LORELEI
IF JAMIE could have it her way, she would not want me to join her in this task. Mas gugustuhin niyang mag-solo o 'di kaya'y makasama si Loki o si Alistair. But she had no choice but to bear with my presence. She would be stuck with me until this mission was over.
Nataon na may session ang peer group support na KASAUP ngayong hapon kaya hindi na namin kinailangang maghintay kinabukasan o nang ilang araw. As soon as my afternoon classes were over, I met with Jamie in the clubroom. Nadatnan ko siyang nakasimangot na parang minalas siya sa bunutan. Alistair bade us good luck while Loki only bobbed his head at us before we went on our way to a classroom on the second floor.
"I miss my brother dearly," Jamie shared, her eyes welling up with tears. Napasisinghot pa siya't napatitingin sa ilalim. Her acting prowess was on full display. This role was made for her. "No'ng kasama ko pa siya . . . no'ng nandiyan pa siya, I took his presence for granted. 'Tapos no'ng nawala na siya . . ." Hindi na niya naituloy ang gusto niyang ikuwento.
Everyone around us fell silent as they listened to her sobs. There were ten of us in the room. Naka-korteng pabilog ang mga upuan kaya magkakaharap kaming lahat. Upon arriving here fifteen minutes ago, Jamie and I settled down on the seats just right next to our target Megan. I could not remember what she looked like, but thanks to Jamie's sharp memory, she recalled the face of a female student in ponytail shown to us through a picture by our client. May nametag sticker din siya kung saan nakasulat ang "Meg." We exchanged greetings and smiles earlier.
At dahil kami ang bagong saling estudyante sa session, the facilitator named Shawn asked us to go in first, especially if we wanted to share something. Pwede naman daw na huwag mag-share kung hindi kami comfortable. But Jamie thought that it would be best for us to share a sob story that the members—particularly Megan—could relate to. This was our strategic move to break the ice.
"Thank you for sharing your story, Jamie," Shawn said before his eyes flickered to me. "How about you, Lori? Do you want to share something with us? If you're not comfortable yet, it's fine."
I got no issue with contributing to this group session, but what sob story could I share with them? My recent experience was traumatic and I only told that story to my therapist. I could share it here as well, but that was too personal for me. Isa pa, kailangang maka-relate si Megan sa kuwento namin para makapag-establish kami ng connection sa kanya. She experienced loss, so Jamie shared a story that dealt with the same issue. I was unsure if that's a true story o gawa-gawa lang niya.
Think, Lorelei! Think!
An idea then popped into my head. I remembered a story that tackled the concept of loss. Feeling ko'y makare-relate si Megan doon. It was not my personal experience. It was someone else's. But I would only take a part of that story. Gagawin ko siyang reference. So I hoped that person would not mind if ever he found out about it.
I cleared my throat first and took a deep breath. Here we go. "Hi. My name's Lorelei, but you can call me Lori."
"Hello, Lori."
My eyes looked down. "I have a friend—a close friend—who was always there for me. Well, we're more than friends. We're like sisters. Kapag may problema ang isa sa amin, maaasahan namin ang isa't isa. Fast forward to a month ago, she disappeared without a trace."
Jamie, Megan, and the others curiously looked at and intently listened to me. Sumimangot ang ilan sa mga kaharap ko. Nag-pause muna ako para hayaang mag-sink in ang aking sinabi.
"I don't know what happened to her. Wala rin akong idea kung may personal ba siyang pinagdaraanan. Days before she disappeared, everything seemed fine. Masaya siya. Tumawa pa siya. Nagkuwentuhan pa nga kami. When I learned that she hadn't come back to her apartment for two days, I was too stunned. Wala man siyang pasabi sa 'kin o sa mga kapamilya niya."
Lalo pang lumalim ang mga simangot sa kanilang mukha. At this point, I was just weaving the story impromptu.
"Her family tried looking for her sa mga lugar na pwede niyang puntahan o pagtaguan. They even got the police involved in the search. But they haven't found her yet. They said that she might have been kidnapped, kaso kataka-taka na hanggang ngayo'y walang demands mula sa kidnapper. The more likely scenario was . . ." I almost choked so I took a pause. "The more likely scenario was something tragic happened to her. She could have been . . ." My voice trailed off.
"Kawawa naman."
