's death or not long after that. You were too young to remember them," Axel explained.
It felt like my mind was spinning with all the information. "The perpetrator... hindi ba siya nakuhanan ng larawan? From any security cameras?
"We surveyed the cameras already available around the land, and even some footage from private ones. Nagkabit din kami ng sarili naming mga kamera, but of course there's some areas that are physically impossible for us to reach. There's a lot of undisturbed terrain that we couldn't go to, but as said awhile ago by Kuya Thorn, there were hot spots. We made sure that it would be covered."
"And the mansion? Is it possible that he was caught on one of the cameras there?"
Kumilos si Thorn at muling nagbago ang naka-display sa screen. This time it was two still shots from a security footage. Doon ay kita ang isang maliit na delivery truck at sa isang larawan ay kita ang balot ng makapal na jacket na lalaking naka-mask. Aside from his short hair peeking out from the cap he's wearing, his features were completely obscured.
"That delivery truck was soon found abandoned at the side of an empty road, hours after it was reported missing by the real driver. According to him, may delivery siya para sa isang bahay na malapit sa residential part ng lupain niyo. Nang makarating doon ay tila abandonado ang lugar. At first he thought that the address was wrong, but he said that the gate opened. Ibinaba niya ang package, pumasok siya sa gate, at pagkatapos no'n ay wala na siyang maalala. He was struck and he fell unconscious. We took the package in evidence, but the contents were inconsequential things such as boxes and papers. Peke rin ang pangalan na nakasulat at maging ang contact number. Abandonado rin ang bahay," pagpapatuloy ni Axel.
"He didn't manage to identify the person?"
"He was focused on the box he was carrying, and the perp most likely came at him from behind the moment he stepped inside the gate." Bumuntong-hininga ang lalaki. "I hate cases like this. It's like a puzzle. If you don't have all the right pieces then we can't get the full picture."
"Huling pinahirapan kami ng ganito ay kay Mireia," sabi ni Gunter na napapailing. "Belaya's case was hard, as well as Lia's, but the moment we got a single link, the others soon eventually followed. Kaya mas madali kaming nakapagplano kung paano namin mahuhuli ang perpetrator."
"Lucienne's case was different. It was a mistake on our part that we didn't want to repeat again. Perp got too close," Thorn said in a voice that sounds like he's still being haunted by what happened to his wife before.
"There's something though..." Axel looks harassed as he massages his temple. "The perp knows the land too well."
"He does," Trace said, speaking for the first time. "I remember Ember telling me and Dom that the main house couldn't be seen through a navigation app. It's a private property and someone needs an authorization coming from the main ranch. Kung dumadaan man sa iba ay ang daan na iyon ay para sa mga taong bihasa sa lugar na 'yon. I doubt that the truck could go up to the other road aside from the main one."
He's right. Nagpapadeliver din ako pero dahil mahirap umakyat sa property namin ay kadalasan for pick-up iyon at kinukuha na lang ng mga empleyado ko. The ones that deliver produce at the mansion have permission from us. Walang tao roon kaya walang dahilan para may humingi ng permiso para umakyat sa mansyon. But the fact that it's hard to go up there is still a factor. It would be a person that knows the ranch well enough and has been there a couple of times.
"Kimompara rin namin ang nakuha namin na footprint sa nanggaling sa forensic. They salvaged one from the area where one of the victims was found." Inilapat ni Thorn ang slide at itinuro iyon. "Iyong nakita sa mansyon pagkatapos ilagay doon ang remains ng grandparents mo ay mas maliit kumpara sa nakita ng forensic."
They've given me a lot of information. It would have been overwhelming if not for the fact, that few points are being highlighted by the brothers. Ang una ay ang katotohanan na may link ang mga biktima sa pamilya ko dahil minsan silang nagtrabaho para sa rancho, at ang pangalawa ay ang katiyakan na sanay ang taong gumagawa nito sa pasikot-sikot sa lupain namin. Alam niya kung ano ang iiwasan at alam niya kung paanong ikukubli ang sarili niya.
But my grandparents? Why would that person include them in this?
As if reading my mind, Thorn speaks again, "With the manner everything is going, we think this is connected to what happened years ago."
"What... what do you mean?"
"Your mother's accident," he said matter-of-factly. "The victims worked for your family and there's a possibility that they resigned after your mother's death. Your grandparents that passed away years before the accident happened were dug out of their graves. Arrows that were owned by your mother were found near them. This is not a simple game from a killer that needs to kill, nor is this done just by simply targeting those connected to your family."
