10:45 P.M.
Manila National Police Station.
July 20th, the year 2018. Friday.
"I knew all along that Mr. Rosario received a threat, even before Lieutenant Jacob reached out to you. Lieutenant Jacob said that I should hide this from you, Mr. Dela Rosa. You attain those results by your own hand." Ms. Feliciano sighed. Marcus placed his hands on his hips.
"Attain? What are you saying? Do you mean that---"
"We knew all along that you would command a police officer to spy over the forensic team. You are what you are, Marcus. You are an honorable lieutenant who didn't want to go down without a fight," Ms. Feliciano said. Marcus got puzzled.
"Now, before you even mentioned something way out of the line. I would like to say that I will follow your lead no matter what, Lieutenant Dela Rosa." Ms. Feliciano smiled with satisfaction towards him.
Ms. Feliciano turned her back around to him. She walked behind her desk, leaving Marcus hanging.
"I know it may shock you, but this was the first time I encountered someone who was so immersed in a murder case. The cases you have solved over the years, it's amazing. I had been here much longer than you," Ms. Feliciano stated. She got something from the rack that was holding the papers and she held a bunch of paper over the table. It was thick and Marcus got puzzled by what the files were all about.
"The person we were catching upon depended on the black hoodie to hide his identity. This is the first time we encountered someone who was so mad with the two popular actresses." Ms. Feliciano indicated, flipping over the pages of the paper. Marcus joined her over the desk and picked up one paper. He read it as the murder case of Diana Cruz. The crime scene happened on an avenue in the crowded place of Tondo.
"The murder case of Diana Cruz was the closest I had been looking for towards Margo Monteverde. Her physique was the same as Margo," Ms. Feliciano went on. Marcus stared at that angelic, blood face. It spilled over her neck, too. How her eyes closed tight. Marcus sighed as he looked over at Ms. Feliciano.
"Ms. Feliciano, she's also killed with a knife through her abdomen?" Marcus asked while furrowing his eyebrows at her. She nodded at the same time and put her elbows on her desk. She leaned upon the table before answering again.
"She's killed right through her left abdomen, and the one who killed her was taking revenge on her. Something about debt or a money loan shark. The police caught the killer straight away after weeks of investigating. He left traces right away. He didn't even want to regret everything that he did towards Diana," Ms. Feliciano explained. She pursed her lips and stared at the clock above the door frame. It was already eleven o'clock in the evening. The police were still busy catching the killers responsible for their crimes.
"So the blood spilled over her neck by the killer? What is he trying to convey?" Marcus mumbled as he flipped over the pages and stared at the murder weapon. It was a dagger, a small one, for defense. He creased his forehead, etched the image through his mind. He wanted to remember what the killer tried to do.
"The autopsy report said that it pierced right through her stomach. It's different with Margo. It was on her abdomen. I am not so sure that it was the same. The killer for Diana's case caught before it could turn into a cold one." Ms. Feliciano crossed her arms, thinking so hard about this mysterious killer again. Marcus put the papers back on the table that was in front of him and exhaled exasperatedly.
"That person might copy the killer's outfit. Also, the way he had been killing his victims," Marcus muttered. He rubbed his face with his hands. Marcus felt the exhaustion suffocating him. He peeked over his hands and saw that it was already eleven o'clock in the evening.
"One thing that I had been questioning about was the scene earlier and the evidence that we found. The bracelet itself. It should be one thing that can lead us towards the real culprit of what was happening right now. Katrina Fajardo's abducted, and we need to find her after five days. If not, she's regarded as a missing person," Ms. Feliciano said, closing her eyes. She leaned back in her seat.
"It's my best friend that is missing right now. I can't help feeling hopeless about this, since I am a Lieutenant," Marcus bowed down his head and looked over his lap. He sighed and Xian, sitting in the investigation room, crossed his mind again. It was already past eleven. He still needed to question Xian. And to think that he was the ex-boyfriend of Carmela. Xian never knew how life became complicated.
"Lieutenant Marcus, we needed to separate our feelings from our jobs. No matter how painful it is to hear that they have killed your loved ones. We need to be strong to find the one who did that to them. Weakness is not our thing. We were born to be dauntless," Ms. Feliciano remarked. Marcus inhaled an enormous amount of air. He swallowed, standing up from his seat.
"I need to ask questions towards Xian Santos in the investigation room. I'll make sure no one is watching us. The results of the evidence on Margo Monteverde's case, send it over to Lieutenant Lirio in my office. I need to examine it again," Marcus ordered. He stood up straight from his seat. Exhaustion numbed his body.
Ms. Feliciano stood up from her seat also and nodded at the same time.
"We need to hide this from the chief of the police. We are stripping off our position once Mr. Rosario finds out," Ms. Feliciano whispered. Marcus nodded and smiled a little as he turned his heel again towards the room. He opened the door gently and went outside.
The night shift officers quietly sat down in their seats in the information area. There was a faint music background of a song on the corner.
Marcus texted his best friends, saying that they should stay for a few moments.
...
The reporters clamoring over the glass doors earlier died down. They gave up trying to retrieve any information. Abbey, Carmela, Zoey, Matthew, and Mina sat on the benches. They established a distance between each other. Abbey tried to call her brother several times, but he wasn't answering. She gave up by not dialing his number again and put her cell phone back on her lap.
She's bothered how Xian conveyed he saw his brother in front of Kelly's Diner. Every time Xyrelle would go out of the house, he would say it over their parents or even on her. He wanted them not to worry about him, but she was so puzzled by Xian's statement. The wind breezed through the surface as she felt someone was sitting beside her. She immediately glanced over her left side and saw that Carmela was smiling a little to her.
"Carmela," Abbey uttered. Carmela leaned back on the bench while looking out at Matthew. He looked at his cell phone as the tears were bobbing in his eyes. Mina was looking over at the doors, probably waiting for Marcus to go outside.
Abbey didn't even control herself from picking up her cell phone. She dialed her brother's number again. She put it right over her ear.
Carmela furrowed her eyebrows. Abbey disappointingly laid it down on her lap again as she heard several rings.
"Are you calling someone?" Carmela asked. Abbey opened her mouth slightly.
"Yeah. I was wondering if my brother was home or not," Abbey voiced out. The promise that Carmela granted. The last chance she gave. She sighed and turned to face Carmela.
"Carmela, about the promise---"
Abbey cut off herself as Carmela raised her hand.