Detective Nhlapho put down his coffee. He and Detective Carera were sitting in a coffee shop, waiting for their breakfast to arrive. They often did this when they wanted to talk without the rest of their colleagues listening.

“Where were you, that day Sarah-May was found? You showed up late,” said Nhlapho.

Carera took a moment to answer. “Why are you asking?”

Nhlapho shrugged. “Just curious. You usually give me an excuse, but you said nothing that day.”

“Are you trying to get funny with me?” Carera raised his voice.

“I’m just asking.”

“I was busy. What about it?”

Nhlapho put his coffee down and looked at Carera. “Listen here, man. Something is going on with you. You keep leaving me out, going off by yourself. You tell me niks. Nothing, man. I don’t like it.”

“What are you saying? Are you accusing me of something? You must tell me to my face.”

Nhlapho raised his hands. “I’m not saying anything. We’re partners, you and me. You tell me everything, I tell you everything. What you’re doing now is not right.”

“You can just take your nose out of my business, that’s what.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you these days. We used to be good. I used to understand you — I’ve covered for you all these years. But now, I want to solve this case. Sarah-May deserves that. I can only do my job if you keep me in the loop. I’ll forget about everything else. Just from now on, tell me what you’re up to.”

Carera looked at him for a long time. “Fine,” he said.

Nhlapho allowed himself to take a breath. He hated confronting Carera. He never knew which side of him he was going to get.

“Fine,” said Carera again. “I have something to tell you, but don’t take it the wrong way. I was going to tell you earlier. I swear, man, I was going to tell you, but I knew it would make me look bad. You know how people are — they just twist everything.”

“What is it?”

“I knew Sarah-May personally. She was my friend.”

Nhlapho let the information sink in before saying anything. “You should have told me.”

“Ag, I know, I know. But I’m telling you now.”

“You know how this looks? What if someone finds out?” Nhlapho tried to keep his voice low.

“That’s why I’m telling you,” said Carera. “So that you can tell them it’s a lie.”

“Not this time, I’m sorry, Carera. I can’t do that. Not this time.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not lying for you again. If you knew Sarah-May, you should not be on this case.”

“Are you going to tell anyone?”

Nhlapho looked at him for a long time. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean? I could lose my job.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“You better not tell anyone,” said Carera. “How long have we been friends? I know all your secrets and now you know mine. Let’s just keep this between us for now. Please, man.”

“Fine. Whatever. Just never, ever do this again.”

They sat in a tense silence while their waitress brought their food. Nhlapho didn’t feel like eating any more. They hardly looked at each other for the rest of the time they were at the coffee shop.

***

It had been a few days since Nhlapho had confronted Carera about his strange behaviour — and a few days since Carera had admitted that he knew Sarah-May. Nhlapho still didn’t know how to feel about the whole thing. Something felt wrong, but he knew he couldn’t tell anyone about it. He had promised to keep it a secret for now. And it still didn’t explain why Carera kept leaving the office for hours at a time without saying where he was going.

Nhlapho sighed and rubbed his face.

His phone lit up. It was a call from Carera. He sighed. There was always something Carera needed him to do.

“What, Carera?”

“Where’s the case file? I need a picture of it for something.”

“It’s on your desk. I’ll just—”

“Actually, it’s fine, don”t worry. I’ll take a look when I get back.”

“It’s right there, Carera. I can just take a picture of it now.”

“No, thanks. I don’t need it any more. Cheers.”

The line went dead. Nhlapho stared at his phone and shook his head.

He decided to take a picture of the case file anyway. He walked to Carera’s desk and shifted things around so that there was a clear space to line up the camera and the file. When he was done, he tried to put everything back where he’d found it, moving the piles of paper, magazines, and newspapers to their original places.

He was about to go back to his desk when something caught his eye. He looked again. It must have been hidden under something — he must have moved it out of place while he was busy. Surely he was imagining things? But there it was, right in front of him. He picked it up and looked at it under the light.

This changed everything.

He picked up his phone and tried to call Carera, but there was no answer.

Tell us: What do you think Detective Nhlapho found in Carera’s belongings?