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

by UD Yasha

  Rathod’s grin confirmed that. He sipped on the hot beverage. He had observed that for some strange reason, the coffee from the machine in the Medical Examiner’s office tasted better. Probably because the rest of the surroundings were so bleak.

  ‘I don’t know how else to bring this up,’ Rathod said. ‘So, I’m going to be upfront about it.’

  ‘I’m all ears,’ Sonia said.

  ‘I have seen you work from close quarters for the past four years now. I know you’re good. I also know you work hard and honestly.’

  ‘You’re beginning to scare me,’ Sonia cut in.

  ‘Yeah, you’ll know why I am saying all this in a bit,’ Rathod said and took two more quick sips of the coffee. ‘I have some bullets with me that I need you to analyse.’

  ‘From today morning? I was going to do that.’

  ‘No, not them.’

  Silence.

  The air conditioner suddenly seemed noisy.

  Rathod went on. ‘These are bullets from another crime scene.’

  ‘Why do you have them?’

  ‘That’s why I wanted to talk to you.’

  ‘Is it something shady?’

  ‘Depends on how you look at it.’

  Sonia leaned forward, pushing her coffee cup away.

  ‘Would it be okay if I just tell you that I got them from a crime scene that needs to be kept a secret? And that you need to trust me that I’m doing the right thing.’

  Sonia said nothing but her eyes narrowed. The draft of the air conditioner seemed to get louder and colder.

  ‘I’m not comfortable with that,’ Sonia said. ‘Why do you want to keep it a secret?’

  ‘I’m afraid corrupt cops are involved.’

  ‘But you trust me enough to tell that. So, you clearly don’t think I am corrupt.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s true. But the more you know, the deeper you would get involved in what is happening. At this point, I'm not sure what it is. But it can get deadly.’

  ‘I don’t want to conduct tests that are unauthorized. Especially if I don’t know why I’m doing it.’

  It was Rathod’s turn to go silent. He remembered his mother telling him to pray before he stepped out that morning. He took a deep breath again.

  ‘So, today morning,’ he said and took a leap of faith. He told Sonia everything, including the calls Siya got. ‘We think her father’s corruption record is behind everything. If you run tests and we’re being tracked, then whoever killed the woman can try to hurt us too.’

  ‘I don’t know Siya Rajput well enough. We’ve hardly interacted,’ Sonia said. ‘Are you sure you can trust Siya?’

  ‘I am,’ Rathod paused. ‘I trust her with my life,’ he said, surprised at his own choice of words.

  Silence.

  ‘Are you in?’ Rathod said.

  Sonia’s face and eyes gave nothing away. ‘I’m caught in a moral dilemma.’

  Rathod thought hard. He had to find the right words.

  ‘I could report you for making this request,’ Sonia said.

  ‘But I know you wouldn’t. Because deep down you know this could be a legitimate case. We joined the police force for a reason. We wanted to stand for justice. I know you can feel crippled by the system at times. Trust me when I say I do,’ Rathod said, and then remembered what Siya had told him when they first worked together. ‘We are cops, which gives us the power to seek the truth and punish the guilty. But at times, the guilty ones are deeply entrenched in the system. Hell, they are a part of the system. It’s impossible to fight them from within. Because if you try to do that, you’re thrown out. I am a part of the system, and I know what that means. We have to follow the protocols. Which at times gets in the way. But the law is not black and white. It’s all a shade of grey. I first worked with Siya when she was investigating a corrupt Bombay High Court Judge. He was neck-deep in illegal stuff. It’s not even funny how many politicians and cops were on the payroll. We could take him down and save many lives because someone from inside, not just me, had the courage to stand against the tide. I knew then that the judge was corrupt. The only difference now in this situation is that we are not sure if anyone is a rotten apple. But if they are, then many more lives are going to be lost.’

  Rathod downed the remaining coffee and set his cup on the table. He blew air out of his mouth and looked sideways, not knowing what else to say to convince Sonia.

