“What do you mean? The case is over and the culprit has gone to jail.” There was a note of irritation in his voice. “This is just police harassment.”
“You are right sir. We are investigating the assault of Mr Sharma a few years ago” Sean was thinking fast. He thought he heard a sharp intake of breath over the phone. “His family have asked for answers.”
There was silence at the other end for a minute. Sean thought he had been disconnected. “Mr Chandani, are you still there?”
“Yes, I am Inspector. What is that got to do with me? I know nothing about any assault,” and the phone died.
Sean sat there digesting what he had heard. Has this man has something to hide? Or was he just an innocent guy irritated by repeated questioning? He called the number couple of more times with no response. He picked up the piece of paper again and rang the next number several times with no response. On an impulse he called Seena’s number. She answered at the first ring.
“Yes, Inspector.” The voice sounded a bit strained. Not the confident woman of that afternoon. “I was not expecting your call for a few days at least.”
“I am so sorry to call you so soon after the verdict.” Sean wanted to sound remorseful. “If you want, I can call you another day.”
“No, that is OK. Tell me what can I do for you?”
“I need to ask you few more things to tie up some loose ends of the case. It is better done when it is still fresh in your mind.”
“I am not sure it is such a good idea Inspector. I am tired now. The hearing has been very draining.”
“I fully understand Mrs Sharma. I will not take up too much of your time. You tell me when we can meet up and I will come.”
She said bye and disconnected before he could say anything else. Sean’s head was heavy as he drove the rest of the way back home to Leicester and had a splitting headache by the end. Time for one of the brown paper packets tonight he thought as he walked into his dark apartment. He was in a muddled stupor when his telephone rang.
“Are you awake?” It was Stoker.
“Yeah. Just about. What’s the matter?” Sean could barely get his words out of his dry mouth. He still had a splitting headache and he could see bright coloured spots floating in front of him. ‘Why is the light so bright?’ He thought rubbing his eyes.
“The big chief wants a debriefing session like yesterday. Did you call any of those numbers last night?”
“No joy with either of them. I’ll be over as soon as I can get the floor spinning round.”
“It will be the death of you one of these days. Are you fit to drive?”
“Don’t worry about me chief. I’ll be fine.”
Strong black coffee and a hot shower got him to be nearly human and was in his car again within the hour. The debriefing session was a bore. Mick Mills tried to hog the glory as usual and was nearly patting his own back for ‘putting away the murderer behind bars’. After about an hour of this, Sean’s headache was coming back. ‘I should get some of Johnny’s specials’, he thought. The debriefing took most of the morning with copious amount of writing. When he thought about the report he had to file, his headache got worse. He spent the afternoon trying to concentrate on writing his report and could not wait to get out of the office. He was on his second black coffee when the phone rang. He did not really want to pick the phone up when Stoker walked in and said,
“Are you picking up the phone?”
Sean picked up the phone reluctantly.
“Hi Sean, it is Brennan here at the hospital. I got a guy here who wants to talk to you.” There was an undisguised smirk in his voice.
“Who is it?”
“They are not sure yet. There was no ID on him. He has been given a good going over. He is barely conscious. You better hurry. The docs are not sure if he will last the night.”
“How do you know he wants to see me then?” Sean was more than a bit irritated.
Brennan laughed at the other end. “The only thing he has said since waking up is your name.”
“OK. I will be there as soon as I can.”
Sean did not really hurry to the hospital. It was late by the time he reached the hospital. Brennan was sitting in the car park outside the accident department smoking furiously. He got out of the car as soon as he saw Sean’s car pull up.
As Sean got out of the car he hissed loudly, “Where the hell have you been? I have been waiting here for hours.”
“Don’t exaggerate. It has only been an hour. I was finishing off the bloody report for Warraker.”
At the mention of Warraker’s name, Brennan appear to simmer down and said, “Come on. We better go and find out what this guy has to say before he pops his clogs.”
Sean followed him into the hospital through several corridors to reach the Intensive Care Unit. They had to wait at the locked security door for one of the nurses inside to answer the intercom.
“Yes, who is it?” The voice of authority mixed with tiredness. A recognised tone in hospitals everywhere.
“It is Brennan sister. From the constabulary.”
There was a loud click in the quite corridor and Brennan pushed the door open. One of the nurses saw them and came over.
“You got to wear this.” She said handing some plastic gowns and gloves to them.
“Have you brought Sean O’Connor? He has been asking again.”
“Yes, I have sister.” And turning to Sean, “this is him.”
Sean put his hand out and said, “I am Inspector Sean O’Connor, sister. It is nice to meet you.”
She smiled but did not take his proffered hand. “Follow me.” She said with a smile.
They followed her through the open ward with several seriously ill patients on either side with drips and tubes attached to them. An aura of death seemed to suffocate the bright lights of the large hall. The entire place was eerily quiet with just the sound of the ventilator and an occasional silent alarm from one of the monitors which saw a flurry of activity. The activity was hurried and at the same time controlled. The large area had a central island with banks of monitors watched by nurses and doctors who barely noticed their arrival. The two of them too scared even to breath loudly for the fear of upsetting something or someone. They literally tiptoed down behind the nurse to the far corner bed which was screened off. She stopped at the curtain and whispered to Sean,
“I am not sure how much your friend has told you, but this patient is not very well at all. ” She stopped and looked quizzically at Sean. “I don’t know why he wants to see you. But that is the only thing he has said after he was extubated.”
