Agni muttered to himself, ‘Someone somewhere is very scared right now, Arya. The killer had no choice but to finish off Lakhan. But when someone knows your deepest and darkest secret, you can never be sure if that person had let a few others in on that secret. Lakhan’s death may not mean that the secret is buried forever!’
Chapter 32
When Agni was shown into the office of Manav Chauhan, it was close to lunch time. Agni realised Manav had a busy schedule and he probably did not intend spending a lot of time with Agni, and that consideration must have dictated his choice of the time and the venue for the meeting.
‘Good afternoon, Mr. Chauhan,’ Agni greeted Manav as he stepped forward from behind his desk and shook Agni’s hand.
‘Good afternoon, ACP Mitra. It’s been a while since we met!’ Manav smiled warmly.
‘Looks like it’s back to business as usual for you, Mr. Chauhan,’ Agni remarked.
‘It is, it is,’ Manav went back to his chair behind his desk. ‘I came back to work a couple of weeks back. And there is so much to catch up on! Trust me, the backlog is driving me mad.’
‘I completely understand, Mr. Chauhan. And I promise this won’t take long,’ Agni said reassuringly.
‘Have you made any headway into the investigation, ACP Mitra?’ Manav kept looking at Agni expectantly, an eyebrow raised, trying to gauge the purpose of his visit.
‘Do you know that Lakhan Sahu was murdered a couple of days back in a slum near Tiljala?’ Agni did not answer Manav and asked instead.
‘Oh yes, that was very unfortunate. Quite shocking, in fact! Neha told me about it. She, of course, didn’t have the details. But, I’ve been curious....’
‘Someone had slit his throat, rather brutally. Lakhan did not stay in the slum. He had moved to a new house with his family some time back. He used to visit his friends in the slum every Saturday night. Last Saturday, he was in the slum, drinking with his friends. He was killed when he was on his way back home later that night.’ Agni explained.
Manav emptied the glass of water on his table. The details had evidently unsettled him.
‘Lakhan was a good man, ACP Mitra.’
‘I’m told he stopped working for you after his return from the hospital.’ Agni looked at Manav enquiringly.
‘Yes...yes, he did,’ Manav’s eyebrows were wrinkled.
‘Did you notice anything unusual in his behaviour at that time?’
‘Well, ACP Mitra, I thought his decision itself was rather unusual. Don’t you think so? He had been working with us for more than five years. I lent him money whenever he needed. His family was invited every time we threw a party, or celebrated a special occasion at home. We took good care of him and his family during his treatment after the...the mishap. I was very surprised when he said he wanted to leave the job right after leaving the hospital.’
‘Didn’t you ask him why?’
‘Of course we did. He said he would not be able to continue driving for me. That the memories of that night would not let him concentrate,’ Manav paused. ‘Then I reasoned with myself that the incident must’ve been very traumatic for him. At that time, none of us had got over the tragedy. I realised it must be very difficult for him to continue working with us, being constantly reminded of that night. He was probably right. So, I didn’t really insist.’
‘You do have a point there, Mr. Chauhan. How did you feel when you found out he had started working for the Awasthis?’
‘Well, the Awasthis are like family, and they knew Lakhan for many years. He didn’t have to try too hard to find another job! As for me, I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I was happy for Lakhan.’
Agni paused briefly and then said, ‘Do you know Lakhan came into a lot of money around that time?’
Manav bent forward. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Someone paid him a hefty sum of money at that time. Fifty thousand, to be precise. He cleared his debts, and moved to a new house. That’s not all. He received large sums of money from someone twice in the subsequent months. Twenty-five thousand, on two occasions.’
‘Really? How do you know?’
‘We checked his bank account.’
‘Do you know from whom? More importantly, why?’
‘I think he was blackmailing someone.’
Agni went on to explain his theory.
Manav heard him patiently, and then his jaws tightened.
