by Jisha Rajesh
An elderly lady trod out of one of the rooms and stood at the doorstep.
“Namaskar, Mataji,” Muskan said as she touched her feet and sought her blessings.
“The children were missing you so badly, dear,” the elderly lady, who was in-charge of the orphanage, said as she hugged Muskan, “They always keep asking about their beloved Muskan Aunty.”
“Where are they?” Muskan looked around anxiously.
“They are busy decorating the orphanage with color papers and lamps,” Mataji said, “I will send somebody to fetch them. Meanwhile, let’s have a cup of tea in my office.”
“Ah!” Ramlal’s face lit up as he saw children rushing out, “they are here.”
“Muskan Aunty,” a little girl exclaimed as she threw her hands around Muskan’s legs, “where have you been all these days? I keep asking Mataji about you. And she keeps lying to me.”
Everyone around her burst out laughing at the little’s girl innocence.
“Now you don’t have to worry,” Muskan said as she picked the girl up in her arms, “I am here to play with you as long as you say. And along with that I have brought so many gifts for all of you.”
The children applauded her with a deafening roar of cheers and claps. She settled down with them in the prayer hall and distributed the gifts one by one to all of them. The orphanage lit up with the twinkle in their little eyes and the light of their smiles as Muskan’s eyes filled up.
“The Almighty will definitely shower His immense grace upon you my child,” Mataji said as Muskan prepared to leave, “Don’t lose hope.”
Muskan didn’t reply; instead she smiled and turned to her car. She drove out of the orphanage with a heart brimming with joy. She was still lost in the memories of the precious moments she spent with the children while driving back home through the deserted highway. Suddenly, her eyes fell on the rear-view mirror and her face turned pale. The black SUV was right behind her. She was now sure that it was not a coincidence that she spotted the SUV wherever she went. Somebody was certainly following her since morning. She looked around and shuddered as she found that there was no other vehicle on the long stretch of road either ahead or behind her. A chill ran down her spine and she drove as fast as she could. The vehicle that was chasing her also sped up simultaneously. Her heart raced even faster than the engine and so did her breath. She started sweating profusely even while sitting inside an air-conditioned car.
With one hand firmly grasping the steering wheel, she rummaged into her bag for her phone. She panicked as she couldn’t find her phone.
‘Oh God!’ she gasped, ‘I have left my phone at the orphanage.’
She turned her eyes back to the mirror. The SUV was right behind her. Muskan pushed the accelerator but before she could race ahead the vehicle chasing her hit her car. She lost control over her car and it hit a tree by the side of the road. She was jerked forward and her head banged into the wind screen of the car as she was not wearing the seat-belt. Muskan tried to open her eyes as blood ran down her forehead. She felt as if her head was going to burst out owing to the splitting pain that arose from the ghastly wound. She pulled herself back moaning with pain as pieces of broken glass pierced through her scalp. She raised her eyes to look at the cracked, blood-stained mirror of her car. The SUV was moving back. A voice within her told her that her assailant was not retreating. He was going back only to bang into her car again, this time more ferociously. She fumbled with the keys and tried to turn on the engine. The car sputtered but didn’t budge. She turned the key again and again but the engine was not willing to respond to her urgency. She turned her eyes again towards the mirror. The SUV was now halted at a distance from her. A distance enough to attain such immense kinetic energy that he could bang forcefully and fatally into her again.
She saw the headlights of the SUV flashing at her as if making fun of her helplessness. The vehicle sped ahead but came to a halt and the screeching of the tyres echoed in the dead silence of the road. Muskan stared anxiously at the mirror as she tried to make out what had made the SUV to stop. A smile of relief spread on her blood-soaked face as she saw Ramlal emerging from behind the SUV on his bike. The SUV backed out and hurriedly turned away.
“Madamji!” Ramlal’s eyes widened with horror as they fell on Muskan’s profusely bleeding face, “what happened to you?”
“Nothing,” Muskan tried to reassure him, “just an accident. But I am fine. What brings you here Ramlal?”
