s i Ni s t e r

Untitled Part 63

TY WAS BEING AN ASS. HE WASN'T ANSWERING HER MESSAGES AND CALLS. It made her anxious when people do that, like they have something against her and naturally, she wanted to know.

Alam naman niya kung saan makikita ang lalaki. Sa golf course, currently dotted with Korean golf enthusiasts. Tourists like them travel for the sole purpose of playing golf.

Ty was easy to spot on the green among the short, pale skinned tourists. Tall and dark and in a canary yellow shirt. Two other guys and caddies were with him on the teeing ground.

"Ty!" Tawag ni Amber. Hindi siya pinansin kahit narinig naman siya. Pinag-ige lang ang stance sa hahatawing bola. Nilapitan niya ito, "What were you thinking? Wala ka bang pakialam kay Blanche?"

"You know you're not supposed to talk to me, right? And you have to move."

Bawal lapitan at kausapin ang golfer na titira na.

Wala siyang pakialam sa rules. Hinablot niya ang kamay ni Ty, "They took her out of jail because of you!"

Nag-apologize sa mga kasama si Ty at lumayo ng bahagya sa mga iyon, "Sinabi ko lang ang totoo kay Sergeant Baja."

Gaya niya, kinausap rin ng sarhento ang iba pang kaibigan ni Blanche, kabilang na si Ty. Dahil sa sinabi nito, nagkaroon pa ng ibang anggulo ang imbestigasyon na dapat ay sarado na. Mabuti sana kung ibabalik lang ng mga pulis ang conclusion na nag-suicide talaga si Blanche. But no, she heard the police were now talking to the hotel staff and other Pueblo employees.

"I was with Paige when Blanche fell." Sabi pa ni Ty. "Hindi ko puwedeng hindi sabihin 'yon. Imposibleng si Paige ang nagtulak kay Blanche dahil kasama ko s'ya. May mga nakakita sa amin."

Kinumpirma nga iyon ng nasa Lost & Found at ng guwardiya mismo sa opisinang iyon. Therefore, the cops could not pin Blanche's death to Paige. But why the cops were still nosing around instead of just saying that Blanche indeed jumped to her death only meant one thing: They could not because thay might have learned something worth pursuing.

That Sargeant Baja was a hound. A sniffer.

"What else did you tell them?" Tanong niya.

"Just that."

"But that does not explain why Paige had Blanche's phone. 'Yun dapat ang iniimbestigahan ng mga pulis imbes na hinaharass nila ngayon ang mga empleyado na wala namang kinalaman."

"Kailan ka na naging concerned sa mga empleyado? Dapat matuwa ka na ginagawa ng mga pulis ang trabaho nila. 'Yung phone ni Blanche? Maybe Paige took it a day before. Who knows? Or maybe, she was really set up. Kay Darby s'ya galit, why would she hurt Blanche?"

"Because Blanche found out, maybe they were arguing about it at the roof top and things went out of hand--"

"Wala nga sa rooftop si Paige that time. She was with me. I'm not saying that she didn't kill Tita Monique. Pero si Blanche? Imposible."

Dahil doon kaya pumayag ang judge na dalhin na lang sa mental facility si Paige. Kung ito ang pumatay kay Blanche, may premeditation sa krimen. It took planning to lure someone to the rooftop. It took resoursefullness to know there were no cameras that time. Medyo mataas rin ang barikada doon, hindi mo basta-basta maiitulak ang isang tao. You would need to think of a strategy. Meaning, hindi ka baliw.

Pero lusot na doon si Paige. Thanks to Ty.

Ang pagkamatay ni Tita Monique, iyon daw ang masasabing kagagawan ng isang may diprensya sa pag-iisip dulot ng masidhing galit. Lima ang saksak ni Tita Monique.

"Sorry." Sabi ni Amber. N-Natatakot kasi ako, baka mamaya, bigla na lang s'yang pawalang-sala at pakawalan."

Tumunog ang cell phone ni Ty.

"Excuse me." Tumalikod ito at lumayo ng kaunti pero narinig pa rin ito ni Amber. "Who's this?" A pause. "Wendell who?" A longer pause. "What? Okay, okay, I'll be there, bro."

Hindi na nito pinansin si Amber. Binalikan ni Ty ang mga kasama, nag-apologize at nagpaalam. May emergency raw.

"What is it, Ty?" Habol ni Amber sa lalaki.

"Nothing that concerns you."