Chronicles Revealed

Chapter 10: Investigation

My wife and I were about to leave the house for the funeral home and see our son when the door bell rung. I thought it was the newsboy delivering the day's newspapers.  When I opened the side gate to see who it was I saw a police officer standing at the gate and another one in the driver's seat of a black police pick-up vehicle bearing the seal and name of another city.  I found this intriguing since the police vehicle seemed out of route to me.  The other officer stayed in the vehicle with the engine running and the aircon on. It wasn't exactly hot but our police officers need to be comfortable in doing their job.  I hoped the visit of the police officers wasn't going to be long.

Yes, sir. What can I do for you, I asked.

Good morning, sir, ma'am (when he saw my wife on the porch), he replied. Can I talk to you for a few minutes? This is about the case of your son. We are handling his case.

Oh, I see. Please come in. How about your companion? Is he coming in?

No, sir.  This won't take long, as I said. I'm P03 Rey Labra, by the way. I'm from Police Station 6 where your son's case had been recorded in our blotter.

I let the officer in and told him to sit down on the seat of the porch and asked my wife to give him coffee or juice while I go back inside to finish something.  I didn't ask him to come inside the house so he won't know how we lived or what were in it.   I didn't want him to have wrong ideas about us. I won't be long, I told the police officer.  What I actually did was to call our lawyer and inform him of the arrival of the police officers. Our lawyer said that it was okay but should they want to get a statement from me it would be better if it was done in the Police Station to make it official.  He found the house visit of the police officers somewhat odd, if not irregular.  He further advised that we bring a witness or two with us to the Police Station.

I went back to the porch and sat in front of the police officer and the gate.

So, what can I do for you, sir? I asked the officer.

Sir, I would like to get a statement from you about your son's case to support what we have in our blotter and file a case against a John Doe or John Does.

I replied:

I'm sorry I can't give the statement right now. I might just say things that will only confuse the issues or jeopardize the case. We are so crushed at this time we might be too emotional about it and say things we don't really mean to.

We have actually talked to two of your co-officers in the funeral home the other night and they took some notes. Are you not in coordination with them?  We were very distraught at the time and we could have said things that confused them.  I thought you came to clarify some of the statements we gave to them.  We have not heard from them again until now.

Can we give our statements next week in your station?  That would be after our son's burial and ninth day.  Our heads will be a lot clearer, then. I will also have to talk to our lawyer, first.  Maybe, in the meantime, you can talk to the other officers who interviewed us.  They were PO3 Mendes SPO2 Cadungog.

They must be from CIDG, sir, PO3 Labra replied.  I'm not very familiar with their names. I get your point, sir. Thank you for your time. This is my calling card with my office landline number and my cellphone number.  I'll see you next week, sir.

The police officer looked a little dismayed with our response. Maybe, he thought we just wasted his time.  Maybe, he thought we were not really that interested in our son's case.  Maybe, he thought we might just want some kind of settlement later on. Maybe, he had something else in mind, other matters to discuss, like the SOP kind of things we have been told about such as but not limited to meals, transportation, tips to informants, gasoline and other expenses essential and integral to the expeditious and successful conclusion of investigative work of which he could not find an opportunity to bring up in the conversation.  Maybe, we could help?