Secrets of Lakefront House
CHAPTER 54. RECORDING A CONVERSATION

Arlina Arsyanendra got up and repositioned herself sitting next to her husband but made no attempt to comfort her stepdaughter. Perhaps also, because of the presence of Ratih Arsyanendra there will most likely— bit his head for trying to seize his place as his mother.

"Let's go" said Sarah.

“Give me a minute.” Jilena is eager to stay even longer as long as the Arstanendra family is still there. Perhaps there would be something important that he could capture from her and record. Sarah stared at the device, then looked back at Jilena. “You can stay,” he whispered, "but I have to get back to work."

Jilena sat back down while Sarah jostled through it. "Hopefully it works," said Sarah, keeping her voice low, and she proceeded to the line. Ratih Arsyanendra turned towards Sarah's voice. "Well, hello, Jilena."

The woman's greeting caught the attention of Mr. Arsyanendra and Arlina Arsyanendra as well. Jilena quickly pulled back the recorder, put it in her bag, and stood up.

"Hello, Mrs Arsyanendra," he said, looking into Ratih's eyes. “I hope we meet each other in better circumstances.”

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Arsyanendra growled and looked at him with a displeased look.

"The course of my work." replied Jilena briefly.

...*...

Jilena drove her car back to her home to write her story about the indictment - the son of the number one man in the town of Lembayung. His hands were still trembling slightly due to his encounter with Mr. Arsyanendra. He thought about Noah and how scared he was of seeing the accusations. He could see that all the confidence and arrogance he had had suddenly disappeared. If his lawyer cannot get him out of this case, then he will likely spend most of the rest of his life in prison.

The conversation they had on the previous day was playing around in his mind. Not only did he firmly deny any part in Mariana's death, but he also—expressed his love for Jilena once again. Is Noah Arsyanendra really in love with him? After all these years? Is he really sorry for everything, how his parents treated him and the situation at that time that really made Jilena slumped? His father and mother had encouraged him to hand over the baby to an orphanage, but that was only because his father gave in to Mr?Aryanendra who kept putting pressure on him?

His father was a coward. At least that's how he sees it. She has not been able to stand up for him, or for his granddaughter. If he does, maybe it will make him lose the biggest client, but can't he get another client? Maybe they wouldn't have so many advantages, but wouldn't his own flesh and blood be more important to him than—uang? And why didn't his mother speak her mind that night? For sure she knows what it's like to have a baby of her own, she must know the emotional pain of handing over a baby born by her daughter to someone else. Or does he really think it's the best, because— he said? Jilena has to choose for her future.

He drove the car into the driveway, the feeling of being at home, giving him the desire to get a break, had too many thoughts filled with questions that could no longer be answered. Straight into the study, he sat in front of the computer, ready to start typing his story. He took out a micro-recorder from inside his bag and put it on the table. He pressed the play button to listen to the process once again and typed in an outline as he listened. When he got to the end of the indictment, and he heard the judge calling,

“Next case!” He took the device and held it tight, hoping to hear what Lord Arsyanendra once said to his son.

"I'll do whatever I have to do, to get you out, son," is what he hears from her. But there was something else, something after that, something he said while whispering into Noah's ear. Jilena was tense hearing it. There were some sounds, some faint words, but he could not make the voice sound clear. He played the tape over and over again, but all he could hear from the tape were words of apology. What did Arsyanendra tell him his son?

Perhaps the conversation that the recorder cannot capture is nothing, perhaps more than a few words of encouragement. On the other hand, maybe Lesti in the criminal lab could do wonders on the tape and he would know. He had a story to write and got into the paper before too long, but if he hadn't called Lesti now, he might have left today. He grabbed his phone, but stopped for a moment.

What's he thinking? Lesti won't take orders from a reporter. Jilena must go through Jonathan or Detective Wira to make a request. He called Jonathan and got his voicemail, so he called Detective Wira next.

“What can I do for you now?” The hero sounded a bit angry.

"All is well?"

“Si bastard Mr. Arsyanendra has been here since his son has been a suspect, he was angry like a bumblebee— made my head oanas burn with all his threats. I guess the woman who works at his house called him after he went to the lake house and found the hole we carved on the wooden floor.”

“Sorry to hear it, Wira. Isn't that recorded?"

"Indeed, but he must have ignored her and kept coming in. It's nothing, he's acting disrespectful to the law anymore? I mean, really.”

"Calm down" Jilena suggested.

“Oh, I didn't mean it that way. That guy pisses me off. You must have called for a reason. ”

“Actually, I need help—really help.”

Detective Wira grunts.

"Small are small" he asked

"What do you need?" His voice had surprisingly turned into mandatory.

“I sat behind Mr. Arsyanendra at the hearing this morning and—heard little of what he said to his son. I actually had my micro recorder go so I could record the process for the story I had to write. It happened to stay lit when Arsyanendra was talking to Noah and there was something on the ribbon that was a bit out of sight. I was wondering if you could ask Lesti to see what she could do to clear it up.”

"You can't film someone without their permission" Detective Wira scolds.

“I don't expect you to use his recordings in court. I just hope it will tell me something important about the case, for my story. And if it happens to expose something significant about the case, then all will be better. You can't use it, but it might point you in the right direction. It's not like they've got any expectation of privacy.”