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

by UD Yasha

  No one has reported Natasha or Sumeira missing. We are working on the laptop. We are also tracking her finances.

  I first needed to confirm if Natasha Gill was the trigger that changed Manohar’s routine for some reason. He could have met someone else during the admission process that instigated the change. There was also a chance that this change in his routine had nothing to do with anyone he had met during admissions. I had gone to Natasha’s house on a hunch. Both of them were missing. But had they taken an innocent trip somewhere or were they actually missing?

  I saw Radha come towards us with a parcel in her hand. ‘This arrived when you were gone. Maa accepted the package and she just told me about it.’

  ‘Thanks, Radha,’ I said. ‘Can you try and find if Sumeira Gill and Malini Sinha knew each other? Check their histories, past finances, whatever. Let me know if you need access for anything. I’ll ask Rathod, or I can summon the records.’

  I opened the package that Radha had given me. They were records of Malini Sinha's patient records from Healing Grace. The package also had Malini's home clinic records, a working copy of Manohar's cell phone and samples of other physical evidence that had been collected from Manohar. As a part of the defence counsel, I had the right to access all evidence being used against my client. The logic behind this was to make a case tamper-proof so that I could review the evidence independently.

  ‘Is Rahul home?’ I asked Radha.

  ‘Yes, he’s working upstairs.’

  ‘Please tell him that the samples taken off Manohar are here. He can take them back to his office when he goes today,’ I said and handed a box to her.

  Radha walked away with the phone. I also sent a copy of the data from the mobile phone to a data retrieval specialist named Salim Khan. I knew him through my mentor Santosh Hegde. Salim was one of the most hospitable people I knew which was strange because he almost never spoke and kept to himself. He lived in Mumbai. He knew the best eateries in the city. But the most delicious food I had was always at his house. He knew that and always sent his homemade mutton biryani for me on Eid. Because of that, we spoke at least a couple of times a year.

  Salim also had a soft spot for children. So, when I told him the data from the mobile phone could be useful to locate a missing girl, or potentially two, he told me he’ll work on it on as a priority and send me the details by evening.

  Rahul came down ten minutes later. ‘I’ve wound up my work for the day. I’m here for you now,’ he said.

  ‘Great, we need more eyes. We have to go through a lot of data,’ I said pointing to the patient records that we had just gotten. ‘Let’s do this well, guys. Remember, we’re trying to find something that connects Malini or Sumeira to Manohar.’

  We started reviewing all the documents we had with us. I had asked for Malini’s patient records of the past two years. Luckily, Malini consulted only at Healing Grace Hospital, making the task of going through the records tedious but manageable. I reckoned it was going to take us at least two to three hours to go through it all. I also hoped that by then, CID’s Medical Examiner Dr. Sonia Joshi would have finished conducting the autopsies and going through the rest of the forensic evidence.

  By the time Radha arrived with four cups of tea at four thirty in the afternoon, none of us had found anything of significance.

  ‘Break time,’ Radha said, serving us the tea.

  I stretched in my chair. I was really glad to have some good adrakwali chai. Atharva went to the wash basin and splashed some water on his face. He came back and told us that he needed to go and check on Malini. He left after finishing his tea.

  Just then, Rahul’s phone chimed. He read the text message and said, ‘A free slot has opened up at the lab at work. I’ll head there with the evidence to check it out in an hour.’

  I wondered what Rathod and the CID had found. I pulled out my phone just as it started ringing.

  ‘I was about to call you,’ I said.

  Rathod said, ‘Dr. Sonia has finished writing her report.’

  ‘What did she find?’

  ‘The same gun that Manohar was holding was used to kill the four members of the Sinha family. There was gunshot residue on his hands and clothes. It’s looking bad, Siya. The ACP is moving fast. He wants to speak to Manohar and see if he wants to cut a deal by telling us where the girl is.’

  ‘That means I need to be present there when it happens.’

  ‘That’s why I called you.’’

  ‘I’m on my way,’ I said, getting up.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  There were four news vans outside the CID building. Journalists had set up their cameras, ready to film anything they could. Three news reporters whom I did not recognize ran in front of my car as I slowed it down to enter the CID building. The guard at the gate was slow to open it, leaving me stranded with the reporters.

  They knocked on my window. ‘Can we just get one statement from the defence lawyer?’ a male reporter said, shoving his face on my window, his breath condensing on it.

  I wondered why the guard was taking so long. I knew delaying the opening of the gate could be a tactic used by the CID to wear down a defence lawyer. I looked out the window again and several flashes went off. I was sure one of these photos accompanied by a horrific caption would find its way on a news website.

  The guard eventually opened the gate and it took me five minutes to get inside amid all the chaos. At fifteen minutes past five, I was bolting up the CID stairs. I headed straight for the detention room where Manohar was being held.

  A female guard patted me down and let me in.

  Manohar was once again looking out of the window.

  ‘I suppose they're going to take me to jail,' he said.

  ‘Yes, the evidence has added up.’

  Manohar turned around and took a seat opposite me. ‘Do you believe them?’

  ‘I think you’re hiding something.’

  ‘You didn’t answer my question.’