"It seems more of a revenge," Axel uttered with a shake of his head. "Like he's collecting a debt."
"T-The... the man my mother was seeing," I whispered.
"Ember, you need to know, your father didn't know about the affair until a few months before your mother's death. Pinagkasundo ang nanay at tatay mo ng mga pamilya nila. While you were in Cambodia we talked to him. Mr. Calderon told us that he has his assumptions, and that the man was probably in your mother's life before they even got married. But the moment they did got married, your mother stayed true to him and your family," Axel informed me.
That might be true... but those few months... could he really say that she was still true? We all know what happened. My father knew better than anyone else. She ran away.
"But that man could be anyone. Maging ang ama mo ay hindi siya kilala," Axel continued.
"Wala bang empleyado ang nakakakilala sa kaniya?"
"We talked with some of your family's past employees, but none of them knew him. They heard about the rumors of the affair, but they don't know who. The people that can probably identify him are also those than can't talk about him anymore. But we're trying to track every people that worked for your family just to be sure."
Pakiramdam ko ay may bumalot na lamig sa katawan ko. He didn't need to say anything more for me to understand. It's highly possible that the only ones that could identify him were the victims and my grandparents.
"So it's him?" I asked quietly.
"There's no one else we could think of that would do this."
Sandaling katahimikan ang namayani habang tila rumaragasa ang mga impormasyon na binigay nila sa utak ko. I froze when I realized something, and my head snapped up. "Si Papa. He could be next right? He should be the one being protected and not me."
"We'll be dispatching a team near him without him knowing," Thorn said without hesitation. "Kung alam niya ay baka tanggihan pa niya ang tulong na ibibigay namin. We already told him about the possibility of this with him before but he wanted us to tighten your security more rather than his."
I don't know what to feel about that. That it seems like he cares and were trying to protect me when he always kept a distance from me all these years. Kahit pa sabihin sa mga ilang pagkakataon na nakakasama ko siya pero parang ang layo niya pa rin.
"We won't let anything happen to him," Trace promised.
Pinasadahan ko silang lahat ng tingin bago nagtapos iyon kay Trace. "I know... I know that our relationship is difficult and complicated... but he's still my father. If he's really in danger, I don't want anything to happen to him. I lost him a long time ago, but I don't want that kind of end for him. He may not love me but..."
I couldn't say the words. That even after everything, after the talk I had with my father, that even with the acceptance I faced today... that there would always be a part of me, the child that once longs for him, that will always love him.
Ang pag-angat ni Trace sa kamay ko at ang pagdampi ng labi niya sa likod ng palad ko ang humila sa akin mula sa emosyon na nagsisimula na namang bumalot sa akin.
"We got this, princess. Don't worry."
I nodded hesitantly, and when I looked around, I saw that Trace shared the same conviction with his brothers.
They got this.
NAGISING AKO na habol ang hininga ko habang may malamig na pawis na dumadaloy sa magkabilang gilid ng mukha ko. Mabilis na inabot ko ang switch ng lamp para buhayin iyon. The darkness feels cold and heavy... like it's trying to suffocate me.
Nanginginig na umupo ako sa kama at iniyakap ko ang mga braso ko sa sarili ko nang mahigpit. The dream were so vivid. It's been a long time since I dreamt of the accident. Siguro dahil na rin sa mga nangyayari at muling pagbubukas ng kaso tungkol sa ina ko. What happened to her has always been one of my nightmares when I found out that she died in a car accident.
Isinandal ko ang pisngi ko sa mga tuhod ko at itinuon ko ang mga mata ko sa labas ng bintana. I could see the bright moon and its magnificent reflection on the water of the small lake. Everything seems peaceful outside... a contrast to the pandemonium happening inside me.
"Why did you abandon me?" I whispered in a voice that only the wind could hear. "Why did you choose that man over our family? Why did you leave? How could... how could I hate you if you're not even here for me to do so?"
I thought I already cried enough, but it looks like that I haven't when new set of tears made a path down my cheeks.
"Ano bang mali sa akin na parehas niyong ayaw sa'kin? Why... why, despite you two abandoning me, that I can't still stop wishing that we were different?"
I once wished that we could have saved some of her things so that I could remember her. As I grew up, I couldn't help but admire her for the things she had done. Mga bagay na nalaman ko lang galing sa ibang tao. Articles that seem to know her better than me, her own child.
