by UD Yasha
The police gave up on finding who had paid Dhar as Kabir had got multiple death threats from various people throughout his career. As a journalist, he had written scathing articles on various powerful people. He had many enemies. The police had assumed that one of them had paid Dhar to kill Kabir.
To add to the police’s stress, Kabir was the son of a government employee. At the time, his father, Motilal Ahuja was in the Indian Administrative Services, the bureaucratic wing of the Indian Government. There was a note on how well respected Motilal was and that the media was not letting the case go. The pressure on the police would have been mounting to make an arrest. They eventually had.
Given all the evidence in front of them, the joint investigation of the police forces had concluded that Dhar had killed Kabir. But they couldn’t prove that he had killed Sheena as well. He didn’t have an alibi for her murder either but nothing else tied him to Sheena’s crime scene. The guns used in both murders were different.
As easy and straightforward as the investigation seemed to be in arresting Mukund Dhar, it was that much harder to find Sheena’s murderer.
Both the Mumbai and Pune Police had spent many hours and months on it. But their efforts had not yielded results. There were no suspects, let alone arrests. The case was dead long before it was declared unsolved.
Now, eighteen years later, we had uncovered the first-ever clue in Sheena Ahuja’s murder. We knew it was connected to dad’s disappearance. It had to be. I had no other explanation for how the gun used in Sheena’s murder landed up at the place where I was asked to come by a mystery caller who promised to tell me what had happened to my father.
Chapter Twenty-Four
There was an air of excitement in the living room. The murder of Sheena Ahuja seemed far too distant but it gave us more leads. I didn’t remember seeing anything in dad’s diary or notes to indicate he knew the Ahujas. That Jane Doe had killed the Jathars and John Doe meant that all of them were connected to dad’s disappearance. If there was a silver lining to Sonia being shot, we knew we were getting closer. Someone was getting afraid that we were going to expose them. But that also meant that we needed to be careful. Because whoever was behind this had shown us that they weren’t trigger shy. Counting the Ahujas, there had been a total of six murders with an attempted seventh on Sonia.
‘Do you know how Sonia is doing?’ I said.
‘I received a text that the surgery they were conducting in the forensics department went through well. She’s far from out of the woods. However, the surgery’s success means that she can be transferred to a bigger hospital. We have got security there. Whoever wanted her dead could try to kill her again.’
I sighed in relief. I knew Rathod was feeling the burden of having asked Sonia to conduct the tests. But I was equally responsible. Six months back, I had decided not to involve Radha and Rahul in any fieldwork. I had not realized that even those people who were trained in self-defence and were a part of law enforcement had not signed up to be in danger because of me. It was a narrow line because deciding to help me or anyone else was their personal choice. But when faced with a situation when you can save someone’s life, most people I knew would choose to not follow the black and white lines of the law. It probably all came down to guilt. The thought of knowing that you could have done more. Funnily enough, I was feeling the same guilt for having put them in that spot.
‘What’s the status on reconstructing Jane Doe’s face?’ Rahul asked me.
I said, ‘I spoke to Kedar Sathe once in the evening. He said the facial bones have been chiselled a lot. He’s going to take more time to tell us how she looked earlier. He also said that the surgery was extremely advanced. Only an expert could even think about doing it. The procedures would have also cost Jane Doe a lot of money.’
‘Is there any marker that could help us identify her?’ Rathod said.
I had an idea. I said, ‘I don’t know if this is a thing. But both Kedar Sathe and Dr. Rastogi said that the plastic surgery was advanced. I’m sure like all technologies, they have gotten more advanced. Maybe we can get a timeline on when the surgery was conducted by comparing it against the technology that was prevalent then. For example, if a particular type of grafting was not available in 2005 and there’s evidence of Jane Doe having got that done, we know it was after 2005. We can corroborate that against a missing persons database with Jane Doe’s age and other characteristics.’
‘That will be helpful even after we know how she looks to track her real identity,’ Rahul said.
‘The CID’s search for Jane and John Doe has also not provided any results,’ Rathod said.
I got up and started pacing the living room floor again. While walking, I said, ‘I think we should approach John Doe’s murder as a disappearance. He looks the same he has all his life. We can start searching for men who have been missing for the last twenty-four hours. Surely, someone knows he is gone. They would have reported him missing or will do tomorrow.’