‘ACP Mitra, you are entitled to your opinion, but I don’t agree with your suggestion that Lakhan might have been involved in a conspiracy to harm us. One could trust him blindly. And, as for your suggestion that the Awasthis had been up to something that Lakhan came to know about while he worked for them and then started blackmailing them, I find that equally preposterous!’ Manav paused briefly, and then spoke again, ‘In fact, rather outrageous! As I said, the Awasthis are family. You are casting aspersions on a number of people very close to our family and to me!’
‘I’m afraid, Mr. Chauhan, someone might have taken advantage of your blind faith. For all you know, your trust might have been misplaced. And in any case, you are not the first one to have been taken for a ride. Well, maybe quite literally in this case!’ There was a wry smile on Agni’s face.
The pun had not gone down too well with Manav. He did not look amused. He rather looked visibly offended by Agni’s suggestions.
‘Mr. Chauhan, I am now convinced that there was a conspiracy behind Hiya’s murder. I’ve asked this earlier. Do you have any idea who might have been behind this? Do you suspect anyone?’ Agni asked.
‘ACP Mitra, I told you, there is no dearth of my enemies. I guess that’s an unavoidable outcome of success! And sometimes, your adversary chooses to hit you where it would hurt the most. Everyone knew how much I loved Hiya.’ Manav’s voice trailed off. He ran his fingers through his hair.
He still looked weak and vulnerable. Agni realised that for the first time since he had walked into that room.
Manav glanced at the clock on the opposite wall behind Agni. Agni took that as a sign.
He stood up and said, ‘Mr. Chauhan, thanks for your time. If there’s anything at all that you want to share with me, or if you manage to remember anything unusual about Lakhan, please feel free to get in touch with me.’
‘Sure, ACP. I am as eager as you are to get to the bottom of this. Looks like everyone I hold close to my heart is destined to leave me!’
Agni put an arm on Manav’s shoulder and walked out. Manav’s closing comment rang in his ears.
As Agni was about to step out of Manav’s office, a red Audi halted in the driveway and Neha stepped out of the car and made her way towards Manav’s office. As they crossed each other, she removed her shades and looked appraisingly at Agni. Agni smiled and bowed his head. Neha did not return the greeting.
‘Why are you here again, nosey cop? I thought we were done with you!’ Agni could almost read the unspoken question in her eyes.
Chapter 33
Agni locked his car and walked in the direction of Tipple, his hands inside his pockets. He had heard a while back in the FM radio in his car that this was the coldest day of the season so far.
As soon as he walked past the doors of the club, he was greeted by the heavy thump of the bass. It was pleasantly warm inside. The club seemed to be bursting at the seams with the mid-week crowd.
When he looked around, he could spot at least two movie stars, an upcoming fashion model who had been making headlines in the tabloids over the last few weeks for her bold pictures and statements in the social media, and a retired cricketer. The noisy and the boisterous lot reminded him of Mushtaq, Rishi and Ashfaq. They had come into easy money, which granted them the privilege of hobnobbing with celebrities who frequented Tipple. There was the ubiquitous corporate crowd, desperate to drown the mid-week stress in their tipples. The dance floor, which looked a tad too small from the distance, was packed with frenzied revellers sweating it out as the DJ belted out one chartbuster after another from his console
at the far corner of the club.
Agni took in the sights and sounds inside the club, transported in his mind to the fateful evening when Manav had got into a brawl right inside that club with three men on that very dance floor. The three men who eventually raped and killed his wife. As he looked around, Agni realised that Tipple was indeed a busy club and a lot of eyes must have been on the celebrity couple that evening. Agni had wanted a first-hand feel of the vibe inside Tipple. He also wanted to talk to the manager.
‘Welcome, Sir!’ Kuldeep Singh, the manager of Tipple, approached him with a hand stretched out. Agni shook his hand and then followed him to his office a floor above.
‘It’s a pleasure to have you in Tipple,’ Kuldeep said. Agni was not sure about the reason behind his pleasure—his position, or, his addiction? ‘How can I help you, Sir?’
‘Well...thanks for your hospitality,’ Agni smiled and came straight to the point. ‘I have a few questions about the night Manav Chauhan and Hiya Sen were in Tipple for the last time.’