“You left your phone at the orphanage. I came to return it,” Ramlal said as he pulled Muskan out of the car. “There is a government dispensary nearby. Let me take you there.”
He wrapped his turban around her head and helped her to his bike.
Chapter – 4- The Stalker
‘The story is taking an interesting turn,’ Ayana thought as she turned the page over.
But before she could start reading the next chapter, her phone rang. She hesitantly dragged her eyes from the manuscript to the phone. But then her face lit up as she saw Varun’s name flashing on the screen. During the initial days of his investigation of the Shanaya murder case, she saved his name in her phone as ‘ACP Patel’. But as the investigation advanced, so did their friendship; his name was now saved as ‘Varun’, even though she restrained herself from addressing him by his first name during their conversations.
“Good evening, Ms Sharma,” his labored breaths hinted a sense of urgency, “I need some information about Mrs Kumar.”
“Yes, Officer,” Ayana turned pale as she perceived his anxiety, “what do you want to know?”
“Did she ever tell you about a road accident she met with?” He tried to sound composed as he didn’t want to freak her out. “A minor one, of-course.”
“No, Officer,” she replied after straining her memory.
“Okay,” he shrugged, “well then…”
“Wait a minute, Officer,” she hurriedly cut him off, “why are you asking such a question all of a sudden?”
“Well, Ms Sharma,” he drew a deep breath, “during my investigation, I have stumbled upon something that might have some connection with her murder.”
“What is it, Officer?” Ayana’s breath stuck in her throat.
“For the last few days, we were conducting an enquiry in the various charity organizations she was connected with. But today I came to know about an incident that seems fishy to me. Around two weeks before her death, Mrs Kumar had visited an old age home. While returning home that evening, she met with an accident and was taken to a Government dispensary in the vicinity. But…” Varun gulped his words.
“But what, Officer?” His revelation drove her to the end of her wits.
“Some onlookers don’t believe that it was merely an accident.”
“Then?”
“According to the eye-witnesses, a car was chasing her and had hit her on purpose,” Varun sighed. “But Mrs Kumar didn’t bother to lodge a complaint even after being compelled to. She took to home as she felt better after receiving some medical attention.”
Ayana froze on her bed as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
“Ms Sharma,” Varun shuddered as he didn’t get any response from her. “Are you there?”
“Yes…err…yes Officer,” Ayana gasped as she came to senses, “there is something that I want to share with you.”
“Yes, please do feel free to share every bit of information that you have.” Curiosity throbbed in his voice. “No matter how trivial it may seem to you, it may be of great relevance to us in our investigation.”
“As you already know Officer,” excitement invigorated her as she felt honored to help him with his investigation, “Shanaya Ma’am has handed me the manuscript of her last novel for editing. As I went through the story, I felt a striking resemblance among the characters and incidents mentioned in the story with the people around her and her real life experiences. And right now…”Ayana shivered and her voice trailed off.
“Right now what has happened, Ms S
harma?” Varun asked after waiting for a while for her to calm down.
“I was reading about an accident that the protagonist has met with in her novel,” Ayana gulped down heavily, “the description of the accident in the manuscript is almost similar to the one you have told me right now.”
“What are you trying to say, Ms Sharma?” Varun groped through the fog of mystery that she was weaving around him.
“I don’t know anything for sure, Officer,” Ayana’s voice trembled as did her fingers clutching the phone. “But I think that this manuscript is some kind of a cryptic clue that may lead us to the culprit.”
“Well then,” Varun’s eyes shone with excitement, “please bring it to my office tomorrow. I would like to see it.”
“Sure, Officer,” Ayana bubbled with exultation at the thought of meeting Varun, though she pretended to be indifferent.
“Be there by 10o’clocksharp tomorrow,” Varun tried hard to conceal the smile that popped up on his face, “Good night and take care.”
“Good night, Officer.”
