It was stupid of me to ask. He was wearing a uniform, one that made his outline more firm and rigid, the kind of sight that always made me think about what might be behind those clothes. He was definitely bulky, and thinking about it now, I loved how his whole body almost suffocated me the couple of times he was on top of me.
" A detective? Woah, that's uh...….. that's cool", I said, scratching the back of my head.
" You know him from somewhere?" The other cop that was standing with him asked, probably seeing how agitated I was. His creepy eyes were like a natural scanner, one that was able to read even the smallest details in a room.
" Yeah, yeah", Basil responded, looking at him and looking back at me as he said, " we had quite a special encounter".
I would've rolled my eyes if he had said that over a phone. Yes we had a special encounter, but did he have to tell everyone? Okay, he didn't tell everyone, but he said it in front of Mr Creepy, and I could've bet my little ass that he understood what those very words meant.
Basil's eyes were killing me, those green eyes, they were like leaves that had turned sharp in an instant and were stabbing directly at my heart and conscience, making me want to apologize, but I knew that I couldn't, that I wouldn't. Why the hell should I apologize for leaving his calls and texts unattended to? He wasn't my husband, neither was he my boyfriend, he wasn't even an acquaintance, he was just a fling, a fling that I met only twice, a one-night stand that became a two-night stand, but my heart didn't seem to recognize reality. The damn heart was chastising me, flogging me for obviously breaking the heart of such a sweet boy.
Don't ask me how I knew he was a sweet boy, two sex with him was encounter enough to realize.
And even his eyes wasn't even helping matters. They were just there, looking like that of a cute puppy that had been abandoned, a cute puppy that had thrown my underwear to the other side of the room and had fucked me until my manhole became sore with pleasure and pain.
" Well, I uh...… I have to you know...….go see him", I pointed to the door.
" Sure", he said, making way for me as walked in, feeling hot in the air conditioned room.
" Get it together boy. Do what you came here for", I said to myself while still standing at the door, and by the time I looked up, my supposing client was staring at me as if I was a green alien from Mars.
" Mr John Doe?" I asked, walking forward, putting on a professional tone and trying my best to make up for the alienic first impression.
" Yes", he nodded.
" I am Mr Davids, your attorney", I stretched my hand to him before taking the seat opposite him. He looked young, not too young, but seemed around twenty or twenty-one, but I was startled when I checked my file later and realized that he was actually Thirty-two. He was surely an anti-aging human being because that shit just wasn't possible. He could've easily passed off as a highschool student. I was pretty sure that he was always asked for his I.D each time he went to a convenience store to grab a beer.
" So..", I began, " I was going through your file this morning, and um...….. it was stated that Mr Crown, the defendant, has a video tape of you engaging in the said crime, and yet you've refused to plead guilty. Why is that?" I still hoped I had sounded professional, not polite, not rude, just professional, just like the officer at the front desk.
" Is that even a question? It's because I didn't do it, okay, I've never stolen anything in my life and I didn't steal what that damn man is accusing me of", he said, rage creeping into his voice. Why did I not expect that reaction?
" Look, John", I said, trying to invoke seriousness by using his first name, " this is a serious case, okay? This isn't juvenile or detention, you could actually go to jail for this or be fined heavily to the extent that you'll have to spend the rest of your life working your ass off to pay it off. I need nothing from you but the truth".
" And that is what I am telling you. I didn't steal", he said, firmly.
Frustration was definitely setting in.
" Are you aware of the fact that there is a video coverage of you taking the stolen item?" I already said that there was a video tape, but I had to remind him again.
" Yes, I am, okay, but that isn't me. It cannot be me. It might be a lost twin brother of mine or a terribly lookalike doppelganger, but it isn't me, I didn't steal it", he insisted, and something in his tone told me that he would never accept that he was guilty. Well, he had probably gotten to that stage in lying where his brain build up images and creates memories based on those lies, memories that never happened but still seems real to him. Considering that it was his lost twin brother was completely out of the question. We were not in some Philippine movie where twins were separated at birth and raised under different circumstances, with one becoming a bad person; an armed robber or a kidnapper, while the other turns out to become a good person. And it was also absurd to consider that it was his doppelganger because we were definitely not in the Flash movie where there were parallel universes and everyone had a lookalike existing in the other universe. Even if we had doppelgangers in another parallel universe, how did his doppelganger appear on this universe? Such transportation between void space and time was impossible at the current level of technology, and will probably remain that way forever.
" Please, John, I am your attorney, and I promise that I will do my utmost best to see to it that you are not punished", I should've added ' severely', " but you have to be honest with me. You have to tell me the truth. There is no way I can help you without knowing the truth", I said, recaps of Law 356 and how Mr Francis taught the topics in it slowly crawling into my memory. He was a great lecturer, and he had made it clear to us that the most important thing in our careers as lawyers was the truth, especially knowing the truth about the situation of our clients.
" My father used to tell me that there are three most important people whom you must tell the truth at all times", he (Mr Francis) had said in class one certain time, " the first person is yourself. Yes, you, yourself", he pointed at each one of us, " the second person is your pastor or your priest or your imam, whatever it is your religion is".
" What if you do not have a religion?" Someone from the backseat asked.
" Oh, well, if that's the case, then we scrape it off, and that leaves you with just two people, sad, isn't it", he said and we chuckled at how sarcastic he sounded. " The last person is your lawyer", he continued, " whether or not you are going to be pleading guilty or not in court, it is your obligation to tell your lawyer the truth. I know that when some of you go out there and start your profession, you will likely work for big, rich people who would always plead innocent in court even though it is very obvious that they are guilty", the whole class erupted in laughter, " but then, just to make sure that your ass isn't kicked in court, make sure that that big, rich client of yours tells you every single detail about what happened, every facet of truth, because only then will you be able to fathom how to use the ignorance of your opponent to save your client".
That was about four years ago.
" I am telling you the truth. I didn't do it, I didn't steal it", John Doe said again, forcing me to give up. He wasn't even a big, rich client, and he was expecting me to lie on his behalf in court.
I stepped out of the room to find Basil and the other guy still at the door. They must've intensely watched what was going on through the window.
" I'm done with him, at least for today", I said, " I'll have to be on my way now", I quickly added.
" Okay", Basil said, looking at me as if he was still expecting me to say something, and as I walked fastly in an attempt to get out of his sight and breath the air he wasn't breathing, barely letting my heels to touch the ground, he said, " see you later".
" Okay, see you later", I responded on impulse, hoping never to see him again.