by UD Yasha
‘I want you to leave,’ Ranjit said calmly.
‘You know this area will soon have more cops than all the women you’ve murdered. There’s no chance you’re escaping.’
‘We’ll see. I’ll take some people with me if I die.’
‘Have you thought of what Zakkal would say if he knows you’ve killed his women?’ I said.
Ranjit narrowed his eyes on me but said nothing.
I took a step in his direction. I said, ‘He will hate you. You know how much he admires them.’ I took another step towards him.
‘Why are you walking towards me?’
I continued ‘Are you going to betray your mentor at the last moment?’
‘Stop walking or I’ll kill your sister.’
I obeyed his command.
‘Don’t try to be smart. I’m not joking when I said I’ll release the rope.’
I heard a faint noise outside. Footsteps. The backup had arrived. Ranjit needed to be distracted. I began a countdown in my head.
Thirty seconds to go.
I glared at Ranjit, taking my time. I said slowly, ‘So, you’re going to throw everything away right now, just like that? Are you not going to let Zakkal have his women?’
‘Stop talking,’ Ranjit said. ‘And move behind.’
Fifteen seconds to go.
I decided I would obey his command once again. I looked at maa one last time. I turned around and walked back, slowly, taking my time. I counted the seconds in my mind. I noticed Rathod was nodding his head gently.
‘Turn around, Siya,’ Ranjit said. ‘I want you to see the people you love the most die.’
I saw shadows outside the back door. I was so close. The shadows got smaller. They were closing in.
Five seconds to go.
I turned around just as I saw the first SWAT team member bustle in with his gun. A judder jolted through my body. Ranjit was smiling.
‘Bye bye, everyone,’ Ranjit said, and he let go of the rope.
Rathod ducked and pulled me down with him. Bullets sprayed from behind us. My heart sank. My eyes were transfixed on maa. Just as Ranjit had released the rope in his hand, the rope holding the five women went loose. My heart stopped beating. The SWAT team had sliced the rope by firing bullets at it.
At the same time, Rathod held his gun higher and took a shot at Ranjit. The first bullet missed him. Rathod fired again. This one hit his hand, and the knife in it flew away. The SWAT team ran inside. Before I knew it, the entire space was filled with them. Half of them went to the second floor. I heard more barking. A member of the SWAT team unlocked the chains that bound Radha while another two cuffed and chained Ranjit. They took him away.
I got up and ran to maa. She was still on the ground. I joined her there and hugged her tightly. Tears flowed down my cheeks. Radha hugged us together. I had never believed in miracles. But holding maa so close was nothing short of one.
I wanted to say so many things but no words came out. I don’t know how long we stayed that way. We saw Rahul coming down the stairs with Shadow and two more paramedics. They joined us on the floor. The moment was pure bliss. Paramedics soon came in and put maa and the four other women on a stretcher. We walked with maa’s stretcher.
Rathod was waiting for us at the door. We saw maa get into an ambulance. Radha and Rahul sat next to her.
‘Well done,’ he said.
I would have said ‘you too, partner,’ as it had been our tradition to say that at the end of each case we had helped each other on. But my mind had stopped being able to form words.
I handed Shadow’s leash to Rathod. He accepted it. His face turned serious. ‘News just came in. Zakkal escaped. A helicopter came to pick him up on the hospital rooftop.’
I heaved a loud breath out but said nothing, for at that moment only love remained.
Chapter Forty-Six
Four weeks later
We still could not believe maa was with us again. She had stayed in the hospital for a week while the doctors performed tests on her and ensured her health got back to an optimum level. We were told it would take time for her to get back to full health; both physical and mental. Over the coming weeks, maa returned home. I took three months off from work. My family would always be my priority. My savings from my days of practising law were strong enough to carry us through.
Maa was delighted to meet Shama and Rahul. She had not realized that her children were old enough to find partners of their own. We told maa about dad in the hospital. She deserved to know soon but we also had to make sure the shock did not worsen her health. She was obviously taken aback when we told her. But her return after such a long time triggered a fresh hope…anything was possible.
I did not renew my law license. It did not even cross my mind amid everything that was happening. Once maa got home, we settled into a cosy routine. We loved every minute of it. Our lives had a new found meaning. We used to get up at seven in the morning. I used to make tea and Rahul his delicious giant omelette. Maa's physiotherapist used to come home before noon. She had therapy sessions twice a week in the evenings. Rahul would be back from work around five in the evening. Radha's boss was kind enough to let her work from home for two months. She only needed to go to her office for a couple of hours two days a week. Shama was always with me, looking after maa like she was her own mother. All of us used to sit in the evenings and talk for hours. At times, Karan joined us on a video call. We had a lot to tell maa. Our maushi, who had looked after us once maa and dad went missing, used to come home for dinner.
I last heard from Kapil the day Ranjit Kadam was arrested. I wanted to thank him for everything and also tell him why I had been gone for three years. But I kept putting it off. I would do it eventually, I kept telling myself.
