Everytime Thuba returned home, he felt it was more like going back to prison. His father already updated on his actions still had him go report like a subordinate. It was draining having to be scrutinized so seriously all the time. Thuba always feared he had done something wrong that he would no doubt be beaten for.
"You scored perfectly on your tests?" Langa said as went through the papers with a glance as if it were a waste of his time. "Good, keep it up."
Thuba nodded and waited to be dismissed. His father didn't seem to have any complaints, he didn't even mention Thuba meeting up with a police officer despite it being a mere coincidence. He probably waited for Thuba to mention it himself but he didn't. Luba had been the only good thing in his life, he didn't want his father's hurtful words to taint her memory. It hadn't been a year since she died but to Thuba it felt like a long time had passed.
After being dismissed, he dragged himself to study. He would eat a bite or two, lock himself in the bathroom for hours then go to bed to toss and turn until sunrise. This is what the maids never reported to Langa. No one dared to breathe a word about it to Langa, that Thuba seemed to struggle mentally. They could only do their best to show that they cared for him.
Having only slept for three hours whilst being plagued by nightmares, Thuba got up and prepared for another long day of living.
The mood of the Criminal Investigation Unit at Luveve was completely different as the team congratulated and high fived each other on a job well done. They had managed to prove that the suspect they had arrested wasn't the murderer of the Oval Bar murder case.
"What are you all so happy for? You need to work twice as hard to catch the real killer now." Cindy the forensic doctor from the Forensics Unit said with a frown, watching the team with happy expressions.
"We still got a shot to get justice for Ellie Noels!" Farai beamed with a smile. He was the most happy out of all of them. Closing a case so easily without proper investigation never made one satisfied. Their sense of justice just wouldn't allow it.
"It's really annoying that we can't even step foot in the damn bar because the superiors won't allow us to be 'disrespectful' towards the Sibandas. We had to settle for the footage they gave us." Commented Brian who had been off duty for a couple of days when the murder happened.
"That's because we didn't have a search warrant. Which we have now." Captain Lunga waved the paper with a smile, "Not everyone upstairs is a crook you know. Also I'm definitely sure the murder weapon is not at the bar but we can go search for clues."
Everyone's faces brightened when they saw the search warrant. It was like a pot of gold had fallen over them. "Brian, Walter you guys head over The Oval and leave no stone unturned. Farai come with me to the school. I found a few suspicious kids."
"Roger!"
Njube Sanitarium, 12:21 pm.
The nurses at the reception desk giggled and whispered to themselves. The handsome man filling out the visitation form only raised his head to smile at them gently to which the ladies swooned. It was mid May and the weather had been growing colder everyday, thus the man was wearing a long brown trench coat with a black turtleneck and slim fitting pants.
Africans, especially Zimbabwean men rarely dressed in such a style unless they were rich or had lived abroad for a long time. It was probably the former because the man had an expensive watch adorning his wrist.
"All good?" The man asked as he handed the form over to the receptionist. Even if he filled out wrong information, the ladies would still allow him in just for his looks.
"Yes, sir. Visitation time is only 30 minutes." The receptionist informed him. Another nurse arrived to accompany him, she was a caretaker. The other two stretched their necks to watch him leave.
"Mr Sibanda is in a good mood today and he rarely gets visitors so he'll be very happy." The caretaker said opening the door for him. "Thank you for your hard work." The man smiled causing the caretaker to be flustered, "It's my job after all, I'll be right outside."
Sam Sibanda was watering the flowers by the window sill when the door opened. As if knowing who it was, he said, "I didn't expect you to finally show your face. I suppose it's time." He held the watering can up to stop watering and faced the man, "Tsk you dress nicely for a nerd."
"Don't be stereotypical now. Surely you weren't expecting me to come wearing glasses, a hoodie, jeans and tacky sneakers, now did you?" The man asked smirking at Sam.
"You look quite different from what I remember." Sam said. He placed the watering can on the table and beckoned him over. He scrutinized the man for a bit, frowning at the fact that the other was taller than him. "The audacity you have to strut around publicly like this."
The man laughed pulling Sam for a short hug before they sat down, "Well I didn't expect preparations to take this long. Now I'm curious to see how long it takes Thokozani Langa to realize his imminent downfall."
"We better be starting with my family. I wanna get out of this place already." Sam complained as he took the cigarette offered by the man. "It hasn't been easy fooling that brother of mine. He's got eyes everywhere."
Sam pointed at where the listening devices were located. The man nodded, showing that it was fine for them to talk.
"Don't worry, the pieces have already been set. It's only a matter of time before the dominos start falling."
.
.
.
The Upper Six Commericals kids were sent to the headmaster's office one by one for questioning again. Captain Lunga didn't want to single out the ones she found suspicious. She made sure everyone was questioned for exactly five minutes. The moment one was suspected to have sold out information, they'd no doubt be bullied and ostracized. If there was one thing the Harare High School bullying case taught the police, it was that children were capable of inhumane things just as adults were. The victims turned perpetrators still weren't found to this day.
Fadzi shifted nervously in his seat as he glanced at the two police officers. They had already questioned him once, he just needed to repeat what he had said before. The female police officer was leaning on the headmaster's table whilst the male one who was new to Fadzi occupied the headmaster's chair. He was holding a notebook and a pen.
