The Killers of Ruth Bago

The sound of the loud thud of the gavel gave everyone a sight to see as Judge Frederico Ignacio used it inside the courtroom. Several flashes of light came in as the images of a dead body appeared on the white screen beside Atty. Mika Solon, the lawyer for the victim's family. Her stern posture gave everyone the impression to pay attention to what she was about to say. "Ruth Santos, Bago, a 21-year-old College student who lived in Barangay 237 in Panayang City was found dead inside her room on September 19, 2019, 3 days after her actual death," Mika began as soon as the timid smiling Ruth flashed on the screen. The left part of the courtroom was filled with sobs. Evan Tan, the man who handles the prosecution, intently looked at Mika and to the picture of Ruth while his right hand supported his head. He was not really paying attention to what his ex-girlfriend was saying. He was as surprised as hell after Mika showed up as Ruth's family attorney, knowing her disposition in the justice world where she strictly handles cases from famous and powerful people in the country. He had to review a couple of pages on Ruth's initial investigation since there was no suspect at that moment, not until today. He seemed to not care about the case because it was deemed kept in a box so as to not make a shockwave to social media platforms because of a certain lawyer who requested it. Evan was annoyed at that request so he became uninterested with Ruth until he sat on his comfortable wooden cushioned chair at the left side of the courtroom where he could freely look at Mika. Another picture flashed unto the screen that showed scattered blood on the floor, and the knife neatly placed beside the victim, untouched by the rusty smelling red liquid. The patterns on the floor cover were in checkered colors of blue and white. Ruth's eyes were open as if the whole time she was murdered she recorded everything in her dark brown eyes. The girl had beautiful chinky eyes with long lashes. Her hair was straight and long but because it was soaked in her own blood, it was distorted and scattered everywhere. It was a tendency Evan presumed as though the body had collapsed on the floor after she was slashed on the neck and drowned with her own blood. Her hair was scattered soaking each strand with it. The markings on her slashed neck showed that she tried to stop her own bleeding while choking at it. Her hands filled with blood and were surprisingly placed side to side of her torso. "We have discovered that her murderer had left no trace of his fingerprints onto almost all of Ruth's body parts or even in any other things inside her room. Thus, giving us the conclusion that this was a planned murder." Mika spoke again. "Today, we have a lead to Ruth's murder as someone showed up and now have plans to tell us today what he has to say." The room was filled with gasps and murmurs. A tall man walked on the aisle approaching the center. He was accompanied by four uniformed men who waited by the door. He, then, sat on the cubicle and started to talk. "My name is Johanne dela Vega, the owner of Vega Mall and a celebrity," he introduced himself to everyone. Evan rubbed his chin harshly as his question in his head finally had an answer. How could he only focus on Mika when there's a bigger fish involved? Johanne dela Vega is the businessman owning a huge corporation in the country called 'Vega Century Corp,' and a well-known personality because of his crazy wealth and his scholarship programs, was all Evan could remember about him. This is obviously why the media should be off-limits. In his opinion, it would be a good decision to keep this a secret. Media sometimes distorts reality to people that watch or listen. It might be difficult for him to handle such a case if it was shared all over the news. He must be wary of it. He intently watched Mika cross-examine the young businessman as she was pacing back and forth in front of him. Mika wore a gray coat and dark pants. She stood there confidently with her usual speculative eyes. "How are you related to Ruth Bago?" she'd asked him. "She was my scholar for about two and a half years now." "I just wanna clear things up. This might gauge other things but this question will definitely help the case," she informed him. "Is it true that you made Ruth not only your scholarship beneficiary but also your s*x slave?" Loud gasps and shouts echoed in the courtroom. The family of Ruth began to react angrily at the question. They couldn't believe what Mika was asking. Johanne pressed his eyelids together and then opened them again. "Y-yes. I made her do things--" "You bastard! You're sick! You killed my daughter! You killed her!" A woman in her late 50's shouted at the top of her lungs. It was Ruth's biological mother, Evan presumed. Her physical features say so. She sat beside the other women in the audience. Ruth's father was sitting beside Mika's chair. He was silent the whole time and avoided everyone's gaze. Loud thuds of the gavel took over again. Judge Frederico gazed down at the people. "Order!" He shouted. "You may continue, Atty. Solon." "Thank you, your honor." Mika looked at Johanne again. "How did you come up with such an idea for a job, Mr. Dela Vega? Why did you make Ruth a s*x slave?" "I am a s*x m-maniac. I just acquired her through her father, that's all." "Is it true that you already knew her prior to it?" Mika followed another question. Johanne was silent for a while as he was looking down at his hands. After a moment, Mika asked the question again. "Y-yes. I knew her. We were at the same school. I was taking up my master's and met her there," he