He pulled the SIM card out of his phone and broke it.
‘Amba!’ he told himself and joined a crowd that was moving towards the railway track. Out of nowhere, a punch landed on his stomach and he fell to the ground clutching his stomach. Two masked men stood over him. They caught hold of him by his shoulder and stood him up. They dragged him towards a car. Just as they were about to shove him into the car, Raj kicked the car hard and pushed himself backward. The grip of the two men weakened and Raj turned around and began sprinting. Another masked man leapt out of the car and the pursuit began.
As he sprinted, Raj thought for a fleeting moment that he saw Geetha. The image of a girl in salwar, carrying a bag and clutching a kerchief in her left palm appeared before him. He tried to look back but could not spot her. I am hallucinating.
The masked men were close behind. The Central Railway station was on Raj’s left. The station for local trains was opposite the Central station, a hundred feet wide road in between. The overhead bridge connecting the two railway stations was always crowded.
Raj ran into the road amidst the raging traffic. The masked men followed pursuit. Placing his left hand on the median for support, Raj jumped over to the other side. He then sprinted into the crowd entering the local railway station.
He took a sharp turn to the right that made him lose balance and fall on his side. He felt something snap in his right shoulder, but he stood up and jumped to the left where the subway under the hundred feet wide road began. Landing on a staircase, he twisted his ankle and fell. Two men continued running towards the local railway station. A train was just leaving for Chengalpattu. The third man spotted Raj. He brandished a knife. When Raj tried to move, the attacker threw the knife. It hit the wall and fell beside Raj. Without a moment’s hesitation, he picked it up with his left hand, his weaker hand, and flung it.
The knife struck the masked man on his face. He stumbled and fell to the ground face-first. Raj gasped. A murderer was the last thing he wanted to become. With a broken ankle, he limped his way down the subway at the Central Railway Station, Chennai.
Enduring the pain, he limped his way to the Kaveri Express that was about to leave from the third platform. The unreserved compartment never turned anyone away. Seeing him in pain, the passengers made space for him to place his leg, undisturbed. He had a tough time staving off questions from the. One woman offered him painkillers that she had handy. When the pain in his leg subsided, the pain in his heart grew bigger.
Geetha. Have you betrayed me again?
He vividly remembered the previous day he had been attacked like this. He had been hospitalised for days. Is this attack by someone else? Am I betraying you?
***
‘Another dog massacre’ said Alison, flustered. Detective John looked up from the report he was peering into, eyes wide.
‘This time in North Korea,’ said Ally.
‘Another country that doesn’t give a shit about testing on animals,’ said John, ‘what does your friend say about this?’
‘He says he will soon have evidence to link Canine Delight to the massacre.’
***
Geetha arrived on time. Raj had asked her to wait near the Canara bank ATM outside the Central railway station. Her attempts to call him went in vain. His phone was switched off. She put a shawl on her head attempting to cover herself but the very effort worked against her intention.
She was startled by a flurry of movements. Two masked men sprinted away from the station pushing aside other people on their way. She prayed for Raj to appear before her. Their plan was to elope and get married. She had feared that he would betray like he had done before. But she was there after convincing herself that he would keep his word. Love has made me blind.
He didn’t show up. She continued to scan the crowd through cloudy eyes.
‘Think only the good things,’ Viki had said. She wished he was with her now. She could not go back to the school, nor home. She wondered when she would have a place called home. She gripped the phone harder and made another attempt to reach Raj. Switched off. There was only one other number she remembered. She punched the keys on the phone and hurriedly erased the number.
‘Hello, Ambareesh here.’ Geetha held her breath. She mustered the courage to speak and said, ‘Amba.’
‘Geetha?' came the reply in an incredulous tone, ‘Have you reached?’ How does he know?
‘Yes, where’s Raj?’ Her voice quivered. Amba told her about the message and she burst out crying.
A few minutes later, Amba helped her onto his Honda Dio. While the bike was inching through the crowd at the railway station, Geetha furiously pulled the SIM card out of her phone and threw it on the road.
A masked man appeared out of thin air and punched Amba in the face. Losing control of the bike, Amba fell. Geetha, who was sitting with her legs to one side of the bike managed to jump to the ground and balance herself. The attacker lunged at Geetha. She stepped back and flung the phone at him. It smashed hard and the man stumbled back. Amba had stood up by then. He kicked the attacker in the stomach with all his might, sending the latter to the ground. He picked the bike and urged Geetha to get on. He rode off as fast as he could till they reached his flat.
Amba sent an SMS to Raj’s number. Where are you? Geetha sat crying bitterly. When she coughed, Amba gave her a glass of water. He looked up his contacts hoping to find a way to reach Raj. He suddenly exclaimed so loud that Geetha almost dropped the glass of water she was holding.
‘What?’ she asked but Amba already had the phone to his ear.
‘Switched off’ he grunted and sat beside her, ‘Let’s go to the police.’
‘No,’ spat Geetha, ‘when did he become an animal?’
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Amba, still petrified from the incident at the railway station.
