CHAPTER 24

I deliberately walked slowly and stood outside his door. I

knocked, hoping that he wouldn't be in there. The door

opened and a guard peeked out.

"Officer Badr Al- Din has called me." I stated, he went back in

and closed the door behind him.

It had been 3 days. 3 days since she committed suicide. 3 days

since my mind had accepted the reality. The reality that she

was dead. She had committed suicide. Her parents and doctor

had confirmed she was diagnosed with Schizophrenia a couple

of years before. It was a deadly mental disorder. It could make

you take others' lives and make you take your own life too.

And, the fact that she was innocent. She hadn't committed the

murder deliberately was killing me form inside. She was really

innocent. All innocent.

The door opened and 2 guards walked outside, one of them

gestured me to go in.

I stepped inside; it was a typical Saudi office. Golden lights,

brown leather couches, Mahogany table etc...

It was beautiful. I was lost in gazing the beautiful interior.

I tore my gaze from the wall decor, and looked at him. He was

standing behind his desk speaking to someone through the

telephone.

He then gestured me to close the door and sit down. He was

speaking in Arabic; I could understand that he was talking to

his seniors.

I looked at his shoes from under the table, he sat down and

spoke up after a few seconds.

"So, I am going to take your statement. Provide me with all of

the information that you have."

Why does he need my statement when he already knows

everything?

He must've have sensed my confusion.

"We need to fulfill certain formalities."

"Alright, sir." I replied.

"Eyes up here, Fatima."

I looked up and he looked dead serious. I shifted my eyes to

his watch.

"Why are you so scared? Did you do something?"

"It isn't like..." I am cut off when he gestured me to stop.

"Relax, I won't eat you." his voice was comforting.

I nodded and he reached to his side to pick up a paper and a

pen. He sided them to me, I read it.

Jeddah Local Police Department Statement Report.

"Fill it up."

I started writing. First, I filled up the details of myself. It just

asked the typical details; name, address, phone number,

gender, nationality, involvement etc...

I stopped midway and glanced at him.

"Sir, I don't exactly remember my address." I spoke quietly.

He looked at me and then sighed.

"You should be ashamed of yourself for not remembering your

address."

"I am sorry, sir."

How much will he insult me? I thought

"Let it be, I will collect your address from the school

authorities later."

After completing the information, he asked me to stop.

"So, first of all give me an oral statement and then you can

give me a written statement." he said and leaned back in his

chair.

"I had witnessed all of it."

He sat up straight.

"Go on." he didn't look shocked.

I nodded.

"We had a mock fire drill going on and all the students and the

teachers were gathered in the ground. We were almost done

so I thought of going back to my classroom. I took the exit

staircase and I didn't realize when I reached the third floor. I

was lost in my thoughts so I didn't notice it. When I was about

to descend the stairs, I heard some voices coming from an

empty classroom. the door was ajar and I could see the victim

inside along with someone else."

At this point, I was feeling hot all of a sudden and I could hear

a voice in my ears, the kind of voice you hear when you are

about to faint.

I think he noticed my discomfort. He offered me a glass of

water. I gulped it all at once. He also decreased the

temperature of the AC. He looked at me reassuringly so I

started again.

"I saw the victim getting stabbed, sir. Without wasting a

second, I ran back to the ground to inform the teachers but

when I reached there the ground was empty. I went to the

staff room too but it was empty as well so I went back to the

crime spot. The teachers and students were already there."

I wiped my tears and looked away. The fact that she was dead

now. The fact that she had committed suicide. The fact that

she was suffering from the deadliest of mental disorders. The

thought that things wouldn't have turned out this way with a

little bit of help was eating me from inside. She was all alone. I

should have been there for her even though we weren't

friends.

"Please calm down." I heard his deep voice.

I closed my eyes and took deep breaths.

He got up from his chair and came to stand in front of me. He

offered me his handkerchief. I wiped my eyes harshly.

"Now I need you to look at me when you answer my questions,

Fatima."

I nodded and looked at him.

"Do you remember the time of the incident?"

"Yes, it was 11:00 am when I walked back to my classroom.

So, it should be 11:05 or so when I saw her getting stabbed."

"It is true then. The post-mortem report states the time of

death of the victim is 11:10 pm exactly 5 minutes after getting

stabbed." he looked away.

