Game Of Life: Volume 2

26. Another person

Eivel

"Kulang..." Biglaang sambit ko na nakakuha ng atensyon ni Kid. "Kulang ang suspect."

Kumunot ang noo niya. "E-Eyo?"

Malalim akong nag-isip. "Kulang ang suspect..." Napailing ako sa sinabi ko. "No, it's too early to assume that, hindi pa natin natatanong ang ibang suspect."

"Pero ngayon... sigurado akong, merong isa... merong isang kasama ang patriarch sa office niya no'ng madaling araw."

Bakas sa mukha ni Kid na wala siyang naiintindihan sa mga sinasabi ko, at hindi ako nabigla roon.

"Bakit naman? Ano ba sinabi no'ng katulong? Meron daw?"

Umiling ako. "Wala, sinabi niya lang na nagpadala sa kaniya ng tsaa ang patriarch."

Mas lalong hindi naipinta ang mukha ni Kid sa sinabi ko. I heaved a sigh, as if explaining it to him will change something.

"May dinala siyang tsaa... isang tsaa na hindi para sa patriarch." Deretso ang tingin ko habang naglalakad.

"Paano mo naman nasabing hindi para sa kaniya? Eh hindi ba nagpadala nga sa kaniya?"

"Yeah, but the patriarch..." Huminto ako sa paglalakad at hinarap si Kid. "Drinks coffee."

 Muli akong nagpatuloy sa paglalakad habang nakaawang ang bibig ni Kid sa sinabi ko. 

"Eh? Ano 'yon? Paano nangyari 'yon eh hindi sinabi 'yon sa 'yo." Bulong ni Kid sa sarili niya na halatang pinaparinig niya sa 'kin.

Pasimpleng umirap ang mga mata ko sa sinabi niya. "Yeah, wala siyang sinabi sa 'kin. Pero ung laro, ang nagsabi." Giit ko. "You saw it at the kitchen. Ung corner na puno ng kape, it's one of the clues or it's the game's way of telling us that he likes coffee."

"Pft. Baka hindi sa kaniya-"

"Kid, we're on the year 18 HUNDREDS, and he's the patriarch. He's the head of this family, he makes the rules, and makes orders. Siya ang nasusunod dito, at ang mga bagay na nandito ay ang mga GUSTO niya." May diing pagpapaliwanag ko sa kaniya.

Nagkatinginan lang kami ni Kid ng ilang segundo, pero alam ko kaagad ang kahihinatnan ng pagpapaliwanag ko. I groaned as I continued walking, annoyed. Bakit ba 'ko nag-aksaya pa ng laway sa kaniya.

Alam ko namang hindi niya maiintindihan. Still, I already have another important clue. There's a chance that the visitor that was mentioned by the chef and the maid was already inside the house— the patriarch's office, without them knowing.

Or... someone else was inside his office. 

It's either one of the suspects... or another person.

"Tara na, hanapin na-"

Hindi ko natuloy ang sasabihin ko nang mapako ang tingin ko sa taong madadaanan namin. I immediately looked at the opposite direction when I saw him walking in the same hallway.

He looks like a freaking jerk with his expressionless face, holding a magnifying glass, and with a guinea pig sitting on his shoulders.

Pareho kaming deretso ang tingin nang daanan namin ang isa't isa. Na kabaliktaran ni Kid at Potchi na parehong nangungusap ang mga mata at hinahabol ang tingin ng isa't isa.

We didn't glance at each other when we were just inches away. With that, it felt like Sage and I were complete strangers.

"E-Eyo..." Mahinang sambit ni Kid nang tuluyan na naming madaanan sina Sage.

Doon ko napansin na parang walang hangin kanina dahil pigil-pigil ko ang paghinga ko nang nagkasalubong kami. Patagong humigpit ang pagkakasara ng kamao ko.

T-That freaking game prodigy... what a jerk!

"Let's go." I said in a monotone voice.

Pabalik-balik ang tingin ni Kid sa direksyon na pinuntahan nina Sage at sa akin, pero sa huli ay sumunod din siya sa akin. Sage wanted to do this challenge on his own, he's too full of himself.

I mean, nothing's new... after all, he's a game prodigy. He can do things on his own.

A one-man player.

Walang buhay ang mga mata ko at para akong nawala sa pokus nang may makita akong dumaan sa isang sulok. Mabilis akong natauhan sa nakita ko at napakurap-kurap ako.

"W-Wait!" I called her.

Nabigla si Kid nang bigla akong nagmadaling maglakad. Agad niya rin akong sinundan.

Mabilis akong naglakad para sundan ang nakita kong babae. Thankfully, she heard me and she stopped walking. Madali ko siyang nasundan.

Sumalubong sa akin ang isang babaeng may edad na pero kitang-kita ang magandang kutis. She's wearing brocade dress that who knows how many layers it has. Nakapusod din ang buhok niya kung saan may iilang kulot na strands ang nakababa.

It might not be noticeable at first, but when you take a closer look, you can see her swollen eyes and tired expression.

"Oh, you're the ones that the detective mentioned." Bungad niya sa amin. "Thank you so much for helping us, I'm Claret, the patriarch's wife. What can I do to help you?"

Claret
The Wife

I sincerely looked at her. "I'm sorry about your lost, ma'am. We're going to do everything to solve this case. I just wanted to ask some few questions."

Mahinahon siyang humarap sa amin, handang sumagot sa kahit anong tanong namin. "Anything, you can ask me anything."

I smiled. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"May I know what happened last night?" Unang tanong ko.

Claret's expression changed. Her face clouded with sadness but she still tried to answer calm. "Last night, around 10 to 11, I had a fight with my husband... because of his gambling habit. Because of that, he slept at his office. I was too angry that time that I didn't think of anything else bad would happen, no one did."

I can see the sadness on her eyes as she talks. 

"It was common for us to fight with the same reason, I was tired. I even got angrier when he didn't even tried to apologize... if only I k-knew... that t-this would happen-" 

Her voiced cracked. Nakatayo lang kaming dalawa ni Kid sa harapan niya nang hindi na niya napigilan ang pagiging matatag niya at nagsimula na siyang mag-breakdown. She started crying.

"I-I was a-angry... but I d-didn't wanted him to die! I-If I only just calmed myself and controlled my emotions, if I talked to him normally and he didn't also get mad enough to sleep on his office-"

She continued sobbing while touching her chest. "He could've still be alive right now!-"

"Please, calm yourself ma'am." I gestured her to calm down. "No one is blaming you. We just needed some information for us to solve your husband's case."

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I-I'm sorry about that..."

"It's okay ma'am. Your emotions are valid." Pagpapagaan ko ng loob niya. "Can you tell us if you notice something strange that night?"

Claret slowly shook her head.

"I-I don't know... maybe I was too tired last night that I immediately fell asleep."

"I didn't even heard the gun shots."

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