  ‘As I told you earlier, it doesn’t matter. The ACP is going to offer you a plea bargain. They will give you a reduced sentence if you admit to committing the four murders and the taking of Rucha Sinha and then tell them where she is now.’

  ‘I told you I don’t know anything about it,’ Manohar said in a deadpan voice.

  ‘You wanted to know if I think you killed them and took the girl, right? I don't think you did. I think what you told me, about reaching the crime scene only after they were dead, is the truth. But at the same time, I refuse to believe you were there to meet Daksh Sinha. I also refuse to believe you don't know anything about the murders. I also don't believe it when you say you have no idea about what happened to Rucha Sinha. On those counts, you are lying. Even if you haven't committed the murders, by not telling us where Rucha is, you're putting her in danger.'

  Manohar stayed silent.

  ‘I can’t help you beyond a certain point. You’ve got to give me something.’

  ‘Why did you take my case?’

  That was the third time Manohar had asked me this question. I had deflected and lied to him about it so far. Why was he so interested to know why I had taken up his case? It was an odd question. No client had asked me that before.

  ‘Why do you keep asking me that?’ I said.

  ‘I have my reasons.’

  I inhaled deeply and leaned forward, keeping my arms on the table. I was not sure how to answer the question. I decided to go with the truth.

  ‘I had no interest in taking you up as a client. Believe me when I say that. I quit practising law three years back. Even back then I only defended innocent people. But I made a mistake that put a young girl's life in danger. I was shattered and left the profession. Then, yesterday evening, my first ever boyfriend—Atharva Mehta—called me up and told me that his niece was missing. If you haven't connected the dots, he was talking about Rucha. He was desperate to find her. He got a sense from the police that they were not treating her kidnapping as a priority. So, he asked m
e to step in as your lawyer and find out. As you were caught red handed, we believed you knew something about her.'

  ‘So, you lied to me initially?’

  ‘I am sure you can see why. I haven’t yet found the evidence to prove your innocence. I need more time. But Rucha doesn’t have much time. The odds of her getting killed go up with every passing hour that we don’t find her.’

  Manohar got up and walked to the window again. He put his hands in his pocket. He appeared to be thinking. Had I done the right thing by telling him? He returned to his seat.

  ‘Let me think about it,’ Manohar said. ‘Can I ask the authorities here to call you if I want to see you?’

  ‘Why can’t you tell me whatever you know right now?’

  ‘I would have if I knew you were the right person.’

  ‘You can trust me.’

  ‘I should be the one determining that.’

  Silence.

  I said, ‘Why did you select Natasha Gill for the final round despite her low score?’

  Manohar raised his eyebrows. ‘You’re better than I thought.’

  ‘Maybe now you can trust me.’

  ‘She has a great story. It pays to have people from different backgrounds learning under the same roof.

  I interrupted him. ‘Cut the fluff. She’s missing, along with her mother.’

  ‘This seems like a dangerous season.’

  ‘What do you know about them?’

  ‘Only that they applied to Ad Astra.’

  ‘Is this one of the things that you claim you don't know but then will first determine my integrity and then tell me?'

  Silence.

  ‘Who are you afraid of?’

  Silence.

  ‘Did the same people take Rucha?’

  Silence.

  ‘Did they also take Natasha and Sumeira?’

  Manohar turned his gaze to me. His eyes were narrow and determined.

  ‘Sumeira Gill,’ Manohar said.

  ‘What about her?’

  ‘I want to see if I can trust you. Find out what happened to her husband.’

  ‘He died of a heart attack.’

  ‘I thought you were better than that,’ Manohar said and licked his lower lip again.

  ‘What do you mean?’ I said.

  Manohar got up and went to the window again.

  ‘Reach out to me when you find out what happened to her husband. I’ll tell you everything I know once you tell me.’

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  For the next fifteen minutes, the ACP and Rathod read out the charges filed against Manohar. They offered him a plea bargain. Manohar rejected it outright. The ACP offered an even more lucrative deal. I was surprised that a judge had agreed to it. But I was glad as it was the right thing to do if it could have saved an innocent life. Even the second offer was rejected by Manohar. The court was going to need some time to issue the warrant for his arrest. The security guards at CID were thankful as taking Manohar out through the media circus was going to be a pain.

  After we walked out of the detention room, I gestured to Rathod to meet me in the parking lot. By the time he came down, I was standing by his car in the blind spot.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ he said, opening the car.

  I got in and said, ‘Sumeira Gill was married to a man named Sachin. He died of a heart attack when Natasha was a few months old. Manohar asked me to find out how he died.’

  ‘Didn’t you just say it was a heart attack?’

  ‘Manohar thinks otherwise. I also now know he is afraid of divulging information. That’s why he has not been saying anything. Finding out about Sachin’s death is a test.’

  ‘I’m sorry to ask you this, but are you sure he’s not taking you for a ride?’

  ‘I was sure until you asked me. But I think I am. It's worth taking the shot anyway.'

  ‘I’ll run him through the system and see if anything comes up.’

  ‘About that. I don’t know what or who Manohar is afraid of. It could be someone higher up in the chain. That’s why he’s probably scared. We should tread on caution. We’ll keep this off the system. Don’t use your official email account or number to communicate with me. And be careful who you share this with.’