  But she didn’t need any more convincing.

  ‘Give me the bullets,’ Sonia said, extending a hand.

  ‘Thank you,’ Rathod said, surprised.

  He handed them to her along with the other samples that Rahul had taken from Stan Mills.

  ‘I’ll keep this out of the system and I’ll tell you what I find out,’ Sonia said in a matter of fact tone. ‘What’s going to happen to the woman who was killed?’

  ‘The doctor we took her to in the morning is going to conduct an autopsy.’

  ‘I can help with that too once I finish with the bodies from today morning.’

  Rathod pulled out an envelope from his pant pocket and gave it to Sonia. He said, ‘If you find something, it wouldn’t be admissible in court without the right paperwork. This envelope contains a document. It is an anonymous tip with the bullets and the location of the body of the woman.’

  Silence.

  Rathod said, ‘It covers you from taking part in anything shady.’

  ‘Just like it covers your ass too.’

  ‘We’re thinking what would happen when and if this goes to trial. We need everything we can use.’ Rathod pointed at the envelope. ‘This makes sure that anything you find can be used. Anonymous tips can get tricky, but this is the best we’ve got.’

  Sonia nodded and turned around to refer to some papers from a shelf behind her. He could read body language and tell her she wasn’t comfortable doing this.

  He got up and walked to exit the office.

  ‘Rathod?’ Sonia said just as Rathod was going to open the door to step out. ‘I hope I’m doing the right thing here.’

  Rathod could sense she had something more to say. He waited.

  Sonia got up from her chair. ‘It’s my responsibility to tell you to be careful. I understand why you’re doing all this and have been helping Siya for so long. The corrupt cops you talk to would justify what they do because of how less they are paid, or they have a kid or mother who’s dying and they need money for the treatment. There’s always a reason to circumvent the law. The corrupt cops do it because they love their family. I know you want to seek justice. But that’s also the end justifying the means. As police officers, we have taken the oath to do everything legally. At times, the lines blur. I have chosen to help you out right now. But this is the last time I’m doing it. If it happens again, I’ll have to tell the ACP.’

  ‘I know. Thanks a lot for your help this time. I owe you one,’ Rathod said. ‘Also, I’m probably sounding paranoid. But let’s not talk about this on the phone.’

  Sonia nodded.

  Rathod gulped hard and left, knowing that what Sonia had said made complete sense. Despite that, he couldn’t help himself even think about not helping Siya. Her fire to seek the truth stoked his consciousness. That excited him but it also scared him at the same time.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dr. Rastogi referred me to a clinic that specialized in conducting brain scans. It was in Aundh. Fortunately, we were going against the traffic and it didn’t take us more than fifteen minutes to reach. Thanks to Dr. Rastogi’s referral, we didn’t have to wait for long.

  The neurologist at the clinic conducted an independent examination and cleared me for any serious brain injury. But like Dr. Rastogi, he told me CT scan results would be useful to detect any damage. He also prescribed a painkiller in case my head started hurting again along with a tablet for the cut on my cheek.

  ‘The scan doesn’t help with detecting dementia or predicting its cause,’ the grey-haired doctor told me. ‘It’ll tell us if any part of the brai
n has been injured which may lead to future complications.’

  We reached home just before noon. The doctor had told us that the CT scan result would be ready in an hour. Out of the hour, thirty minutes had already gone by. On reaching home, Radha opened the door for us with Shadow once again jumping behind her.

  ‘Maa’s up,’ Radha said. ‘I told her you needed to go to the university and even Rahul had some errands to run.’

  I was glad that maa didn’t have to worry about this for now at least. She was sitting on an armchair inside. She smiled at me for a beat and then resumed reading on her new Kindle that Radha and Rahul had given her. eBooks weren’t a thing when she had been kidnapped. She had always loved to read and had been hooked on the idea of having books just a tap away. Maa read everything from cheesy romantic novels to hard core business stuff.