"Sa bawat araw na lumilipas na wala kaming contact sa kanya, mas bumababa raw ang tiyansa na . . . buhay pa siya. Pero ako? Hindi ako nawawalan ng pag-asa. I'm still hoping that she's alive somewhere, and for some reason, she can't contact us. Baka nawala ang phone niya. Baka nakalimutan niya ang log-in details. But I keep on messaging her every now and then. I keep on sending her emails too, hoping that she would reply someday."
Jamie caressed my back. If Loki were here, he would know that I drew inspiration from what he had been doing since his former club member passed away. Alam ko ring makare-relate si Megan dahil ganitong-ganito rin ang ginagawa niya.
"I know that what I'm doing may sound crazy—"
"It's not crazy!" Megan interjected. All heads turned in her direction. "You just miss your friend so much. Wala namang mali ro'n."
Mukhang effective ang kuwento ko. I forced a smile at her. "You're right. I just miss her company that much."
"Medyo nakare-relate ako sa kuwento ni Lori," sabi ni Megan, iginala ang tingin sa mga katabi. "Naikuwento ko na sa ilan sa inyo ang nangyari sa boyfriend ko. He died in an accident. Despite knowing what happened to him, I kept on sending him messages. My friends must be thinking that I'm crazy, that I'm still stuck in the past. But one day—I don't know how it happened—I received a reply from him."
I exchanged glances with Jamie. Megan opening up was good news to us. Pwede namin siyang lapitan mamaya at tanungin pa ng mga detalye tungkol sa naikuwento niya.
"Alam kong wala na siya, but strangely, I feel happy whenever he replies to me," she continued. "Ka-chat ko pa rin siya hanggang ngayon. It's as if he was never gone . . . he never left."
That was alarming. She might become more delusional if this would go on. Kailangan na naming malaman ang katotohanan kung sino ang gumagamit sa account ng boyfriend niya at maipaalam ang totoo para matigil na itong panloloko sa kanya. The longer their communication was, the deeper the cut would be once she learned the truth.
The session ended at five-thirty. Five more students shared their experiences. Nagsitayuan na kami at naghandang umalis ng classroom. Jamie and I looked at each other and nodded. This was our chance.
"Hi, Megan!" Jamie called, making our target turn to her. "I heard your story earlier. I'm so sorry for your loss."
"I appreciate that." Megan forced a smile. Her eyes became dull with apparent sadness. She must have really loved her boyfriend so much. Bumaling sa akin ang tingin niya. "I do hope na nasa maayos na kalagayan ang kaibigan mo. No matter what people tell you, there's a chance that she's alive and well."
"I hope so," I replied with a slow nod. Nakaka-guilty na magsinungaling, pero kailangan. "The best thing that I can do is pray for her safety."
"Meg, medyo curious ako," hininaan ni Jamie ang boses niya. Parang close na talaga silang dalawa. "Hindi naman sa pinagdududahan kita or what, pero is it true na nagre-reply talaga sa 'yo ang boyfriend mo? Rest in peace sa kanya, by the way."
Tumango si Megan. "You're not the first person na nagduda sa kuwento ko. Even my friends doubted me at first. Kinailangan ko pang ipakita sa kanila ang conversation thread namin para mapaniwala sila."
"But isn't that a bit—sorry for the term—creepy? Knowing na he's . . . you know."
"Kinilabutan ako no'ng una. Pero after a while, it didn't bother me anymore. Mas thankful pa ako dahil nagkaroon ako ng chance na makausap siya ulit."
My lips curled into a frown. Communicating with the dead was impossible—obviously—but if it ever became possible, I would probably chat with my mom and tell her what had been going on with my life. Marami akong gustong ikuwento sa kanya. Marami rin akong gustong itanong. She passed away when I was young.
"Sorry kung medyo makikiusyoso ako, pero do you believe it's really him?" kunot-noong tanong ni Jamie. "Baka kasi may nakapulot sa phone niya 'tapos naisipang reply-an ang messages mo?"
I thought that Megan would be offended, but she beamed. "My heart tells me that it's him. Walang duda. If you want to see . . ." She took her phone out, made some taps, and showed us the screen. "These are our messages the past few days."
Jamie grabbed the phone and scrolled on the screen. Nakisilip din ako sa kanilang conversation. Mabuti't okay kay Megan na ipakita ang messages niya. She probably thought she needed to prove that she was not making it up. "The way he wrote his chats, parehong-pareho pa rin sa dati?"
"Yeah. That's how I know it's him. Kung may nagpapanggap na siya, mapapansin ko kaagad ang difference."