  ‘What about Mahesh Bhalerao?’

  ‘Will he take a bullet for you?’

  Rathod hesitated. ‘Probably.’

  ‘I’m not even saying metaphorically. Because in this case, he actually might have to put his own life in danger. Or report someone who’s so big or has connections so deep, that his career will be in jeopardy if he acts against them.’

  ‘It’s you and me then.’

  ‘I’ve got Rahul, Radha and Atharva with me. My mentor Santosh Hegde trusted a few professionals. I trust them as well by proxy. One of them is trying to retrieve data from Manohar’s phone.’

  ‘We’ll investigate this the old-fashioned way then.’

  ‘Yeah, I was planning to head to where the Gills used to stay earlier and ask around about them. Or maybe I'll call up their old neighbours. But that will just give me a feel for what kind of a family they were. I will still need solid proof. For that, I need access to Sachin Gill’s medical records.’

  ‘I can get you that.’

  ‘Keep it out of the system.’

  ‘I am assigned to this case so I’ll be flagged. I’ll get the warrant issued in someone else’s name who isn’t on this case.’

  ‘Wouldn’t that be illegal?’

  ‘Like sharing this information with me isn't. Or all the other times we've discussed cases—'

  ‘I get your point. But keep it as low key as possible.'

  ‘I’ll get it to you in two hours.’

  ‘That must be one hell of a favour you owed.’

  ‘You better not know about it,’ Rathod said with a grin. ‘I’ll call you.’

  I headed home with renewed vigour despite not being able to get through to Manohar. It took me ten minutes to get out of CID building because of the press presence. They sensed something big was coming down. More media vans had arrived since the last time I was here. It was six thirty and the sun’s intensity had gone down, providing a much needed relief to everyone.

  I called Radha and asked her to find out about Sumeira Gill's old house and get the names and contact details of her old neighbours. Their old address was also on Ad Astra's file. I reckoned Sumeira had mentioned it there to tell the school about her struggles.

  As I drove home, my eyes toggled between the road ahead and the rear-view mirror. A media van had been following me from CID office. It stopped right behind me at a traffic signal. It was close enough for me to read the name of the news channel. News India 24x7, a very creative name, I thought. It was a regional news channel. I noted its licence plate and then drove in a way that Santosh Hegde had taught me to lose a tail. I pulled over and then drove through various by-lanes instead of taking the usual route home. Within ten minutes, I was sure I had lost my tail.

  I reached home at almost six thirty. Everyone had settled indoors in my room where the air conditioner was blasting air on full blast. Rahul was still away but Atharva was back. I washed my face, drank a cup of coffee that Radha had kept ready for me.

  I joined everyone and told them about our new agenda. Everyone's focus shifted to finding out what happened to Sachin Gill.

  ‘I haven’t found a connection to Sachin in Malini’s medical records,’ Atharva said.

  I sipped the warm coffee, which was pure bliss in the cold room, especially after the kind of day I had. It felt so good that I did not feel the disappointment when Atharva told me he had not found anything. It was also partly because I was expecting it, more so after speaking to Manohar an hour back. This was about something completely different.

  Radha returned to the room in ten minutes with the contact details of three of Sumeira Gill’s old neighbours. The first person on the list was Sharman Jain. I dialled his number and he answered just before the call rang out.

/>   I introduced myself and said, ‘This is regarding your old neighbours Sachin and Sumeira Gill. Their daughter Natasha is missing. I would like to ask you some questions that may help us find her.’

  Sharman gasped, I could make out he was taken aback. Most people’s only understanding of crime, detectives and lawyers is based on TV shows, books or movies. They never really expect to get the call themselves in which they are asked for information or help by the police or a detective.

  ‘Please ask me. I’ll be happy to help you.’

  ‘What did you make of the Gills as a couple?’

  ‘They were…I don't know what to say. They fought a lot. We suspected Sachin was a drunkard. Someone might have complained once because the cops had come.'

  I was not expecting to hear that. ‘How was Sachin as a person?’

  ‘I didn’t interact with him much. We’re both introverts. But what happened to him was tragic.’

  ‘Do you remember seeing them together?'

  ‘I don’t. It was a long time back. It must be about seven or eight years back, right? Things like neighbours fighting a lot…that’s what you remember. Not the good stuff.’

  I thanked him and moved to the next person. Praful Das. I got a similar reaction when I introduced myself. From his voice, I reckoned Mr. Das was on the older side.

  ‘What did you make of the Gills as a couple?’ I said.

  ‘Not much. I’m eighty-seven years old. Things don’t stick in my mind these days. Just yesterday my wife made fun of me while I was looking for my dentures. I searched for them for one whole hour. And then my wife taps my shoulder and tells me that I had them on the whole time! She had known all along.’

  I couldn't help but grin on hearing that. ‘You wife must be a remarkable woman, Mr. Das.'

  ‘She is indeed. We’ve been married for sixty-six years now!’

  ‘You must have a treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to relationships then.’

  ‘I don’t like to flaunt. But my wife says I am a good lover.’