  Seeing maa rekindled the memories I had of our family being together. For a second, I felt like I was going to break down. To hide my face, I bent down and pet Shadow for longer than usual. He enjoyed it and my sadness melted away.

  I went to the kitchen and put some rice and daal in the cooker. My usual lunchtime was still an hour away but I was already feeling hungry. I made a call to my university, telling them I was going to take the next two days off because of a stomach bug. With my schedule clear, I went to the garage to plan my next steps. Radha and Rahul followed me inside.

  ‘Did you find anything on the Jathars?’ I asked Radha the moment we were inside the garage.

  ‘I spoke to some of her batchmates from college,’ Radha said. ‘Niyati and Malhar were college sweethearts. Niyati was the class topper, and Malhar was always a close second. Everyone spoke of them fondly. They mostly remembered both always being together.’

  ‘What about their colleagues?’ I said.

  Radha pulled a chair for herself. ‘Both of them had a private practice while being associated with various hospitals. Malhar also taught at a medical school. I’m waiting for Rathod to send over their records.’

  As if on cue, my phone buzzed on the desk. It was a message from Rathod.

  I said, ‘Rathod just secured the warrant to get their papers.’

  ‘I also managed to speak to both their children,’ Radha said. ‘They were obviously shocked. I didn’t get much from them either.’

  ‘What about their friends here? They would know more about their day-to-day activities.’

  ‘I spoke to two of their common colleagues. From the way they spoke about the Jathars, it seemed like they were more than just acquaintances. They didn’t notice anything odd about their behaviour. Everything was going okay.’

  Rahul turned on the fan as it was getting warmer. He took a seat on a bean bag next to us.

  I said, ‘When did the two of them start their private practice?’

  Radha referred to the notes on her phone. ‘I only have LinkedIn to go by right now. Malhar started it more recently. Eleven years back. Niyati started her cosmetic clinic about fifteen years ago.’

  Dad had disappeared sixteen years ago.

  Radha and Rahul also realized the connection. If at all there was any.

  ‘It could be a coincidence,’ I said. ‘We need something hard to tie Jane Doe to Niyati Jathar.’

  ‘I can show her photo to people the Jathars knew. Maybe someone will recognize her. I will also check her against Niyati’s patient records.’

  ‘That’s a good idea. We will do that once I hear from Dr. Kedar Sathe. He might show us how Jane Doe looked earlier and that could be useful.’

  ‘How do you want to proceed now?’ Rahul said.

  I handed Rahul the list of the three people I wanted to talk to. ‘I’ll go to dad’s partner first—’

  ‘I remember him,’ Radha said.

  ‘Yeah, he has seen us as kids.’

  ‘Shrinivas Kulkarni,’ Rahul read from the list.

  ‘That’s right. The new information and names we have might trigger his memory. I was thinking of calling him but going over will be better. He lives on Karve Road so it isn’t too far either.’

  ‘Do you want us to come?’ Radha said.

  ‘No, I think it’s better if I do this alone. I have met him twice on professional terms and I think that would make a difference.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  I put a hand on Radha’s shoulder. ‘I know you’re worried about me. But I’ll be okay. I’m just going to meet dad’s former partner.’

  I made a quick call to Shrinivas Kulkarni and told him I was coming. I didn’t tell him the reason. He sounded surprised to hear from me, as even I would have had he called me out of the blue.

  We went back to our house. By then, the rice and daal were ready. Radha had also made bhendi sabzi. Maa, Radha, Rahul and I ate together at the dining table. Shadow also munched on his boiled eggs next to us.

  Maa asked me about the cut on my cheek. I told her that I had slipped in the bathroom and got hurt. She was talkative, so I guessed she bought it. She told us about an incident from our childhood where Radha and I had made lunch for the first time together. The daal had become too watery and the rice was too sticky. She patted our backs as we finished and told us we had come a long way since.

  I went upstairs to my room. I didn’t know what prompted me to put on my bullet proof vest. I picked a loose and black kurta to wear so that the vest would be hidden. I slipped my gun into the holster and walked out to my car.

