Sinner's Game: Karma will chase!

by Sandeep Sharma

  Akshay wanted to play it safe and said, ‘How is all this connected to me? Can we talk later? I am in the middle of a meeting right now.’

  ‘We can always talk later but please don’t go to Tanuja’s hotel.’

  Akshay said, ‘It is too late for that now.’

  ‘Akshay, I did not want to say this as this would be unethical but I will say it now if it can save your life. I know about your affair with Tanuja.’

  ‘It is none of your business. Please do not cross your limits. ‘

  ‘I wanted to warn you that if people are dying in a specific pattern, then both you and Tanuja fit that pattern. It is up to you now as you are smart enough to understand my message. If you are in the hotel with Tanuja, please leave the hotel immediately. Please.’

  ‘Ok let me think about that. Tell me first who told you about my relationship.’

  ‘I don’t think I can share that with you.’

  ‘Go to hell.’

  Akshay sat down on the couch in a state of shock to absorb the information.

  Tanuja asked, ‘Who was on the line? Was it Vyom?

  ‘Yes, Vyom.’

  ‘What did he say?’

  “He knows about our affair and wants me to leave this hotel immediately. He thinks that there is a clear connection between WhatsApp messages and the accidents.’

  ‘How is that possible? I have not shared my relationship details with anyone. Have you?’

  ‘God knows how. I am not a fool to have told someone. Tanuja, this is one more reason to take a break.’ I am getting late for my client meeting.’

  ‘One more excuse. Give me a minute. I need to go to the washroom.’ She picked up her phone and rushed to the washroom. She decided to record the conversation between her and Akshay.

  Akshay thought to himself, ‘She is losing all her control and talking senseless things. If she shouts again, I am sure someone will complain to the hotel management. Let me try to get her out of this room. But she is in her robe and she may refuse to change her clothes. Shit! I will need to cancel my client meeting. This is embarrassing and highly unprofessional but I can surely blame it on the rain. They will understand.’

  Tanuja came out of the washroom, Akshay requested, ‘Can we discuss this somewhere else?’

  ‘Like where? I am not moving out anywhere.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I don’t feel like going anywhere.’

  ‘Ok then let us go to the terrace and talk there. We can discuss things more freely there. I am worried about the other hotel guests.’

  ‘Fine you go and I will join you.’

  Akshay went out of the room and called his client.

  ‘Hello Mr. Prabhakar!’

  ‘Hi Akshay! Have you reached our office? I have left instructions at the security gate.’

  ‘No sir! I am sorry to inform you that I am stuck in a bad traffic jam and it is raining heavily right now. I should have told you earlier but I was hopeful of reaching your office.’

  ‘No problem we can always meet in the evening. What is your plan for tonight?’

  ‘I have not booked my return ticket yet. I will call you once I am through with this traffic jam.’

  ‘Great, Akshay, I will wait to hear from you. Take care.’

  Akshay called Garima as Tanuja was still not out of her room to tell her that he had reached safely.

  Garima had not boarded her Mumbai flight and she picked up his call immediately. She asked, ‘I hope your flight was on time. Where are you right now?.’

  ‘Listen Garima the weather is really bad and is pouring heavily. I am already late for my client meeting. The cab is taking forever to reach.’ Akshay had to lie because he could not afford to share the real picture.

  ‘Akshay, when are you returning? We need to talk.’

  ‘All flights are running late so I will decide closer to time. I will let you know. Bye.’

  ‘Bye, Akshay.’

  He turned back and saw Tanuja walking towards him. They then entered the lift and headed for the 30th floor. The terrace was one floor above so they took the stairs to reach to it.

  It had stopped raining but the weather was alarming with lightning and thunder. There were a few chairs but they were wet. The Café at the Terrace was also closed.

  Akshay looked around. Akshay and Tanuja were the only people on the terrace. He asked Tanuja, ‘Should I call someone to clean up the chairs? Should we sit?’