The CID filed a charge sheet against Ranjit Kadam. They found out he had killed more than seventy women over a period of twenty years. That was the known count. It was suspected the real number was in three digits. They also found out that Ranjit had helped plan Zakkal's escape. The killings of Supriya Kelkar and Tarla Raheja were mere statements to draw attention. Zakkal chose the time outside with inmates as he knew he would have many eyeballs on him then. He could have taken a medicine to induce a heart attack before as well, but no one would have been there to attend to him in his cell. The time in the open with inmates was a ploy to make sure he got urgent medical attention. Ranjit said their only objective was to get Zakkal moved to Sasoon Hospital from where his escape plan was easier. The CID had no clue or new leads to where Zakkal had gone. The search was still on.
One day when Rahul and I were alone, he told me, ‘I’ll propose to Radha next month. Let everything calm down. This a huge moment, especially for all of you. I feel even maa will be healthier then.’
I smiled at him and changed the topic because Radha entered the room with maa and Shama. Shadow followed them, wagging his tail. He was already playing a big role in helping maa recover, just like he had done with me.
‘I’m blessed to have all of you back,’ maa said, stroking Radha and me. She turned to Shama and Rahul. ‘Even you two are like my children. I’m really fortunate that I’m getting to spend this time with you. I never thought such a time would come again. Thank you.’
Tears trickled down my eyes. I blinked them away. Maa being with us still felt unreal. We sat, planning the next month. Maa was the most upbeat I had seen since she had got back.
She said, ‘We could all go someplace near Pune for a small holiday. Maybe Mahabaleshwar or even Lonavala. We can get away for a weekend from everything and have time to ourselves.’
Rahul must have noticed maa's happy demeanour as well. His face lit up. I could make out he was excited. He could not wipe the grin off his face. I knew what he was thinking about. He had just found the perfect time to ask Radha to marry him. He glanced at me. I smiled and nodded my head to give him the signal.
Rahul stood up and went down on one knee next to Radha. All eyes turned to them. Radha realized what was
happening. She covered her face with her hands.
‘Yes, of course. I will marry you, Rahul,' she said, even before he said anything.
Rahul took Radha’s hand and inserted the ring. She got up and hugged Rahul. I saw maa’s eyes welling up. Within the next moment, everyone in the Rajput household was the happiest they had ever been. I wiped the tears away, unable to hold back the glee within me. Maa and Shama hugged me from both sides. The Rajput family was happy again.
SIYA RAJPUT returns in Finding Her.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE (Where Are They Now)
Writing Where Are They Now was an extremely special experience for me. In many ways, it made me believe in myself again. I had to become a better version of myself to write it. Siya Rajput will be back soon.
Where Are They Now also marks a big change in my personal life. It is my first published novel, even though I have written other novels earlier. It is also my first novel in pursuit of becoming a full-time writer. I have always dreamt of telling stories for a living. I have given myself a year to achieve the same. Hopefully, I can make it. Towards that endeavour, I really want to thank you for picking up this book and showing the faith in me. It really means the world to me.
UD Yasha is a pen name. ‘Yasha’ is derived from my mother’s name Yashashri, while UD is taken from my first name Udayan. I wanted to have my mother’s name on the covers of the books I wrote as I owe a lot to her. Ten years back, when I was thirteen, my father had a medical accident (we suspect it was the doctor’s mistake) due to which his brain got less oxygen for a few minutes, leading to brain hypoxia; a fancy term for brain damage. The road to his recovery is long. He’s improving now but needs our attention and care throughout. We are glad to still have him in our lives. We hope to see him walk on his own one day. Given all of this, my mother, whom I call ‘maa’, has been the light that all my family members have looked up to and taken energy from. None of us would have been even half of what we are, if it had not been for her relentless positivity and courage. The pen name is my small way of tipping my hat to her.
It was a pleasure to write Where Are They Now. It is set in the city of Pune, in which I have lived all my life.
I love to hear from my readers. You can write to me at [email protected] .
February 2019
UD Yasha
FINDING HER (THE SIYA RAJPUT MYSTERIES BOOK 2)
Chapter One
It had been more than three years since a man had looked me straight in the eye and told me that he was innocent, and not guilty of the murder he had been accused of committing. In this case, it was four murders. A family had been killed in their house. A shot had been fired at each of their heads. Execution style. Clean and as cold-blooded as it could get. They would have been dead even before they would have realized what had happened.
The man accused of the murders was sitting across the table from me. The first thing I noticed about him was his scar. It was not fresh but recent; still pink, and it ran from his mouth to his ear. The man’s name was Shaunak Manohar. He was thirty-six. Married with two kids. He seemed to be a normal person, the kind who doesn’t go around killing people. But in my experience, the most brutal killers are like your husband, father and son.
I had a look at the file the CID had compiled on Manohar just before coming in. I was impressed with how much they had got on him in such a short time. What I read did not look good. The evidence was stacked against him. He had been taken into police custody just an hour and a half back. The evidence was strong enough to move him to Yerwada Jail, the city prison, pending investigation.
Manohar had been found in a house in which he had no business being inside. The CID had caught him with a gun in his hand and blood on his clothes and face. The blood was being analysed for DNA, and that would take a while. However, the test results would be moot. Because Manohar had himself admitted that the blood on him belonged to the people who lay dead in the living room of the house. But he said he had not killed them. Why was he then holding a gun when the police came in? And why did he have their blood on his clothes?
