The Truth Berries

XI

       Alex wanted to decline the call of duty earlier that night because he was waiting for the main attraction of the bar which would start at twelve in the midnight. But he knew he couldn’t.

       The night was still young for him. He just finished two bottles of ice-cold beer and he barely touched his third when his phone rang. It was the police dispatch telling him to go to a two-storey apartment at the corner of Kalaw and J.Entrata. It was an attempted theft and a woman was critically injured. As usual, there were no other officers within the immediate location than him. She said that the suspect may still be in the building and was probably armed and dangerous so take proper precautions. And with that, his dream bachelor night roughly ended. So he started his car and turned his sirens wailing. He weaved through the early night traffic and cursed everyone who disregarded his sirens and blinking lights. After ten minutes of driving and cursing, he reached the neighborhood of middle-class residents. The apartment itself was a monument of the owner’s success. If there ever was an apple in a basket of bananas, this was definitely it for it stood out amongst the others. He saw the white Civic parked in front of it and he knew who it was instantly.

       “Speedy son of a bitch.”

       He checked his service firearm in its holster and his police badge in his belt. Both were there like an ever-loyal friend to him. He slammed his car door closed and walked towards the apartment. Once inside, he measured his every step and studied the structure of the apartment, mentally drawing its dimensions so he could anticipate where a pouncing assailant could be hiding. He was expecting to see his partner Miguel already in the middle of the house, with a pen and a small booklet, jutting down his initial assessment of the situation but he was nowhere to be found in the living room area. It was until he reached the end of it when he heard someone sobbing in the kitchen. He sharpened his senses and steeled himself for whatever it was for him to see.

       “Miguel, buddy? Are you there? It’s me, your partner Alex.”

       There was no answer. He took extra caution when he entered the kitchen because the floor was almost covered with blood. Inch by inch, he circled around the dining table, his gun pointed downwards while his finger was on the trigger. He saw his partner slumped on the floor with the bloody woman in his arms. Miguel was crying silently, rocking back and forth lightly as if he was in a trance. He did not even notice Alex as he was standing there. Alex kicked the knife away from his reach and tried to talk to him. Then he recognized the woman Miguel was embracing.

      “Hey, buddy. It’s me. The ambulance is on its way. What happened here?”

       Miguel didn’t reply. Instead, he kept on crying and his tears kept on falling on her lifeless cheek.

       “We need to get you out of here. Just let the med team take care of her.”

       Suddenly, Miguel stood up and reached for the knife. Then he leaped at Alex, making him double over. They struggled and clawed their way on the bloody floor until Alex gained momentum and hit him with his gun at the back of the head. Miguel dropped on the floor stunned. Alex swiftly pulled the handcuffs from his belt and snapped it shut on his partner’s hands. Then he carried him out of the apartment as his back-up officers were just pulling off their car. The ambulance was on its tail, its sirens on full blast. Three gloved men entered the house; one of them was carrying a black body bag. Alex locked the doors of his car and sped away, his passenger sitting still.

       After twenty minutes, Miguel woke up from his trance and found himself sitting inside a very familiar room. He looked around and sure enough, he found the large mirrored window which he knew was a see-through glass on the other end. He tried to stand but he was pulled back by the handcuffs attached to the table in front of him. On the other end of the table were his gun and his badge. Now, he was sure he was inside their interrogation room. He had been there countless times in his entire career. The only difference this time was it was him who was sitting on the other side of the table. He couldn’t help himself from thinking many things. Who would do the interrogation? What happened to Nadia? Did they know who the killer was? Did they catch him already? His head ached so he let it fall backwards, and he stared blankly at the drab ceiling of the room. He heard the door opened but he didn’t look who it was. He was hoping he knew him or her, but he didn’t want to look too eager. Then, he heard an all familiar voice. Slowly, he straightened himself and saw Alex sitting across him. There was a pack of Marlboro Reds and an ashtray in front of him.

       “Can I have one of those, buddy? I badly needed one right now.”

       Alex put one between his parted lips and lit it. He did not take one for himself.

       “You won’t take one? You always wondered what it’s like. Here’s your long-awaited chance. Go take a long drag of it so you wouldn’t wonder anymore. Trust me, I’m your partner.”

        Alex watched him blow smoke into the thin air. Then he folded his right sleeve to show him a one and a half long stitched cut and it was still fresh.

       “Do you remember this, Sergeant Romero? Do you remember anything at all?”

       “None whatsoever, sir.”, he said mockingly.

       Alex leaned forward and lowered his voice so his audience outside the room could not hear him.

       “Look. I’m not here as your goddamn partner, Romero. I’m your f*****g arresting officer. So gather yourself and play your part. You almost killed me, for Christ’s sake.”

       He tried to read his eyes but Alex was stone cold.

       “Why did you kill your wife, Nadia, Sergeant Romero?”

       Miguel stood up and tried to reach for him.

       “I didn’t kill my own wife. Somebody did it and he’s still out there. You know too well that I could not and would never do something like that to her.”

       “We have several evidences that indicate you as the killer.”

       “Such as?”

       “Such as the murder weapon I saw you holding before. The forensic lab confirmed it was your fingerprint they have lifted. The apartment’s doorknob also has your prints on it. And how would you explain your presence in the crime scene at that moment? We asked the whole neighborhood and they saw no one else coming but you. There was no evidence of forced entry either which led us to the conclusion that the victim knew the killer to let him enter her house.”

       “And my motive?”

       “We haven’t found it yet. But we have reasons to believe that you killed her when she refused to come back to you. We know that you two had a falling apart some weeks ago. A sworn statement telling the court about your marriage problem was already signed and will be part of the evidences accusing you.”

       “Whose f*****g statement was that?”

       “That f*****g statement was mine”

       Miguel looked at him dead in the eyes but Alex did not flinch. Slowly, he stood up.

       “So this is how it’s going to be, partner?”

       “Yes, this is how it’s going to be, no other f*****g way.”

       “Why don’t you just set me free so I can catch Nadia’s killer and give her the justice that she deserves?”

       Alex stood up. He has asked and learned everything he needed for that case. His interrogation was already done. He wanted to help his friend but he knew there was only one way to do that. He was almost at the door when he stopped. He did not ever imagine he would say those things to his friend but he felt it was the right thing to do.

       “Don’t sweat about it. We have Nadia’s killer and I promise you, partner, I will make sure that he shall pay dearly for his crime.”

       Then he left him on his own.