G U I L T Y

KRIS

Name?' He asked after keeping his lips in a grim line, the left side of his cheek was scarred and his green eyes glanced at me every now and then.

'Do you not speak boy?' His thickly British accent questioned, eyebrows lifting up in a questioning manner.

'Kris Lin.'

He nodded before typing something on his computer.

'Your appointment is at 5:30pm, if you step in a minute late...your chance is gone.' He spoke in his huffy voice before scooting away into a crowd of other people. My eyes diverted to my wrist watch, it had struck almost 5:20 reminding me that I had ten minutes.

In the silence of the night I would think, I didn't get a word from Ms. Campbell. I knew why, I knew the reason and it somewhat made me guilty that I had stopped considering other people's feeling, I had become stone hearted and it killed me inside each and every day because of who I was. I had stopped living like a normal human being.

'Kris!' A voice called making my me snap from my thoughts, I looked towards an elderly woman, dressed in a police uniform. She looked at me and spoke,

'You can go, the current engagement has been cancelled.' Hearing that I got up from the dusty seat and moved towards the examiner's office door. Knocking on the white double doors I heard a 'come in' and I entered.

A strong smell of lavender and tea hit my nose as I stepped in, under a warm light sat the forensic expert blowing and sipping on his tea.

'Hi.' He said suddenly looking at me, a warm smile over his face.

He gestured me to sit as I took place on the leather chair in front of him, analysing me for a minute he asked.

‘Do I know you?’

‘No, Kris Lin I am from the crime investigation department of USA, here for a certain reason.’

'How can I help you?' He asked again sipping on his mug.

'I need answers.'

'Pardon?' His eyebrows went into a frown as I took out a file.

'This year,17th January on a Monday in London, you examined a case of a victim that was brutally murdered in her house, specifically Patricia Campbell. Her daughter filed out a case against the medical forensic reports challenging the autopsy done by you.'

His face changed into a serious mode, the warm smile vanishing. He placed his cup with a thud looking at me intensely.

'Indeed, your question is?' He asked lowering the volume of the television.

'My question is that when terms like fracture, bruises were written on the report..by which sense does it conclude to a suicidal death?' My voice came out firm, his brows arched. I could see confusion on his face when he stood up and grabbed something from the nearby shelf and handed it to me.

'A copy of Mrs. Campbell's medical forensic report in which it is clearly stated that her death had been a murder.' I flipped out pages, my mind wondering what the heck I was seeing. The pages were different, the information was different only as if it had been changed.

'Your accuse is wrong Mr. Lin, my assistant himself handed these files over to the prosecution for further procedure which was represented as an evidence-

'As a suicide, there was no name of murder on the report that was represented to the judge, do you think Bellona Campbell filed a case as a joke? It is stated here take a look..

I slid the file to him.

Patricia Campbell's death had been proven as a suicide because no marks of assault were found on the body meaning she had harmed herself and the bruises that were found were also...wrongly proved that those were caused by the skin disease known as psoriasis.'

His face paled. Rooted to his place he brushed his hands through his hair, an eerie silence filling up the space.

'I was not represented as a witness to testify, I was severely ill that day and my assistant took the reports to the attorney.’ He spoke slowly, realisation hitting him.

His eyes stared at the empty space, the realisation had hit him that he had been wronged, Bellona had been wronged, the case had been flipped over and everything that he was told did not happen. I could see droplets of sweat forming on his forehead, closing the file I gently placed it on the table.

'Your assistant would surely be a great presence here, call that dog.'

'Mr. Lin, my deepest sorrow is not that. It’s undecided whether I will lose my title or stay working like a forensic expert..

He looked up at me like he knew something was wrong, he shook his head sighing.

My assistant he resigned one week after the disclosure of this case.'

I sighed, anger invading me.

’Just because of your carelessness someone is suffering, were you blind? You surely did win the case by lying and corrupting.. congratulations to you..there was a hope to change what had been wronged.’ My tone was grating.

He picked up his intercom and dialled a number, placing it on his ear he ordered someone in a low voice.

'I want you to bring Fey’s file.'

Some minutes later a knock on the door was heard and the person outside entered after being permitted, a black file was handed over to me. I lifted my eyebrows questioning about the papers.

'My assistant's info.'

I opened the plastic cover to only be dumbfounded at the name written there. My voice reviving the conversation with Bellona.

'Marcos I arrested him on stealing medical files'

Bellona's words recalled in my mind.

Marcos Fey.

'Marcos Fey....Marcos.' His name rolled out of my tongue leaving a bitter taste in my mouth, eyebrows turned into in a frown and lips in a grim line.

'Can I keep this file?'

'Take it even if it only heals a percent of the damage I did.'

I sighed, I had to tell her this, I needed to talk to Bellona.

My gaze diverted to the sky outside, the orange painted sky that had dark clouds scattering upon it. The wind roared outside as the any other winter night when the cold air would make you shiver, the leaves that rustled outside. There would be a disturbing silence, haunting me. I looked at the file in my hands and thought about the journey ahead which was a long road. A long road of pain that scratched the old wounds making them bleed yet I was ready for it, a long road of bringing ease to ourselves.