The Siya Rajput Crime Thrillers Books 1-3 (Where Are They Now / Finding Her / The Bones Are Calling)

by UD Yasha

I jumped out of the bed, answering the call. Rathod said, ‘An earring Manasa had separated has trace DNA of a victim. Her name is Swapna Kiran.’

  ‘She’s the one whose hair we found today morning.’

  ‘Exactly. And Sonia just confirmed that Swapna was alive when her hair was cut. Just like your mother.’

  ‘Are we meeting Zakkal right now?’

  ‘Yes. That’s why I called.’

  ‘I’m coming now,’ I said, shrugging off my quilt and jumping out of bed.

  The curtains had made the room dark. I was only supposed to sleep for twenty minutes. I slipped into a shirt and pulled a jacket over it. I checked the time on my phone while I pulled up my jeans.

  Ten thirty.

  Shit.

  I swung my tote bag over my shoulder. I went to my cupboard to pick something up. A return gift for Zakkal. I wondered how he would react on seeing it. Ranjit had said Zakkal thrives on being in control. I wanted to catch him by surprise and make him feel he did not have any control, even if it was for just a second. I wanted to see how he reacted. I knew I would not be allowed to carry it in. So, I put on two pairs of underwear and put his gift between them.

  Radha’s room was dark as well. I guessed we had all been exhausted from the past four days. I knocked on the door once. No response. I turned the knob and went in. I patted her on her back.

  ‘Hey, we need to leave. I’m meeting Zakkal, I said. ‘It’s ten thirty at night.

  Radha sat up straight on hearing Zakkal’s name. ‘We’ll be down in five minutes,’ she said.

  I went to the kitchen and buttered some bread, folded it and started eating it. I sensed it was going to be a long night. I felt my toes tingle. I wondered what Zakkal would say and react to what I have. By now Shadow had realized that every time my phone rang and I rushed, we were going to head out. He was sitting by the door, holding his leash between his teeth.

  Radha and Rahul came down from the stairs. I had already taken the keys. We all stepped out into the cold night air. Rahul took the wheel.

  ‘Are you doing alright?’ Radha said as we reached the CID building.

  ‘I’d be lying if I say I’m not nervous. But I know Zakkal has been looking forward to this particular meeting since he hatched this plan,’ I said.

  We went upstairs. The waiting room was locked late in the night so Radha, Rahul and Shadow went to one of the cabins. I pushed the door open and all eyes turned to me. ACP Shukla, Manoj Bhalerao, Rathod, two other CID officers and one man I had only seen on TV were in the conference room. The man was Sanjay Patil, the Governor of Maharashtra. I took an empty seat opposite him. I sensed a cocktail of anticipation and tension in the room that probably stemmed from the keenness around my meeting with Zakkal.

  Shukla got up from his chair at the head of the table. He squared up to face me. He put his hands on the long desk and leaned forward. ‘You’ve to follow everything according to the plan today,’ he said. ‘Sanjay Patil will take over from here.’

  Up until then, Shukla had been kind towards me. I could tell something had changed. Or was he just charged up because of the circumstances?

  Sanjay Patil stood up. He had the body language of a seasoned politician. He addressed everyone in the room by shifting his gaze. He said, ‘Zakkal would know that we’ve found out some of his victims are still alive. He’s going to try to strike a deal with him to get information about them. I had a meeting with the Assistant Superintendent of Maharashtra Police earlier in the day. He was very firm on his stance that the women’s safety is of prime importance. The trust in police and public servants will drastically go down if any woman’s safety is compromised. At the same time, we cannot be lenient on Zakkal. That would again erode public confidence in us. Zakkal himself would not expect us to go easy on him.’ Patil looked me in the eye and said, ‘The most we’ll offer him is one entire day per month for the next year out in the open with everyone. So far, he has been getting open time alone. Warden Shetty tells me Zakkal doesn’t like his cell. He’ll try to ask you for a new one. One with a different view or even different neighbours. We cannot give him that.’

  ‘Why not?’ I said, furious. ‘The man will still be in the jail. He’ll just see five more trees through his window.’

  ‘We don’t bow to the demands of criminals. It sets a bad precedent. Even right now this situation is far from ideal.’

