IRONIA [COMPLETED]

Chapter XI - Evidence Which Shows That Such A Claim Is True

MAHIGIT kalahating oras na ang nakalipas mula nang pinasok ni Zafier ang The Ram Martial Arts Center upang maghanap ng karagdagang ebidensya. He was so eager to find an evidence that was overlooked by his co-workers, hoping that he would be able to clear his mind sa gabing iyon. He badly wanted to figure out what really happened to The Ram and pinpoint who the real culprit was.

Nagawa niyang isama ang kanyang pasaway na kapatid sa lugar na iyon, but he failed to make use of her dahil sa hina ng sikmura nito. Dominique stayed outside and made her mind busy by watching her vlogs on Youtube. Unlike her kuya, she wanted to forget what she saw inside the Martial Arts Center: the gruesome image of The Ram's dead body, the bloody floor, and the chilling atmosphere sa loob ng eskwelahan.

And when Zafier finally went out of the crime scene, Dominique took her phone away and silently watched him sa pagsakay sa kotseng kinaroroonan niya. She didn't dare to utter a single word for she sensed na hindi maganda ang kinalabasan ng imbestigasyon ng binata sa pinagmulang Martial Arts Center. She remained quiet, even though nangangati na ang kanyang dila sa pagsasalita.

Zafier drove the car away from The Ram's school and stopped in front of a pharmacy na nasa kanto lamang ng Del Fonso Street. He and his sister went out of the car and greeted the pharmacist. "Magandang gabi po."

"Magandang gabi rin. Anong. . . maitutulong ko sa inyo?" the middle-aged pharmacist asked in a friendly voice.

Zafier glanced at his sister behind. Tila ba ipinapaalala niya sa dalaga ang ibinilin niya kanina bago sila umalis sa bahay. Muli lamang niyang ibinalik ang tingin sa pharmacist nang tuluyang maintindihan ni Dominique ang nais niyang ipahiwatig at inilabas nito ang identification card.

"We're from SCDO," simpleng paliwanag ni Dominique sa nagtatakang pharmacist.

Zafier then took that chance to ask, "May ilang katanungan lang kami. Kayo ho ba 'yung naka-duty kahapon ng gabi?"

"Oo, ako nga. Tungkol ba ito sa. . . nangyari kay The Ram?" she asked na para bang inaasahan na niya iyon. "Nabanggit sa akin ng kapalitan ko ng shift kanina 'yung nangyari. May mga detective na rin na nagtanong sa kanya."

Zafier looked around the pharmacy. He spotted the CCTV na naka-install sa itaas at kaliwang bahagi ng tindahan.

The pharmacist glanced at the direction na tinititigan ni Zafier, and said, "Natingnan na rin daw 'yan ng mga detective kanina. Wala silang nakita kase nakatutok 'yang CCTV sa counter."

Zafier sighed. He just proceeded to cross examination. "Mga anong oras ho kayo nagsara kahapon?"

"Nine thirty na siguro 'yon."

"Bandang alas-nuebe hanggang sa magsara kayo, may nakita ho ba kayong kahina-hinalang tao na dumaan dito?"

For a second, tila ba napaisip nang malalim ang pharmacist. Then she answered, "Nanonood kasi ako ng koreanovela kagabi, kaya hindi ko masyadong napagtuunan ng pansin ang mga naglalabas pasok dito sa kalye. Pero. . . nu'ng magsasara na ako, dumaan si Mrs. dela Penyo palabas. Ewan ko lang, pero para siyang umiiyak. Tatawagin ko nga sana, kaya lang eh biglang sumakay ng taxi."