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1
1AT THE POLICE STATION
It was more than evident from the look he wore on his face that the walk there was unconscious. He had thought about it in his subconsciousness and acted on it unknowingly, although he would have preferred things differently, he could not stop his feet from moving closer and closer to the door of the building while trying to collect his thoughts. Something in him made him move although he did not want to, the fight between the heart and brain desires made it feel like he was going to explode soon or scream his lungs out, which he did- scaring civilians nearby and grabbing the attention of a passer-by officer.
Officer: sir!? … sir, are you okay?
Thando: I am not okay!!! Okay? I am not fucking okay? Leave me alone…
Officer: But you… your fists are bleeding; you look badly hurt. Did something happen to you? Were you by any chance attacked?
Did you see anyone inside? Did you get help?
Thando: yeah right… like you care. You people confuse me. When people need help, you aren’t there. You take hours to help someone really in need and that’s if you even show up. But when a lunatic and a murderer like me shows up, there you are! Poking your goddamn nose in business that does not even concern you.
Like the madman that he was he started laughing hysterically, scaring, and confusing the officer who approached him with nothing but worry and care; making him question the real reason why he came to a police station if he had no intentions of opening a case or getting any sort of service from such a place.
Officer: if you need anything else you are more than welcome to come inside.
The officer stood up and left Thando alone on the bench. He had split thoughts about whether to ask further and find out why he was there but decided against it since he looked like a mental patient. He did not look okay physically, he looked sleep-deprived, and dehydrated, and generated a very cold and eerie aura that scared him a little. Striding towards the station reception, a wave of cold air attacked his back. He turned around only for his eyes to be met by that of a man he left on the bench outside just a few seconds ago.
The level of weirdness escalated very quickly here, the stranger from the bench was becoming creepier by the second and this made him very, very uncomfortable to say the less. It was best to start a conversation at this moment that try to keep up with the staring competition the stranger brought with him. The fact that his eyes were dark and lifeless made him look even scarier than he had presumed before.
Officer: looks like you needed that help, didn’t you?
Thando: we’re not friends…
Officer: fair enough
Front-desk lady: sir, can I be of any help today?
Thando: no, I’ve found a person to do just that for me although I’m not very sure he’ll do it the way I want him to
Front-desk lady: o-okkayy…
That was an awkward answer for everyone but very demeaning for the officer in particular hence it was left uncommented to and ignored.
Officer: my office is this way; we can talk there. I have some work to do.
Thando: after you
The sound of shoes clicking against the hard floor put him in a trance for a few seconds. The fight between his heart and brain was not over, the guilt of working as a mediator was the only reason this was happening now. The only reason he was following that officer to a place he knew very well he would not get out of given the officer does a great job and bruises his ego and demeaning behavior.
INSIDE THE OFFICE
Officer: here… get comfortable. Welcome to my humble abode.
Thando: very humble…
Instead of taking a seat he scoffed and took a little tour around the office scrutinizing every detail of the place and misplacing some of the things while doing so. The man could not have been a lunatic like he said he was, could he? The officer thought to himself as he watched Thando walk around his office, his facial expression changing now and then but keeping the same cold and dark eyes. This took a few minutes until he called out to Thando with fear that he might get murdered there and then if he let this go on for any longer.
Although Thando’s body frame was not threatening to a professional like him, his eyes, behavior, and aura was something else, a total opposite to how he was built but an aspect of him that made him feel unsafe. For goodness sake, he looked like he’d jump on him and kill him there and leave the place unscathed.
So, for safety reasons, he called out…
Officer: I thought you wanted to talk… why don’t you sit down and tell me how can I be of service?
Thando: yeah.. about that. Are you sure you can handle it? I have some seriously heavy stuff with me…very heavy.
Officer: of course, I am trained for this… so, what’s up?
Thando: I killed a man… technically my lover but still…yeah, I killed a man!!
Officer: what?!