  ‘He’s not likely to take your best offer. He’ll spit on it. He loves to control. We don’t have a choice but to be controlled by him. He’ll probably kill one of the women he’s holding captive to prove his point. Only God knows which body part of hers will be put on display. And when that happens, we’ll have to bow down to his demand, which will be something more than just a room with a different view. That’ll make the CID and the public servants you’re talking about look much worse.’

  ‘I hear your mother was taken by Zakkal and that she’s still alive. There’s also a chance that your father could be the Bedroom Strangler. You cannot deny it. He’s still missing, isn’t he? Please don’t let your emotions run this investigation,’ Patil said.

  ‘We’re dealing with a crazy killer here, sir. With all due respect, this is not a game of egos or a battle of who can last longer. It’s about saving lives. There are five of them at stake here. There could be more for all you know. I’ll give him your offer and we’ll see what he says. If he wants a different view, I’ll grant it if it’s going to save the lives of the women he’s holding. In that case, you better sign that goddamn agreement,’ I said and walked out of the room.

  I could feel heat emanating from my face. Time was critical. I was not going to be a puppet in their politics. No way. Never. Especially not now. It was one of the advantages of working privately and I was going to hammer down on it. I watched the conference room. Rathod came out and broke step for me, shaking his head.

  ‘Well, you pissed off Patil,’ he said. ‘He wants to take you off. But he can’t. Bhalerao and I told him that Zakkal made it clear the first time around he would only speak to you. Let’s get going before the Governor changes his mind.’

  My anger faded a little. I broke step for the exit.

  ‘Siya,’ Rathod called out. ‘The Governor okayed the different cell plan. Zakkal can move there if he wants. But just for six months. He returns to solitary confinement after that.’

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chamber Number Twelve was a dark, cold place at night. A cool breeze trickled inside from somewhere. The stillness magnified every small sound. I was conscious of my own breaths. Warden Shetty gave us the same instructions as the previous time. I had come prepared. I had put all my belongings in a small bag. I handed it to Rathod. Warden Shetty called upon a female constable to check me. I could feel my return gift for Zakkal lodged between the two pairs of my underwear. My checking was complete. Rathod handed me an evidence bag that had Swapna Kiran’s earrings after Warden Shetty checked it himself. I tucked it behind me in my jeans. I stared at the dark chamber, lit by a flickering light. I turned to Rathod before heading inside. He gave me an acknowledging nod.

  I buttoned my jacket all the way and broke step to meet Zakkal. Warden Shetty had told him I was coming. Zakkal had told him that he would fall asleep to an image of an actual woman after many years.

  Like the last time, everything around me dissolved as I walked towards Zakkal’s prison cell. Nothing mattered. Maa’s face, from the last time I had seen her, sparked my mind. Zakkal was again sitting with his back to the corridor.

  Yet, he somehow sensed I had arrived.

  ‘Siya?’ he said, his back still towards me. ‘Has anyone told you that your beauty is an impeccable piece of art?’

  ‘I had only heard stories of the romantic that you are. I’m witnessing it first-hand myself,’ I said.

  ‘There’s no fun in just witnessing. If you’re lucky, you might even experience it. And don’t worry. Your mother will tell you stories about it all day, every day.’

  I had decided
I would not be affected by him talking about maa. I had expected the worst. It was already being hurled in my direction. Right then, I knew this was going to be hard. He was still talking with his back to me. For as cold and cruel as his face and eyes were, I was feeling uneasy by not being able to see his reactions and emotions.

  ‘What do you want, Zakkal?’ I said.

  ‘Why don’t you tell me about your past few days?’

  I chose my words carefully. ‘Your protégé killed one more woman—’

  ‘Just one more?’

  I stopped. Were there more murders we hadn’t found out about?

  Zakkal said. ‘I’m giving you a fair warning. Pass it onto the CID. You’re going to be in for many surprises in the coming days. I’m sorry I interrupted you. Go on, please.’

  ‘We located your pollen’s origin.’

  ‘Did you enjoy my little birthday present?’

  Silence.

