The Siya Rajput Crime Thrillers Books 1-3 (Where Are They Now / Finding Her / The Bones Are Calling)

by UD Yasha

  ‘We’ll try locating her and see if she’s missing,’ Rathod said.

  Sonia held the jar lower, realizing herself that she was adding to the drama the Bedroom Strangler and Zakkal had planned. She went around the lamp without saying anything, picking up one jar after the other. Her assistant followed her, putting the jars in plastic evidence bags. She approached us after going around.

  ‘I found five hearts,’ she said, her voice brimming with alarm. Those were words no one ever expected to hear or even say.

  ‘What’s the condition of the hearts?’ Shukla said.

  ‘There has been some kind of an embalming routine performed on them. They are well preserved and have a darker dye on them. The airtight jars definitely helped. I'll have to conduct tests to know more. And to even verify whether the heart belongs to the labelled women.'

  Two officers from the search team turned away. They had not signed up for this. Their faces had gone white. The scene was gruesome for even experienced murder detectives. I gulped. A glance around told me none of us was doing well. More than the sight and thought of what lay in front of us, the sheer shock of the scene was too much to comprehend. None of us had expected to come across something so graphic. The scene itself was a big statement.

  ‘What about the remaining five jars?’ I said.

  ‘They all have locks of hair in them. A cursory visual examination tells me that they all come from different women because of the difference in shades and textures. But I’ll know more about them and the hearts once I test them. I can’t say anything more right now. The scene is now yours,’ she said, beckoning Shukla to it.

  ‘Who are the other women?’ I said.

  Sonia’s assistant walked to me and showed me the list he had prepared. It had ten names with either a heart or a curving line against it. I recognized six of the ten women, including my mother. I had never even heard of the remaining four. Shukla crossed to me and looked at the list as well.

  ‘What’s going to be your line of action, doctor?’ Shukla said.

  ‘Firstly, I'm going to check if the hearts and hair belong to the women labelled under each box. Then I'll conduct tests on each to find out more about them.' She turned to me. ‘I'll also be able to tell from the hair if the women were alive when it was cut.'

  I nodded. The rage I had felt a while back returned. I needed to meet Zakkal again and know what game he was playing. But at the same time, I knew it would be wise to wait until Sonia finished running her tests. They could reveal something.

  I turned to Sonia. ‘There are four women on the list who are not known to be Zakkal’s victims. Can you find out who they are before performing other tests?’

  Sonia nodded, but then paused, realizing she needed permission from her boss. She looked at Shukla. He lifted his hand, beckoning her to go ahead with my suggestion. She packed her small suitcase and left with her team. Two officers went with them back to the vans. We watched them disappear beyond the tall grass.

  ‘Can you also find out if the four unidentified women have been reported missing?’ I said to Shukla.

  ‘I will,’ Shukla said and pulled out his phone to make a call.

  I turned around and looked at the lamp. It was still burning. I noticed a small solar panel next to it. Zakkal and the Bedroom Strangler knew it could take us some time to find this place so they had armed their lamp with an unending source of energy. I walked around it to get a feel. The Bedroom Strangler would have walked the same way, arranging his trophies one by one. He could have taken his time. There was no one out here for many kilometres to disturb him. I had not seen any signs of human settlements close by. The sugarcane factory had been long abandoned because of a legal tussle. Like everything else in this case so far, this area was well chosen and planned. I eyed the lamp in the middle. I wondered if the arrangement was Zakkal’s idea. He had always loved drama. He had also loved to show his might and intelligence. Nothing screamed ‘Here’s-My-Middle-Finger’ more than putting parts of women he had killed around a light.

  Zakkal's quest for power got me thinking about something else. I wondered if the women whose hair we had found were all alive. That would change everything. Zakkal would have the upper hand. He could be hoping for some kind of barter. The moment Sonia would confirm that five of the women Zakkal had taken more than fifteen years ago were still alive, the police would have no choice but to cooperate to some extent with Zakkal. The media would love to grab everyone's attention. Their coverage will spread panic. Rumours would follow. Because of the upcoming elections, politicians would get involved to appear as the good guys. They would put pressure on the police to negotiate some kind of a deal with Zakkal.

