Secrets of Lakefront House
CHAPTER 66. INTERROGATION PROCESS

Jilena has called Jonathan on his way to let him know that he has some important new information about Mariana's murder. He asked her to meet him in front of the police station so he could tell her everything. When Jilena arrived in front of the police station, she met Jonathan at the reception area of the police station.

"How's the interrogation?" Jilena asked.

“They just started.”

"Joe, I have a recording of the confession that—" she stopped and looked around, Jilena watched the receptionist to make sure that she was not listening, as well as the older couple sitting in the waiting chair. "Maybe we should talk about this in private."

Jonathan took her to the observation room and lowered the volume of the speaker. "What's that?"

Jilena glanced at the two-way mirror and the scene in front of her caught her attention. Detective Wira and the Deputy District Attorney turned their backs to the glass and sat across from Mr. Arsyanendra. Jilena saw Arsyanendra there, sitting between two men in dark suits, she had a satisfied expression on her face and it made Jilena's blood boil with emotion given the father's confession. He took the DVD out of his bag and stretched it out to Jonathan.

"That's papa's confession about what happened to Mariana the night she died. Lawyer who is also a coworker papa just gave it to me.” said Jilena.

“Have you seen it?”

"Yes. I've been watching it till it's over." Jilena gave her a concise version of what her father said on the DVD recording, stressing that the woman she claimed to be Mariana had a fight with Arsyanendra and Arlina, but admitted that it was she who buried her body. “That quite explains why his cufflink fell into the grave.”

"I have to tell Detective Wira and the Deputy District Attorney about this immediately" Jonathan said.

Jilena glanced back at the two-way window. "wait. Looky. Are they at odds?"

Joanthan turned on the loudspeaker. Deputy District Attorney Bambang Prayogo tells Arsyanendra that they have witnesses who can confirm that Mariana was at her lake house the night she died. “Based on the fact that Noah has become a suspect and his DNA was found in the body of the dead woman, we have a pretty strong case of sending your son to prison. ”

Detective Wira cleared his throat. “But someone recently showed me that it could be your DNA, there might be a disagreement with the family, and so on. So, we know for a fact that you or Noah killed Miss Mariana that night.”

"Wrong. That's not true" Arsyanendra said. "I'm even willing to take the polygraph test."

One of the lawyers patted Arsyanendra on the shoulder. “Let us handle this.”

"The evidence shows that it must be one of you" the Deputy District Attorney said. “So, we can bring your son to justice for Mariana's death, or you can confess to having killed Mariana and saved your son—You have a choice."

Mr. Arsyanendra sat with a frozen face.

"How much do you love your son, Mr Arsyanendra?" ask the Deputy District Attorney.

what would happen to a handsome young boy like your son if he was sent to prison on charges of killing a woman, right?”

"Don't say a word" one of the lawyers pointed the finger at Arsyanendra. “He's just trying to scare you."

Arsyanendra looked at Bambang silently, he looked at her with a hostile gaze.

“If you kill him,” Wira continues, “Now is the time to confess.”

Jonathan, looking as if he couldn't wait another minute, quickly snatched the DVD from Jilena's hand, turned off the volume of the speakers, and ran out the door. Turning back to the two-way glass, Jilena turned the speaker back on. "Sorry, Joanthan,” he said, even though the man was gone. “I can't help myself. This is too interesting to ignore.” muttered Jilena while staring back at the room in front of her.

Jilena stood in the two-way window and watched as Jonathan entered the— interrogation room. All eyes were on him. He leaned over and whispered something into Detective Wira's ear. It was seen the Hero leaning towards the Deputy District Attorney and whispering something into his ear. Then they both stood up. "Please wait here" Wira told Arsyanendra and his lawyers. “We'll be back soon."

Arsyanendra and his lawyer looked surprised, muttering back and forth, perhaps wondering what was going on. Jilena raised her hand to turn off the speaker, but her hand stopped. Yes, he must turn it off, because Arsyanendra is entitled to his privacy with a lawyer after all. However, Jilena was not a law enforcer, so could she listen to them? But what if he hears something important, something that definitely— very useful? How will he explain if he happens to hear it without revealing the fact that he accidentally turned on the speaker?

Jilena distracts her from the seductive speaker button, wondering if Jonathan needs help explaining the DVD. Jilena took a few steps towards the door, but stopped. If the Deputy District Attorney and Detective Hero see him out of the observation room, Jonathan could get into a lot of trouble. She bit her lower lip—the girl felt trapped. He let out a long voice and sighed in frustration. Then, against his strong reporter instinct, he decided to switch off the speaker and stay where he was. Shortly, Jonathan returned to the observation room. They watched as the Hero and Deputy District Attorney stepped back into the interrogation room and stood upright near the door.

“You will be happy to know, dear Jilena, the officer is already on his way to bring Arlina Arsyanendra in.” Jonathan gave him a sideways glance and turned the speaker back. "Don't get used to this" he said as he stood beside her, both standing facing the window. Let's see it later. He grins. “This should be a good show.”

Jonathan's fingers touched Jilena's fingers and she clasped her hands, squeezed them lightly, then let go, which made her smile a little "Tn. Arsyanendra," Deputy District Attorney Bambang Prayogo begins, leaning against the table with both hands, “We just got information that we have another eyewitness supporting the story of what happened to Mariana at your house on Green Lake the night she died.”

Arsyanendra and his lawyer muttered to each other for a while, then sat quietly. Bambang continued. “Maybe you want to reconsider making a full confession, telling us what really happened, in exchange for a deal.  If you confess then we will guarantee your punishment will be light.”

Arsyanendra's eyes narrowed and his lips formed a straight line.

"What eye witness?" ask one of his lawyers.

Bambang Prayogo held up one hand. "Patience first. You can trust us, if your client gives you a full confession before your client's trial. We will crack down on him with involuntary manslaughter, his sentence is only five to eight years in prison.”

"We needed a few minutes alone to negotiate with our client" another lawyer spoke up. Arsyanendra bowed and whispered something to his lawyer's ear, then he— muttered something to another lawyer as well.

The two lawyers leaned behind Arsyanenda's back and negotiated calmly.

"Are you sure?" one of the lawyers asked the man. Arsyanendra nodded with a defiant and haughty attitude as usual.