Sean and Brennan looked at her with a question on their faces. She sighed and continued,
“He has been on the ventilator since he was brought in this morning. You have to be quick.” Turning to Sean, “I hope you can tell us who he is.”
“Do you know what happened to him Sister?”
Sean asked.
“He has multiple injuries including some fractures. They have fixed him as best as they could. If he improves he might need some more surgery. It depends on how he does over the next day or two.”
She pulled the curtain to show a man lying on the bed with drips coming out of everywhere. His face was badly bruised and face appeared twisted. Sean could not recognise him at first. The sister bent over the man and touched his shoulder.
“I have brought Sean for you to see.” After the second attempt, he opened his eyes to look at the sister and turned his head towards Sean. Recognition hit both of them at the same time.
“Mr O’Connor!” he said feebly at the same time as a sharp intake of breath from Sean.
“Derek Jacobs!” Sean exclaimed. “What happened to you?”
He tried to speak, but words were not coming out. He tried to mouth some words with some difficulty. They could see the effort and pain in his eyes half closed by the large bruise. He was getting increasingly agitated at his inability to speak and started to breathe faster heaving his chest
at the effort. The sister bent forward and took out the oxygen mask from his face and whispered to him.
“Would you like a drop of water to sip? That might help you speak.”
She picked out a cube of ice from a box on the trolley and touched his lips. He stuck his tongue out to lick the ice cube. He tried to speak again.
“She is in trouble.”
“Who is in trouble Derek?” Sean knew exactly who he was talking about. Derek had closed his eyes again. His breathing had become shallow and appeared to be sleeping. They tried to speak to him for again with no luck. As Sean turned around to leave as the sister was getting a bit agitated he opened his eyes again a whispered something. Sean turned back quickly and said,
“Did you say something Derek?”
“They will … They’ll kill her.” And closed his eyes. The monitors at the head end started to go haywire.
The Nurse shoved he two of them out and closed the curtain. Sean could see one of the Doctors from the central console spring to his feet and rush across. There was intense activity and the two of them were completely forgotten. They knew they were an intrusion and made their way out as quietly as possible.
“I think he has had more than a good thrashing.” Brennan said as he walked into the dark car park.
“What do you mean? Sea asked.
“The sister said there were puncture marks on his arms. He had been drugged as well, I think.”
“I am sure we will find out once he recovers well enough to talk to us.” Sean replied.
“If he recovers.” Brennan said.
Derek Jacobs’ face was stuck on his mind as he drove back home in his battered old car. It had started to rain quite heavily and the visibility was poor. The worn our wipers were struggling to keep the water out of windscreen and it was a losing battle. He had to slow down to a crawl to see where he was going and it was quite late by the time he got home. He kept thinking about what Jacobs said, ‘They will kill her.’ He obviously meant the widow, Sheena. He could not understand who would want to kill her and why?
“I don’t understand either Sean.” Phillip Stoker said when he told him the following morning. “Maybe, it is time you met this widow and had another chat. Have you called her yet?”
“No. I have not done. I will do that today. I wonder if she is still in Leicester or gone back to Leeds.” Sean replied.
“Don’t you think it is better if you can chat with her before she leaves Leicester? I bet there is something in that little red book which could solve some of these mysteries.”
“I don’t know if the answers are in those missing pages.”
Sean did not get a chance to call her through the day. Derek Jacobs had lapsed into a coma and was back on the ventilator. Sean sat in his car late that evening outside and called Sheena’s number. There was no reply. He gave up after several attempts. He left a message asking her to return his call. It was quite late at night as he was drifting off to sleep when the phone finally rang.
“Hello Inspector O’Connor. I am sorry I missed your call earlier. I was a in a meeting.” The dulcet tone of Sheena was rather mooted.
“That is OK Mrs Sharma. I would like to meet up soon. There are a few loose ends I need to tie up.”
“Sure. No problem. We can meet up at the restaurant we met in before.”
He knew exactly where she meant. That was the first time he had met her and where he had seen the little red book for the first time.
“When shall we meet?”
“Tomorrow, around eight in the evening.”
“Thank you. I will be there.”
She had hung up before he could say anything else. His head was spinning with the thoughts of Lenny going to prison and Derek Jacobs words and the little red book. He could not sleep for a long time. He was tossing and turning in the bed when his mobile phone rang. He looked at his watch. It was nearly one in the morning. He scrambled out of the bed and nearly fell down trying to find the phone. It was Sheena’s number.
“Yes Mrs Sharma.” He said trying to sound fully awake. But there was no reply from the other side. He could hear someone breathing on the other end. “Are you there Mrs Sharma? Are you OK?”
Still no reply. He could hear some shuffling on the other side. Then there was a whisper. “They are here. They are trying to get into the house.”
“Who Mrs Sharma? Who is trying to get into the house?” Sean was fully awake now. “Have you called 999?”
