C5 4

UNITED STATES. (3 DAYS AFTER)

"Do I have a boyfriend?" Pag-uulit na tanong ko sa tanong sa akin ni Morgan. Kanina niya pa ako kinukulit na may Boyfriend daw ako.

"Uh– you just repeated the question, ibig sabihin niyan totoo ang sinasabi ko." Pang-aasar niya pa.

I rolled my eyes on him at sumandal sa back rest ng swivel chair ko, tsaka pinatong ang dalawang paa na magkapatong sa may desk. "The answer is no." Mataray na sagot ko sa kan'ya.

"C'mon, Perse. Alam ng lahat that you hate the phone."

Tumaas ang kilay ko sa sinabi niya, "No, I don't"

"Actually–" sabat ni Reid. Umupo siya sa swivel chair niya at pinatong ang kargang libro sa may desk niya. "You do. You always hate the phone, Perse."

Marahas akong bumuntong hininga at umupo ng maayos. I do, I actually hate the phone. Pero kapamilya ko ang tumatawag, and my hands are tied in this family conflict.

"Did you know that alexander graham bell and eli gray simultaneously invented electronic sound transmission devices? It came down to a race betwixt the two–"

"Ye, and bell beat gray to the patent office by a matter of hours." I cut Reid's random rumbling off. Nagtataka silang parehong nakatingin sa akin. Iiling iling akong humarap sa kanila, "Common knowledge."

"Why are you acting so weird?" Natatawang tanong ni Morgan.

Marahas akong bumuntong hininga at binagsak ang likod sa back rest ng swivel chair. "We're sitting with a guy who knows that there are 800 kernels of corn on the average cob–"

"Ranged in 16 separate rows." sabat ni Reid.

Taas noo kong pinilig ang ulo ko para ituro si Reid habang nakatingin kay Morgan. "And, you're calling me weird?"

"I knew it! You have a boyfriend."

Agad na nalukot ang mukha ko at napasinghal sa kan'ya. I scoffed at him, "And you're basing it on what, exactly? By the fact that I hate the phone?" Tinawanan lang ako ni Morgan at kininditan, na lalong nagpa-usbong ng damdamin ko para maging defensive. "You've been a profiler for how long now, Derek? And, that's– that's weak. That's weak."

Itinaas niya ang kamay niya na parang sumusuko pero ang tingin ay nang-aasar pa rin. Gosh! Why am I so defensive and tensed this past few days?

"Who's weak?" Tanong ni JJ bago lumagpas sa amin. Agad naman kaming sumunod sa kan'ya, kapag nakita na namin si JJ na papunta sa round table room– alam na agad naming may bagong case.

"Morgan thinks Perse has a boyfriend." Kunot noong sabi ni Reid.

Sumulyap naman sa akin si JJ, "Do you?"

Nakangisi akong kumindat kay JJ. "It's more fun not to answer that question."

"That right there, is a yes!" Natutuwang sambit ni Morgan sa likuran namin. Umiling-ilong na lang sa akin si JJ at natatawang binuksan ang pinto ng round table room.

Andoon na ang ibang m'yembro ng team namin.

"Welcome to the briefing room– as to my own term is the doomed room, my lieges." Bati sa amin ni Garcia pagkapasok.

Naupo ako sa gitna ni Hotch at Reid.

"Today–" pinulot niya ang remote sa table at inopen ang monitor, kung saan naka-ready na ang presentation ni Garcia para i-brief kami kung anong case ang kukunin namin. "The destination will be the land of Pasta, specifically Naples. Only, you're not there to enjoy a pizza, the only thing you'll be gobbling over there is this guy..." Naka-ngiwi niyang pinindot ang next slide, and there it is... the case.

"Lucia Romano, 25, Second victim in Naples city." She was weirdly dressed, like an 1980s woman. Nakaupo ito sa merry-go-round na walang buhay, bukas ang mata. "We can all see that this sick dude took his time with her appearance. Her nails were polished, her hair was cut, and her clothes were brand new."

"He wants her to look her best when found." Hotch commented in his usual monotone.

"That's a lot of remorse." Tatango tango namang kumento ko habang nakatingin sa presentation.

"Who is victim number one?" Tanong ni Morgan.

Garcia skipped to the next slide. "Stacia Vitale, 29, she was found at a local playground". Again, dressed weirdly habang nakaupo sa isang swing, lifeless. "There was no visible connections between these two. Lucia was married, Stacia was single. Lucia worked at a diner, Stacia was a corporate lawyer. According to their credit cards, they never came within 10 miles of each other."

