by Amit Khan
“I know I made a mistake.”
“Not just a mistake…a blunder, and a sin.”
I was listening intently to everything on the speakerphone. So far so good! We were on right track. The phone call was going on perfectly.
“Listen, doctor,” Tilak moved on to the important part. “Let us not play hide and seek. I want to settle this issue full and final…forever. Do you get me, doctor? I want to put a full stop on this issue.”
“How is that possible?”
“I have an offer,” Tilak said. “If you do not mind I want to settle this blackmailing thing by a one-time payment. I don’t want you to ruin my life by knocking on my door every now and then. Just take this offer and forget that Brinda was murdered.”
“Oh! Why would I mind that?” Dr. Maalpani cheered up. “I am just concerned with money. I need cash and it will be better for me if I get it all at once.”
“So, you are ready to put an end to this blackmailing story.”
“Absolutely yes! However, I have two conditions.”
“What are they?”
“First, the settlement amount must be a heavy one. I should feel good while closing this chapter. Second, the complete amount must be handed over to me at once.”
“I am okay with both your demands.”
“Then we have an agreement. Just tell me when can I come to count the cash?”
Tilak looked at me.
I signaled him with my hands and showed him a number by writing a number on my palm with fingers.
“Ok,” Tilak said. “Tonight at twelve o’clock you reach penthouse. We will sit down and talk.”
“Twelve o’clock at night!”
Dr. Maalpani was taken aback.
“Yes.”
“Why do you want to meet so late at night?”
“I don’t want a lot of people to see you arriving in the penthouse,” Tilak explained. “That’s why I have chosen midnight which is appropriate. Your visits to penthouse have increased in last few days. I don’t want anyone to wonder what’s happening. There is no one sick in the penthouse. People might wonder why the doctor is visiting again and again. Media is any way waiting for buzz like this.”
Dr. Maalpani was deep in thought.
He was measuring the situation.
I signaled Tilak something.
“Listen,” Tilak continued without letting him think, “If you doubt our intentions, then you can choose any time of the day. I was just thinking about what was best for all of us.”
“No…no. no doubt!” Dr. Maalpani responded. “I will be there at midnight. Tonight at twelve we meet.”
“And try not to be seen by too many people.”
“By the grace of God…there will be no trouble.”
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Tilak put the receiver down and looked at me. I had on my lips the smile of a spider, who sees its victim entangled in the death-web that it had spun.
●
He relaxed on the cozy sofa chair. He stretched his legs and folded his hands behind his head.
“Twelve o’clock,” he said, “the doctor will arrive tonight at twelve.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, “God willing, everything will be fine.”
“God willing?” Tilak shuddered as he said. “Strange, isn’t it? We are about to kill someone and we want His blessing in that!”
I did not like his words. It created a bad feeling in my mind. Tilak should not have made that kind of statement.
I feared that he might weaken during execution of our plan.
He could mess up everything.
“If you want this done to perfection,” I warned, “you will have to be strong.”
“I am strong.”
“No, you are not,” I pointed out. “Strong-willed people do not make such statement.”
Tilak did not say anything but I saw him for what he was – a weak man, who lacked in resolve to do what was needed to be done.
I felt that he was preparing himself with great effort.
“You have the weapon ready, Tilak?”
“Yes.” He took out .32 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver from his pocket and showed me. “Weapon is ready.”
“Good!”
I took it in my hand. It was a beautiful piece. Especially the trigger felt very smooth in action. It was an easy revolver to handle; so easy that even I could have used it in an emergency.”
●
It was room number 20, the innermost room in the penthouse. Tilak and I were sitting there waiting for Dr. Maalpani.
The weather had turned bad since evening. A light drizzle began which soon turned into a heavy downpour.
A lightning struck somewhere close noisily.
“It is midnight,” I checked time in the wall clock. “Where is he?”
“I think he will not come tonight,” Tilak suspected.
Once more lightening pierced clouds and made a deadly plunge towards the ground.
“Bad weather tonight.”
“That’s why I think he will not come.”
“Impossible,” I confidently argued. “Nothing can stop a greedy man. This is a temptation that he can’t resist. He will come.”
The clock kept ticking – to us it seemed ever so slowly.
It was quarter past twelve and yet no sign of Dr. Maalpani.
Now I started doubting. I wondered whether our plan will come into action.
“I think we are waiting in vain,” Tilak said. “Your plan has fallen apart.”
“No.”
“I am right. He has suspected us because we told him to meet at midnight.”
I frowned with frustration.
Was my plan a lost cause?
Had that doctor suspected our intention? Did he fear that we might kill him?
That’s when hope came knocking…actually ringing.
The doorbell of penthouse shrieked loudly in the silence of the night. It sounded like the squeaking of a horn in a mill.
●
All our energy returned.
I ran towards the door. By the time I opened the door, the bell had rung again.
It was Dr. Maalpani.
