09:35 P.M.
Xian Santos's Residence.
July 20th, the year 2018. Friday.
"Did it strike you hard, Tristan? I'm sorry to say that you had asked to drop the formality. So I am saying this all to you to wake you up with the mystery going around us," Zoey sniggered. She knew it could trigger Tristan's rage, and she was right. She heard a slam on the table over the end of the line as Tristan panted.
"That time, I was out of my mind. Do you know why Zoey? One thing that I have to say to you before that scandal happened, Margo was alone. She was alone. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her," Tristan retorted, standing up from his seat. He slammed his hand on the table. Katrina's smile emerged from Zoey's vision.
"Margo's broken into shattered pieces. If you were in my situation, Zoey, you would feel the same way also," Tristan mumbled. He hung up the phone, brushing his face out of exhaustion. He felt his mind was going insane.
Zoey rolled her eyes. She stared at the gate of the house, surprised to see a car stopping right in the front. Xian's mother, Sammy Carbonel Santos, came out of the car. Aunt Sammy sprinted inside.
Zoey widened her eyes. Aunt Sammy struggled to put on her blue jacket over her shoulders. She stopped right away when she saw Zoey.
"Aunt Sammy," Zoey exhaled. Sammy panted, ran up the pace towards the porch until she reached Zoey.
Zoey looked inside. Xian was still talking about that red-haired girl named Michie. Aunt Sammy froze, gazing at all of them inside.
"So... that red-haired girl must have been a deal. She was the one who watched. Somebody else might have been doing the killings," Matthew suggested. He nodded, convinced about his idea. They all nodded. Xian looked down at his feet, battling with himself whether to say who kissed him.
"The one on the video... the one where Margo saw I am kissing someone...," Xian hesitated. He sighed and stared up at Marcus's eyes again as it waited for another response from him.
"She was that girl. She was that... Michie, who kissed me without my permission," Xian hesitated. Marcus's cell phone vibrated so loudly. Zoey saw Marcus was now retrieving his cell phone out of his pockets and putting it by his ear.
He said a quick hello as he turned to his best friends again. Aunt Sammy finally went inside, and they were all surprised to see her.
"Mom!" Xian exclaimed as Sammy approached him. She darted her eyes over his body as she asked if her son was okay.
"What is it, Lieutenant Lirio?" Marcus asked over the cell phone. Zoey went back inside, waiting for his conversation to finish. Aunt Sammy looked at the ones who sat down on the couch.
Marcus placed his cell phone in his ear, asking what was wrong. He stepped outside, leaving them behind.
"The new fingerprint scanners arrived, and we barricaded it. There is someone inside here doing all this mess. They broke the scanners, so we can't move on with the murder cases," Lieutenant Lirio explained. Marcus observed how Matthew raised his eyebrows towards him.
Marcus bit his lip, admitting, "I suspect that too, Lieutenant Lirio."
"Lieutenant Dela Rosa. The moment you left the parking lot, the forensic team prepped up the scanners. We immediately run the procedure," Lieutenant Lirio explained. He opened the door towards their wide office. Sergeant Kim stood up from her seat as he waved the results in his hands.
Sergeant Kim saw the percentages. The fingerprint matched someone. Lieutenant Lirio scanned the papers with her and they both gasped when they saw the name.
"So the results came out minutes ago?" Marcus asked anxiously. He knuckled his fists. It can give them a clue about who was that person they needed to catch. Marcus waited for an answer.
Lieutenant Lirio and Sergeant Kim looked at each other with astonishment.
"Lieutenant Dela Rosa," Lieutenant Lirio mumbled. Marcus knew it would be bad news.
"The name that was indicated here is... the name is Xian Santos," Lieutenant Lirio announced. Marcus opened his mouth wide, averting his eyes to Xian. He scoffed as Lieutenant Lirio said something after he said the name.
"What?!' Marcus cried out over the phone.
"You need to arrest him, Lieutenant Dela Rosa. He is the prime suspect right now. Since we were the one holding the case, you may arrest him, Mr. Lieutenant," Lieutenant Lirio ordered. Marcus squinted his eyes. The ideas that he had earlier were now dissolving one by one.
"Are you sure that they named it after him?" Marcus asked again as Lieutenant Lirio passed over the paper over one of their officers and he said yes. Matthew, Carmela, Mina, and Abbey all stood up from their seats as they saw how anxious Marcus's face was. Zoey creased her forehead towards her boyfriend. He still stared at Xian, who waited for him to say something.
"We need to investigate him. See you here, Lieutenant Dela Rosa," Lieutenant Lirio hung up. Marcus stared through Xian. Aunt Sammy was taking turns to glance at her son and at the Lieutenant. Marcus gritted his teeth as he stuffed his cell phone into his pockets. After a few minutes, he retrieved handcuffs from the insides of his jacket.
"Marcus, what is happening?" Mina asked over the confines as the silence broke over them. Marcus shifted his eyes and looked at Xian again.
"The bracelet... the bracelet that's found on the abduction scene... has your fingerprints, Xian," Marcus admitted. It made them all stunned at their places, and Aunt Sammy was gasping as she looked over at her son. Xian narrowed her eyes and was so puzzled by what Marcus was saying right now.
"No matter how hard I want to believe that it wasn't you, Xian, the results came out minutes earlier. We attained very helpful evidence for the case," Marcus explained as he unlocked the cuffs. He sighed, shifting his eyes again to Xian.
"Wait, are you sure that it was Xian?" Carmela stammered, stopping Marcus from what he was doing, and came over beside Aunt Sammy.
Marcus explained, "Carmela. Everything that we needed to do over the cases, we stated facts. We needed to prove it being detectives and a police as well. So we need to take action in everything."
Carmela shook her head, asking, "Are you not confused or anything? This is misdirection. Mina saw how the person hurdled Katrina over her back while bleeding. It was impossible that it was Xian."
Marcus exhaled and said, "We will not arrest Xian as the murderer. We have to investigate him if he was an accomplice or not."
Marcus turned to Xian with the unlocked cuffs. Xian gladly let both of his hands in the air for Marcus to place it on its own accord. They heard the loud click of the cuffs as it surrounded Xian's wrists. He let it fall over his abdomen as Carmela stared at his eyes.
Xian beamed at her, reassuring that everything will be alright.
"I am arresting you, Mr. Xian Santos. Suspicion of being an accomplice to Katrina Fajardo's abduction case. You do not have the right to say anything. It may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on the court." Marcus fixed the cuffs while saying it as they all stared at Xian's wrists.
"Anything you say may be evidence against you," Marcus finished. He glared at Xian's eyes. Sammy looked down at her feet, as they now arrested her son for something that he could not do.