"Wow! Mukhang siya nga talaga ang ka-chat mo!" nakangiting sabi ni Jamie sabay balik ng phone. "I can't think of any explanation to this. Hindi ko maisip kung paano naging posible 'to."
"Me too," Megan agreed. "But there are some things that logic can't expain. Maybe this is one of them."
"If it makes you happy, then I see nothing wrong in it." Jamie checked the time. "Oh, it's getting late na pala! See you in the next sharing session?"
"See you."
We took our leave and went back to the clubroom. I wished we could have taken screenshots of the conversation, but I realized that there was no need for it. May matalas na memory itong si Jamie kaya malamang memorized na agad niya ang bawat message ng dalawa.
"Do you believe it's true?" Jamie asked me. Paakyat na kami sa hagdanan. Mabuti't hindi niya ako tinatarayan ngayon. "Na mine-message talaga siya ng kanyang dead boyfriend?"
I shook my head. "I agree with what she said that science can't explain some things. But this isn't one of them. Pareho man ang writer's fist ng late boyfriend niya at ng nagtsa-chat ngayon sa kanya, madaling kopyahin 'yon lalo na kung pag-aaralan."
"Writer's fist?"
"The way we write. Choice of words, sentence construction, et cetera," I explained as I looked at her from the corner of my eyes. "I learned that phrase from Loki during one of our cases." Come to think of it, he mentioned that term when we were investigating Jamie's mysterious admirer among the theater crew.
"Speaking of Loki, bakit ka natulala sa kanya kanina?"
"Eh?" Tuluyan na akong napalingon sa kanya. "What do you mean 'natulala'?"
"No'ng may ine-explain ang client bago siya umalis, nakatitig ka kay Loki."
"Wala 'yon."
"Wala talaga?" Umangat ang isang kilay niya. Ano bang parte ng salitang wala ang hindi niya naintindihan? "Lorelei, you're always attentive kapag may client sa clubroom. Hindi ka basta-basta magiging absent-minded. There must be a reason why you stared at him that way. Parang may meaning, eh. Do you like him or what?"
Kumunot ang noo ko. Heto na naman siya, gumagawa ng isyu kahit wala. "Huwag mo nang bigyan ng meaning 'yon. Minsan talaga, napapatulala tayo. Sabi nga ni Al, baka nataon na natulala ako sa direksyon ni Loki kanina."
"But you didn't answer my question if you like him or not."
I let out a long sigh. We should focus on the case, not on my feelings for our club president—which were non-existent to begin with. "I've told you before that I'm not interested in him, okay? May naalala lang ako habang nagkukuwento ang client. That's all there is to it."
"Hmmm? At ano naman 'yong naalala mo?"
Mukhang hindi talaga siya titigil sa pang-iintriga. "Sorry, but that's personal."
Loki sending emails to Rhea was something that should not be shared to anyone. Kung may magse-share man n'on, dapat kay Loki mismo manggaling. It must be personal to him, so I was not in any position to reveal it.
We arrived at the clubroom by six o'clock. Mabuti't mas mahaba ang araw kaysa gabi sa mga oras na 'to kaya hindi pa masyadong nagdidilim. We found Loki and Alistair standing before the whiteboard. May mga nakadikit doon na limang retrato. I recognized the one at the center because that was Megan. The one next to Megan's must be her late boyfriend Roel. The other three? All guys. They must be our suspects, and one of them must have assumed the role of the late boyfriend.
"We're back!" Jamie greeted as she walked in. I followed behind her. Parang model siya na rumampa papasok. Gumagabi na pero grabe pa rin ang energy niya. "Na-miss n'yo ba kami?"
Binalingan kami ng tingin ni Loki habang nginitian kami ni Alistair.
"How's your first sharing session?" Loki asked.
"It went we—"
"It's actually successful!" Jamie cut me off. Halatang gustong magpa-impress sa club president namin kaya inunahan ako. "Na-meet na namin si Megan 'tapos nakapag-establish na rin kami ng connection sa kanya. She even showed us her convo with her dead boyfriend. All thanks to my acting skills."
Fine. I would let her take all the credit. Wala namang issue 'yon sa 'kin.
"Is there anything strange with the messages sent by her boyfriend?" Loki asked next.
Jamie squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to concentrate. "Her boyfriend uses proper capitalization and punctuations . . . Basic ang sentence structure kaya wala masyadong nag-i-stand out. Ginagamit din niya ang kanilang words of endearment . . ." Her eyes reopened. "Kung meron mang difference sa messages ng bf niya noon at ngayon, hindi siya gano'n ka-obvious."
