Hush Hush

Chapter 9

I raced into the police station in hopes of getting to the bottom of this. I flung open the door and said, “She’s dying. She needs help,” I was weeping uncontrollably and kept saying,

“Richard stabbed her. She’s dying,”

Mr Bheki Cele mocked my misery with his smile, there by the wall as I threw myself inside the Police Station. Three officers were at the reception, one on call and another helping a citizen. The third one was laughing at something on his phone. Tears flowed down my cheeks, I was still bewildered at what had just happened. Ms.Miggins was almost like a mother to me. I shared my pain with her over a cup of tea, laughed together and many more things. She was the go to person whenever I felt sad, especially when my husband was the reason. She was the first nicest person in the cottage. We were practically family, I couldn’t just sit by and watch her die.

One of the officers rushed over to find out why I was so hysterical and asked, “What’s wrong, mam?” South African police officers have left a bad taste to everyone’s mouth with their lack of enthusiasm in solving cases. They had no sense of urgency. I knew right then that this officer was a new comer.

“Officer, I just went over to my neighbours and friend’s flat and when I got there I found the house upside down and I continued to the bedroom and found her bleeding out. She was stabbed. Please officer, you’ve got to help me!” I cried out.

“Okay, mam just calm down so I can write your statement and address,” exclaimed the officer.

“Statement? Did you just say statement officer. My friend is bleeding out and you’re here wanting a statement,” I said, somehow snappishly.

“The sooner we get your statement, the better.”

He lead me through a passage to a private room, an office. I appreciated the privacy.

The officer began writing my statement and moved to writing my address but stopped midway,

“Are you sure this is the right address?” he said, putting down the pen.

“I live there, officer. So yes, I’m sure of it,” I answered in a nervous voice. I had stopped crying, what was left was the dry river bank, going down.

“Well, let’s go check it out.” The officer said. I was wrong about him, he also looked unbothered. We stopped at the reception, as he addressed one of the officers to join us.

“Mpho, request for ambulance on this address,” he gave him the paper.

“But sir I thought that place was-" his inquisitive look was shut down by officer Khambule, the one that I spoke to and was accompanying me.

We followed behind the ambulance in his police van to our cottage. I could feel the stench in the police car creeping to my clothes. I’ve never rode in a police car before. Officer Khambule stopped his vehicle at the exact spot as we did when we moved here. I went out of the car and was on my heels as I ran to the front door leading to the ground floor. The Frenchwoman’s door was closed but the flat opposite hers was widely opened. The door looked old and moldy, like the caretaker hasn’t visited in a long time. The entire passage was covered in dust, you could write your names.

“Slow down mam. We should let the medics led the way,”

I wasn’t hearing it. They were suppose to be the first people in and helping, not the last. But they followed behind us, wheeling the stretcher in.

“Stop modelling, the patient is not in good shape. If she doesn’t make it, it will be on you,” I said, to the paramedics. Especially the one with long eyelashes, who left me wondering how she was going to life and stretch out the patient with the eyelashes which looked heavy for her. Was she going to be able to see the second the patient even?

“Hurry up! It’s on the first floor, flat four,” Annoyance was written in bold letters on her mud filled forehead but she obeyed.

“Officers, come here. We'll take the stairs,” Officer Khambule followed but the other officer stoped and asked, “Are you sure you live here? This place has been empty for as long as I have been a law officer,” he commented seemingly spooked.

“Shut up, Mthembu. You have been a policeman for only two years,” Khambulesaid, almost annoyed with his partner.

“No partner. This house has been ghosted for the past five years. She’s probably a ghost too, who knows? Did you try touching her,” Officer Mthembu said.

I had it in me to give him a befitting answer but I didn’t. He sounded like that irritating bee going after that lady wearing a yellow dress. Yap. Yap. Yap.

What did he think? That we’ll live in a ghost haunted place?

The wall on Ms.Miggins floor looked ugly and old. The caretaker needs to do his job properly or give others a chance to do so. Even the cobwebs had made the wall look better. The paramedics were already standing outside the opened door. Why can’t they do their job? They need the officers to hold their hands too or was it just protocol? They followed us in we arrived and took the lead. Officer Khambule tried stopping me, saying it’s a crime scene. But I followed right after him and his partner entered. With the paramedics unapproved looks piercing me on my back but not enough for them to say anything. I could hear them whisper to one another about the place.

We walked in on an unpleasant sight. The curtains in sitting room were torn and rotten and broken window were blowing the washed out curtains. The couches had turned into Carpet Beetles and Dust mites hotel. The carpet in the passage to the very same room I sleep in and others was shadowy and vast. I caressed the wall left and right. Sliding it up and down but my hand returned with remnants of paint. I joined the police officers and paramedics, theirs medication bag scattered but their flashlight remained on and reflecting on the wall, while their gloves tightly wrapped around their fingers.

“What’s happening. Why is no one helping,” I barged in and threw questions to no one in particular. Their eyes gave nothing away, but I could see fear and disgust in the lady paramedic. Her face gave away that she wanted to be anywhere but here.

“There was no one here mam, we only found the bones. Of which we’ll have to make tests to see if they belong to a human being or animal. For now, we’d like for you to excuse us, “ Officer Khambule said, showing me outside.

“I am not leaving until you save Ms.Miggins. She’s alive, she just needs medical attention.” I forced my way in as the officer tried to hold me back. His hands tightly wrapped around my arms, like the wedding band he had on. I wiggled, pushed and tried to pinch the sides of his stomach but he held o tight like Palesa's old braids.

“Let me go,” I continued my unnoticed attempts as he tightened his hold on my body, I felt suffocated.

“She’s no more. We found bones from decades ago. Your friend is not here, “ Officer Khambule said, soothingly but there’s never a soothing way to tell someone that her closed somebody is gone.

“No! I saw her this morning. I’m not crazy,” I cried him a river as he wouldn’t let go.

“We used to drink tea together,” I said, out of nowhere as his firm yet soft hand ran up and down my back, giving me comfort, something I didn’t need.

“I slept in her house, this house once, she was an entire human being. She touched, she cooked. Heck she even cleaned,” my voice rose as the memories flooded inside my head. His hands never loosened up.

“It’s okay now,” He said, near my ear.

I regained my strength and pushed him away.

“Don’t say that. You don’t know that,”

I took a peek around and there laid an unknown a dispersed skeleton. I could only spots bits and pieces of it, not the head. The room itself was not in a good shape. The blanket had I dried faint red stain on the side. The side of the room had a c***k going down, you could literally see the light outside. The musty smell of the house had filled my lungs, leaving me with nothing to take in.

“Sir we need to call the pathologist team to do their work,” Officer Mthembu said, for once making sense.

“Well get to it, Mthembu “ he snapped at him, I almost felt sorry for him.

“Well, this is out of our jurisdiction officer. We will leave you to it,” the leading paramedic said, packing up. I didn’t understand how their medication got out of the bag and scattered if they did nothing.

“Not so fast, we will need your statement with regards to this scene. We need to close this case once and for all,” He sternly said, holding the paramedic’s stare.

“What do you mean ‘close this case one and for all,’”

“Of course sir,” the paramedic said and followed his partner out.

Now there was three of us left, well and the skeletons. No one said anything, only the silence speaking volumes.

“And mam, we’ll also need your statement,” his last words said, before taking me to the police station for questioning, disguised as ‘Statement’

Oh, Paul! Where are you when I need you?