  Tanuja didn’t even bother to answer. She had shown enough patience while Akshay was on call with Vyom.

  She now asked, ‘You need to explain everything to me nicely, Akshay. I think I deserve this much. Why this sudden change now? I asked you to show me some extra attention during the office party and even that did not happen due to Priya’s accident.’

  Akshay replied, ‘It all started when I invited you to my home for the get together.’

  ‘Oh that party! Yes, it was awkward for both me and her.’

  ‘No not only that. After that party she started asking me questions about my business meetings and trips.’

  ‘Like?’

  ‘She had never taken that much interest in my business before that. Her job has always kept her busy but suddenly she was curious to know about who all are traveling with me and such.’

  ‘That can be explained; I am part of the management team and my role demands such travel. What is wrong with that?’

  ‘There is nothing wrong per se but we both know the reality.’

  ‘What next?’

  ‘I met Vyom with Vineet again at his office.’

  ‘What did he tell you?’

  ‘He showed us some files that the software was tracking and there were files on both Priya and Himanshu.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Those files had almost everything, including their WhatsApp messages, chat history, pictures, call logs etc. So someone was tracking them and there is…’ Akshay couldn’t finish her sentence.

  ‘Is there a software file on me?’

  ‘In fact there is no software file on you. However, there is file on me but recently there is no activity on my file logs.’

  Tanuja felt relieved after hearing that there was no file on her. That recent WhatsApp message must be a prank. She said, ‘I think we should plan a short vacation.’

  ‘Akshay exclaimed, ‘What? Do you know that Garima is now interested even in this trip? Can we afford to take a vacation together right now? Are you out of your mind?’

  Tanuja shouted, ‘I think YOU have lost it. I am doing fine.’

  ‘‘Right now, I am not in a frame of mind to give you the right response. In fact, I want things to end here between us without any further complications. ‘

  ‘No...you can’t do this at this point of time.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘If you dump me now, I will not sit quietly. I am going to speak to your wife.’

  Akshay made a mistake of smiling at the wrong time, ‘I think Garima probably knows about it. Yes and this is the right thing to do. I can’t carry the guilt of this any longer on my shoulders. I was about to open up with her in the morning but decided to talk to you first.’

  ‘Alright then what about our investors? Will they agree with your extramarital affair? Will they agree with sexual harassment? All of this can turn really ugly, if you turn your back now.’

  Akshay was in a shock. He was expecting a volatile Tanuja but he never expected her to be so vicious. He became very worried now. He could not afford to lose his reputation or position in the company. Akshay noticed a drone hovering around on top of them. It was going in circles around the hotel.

  Akshay said, ‘Come on, Tanuja now you are getting unreasonable. Everything we did was with your complete consent. You need to understand but my situation has changed now. There is a threat to our lives.’ As Akshay said this, a fierce lightning struck a building nearby. The sound of the lightening shook Akshay and he looked up at the sky for a moment. It seemed as if the
Gods were angry now.

  ‘Akshay you can explain all this to your investors.’

  ‘Tanuja, let us talk about this later? Please calm down. We should go back to your room. I have already cancelled my client meeting so we have enough time. The weather is really bad.’

  Tanuja shouted back, ‘I don’t care about the weather or anything anymore. Can’t you see that you have caused a storm in my life? Let us settle everything right now. NOW.’

  ‘Tanuja, if you threaten me then there will be consequences and you know that.’ Akshay said firmly.

  ‘Really, do you think, you can take such a risk, as the founder-CEO of Hailthy?’ Tanuja asked tauntingly, a nasty smile on her face.

  ‘It is impossible to discuss anything with you right now. I am going inside. Please come with me.’ pleaded Akshay.

  ‘I am not going anywhere and if you leave me now, then you will be responsible for the consequences.’

  ‘I am here only but look the weather is getting worse now. For your own safety, you should also come inside.’

  ‘Go to bloody hell!’

