Fatal Relations

I was catching up with my old friend Clarissa on social media after almost a decade when she asked whether I would like to meet her the following day, around noon. I said yes. We met at a mall with a marvellous marble floor and had some hot chocolate with marshmallows. There was a lot to catch up on, from our various jobs to her marrying a cop.

Clarissa and I wrapped up our chat a couple of hours later and went our separate ways. However, my phone rang a few minutes later when I stopped at a market. To my surprise, it wasn’t even my phone that was in my pocket. The Caller ID said it was ‘Rob’; the only person that came to mind was Clarissa’s husband.

‘Wait, did I accidentally take her phone?’

I answered the call; Rob sounded furious.

“Clarissa, where the hell are you?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m Clarissa’s friend, Danielle. Our phones have gotten switched.”

“Stop lying! You’re covering for her, aren’t you?”

“What? I’m telling you the truth.”

“Tell her she can’t hide from me.”

Rob cut the call right after. I was confused, wondering what exactly had happened between them. But his tone scared me, so I thought I should call the police. Right then, I got another call, this time from an unknown number.

“I’m sorry, Danielle, but I had to switch our phones.”

“Clarissa, what’s wrong? Why was Rob so angry?”

“He’s always possessive and insecure; he holds me prisoner most of the time.”

“Why haven’t you told the police about this?”

“I’ve tried, but it got swept under the rug because he’s one of them.”

“Where are you now? I’ll come to get you.”

“I don’t want to drag you into this any more than I already have.”

Clarissa hung up right after, and seconds later, Rob arrived.

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know. I told you our phones accidentally got switched.”

“Then call your phone.”

I called Clarissa, but she didn’t pick up. Rob grew impatient and left right after. I texted Clarissa and told her what had happened. I asked her where she was so I could come to pick her up, but she told me to go home as Rob was most likely to have someone follow me. However, I couldn’t just stand on the sidelines while my friend was in danger. I informed the police about the situation and took a taxi home. Fifteen minutes later, I got a call from the cops saying they had found Clarissa standing over Rob’s body near a phone booth by the lake. She had shot him in self-defence.