Simply The Best

57

NANG DUMATING ang tawag mula sa lead investigator ng kaso ni Ember, ikinagulat pa rin niya ang ibinalita nito kahit na medyo inaasahan na niya. Umasa kasi siyang baka mali sila ng interpretasyon. Miko found money trail from Shay to a certain Manolo Marcial, na may mga priors. He was a drug dealer and a gun for hire. Mayroon itong mga outstanding warrant of arrests. He was a wanted man.

It so happened that malayong kamag-anak ni Shay si Manalo Marcial. Nasa liblib na bahagi ng probinsiya nina Yael at Shay ang lalaki.

There was also a money trail from Manolo to a Tony Castro. May priors din ang lalaki. Robbery and riding-in-tandem killings.

They had used aliases and fake IDs to get their money, pero nakuha ni Miko ang feeds ng surveillance cameras ng ATMs and money-transfer establishments. She then fed them to facial recognition programs and they were a match.

Their build was a match to what Ember remembered. The partial sketch from the witness also matched Marcial and Castro.

Her gut was telling her they had the right people, but she still refused to completely believe it. Everything was circumstantial. Walang bigat kung tutuusin. Kung walang outstanding warrant si Marcial, walang dahilan para dakpin ito at ma-interrogate.

And when Marcial was interrogated, he immediately threw Shay under the bus. Ayon sa primary ay hindi na gaanong nangailangan ng wit and guile o kahit na kaunting persuasion. It didn't take much to make them confess. The moment they asked about the shooting of a police lieutenant, he immediately told them it was Shay who paid him to shoot Ember. May impresyon na hindi naging maganda ang transaction ng dalawa dahil nga hindi siya napuruhan, dahil buhay siya. Galit si Shay at siguro ay hindi binuo ang bayad sa hitman.

Nadakip na rin si Castro at itinuro rin nito si Shay. His statement matched with Marcial.

Hindi rin yata alam nina Marcial at Castro na police lieutenant ang itutumba ng mga ito. Ang akala ay kauri rin ni Shay. Nalaman na lang ng dalawa nang tapos na. They also said they were in fear for their lives. Kasi nga pulis pala ang binaril ng mga ito at mapapangasawa pa ng isang de Miguel. So they had tried really hard to hide. But then they left some money trail. Shay would just not pay them in cash, which was the biggest mistake of all. She had records.

Kaya ang sunod na tawag na natanggap ni Ember ay para ipaalam sa kanya na naaresto na si Shay. Ember had to ask for a huge favor. She needed to see her. She—and Yael needed to hear why.

Niyakap siya nang mahigpit ni Ivo. "You are sad," he said while kissing her temple.

"And you're angry."

Halos sabay silang bumuntong-hininga.

Tahimik naman si Yael sa sasakyan. Nasa mukha ni Martino ang pag-aalala. Miko was also with them for support.

Hinarap nila si Shay. Her whole face was filled with so much hate when she saw them.

Hindi na nagpasakalye pa si Ember. "Bakit?"

Gustong-gusto niyang malaman ang sagot sa tanong na iyon. Bakit siya gustong ipapatay ni Shay? Why go that extreme? Pagkatapos ng napakaraming taon. Wala siyang ginawang masama. Nasaktan niya ang babae noon pero masyadong mahaba na ang panahon na lumipas. Hindi naman niya hiniling na patawarin siya ni Shay pero hindi rin naman niya inasahan na gugustuhin siyang ipapatay ng dating kaibigan.

"Bakit? Ano kayo masaya? Ivo was coming back and Yael is marrying Martino. Ang saya ninyong apat. Happy ever after, gan'on? Hindi kayo puwedeng maging masaya. Hindi puwede pagkatapos ng lahat ng ginawa n'yo sa akin. Hindi ko kayang tanggapin."

Sa loob ng ilang sandali ay tiningnan lang ni Ember si Shay. Hindi pa rin niya gaanong mapaniwalaan ang motibo, ang dahilan. She had witnessed and heard so many horrible things one human could do to another and their motives, but this one was really hard to accept.

Talaga ba? Walang pangingimi siyang ipinapatay ni Shay kasi ayaw nitong magkabalikan sila ni Ivo. Ayaw nitong maging masaya sila.

Medyo lutang si Ember kaya naman hindi siya naging maagap nang sugurin ni Yael si Shay. Nasabunutan na nito ang dating matalik na kaibigan bago pa nadaluhan ni Martino. Galit na galit si Yael.

"Let's get out of here," sabi ni Ember. She didn't need nor want to hear anymore. Wala nang mababago kahit na paano pa ipaliwanag ang mga dahilan. Shay simply wanted her dead.

Umiiyak si Yael habang nasa sasakyan sila pabalik sa penthouse ni Ivo. Sa palagay ni Ember ay lahat sila ay in shock. Nasa magkakaibang lebel pero pare-pareho silang shocked. No one had believed Shay could do something like that.

Pagbalik nila sa penthouse ay kaagad na dumeretso ang mga lalaki sa bar. Martino gave Yael a glass of wine. Ivo opened a soda water for Ember. Miko accepted whiskey from Ivo.

"I called a few people," sabi ni Yael habang nakaupo sa couch, kaagad nitong napangalahati ang wine na iniinom. "Nagkaroon pala ng almost-scandal sa local political scene ng probinsiya namin. Shay claimed she was in a relationship with the sitting mayor. But the mayor was so adamant in not having an affair with Shay. He said he barely know the woman. But the wife received 'evidences' of the affair. Screenshots ng mga palitan ng messages. Pictures na magkasama sila pero wala naman talagang incriminating. The wife was smart. She had the infos verified. Hindi kaagad siya naniwala. The messages were faked and most of the photos were edited. Pero ang nakakamangha raw ay parang sobrang naniniwala si Shay sa affair."

"Sounds familiar," komento ni Martino habang nakatingin kay Ivo.

"Ginawa niya ang kaparehong bagay kay Ivo kung naaalala pa ninyo," dagdag ni Yael, namamasa na naman ang mga mata. Dahil siguro sa pinaghalong galit at pighati. "Sinabi niya na nag-date sila ni Ivo pero hindi naman. Bumuo siya ng mga scenario sa utak niya na hindi nangyari pero pinaniwalaan niyang nangyari."

Lumapit si Martino at ikinulong ang girlfriend sa mga bisig.

"You know what's a little funny? If you're ready for a little bit of fun, that is," sabi ni Miko.

Napatingin sila rito.

"Kung hindi niya pinangunahan ang lahat, baka hindi naman nangyari ang gusto niya. Baka hindi nagkabalikan sina Ivo at Ember."

"Oh, we are getting back together," sabi ni Ivo sa nakakasigurong boses. "Kahit na hindi siya nakialam. Ember and I are inevitable. Pinabilis lang niya."

Tumango si Miko. "So the bright side, we should thank her for that?" Napangiwi na ito hindi pa man tapos sa sinasabi.

"Oh, God, no!" sabay-sabay nilang bulalas.