SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER THIRTY (Cold Case)

Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being positive about what could go right.

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Gabriel's POV

            Tahimik akong nakaupo sa harap ng mesa ko at nakatingin sa mga litrato ng sunog na bangkay ni Elodie Yen Valderama. Naroon din ang ilang mga litrato niya noong buhay pa siya. Ibinigay ito sa akin ni Cesar Valderama noong mga panahong halos mabaliw ito sa pagkawala ng anak.

            I know. I can feel that there was something going on. Nang ibigay sa akin ang case na ito, sigurado na ako na mauuwi talaga ito sa cold case. Naka-receive kami ng tawag na may natagpuang sunog na bangkay sa isang sunog na kotse sa isang talahiban. Abo na lahat at wala talagang mapapakinabangang ebidensiya sa mga iyon. Alam kong professional ang gumawa noon. Kahit ang model at make ng kotse ay nahirapan kaming alamin. Burado ang chassis number kaya hindi na namin mahanap sa database. At ang sunog na sunog na bangkay ng babaeng naroon. Na tanging ang kuwintas lang ang naiwan na puwedeng gawing ebidensiya.

            Dinampot ko ang litrato ni Elodie Valderama at napailing ako. Sayang. Talagang nanghihinayang ako sa nangyari sa kanya. Imagine a young and beautiful woman in her prime years to end like this. What happened to her?

            She was smiling in the photo. I felt everything around me lit while I was looking at that smile. Perfect set of teeth. She got beautiful and expressive eyes.

            How many times that I found myself staring at her picture? Looking at her eyes like it was telling me something. Looking at her beautiful face. But her eyes were the ones that I like. Hazel brown eyes with long lashes and looking straight at me. Like her eyes were peeking through my soul.

Like the eyes of her sister Evie Marie.

            Saglit akong napahinto. Evie Marie. Nag-research ako sa company website ng kompanya ng mga Valderama at nakita kong naroon ang mga litrato ni Evie Marie. Idinikit ko doon ang litrato ni Elodie. Sa unang tingin ay talagang magkamukhang-magkamukha sila pero kung tititigan maigi ay mayroon namang pagkaka-iba. They have different nose. At medyo makapal ang labi ni Evie Marie. Even her personality was different from Elodie. From the reports that I gathered and from the photos that Cesar Valderama provided, Elodie was a simple and reserved woman. Kahit sa litrato ay simple lang ang hitsura. Not unlike Evie Marie. When I met her, her strong personality was surrounding the room.

There was some mystery surrounding that woman. I was in constant communication with Cesar Valderama when I was handling the case of her missing daughter. I saw how he was devastated when the reality that her daughter might be dead. Then suddenly, he stopped seeing me.

            Kinuha ko pa ang ilang mga case file reports tungkol sa kaso na iyon ni Elodie Valderama. Autopsy reports. Copies of her personal effects. Cesar Valderama's sworn statements. Paulit-ulit sa report na nawawala ang anak nito. He got a distressed call from her daughter that she was in danger then it ended there. Pero hindi agad ito nag-report. It took a while before he reported that her daughter was missing. And then we found the burned car with a burned body inside.

            Tinitigan kong maigi ang litrato ng sunog na bangkay na nakaupo sa driver seat. Tapos ay ang litrato ni Elodie at ang personal details ng babae. Elodie's height was five foot six. When I looked at the burned woman's autopsy, it says there that the length of the charred body was only one hundred fifty-two centimeters. Around five foot only. Shorter than Elodie's height.

            Pero naisip ko rin na dahil sa nasunog na ang bangkay kaya umiksi na ito. But bones were piled on the autopsy table. Bone length should be at least closer to her height. But a six inches difference?