confessed. **** Evan walked slowly on the corridor of the City Trial Court Building of Panayang as the first session ended successfully. His black long prosecutor gown flew at his pacing. He sighed as he remembered Johanne's statement. Seeing such an odd scene made him regret his decision for not paying much attention to Ruth's case. It was a good case and a difficult one, perhaps. Evan handled so many cases involving other powerful men and celebrities and they ended up in jail because of him. Some started to threaten his life but he managed to get away from it by the book. Seeing Johanne earlier, Evan realized that there was something odd about him. It was like the guy was baffled and agitated. His statement also could not give Evan the impression to finally see a development. He has to confirm all of his statements first. Watching a trial being unprepared makes him sick to the core. He wanted to punch his face because of that. A hand suddenly stopped his arm. He stood there while looking at Mika's amused look. She aged younger as he noticed her blooming face. Her smile glowed, nothing compared to the last time she'd seen her. It was running 2 years since they both agreed to stop dating. Although left puzzled, Evan let her be as she was more of a career woman than a lover to him. He also noticed her wavy brown hair was longer now. She wore a red signature bag and a comfortable coat. Her nails weren't polished. She must've worked hard studying Ruth's case, Evan thought. "Hey... umm... Do you want a coffee or something?" she asked after a brief silence. People kept on pacing to and fro the corridor while they stared at each other's eyes. It's as if reading them could tell couple-of-years-catching-up-with-life talks. He wanted to talk to her so badly, or just rest for a couple of hours staring at her from afar. Evan agreed, so they found a place for a coffee. The overlooking busy skyway buzzed their ambiance on the rooftop of the coffee shop while sipping at their caramel macchiato and hazelnut. They were silent for a while and Mika was the one to break the ice. "It's a tough case, isn't it?" Evan nodded while looking at the road. "I was a bit annoyed realizing it today. It's really a big case. You won't believe it if I say I snubbed it." She giggled. "I don't believe you." "See? I was right." He smiled. She smiled while rubbing the lid of her cup. "Any questions?" Evan looked at her and waited, "like, why did I end up handling a case like this?" Evan flattened his lips formidably and answered. "I've proved enough just a while ago." She giggled. "Am I that obvious?" "Yeah..." For a minute, they were silent. They let their eyes speak for their hearts. Mika smiled at him. "You know it's still nice seeing you here. I'm glad you're the prosecutor." Evan just smiled as a reply. "What? Are you not going to ask me how my life was? Was that it?" Evan erased his smile and looked at Mika's desperate eyes. He was a bit ashamed after that. He lowered his gaze and cleared his throat. He's always not good at words when it comes to Mika. He always failed her in many ways. He admits what he's capable of and lacking. He even blamed himself for her decision to break up with him. He was too secretive, too silent, and too naive. Mika was his first love. They have been together since their college days. But discovering their feelings was a bit too late for affection over work. He was not ready to be open and he was always stiff. He never liked the idea of being weak at anyone's sight. He was always smiling and nodding the whole time she talked and it annoyed her. "How have you been?" He suddenly asked her. It was a bit of a surprise to Mika. She left her mouth open, unable to know what to say. Afterward, she laughed. "I-I'm really amused right now..." she commented. "I'm fine now. I'm finally fine now that you finally asked." They smiled at each other and finished drinking their coffees. **** Evening came and Evan started to face his fully loaded files. He sighed at his desk inside his study room in his flat while sitting next to it. He wanted to focus on Ruth's case so he filed other papers away and looked over unto Ruth's. While scanning them, he looked at the clock by the wall and saw it was already 10 in the evening. He gazed at his window and heard the buzzing sounds of the busy roads. It was his comfortable melody by night. He read all of the information written in the paper, saw the pictures and other important points. He suddenly stopped at Johanne's alibi statement. It says there that he prepared a tape for the actual statement. A tape was provided for Evan. His team acquired it for his research. The team discovered that due to Johanne's anxiety, he could not write down his statements. He decided to record it and hand it over to his team. Johanne's party strictly prohibited them from exposing it out in the public and avoided causing a commotion. He walked into his drawer beside the window and started to find something. When he found the walkman cassette tape player, he inserted the transparent tape and started to play it with headphones on his ears. "Hi. My name is Johanne dela Vega, 29 years old, the owner of Vega Malls. I-I recorded this statement three days after Ruth was found dead. I couldn't sleep nor eat, and couldn't focus on my duty as a CEO. I decided to tell you this because this might give me peace of mind afterward. I wanted to get a peaceful sleep at night." Evan heard Johanne's sigh. "This statement of mine will probably shock everyone but I should say it anyway." He paused. There were a few silence and sighs in the recording before Evan heard the guy speak again. "I killed Ruth. I killed her."