Varun hung up and walked towards his official jeep parked a couple of steps ahead by the side of the highway. As he drove away, a robust man clad in black trousers and a long jacket emerged from behind the trees where he was hiding within the robe of dark twilight. His face was covered by the hood of his jacket and he hastily crossed the road though he struggled with the limp in his left leg. He got into his SUV that was camouflaged by the darkness of a deserted muddy road that diverted from the highway. He turned the engine on and drove the vehicle in the direction opposite to which Varun had taken. He slowed it down near a housing complex and parked it in the barren ground a few meters away from it. The ground was dark and no human being was supposed to be anywhere around its close proximity. He slid his hands into rubbery gloves and pulled a mask with the face of lion over his own. He limped out of the SUV and walked towards the fence on the back side of the housing complex. His teeth shone while flashing a demoniac smile as he found a gap created by the broken mesh in the fence. He turned his head around and looked for any signs of human form and quickly crept in through the gap as he found none.
* *
Ayana hung up and slid down on her bed as her whimsical thoughts about Varun carried her to an obscure world of passion. Her gaze wandered through the walls of her bedroom and landed upon the clock hung opposite to her bed.
“Oh my God!” She sat on the bed with a jolt, “It’s already 7.30 p.m. and I am just lying idly on the bed. Who the hell is going to prepare dinner for me?”
She picked up the manuscript, jumped out of the bed and switched off the lights of her bedroom as she walked out. She went to her study and locked the manuscript safely in the drawer of her desk and made her way to the kitchen. She picked up some vegetables from the refrigerator and placed them in a vessel and put it in the wash basin. She turned the tap on and was jolted by a sudden but muffled sound. She quickly turned the tap off and strained her ears. But she couldn’t perceive any sound in the silence of her apartment. She shook her head and sighed as she turned the tap on and cleaned the vegetables. She sat down on the kitchen table and started chopping the vegetables. She gasped as she heard a loud crash from the parlor. The knife fell from her shivering hands as she jumped to her feet. The first thought that came to her mind was that her neighbor’s cat Suzie may have crept into her apartment as she was very fond of Ayana.
She cautiously stepped into the parlor and found a few books that were placed on the table lying scattered on the floor. Ayana decided to run a check in her apartment for windows that she may have left open as an invitation for Suzie to sneak in. But as she took a step forward she heard footsteps in the balcony attached to her bedroom. Her heart raced and her limbs turned numb. She turned her eyes towards the bedroom and tried to see through the darkness that filled it. The veil of clouds moved slowly apart with each passing second and the moon began shedding its silvery beams over the balcony. Ayana let out a petrified scream as she saw it as clear as a crystal. The silhouette of a human form was lurking in her balcony. She stood rooted to the ground for a few seconds but then came to her senses and ran to her phone lying in the parlor. She immediately punched Varun’s number and panted heavily as she waited for him to pick it up.
“Off…,” she gasped, “Officer, there is somebody in my house. Please come over here…please save me.”
“Don’t worry, Ms Sharma,” Varun’s shrilling voice said, “I am quite close to your place. I will be there at your apartment within a few minutes.”
Ayana hung up and was struggling to catch her breath through a widely parted mouth when the lights of her apartment went off. She panicked and looked around only to see a shroud of darkness hanging all around her. Suddenly, she felt a robust hand crawl around her slender waist and press her against a hard chest. Before she could understand anything, another gigantic hand covered her nose and mouth. She screamed desperately but her screams were instantly muffled by the devious hands. She swayed her head and struggled to break free from the sturdy hands that were choking her but was helpless against his strength. The darkness that filled her apartment seemed to enter her eyes. But before it completely took over her she wanted to see who it was. She tilted her head upwards but could only see a part of a mask of a lion and a hood drawn over it. Her vision blurred and her body turned numb the next moment.
He smiled as he deciphered that the girl had passed out by the dead weight of her slackened body in his arms. He looked at the oblivious girl and flashed a mean grin as he was sure that she would remain so long enough for him to do his job peacefully.
