"YOU SAID YOU WITNESSED THE CRIME?"
I gulped.
"N-No," I said, stuttering in front of the detective. "B-But I saw her with someone few hours before the crime happened..."
The detective and the police exchanged eye contacts.
"Anong nakita mo?" tanong niya.
"A woman," I said. "No, I mean, the victim. She was... almost naked at may mga... galos sa katawan. She was like... screaming for help. She was totally out of herself."
The detective didn't even blink.
"Tapos... lumapit siya sa 'kin," pagpapatuloy ko. "Humihingi ng tulong. And then, a man came and he said they are live in partners at may mental illness daw ang babae that's why she was running away. She wanted to hurt herself."
"At ibinigay mo siya?" tanong sa akin.
Tumango ako.
"Mga anong oras iyan, miss?"
"8, I guess," I answered with my heart trembling inside.
He checked something and he sighed.
"Officer," he talked to a police nearby. "Nandiyan ba si Heinz?"
"I'm here detective," a voice said.
We all looked at him.
"Heinz!" the detective. "We got a testimony from a witness. Nag-match sa kung anong nasa panaginip mo."
So hindi talaga s'ya scam?!
The officer looked at me.
"Sige, miss. Makaka-uwi ka na. We'll just contact you if we need more information."
I stood up. "Thank you."
"Grabe, Heinz. Tugmang-tugma sa itinawag mo sa amin noong isang araw at kanina," rinig kong kwento ng detective kay Heinz. "Ang sabi ng witness, sa malapit na lugar, nakita n'ya ang biktima na hinahabol ng suspek. Tapos ang isang witness naman, ang sabi may lalaking nagbuhat sa biktima pabalik ng unit nito, ang sabi lasing daw ang biktima. 'Yun ata dahilan kung bakit wala silang narinig na ingay sa unit. Patay na siguro ang biktim bago dalhin at pira-pirasuhin."
I continued walking as I felt my stomach turned upside down.
Fuck.
Kung makikita lang ninyo ang crime scene, nakakasuka. Nagkalat ang laman loob sa lapag mismo.
Soon as I went out, I sighed.
Not too long after, someone went outside too. As I looked at him, our eyes met.
"Go home," Heinz said. "It's safe now."
Safe?
After someone just got killed in our building?!
"You..." I said. "Why didn't you tell me that it wasn't me? Alam mo ba kung paano ako na-paranoid?"
"That's actually what I wanted," he said. "I wanted you to panic. I wanted you to be anxious enough to develop trust issues."
My eyes widened.
Just...
Why would he?
Does he hate me?
"Why?" I asked. "At least give me a valid reason why I deserve to feel those way."
"Because it was the only way," he said.
Confusion swallowed me. He met my eyes deeply.
"It was the only way to stop that death."
My mouth opened but nothing came out.
BINABASA MO ANG
"Convict Me, Attorney." (Law Series #2)
Romance[PUBLISHED under LIB] #2. "If liking you is a crime then why don't you convict me, attorney?"
