by UD Yasha
A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I had believed something was off about Manohar's implication from the very start. Yet, I had doubted myself. For a good reason. I had been wrong before. But now relief washed over me. Maybe there was hope after all, I thought.
Manohar was innocent.
I knew he could have given his cell phone to someone else and that could have been his alibi. But this was a start. I knew we would find substantive proof.
Radha read what I was thinking. She always did. She kept her laptop away and crossed to me. ‘I know,’ she said with a beaming smile.
‘Superb job, everyone. Radha, you’ve cracked this open for us along with Salim,’ I said and as if on cue, my phone began buzzing in my pocket.
It was Rahul. He would’ve gotten Sachin’s medical reports from Rathod. I answered the call.
‘Siya, I have news about Sachin’s death for you,’ he said.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I put the phone on speaker and placed it in front of me on the bed. Radha and Atharva leaned forward to listen in. I felt my pulse quicken. Not a word could be missed.
‘The doctors had ruled Sachin's death as a clear-cut case of a heart attack. No autopsy was performed. Probably because they did not have a reason to conduct one,’ Rahul said. ‘However, I could get a hold of the doctors’ reports when Sachin was taken to the hospital following his heart attack.’
I said, ‘Who took him to the hospital?’
‘One of Sachin’s work colleagues, a man named Umesh Bhalla, took him. I spoke to Umesh and he told me that he was not supposed to meet Sachin that day, but something at work came up and he needed Sachin’s signature. When he reached Sachin’s house, he saw his boss on the floor. Then Umesh took him to the hospital. Sumeira was not present during any of this,’ Rahul said and paused. ‘I found a few abnormalities. Umesh told me that Sachin was vomiting when he found him. He also told Umesh that he could not feel his face. In addition to this, the doctor’s report says that they detected arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heartbeat rhythm. The doctors gave him a host of medicines to get it back on track but nothing worked. Sachin kept slipping.
That’s when something hit me. I began looking up this poison called aconitine. It is a natural defense mechanism made by the aconite plant. The poison is found in the tuber of the plant and it has been traditionally used in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. To reduce its toxicity, the tuber is boiled for about half an hour. But if it is merely soaked in water, it retains all its toxicity.
When used as a poison, even five milligrams of aconitine can kill an adult. The early symptoms of aconitine poisoning are vomiting, nausea and numbness in face and extremities. Sachin displayed all of them. Eventually he developed arrhythmia which is fatal. The usual medicines which work to reverse arrhythmia did not work in Sachin’s case as it had been induced by aconitine.
Aconitine interferes by pumping sodium ions in and out of the heart. This messes up with the natural pacemaker of the heart. Bear with me as there’s a reason I am telling you all of this,’ Rahul said and inhaled deeply. ‘Aconitine binds to the sodium pumps which causes the heart muscles to contract. That in turn keeps them open and causes arrhythmia.
As the aconitine binds to the sodium pump, the patient needs to be given seven to eight medicines instead of the usual two or three. In Sachin’s case, the doctors gave him just three.’
‘How did the doctors not realize this?’ Radha said.
‘No one checks for aconitine poisoning. It would have popped up in his autopsy though.’
‘How can you be certain that Sachin was killed by his wife Sumeira?’ I said.
‘That’s the tricky part. I am not. I would need his urine samples and a mass spectrometer to find out. But it has been a while since Sachin took a leak. However, given the evidence that we have, I can make an educated guess that he was poisoned by aconitine. There’s a chance his bones could still hold traces of it.’
My heart began to race. We were onto something big if Sumeira had killed Sachin.
‘Great work, Rahul,’ I said. ‘You have done everything you could and I think I know enough to speak to Manohar about it.’
‘Are you heading to CID right away?’ Rahul asked.
‘Yes, I am.’
‘I’ll come there directly.’
I told him about the data we got from Manohar’s cell phone and hung up.’
I sat still and thought about my next move. I pulled out my phone and dialled Rathod’s personal number. He answered almost right away. I told him what we had found.
‘I’ll tell Manohar you’re on your way to meet him.’
‘I also need a warrant to exhume Sachin's remains to check for aconitine in his bones. Ask the same judge who owed you a favour. Also, ask him to put the warrant in a closed envelope. Again, fly under the radar as much as possible.'
‘Got it. Get here fast because they’re going to move Manohar to Yerwada at midnight.’
‘One more thing.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘I’m going to try and get Manohar out by pointing out reasonable doubt as he was not at the crime scene when the murders were committed. I’ll need to speak to your judge right after I get done with Manohar.’
‘Sure thing. See you in twenty,’ he said and hung up.
I changed my clothes in two minutes and went downstairs. Maa was waiting at the door.
‘Radha told me you had to head out. Be careful, Siya,’ she said and planted a kiss on my cheek.
I stepped out in the warm night air. I swung my car out of the parking lot and checked the rear-view mirror to see if anyone was following me again. I was alone, at least for now. I called Rathod. It was eleven in the night.
‘Can you run a plate for me?' I said and gave him the car number.
‘Anything serious?’
‘A media van was tailing me when I was coming back from CID office earlier. I noted the number. I wanted to be safe.’
