Deception

Chapter 4

    Half of Lee wanted to erase the pain of knowing that her friend took her own life, that her friend might have been saved had anyone else paid attention to what was going on. The other half of her wished that it wasn’t true, that Eli hadn’t suffered from depression. But with the second option, another painful certainty must be faced and that was Eli was killed.

    At the viewing last night, she was tormented. Right after Megan announced the autopsy, Detective Garcia made his appearance.

    “Good evening Ms. Morgan,” Detective Garcia greeted Kris then he turned to her. “Ms. Alv—” he stopped and corrected himself, “Lee.”

    Kris raised an eyebrow towards her, but she just rolled her eyes and shook her head, understanding what Kris might be implying. Then the detective turned to Megan.

    “I’m really sorry to barge in the viewing Mrs. Sarmiento,” Anton apologized but Megan interrupted.

    “It’s actually Ms. Vasco. My husband and I were divorced several years ago. But, of course, you can just call me Megan,” she corrected and offered a smile to ease the slight embarrassment felt by the detective.

    “Megan it is, then,” he agreed.

    Lee didn’t know how much her hands shook when Kris gripped them tightly around hers. Megan ushered the detective, Kris, and her into a small vacant room adjacent to the viewing area.

    Everyone made themselves comfortable in the benches and chairs arranged in the room. Kris sat beside Megan, and Anton sat across them. Lee preferred to stand in the corner leaning on the wall.

    “You told me to contact you as soon as the results were out. This couldn’t be done on the phone so, again, pardon my intrusion in Eliza’s viewing,” Detective Garcia said. By the way he spoke, Lee noted his nervousness. It was as if the detective was gaining the courage to break devastating news.

    “Get on with it detective,” Megan said with her brave façade.

    Anton nodded but then gazed at her. “I think you would want to sit down for this.”

    Lee nodded. With the simple request from the detective, she knew that the news he was about to reveal would shake her enough not to be able to stand. Therefore, all of them had a clue on to what he was about to say.

    “I’m sorry Megan. Eliza was… a murder victim,” he sighed.

    With this Megan broke into sobs while Kris comforted the woman with an embrace. Lee, like the first time, did not shed a tear. She was in shock again, but her mind was racing. Too many questions swarmed her all at once.

    Why? Why would someone target Eli? She may not be the sweetest girl there was; she may have had enemies, but Lee didn’t think of any motive. How? How did the suspect get away with this and made it look like Eli took her own life? And the most prompting question that made her shiver in fear—who?  Who dared kill her friend? Was it some random stranger or was it someone Eli knew? If it was the latter, then how close was this murderer?

    While Lee was lost in her thoughts, Detective Anton was observing her. This girl, he thought. He hadn’t seen Lee in hysterics when he arrived at the scene, now a crime scene, after Lee called for the 911. Even when Lee gave her statement, the detective hadn’t seen her cried. He noted that Lee wasn’t composed per se because he could see the grief and fear in Lee’s eyes. The grief, he understood. But the fear, he wondered why.

    When Megan somehow calmed down, she requested the detective to explain how the police came to a conclusion that Eliza was murdered.

    “The slit on both of her wrists, the pills, and the suicide note found on the scene would indeed provide us grounds for a suicide case, especially because the note’s handwriting was verified as Eliza’s,” Anton started.

    “No signs of entry in the house, as testified by Lee. However, you said that the door was unlocked,” he looked at her questioningly so Lee just nodded to affirm the statement. “Which was a tiny detail that could mean it was left by Eliza so that her body could be immediately found. There were no visible signs of struggle in the victim’s body upon initial assessment.”

    “And I didn’t allow you to autopsy her body at first,” Megan thought aloud.

    “Yes, but because of Mr. Sarmiento’s go signal, we found from Eliza’s autopsy that she died an hour or two before her wrists were slit,” Anton disclosed while paying much attention to everyone’s facial expressions. All seemed to be surprised.

    “It was an immediate death caused by the broken neck,” he further explained.

    Lee gasped and the other two were equally stunned. “Can you deduce how this happened?” she asked.

    “I’m afraid we cannot go into detail. This is a need to know basis only, I’m sorry. As soon as this case was pronounced as murder, the police investigation started. You know how it goes, everyone might be a suspect,” Anton said as he looked pointedly at Lee.

    Lee could feel the meaning behind the detective’s scrutiny. She was not unwise; of course she’d be a potential suspect. She was the one who was last seen with Eli. The neighbors could attest that Eli and she had a fight. Though no words were directly said to her, she stood her ground and stared back at Anton, as if she was challenging him. In actuality, she was. Lee was challenging the detective to serve the needed justice for Eli.

    A couple of days passed and it was Eli’s funeral. She filed another leave of absence and entrusted the supervising to Trina. She stared at herself in the mirror and she could see all the evidences of not having enough sleep. Her black cardigan hung loosely around her, which made her think that she might have lost weight.

    She heard a knock on her door, followed by Gabe’s voice. The guy offered to accompany her on Eli’s funeral.

    “Hey,” she greeted as she opened the door.

    Gabe offered her a tight smile as he observed the distraught look on Lee’s face. He was wearing a semi-formal suit, the kind of clothes that he seldom wore.

    “Hi,” Gabe replied.

    “Where’s your brother?” Lee asked while scanning the corridor.

    “Jairus will be taking his own car with our mom,” Gabe explained.

    “Oh, alright.” Eli did not talk about the details of her past romantic relationships, just the basics, Lee thought. It was just now that Lee learned of the depth of Jairus and Eli’s relationship because even Jairus’ mother was going to pay her last respects to her son’s ex. Lee had never met Jairus in person but she had seen him in the pictures. Much like Gabe, Jairus had black hair and blue eyes. He was tall and buffed compared to Gabe’s lean and toned stature.

    When they arrived at the cemetery, Gabe walked closer to her, putting his hands on her back for moral support. She saw Kris with her boyfriend, Alan.  Megan was beside James; and everyone else who knew Eli was there. She noted that Anton was also there so she greeted him with a slight nod. The other replied in the same manner.

    The priest proceeded with the ceremony while Eli’s mothers sobbed as James comforted her. Lee could see the solemn faces of everyone and she knew that she had the same look. Gabe somehow tightened his hold around her shoulders. When she looked up to see his face, he simply smiled and offered a handkerchief. She then realized that there were a few tears that escaped her eyes. Because this would be a goodbye for Eli, she allowed herself to cry silently. In the end, Megan and James offered a few parting words.  

    The crowd was dispersing when her gaze wandered towards the parking lot. She saw that Jairus was already observing her. She was shocked when he smiled at her as if in greeting, before he and his mother left in a black sedan. She cannot be mistaken as she recognized Jairus' car. It has a dent in the front, much like that of the car that followed Kris and her several days ago.