Many questions swirled in my mind. Whether Shaunak Manohar was innocent, was not one of them. I was there for something else.
The air conditioner hummed ever so softly in the interrogation room of the CID. I sat back in the chair and turned to my right. I set my bag on the floor next to me. I flicked my hand twice. A sign for the CID officers present behind the magic one-way mirror wall to turn off the CCTV cameras and other recording devices in the room. I waited for two beats.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Manohar leaned forward on the table. I leaned forward on the table as well. A subconscious maneuverer. A classic technique. One that I had used hundreds of times on killers and even potential lovers, though the latter had been non-existent in my life for a while now.
I gauged Shaunak Manohar. He was calm for someone who had just been arrested for murder. His gaze was sharp on me. I gave nothing away. There was something in the way his eyes flickered.
I could not quite place what it was. But I stayed silent.
In criminal defence, a lawyer does not care whether a client is innocent or guilty. It does not matter. In fact, most lawyers don’t even want to know the truth. Any judgement plants a bias. And not just that, but not knowing is also easier. I don’t have a kid, but I’m sure it helps not knowing if the person you helped evade a jail term actually committed the crime, while putting your own child to sleep. No knowledge, no pricking of the conscience. And they say lawyers don’t have morals.
Less than an hour and a half ago, my phone had rung just as I had finished making dinner. I thought it was Radha, my sister, calling to inform me that she was running late for dinner. But it was not her. Seeing the name of the caller surprised me.
I double checked my phone screen to confirm if I was reading it correctly. Atharva Mehta. He was my first boyfriend. We were together for two years from the age of seventeen to nineteen. We had last met more than twelve years ago at the National Defence Academy's Passing Out Parade when my brother Karan was graduating. Post that, Karan had joined the Indian Army while Atharva had joined the Indian Air Force. Atharva was thirty-one, the same age as me and two years younger than my brother. We had been friends for a long time before we had started going out. Radha, Karan, Atharva and I used to play together while growing up, especially during the summer holidays. Our fathers were colleagues in the police department.
We had just gone our separate ways in life. I had gone to law school and he had joined the Air Force. The breakup had been cordial and I always remembered our time together very fondly. In the past ten years, our correspondence had been limited to wishing each other on our birthdays. Even that was sporadic, and if I remembered correctly, we had missed wishing each other last year.
‘Siya, I’m sorry to call you like this, but I urgently need your help,’ Atharva said as soon as I answered the call. His voice was high pitched and he spoke fast. ‘I didn’t know who else I could go to.’
I would have been taken aback by the statement, but I knew he trusted me by the virtue of our two-year relationship and a longer friendship. We both thought we were more in touch with each other than we really were because Karan was a common factor between us.
‘Sure,’ I said, keeping aside the rice cooker in my hand. I walked out of the kitchen and crossed to the garden of our bungalow. I could sense panic in his voice. ‘What happened?’ I said.
‘Someone killed my sister’s family. All of them. I just got to know. They’re all dead,’ Atharva said.
His voice was trembling. I did not know Atharva’s sister that well. She was older than us so she used to rarely play with us as kids. Her name came to me just then. Malini. They’re all dead.
‘How? Tell me what happened exactly,’ I
said, my instincts kicking in.
‘I got a call from the CID. I was told that a man shot all of them in their house. Malini was not home then. But the man killed the rest of them. The police could not reach Malini right away. She is in Mahabaleshwar to conduct a workshop. So, the CID called me. I am listed as my brother-in-law’s emergency contact. They finally managed to get through to Malini after they spoke to me. She is on her way back to Pune as we speak.’
Atharva's words kept echoing in my mind. They’re all dead. Her family included her husband, their two children and her in-laws. Five murders, two dead children. A chill ran up my spine.
I waited. I did not know the facts yet. If there was one thing that I had learnt being a lawyer and private detective, it was that listening is more important than anything else. A sense of trepidation loomed. I heard Atharva’s deep breaths across the line.
He continued. ‘I returned from our evening workout ten minutes back. I had missed three calls from the same number. When I called it back, a CID officer told me what had happened. This was before they could get in touch with Malini. So, they wanted me to confirm the identity of her family.’
I heard more loud heaves across the line. I remembered Atharva having the happiest face. He could never stop grinning. I used to be the same. My mother used to even joke about how if we got married, our kids would never know how to cry. Seeing Atharva in this state was gut-wrenching. I could make out that he had been shaken up.
He went on. ‘I want to come down to Pune. I’ll soon get to know if my leave has been approved.’
I let Atharva talk. My heart went out to him. But I still had not understood why he had called me. Or how I could help him. I was not a practising lawyer anymore. I made a mistake three years ago and it still haunts me. I walked away from the field overnight. To aid my job back then, I had also taken a private detective's license which I had stopped using as well. From what Atharva had told me, this matter was serious. Multiple homicides. Even if I wanted to help him, the local police or CID would not entertain me. They never liked private detectives. They despised criminal lawyers. I was both.