Contemplating whether his ears caught the right information and want to make sure he heard right, the officer exclaimed. This man was a different breed, and these kinds of breeds were the most dangerous- at least as he knew so in his history of working for over 6 years as a detective in the Violent Crimes division and later as a commander/ lieutenant for over 4 years now. This would be a high-profile criminal case, but he did not want to take things hastily and possibly lose the man if he quickly decided to change his words and storm out of there as if nothing happened. He had to handle this as professionally as possible.
Thando: surprised? I thought this was what you were trained for, isn’t it?
Officer: no one in my 10 years of working here ever confessed to murdering that… that is a first for me
Thando: so…
Officer: uhm… I want you to understand that this is a very serious allegation to make against yourself, a very serious crime, and punishable by law if an investigation is held and you are found to be guilty of murder given your confession is correct and not false in any way.
He had his doubts for some reason, he did not want to indict a man who seemed like he wouldn’t hurt a fly judging him unbiased of the fact that his eyes scared him. On the other hand, he looked haggard and physically out of shape and that therefore was a reason for him not to discredit the statement and rather take things further. For a person he did not even exchange names or proper introductions with, it was hard to question him further or come out of the state of shock with the right words and not seem awkward.
Thando: if…? What does that mean? You’re not going to do anything about it?
Officer: that depends on what you want me to do with that information. What you say next can either free you or grant you a room here for the next 15+ years depending on whether you’re a first-time offender or a multiple offender meaning you’ve done this multiple times before and now you just felt pressured to confess this once
Thando: so, you’re not only pathetic and lazy but also corrupt. Nice! Very nice to hear…
Unknowingly with his sarcastic comment Thando had fallen right into his trap. For he had no other intentions other than confirming that Thando was in his right mind, his giving such an answer confirmed to the officer that he indeed was in his right state of mind, very conscious, and that his confession was about to be classified a criminal case in a few minutes. He was an ethical man and despised psychological tricks, but he was happy that it worked.
After a few minutes of silence, he finally asked Thando to follow him to the interrogation room where this ‘alleged case’ was to turn into an official murder case and be investigated by law.
INSIDE INTERROGATION ROOM
The commander delegated the case to Detective Manzini who was now the man to hold the ropes of the case from start to finish. From the glass view a little higher than where the interrogation was taking place, the commander stood accompanied by other two detectives who were just as curious after hearing the whole story of how the case came to the station. On the lower, inside the room, Thando sat on a chair across from the detective and his assistant. They had a recorder in place and a small notebook which the other detective used to take some notes. For some reason this state did not terrify him at all, instead, the men with him there seemed rather uneasy, especially the one with the notepad- he was a newbie or so he thought.
The unintimidated one started talking.
Det. Manzini: sir, I’m Det. Manzini and I’ve been instructed to take over this case. I have been given grounds to believe that you met with the commander and not to waste any time I would like to start with my questioning assuming that you also know why you’re here.
Thando: very well
Det. Manzini: first things first… your full name, age, and address
Thando: My name is Thanduxolo Mngeni, male and 29 years of age and I currently reside in Sunnyside apartments in central town.
Det. Manzini: I also heard that an official arrest was not made so I’d like to read you your right before continuing with this.
Thando: don’t bother.
Det. Manzini: so, about what you told the commander earlier, meaning murdering your lover, would you mind telling us why you did it, where and when, and what was the motive of your action?
Thando: this is going to be a very long story… are you sure you’re prepared to sit here all day?
Det. Manzini: not by choice but let’s hear it…
Thando: this dates back to 7 years ago… my college days, when I first met Sandile Magagula, the man I killed. So…
For a man who seemed rather unstable and who declared himself a lunatic, his story was rather very captivating. The team in the soundproof glass-view room listened carefully with disbelief as Thando rambled away, taking them with him on a trip down memory lane dating back to a 22-year-old him.
Again, a change in facial expression was very evident but the eyes stayed the same. From how he told the story it almost sounded a little superficial. Everyone was so glued and tensed at each word and passing second, they had never experienced something like this in their lives. It was a first for every one of them to meet with such a co-operating, non-violent, and not-on-the-run suspect who admitted to cold-blood murder. Everything felt like a scene cut out of a drama they never watched before.
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