  Zakkal said, ‘You see someone had told me never gift objects. Always gift experiences. They’ve a far bigger and a more long-lasting impact. I loved that advice. That was the day I had stopped buying gifts. I realized gifts aren’t supposed to be bought over the counter but curated with special care and love for the one you’re giving it to.’

  He was still not facing me.

  ‘Am I making you uncomfortable by not looking at you directly?’

  ‘How did you know?’ I said, wanting to feed his ego.

  Zakkal turned around. The light from the corridor slanted on the top half of his face. Even the glow of the light failed to spark his eyes with life. He looked different. Something had changed.

  ‘Hello,’ he said, narrowing his eyes. His lips curled. ‘Forget that. Tell me about how you liked your birthday present.’

  ‘Are the five women alive?’ I said.

  ‘They’re supposed to be. I don’t know if they still are. My protégé at times lacks self-control. He gets too eager to fuck them after they die. He had once told me the best time to nail them is twenty minutes after they’re dead. That’s when they’re still a little warm and just the right amount of hard. Later they get too cold and either too soft or too hard. That’s why he likes to kill them on his own. There are days though on which he has to make do with those who’ve been long gone.’

  For the new killer to have told that to Zakkal, he would’ve killed someone before Supriya Kelkar to share his experience with Zakkal. I was making progress. I said, ‘How did you choose him to be your protégé?’

  ‘I did not. It happened on its own. Fate, luck. Whatever you like to call it.’

  ‘Why did you trust him with your secrets and treasures?’

  ‘He adores me. He knows I’ve shaped him. He would never go behind my back. I know it. I’ve seen his loyalty to me in action many times.’ He paused. He stepped forward and his entire face was revealed.

  ‘Does it bother you that he’s the talk of the town and not you?’

  ‘It makes me proud.’

  ‘Really? He's now the reason women are scared in their own homes. They're looking everywhere for him in their houses. Closets, stairs, beds. He's making them sweat. Not you. Come on. That surely disturbs you.'

  ‘What do you know about him?’

  ‘That you know each other from long back,’ I said, watching his face, zeroing in on those eyes, waiting for them to give something away. ‘That he has a smart mind. I’m beginning to think he’s brighter than you; given that he’s actually challenging the police. We also know he has medical knowledge. He could even be a doctor.’ His eyes stayed the same throughout.

  I paused. He smiled.

  ‘I expected better from you, Siya. You know nothing. What has happened to your bright mind? Has it shrunk? Or are your best days behind you? You let go of one murderer after all. You almost killed one girl yourself.'

  How did he know? My face was tingling. I felt like the walls around me were getting closer and closer with every word Zakkal spoke.

  He walked up to the bars. He put his head between them and said, in a low and raspy voice, ‘How did her blood taste? Does her face keep you up at night? You were too slow to save her. What makes you think you’ve gotten better since you chickened out. Maybe you shouldn’t have taken that three-year gap. I can already see the rust starting to accumulate. Maybe that might be the reason you wouldn’t be able to meet your mother…oh wait, you call her maa, isn’t that right? Remember Siya, you’ll be responsible for the blood of the five women, including maa’s.’ He grinned at me.

  I clenched my jaw as hard as I could. Tears built at the back of my eyes. Zakkal was pressing all the right buttons. My pulse thumped in all parts of my body. It’s okay, I told myself. I had learnt a technique to cope with sudden anxiety. It involved being grateful. The mind can only hold one thought in one moment. And I wanted it to hold unalloyed love. I pictured Radha and Rahul getting engaged. Maa was right next to them. In fact, she was the ring bearer. One, two, three. I kept picturing it. Clarity emerged. I wondered if Zakkal had realized he had accidentally let it slip that the new killer had been killing for a long time. And because of that, he had turned the screws on me. I was on the right track. Maybe he was trying to disturb my line of questioning of him feeling sidelined.

  ‘You’ve turned white, Siya. What’s wrong? Can’t accept the truth?’ Zakkal said. He was now further back in his cell.

  ‘Like you can’t accept that I got you at your own game? Do you miss having an audience now?’

  ‘What rubbish are you talking about?’

