PETER remained seated on a concrete bench at the lawn of the forensic office.
He was done with his prayer, but he didn’t know where to turn anymore. So he sat there, staring into space.
Suddenly, the young man heard his name called behind him.
“Lawyer Pedro? Is that Lawyer Pedro right there?”
Peter turned to see who was looking for him. And when he turned to answer, it was someone he didn’t recognize.
He was carrying a bag in his hand. And the security operatives moved with him.
The man walked up to him, so he stood up to receive him.
He offered a hand. “I have just asked for you. The result is ready now.”
Peter shook hands with him, looking in his eyes, as he couldn’t still place the face.
The middle-aged man saw that the younger one was curious about him. And saw that he wasn’t as concerned about the recording as he was about his identity.
So he quickly cleared the air. “Oh, I’m A.G. Maxwell. The Director of Forensics here.
“I asked one of your staff to point you to me, as I want to meet you personally.
“I guess you are the lead counsel for the plaintiff on psychomicide—”
Peter answered him. “Yes I am. I’m Peter Pedro by name.”
They shook hands again. “Nice meeting you, Mr. Pedro.” Maxwell had a warm smile.
“Same here, sir.” Peter wasn’t quite warm as him.
Maxwell moved to sit on the concrete, so Peter saw that the man was set for a talk. He joined him to sit down and wondered what he had to say.
Then again he wasn’t curious about it as he recalled what the man had promised Cannon.
The director read this in Peter’s eyes. So he made more effort.
“I want you to have a quick listen to the final result. That’s why I sought you out.
“We have the voices highlighted now. And we can begin identification when we’ve got the suspect and their voice sample.”
Peter didn’t sound impressed. “What is there to listen to?” he grumbled.
Maxwell looked up at him and tried again. “Oh come on, let’s listen together.”
He opened his bag and brought out a laptop. He logged on and logged into his work base.
“Here is the recording file. We’ve mounted the MP3 and extracted the file.
“Then we’ve enhanced the necessary sounds and separated the background noise. So let me play it from here.”
The security men stepped closer and stayed alert.
The man tapped to play and the voices came up distinct and clear. It was the same recording, and now it had become a weapon for the Martinez.
Peter listened to the end and he couldn’t hide the joy.
“What happened? How did it—? Oh how do I thank you, sir? Thank you very much!”
Maxwell looked at him and smiled. He saw the surprise in his face.
“What do you think? You thought I will compromise the file?
“No, I won’t. But still, you’ve got the right to think this way.
“I got a call today from Cannon’s VC... I mean the University President, the Vice Chancellor.
“He told me what to do about the forensics. I knew if I refused him, he’d find other ways to get his wish.
“So I told him not to worry. That I’ll ensure that no damage is done to the big name.
“I didn’t want them desperate by either bribing or blackmailing more people. So I said that to stop them.
“But what Cannon people didn’t know is that they are never the big name.
“They didn’t know that there is a Name above every other one. And at that Name every single knee bows.
“That Name is who I have reverence for. And that is the Lord Jesus.”
Peter was stunned to hear this. He’d never thought that this could happen.
He’d just seen someone reverence Jesus beyond this world’s standards. And he so felt encouraged.
He wanted to be like this. Wanted to stay right, too.
“Still this isn’t for Pendulum or the plaintiff,” Maxwell continued to talk.
“It is for God and my fear of Him. I do not want to be part of Cannon’s bad deeds.
“Most of the lecturers were my colleagues in those days. You should know I finished from there, too. Long before they began all what you dub Psychomicide.
“So I know the school well. But I don’t want to be part of their bad deeds now. I’ve got reverence for my God!”
He stood up to leave and Peter got up, too.
“Now your evidence is ready and we’re sending it back,” he said.
“National Forensics is ready anytime you have the prime suspect. Then we can take the voice samples and analyze them.”
He stretched a hand to Peter. “I wish you luck, Lawyer Pedro. Keep up the good fight.”
Peter shook hands with him and his hands were trembling.
The older one looked at him and smiled. Nobody needed to tell him what happened.
He turned to leave as Peter dropped in his seat behind him.
“Ah Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” Those were the only words the lawyer found.
And he kept on breathing, “Oh Jesus! Jesus!”
That moment Dr. Maxwell had a brilliant smile.
This young man must’ve prayed. Really, he must have!
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