The Unexpected Reveal

Nick squinted his left eye, focusing his other eye on the lens of his binoculars. He wasn’t sure if this was the right lady he had been pursuing for a month now. He grinned, nodding his head with excitement — she was the one. He grabbed his camera and took two shots. He couldn’t wait for that day when he could finalise this case.  

There has been a pending case where a university student was murdered 12 years ago, and it looked like no one wanted to take this case further. Nick, being a persistent detective, didn’t want to let this case be swept under the carpet. He embarked on the mission to investigate what really happened. He was not going to leave any stone unturned.  

This case was about a young lady, Rose, who was murdered on the university premises 12 years ago. Nevertheless, the perpetrator was not brought to book. After going through an old local newspaper story, Nick got some new details. The same night Rose was murdered, Rose’s friend disappeared. It was only recently that Nick discovered that the friend, with the name Clara, was still alive. Nick has been tracking Clara for a month now, taking photos of her. What bothered Nick was that Clara seemed to avoid public places — she tended to frequent quiet places, usually early in the mornings or late in the evenings. She was hiding something, and he was going to definitely get to the bottom of what it was.  

Nick placed his camera on the passenger seat and drove slowly towards the mall’s main entrance. He could clearly see Clara’s face. Nick was content — this was Clara. Clara was on a call, speaking emphatically on her phone as though she was giving instructions to the person on the other end of the line. As Nick drove past, he waved at Clara, and their eyes met, but Clara blinked and hurriedly paced and disappeared like smoke into the mall. Nick was sure that Clara was involved in Rose’s death. It can’t be a coincidence that Clara disappeared the same night Rose was murdered.   

On the following day, Nick could not believe the information she came across about Clara. He found a piece of paper clipped to Clara’s investigation files. It was an old brown letter scribbled in cursive. The letter had an anonymous attribution at the bottom, “From Anonymous”. The letter revealed some important information that would help Nick with his investigations. Clara Cross’ real name was Matilda Daniels. Nick jumped to his feet and screamed in triumph. This was the missing piece, and it connected all the dots! Matilda murdered her friend and ran away to conceal her dark past. She then decided to change her name and surname and start a new life. “Thanks, Anonymous,” Nick whispered to himself, a smile escaping his left lip.  

Nick now wanted to hear the full story from the horse’s mouth. At that point, Nick had a lot of information about Clara, including her address. Nick decided to pay her a visit to ask a few questions. What a journey that had been. Nick could see the lights at the end of the tunnel. What his colleagues had failed to resolve for the past 12 years, the case was coming to an end. 

Nick stood at his doorway and inhaled the cool breeze. The sun sat on the eastern horizon like a drop of blood on an eyelid. The day he had been waiting for was finally here. On that day, he was going to wrap up the 12-year-old case. If it had not been for Anonymous, he would not have got the slightest clue. This piece of evidence was completely new, and he wondered when it was brought in. The day he was briefed on this case, the evidence was not available.   

Nick got on the road. Clara’s flat was a few kilometres away on the outskirts of the city. Nick stepped hard on the gas, as the car consumed the tarmac so he could get to Clara’s place early, before she left her house. After an hour’s drive, Nick arrived. The flat was a dilapidated stretch of a ten-unit building. The paint was peeling off, indicating a lack of renovations. Nick drove straight to the flats’ parking area, after navigating through the shattered gate that did not offer any form of security. As Nick brought his car to a halt, he saw through his rear-view mirrors a car looking like Clara’s leaving the parking lot. He promptly hooted and waved his hand, signalling her to stop. To Nick’s surprise, Clara complied and reversed her car back into the parking lot.  

It was clear that Clara mistook Nick for someone she knew. Clara came out of her car and walked towards Nick’s car. Nick fetched his detective card from his pocket for identification. He abruptly got out of his car, and Clara froze mid-stride. She didn’t know this person. Who was he? A flood of questions clouded her mind. Nick calmed her a bit by breaking the ice.  

“Good morning, ma’am.” Nick smiled, with his hand stretched towards Clara.   

Clara shrugged her shoulders as if she were uninterested. “Good morning,” Clara responded.  

