Sunshine

XV

“THEY'RE now here?"

Marie asked as soon as she entered the observation room. The clear glass let her see through the interrogation room. She knows they won’t see her from their end, but she felt like they just met eyes. Her nape felt cold.

“You will go and explain, right Adrian?”

Adrian silently went out of the room with his laptop. He’s then seen next entering the interrogation room. “I am Executive Master Sergeant Dela Vega. I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I mean, what is this for? What are we in a police station and in an interrogation room for?”

Adrian closed the door behind him and sat on the available chair on the table across. He carefully put his laptop on the table and started typing.

“We received death threat calls pertaining to you, Ms. Magbanua and Ms. Vicente. After weighing its seriousness, we decided to provide police protection for you. We can’t give you any details to it to keep its confidentiality, but please do believe we are doing this to ensure your safety. That was the reason too why we kept your phones with us.”

Adrian’s fingers stopped pressing on his laptop keys. He roamed his eyes on the interrogation room and went back to staring on his laptop screen. “We know we could have given you a more nice and comfortable place than this but this is only what we can offer. Your safety is our priority here. We appreciate your cooperation.”

Without the intention to stay even a second longer, Adrian went out of the room even when Olivia’s still talking. Marie did the listening for him. “What? Are you telling us to endure all this fuss without even trying to make us understand? Police today are useless.”

Adrian went back to the observation room and turned off the microphone. That resulted to the muted ongoing complaint of Olivia. “Now what, Carlos? This was your idea. What comes next?”

The creaking of a chair was the first thing they heard from the corner of the room that served as a broadcast that he was there all along. Carlos’ eyes stayed nailed on the two in front of them between the glass partition. “What plan are you saying? We have to wait and see.”

“You mean you took them here without even anything up your sleeves?”

“How could I have one when the team’s plan fell like that?”

“Captain. You’re here.”

Carlos and Adrian’s usual rumpus went to a halt like that. Adrian sent his greetings to Captain Rivera, while Carlos closed his eyes while leaning on the wall on his back. Just like Carlos, the three ignored his presence too altogether.

“Magbanua and Vicente are already here, Captain. I managed to give them some made up reason why they’re here, though that wasn’t really enough.”

Captain Rivera shook his head and looked at them. Olivia still looked piss, and Alex still quiet---they were the same as earlier it almost looked like a looped video.

“They will figure out we’re just holding them, but this is a warning to them. That we are keeping an eye on them.”

“But that won’t make them extra careful?” Marie asked. She looked at her Captain who’s now deep in his thought while still looking inside the interrogation room.

“We have nothing else left to do other than putting pressure on them. Hoping they will soon explode in front of us.”

“IF no one dies tonight, our suspicion will get stronger. But if someone dies, doesn’t that mean game over? That we have to start again because we got the wrong suspects?”

With coffee on both of his hands and the question on his mouth, Juan Valencia entered the observation room. He looked first inside the interrogation room. Both are taking their lunch chosen by Marie lifelessly. He shrugged at the sight, and gave Carlos the other coffee on his hand.

“And what’s with you, by the way? You just look like those people inside.”

“Who wouldn’t be like this when the only thing I did was watch them? They’re tiring.”

Carlos took the warm coffee and took a sip. Juan pretended he received his thanks and replied with “You’re always welcome.”

“That question you came with though with this coffee.” Carlos took another sip. He tried to find something more concrete to say, but he ended up with “We have to see, and then we will think about that later.”

“We’ve known Alex for years. While we just met her girlfriend, but still, Alex is someone we know well. But now that we came here like this…” Juan sat on the closest chair to the partition glass and looked at them. He then went on.

“Now that we came like this, how do we actually want this chase to end? Both of them as innocent? Or both are guilty?”

Strangely, the sound from sipping of coffee from them grew louder. And even with the turned off microphone, they can seem to hear the chewing from the other side. All those sounds served as a background noise to their thinking minds, especially Carlos.

This is do or die. Hopefully, Carlos’ questions and confusion will be cleared tonight.