Kuldeep suddenly looked very serious and alert. He sat up straight in his chair.
‘Sure, Sir. I’d be happy to answer your questions. Though I’ve already spoken to the police and the media about that night....’
‘I do understand, Mr. Singh. And I must thank you for that. I have a few questions of my own.’
‘Of course...please go ahead,’ there was a hint of apprehension in Kuldeep’s voice.
‘I believe Manav Chauhan got into a brawl with three men inside the club that night,’ Agni looked enquiringly at Kuldeep.
‘Yes...very unfortunate, Sir. We do try to make sure we don’t allow rowdies inside the club. But, you know, how difficult it is these days! All kinds of people with loads of cash to splurge...’
‘I completely understand,’ Agni did not let him finish. ‘How did you get to know about the brawl?’
‘One of the boys from the security staff came up to my office here and told me. After all, they were celebrity guests!’
‘What did you see when you got there?’
‘It was madness! The music had stopped. All the tables were empty. People were on their feet, circling around Mr. Chauhan and the three guys. They were exchanging blows and hurling abuses at each other! Some of the guests were taking pictures! A couple of boys from the security staff were trying to pull the men apart. Ms. Sen stood at a distance. She was scared, almost pale.’
‘Quite a scene!’ Agni sighed. ‘Did you know the three men?’
‘The bartender and some of the waiters did. Turned out, they had been regulars here over the last two–three months. Must be the kind who’ve suddenly come into easy money. I figured out they had caused trouble on a couple of occasions in the past. Been rude to the bartender, and the waiters, made passes at women—you know, that sort of thing. Nothing like what they had done that night, though.’
‘Which means that, there must have been a few other regulars among the guests who would also have recognised those three men?’
‘Very likely, Sir.’
Agni mulled over the plan. If the brawl was indeed a staged act, it had been played out convincingly before a packed audience in an impeccably chosen venue with a celebrity couple and three rowdies, infamous for their prior acts of hooliganism and bullying inside the club. It would be difficult for anyone who had been in the club that night to forget that incident or the men involved. And it would only help give away the three men, taking the focus away from the real perpetrator of the plan.
‘I believe you have CCTV footages.’
‘Yes, we do. And I passed them on to the police. I guess that helped in their identification.’
‘Yes, indeed. One more question. Were Manav and Hiya regulars here?’
‘They had visited us on a couple of occasions in the past. I wouldn’t actually call them regulars.’
Agni reflected on this piece of information. If Manav and Hiya were not regulars, the perpetrator of the staged act had had some means of knowing that they would be in Tipple that night.
This was someone close to them.
Chapter 34
Agni thanked Kuldeep and came down.
When he managed to reach the bar, there were two rows of heads in front of him. He had to raise his voice above the din to order his whisky.
The whisky arrived almost at the same time as a paunchy balding man vacated a bar-stool, belching audibly. Agni moved fast and grabbed the seat.
The whisky soothed Agni’s frayed nerves. For the past one week, the police had not made any headway into the investigation of Lakhan’s murder. Agni had spoken to Lakhan’s neighbours and his friends in the slum whom he met every Saturday night. All of them had noticed Lakhan’s sudden change of fortune, but none of them knew why and how. Lakhan had never let anything out, even during the hooch sessions. They did confirm that Lakhan had been close to Asif Bhai, even though his wife was not particularly happy about the liaison. The police had been unable to track the mysterious number that featured prominently in Lakhan’s call records. That was probably the person Lakhan had been blackmailing, who had gone into hiding after the driver’s murder. Agni believed whole-heartedly in his hypothesis, but he knew he needed substantial evidence in favour of his theory. The money trail Agni had been trying to unearth since the murder of Hiya Sen had only become more complicated with Lakhan’s death and the mystery surrounding it.