‘Raj wanted us dead?’ asked Geetha, ‘or me dead? I knew he was setting up some trap.’ Amba’s eyes bulged as he took in Geetha’s words.
‘It was not Raj you idiot,’ said Amba, ‘It must’ve been your parents.’
‘No way,’ screamed Geetha, ‘Don’t bring them into this. They have no clue about our plan to elope.’
‘Do you see how ridiculous you sound?’ asked Amba, anger rising in him.
‘You always support him,’ said Geetha, crying, ‘You could also be part of his drama. Who knows?’
‘You are out of your senses,’ Amba seethed in anger. Geetha reciprocated. Sense prevailing, Amba said, ‘Let’s not stay here. Whoever they are, they can trace my address if they had seen the registration number on the bike.’
‘Where else do we go?’ asked Geetha.
‘A friend’s flat. He’s abroad,’ Geetha stood up to leave. Amba put his phone to his ears and grunted immediately.
‘Why is Priyanka’s phone also switched off?’
‘Who is Priyanka?’
‘Raj’s colleague.’
***
The car screeched to a halt at the empty traffic signal. There was hardly any traffic in this part of town so late at night. The driver seemed to be petrified. He stepped out of the car and examined the bonnet. He then moved the car slowly. Everything was fine.
At the next traffic signal, he applied brakes and the car accelerated. Unable to comprehend what was happening, he pressed the brake pedal harder and the car rocketed. It rammed into the cars parked outside a hospital.
The last thing the man saw was a familiar face looking at him while he was rushed into the hospital on a stretcher.
Day 2
Arijit yawned as he looked at his watch. Six thirty. He knew that the first train from Chennai reached at six fifty. The train arrived and a lot of people got on and got off. He scanned the crowd to spot his friend. When he did, his face contorted.
He hurried to help a limping Raj. He caught the latter’s right arm and tried to swing it around his head. Raj’s shriek stopped him.
Arijit panicked and asked, ‘
What happened?’ When Raj didn't respond, Arijit held his back supportively.
‘Stay here, I will get a wheelchair,’ said Arijit. He was back with a wheelchair in a couple of minutes. When they were headed to a hospital in a cab, Raj asked in between groans, ‘Do you have doctor friends?’
‘Yes. Why?’ asked Arijit calmly.
‘I don’t know if I am wanted man now.’
Arijit immediately got to his phone and typed hurriedly before instructing the driver to change his course.
As soon as Raj lay on a bed with Arijit’s help, two women entered the room. While one woman examined his shoulder and ankle, through the corner of his eyes, Raj saw the other woman open a bag and pull out instruments. God!
The last thing Raj remembered was a needle being stuck in the back of his palm.
***
‘Akhila!' the Regional Head shouted as he entered the office. He made no attempt to conceal his fury.
‘What is happening?’ he asked.
‘Can we talk in private sir?’ she asked unabashedly and the RH lead the way to his cabin.
The two huddled inside the Regional Head’s cabin. Gopi, who was mopping the floor, could see the two talking animatedly but could not hear them. Akhila madam has done some mistake. Akhila opened the door and said, ‘I am extremely sorry baby. I didn’t know Raj would do such a thing. I am as shocked as you are but I will handle this.’ The Regional Head was fuming when the door closed. Gopi turned away fearing he might become victim to the RH’s wrath. He had been witness to the showdown between Ali and the RH. What stayed on his mind was the word baby.
Akhila took her seat in her cubicle. She wiped the sweat on her forehead and cheeks with the end of her saree and looked at the AC above her. 24 degree was the reading.
Raj had shaken everything. She had to do something quickly. She could feel her pulse on her temples. BP must be so high now. She opened her handbag and pulled a tablet strip out. She popped one and swallowed it. She made a call on her mobile phone. When she was prompted to choose which SIM, she chose her personal number. As soon as the call ended, she dropped on the table, unconscious.
***
Jainika was biting her fingernails. She could not focus. Many files lay piled up in front of her. She did not know where to start. She knew she would remain perturbed until she received a call from Raj. Please call me Raj.
Someone waved at her from outside the large sound proofed, tainted glass surrounded area allocated for the investigation team. Jainika screwed her eyes and saw Mr. Gupta. She jumped out of her seat and ran to him.
‘These are the pictures you asked for,’ he said and handed over seven A4 size sheets to Jainika. She then unlocked her desktop and Raj’s bank transaction history appeared. She refreshed her e-mail expecting an email. Four new emails but not the one she was expecting. These banks are so slow.
One new mail, a notification read. She opened the mailbox anxiously. ‘Yes!’ One of the seven branches had replied.
Dear Jainika,
Please find attached the scanned copy of all KYC documents and transaction history for the said Account Number.
The branch had been informed when this customer expired. However we were awaiting the death certificate in order to formally close this account. We see that another branch has sold insurance to this deceased customer. I have also written to the AGM regarding this. If you note any such irregularities, kindly inform me.
Please write back if any further assistance is required.
Regards,
Shipla,
Branch Manager
Kullu
Jainika printed a set of all the attached documents. She arrived at the photo of a man.
She noted the account number of the customer and pulled out a photograph from the corresponding claim file. The photos matched. She cringed.
