The Missing Hands

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"It's almost 1 o'clock. The both of you should eat lunch."

Kung hindi sinabi ni Detective Andrade, hindi ko siguro naramdaman 'yung gutom. Oh right, I didn't eat anything besides the bag of chips at home. I have lost my appetite since yesterday, after what I saw. Pero ngayon, sa tingin ko'y ayos na 'ko. I need to eat, at baka mag-collapse ako bigla.

"Let's go. I'll bring the both of you to a restaurant."

Nanlaki naman ang mga mata ko dahil sa sinabi ni Detective. "Po?"

"You worked your brains off, kaya tama lang na kumain muna kayo. You should let your brains rest, and you need energy."

"Ako po... sasama sa inyo ni Kith? N-Nako, ayos lang po ako! Uuwi na lang po ako."

Nakangiting umiling-iling ito. "Kumain na muna kayo. I'm sure that it will take a few minutes for you to get home, at ang gutom ay dapat na 'wag nang patagalin pa. Come on, my treat."

Magsasalita pa sana ako pero naglakad na paalis ang ama ni Kith.

"Just go with it. The old man won't stop until he convinces you."

Anong old man? Ang bata pa kaya tignan ng tatay niya! I sighed and just followed his dad wherever he was going. Mabait si Detective Andrade at baka makonsensya lang ako kung pilit kong tinatanggihan ang offer niya.

Nagdalawang-isip pa ako kung ayos lang ba na sumakay ako sa kotse nila pero patuloy na nag-iinsist ang ama ni Kith na ayos lang kaya naupo na lang ako sa backseat. Si Kith naman ay nasa front seat, o shotgun seat kung tawagin ng iba.

It didn't take us long to arrive in front of a well-known restaurant. I've been here a few times with Aubree and the prices of their food are reasonable. Salamat naman at sa hindi mamahaling restaurant niya kami dinala dahil hindi talaga ako kakain 'don. When it comes to food, I don't want something so expensive, because by the end of the day, I'll just flush it down the toilet.

Nang makakuha na ng pang-apat na table, naupo na ako at umupo naman si Kith sa tabi ko, habang nasa harapang upuan namin ang ama niya.

Binasa ni Kith ang menu saglit, bago ako tinignan. "Anong sa'yo?"

I just ordered the usual food that I order whenever I come here. "Porkchop with rice and soup lang,"

"Just give me the ultimate chicken burger," sabi naman ni Detective.

"I'll just have the burger steak with rice and soup," ani Kith at umalis papuntang counter para makapag-order na.

Heck, this is awkward. Kami na lang ni Detective Andrade ang nandito! I'm just silent while pretending to look around. I should've been the one to order at the counter! Ay, nga pala, I need to give the money to pay for my food.

Kinuha ko ang wallet galing sa sling bag ko at bago ko pa mabuksan iyon, nagsalita si Detective, "As I have said, it's my treat. I already gave Kith the money beforehand, kaya ayos na. Don't worry about it."

I blinked a few times, then gave out a smile. "A-Ah, I see... Thank you, po."

"You're a classmate of Kith's, right?"

Tumango ako. How can he tell? Observation? I guess so.

"I see that you're interested in becoming a detective, too."

"Umm... well, hindi naman po sa ganon. I was just curious about an actual crime scene and how an investigation goes."

"You want to solve this case, yes? You want to know who's the culprit and why he did this?"