He was suddenly hurled back into reality by the familiar sound of a woman’s laughter. He turned his shoulder discreetly in the direction of the laughter and saw Rituja seated with Mayank in a corner of the club. She continued laughing, her head thrown back. Mayank sat facing her. His hair was tied in a ponytail. He was gesticulating, probably cracking a joke. Agni looked away avoiding their eyes, not in the mood to join the party. He remembered that the two of them were working together in a movie.
However, Agni found himself glancing back at their table every few minutes. The jocular ambience vanished after a while, and the two seemed to be engrossed in a rather grim discussion. Rituja looked flustered and bent over the table, speaking animatedly. Mayank looked defiant and Agni could see him reclining in his chair, nodding his head frequently. As Agni kept looking, he saw the glasses served on the table being emptied with alarming regularity, and Rituja’s impatience visibly mounting by the minute. As Mayank got restless, she held his hands in what was clearly a conciliatory gesture.
And then, something snapped between the two. Mayank stood up and turned around to leave, upsetting a full glass in the process. The drink landed on his trousers and the glass on the floor, shattered to pieces. Those in tables close by turned in the direction of the two. Rituja looked embarrassed.
‘Fuck!’ he shouted and grabbed a handful of tissues, trying to wipe the drink off his trousers. Rituja stood up, still trying to dissuade him, holding him by his hand. Mayank jerked his hand free rudely and headed for the door, walking past the crowded bar, barely noticing anything or anyone that came in his way. Rituja threw her hands up in despair, and gestured to the waiter for yet another drink.
Something was wrong, very wrong, between the two of them!
Chapter 35
The noise on the street was deafening. Photographers and reporters jostled behind the police barricade. It was a very cold winter morning, the sky a depressing dull grey.
The television stations had been reporting the news for a while. The police had a tough time managing the hordes of people who had gathered on the road. Most of them, especially the weeping women, had braved the morning chill and come out on the street. There were others who had stopped on their way to work. The Information Technology hub in New Town was not very far.
There was frenzied clicking of all kinds of cameras all around—from the long-nosed ones of the Press photographers to the mobile cameras of the bystanders. They photographed the police vans, the teeming crowd on the street, the five-storeyed Galaxy Apartments, whose entrance was now bounded with tape. The balcony on the topmost floor fr
om where he had fallen was on the rear side of the building, beyond the reach of prying lenses. There were vans with satellite dishes on their roofs, and journalists speaking into cameras, offering all kinds of speculations and comments.
‘...from the balcony of his bedroom last night, landing on a car parked in the backyard...’
‘...we don’t know yet if he was alone when he fell...’
‘...forensic experts are inside his apartment...’
The windscreen of the car, parked in the backyard of the apartment complex, had shattered from the impact. Mayank Kapoor’s head had bled into the heavily dented roof of the car. Part of his face, turned to a side, was crushed beyond recognition, his mane spread over his shoulders. The one visible eye had been reduced to a dull white slit. One of his outstretched arms was twisted in a grotesque manner. He was in a white tee and black Bermuda shorts.
Agni walked up to Arya.
‘When is the ambulance coming?’
‘On the way, Agni. I hope we’ll get rid of the crowd once the body is taken away.’
‘What do you think, Arya? Did he jump?’ Agni looked up at Mayank’s balcony adjoining his bedroom in the topmost floor.
‘I’m sure he did, Agni. The guy was unstable. He was drunk most of the time, probably a junkie too! Had no clue about how to handle his sudden and unexpected popularity. Had rich immoral friends who further corrupted him.’ Arya dismissed the claim to fame of the departed actor with a gesture of his hand.
Agni remembered the couple of occasions when he had seen Mayank. He remembered the hurt in his eyes when he talked about his failed relationship with Hiya. He remembered his apprehensions about the future of his relationship with Manav and the Chauhans in general, which, in a way, had shaped his career, and which he had jeopardised in a fit of drunken rage, fighting over Hiya. He remembered the pain and frustration that his air of vain arrogance could not hide. He was, beyond doubt, a troubled soul. Agni remembered him walking out of Tipple last night, angry and restless. Did his rendezvous with Rituja have anything to do with the tragic turn of events later in the night?
The Colours of Passion Page 10