The murder cabinet-1

THE MURDER CABINET

Rony Brown

Episode one-Who killed Freda?

I always hate it when they put me on such cases. It reminds me of my empty apartment, the right side of my bed that is always cold in the morning and opportunities I let pass me by.

Then again the Detective Chief Superintendent doesn’t like me much. And anything that could cause me the slightest misery is her greatest pleasure.

But this case was the last straw! And I am definitely not going to be the camel whose back broke. I always take the tough criminal cases. But this…

She can only be at most eighteen. She lies naked in a pool of blood; her own blood. She has one dried up tear staining her cheek.

Despite the gory nature of the crime scene, her face is not carved into a look of horror. She looks like one who died peacefully in a dreamy sleep.

I suddenly feel sick in my stomach. Strange; crime scenes do not usually rattle me. Argh, I hate campus murders! Although they are rare, they always take longest to wrap up and almost always require undercover work.

“I want the coroner’s report by tomorrow noon. This one needs to be wrapped up quick.” I say to no one in particular.

There is a brown diary on her side table. I flip through. Some pages are out. Why didn’t he (must be a he) just take it along?

I should bag this as evidence. It will take days to process. I should rather scan it because here in Ghana weeks mean months and for me, weeks may just as well mean years.

I pass the portable scanner over the diary’s pages. I catch some of the words. “Love me back!”, “I should walk away.”, “I just can’t take it anymore.” and some other needy catchphrases. I scoff; it reminds me of someone who I wish would stay a distant memory- myself!

“Print this out for me, quick!” This time I look pointedly at Jim. He hurries out of the room.

Jim is one of the juniors at the Legon Criminal Investigations Department where I work. Yea, the hardworking one who should take my desk soon.

He is reliable. I take him along when I need extra hands on the job. He’s almost like a partner. But I don’t do partners. Eventually, they leave.

Problem was, the supervisor was not going to leave; I had nowhere to go so neither did Jim.

Dairy entry three-

I saw him again at the library. I swear he had his eyes on me the entire time. For the first time in my life I feel... beautiful. (I know dad always says I am beautiful to get rid of his guilt for donating the bad sperm!)

The coroner’s report is late as usual. I wonder how Chief Super Taylor (Yes, our mutual friend, the one glued at the top of everyone’s career chain) manages to keep that going all the time.

 Jim finally sticks his head through my door. He is flushed; his mulatto skin does him no good when it comes to hiding his emotions. I check the time and it’s nine pm. I should not even be at work at this hour.

“I tried to get him to finish early but he said there were other cases that could not...”

I hold up my hands. He is immediately silenced. He places the file sullenly on my desk. I bet he is feeling more miserable than he did when he came in. I know that it isn’t his fault but at least I can bet on my grave that the next file would come at least five minutes early.

AUTOPSY REPORT-Freda Hanson

INJURIES

Postmortem injuries

-Bruising on the chest and abdomen.

-Multiple fractures on the sternum and ribs

 -Broken manubrium and xiphoid process

  -Punctured heart

  - Multiple incisions on chest, abdomen and genital area.

CAUSE OF DEATH

Asphyxiation

A chill run down my spine. The coward had to suffocate her first.

I flip to the back; nothing. This report is woefully inadequate.

Was she strangled or did she drown? Did she fight back? Was any DNA found that did not belong to her? Or maybe, that is all there is to it! I don’t know how Yours Truly does it, but definitely, I have to pay the coroner a visit. I push the report from my desk in desperation.

I can only pray the crime scene report would be more informative. Then again, it would probably take all week!

I better get out of this office before I suffocate!

I peer into Jim’s office. He shares it with five of his colleagues.

“Jim, are you ready for the second trip to the varsity?”
His face brightens.

***

We will have to split when we get there.. He goes and asks the questions; I go and blend in. My petite figure would make it easy to confuse me with any other student.



The soft music playing in his car distracts me. I don't even know we are here. But Jim's classic way of referring to me slaps me out of my reverie.











"Ma'am?"



"In another world I could be your girlfriend. How many times should I tell you never to call me mum!" I yell.

I leave my coat in the car and hold up my hair in a pony. Jim looks at me, his face contorted with amusement and enthusiasm. I know he would like to go undercover with me but I will have to break his big heart.

For goodness sakes, he is a six feet mulatto with muscles that look as though they’d been hewn by the gods. Who would not remember such a guy if he was indeed a part of their institution.

“Uh-uh Jim. There’s no “we” here. Just me. Go and ask the questions. I need to hit the library.”

 He shakes his head at me defiantly.

“Detective Anderson, I have a copy of the diary too. You know that this is risky.”

I smile. I have not felt fussed over in a while. But I’m not changing my mind.

I throw him one of my signature don’t-you-dare looks and walk straight to the library. I can feel it; this one is going to be a life changer.