He was wearing a long raincoat and gumboots to escape the rain. A black felt cap on head completed his attire. The cap was tilted to hide the face. Even I could not recognize him at once. He took the hat off soon after I opened the door.
“Sorry madam,” he regretfully said, “I am fifteen minutes late.”
“Twenty minutes late.”
“Oh! Must have taken five minutes to reach up to penthouse from ground floor. Rain delayed me. There is water everywhere. Knee deep water on roads! Traffic is screwed up.
“No problem,” I made way for him. “Come inside.”
Dr. Maalpani stepped inside.
He took off raincoat and hung it on a stand along with his hat.
“It is raining heavily. Looks like it will rain all night,” he said. “Where is Mr. Tilak?”
“Waiting for you.”
I closed the main gate of the penthouse.
“Follow me,” I said and walked ahead.
He followed me quietly till I walked towards the innermost room.
“Is Mr. Tilak inside?”
“Yes.”
“Strange. I have never seen him using this inner section of the penthouse.”
“This deal we are making tonight, Tilak chose this room especially for that!” I said.
Dr. Maalpani listened curiously.
“Why did he need a special room for the deal?”
“You will know when you reach there.”
●
I entered room number 20 along with Dr. Maalpani.
‘Three chairs arranged around a round table’, was the furniture setting in that room. Tilak was sitting in one of the chairs.
Dr. Maalpani’s face changed after entering that room. He looked suspicious.
“Welcome doctor,” Tilak stood up. “You made us
wait.”
“Sorry, I did not know that I was so eagerly awaited.”
He started looking around in the room. He may have found the setting a bit suspicious.
“Did anyone see you coming up here?”
“No. I was careful,” Dr. Maalpani said. “There is hardly any activity downstairs because of heavy rain.”
“What about guards?”
“I don’t know.”
Tilak walked around the chairs and reached closer to Dr. Maalpani.
“I took enough precaution while coming here,” the doctor said. “I didn’t even park my car in parking lot.”
“Why?”
“If I had driven to the parking lot,” he said, “the caretaker would have spotted me. My car is parked a couple of buildings away. I am not staying here for long anyway.”
“Very good,” I said. “You have indeed shown smartness.”
“Have a seat,” Tilak said.
“No. I am fine,” Dr. Maalpani said nervously. “Whatever you wish to talk about the deal…you can talk now. And it would be better if you hurry up.”
“We will talk about it,” Tilak said and then looked at me. “Close the door, Shinaya.”
“What’s the need to close that door?” doctor panicked.
“You will understand…why that is necessary.”
Tilak’s hand entered his pocket. Before he could bring it out, Dr. Maalpani realized what was happening and ran towards the door.
I was there at the door to make him stop. But I had not closed the door completely by then.
I jumped towards a corner where a metal rod was kept. As soon as Dr. Maalpani arrived in my range, I aimed at his head and swung the rod hard.
I hit his face.
Dr. Maalpani winced with pain.
He sprawled on the floor screaming with pain.
Before he could recover from that, I kicked him hard in the belly. He rolled, shrieking like a dog run over by a car.
Tilak jumped on him and grabbed his throat. Dr. Maalpani offered no resistance and surrendered. Tilak made him sit on a chair and put the revolver against his head.
The doctor lost all his remaining willpower and started trembling.
“Now, if you move even slightly,” Tilak shouted, “this bullet will collect your mind and come out through other side along with it.”
Dr. Maalpani indeed froze in that chair.
“Shinaya, search him.”
I checked his pockets and found a pistol buried deep in his trouser belt. Losing the pistol probably took way final hope from him.
He looked pale and ready to faint.
●
“But…but we were supposed to talk about the deal,” Dr. Maalpani pleaded.
“This is the deal,” Tilak growled. “One-time deal. This is the only way to deal with a scoundrel like you. You should be sent straight to hell.”
“You are forgetting,” he replied, “if I don’t walk out of this penthouse in one hour…my partner will walk into the police station. That person will tell the cops everything.”
“Partner?” Tilak grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. “Do you think we are fools? Making up stories of sharing this secret with a partner! Your lie cannot trick us forever. You expect us to keep believing that you have someone with you in this scam!”
“It’s not a lie.”
“It is a lie” Tilak stormed. “There is no one…no associate. And even if you have a partner, we don’t care.” Tilak dropped a new bombshell on him.
He looked on with wide eyes.
“How can you not care if I have someone as my partner?”
“Because we are not killing you tonight, doctor,” Tilak explained. “You will be our prisoner in this room for next few days. Let us see ‘who’s that partner that approaches police?’ If there is someone, that person will die before you. Do you understand? We will leave behind no traces.”
“What if there is no one?”
“Then why are you worried?” Tilak answered. “Then it’s just you who dies. But not tonight. Not for next few days. This room is where you stay now.”
Dr. Maalpani was in a shock. He knew he was in trouble – big time!