There was no reply. He looked down at the phone. It was still connected.
“Mrs Sharma, I am coming over. Please stay on the phone. I will get the police to you.”
He dressed quickly and literally ran out of the apartment and into the car. It would not start. The engine kept revving and coughing. He cursed the old car a few times and just as he was about to give up it started up. He put the car in gear and sped off the parking lot with tyres screeching loudly in the stillness of the dark night. He took the phone out of his pocket to check. It was still connected.
“Mrs Sharma. Are you still there?” There was no answer. He could hear the breathing sound on the other side. He picked up the radio in his car and called the controller.
“This is Inspector Sean O’Connor. I need you to despatch units to George Street. There is a crime in progress.”
“Copy that Inspector. Two units on their way.” The operator replied.
He picked up the mobile phone. “Mrs Sharma. Police are on their way. They should be with you in a few minutes. Hang on.”
“You better hurry. They are inside the house now.” She whispered. There was shuffling noises.
“Where are you now? Lock yourself in your bedroom. The police will be there in minutes.”
He could hear loud noises coming from the phone and a loud crash and splintering of wood. The phone became very quiet.
“Mrs Sharma. Hang in there. The police must be nearly there now.”
There was no reply. He looked down on the phone. It was dead. Sean pressed the pedal down to the floor and could see the lights flash past him. The roads were nearly empty at that time of the night. As he turned the car into George Street, there were two squad cars with blue lights flashing and officers running. The front door of the house was open but none of the lights were on. He jumped out of the car and rushed into the house, past the police officers. There was no one in the house. The bedroom door had been smashed open. Sean ran from one room to another shouting her name out. Nothing. The officers now had all the lights switched on and the police wagon with more officers had turned up by then. Sean spent the next few hours searching for clues in the house. The forensic crew went through the house. Whoever was there were obviously professional. There were no clues. No finger prints apart from Sheena’s and the family.
He finally came out of the house dejected and tired into a sunrise which was lifting the fog slowly. There were numerous police officers searching the neighbourhood. Somehow he knew they would not find anything. As he slumped into his car, he realised. Still no sign of the little red note book. The car started at first turn of the key and as he drove slowly out of the street, he knew he would not see Sheena again.
Other Titles by Shankar Kashyap
The Lure of Soma
It is in this context that the lives and trials and tribulations of people living in the Indus valley during the middle of third millennium BCE are tackled in this book. I have used existing archaeological evidence along with known historical evidence in writing this book. Rigveda talks about several conflicts among the descendants of the emperor Bharata and the Avestan scriptures talk about the conflicts between the Aryans and the Dasyus. There have always been fierce debates about who exactly these Aryans were and the Daevas mentioned in the Avestan scriptures. I have used some poetic license to accommodate the dates and times of various individuals and events to suit the story telling. The book tries to portray the life of ordinary people during the period of Harappans, while trying to tell the tale of the priestly kings,
Magi, Rishis and Sages of the great Indus Valley Civilisation during the middle of third millennium BCE. This is the story of our hero, Upaas, a trainee physician from Harappa. It is a story of a young man growing up, falling in love, getting involved in adventures and finally fighting for the city he loves most – Harappa. The story shows the human elements of people around him. He faces friendship, love, hate, jealousy, treachery and deceit in day to day life. There is generous sprinkling of magic and sorcery. As the country of Ariana, west of Hindu Kush dries up, the Avestansfacing with near extinction take up arms against their neighbours to obtain the precious Soma. The tactics used include deceit, sorcery and finally a war between the Meluhhans and Avestans
The Soma plant has been the centrepiece of several hymns in the Vedic scriptures. It is a plant still not accuratelyrecognized. The Vedic people revered it as a God, drank the extract from the stalk of the plant, used the plant for medicinal purposes and it is supposed to have magical properties. There are hymns composed to the Soma within the Vedas. The Avestan had a similar plant and called it Haoma and their scriptures also revered the plant for its spiritual properties. Vedas describe it as growing in a sacred mountain around a sacred lake (Mount Mujavant and lakeSharynavat). Avestan scriptures describe a similar sacred mountain and a sacred lakein Sistan where the Haoma plant grew. Similar to the Soma of Indus valley, we still do not know exactly what this plant was as it disappeared at the same time as the Harappans. It was considered the mushroom, Amanita Muscaria for a long time because of the ”hallucinogenic” effects the Soma was said to produce when consumed. This may be a misconception by the writers who tried to explain the events described in Vedic scriptures and the powers of ancient sages.
The Fall of Shuruppak
Harappans appear to have ventured far and wide with their trade, both on land and sea. Harappan settlements spread as far west as Shortugai in Afghanistan at the head of river Oxus, which was the centre of raw materials such as Lapis Lazuli, Gold and Silver for the Harappan artisans. Harappan seals, jewellery and pottery have been found in Elam (present day Iran), Egypt, and Sumer. Jewellery found in Queen Puabi’s tomb had all the hallmarks of Harappan artisans. The cylindrical Carnelian beads with central core drilled after hours of careful work is typical of the Harappans.
The Retribution Page 24