  He would not be released. Never. But still, there could be a middle ground where Zakkal reveals the location of the women who are still alive. What could he ask for though in return for the information?

  A voice inside told me it would be something far worse, a situation that would send chills through all of us. This was always going to be more than straightforward murders of women in their homes. The plan was something larger. I was just starting to get an idea of how bad the situation could get.

  I wondered where the Bedroom Strangler fit in all of this. The same questions haunted me. How did he know Zakkal? Why did Zakkal trust him so much?

  I stopped mid-way through walking the circle. I looked around at the high grass around us. The sun was up now, bringing with it a dull warmth. I checked the time on my smartphone. Almost seven thirty.

  ‘We’re going to search the rest of the place,’ Rathod said. ‘Coming?’

  I shook my head. The search team along with Shukla and Rathod were enough heads for the task. I doubted if they would find anything. The planning throughout for all murders had been meticulous. Leaving any kind of evidence behind was highly unlikely.

  I returned to Rathod’s car along with Dr. Barve. A CID van was leaving to return to the city. It dropped us all back at the CID office.

  ‘What the hell did you find?’ Radha said. ‘It was like a funeral in the car.’

  ‘At least five women are dead,’ I said. ‘We found five hearts kept in glass jars and five locks of hair. All jars were labelled with the women’s names.’ I paused. ‘One of the jars with hair in it had maa’s name. If the first crime scene is anything to go by, the locks of hair are of those women who are still alive.’

  We decided to take an Uber to go back home. Two drivers cancelled on us because they did not want a dog in their car. We got a ride eventually after fifteen minutes. In the meantime, I texted Ranjit Kadam that I will be running late.

  We got home by quarter to nine. I rushed inside to get the keys while Radha, Rahul and Shadow waited outside. Hotel Park Inn was against the flow of city traffic towards the Pune-Mumbai expressway, so we got there in twenty minutes. I went inside while Radha and Rahul took Shadow to a park in front of the hotel. I went in, wondering whether Ranjit Kadam knew the inner workings of the two monsters we were facing.

  Chapter Thirty

  Ranjit Kadam was already in the café. I recognized him from his profile picture of WhatsApp. He was sitting by a table with his laptop open. He rose when he saw me. He was wearing blue denim jeans and a white T-Shirt over which he had pulled a dark blazer. He was taller than me by at least four inches. He had probably shaved last evening given his rough stubble. We exchanged pleasantries and sat at the table.

  ‘I was going to speak to you three years back but never got around it,’ I said.

  Ranjit’s eyes flickered. He did not give much away but I could tell he was curious to know the reason. He said, ‘I wish the circumstances of our meeting right now were better.’

  ‘I didn’t get time to tell you earlier. There’s been a new development today,’ I said and went on to tell him about the morning.

  Ranjit leaned forward, his palms joint in front of his face, as he listened to me without interrupting. After I finished speaking, he brought his palms down, leaned back in his chair and sta
yed silent for a spell.

  After almost twenty seconds, he finally spoke. ‘The amount we've come to know about Kishore Zakkal in the past three days is several times more than what we had known till now. After years of silence and non-cooperation, he's finally speaking. Though, I doubt his reasons are anything but cooperative. He has an agenda. I agree with you that there's a larger game at play. It could very well be some kind of revenge. Or even a final act of showing the world that he is smart. It fits into my theory about him, which I'll share with you shortly. I hope that takes you a step closer to finding the Bedroom Strangler.'

  Ranjit put up his arm and indicated for a coffee refill. I realized I was hungry as well, so I ordered a club sandwich and a cup of coffee, feeling guilty that Radha and Rahul would be hungry as well. I was not one of those people who found eating repulsive if the topic of conversation was death or murder. I would have hardly eaten anything in my mid-twenties if that was the case.

