"Kill Me, Attorney." (Law Series #3)

PART SEVENTEEN: THE UNKNOWN IDENTITIES

"Heinz is the soft boy and his sibling is the wild bear..."

Beat.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

Lahat kami ay pare-pareho ng reaksyon at wala manlang makapagsalita.

"This is...a complete mess," Newt said and locked himself in his palm. "Ayoko na..."

"S-So...he...has a brother?" Aubrielle asked.

"Or a sister, actually," Casper added.

"I mean...paano?" tanong ko. "We studied his biography before. At ang sabi...ang sabi only child s'ya, 'di ba?"

"Exactly," tugon ni Andrius. "We studied his case before in law school."

"It's a black market thing," sabi ni Newt. "You know...karamihan sa mga batang ibinebenta sa mga pedophilia ay mga sanggol. New borns, actually. Iyong mga wala pang birth certificate para mas madaling ibenta. They are grooming those babies to be kids and later satisfy their sexual fantasies. Ganoon sila ka-putangina."

I gulped. Gusto kong masuka.

"Ganoon posible ang nangyari sa kapatid ni Heinz," sabi ni Newt. "Maybe that child was sold even before he or she was named. Now, bumalik s'ya para ipaghiganti o umanib sa kapatid n'ya. Hindi ko na alam!"

Pinanliitan s'ya ni Aubrielle ng mata.

"You're getting suspicious, Mr. Dahmer, d'you know that?"

Newt looked at her.

"H-Huh?"

"True," I said. "Noong tinawag mo kami for Code Red na kung saan nahuli sa CCTV si Heinz, nasa iisang courtroom kaming apat kaya malayong isa kami roon. Pero ikaw..."

"W-What are you trying yo say?!" tanong ni Newt na pinagpapawisan. "T-That I framed up everything?!"

"Not to mention Mr. Dahmer that you said you personally saw him watching you. So, bakit mo pa kailangang i-authenticate ang video?" pakikisali ni Andrius.

"Didn't you get it?" sagot ni Casper. "Ang sabi niya, kagigising lang niya. He wasn't sure kung tama ba ang nakita niya so he had to check the CCTV."

"Why are you defending him?" tanong ni Aubrielle. "Don't tell me, magkasabwat kayo?"

My eyes widened and looked at him.

"I am not defending him, I was just answering obvious questions. At bakit ba ipinagdudukdukan mo na suspicious si Newt? Kasi easy target s'ya because of his mental health? That what makes you suspicious as well, Ms. Baxter. Who knows, baka kaya pinag-aaway mo kaming lahat dahil you wanna break our trust with each other?"

"Excuse me?!" Aubrielle exclaimed.

"Hindi, maldita lang talaga 'yan," pakikisali ko.

"Oh baka naman ikaw, Judge Blake?" tanong ni Newt. "Ang tahimik mo, eh."

"Ayaw ko lang kayo kausap," sagot ni Andrius.

"Oh baka ikaw, Neska?" tanong ni Newt.

"No, hindi niya kaya," sabi ni Aubrielle. "Pang matalino iyong ganto. Boba 'yan."

"True," sagot ni Casper.

"WOW HA?!" sagot ko sa dalawa.

"Let's do things this way," sabi ni Newt. "Tutal, pinaghihinalaan na natin ang isa't isa, kailangan natin alamin ang family background ng bawat isa. We have to make sure na walang impostor sa atin."

"Impostor?" tanong ko at pinanliitan lahat ng mata. "There is one impostor among us..."

"Si Neska, 'yon!" sigaw ni Casper. "Nakita ko 'yan nag vent!"