  ‘When we met the other day, you asked me where my manners were. That got me thinking about the first time we met. When you gave me the balloon, I had run to maa and got you a bar of chocolate as a return gift. I'm still a good girl after all these years. I've got you a return gift again. Do you want to see it?'

  For the first time ever, I noticed Zakkal’s eyes flicker. He was human after all. He wanted to know more. He came to the bars.

  ‘I can tell you it’s something you’d love. And no, it’s not an object. A man, I won’t say if he was wise, once told me to never gift objects. Always gift experiences. They’ve a far bigger and a more long-lasting impact. I’ve followed that advice.’

  Silence.

  I was controlling Zakkal now. His eyes narrowed on me. He was fidgety. This was not going as per his plan. What was he going to do now?

  ‘I’m also a good gift giver. I think you would agree after knowing what I’ve got for you.’ I paused for the drama. We had been given hours of wisdom on the impact of a pause in mock court class in college. ‘Are you ready for it?’

  ‘Blow me away,' he said and winked.

  I felt like puking, but I did not show it. I had him right now. I took a step forward and made sure the light was on me. I smiled at Zakkal and unbuttoned my jeans. His body quivered. His eyes bulged out. I put a hand inside my jeans and pulled out what I had lodged between the pairs of my underwear. I held it up in the light for Zakkal to see it.

  It was a pair of small earrings that maa was wearing on the day she disappeared. They had been kept next to her bed the night Zakkal had taken her.

  ‘Remember this?’ I said, holding it up.

  Zakkal's face lit up. I had never seen him express any emotion until now. ‘How could I ever forget?' he said. His eyes sparkled.

  I buttoned my jeans. ‘You saw from where I took them out. You know the earrings belonged to my mother. You had told me you wanted to have us both. So, here you go. This is the best gift you'd ever get. I'll only give this to you though if you tell me what I want to know.'

  Zakkal moved away from the bars. He continued grinning. His eyes turned cold again as he stared at me. He pursed his lips.

  ‘Where’s my mother?’ I said.

  Zakkal laughed. ‘That’s unfair.’

  ‘Since when have you known the new killer?’

  Zakkal had partly given this away earlier. He knew I knew, especially now as I asked the question. This was just me warming him up. H
e considered what I had asked him.

  ‘For a long time. Since we were kids.’

  ‘What made you connect with him?’

  ‘Isn’t it obvious?’

  ‘You weren’t killing when you were a child, were you?’

  Zakkal's eyes flickered again. Just for a flash. But I had caught it. I wondered what that meant. Did he kill as a child? Ranjit had felt that an incident in Zakkal's childhood had triggered his killing streak. Had it manifested so early?

  Zakkal shrugged his shoulders. ‘Well,’ he said.

  ‘Why do you keep your victims alive for so long after capturing them?’

  ‘I want to show them what life is made of.’

  I wanted to know what he meant by that. I was just about to ask him.

  ‘Last question, Siya. I’m starting to lose interest. The earrings would be losing their smell of you as well. It makes the proposition less attractive.’

  I did not bother to negotiate. By then, I had realized Zakkal only did as he pleased. It was okay if I didn’t know what he said earlier if I had only one question left. I thought for a spell.

  ‘Who was your first kill?’ I asked.

  His eyes fluttered again. I was onto something. I knew it. Zakkal moved back in the shadows of his cell. ‘My father,’ he said. ‘He deserved to die.’

  My stomach churned. I remembered from police reports that Zakkal was eight years old when his father had died. What had driven him to kill his own father?

  Zakkal emerged from the shadows. The emotion from his face had been sucked away. ‘Now hand over the earrings to me,’ he said.

  I did not want his hands to brush mine again. I tossed them through the bars. He caught them. He opened the small zipper on the bag. His body began shaking as he held them. He raised them high in the air. He sniffed them. He turned to me, his eyes were pure lust.

  A tremor ran up my leg to my neck. Despite the two layers of bars between us, I feared for my life at that moment. Something that Ranjit had told me came back to me.

  The trophies they collected would have been constant reminders that they are powerful. It also fuels their fantasies. Seeing these objects is a trigger for them to relive the thrill they experienced while killing. It also helps them remember each victim individually. Trophies can also be helpful to them between kills, serving them a reminder that they’re powerful.