‘I’ll let you know.’
I reached CID in fifteen minutes flat. It was just past eleven in the night so the media presence had reduced. But there were still four journalists and two vans outside the CID building. They knew I was a person of interest because of the number of times I had driven to CID. Luckily, the guard opened the gate right away this time, and I got in, parked my car and ran up the stairs as if a wildfire was chasing me.
Rathod was waiting for me outside the corridor that led to the Detention Room.
‘I ran the number plate you gave me,’ Rathod said.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw the look on Rathod’s face.
‘It doesn’t belong to any media organisation. It doesn’t belong to anyone. I don’t know who was following you.’
My hands tingled. I could feel sweat gather in my hair. Who was it then? I focused on my breath and the immediate job at hand. This will all end soon. Once I speak to Manohar, he would know he can trust me. He would tell me what he has been hiding. That would lead us to Rucha and the Gill girls. Soon, I’ll make sure he’s out of police custody and we’ll get the girls back to their homes.
I waited for a beat for my body to stop shivering and went inside to meet Shaunak Manohar.
This time, Manohar was not standing by the window. Instead, he was at the table, sitting, waiting for me. His eyes narrowed on seeing me. Strobes of the city light coming from the window slanted on his face, lighting up his scar. He scratched it as I sat across the table.
I got right to the point. ‘I know Sachin Gill raped his wife. I know Natasha was born out of such abuse. I know that Sachin was poisoned. His heart attack was not from natural causes but instead induced by a poison named aconitine.’
Manohar smiled. ‘That was quick,’ he said. ‘I’m impressed.’
‘I also know you are afraid of very powerful people. Just so you know, when I went back home after meeting you the last time, a car disguised as a media van followed me home. I lost the tail but I know someone was intere
sted in me.'
‘You’ve ruffled the wrong feathers.’
‘I have kept the entire line of investigation regarding Sachin Gill off the grid.’
Silence.
‘Are you satisfied now? Do you now trust me? What do you know about the Sinha family's murder and Rucha's kidnapping?'
Manohar placed a hand on the table. He said, ‘You have to know that you cannot trust anyone. Even any law enforcement authority. Especially the people right at the top of the hierarchy. Corruption is rotting the system. I made the mistake of approaching the police the first time around. That's why I wasn't sure I could trust you. Even right now, I am going out on a limb when I tell you this. But this is the closest I'll come to trusting anyone. You may call me paranoid but what the hell.'
‘All I want is to find and save that girl,’ I said.
‘You should know about this person called Sitaram Mule. He was the former Chief of Pune Police. Trust him. We've been—'
Manohar never finished the sentence.
My heart thudded so loudly that I could hear nothing else. Manohar’s head, or whatever remained of it, landed on the table with a thud. His brain matter was oozing out. I could taste his blood in my mouth.
He had been shot.
I stared at his blown apart head for half a picosecond. Someone had just taken a shot at him. I thought of the window. One that he loved to stare out of so goddamn much. The next half of a picosecond, I was wondering how anyone could have shot him through the window. The only building that was close and tall enough around the CID office was a shade less than a kilometre away.
I realized what it was.
A sniper.
I ducked down. I felt the air above my head move and almost immediately a bullet rammed into the wall behind me. They wanted me dead as well. I ducked under the table and got out of the sniper’s sight for a flash. But I knew it would not stay that way for long. I crawled back, just as another bullet sliced through the table and slammed into the floor, hitting it at the exact spot where I was less than half a second back.
The Detention Room’s door flew open. Rathod’s eyes almost popped out when he saw what had happened. He first saw Manohar’s body, then looked at me and made the connection that a sniper was at play.
I scrambled on the ground, extending my hand. Rathod took half a step inside and pulled me out, closing the door behind him.
Chapter Thirty
The next few minutes were a complete blur. I remember Rathod pulling me out of the Detention Room and settling me in the corridor itself, away from any windows. I heard him call for backup and a one-kilometre perimeter around the building from which he thought the shot was taken.
‘Will you be okay for a minute?’ Rathod said.
I nodded my head. ‘Yes, don’t worry. But please don’t tell anyone what we’ve found,’ I said, remembering what Manohar had said just before dying.
‘I won't. I need to report this at the off chance that the shooter is still lurking in that area.'
Sitaram Mule. The name had stuck. Manohar had said we could trust him. He was the former head of Pune Police. That was all I had gotten from him. Nothing more. I had not even asked him about why he was spying on the Gills or where he had gone in the middle of nowhere near the Pune-Solapur highway.
Rathod returned after what I guessed had been five minutes. My breathing had stabilized by then and I could think clearly once again.
‘Let’s take you somewhere safe and comfortable,’ he said and offered me a hand to help me get up.
I accepted it and followed Rathod deeper into the CID office. I had never been to this part before. He unlocked a room and we went in.
‘This room has extra fortification. The walls aren't just bulletproof but even blast proof. You can get your breath back,' Rathod said and handed me a towel. ‘It has a bathroom as well if you want to wash up. Stay in this room. I’ll be back in a bit.’
‘Thanks,’ I said.