Tilak still had the gun pointed at him.
“Shinaya, bring the rope. Bring the same rope that we used to restrain Brinda,” Tilak tried to further unnerve Dr. Maalpani.
I went out to get a rope. I found it soon and returned.
Seeing the rope in my hand, Dr. Maalpani sprung up from the chair. Not worrying about the gun pointed at him, he started running towards the door. I was there to intercept. I used the thick bunch of rope to hit him on the face. Tilak approached from behind and hit him on the head with the butt of the revolver.
Once again Dr. Maalpani screamed and then lost consciousness.
We grabbed him and dragged towards the chair. Within few seconds, we secured him tightly with the rope. We made sure that no movement was possible even after he regained consciousness.
We also gagged his mouth.
●
I was confident this time.
After all, I had killed twice before. I was getting better at it.
We locked the room and came out. Before leaving that room I took car keys from his pocket.
It was still raining heavily.
Our minds were working together on the next step of the plan.
“So far we are going exactly as planned, Shinaya,” Tilak said. “I just fear one thing.”
“What?”
“If indeed there is a partner who knows our dirty secret then we will be in trouble.”
“Rest assured,” I convinced him. “There won’t be any problem. It will be a miracle if some partner shows up. There is no confidante of Dr. Maalpani.”
“Where are his car keys?”
“Here,” I took them out and showed him.
“We have to get rid of that car. We will move it away from the hotel. Give the keys to me. I will move it.”
“No, not you. I will do it.”
“You?”
“Yeah…right now you need to stay here in the penthouse. Everyone knows you; you are popular well-known personality. I don’t want anybody to see you in doctor’s car and become suspicious.”
“Will you be able to do it?”
“Of course,” I said. “It’s no big deal.”
●
I stopped at penthouse door. Hanger stand had his raincoat and felt hat. I wore them both. I also wore his gumboots. My appearance changed suddenly.
I tied my hair and pushed them under a hat which I tilted a bit across my face.
It was now difficult to identify me. It could hardly be made out if I was a guy or a lady.
“Great!” Tilak looked at me and exclaimed. “This is perfect. Nobody will identify you. If someone has seen the doctor coming in, he will think the doc is leaving. Just don’t let anyone see your face.”
“I will be careful. Don’t worry.”
“Here,” Tilak offered me the Smith & Wesson revolver. “Keep this.”
“You need it with you, Tilak.”
“But…”
“Relax. Nothing will happen to me. I have the doctor’s pistol anyway.”
I checked my pocket. It was there.
I walked out of the penthouse.
●
It did not take me long to find his car.
Dr. Maalpani had said that it was parked a couple of buildings away. The white colored Pajero was standing before a building. I rushed towards it.
There was heavy rain and streets were full of water. Drains were overflowing on both sides of streets.
I got inside the car and put the key in the ignition. The engine came to life and the car started. I pressed the clutch and put it in gear. I composed myself again and grabbed the steering wheel firmly.
The car gained speed on the empty street. Wiper blades started whooshing side to side making the road ahead visible for me.
I started thinking.
&nb
sp; My life was like the car. Running with speed… but without a destination! In search of a destination!
So many twists and turns had come and gone. It was tough going down memory lane. I had been through a past that could scare me even today. The story of my life that began in a shabby brothel at Foras Road had reached up to a penthouse. Dark secrets at one end. Wealth and position at other.
I had seen life and understood it. There is so much difference in lives of people.
There are many – living a life worse than an animal. There are few – wealthy people who have every pleasure at their disposal. Wealth always mattered to me and maybe the same wealth had made me commit the crimes.
The car kept speeding.
It passed nightclub. I stopped there for a moment.
The nightclub was crowded. In spite of the rain, there was ‘life as usual’. Right outside the glass door, there were call girls standing, waiting for customers. Some of them would get lucky, I thought. Many of them will go back disappointed, I knew from experience.
I felt bad for them.
They deserved to be pitied.
I pressed the clutch and drove the car ahead.
I drove it all the way to Dr. Maalpani’s house and parked it there.
●
16
Murder – My Second Nature
Next day was full of suspense.
We wondered when police will show up at our doorstep.
I was never convinced that Dr. Maalpani had a partner in his blackmailing game. Yet there was a chance that he had made some arrangement to trap us. Everything we were thinking was just guesses or possibilities.
What if our guesswork proved wrong?
That was the fear.
Nothing happened till evening.
Police did not ring our doorbell.
However, the phone rang at night.
“Hello, I am Dr. Maalpani’s younger brother,” the voice was full of anxiety.
“Yes?” Tilak said.
“Did my brother visit penthouse at night?”
“No. he has not visited us in many days. What’s the matter?”
“He is untraceable since the night,” the man was about to cry. “We have looked everywhere, there is no clue. Now we are calling everyone that we know or my brother knew. Maybe we will get some news.”