"So the current user of the boyfriend's account must have studied his writing style." Alistair touched his chin, staring at Roel's photo. "If what Jamie said is right, then we can't use the conversation thread to prove any discrepancy."
"How about you?" I bobbed my head toward the whiteboard. "Mukhang may progress na kayo sa suspects natin, judging by your little art project there."
"We have three suspects at the moment," Loki explained, darting a glance at the photo of a guy with spectacles. "First, Simon the ex-boyfriend who's tech savvy. Given his love for technology, he must know some techniques to hack the dead boyfriend's account and pretend to be him."
"Next is Trevor, Megan's boy bestfriend," Alistair spoke next, pointing at the photo of the guy with fringes. "The accident that claimed Roel's life happened at the intersection near the mall where they met with their friends. Ilang minuto matapos bumangga ang sasakyan ni Roel, nataon na dumaan doon si Shaine kasama si Trevor. The client told us na hindi na-retrieve ang phone ng late boyfriend ni Megan. Kung may kumuha n'on, malamang isa sa mga taong nasa scene of the accident."
"At kung si Trevor ang kumuha, that can explain kung paano niya na-access ang account ni Roel," dugtong ko. "He didn't have to be as tech savvy as Simon. He only needed to guess the security passcodecorrectly and gain access to the late boyfriend's account."
"That could be the case."
"And our last suspect is Vaughn, the dead boyfriend's bestfriend." Loki knocked on the photo of a guy with bandana. "According to the client, he has a history of stealing stuff even from his friends. Rumor has it that he was diagnosed with kleptomania. He met with the couple along with the client and the other suspects before the accident. He could have stolen Romel's phone during their interaction."
"But one thing's missing." Alistair moved closer to the whiteboard. "The motive. Why would they steal a dead guy's phone and pretend as him to his girlfriend? What were they after?"
I got an idea. "If they had feelings or concerns for Meg, baka gusto nila siyang pasayahin? Shaine mentioned na wala sa sarili niya si Meg mula nang namatay si Roel. Lagi siyang nag-iisa 'tapos nawalan pa siya ng gana. Nabuhayan lang siya ng loob no'ng nag-reply na ito sa messages niya."
Nodding, Alistair turned to me. "That makes sense. The person using her boyfriend's account kept on replying to lift her spirits. Napansin niya ang positive changes kay Megan kaya ipinagpatuloy niya hanggang ngayon."
"Or the phone thief has an ulterior motive!" Jamie interjected. "Baka pino-prop up niya ang sarili niya bilang replacement as boyfriend? What if later on in their conversation, i-suggest ni quote unquote Roel kay Meg na mag-move on na at maghanap ng ibang lalaki na magpapasaya sa kanya. 'Tapos ibi-bring up niya ang sariling name bilang suggestion! O, 'di ba?"
My forehead creased. "That's an overly complicated plan. Wala ring guarantee na magsa-succeed ang plan na 'yan. Baka nga 'yong iba pang potential boyfriend candidate ang mag-benefit diyan. That can blow up on his face."
"It's a high risk, high reward situation! Maybe the phone thief is relying na susundin ni Meg kung ano ang suggestion ng kanyang dead boyfriend, assuming na hindi pa niya nabubuko na poser 'yon."
"I like my theory better." I folded my arms as I sat on the edge of the table. "It's much simpler, easier to do, and more likely to happen. Someone wants to make Meg happy. Period."
"Hanggang doon na lang?" dismayadong tanong ni Jamie. "Do you think na masa-satisfy na ang isang tao sa pagpapasaya sa gusto niya gamit ang identity ng iba? I don't think so. Sure akong may catch diyan. It's like a long con. Make her happy by pretending as someone else. Gain her trust. Then make the suggestion!"
"If I were the poser, I would definitely go down that route," Loki seconded. "It's much more thrilling and has a big pay off in the end, though risky."
Of course, he would say that. He had always preferred complex solutions over simple ones.
"So what are we going to do next?" Alistair asked. "Na-meet na natin si Megan. Kilala na natin ang tatlong suspects. Alam na rin natin ang big picture. What's left is to find out who among these three is the poser. The question is how?"
"The answer is quite simple: Let's put him in a situation where he will be forced to reveal himself," Loki answered. "That shall put an end to this case."
"Exactly how?" I reiterated.
"First, we need to find the perfect place to lay our trap."
"And then?"
"We need to put up an act."
—to be continued—
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