  Tanuja was in no state to be placated. Akshay left the terrace and walked to the stairs to head to the lower floor. As he walked down the stairs, a bright, loud, spark of lightening shook him. He lost his balance and slipped and fell down the stairs.

  Tanuja was still cursing Akshay mentally when the lightning struck. The sudden sound overwhelmed her and as she tried to look at the sky, she also lost her balance and fell down from the terrace!

  Meanwhile, it was turning out to be a busy day for Raunak the Hotel Manager at Sheraton. Due to a planned wedding, the rush at the hotel reception due to incoming guests had spiraled out of control. While it had stopped raining a while ago, the weather was still terrible, and multiple taxis were honking outside to get clearance to move out. The bellhops were busy collecting luggage from the arriving guests.

  As he was smiling and managing the huge inflow of guests and check-ins, the intercom at the reception rang. Raunak quickly picked up the phone and said, Hello, I am Raunak, how can I help you?’

  The voice on the other side said, ‘Hello I am calling from room 1312. Two people, probably in the adjacent room 1313, have been fighting nonstop. There is so much noise here. This is disturbing! I am here to relax,’

  ‘Sure sir; sorry for the inconvenience, I will send someone shortly.’

  ‘The fight has stopped now but I heard a woman shouting. Please get it checked immediately. I have been trying to reach reception for quite some time but no one was picking my phone. Please send someone immediately.’

  ‘Don’t worry sir, we will quickly send our security personnel.’

  Raunak looked around him but everyone was busy with the guests. He dialed hotel security but the number was busy. He went out to the entrance to locate someone from the security team. There was more chaos outside at the entrance. A couple of Bollywood celebrities were entering the hotel and keeping the hotel security staff busy. He spotted the security manager and waved to him. When the security manager came up to him, Raunak requested him to go and check Room no 1313. The security manager left and Raunak got busy managing the guests at the front desk.

  Outside the lightening was increasing in frequency. While nothing abnormal, Raunak was now concerned about the risks of power cut and the wedding in the evening. Suddenly they heard a woman screaming followed by a loud thud. Raunak’s heart stopped for second. Excusing himself, he rushed towards the sound – perhaps from the garden behind the reception. A security guard came running towards him and said, ‘A woman has fallen from the terrace. She is lying in a pool of blood. Probably dead, Sir.’

  The Hospital

  When Akshay slipped from the stairs at the hotel, he was still worried about Tanuja. He wanted to go back and request Tanuja to come down. As he fell his head hit the wall rendering him unconscious. Two days later, when Akshay opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. He looked around and saw Garima sitting by the side of the bed. There was a police officer waiting outside the room. Akshay’s head was still hurting and he had a plaster in one of his hands. He tried to move his legs but did not have energy to do the same. Garima said, ‘Thank God you are doing fine! We were all so worried about you.’ Akshay gave a weak smile to Garima as he was still in a state of shock.

  ‘What happened? Why am I here? I don’t remember anything.’

  ‘Don’t stress yourself too much right now. Let me call the Doctor first.’

  The doctor soon came to check in on Akshay. He said, ‘I am Doctor Divansh. You look good physically but you may be experiencing transient global amnesia.’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Let me explain this, during an episode of transient global amnesia, your recall of recent events simply vanishes, so you can't remember where you are or how you got there. In your case you became unconscious because of your head injury. You may not remember anything. However, as the shock of the accident subsides, your memory will come back. Don’t worry’.

  Before Akshay could say anything Garima butted in, ‘I hope there is nothing serious Dr. Divansh?’

  ‘The MRI and CT Scans show no injury. During the recovery period, Akshay may slowly begin to remember events and circumstances. Transient global amnesia isn't serious. You relax. We however need to keep him under observation for a few days. I will write my prescription and you can take a print out from me.’

  Dr. Divansh then left the room and Garima followed him.

  Akshay tried to recall his last memory but it was all hazy. He wanted to ask Garima but she had left the room. He checked with the nurse as to where he was. The nurse informed him that he was in Leelawati Hospital, Mumbai and advised him to rest.

