The Reckoning

The sun glimmered in the clear sky. It’s yellow rays glanced off the bonnet of Kathryn O’Hara’s car. She pressed down on the accelerator, her car gliding along the motorway. Her and Frank were returning from the University of Belgram.

‘So here’s what we know so far. Salim Akhtar was a brilliant student who had a lot of achievements. Then, prior to the commencement of his final year he disappeared and was never found. Three years later he was officially declared dead and the missing person case was closed. Robert Smith had resided in the same halls of residence as Salim. Am I missing anything?’ Kathryn explained, her eyes fixed on the road that lay ahead.

‘No that’s everything. There’s most definitely a link, Robert definitely knew something about Salim’s disappearance,’ Frank surmised.

‘Yeah I agree, we’ve got to solve Salim’s disappearance and that’ll help us reach a conclusion as to who murdered Robert Smith,’ Kathryn advised.

The car decelerated to a halt in the allotted parking space. Kathryn pushed open the door, swung her legs out of the car and exited. She shut the door behind her before striding towards the police station. Frank followed close behind.

They entered the station and walked along the corridor, other officers bustling past them. ‘The next step is to reopen Salim Akhtar’s case. Ask Harry to get me the old file of papers. Eleanor can help me go through them,’ Kathryn instructed, occasionally glancing at Frank as they headed to her office. ‘You got it boss,’ Frank said, mimicking a bow, a smirk dancing across his face. Kathryn almost burst out laughing at the gesture. Frank veered off in another direction when the corridor split into two separate passageways. Kathryn turned left and reached her office, shaking her head at his antics, a small smile spreading over her face. She stepped inside, removing her coat. She splayed it over the back of her chair. Kathryn then sat at her desk. It was time to assemble the puzzle.

Papers lay scattered over her wooden desk. Her laptop sat open before her. She had been going through the cold case file of Salim Akhtar for hours. Kathryn’s phone rang loudly. She gazed up from the witness statement of Alex Jones. It was Pete. She answered it on the sixth ring.

‘Hi, yeah just gonna wrap up soon…I know, I know…give Anna a kiss from me. Tomorrow’s Saturday…I’ll be home all day. Love you,’ Kathryn assured. She hung up and placed her phone on the table. She gave it one last wistful look before deciding to return to her work. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand as she turned her watering eyes back to the statement.

Alex Jones and his mate Samuel Clark had returned from their vacations and were in their rooms on the night of 15 September 2003. As University was yet to officially open, the halls of residence were largely vacant. They both heard loud voices from the floor below, alongside the sound of slamming doors. Robert Smith, a friend of Salim Akhtar’s, had also returned home from summer vacation before the start of the university’s autumn term. He had provided the police with a statement wherein he confirmed that he had been out all night with Fred Williams in the city centre. Fred Williams’ statement corroborated this version of events.

Kathryn’s brow furrowed as she examined Fred Williams’ statement. Maybe it was time to make further enquiries of him. Maybe, just maybe, that might assist in the loose ends related to both, Robert and Salim’s cases. Kathryn’s fatigued eyes shifted to her laptop screen. What she saw infuriated her.

She glared at the news website as she picked up her phone and dialled Frank’s number. ‘Frank, what’s going on, who gave authority to tell the media we’ve re-opened Salim Akhtar’s case?’ Kathryn demanded.

‘Chief Superintendent Anderson ordered us to do so in the hopes of generating leads,’ Frank responded on the other end of the line.

‘Why, why would he do that? He must have known it could prejudice our investigation,’ Kathryn replied, exasperated. After taking a moment to compose herself, she said, ‘ok, we’ll pick this up on Monday.’

With that, Kathryn hung up. She placed her elbows on her desk. She dropped her head and pinched the arch of her nose. Things were only going to get complicated from here on in.