  It took me twenty-seven minutes to reach Shrinivas Kulkarni’s house. He lived in a small but cozy township called Puja Paradise. It was one of those old landmarks that everyone used to give directions to auto rickshaw wales.

  Shrinivas lived on the sixth floor of a ten storeyed building. I knew he had a wife and two kids, a son and a daughter. Both were married and lived elsewhere. Anticipation swelled within me when I rang the bell of his house.

  A lady of around sixty years old opened the door for me. She was wearing a cotton saree and several bangles around her wrist.

  ‘You must be Siya,’ she said with a grin as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. ‘Come in.’

  I exchanged pleasantries with her for the next minute until Shrinivas himself walked out into the living room. I would have recognized him even if I had bumped into him on the street. He didn’t look much different than how I remembered him. Only his hair had become greyer and he had put on a slight amount of weight. But despite that, he looked nowhere as old as he was, which I guessed was again about sixty.

  ‘Sorry, I had gone to the loo,’ he said and chuckled. ‘It’s so good to see you after all these years.’

  I made more small talk for another minute. His wife then stepped out of the living room a few seconds later, guessing that we needed to be left alone.

  ‘Tell me, how come you decided to come today?’

  ‘It’s about dad.’

  Shrinivas’ eyes narrowed. ‘What about him?’

  ‘I don’t know how to say this, but some new evidence in his case has come up.’

  His eyebrows went up. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘I can’t say much right now. But I wanted to know if you know some of these people.’

  ‘Go ahead.’

  ‘I know you have spoken about this before, but was dad in any kind of trouble before he disappeared?’

  Shrinivas shook his head. ‘No, not at all. I would’ve known. We used to practically live together because of our work.’

  ‘I know. But I have a reason to believe that he was taking bribes.’

  ‘What?’

  Silence.

  ‘Where did you hear that? It’s impossible.’

  ‘I know. I find it hard to believe too.’

  Shrinivas leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. ‘Aniruddha Rajput would never do anything against the law. We worked on all cases together and there was no funny stuff happening.’

  Mule’s register flashed in front of my eyes. I said, ‘By any chance, can you tell me the case were you inve
stigating in May of 2003 or to be precise on 22nd May that year.’

  ‘That’s six months before Aniruddha went missing.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Why that date?’

  ‘I can’t go into the details but I have a reason to believe he took a bribe of fifty lakhs then.’

  Shrinivas went silent for a spell. ‘I have a summary log book myself. I have been helping the police in digitising old records. Let me see if I can look anything up.’

  He disappeared inside. In the meantime, his wife stepped out with two cups of coffee.

  ‘I haven’t put any sugar, so you can take it according to your liking,’ she said and handed me a cup and placed a bowl of sugar on the centre table. She went back to one of the rooms just as Shrinivas walked out with a laptop and a thick book in his hand.

  ‘Here,’ he said, and turned the laptop screen towards me so that we both could see it.

  I sipped my coffee as Shrinivas used the dropdown menu to search for the cases in May 2003. Only one case came up. It was that of the local don who was smuggling drugs from the port in Mumbai.

  ‘The database isn’t complete yet. I’m sure there were other cases,’ Shrinivas said and then started flipping the pages of his thick book and began reading out the different cases he and dad had worked on that month.

  ‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘Do the names Malhar and Niyati Jathar spark anything?’

  Shrinivas scratched his slight stubble. ‘Not right away,’ he said and paused. ‘You can’t tell me anything more?’

  ‘Both of them were doctors. They were killed today morning,’ I said, knowing that he could easily find that out through his contacts in the police.

  ‘How are they connected to your father?’

  ‘That’s the thing. I don’t know. Not yet at least. I don’t even know if they are related to dad.’

  Shrinivas kept the thick book away. ‘Siya, can you please tell me what’s happened so suddenly that you’re asking these questions now?’

  I said nothing, unsure what to say. I told him about the call I had got in the morning and how Jane Doe had got plastic surgery.