The office had nothing of interest, the walls spoke of plain boredom and years of neglect. The old man who sat in the chair opposite Mamoloko Setati looked exhausted. She wondered if it was because of recent events or simply the years taking their toll on him. He seemed dead and was unresponsive to her questions; she had nothing to show for the 30 minutes she had been there.

Sthhhh sthhhh, the radio screeched as it came to life.

“Come in? Come in Peterous? Peterous, please come quickly to area D, area D. Emergency number 12, I repeat, emergency number 12!”

Peterous scooted out of his chair and fumbled for his radio on the table.

“This is senior officer Peterous Shabangu, message received. I will be there shortly.”

He rushed out of the office, barely managing to give Mamoloko an apologetic look. Mamoloko sighed in defeat, who knew how long this emergency would take? She had been the first one on the scene and was worried about losing an exclusive story to another radio station.

Investigative journalism comes with unethical tactics, but sometimes unethical practices are required to uncover the truth, she thought. Getting to the bottom of the story was all that mattered to Mamoloko as she pushed her USB cable into Peterous’s computer hard drive. Since Peterous would not talk, his computer would; she had to get her hands on some evidence.

She quickly scrolled through the data, selecting three days’ worth of footage: the day before the murder, the day of the murder and the day after the murder. She had a feeling that the security camera that she had seen earlier in the hallways would give her the lead that she needed.

She impatiently watched as the files transferred to her laptop. Just as the upload was nearing completion, she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

“Come on! Faster dammit!” she commanded the computer. As the footsteps neared the door, a notification popped onto the screen declaring that the upload was complete. She pulled the cable out of the computer and rushed over to her seat where she sat browsing through her phone as if she had never moved.

*****

Mama Sonto rolled her eyes at the sight before her in the campus control reception office. There stood a dishevelled figure with red puffy eyes and a face that appeared to have seen a ghost. She did not have the time or the patience for this. All she could think of was her shift that was about to end. After the rough night she had, she did not want to deal with another girl who got beat up by her boyfriend.

“Sawubona Mama,” the girl whispered.

“Yebo. What do you want? Huh? Did your boyfriend hit you also? Eh? I’m tired of you young girls dating older man for their money. When they come for payback you come running to us in tears, eh? Ai maan, mxm. You see if you are not careful you will end up like that girl they found on the roof.”

Mama Sonto went on and on, disregarding anything that the girl had to say.

“No Mama, I just… I just…” Shafika broke down into tears as they seemed to come easier to her than words.

“Hawu, bathing, girl go to the CCDU or wait for the next person on shift. I don’t have time for your shenanigans! I have a taxi to catch!” Mama Sonto’s unsympathetic responses sent Shafika running from the room. What she had to say was not meant for the Wits Counselling and Careers Development Unit and it was much more important than issues with ‘Blessers’.

Shafika could barely see the stairs through her tears as she tried to make her way out of the building. Her focus was now on making sure each foot landed on a stair as she struggled to see through her teary eyes. She was completely unaware of someone else hastily making their way up the stairs. As she placed her foot on the following step she collided with Peterous who was returning from the emergency call. Peterous caught her arm, saving her from a collision with the floor. He noticed her eyes and her jittery body and invited her back to his office.

All Peterous could think of was helping this distressed student, despite all that was going on, his fatherly instinct made him steer her into his office. He instructed a rather displeased Mama Sonto to bring the girl a glass of water. He was surprised to find the reporter Mamoloko Setati still sitting there. But what did he expect? He knew what parasites these journalists can be.

“Um excuse me mam. As I informed you earlier I am under no legal obligation to answer any of your questions. Now would you please excuse us, I have to deal with a far more pressing issue.” Peterous said failing to hide his annoyance. He sighed in relief when she offered no protest and simply got up to leave, saying her goodbyes as she walked out the door.

Peterous turned his attention back to the snivelling student that was now sitting before him.

“What’s wrong my child?” he asked sympathetically. Shafika drew in a deep breath and began to tell a tale that left Peterous stunned and rooted in his chair in disbelief. Unbeknown to Peterous, his ears were not the only ones listening.

***

Tell us what you think: Do you think Shafika’s life is in danger?