“OLIVIA and Alex are now at the interrogation room of Special Task Force Team. According to our source, they are held there with an excuse of a police protection over a death threat.”

A tall, skinny and clad with black suit and tie man in his mid-20s reported. His face is kept low as he talk, not allowed to take even a glance of the woman on the dark corner of the room as his job description says. He didn’t mind not knowing how the boss he’s serving look though, and he also didn’t mind that it’s a woman. He never got a job this easy where he goes to work well dressed and only needs to do what he’s asked to. It didn’t matter what kind of work he’ll be asked, too. As long as it continues to pay the huge dough.

“Just look how lousy they’re doing their job.” Her laugh was small and timid but it’s enough to raise the hair on his nape. His head dropped lower almost automatically and he nailed his eyes harder on his shoes.

The woman is scary. She’s scary enough for everyone on his job to only think of doing what they’re asked to and nothing else.

“But if I must say, I’m quite amaze on how they managed to point their radar to our Alex and Olivia. But would that be enough for me to be careful?”

“No, of course not.”

“Is that so?”

The sound of the chair pulling made him gulp, and the ticking of the heeled shoes on the floor almost made him stop breathing. The next thing he saw was the color of the stilettos as it made its stop. It was bright red. He recalled those were blue yesterday and yellow the other day.

“It will be tiring to do the work all by ourselves. But we are supposed to keep with the schedule, no?”

In low voice he said yes, still keeping his eyes on the bright heels. He tried to spot its difference to yesterday’s and to the other shoes he’s seen on those fine feet. It sure looked different every time.

At least he had those heels to look forward to everyday.

CARLOS took the key for the interrogation room from the key holder and used it to open the door. He tried to clear his throat to do some explaining but Olivia already stormed out of the room. He heard him curse on the sunlight beaming from the window and continued stomping her way out of the police station. He held the door waiting for Alex to come out but she didn’t. Instead, her eyes focused on the TV set which the picture is barely seen on their side.

“What’s on the news right now?”

Carlos followed her gaze. Instead on the TV set, his eyes landed on his troubled team looking up at it.

“What’s on the news right now enough for your team to make that faces?”

“You can now go home, Ms. Vicente.”

“Tell me the truth.” Carlos looked at her. Alex’s eyes are now on the wall in front of her. “You can’t fool me anymore.”

“I don’t think I’m following---”

“You thought we’re about to kill someone last night, right? That’s why you kept us here?”

Carlos stood straight and closed the door behind him. He took the chair across Alex. “What made you think that way?”

“Because the death threat was fake.”

Both met eyes. Both are trying to read each other’s mind but it both turned to a white canvas---no, it’s more like gray. Both looked like bombs trying hard not to explode on each other.

“Do you really think so?”

“Kahilom Serial Murder Case. That’s us, right? Your suspects.”

“Why? Should we suspect you?”

Alex’s hands on top of the table between them formed a fist. Carlos kept an eye on it. “Stop it, Carlos.”

“It’s Master Sergeant Ignacio, Ms. Vicente.”

Alex nodded, bringing her hands up. “Should I give you an advice to make your work easier? You know you kept us for the whole 20 hours and what? We all just wasted it, right? Since you seemed convinced we are truly the ones who killed everyone…”

Carlos looked at Alex standing up. He stayed still when she drew her face close, face hardening.

“Just cook up some evidences or whatever! You’re about to stoop on that level.”

Alex turned her back on Carlos. Carlos remained on his position as he asked. “Then answer me before you go. Should I suspect you?”

Alex noticed the emphasis on I. On the same heaviness she replied with “No.”

The knob clicked open and the door slammed on him. He pretended she’s still in front of him and all ears to him. “I know everything you do you’re doing it for her. But could you still stop? Is it still possible to stop?”

Carlos rested his face on the table and closed his eyes. He tried to erase the look of Alex as she watched Olivia sleeping on the same position as him now.

Her eyes. It reminds him of how he used to look at her years ago.