"Both women were taken two months ago?" Tanong ko.

"Yeah, they lived such completely different lives." Sagot ni Garcia.

"Was there any evidence of sexual assault?" - Prentiss

"There was no evidence of violence of any kind." - Garcia

"So, how did they die?" - Reid.

Ngumiwi lang sa amin si Garcia at ini-skip na sa next slide.

ITALY (NAPLES CITY)

PAGPASOK NAMIN ni Morgan sa isang tailor shop– La Moda Sarta ang pangalan ng shop, ay dumeretso kami sa counter.

Tinanggal ni Morgan ang shades niya at pinindot ang isang buzzer na nakapatong sa counter top.

"Hindi ko ma-imagine pinag-dadaanan ng mga babaeng biktima." Pabuntong hiningang sabi ni Morgan.

"Yeah, ako rin. You're just there, couldn't do anything– parang inaantay mo na lang ang pagkamatay mo." Umiiling-iling naman na sagot ko.

To break it down, they were drugged. It was a two types of drugs that caused them to be paralyzed. They were paralyzed, but they are conscious. Physical immobility, but has mental awareness. I can't imagine having to sit through to what your capture has been doing to you until ang utak mo na mismo ang nagkusang bumigay.

"Salve, siamo qui per fare alcune domande, va bene?" Trans: Hello, we're here to ask some questions if that's okay? Tanong ni Morgan nang may lumabas na lalaki mula sa pinto sa loob ng counter. Nakataas ang badge niya para makita ng kausap.

Minsan nakakabigla talaga pagiging multilingual ng lalaking 'to.

"Si, certo, signore." Trans: Yes, sure, sir.

"Ma, prima di tutto, parli inglese? Il mio amico qui non capisce l'italiano." Trans: But, before that, do you speak English? My friend here doesn't understand italian.

I don't know what Morgan said, pero tumingin sa akin ang lalaking kausap niya at ngumiti. "I apologize, sir. But, sure I can speak English." Sagot niya kay Morgan.

Parang nakahinga nang maluwag ang tenga ko dahil doon. It's good to hear familiar words in a foreign country.

"Uhm" tumikhim ako at bahagyang lumapit sa kan'ya. Inilapag ko ang picture ng pangalawang biktima sa counter. "Do you know this woman?"

Sinilip niya ito at tumango sa amin, "Yes, I remember her. She's friend with one of our madame, she comes here often." Nagkatinginan kami ni Morgan. Well, that's something. Nilapag ko naman ang isa pang picture, picture ng dress na nakasuot sa mga biktima noong natagpuan sila.

"Do you ever farm out tailoring jobs, someone who might have done this?" Turo ko sa picture.

He examined the picture for a couple of seconds at kalaunan ay umiling siya sa amin. "To be honest, we wouldn't even sell something so dated."

Tinanguan ko na lang siya kinuha na ang pictures, well at least we've learned something. "Thank you" pasasalamat namin ni Morgan. Maglalakad na sana kami palabas nang may biglang nagsalita.

"Let me take a look." Isang matanda. Old fashioned lady, puti na ang buhok niya yet her style is so delicate.

Tinanguan ako ni Morgan kaya naman ay inabot ko sa matanda ang pictures ng dress. Isinuot niya ang glasses niya at sinipat nang mabuti ang pictures.

"Where did you get this?" Tanong niya kalaunan. Nagkatinginan kami ni Morgan at agad na lumapit sa matanda. "Look at this lockstitch." Turo niya sa pattern kung paano nagawa ang dress. "It's a handkerchief pattern. You see this on a silk-sewn handkerchief. And it's all done by hand."

So this is her signature, the dress, the sewing pattern.

"Is there someplace that specializes in handcrafted sewing like that?" Tanong ni Morgan sa matanda.

The old lady firmly shook her head. "No, I'll tell you this much though. She's been at it a long time, this woman... is an artist." Nginitian ko siya at kinuha ang pictures na hawak niya.

"Grazie mille." Trans: Thank you so much. Nakangiting bati ko at naglakad na paalis.

Nagtatakang nakatingin sa akin si Morgan nang masundan niya ako sa labas.

"Italian?" Hindi makapaniwalang tanong niya.

"Don't expect anything, I only know how to thank people." Pareho kaming natawa dahil sa sinabi ko. Oh e', ano ngayon kung thank you lang kaya kong sabihin na italian word? At least, may alam 'di ba?

Iiling iling siyang naunang maglakad papunta sa sasakyan. Susunod na sana ako nang–

"Kade?"