Encoded

Chapter 38 : VHS

MHOREIN

"What are you thinking?" Tanong ni Chain.

"I guess we can go to the places he was last seen." I said.

"He couldnt have left, Could he?he seems to have no reason to. Parang may mali talaga dito, Chain."

"I dont know, Mhor. I dont know..." Chain laid his head on the desk.

"Not even a week after our break and we have this." He said, obviously not excited about this.

"Chain, Come on. This is like Leounet's welcome back."

"I didnt even want to be back. I wanted to terminate our I. D's and quit." He murmured. I chuckled.

"Araw mo naman siguro akong iwanan, Diba?" Tanong ko. Chain looked up and sighed. He rested his back against the swivel chair.

"Syempre, Hindi..."

"Mhor, Cant I convince you to quit? We can do something else. We can settle down." I looked at him.

"Ano? Anong settle down? Kailan ka pa nakakaisip ng ganyan?" I asked.

Chain and I weren't really the type to discuss these kinds of things.

"I mean... Life is short. Do we really want to spend a part of it chasing down a psychopath?" I raised an eyebrow. I feel like I dont even know who Im talking to.

"Chain, Are you asking me to get married?" He shook his head.

"Hindi naman sa ganoon,"

"Im just saying that there will be a time that Im not gonna be with you. Ayoko namang iwanan ka nang ganito." I stared at him, Confused.

"What are you talking about?" Umiling si Chain.

"Im just saying that we dont know what's gonna come our way. We dont know what will happen."

"That's why Im trying my best to control the situation. Plus, We cant stop now. They're gonna arrest us if we dont find out who these criminal masterminds are." He sighed. I checked the code again.

"Im losing my mind with this thing." I tapped my pen on the desk.

"What are you planning to do now?" Chain asked.

"Check last months orbituary. Check if some people found dead bodies near the places that Roel was last seen in." Chain nodded and got on his computer.

After a few minutes of intently looking at the papers and his computer he sighed.

"None of these men match up with any of the details we have."

"Where was he last seen?" I asked. He shuffled the papers.

"According to these police reports, Malapit sa Trinity church a recognizable business man was seen lurking around the place at night. Could or could not be Rodel,"

"But according to everyone who saw, It matched Mariel's descriptions and the photos." I nodded.

"So the police already did some work?" Tanong ko. Chain nodded.

"Yeah. Pero mukhang sinukuan nalang nila ito." I pursed my lips.

"Hm... Okay."

"We have to go there. Ask a few more people and inspect the place for anything fishy."

"Ngayon na ba...?" Chain asked.

"Tawagan mo si Prina. Pagtapos noon, Aalis na tayo.''

"There is something so much more here, I can feel it." I said, Suspicious. I stood up and approached the door.

"Saan ka pupunta?" Chain asked.

"Im gonna grab coffee from the canteen. Gusto mo ba?" Chain nodded.

"Sige lang, Mahal." Sabi ni Chain habang binabasa ang impormasyon.

As I strolled along the long agency halls, I felt uneasy. The walls around me doesnt feel like the same walls that I used to walk confidently on. It feels suffocating. Para bang mas maliit ito kesa sa naaalala ko.

I focused on my breathing and looked straight ahead. Slow elegants strides brought me to the canteen. I pursed my lips.

"Hey. Coffee?" I walked in on detective Tyler who's leaning on the coffee maker.

"Yeah... One white and one black." I said, Panting. Tyler smiled.

"Sure." He pressed some buttons and handed me a white coffee. I opened multiple sugar packets and stirred it in my coffee as the detective prepared Chain's black coffee.

"Here." I grabbed the coffee and thanked him.

"By the way... I saw someone standing by your car at lunch. I didnt catch him since he saw me and ran away. I thought maybe you'd want to know that." My eyebrows met. What does he mean?

"Salamat." I quickly got out of the canteen and headed my way back to our office. Who could that be? Morse? Acros? Scarlet?

"May nakita raw si Tyler sa sasakyan ko kanina." Chain looked confused as he took his coffee. He sipped on the hot and bitter beverage.

"Tyler? What does he want this time?"

"Nothing, He just told me. Someone was just standing there. He was gonna confront them but they ran away." Chain chuckled.

"Fuckin detective didnt even see any detail? Or important information?" He took a sip on his coffee.

"We have to go. I have a bad feeling about this." I rushed out of the office, Not before locking it.

Chain trailed behind me as I ran towards the parking lot. I quickly opened my car doors and searched the inside.

"Tignan mo ito." Chain held up a video tape from the backseat of my car.

"Get in." I sat down on the driver's seat with Chain beside me. I inspected the tape. It looked normal. Wala namang nakadikit na sulat o kahit anong marka dito.

"Shit. I dont have a VHS player." I cussed.

"I have one in my apartment, That's also near the church where they last saw Rodel Madrid. Let's go."

The ride to Chain's apartment was quiet. The atmosphere was so tensed and I could feel my heart pounding. What kind of brutal or gorey bullshit could have been stored in that?