Once Upon He Was Mine (Good Girls Series #4)

Chapter 54: Ever Since

"So here it is, nahanap ko sa Lebanon ang asawa ni Conard Ramirez na si Elisabeth. Masyadong tahimik ang pamilya at nahirapan akong kuhanin ito mula sa kaniya." Ibinaba ni Kuya Ryle ang isang keypad phone na nasa loob ng isang Ziploc sa lamesa.

We are inside our house to talk about this investigation. Ate Sharly, Kuya Austin, Kuya Ryle, Vince Matthew and I were present and everyone's just focused on Kuya Ryle.

"Paano mo nakuha? Hindi naman illegal 'yan, 'di ba?" Ate Sharly asked. She looks pale, seems like her feeling's not well.

"Sometimes you have to do the dirtiest thing to achieve something that your skills couldn't," walang emosyong sabi ni Kuya Ryle. Napatingin naman ako kay Vince na pumunta sa kitchen namin.

"Holy petchay! So ano nga ang ginawa mo para makuha 'to?" gulat na tanong ni Ate Sharly.

"Isang health care worker doon si Elisabeth kasama ang panganay na anak na babae, naninirahan sila sa mayamang amo nila na nagpapa-sweldo sa kanila." Umayos ng upo si Kuya Ryle. "Nagpanggap akong nagdi-disinfect ng kwarto kaya nakapasok ako. Salamat sa mga kasamahan ko at hindi napansin na nagtagal ako sa paghahanap doon."

"Hala! Ang astig!" Ate Sharly exclaimed.

"Oo talaga, kinabahan ako roon. Ngayon, nasaan si Shanty?" Natigilan si Ate Sharly dahil doon. I looked at Kuya Ryle who's looking on us seriously.

"Did you just do it to know where Ate Shanty is? Do you consider it as a give and take, Kuya Ryle?" I asked. He looked at me and shook his head.

"No, I am doing this for Tita Maj and Tito Sanjo. Pero hindi niyo ba talaga kayang sabihin sa akin kung nasaan siya?" His eyes were sad, I can feel it. He's desperate to see Ate Shanty because he wants closure. But Ate Shanty can't show herself for now, she's still in the process of moving on.

"Pasensya na, Ryle, ha? Gusto naming sabihin sa 'yo, pero hindi namin hawak ang emosyon ni Shanty. Nirerespeto namin siya, katulad mo," Kuya Austin said. Kuya Ryle just nodded as the silence ensued.

It only stopped when Vince arrived with plastic gloves on his hand.

"What are you going to do?" I asked. He showed me his hands and smiled a bit. He didn't speak and just opened the Ziploc.

"May singaw ka ba, Matthew?" Ate Sharly asked, so he looked at her.

"Wala naman po," he answered and looked at the phone again.

I don't know if it's about what happened few days ago. Because after confessing my feelings for Ken, he got rid of me. Or maybe we're just busy?

It feels like, kung hindi pa nagpatawag si Kuya Ryle ng so-called meeting, he will not show himself in front of me.

"So, where did you find it, Kuya Ryle?" I asked.

"Nasa loob ng isang wooden box at nakatago sa loob ng isang vault. Pahirapan sa pagkuha n'yan at parang sinadyang itago talaga," he answered. I just nodded and watched Vince turning it on.

"While you are inspecting that phone, I have something here. It is a medical record of Conard Ramirez." May inilapag na papel si Kuya Austin. I took it and looked at it. Since I have a background about medicine I know how to read it.

"He's 46 years old," I said. Sumilip naman si Ate Sharly sa binabasa ko.

"Yeah, and you know what? He has Hyperuricemia," sabi ni Kuya Austin. Agad ko namang hinanap 'yon sa medical records niya.