“Open the door, Ms Sharma.” A baritone followed a loud bang on the door of the apartment. “It’s me, ACP Patel.”
He immediately gagged Ayana’s mouth to restrain her from screaming for help. But the girl was still unconscious and unaware of Varun’s arrival.
As Varun got no response even after knocking for several times, he drew the duplicate key to Ayana’s apartment. He’d stealthily taken the impression of her key when he had come to drop her the other day. He had made a duplicate key anticipating the need to search her flat without her knowledge. He drew his gun out of his pocket and held it in his hands as he stepped into the pith darkness of the apartment. He moved swiftly but cautiously in the darkness and switched the lights on. He found Ayana lying unconscious on the floor. He looked all around as his grasp tightened around his gun but he found the apartment empty. He put the gun back into his pocket and ran to the girl lying insensibly on the floor. He picked her up and lay her down on acouch in the parlor. He turned to the table and poured some water on his palm from the jug placed on it. He splashed the water on her face and tapped on her cheeks.
“Open your eyes, Ms Sharma,” he said softly.
Ayana moaned and opened her eyes slowly.
“What happened?” he asked as he helped her sit on the couch, “you sounded very panicked over the phone.”
“Someone broke into my apartment, Officer.” Ayana turned a ghastly pale face towards him.
“Tell me in everything in detail, Ms Sharma,” he said as he handed her a glass of water, “but before that have some water and relax.”
“I was in the kitchen when I heard some noise coming from the balcony,” Ayana said as a tinge of color appeared on her face, “When I came out into the parlor, I saw a silhouette in the balcony. I was frightened to death and called you immediately. But as soon as I hung up, a man grabbed me from behind and gagged me. I struggled with him for some time but then he knocked me out.”
“Will you be able to recognize him?”
“No, his face was behind a mask.” Terror still lingered in Ayana’s eyes. “But I could make out that he was a tall and strong man.”
“Fine,” Varun sighed. “Take some rest, Ms Sharma. Meanwhile I have to search your house for any clues that the assailant may have left behind.”
Ayana drew her legs to her chest and tightened her arms around her knees as Varun wra
pped a blanket around the shivering girl. Varun searched all the rooms thoroughly. Every lock was still holding its possessions securely and nothing was disturbed from its place.Finally, he switched on the light in the bedroom and looked around. There were no marks of any intruder. He slid open the glass-door and stepped into the balcony. He sat down on his knees and his keen eyes scrutinized the floor of the balcony. Below the railings on the left end of the balcony, there were some marks that seemed like footprints. Varun drew a magnifying lens out of his pocket and analyzed the marks. Those were the marks of shoes that had walked over wet sandy soil. The pipelines passing by the balcony also bore similar marks. He touched the soil with his hand and felt its texture by rubbing it between his fingers. He stood up and looked down the balcony. As the balcony was on the second floor, anyone could easily climb over it. The ground immediately below the balcony was covered with tiles and beyond it was a stretch of grass surrounded by bushes and creepers. The garden, which extended up to the boundary wall of the housing society,had black soil with manure added to it to make it fertile. But the soil found on the shoe-prints was barren. Varun thoughtfully raised his eyes from the garden below to the horizon in front of him while his hands tightly clutched the railings. He tried to draw a conclusion out of his findings.
‘He hasn’t walked over the garden,’ he made a mental calculation, ‘which means he has entered the society from some other direction, most probably from the back side as there are no security men patrolling there. He must’ve climbed the pipelines and jumped into the balcony. His aim was not to harm the girl. He has only subdued her, which means his target was not Ayana but something else. But what could be that?’
Varun frowned as he postulated various theories and rejected them one by one as they had lots of loopholes.
‘Robbery?’ He thought, ‘but he didn’t take anything even the ornaments the girl had on her. He could have easily laid his hands upon them while she was unconscious. Then what was he looking for?’ He shrugged and shook his head. ‘The only clue that could lead somewhere is the soil that doesn’t belong to the housing complex.’