"And, did you tell anybody else about this?" he looked at me

questioningly.

"No, sir."

"Did you see the murder weapon?"

"Yes, sir. It was a big chef knife."

"It is true. The forensic report states that the victim was

stabbed with a large knife."

"But we didn't find the murder weapon yet." he spoke again.

"Where was the victim stabbed, according to you?"

"In her stomach, sir." I replied in a small voice.

"Hmm..." he walked to the door.

"Come with me." he ordered and walks outside; I trailed

behind him.

We walked upstairs to the crime spot.

"So, where were you standing when you witnessed the

murder?" he asked me once we were near the corridor.

I took two steps back and stood at the second step of the

staircase. I moved back to my spot and he stood on the spot I

had shown him.

"One can clearly see inside that classroom from here, Jamal."

He spoke in Arabic to the other guard with us.

I looked inside, everything was in its place. The blood was

cleaned up but I could still see it all over and I could still see

that little girl with adorable dimples lying lifeless on a table. I

heard officer Badr calling me.

"Let's go back." he called out to me whilst walking down.

We walked back to his office and he took a seat on the couch.

He gestured me to sit down too. I sat down in my previous

spot.

"I am pretty sure you knew her."

I nodded meekly.

"She was my classmate, sir."

I internally grimaced at the thought of using past tense

whenever I would talk about her now.

"She was with me for 7 years."

"Your classmate?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, sir."

"Did you know about her disorder?"

I shook my head.

"We weren't really close."

He nodded.

"Next question. Was she acquainted with the victim?"

"Yes, sir. She was acquainted with Saniya. I had seen them

together before too in the same classroom, sir."

"This is new, you didn't say this to me before." he gave me a

confused expression.

"I was going to..." he cut me off.

"Alright. So, how many times did you see them together

before the incident?"

"Just once. One day before the incident."

"You met Saniya too, that day. Right?"

"Right, sir. I met her in the morning and I saw them together

in the afternoon. They looked quite familiar with each other.

Aqsa was laughing at something. However, I couldn't see

Saniya properly, her back was facing me. But she had the

same height as Saniya's."

"Hmm...." he scratched his beard thoughtfully.

He had a short, black beard. I looked away.

"Is that all that you had to say?"

"Yes, sir. This is all that I remember." I replied.

In all honesty I didn't knew what I had said was complete or

not. There could be things that I had missed.

"Hope all that you said is authentic."

I nodded vigorously.

"Alright. I suppose this will be the end of your interrogation.

Now, write down your statement." he motioned towards the

paper on the table.

I nodded and turned my chair towards the table.

After a while, I handed him the paper.

"You're Indian?" he raised his eyebrow whilst reading.

I nodded. He began reading again.

"Sir, can I go back to my class now?" I asked him, wanting to

get out of his office ASAP.

"I see you're in a hurry, madaam." he looked at me with a

smile, a full smile. I looked down.

Was he smiling?

"Please, sir." I requested in a small voice.

"You can go now. Your cooperation was wonderful." he

chuckled.

The sarcasm was evident in his tone.

Of course, my cooperation had been wonderful.

"Thank you, sir."

"That would be the end would be the end of our interrogation

sessions and meetings." he tapped his finger on the table and

then I saw him smile a little.

"So, I know you have these really important exams coming up.

What do you call them again?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Board exams, sir."

"Right. Board exams." he nodded.

"So, I wish you all the best for your upcoming exams."

I gave him a fake smile. The thought of board exams added to

my nervousness.

"Believe in yourself, Fatima. That's the best advice I have

received and it shall be the best for you too." he smiled

reassuringly.

I think he sensed my nervousness which is why he boosted my

confidence a little bit. Just a little bit.

I smiled a little too.

To be honest his presence made me feel nervous, nauseous,

uncomfortable all those bad feelings you know.

"Can I...." I gestured towards the door.

He nodded.

I got up from my seat and slowly walked towards the door. I

twisted the doorknob and frowned; the door wasn't opening. I

tried again; it did not work. I tried harshly again; it wouldn't

open. I felt him approaching me and I looked up, he

forwarded his hand towards the door knob and I pulled my

hand back. He looked at my hand and then looked into my

eyes whilst twisting the door knob. I heard a click and the

door opened. He moved to the side and I rushed outside.

I smiled before keeping his handkerchief into my pocket and

ascending the stairs.