Thinking about her hurts, but I also can't let go of her. Ang hirap kapag gusto mong magalit, kapag gusto mong wala ng maramdaman, pero hindi mo kayang pigilan na mahalin pa rin sila.
"I hate you. I hate you and Papa so much," kinagat ko ang ibabang labi ko pero hindi niyon nagawang pigilan ang hikbi na kumawala mula roon. "But I miss you both too... and I hate that even more."
Hindi ko alam kung gaano ako katagal nananatili sa pwesto ko. Ramdam ng katawan ko ang pagod pero hindi ko magawang makabalik muli sa pagtulog.
I was still curled into a ball when I heard a light tapping on the door. Tumayo ako at naglakad palapit doon at sa pagtataka ko ay si Trace ang nakita kong nakatayo sa labas ng pintuan. He's holding a bag of chips and a cup of tea.
"I saw light coming from your door," he said when he met my questioning eyes. "Want this in the living room or here in your room?"
Niluwagan ko ang pagkakabukas ng pinto at binigyan niya ako ng maliit na ngiti bago siya pumasok. Ibinaba niya sa bedside table ko ang mga dala niya bago siya humarap sa akin. Nagbaba ako ng tingin nang makita kong pinagmamasdan niya ang mukha ko. He probably knew already that I'd been crying.
"Do you want the tea or do you want me?" he said gently while opening his arms.
I don't think he's expecting anything. Baka nga mas inaasahan niya pa na basta ko na lang kunin ang tasa ng tsaa o kaya ay ibahin ang usapan para hindi ko kailangan sagutin ang tanong niya. I've done that before, the first time he joked and asked that question. Iyon din ang ginawa ko sa mga ilang beses na pagkakataon na binibiro niya ako tungkol doon.
But he's not joking at this moment, and I don't think tea can comfort me right now.
I took him by surprise when I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around his waist. He stayed frozen for a few seconds before I finally felt his arms return the hug. We stayed like that for awhile. Ramdam ko ang marahang pagsuklay ng isa niyang kamay sa mahaba kong buhok. It was so soothing that I could fall asleep even though we were still both standing.
As if reading my thoughts, I felt him tightened his arms around me. Umupo siya sa kama at nag-angat siya ng tingin sa akin at pagkatapos ay inabot niya ang kamay ko. I tried not to think too much when he lowered me on his lap before leaning his back on the headboard. After that, he continued playing with my hair.
"Mukhang nanalo ang may Ahmat na T kaysa kay Ahmad tea."
Sa kabila ng bigat ng loob ko at sa mga gumugulo sa isipan ko ay may maliit na ngiti na gumuhit sa mga labi ko. It's the first smile that I had today. Of course it would be him that would bring it out of me.
"Is Bingo okay?" I asked quietly.
"He is. He's sleeping beside Potchi on her dog bed. We should buy things for Bingo tomorrow. I don't know how long Potchi can tolerate sharing."
"Buti hindi sila nag-away?"
"Akala ko rin. I made a temporary make-shift bed in the kitchen for Bingo, but he managed to get out. For a moment I thought Potchi would swallow him whole, but she seems to like him."
"Potchi's a good girl."
"She's a diva, but I think you're rubbing off her. Kaya siguro nagbabagong buhay at nagpapaka-anghel," sabi niya.
May ngiti sa mga labi na pinikit ko ang mga mata ko. Potchi's a good dog because he raised her right. Makahol lang talaga siya pero mabait siya sa mga nasa paligid niya. She enjoys having all the attention, and with the animals, she has a lot of friends to play with.
Minutes passed and Trace kept brushing my hair with his fingers. Unti-unti na akong hinihila ng antok. I felt my head tipped down, swaying from the need to sleep. Umayos ako ng umupo at mas lalo akong sumiksik sa kaniya. I buried my face on his neck, and I was too sleepy to take notice of how he stiffened at my action.
I heard a rumble inside his chest that was followed by his quiet voice. He's talking, but I doubt what he's saying is intended for me.
"Why..." I murmured sluggishly. "Why are you reciting the Bill of Rights?"
"It's nothing, princess." I felt something warm touched my forehead. Did he kissed me? "Sleep my beautiful princess and dream a beautiful dream."
Hindi ko na siya nagawang sagutin. I finally succumbed to the pull of slumber, with his soft murmurs of the other articles in the Philippine Constitution that I still don't understand why he's reciting, became a lullaby that pulled me back into the realm of sleep.
_______________________End of Chapter 17.
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