  Ranjit sat up straight. He said, ‘We know Zakkal stalked his victims. What we did not know until now was that he kept at least one alive while killing some of them. Such sustained periods of kidnapping indicate a personality that likes to exert control and dominance. Stalking was a part of his process as well. The entire act gives him a sense of being powerful. For some killers, the act of murder is attractive. For someone like Zakkal, everything that precedes the actual murder is arousing, not necessarily sexually. The stalking coupled with extended periods of abduction, in particular, reveals a lot. It shows he's a meticulous planner and stays cool under pressure. He's also patient. He's highly intelligent. He can hide or show his emotions to manipulate you. But while he does that, his need to dominate his victim keeps getting stronger. That's why he'll kill his victims slowly. He'll try to get as much pleasure from the entire process as possible. The more he prolongs the kill, the more pleasure he gets.

  He also enjoys the pain his victims have to endure. They know the end is coming. In fact, they’re hoping for the agony to end. But by keeping them alive, he has them completely at his mercy. That further puts him in a position of power. He is driven by the need to exert dominance and show his power. The need is so strong, that the only way to feed it is prolonged and extended torture of his victims. There have been other serial killers who have tortured their victims. It normally goes on for some days or a few weeks. But Zakkal kept doing it for years. There’s a huge monster in his mind,’ Ranjit said and paused as a waiter got our order and set it on the table.

  ‘What about the splashing of the blood in the bathroom?’ I said. ‘What was that for?’

  ‘That kind of a blood bath could have some significance in his life. Maybe a memory from his childhood triggered that action. But he was smart. He did not want attention, at least not then. Until you found him, the world thought it had one less serial killer. He only admitted to taking the women when he was booked for murder and he knew the evidence was against him. He wanted a final hurray. Again, a show of power. He knew the families of the victims would suffer, not knowing if their beloved member was dead or alive. That again gave him pleasure.’

  Ranjit paused to sip his coffee. I took a large bite of the sandwich and the lettuce and cucumber crunched in my mouth.

  He continued. ‘When Zakkal spoke to you he said the murder of Holly Summers was a mistake. For him to acknowledge that, he must really feel bad about it. He knew he made a mistake then. He repeated a pattern plus left behind a clue. He strangled her. I doubt if he ever strangled a woman to death after that. He would have wanted to disassociate himself from that incident completely. We don't know how Zakkal killed the other women though. Or what he does to them after he has taken them.'

  My stomach sank for a flash. ‘I cannot imagine what my mother would’ve gone through,’ I said.

  ‘I hope we find her on time.’

  There was something in his voice. ‘What is it?’ I said.

  Two heartbeats of silence.

  ‘Tell me. What is it?’ My voice came out several pitches higher than I intended.

  Ranjit leaned forward on the table. He said, ‘I’m just being honest. Your mother is going to need a lot of counselling and many medicines to get back to normalcy. Even then, there’ll be scars. You’ve to come to terms with that. The mother you remember might not be the one who comes back. I’m sorry to be blunt about it but it’ll take a miracle for her to be healthy again.’

  Silence.

  ‘I know. I’m okay,’ I said, the words barely escaping my mouth despite it being the truth. I did not know what was happening to me. My emotions were all over the place. At times, I surprised myself with equanimity while the rest of the times, my nerves, paranoia and self-doubt scaled up. So far, I had dealt with everything well. But I could only say that to myself right now because I was feeling confident. I pushed those thoughts away.

  I said, ‘You were telling me about your analysis of Zakkal’s personality.’

  Ranjit gauged me for a beat. ‘Yeah. I don’t think he strangles his victims anymore—’

  ‘Zakkal told me he killed a woman when she stopped being beautiful. He sounded like he meant it as well,’ I said.

  ‘Beauty could have a drastically different meaning for him than how you and I or any other person perceives it. We wouldn’t know what it is unless Zakkal speaks about it at length. Which brings me to something else. I may have a connection for you between the Bedroom Strangler and Zakkal.’