I thought it was a good idea to wash my face. I went to the bathroom and stared at the mirror inside. I closed my eyes and splashed water on my face. As the cold water hit me, the image of Manohar’s head blowing up and falling forward came to my mind. I opened my eyes and I realized I was heaving loudly. I stayed inside for a while and only came out when I heard Rathod enter the room.
‘The media knows about the shooting. Radha called me. She is worried. They’re coming here right now,’ Rathod said.
‘What about maa?’
‘We’re placing a patrol team outside your house.’
‘Manohar said we can’t trust the police. He said even the top is rotten.’’
‘This is my patrol team. I have personally vetted each of the people in it. I trust them.’
I nodded, feeling better. I trusted Rathod the most at that point. If he believed in something, I definitely did.
Rathod’s phone chimed. ‘I just got a text from Radha. Atharva is staying back with your mother and Shama.’
I heaved a soft sigh of relief. Atharva would be inside the house. He also had the skills to protect maa and Shama in case things went south.
‘What did Manohar say?’ Rathod said.
I told him everything that had happened since I had entered the Detention Room.
‘I know Sitaram Mule,’ Rathod said. ‘We worked together during his final year of service. That was my first year in the police force.’
‘We need to meet him. Manohar said they were working together. He would know what’s happening.’
‘Are you sure you can go right now?’
‘We don’t have a choice.’
‘We'll take my car. It’s bulletproof,' Rathod said.
‘We also need to go to the place that Manohar visited twice off the Pune-Solapur highway.'
‘Let’s fly under the radar. But we wouldn't get back up on time if we need it.'
‘Yes, we need to stay off the grid. Manohar's instructions were clear. If he was willing to take the punishment for committing four murders and kidnapping a girl, he knew he was up against a powerful enemy. We need to be careful. Also, someone was following me earlier tonight. They know who I am. They know my family. They are upping their game. Which also means we're closing in on them. They are scared. But that also makes them desperate. We have got to get to the bottom of this before they do something nastier.'
‘We’ll head to Sitaram Mule’s place in five minutes. I need to sort out a couple of things first. I’ll be back. I’ll ask Radha and Rahul to join you here.’
I sat in silence for a spell. I could still taste vestiges of Manohar's blood in my mouth. I went to the bathroom and washed up again.
There was a knock on the door before it opened. Radha and Rahul entered.
‘I’m so relieved to see you,’ Radha said and held my face with her hands and started sobbing. ‘I thought of the worst when I saw the news.’
‘I’m safe. It’s okay,’ I said. ‘Does maa know?’
‘We told her you were alright.’
‘How did she take it?’
‘She’s strong. I don’t know what it is, but she has been better ever since yesterday after you had that conversation with her. She’s going to be fine.’
The door opened again and Rathod came in. He said, ‘I've got a warrant to exhume Sachin's remains. The problem is, we don't have enough skilled technicians available now who can exhume a body. We'll have to wait for a day or two. The experts will have to come down from Mumbai,' Rathod said and paused. ‘Let's go to Sitaram Mule's house.'
All of us walked down to the parking lot. Rathod took the wheel, Rahul sat in the front seat, and Radha and I crept in at the back. We took almost ten minutes to escape from the media madness outside the CID office and another five to make sure we were not being followed.
At the stroke of midnight, we started for Former Police Chief Sitaram Mule’s house. I wondered what we were going to find there.
Chapter Thirty-One
Radha held my hand tightly during o
ur drive to Mule’s house. I realized then how close I had been to dying. A blink’s delay on either side would have killed me.
‘How can someone summon a sniper at such short notice?’ I said.
‘I don't think it was an impromptu plan. They must have known Manohar was going to be transferred to the jail. They wanted to kill him before that. I would have waited for Manohar to step out though, instead of shooting him in the Detention Centre. The latter would always be a harder shot,' Rathod said.
I felt Rathod had something more to say. ‘Why did you stop midway?'
‘I didn’t. I was done’
Silence.
‘Okay, you got me,’ Rathod said. ‘You wouldn’t like to hear this. Maybe they wanted to come after you too and that’s why Manohar was taken out in the Detention Room.’
Radha’s grip around my hand tightened.
‘That means they knew I was going to be there. They also knew Manohar was going to be transferred.’
‘I tried to keep your arrival as low-profile as possible. I had told the security guard to let you in right away. He recognizes you by now,’ Rathod said and paused. ‘Someone inside the CID could be involved as well. Manohar said the system is corrupt. That’s how they would have known about Manohar’s transfer to Yerwada as well.’
‘It’s okay. I’m still here. I don’t think we could have saved Manohar. The CID wouldn’t have thought about a sniper taking him out even in their wildest thoughts.’
‘We’re almost there,’ Radha said. ‘Take the next right. He lives in the second apartment building from the left.’
Rathod pulled over and we stepped out. Rahul moved to the driver’s seat and Radha joined him in the front. They were going to stay in the car while we spoke to Mule.
Rathod and I drew our weapons as we entered the building’s premises. The building had ten floors. Mule lived on the third floor in apartment 301. The building did not have a watchman or any security cameras. An uneasy feeling crept on me.