“I’m Detective Nick from Kellbrough Police Station”, echoed Nick as he raised his identity card towards Clara. “Don’t be afraid. I have a few questions for you. Can we...?” said Nick, pointing towards a vacant bench close by. He did not finish his sentence as Clara slowly nodded her head in agreement.  

Clara clearly looked startled, and she was sweating. She was not settled. Her eyes were all over. Nick gestured to Clara to sit on the bench. Clara vigorously shook her head in disapproval. “No, thank you. I am okay; you may sit.” Clara responded as she stood behind a tree stump next to the bench. Nick noticed there was something causing Clara to be this unsettled, and he did not want to drive her further into extreme fear. He decided to take it easy on her.  

“I have a few questions for you, ma’am. What’s your name?”  

“Cla-Clara Cross,” stuttered Clara.  

“Okay, do you know Matilda Daniels?”  

Clara popped her eyes wide open. She was dumbfounded. She tried to say something; nothing came out of her mouth. It was clear she was not expecting that question.   

“I take it that you know Matilda,” concluded Nick as he waved his hand.  

“Let me confess,” Clara said in a frail voice. “I am Matilda Daniels. That is my real name.”  

“Thank you for confirming,” mumbled Nick. “What caused you to change your name?  

“I saw something happening, and someone threatened to kill me if I said a word. They might be watching me right now.” Said Clara as she looked around and hid even further behind the tree stump. “Can we plan to meet somewhere safer so I can tell you everything? Please...”   

Nick could read some extreme fright in Clara’s eyes. “Sure, sounds like a plan. Where do you propose we meet and when?”  

Clara pointed towards the west, “Greenfield Restaurant; tomorrow at 9:00 AM sharp.”  

“Tomorrow it is,” said Nick, abruptly standing up and waving at Clara. He strode to his car without turning his head.   

Nick left Clara’s place. His mind was now full of more questions than answers. He seemed to be back at square one. At least tomorrow he was going to get some answers from Clara. That night Nick barely slept. His mind was racing. He didn’t know what to expect for tomorrow.   

Nick arrived at Greenfield Restaurant a few minutes after 9:00 AM. He was a little bit late. He glanced at a table in the corner, and his eyes landed on a lady covering her head with a scarf. That should be Clara. Nick walked towards the table. Indeed, it was her.  

“Good morning, ma’am.” Nick reached out his hand towards Clara as he took a seat just opposite her.   

“Good morning,” Clara gave a short answer that seemed to be dismissive.   

“Rose was my best friend.” Clara started speaking before Nick even settled down. Streams of tears trickled down her cheeks. Her eyes showed deep pain. “The way she died haunts me to this day. Unfortunately, I could not report my best friend’s death. I was threatened with death if I reported.”  

“Who threatened you?” Nick asked, looking straight into Clara’s eyes.  

Clara fumbled in her handbag. She pulled out an old photo. She slammed it on the table. “Him”, whispered Clara, pointing at the man standing in the middle of the photo. “As you can see, this is me on the left and on the right that’s Rose.”  

“Wait, wait!”, interjected Nick, pulling a pair of glasses from his shirt pocket. He leaned forward as he put on his pair of glasses. “He looks familiar. No, no, that can’t be. This is my father!” screamed Nick, not believing his eyes. “And Rose...” Nick reached into his pocket.  

Clara looked shocked — she didn’t know what was happening at that point. “What are you saying, Nick?” This was the first time Clara sounded interested in the conversation.  

Nick took out a photo from his pocket. Two people were in the photo. He scrutinised the photo side by side. Nick stood up, clenching his fists, fuming with anger. Clara was clearly lost at that moment.  

“Why did you not tell me all along that Rose was my mother?” Nick screamed at Clara. Clara was panic-stricken and dumbfounded.  

“Listen, Nick”, Nick heard a guttural voice from behind him. “It’s not her fault; she doesn’t know any of that. Matilda is your mother, not Rose. She also doesn’t know. I kept it a secret.” Nick looked over his shoulder to see who it was. It was his father. He wore a face that seemed to be asking for an apology. Nick looked towards Clara, Matilda, or whoever she was, and she was also on her feet, trying to process everything that was happening. So, who is the real Clara?   

Nick could not handle any of this. He felt dizzy, and all he could hear was the whining sound of an ambulance approaching from afar.