  Chapter Thirty-One

  As the day wore on, more people began to trickle into the café. I set my coffee cup on the table and dragged my chair closer to the table. Ranjit did the same thing. He dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief.

  He said, ‘The Bedroom Strangler and Zakkal share several traits. Even the Bedroom Strangler is driven by a desire to exert dominance and control. According to most criminal profilers, the act necrophilia is a means to avoid rejection. How could a corpse reject you, right? It gives them complete control over the entire act. They can indulge in sex without the prospect of disappointment. Additionally, they can violate the corpse however and wherever they want. As I said, they have complete control in post-mortem sex because it’s just them.

  The Bedroom Strangler is also leaving behind messages. It’s a way of him telling the police and specifically you that he’s smart and completely in control. The same logic applies to the letter he sent you. He wants you to fear him. Knowing you’re afraid turns him on. Just like Zakkal loved the emotional pain his kidnapped victims went through; the Bedroom Strangler enjoys the fear he spreads. It’s all a part of the process.’

  Ranjit paused and sipped his coffee again. ‘I saw the photos from both the crime scenes. Then there was also what you found today morning. All the crime scenes also have a common theme—there is something always left behind on purpose. Either a body part or a message, at times both. I cannot say for sure whether that is Zakkal or the Bedroom Strangler’s idea. It could be something they agreed upon as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case. The Bedroom Strangler’s personality is submissive. Most of the times, people who indulge in sex with corpses have faced unwanted rejection in their life. Their self-esteem is low. At the same time, they have immense self-control while showing their emotions. They’ll keep suppressing their anger because they know the release will come when they kill and indulge in post-mortem sex.

  Given the trust Zakkal has shown in the Bedroom Strangler, I have a strong reason to believe that the two have known each other for many years. Not just from Zakkal’s point of view, but even for the Bedroom Strangler to have faith in Zakkal, to follow through such public killings and further Zakkal’s agenda—all that takes trust, something that doesn’t come naturally to the Bedroom Strangler. So, even for him, a comfort with Zakkal is critical. We could even be looking at a student-teacher or a mentor-apprentice relationship between the two because only that could warrant such closeness. They could’ve also been lovers, but neither of them has shown homosexual tendencies.’

 
‘We don’t know much about Zakkal’s childhood. The two must have met then. Because I couldn’t find anyone who was close to him after he started working. I had spoken to his colleagues from work. They described him as friendly but quiet and introverted.’

  ‘Have you tried to figure out why there isn’t much about Zakkal’s childhood? Answers to several questions might lie there.’

  ‘All I know is that he went to a municipality school. The funds given to municipality schools aren’t enough to even maintain proper toilets. Maintaining records is a rich man’s concern. That it was the pre-Internet age didn’t help either.’

  The hush of conversations resounded. We both sipped our coffee. I crunched some more lettuce and cucumber.

  I said, ‘They have to be of the same generation if they have known each other since childhood.’

  ‘Does that rule of any of your suspects?’

  I placed the ages of the four suspects. I shook my head. ‘They’re all in the same age bracket. Two of them are pen pals, and from their exchange at least it doesn’t seem that they knew Zakkal from before.’

  Ranjit paused again. He put a finger up. ‘Forgive me now, for I’ll be thinking out loud.’

  Five heartbeats of silence.

  Ranjit’s eyes became narrow. His fingers scratched his stubble subconsciously. He eventually spoke. He said, ‘The first known murder of Zakkal was Holly Summers. He was twenty-nine then. He was caught six years after that.’ He fell silent again. I could see in his eyes he was trying to think.

  I said, ‘I'm wondering why Zakkal would've told another person that he was a killer. Why tell anyone at all? Wouldn't that be a big risk? Even if you trust someone deeply, you wouldn't tell them something if it could potentially rob you of the only joy you've in life. Especially if it's something as drastic as killing another person. How can you be sure the person wouldn't report you to the police as the crime is of such a grave magnitude?'