What We See, What We Forget

Part 3

After approximately four hours of sleep, Husni began his day by showering and dressing up, this time in plain clothes as any detective should. Then again, the uniform and shoulder holster combination are not the most aesthetic combinations. Instead, a button-down khaki jacket and some chinos suit the modern detective. By dawn, Husni was ready to head for the station. Darkness still blanketed the streets as the sun had yet to rise. Despite that, Husni's drive to the station still encountered traffic once he passed through the local market, which was already bustling with sellers preparing their stalls. Once he passed through the market, the streets were clear until he arrived at the station. There, he greeted Ms. Manda at the reception. Also, the tired-looking anti-delinquency unit had just finished their night shift along with the group of teens they had arrested for street fighting, with some already with their parents. At the same time, they were seen kneeling before the parents, begging for forgiveness for their actions; luckily, no one was hurt during the ordeal. After dropping by his cubicle, the detectives are all called for their morning briefing. Husni is assigned paperwork duty for the day, which he gladly takes. The brawl last night tensed up his muscles, and a day on the station does not look too bad.

Eventually, the tediousness of typing down documents got the better of Husni, and he got off his desk to stroll around the office and possibly go to the coffee machine. On his walk to the machine, he is suddenly distracted by the loud chatter that can be slightly heard inside Hendra's office. He leaned in closer to listen to the commotion until he heard Hendra ending the call, followed by footsteps that were getting louder; in a panic, he backed up until he hit a wall, causing a decorative painting to fall to the ground. Hendra's door opened as he wanted to pick it up, and he cartoonishly hid the painting behind his back.

"Ah, Husni."

"Sir!"

"At ease, son, it's perfect that you're here."

"Why is that, sir?"

"Ready for your first case?"

Unprepared for that response, Husni dropped the painting he held once again.

"Of course, sir!"

"Yeah, just prep up and meet me in my car, and pick that painting up, damn it."

"Yes, sir."

Husni rushed to Ms. Manda to get his weapon and other items before he set off to Hendra's car. Once he's inside, he asks to be briefed on the situation.

"We got ourselves a suicide." Told Hendra.

"Where, sir?"

"You'll see."

The car speeds through the streets of Malang with the sirens loudly blaring; as it speeds, Husni begins to realize the route that Hendra is taking. And before he knew it, the car entered the gates of his old university. It was a surprise, sure, but it got even more concerning when the car went past the rectorate and the faculty of cultural studies' building before turning right towards the faculty of social and political sciences.

"Welcome home, son," Hendra said before exiting the vehicle.

Husni quickly followed out of the car, where he was greeted by a crowd of people circling over something, along with officers and paramedics who were already on the scene screaming at the crowd to move away and to disperse. He and Hendra shoved through the crowd, and finally, it was revealed to the both of them what the something was the body.

It was the suicide victim. Hendra stepped closer to get more of a clue for the identification of the body, while Husni took a good look at the body. The body was identified to be a young female, but her face remained unrecognizable since it took most of the impact of the fall; her skull gave way for her brain to be splattered entirely on the concrete, with bits of it flying as far as three meters away from the body, her head is only red paste by that point. It also appeared that she jumped without bringing anything with her, as no wallet or phone could be found anywhere in her pockets. The security guard who witnessed the suicide came forward to Husni and Hendra. When questioned, he said that the girl showed no hesitation before she leaped off of the sixth floor of the C building. INAFIS (Indonesian Automatic Fingerprint Identification System) officers arrived shortly after and cordoned off the scene. While they're at it, an officer approaches Hendra with a letter. He then shows the letter to Husni. The letter read that Husni was now in charge of leading the investigation; Hendra, the head of the criminal investigation division, signed the letter in front of Husni, officiating the decision.