The gibberish Mario Parilla staged at Police Station 6 may have been the product of a brain damaged and warped and atrophied and shriveled by slavery to a prohibited, destructive and corrosive substance but we thought there were some vital information we could still get from him. This somehow found a certain degree of affirmation or corroboration in what Mayong narrated to me, particularly on the matter of three people coming in on a motorcycle, the gunshot that a thunder muted, and the two people speeding away on the same motorcycle.
Mario and Mayong are two people with very different and contrasting personalities. Mario could lie anytime to anyone, for anything, for any reason and he would not have any remorse about it later on whatever the consequence of his lie maybe. He was a very sick person. Mayong is the honest to goodness kind of person, a simple man. It does not seem to be in his nature to deceive anyone. His persona evokes the heart of a Good Samaritan. The stories of Mario and Mayong on what happened in that cold, dark night strongly reinforced each other.
The group met in the house two days after at eight in the evening. I had told Mama about Mayong and what I had I learned from him on our son's murder. Finally, I told her, we might find the justice that has eluded our son sooner than we expect. I was so optimistic that justice was at hand for our son.
I hope so, Papa, I hope so, Mama said
I have no doubt about it, I assured Mama.
Ronald arrived first on his motorcycle. He had tried to locate the whereabouts of Mario Parilla but Mario proved to be quite elusive. It seemed he was aware he was being tracked down and took measures, accordingly. No sighting of Mario at all, not even in that area where the police officers allegedly picked him up. No one knew Mario from there. The following day after we saw Mario at Police Station 6, the entire place was leveled to the ground by a fire many believed, including some firemen, was arson. It seemed to have started in a house suspected of being a drug den. Two people reportedly perished in the fire. Was Mario one of the two fatalities? They could have been dead already when the fire started.
In contrast to his usual demeanor, Ronald was quite dispirited when he narrated what had happened to his sleuthing. He faced a blank wall. He had gone to Minglanilla where Mario said he was from. No one in the town also knew Mario. Minglanilla is bustling municipality in the south. It has benefited much from the spillovers of metropolitan progress and dynamism as well as the the social blight that goes with them. Unless you know someone who can help you, looking for a person in the town is a veritable search for the proverbial needle in the haystack.
Ronald had disguised himself as a collector of a collection agency so he could have a legitimate reason to ask around and avoid raising suspicion or distrust. With a motorcycle, he was able to drive around all the barangays of the municipality but Ronald could not find Mario. It was all so frustrating, Ronald lamented. He had texted and called his fraternity brods for information on Mario Parilla but to no avail. None of them knew or has heard of Mario, also. He didn't think, however, that Mario was dead and Ronald said he was not giving up. He will find Mario and get all the information he had on the shooting of our son.
Ronald's face brightened when he received a call from Andy that he had seen Mario in Sitio San Miguel. Mario was alone and buying something at a sari-sari store. Shortly, a motorcycle came along and Mario rode at the back. Andy went to the sari-sari store and asked the girl tending the store if that was Mario Parilla who just got on the motorcycle. He told her Mario was a long lost friend and it would have been great to reconnect with him.
Yes, the girl replied in the affirmative.
Does he live here? Andy further asked.
YOU ARE READING
Chronicles Revealed
Mystery / ThrillerThere is a thin line between justice and revenge..