That’s obvious Jainika. You need to do better. Find out who met Raj with this person’s passbook.
She picked a file she had received from the IT department. It contained pictures of the persons whom Raj was seen talking to, on the six days that he had made payments. It did not take her much time to zero in on the six persons since Raj had made the payments immediately after meeting them. She got the time from his transaction history.
She was looking at the picture of the man who had tricked Raj into paying into the account of a dead man from Kullu.
I got one. Five more to go.
Though she had pictures of the actual deceased persons in the claim file, she chose to wait for pictures from the bank. She clicked on the refresh button and a notification appeared. 7 new emails.
***
‘Priyanka also?’ asked the Regional Head incredulously.
‘Yes, sir’ said Akhila. An employee had heard an unusual thud from Akhila’s cubicle. When he checked, he saw her face sticking to the table while she was seated.
Akhila sat in the RH’s cabin after being treated by a Doctor. The RH said, ‘Fine,’ and picked the phone receiver, ‘I think I have no other option.’
‘Honey, don't be stupid. We have handled worse. Relax,’ said Akhila, ‘let’s use our brains here.’The RH replaced the receiver.
***
The first thing he saw on opening his eyes was the sling on his right hand. It took him a few moments to recollect where he was.
Arijit appeared, ‘How are you feeling?’
‘I am okay,’ said Raj, craning his neck to see the plaster of Paris on his left foot.
‘You have to take rest,’ said a voice coming up behind Arijit. ‘At least two weeks before you can walk comfortably.’ It was the Doctor.
‘Thank you Doctor,’ said Raj gloomily, ‘but I can’t stay for two weeks.’
The Doctor looked at Arijit who simply nodded. When the Doctor left, Arijit said, ‘Whatever you want, tell me. I will do on your behalf but you have to take rest.’
Raj ignored his words. ‘Can you get me a SIM card? I need to call a colleague.’
‘You can use my SIM. I have a spare one.’
‘No,’ retorted Raj, ‘get me another one. I am already causing you enough trouble. I don't want to trouble you more.’
‘You are worried if I will get into trouble,’ said Arijit, ‘I am not worried because I am sure you did nothing wrong.’
‘But still…’ Arijit cut his off, ‘Don’t waste time. Get things clear soon.’
Arijit gave Raj a SIM card which the latter inserted into his phone. He hurriedly dialled and number. ‘Jainika?’
‘Raj!’ exclaimed Jainika on the other side.
‘Where are you? Are you safe? Whose number is this? Should I call back?’ came a flurry of questions.
‘I am in Mysore with a friend. I have a fractured arm and a twisted ankle.’
‘Oh my God! What happened?’
‘Someone attacked me.’
‘Who? And for what?’
‘It must be Geetha’s father. Or it must be the RH.’
‘How do we find out?’
‘I have no idea. The men were masked and had knives.’
‘Knives? This is very serious. Where is Geetha?’
‘I don’t know. I have to call a friend to check if she’s with him. If not, then I can be sure it was her father who attacked.’
‘Has she left the school?’
‘Yes, we were supposed to elope yesterday.’
‘Are you kidding me?’
‘I’ll explain that later. Now, what’s your boss saying about the fraud?’
‘He’s acting strange. Yesterday he was insisting that we go to the police. Today he’s insisting that we shouldn’t. He’s even hinting that this is not something worth our time and we should just stop investigating this fraud’
‘The RH should have informed him right?’
‘The RH is a close friend of my boss Mr. Naresh,’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, they were classmates I guess.’
‘Oh! Then you
have to be careful while talking to him’
‘I don’t know.’ Jainika seemed distracted for a moment.
‘Hey I got the images of the people who asked you for refund. I took it from the CCTV footage. And I also got photographs of customers corresponding to those account numbers. Only one match. That’s a genuine case and that’s the first refund you gave.’
‘The other five were planned’
‘Yes, what should I do next?’
‘Can you show those images to the families of the actual customers and see what they say?’
‘You should be my boss,’ said Jainika, ‘I’ll get it done.’
‘When can you get it checked with the families?’
‘By tonight.’
‘All six?' asked Raj incredulously.
‘Yes.’
‘How?’
‘We have so many empanelled detectives. I’ll ask favours from six of them. I am the one who decides which detective to assign a case to. They can’t afford to be in my bad books, can they?’
‘I didn't know you wielded so much power.’
Jainika called back that night, ‘All negative. None of the six persons were identified.’ Raj was lost in thought till Jainika said, ‘Hello?’
‘Yeah, so how was it done? The picture of the guy who came as X was shown to the real X’s family?’
‘Obviously.’
‘Why not show all the pictures to all the imposters to all the families?’
‘How will that help?’ Jainika grunted. ‘Why didn't I think of that?’
Day 3
The phone rang. It was Jainika.
‘We have a hit’
‘Really?’ Raj jerked.
‘One family had beaten up a man in our list for asking questions about their dead father, in the neighbourhood. When a trainee from our detective’s office went there saying he was looking for a culprit, they cooperated with him. Thank goodness they didn't beat him up.’
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