  Garima had many questions that she did not want the doctor to ask in front of Akshay.

  Outside the room, she addressed the doctor. ‘Dr. Divansh, I have few questions related to this accident.’

  ‘Sure you can ask.’

  ‘How much time would it take to get his memory back? I hope there is no serious injury?’

  Akshay’s memory should be back within a day or two. It is likely that Akshay may keep repeating the same questions because he doesn't remember the answers he has just been given. You will need to be patient with him.’

  ‘Thanks a lot! In that case can your staff please ask the police guy to come later?’

  ‘Of course. I will send someone from my team to handle this.’

  ‘Thank you so much.’

  When Garima came back to the room, she noticed that Akshay looked confused. He was relieved on seeing Garima and asked her, ‘What happened? Why am I admitted to this hospital? Where is it?’

  Garima replied, ‘The doctor has asked you to take some rest. It will help you in faster recovery. I know you have a lot of questions but just relax.’

  ‘Ok let me try to sleep for some time. I am feeling little drowsy.’

  ‘OK I will go and get your medicines but nurse is here to take care of you.

  Outside the room, a junior doctor from Divansh’s team was talking to the policeman. The SHO looked at Garima and said, ‘Madam we are going now but he can’t be discharged till we take his statement.”

  Garima was relieved, ‘Sure. As you can see, he is not in a position to give any statement because of his memory loss. Please come again tomorrow.’

  The Investigation

  After Akshay fell down, chaos had hit Sheratons. As Dorji headed from the lift, he could hear some commotion from the ground floor. When the lift door opened some of the hotel guests were waiting outside the lift. As he stepped out one of them quickly asked, ‘Is it true that someone fell down and died?’

  Dorji responded quickly, ‘Well I am not aware of this.

  Dorji was about to knock at 1312, when his phone rang.

  ‘Dorji, you need to go to the Terrace and block it immediately. One of hotel guest has died and I am calling the police. Please don’t allow anyone to go to the terrace. No movement is allow
ed.’

  The SHO Bandra quickly responded to Raunak’s call and reached the hotel in less than fifteen minutes. He met Raunak at the hotel entrance who took him to the garden area. The security personnel had cordoned the area. The body was covered with a white sheet.

  The SHO asked, ‘Have you been able to identify the deceased?’

  ‘No we haven’t allowed anyone to come close to the body. We wanted you to start the process.’ The head of forensics team took some pictures of the dead body. The lady constable had arrived by now and she put gloves on before she searched the body. Tanuja was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and she could find a room key inside her front pocket. She handed the key to Raunak and said. ‘I hope you can identify the deceased with this key?’

  Raunak took the key himself and rushed to the reception area.

  Raunak got the details and immediately went back to the crime scene where SHO was waiting patiently for him. He informed the SHO that the body had been identified. ‘Her name is Tanuja and she is working with a Gurgaon based company, Hailthy. She checked in yesterday evening and we can get more details on her from her identity documents.’

  SHO said, ‘We need to take the body for post mortem to ascertain the cause of her death. The forensic team has found her phone as well and that will remain with us as evidence. We need to send our team immediately to her hotel room. I hope no one has been there.’

  Raunak said, ‘Sir this could have happened only from the hotel terrace and my security team has cordoned off the area.’

  ‘That was a good idea! I will send my team to the hotel terrace. I will need access to all hotel cameras. We will require a copy of all recordings since yesterday.’

  ‘There is no camera facing this side of terrace but we will share whatever we have with you. You can expect full cooperation from us. We do not want any negative publicity at this moment as there are many weddings planned in this week.

  ‘No issues, we will move the body for the postmortem. We immediately need to contact her family for their permission.’

  ‘Raunak, let us go to the terrace as I have completed formalities here.’

  Upon reaching the top floor, Raunak said, ‘Sir, we will need to take the stairs from here to reach the terrace.’