By Ardy & Dave
I was really looking forward to coming home after the hearty lunch and was no longer looking forward to seeing the suspect.
It was already about 2 pm and I felt the emotional exhaustion from my interaction with Mary Joy and her mother.
I felt another jolt of anxiety when I realized that we were going back to the munisipyo to speak with the suspect. I didn’t want to be assuming at that time and I could not help but ask: Will things turn out well? Kaya ba gyud namo?
I was asking myself if seeing the suspect was something that I wanted to do.
My phone rang and it was a text message from Ma’am Ardy and she said that if I am scared I can stay behind and simply sit in the van. .
No. No I told myself. I could not forgive myself if I would abandon her in this seeming time of peril. I consider her as my second mother and if I abandon her in a time of danger, it would speak of volumes about me as a coward.
Yes, I was afraid at that time but I’m not a coward. I will be with Ma’am Ardy if she indeed will decide to go to the munisipyo. That was my decision at that very moment.
But was the suspect still in the munisipyo or already committed to the district jail somewhere here in the province? I know that a suspect will be placed in the lock-up jail only until the case has been filed if it was an inquest proceeding. I might be wrong, but I hope that I was right, then. This would be a moment saver if the suspect was no longer in the town’s jail and was already transferred to the district jail.
To ease my anxiety, I kept on thinking about plants and beautiful plants. This was one of my ways to lower my blood pressure.
The conversation at the dining table was all about health and specifically about blood pressure. I have been successful in controlling my blood pressure of late and this time I felt that my BP was already too high for comfort.
I felt I was about to throw up because of the anxiety. There were really lots of ifs and what ifs that lurked in my mind.
- If we really would proceed to the munisipyo, how would Mam Ardy start the conversation? Softly? Hurtingly? Frankly? Arrogantly?
- What if the suspect would really “open fire” with his temper?
- What if the suspect would get very wild again?
- What if the police officers will not allow us to speak with the suspect?
As I glanced at Ruth, the secretary of Ma’am Ardy, I also wanted to know what was in her mind? So I asked her. And she said: “Mangadto kuno lagi ta sa munisipyo kay gusto makigkita si Ma’am sa nanakbas. Kadto bang ama-ama ni Mary Joy.”
This has become a scary story for me. I don’t want to be the subject of a news report where the headline reads: Journalists mauled by prisoner. Huh!
I suddenly appeased myself by saying silently that it was just a scary thought – and not a reality. I was just maybe getting ahead of myself.
“Dali sa mo . . . Dali sa mo . . . Faster!”
I heard somebody screaming the words with urgency. I could not see the owner of the voice. I looked around and saw everyone going back to the living room of the mayor’s house. Without asking why, I quickly ran inside the house.
“Naunsa na man pud ni. Unsa na man pod ni oi?” I asked.
(To be continued)
At the living room of the residence of Mayor Necitas Cubrado of Pilar, Bohol. Seated clockwise are: Dave Albarado and Ardy Araneta-Batoy of The Bohol Tribune; Dr. Mutya Kismet Macuno, chief of hospital of the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH), and Mayor Cubrado
Still at the living room of the Cubrado residence are (clockwise): Dave Albarado, Batoy and Dr. Mutya Kismet Macuno
Resting luxuriously at the Cubrado living room are Dr. Macuno (left) and Mayor Cubrado (right).
Standing for a photo opportunity at the receiving area of the Cubrado residence are (from left): Dave Albarado, Ardy Araneta-Batoy, Physical Therapist Jeffrey Real of the GCGMH, Mayor Cubrado and Dr. Macuno.
The “Mary Joy Team” is about to leave the residence of Mayor Cubrado. Standing on a queue are: Dr. Macuno, Dave Albarado, Ardy Araneta-Batoy, Ruth Anino-Iyog and Mayor Cubrado (partly hidden behind Batoy)