"You high school kids have solidarity, it seems." Captain Lunga began her questioning with that statement. Farai was taken aback for a moment but didn't visibly show it. He realized that this might be one of the Captain's suspects because her questioning was already different from the others she had interrogated before. Fadzi also seemed to realize that the questions were different from before so he became nervous.
"Why do you say so?" He asked momentarily forgetting his nervousness.
"You must take us for fools don't you?" She laughed, "At least change the story a little. Everyone's been saying the same thing. You think I wouldn't realize that you are all hiding something?"
Fadzi gulped not knowing what to do with himself.
"We've got four minutes left so I'll be quick, you remember the questions I asked before anyways. You are intelligent enough to remember. We investigated all of you, going to a bar underage will keep you in prison for some little time. This is the reason why no one will speak up, right? Because you were there that night, a bunch of your drinking buddies and Ellie Noels were present as well. Don't ruin your future for nothing kid. You'll be thrown to the wolves faster than you think. When you are ready to tell us who Ellie Noels arrived at the bar with, let me know."
All Fadzi could think of was that it was over, he had been caught. After five minutes the female officer patted his back with a gentle smile but her words were like a stab to the heart.
"Don't think we don't dare arrest you just because you are friends with the rich. People like you are always the first to be easily discarded."
When Fadzi left the headmaster's office Sanele was already waiting for him with a dark face.
"What did they ask you?" He impatiently inquired. It was obvious that he was quite anxious about what Fadzi would say.
"Still the same questions as before about whether I knew of anyone who was close with Ellie. I didn't say anything." Fadzi said. He was partly telling the truth because he hadn't said anything. The officer's words had nailed him to the chair. He could only hope his facial expressions didn't give him away too much.
"Good." Sanele snorted and they went back to their class building. They happened to bump into Thuba who was carrying a blue fancy water bottle along the way. He didn't even glance their way causing Sanele to flare up in anger. Fadzi could only hold him back from making a mistake and attacking the Langa prince. "Who the hell does he think he is!" The little spade sneered with contempt. He found Thuba to be quite an eyesore. He grumbled all the way until they reached the classroom.
Meanwhile in the headmaster's office Farai was asking Captain Lunga why she suspected Fadzi. From their investigation Fadzi had been friends with Sanele Sibanda since form one but he came from a humble background. He was an orphan with a grandmother who was trying to make ends meet. Sanele was very generous with money thus Fadzi stuck close with him and could get some dollars to ease his some of his grandmother's burdens.
"If one committed a crime, who's the best person to help you hide the evidence? Definitely the person who'll be forced to take the fall for you upon discovery. What I don't understand is, where did Ellie Noels get the luxury bags and perfumes from? She was obviously not dating Sanele and seeing that it was a hate crime. Who was she with at that bar?" The Captain wondered.
"You don't think she was murdered to prove a point to someone? Also you lied to him about being arrested for underage drinking just to scare him right? At most we can only warn the children." Farai asked.
"No, it's more like the attacker was furious at her. She was stabbed five times after all." Captain Lunga kept quiet, thinking. "We can also close the establishment serving alcohol to minors. Didn't you learn this at the Academy?"
Farai scratched his head in embarrassment and started packing their stuff. They were about to leave when the Captain spotted Thuba leaving the staff room. He looked thinner than she last time saw him. This was her daughter's best friend, she couldn't help but worry about him.
"Thuba!" She called out. At least this time he wasn't too startled, probably because this was a place where anyone could call his name. He turned around and his wary expression eased when he realized who it was. "Hey there kiddo. How have you been?"
Thuba froze, not knowing how to answer the question. No one had asked about his well being for a long time. "I'm here to question some of your peers, didn't expect to run into you."
Farai stared at them in confusion. He didn't understand why the Captain was speaking louder than she usually did. Thuba realized with a sinking feeling that she knew he was being watched. His heart pounded when he thought of what she was doing was to help dispel all suspicion towards him. He couldn't be seen communicating with the police. She knew it, she knew that being seen with her could cause trouble for him so she spoke loudly that the person watching him could hear as well. For a moment he didn't know what to say.
His usually aloof expression eased and he gave her a small smile, "Is it related to the girl who passed away recently?"
"Yes. We just wanted to ask her classmates about clues that could help us give her justice. The studying going okay?" She asked. He nodded in response. As a mother she couldn't help but worry over all children. "Luba would be happy to know that you are working so hard. I'm busy, I won't keep you, bye."
Captain Lunga hoped that reminding him of her daughter could help him remember their memories together and he would take better care of himself. Knowing her daughter, she wasn't one who would tolerate Thuba losing weight dramatically like this.
"That kid looks familiar. Do you know him?" Farai asked getting into the car.
"He's a Langa." Captain Lunga said watching Thuba walk away.
"The prince!" Farai exclaimed. He should have taken a closer look damn! He thought with a regretful sigh.
The Langa prince was rarely seen after all. Farai couldn't help but think there was something wrong with the kid. But then if one had Thokozani Langa for a parent, Farai guessed no child of his could turn out okay.