‘I’ll keep an eye out on that and check all the missing person reports that have been filed since last night,’ Rathod said. ‘Since we know this is about something far more sinister and deeper, I am also going to call off the investigation into the relatives and friends of the Jathars.’
‘Good point. Let’s go back to the drawing board,’ I said. ‘Our goal is now not just knowing what happened to my father Aniruddha Rajput. It’s about solving the mystery behind the six murders that have been committed. Finding the answers to one will tell us about the other. It all started with the murders of Kabir and Sheena Ahuja.’
‘We can talk to the guy arrested for Kabir’s murder. I think Kabir and Sheena’s murders are connected. She might not have been killed by Mukund Dhar. However, I have a feeling this guy knows more than he is telling. How often does the wife get killed within days of the husband getting murdered too? This is the first time I have come across such a scenario. Mukund surely knows something about Sheena’s murder.’
‘Here’s what I don’t get. I’m willing to accept that Mukund was a hitman. But why didn’t he just cut a deal and give out the name of the person who killed him?’
‘Maybe his family or kid or whatever was well taken care of in return for his silence,’ Rathod said. ‘We’ve seen that play out before.’
‘We’ll have to find that out,’ I said.
Silence resounded inside the living room. The ticking of the seconds’ hand echoed. I glanced at the clock. It was one o’clock at night.
‘Let’s carry on tomorrow, everyone,’ Rathod said.
I felt the exhaustion from the day seep into my bones. No one argued with Rathod. The two of us had been up since three-thirty. Rathod had worked late the previous day as well. He got up to leave.
‘Take care, everyone,’ he said and left.
I walked out to the porch to see him off.
‘Hey, thanks,’ I said to him with a smile. I hadn’t planned on saying anything at all. At that moment, I was glad to have Rathod in my life. His unflinching attitude was a big boost. He was someone I could count on no matter what.
Rathod turned around and waved at me.
‘I promise not to keep stuff from you anymore,’ I said.
‘That’s all I ask,’ he said.
I watched him get into his car and then drive away.
At that exact instant, the man in the leather jacket was watching an old man through his binoculars. The instructions given to him were simple: Finish him. I don’t care what it takes.
He wondered how the old man wasn’t asleep yet. Perhaps I have a different impression of all old men. He smiled and stepped towards the house where his target lived.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rakesh Patil was seventy-four years old and had retired from the police force fourteen years ago. He got a pension of twenty thousand rupees a month and was happy to save almost all of it. He had no fancy tastes. His house had been paid for and his wife was even more of a miser than him. In fact, she had taught
him the value of money. So, there was no chance of any leakage.
Rakesh was watching some news anchor half his age screaming on the television. He didn’t remember the anchor’s name but he loved his flamboyance.
What he was watching was actually the repeat show of the Primetime Debate. He had seen it at nine in the evening. But he still loved watching the reruns again at one o’clock at night. That day one of his favourite topics was being discussed—a debate on some India-Pakistan issue. The Armies of both countries had been firing more heavily across the border lately.
A Pakistani politician had suggested that the Pakistani Army should “nuke the shit out of India”. That statement had evoked heavy criticism from the Indian side—politicians and media houses who flamed the fires. Rakesh was enjoying watching the Indians shout loudly and the Pakistanis scream from the other end.
He knew there was actually no point to any Pakistani person coming to such a show. It was a primetime news show on one of India’s biggest TV channels. It was like the entire charade was designed just to insult the Pakistanis.
That was a part of the reason Rakesh loved it. He cursed a few times—both out loud and in his mind. When he said something too dramatic, too loudly, his wife would get up and yell at him from their bedroom, which Rakesh loved even more. It felt almost as good as the Indian panellist calling the Pakistani panellist a mindless goon.
Rakesh was enjoying the program so thoroughly that he didn’t notice that the door of his apartment had been opened by a man using a lock pick. Only when he was in the living room did he see the man.
He knew it was trouble right away.
The gun in the man’s hand was a dead giveaway. He had not bothered to cover his face, so Rakesh knew he was counting down his last seconds. He said a prayer and then kissed the emblem of ‘Om’ on his ring, seeking pardon for all the sins he had committed.
‘Where is it?’ the man said.
Rakesh knew this day would come. He shook his head.
‘Do you want to see your wife die?’ the man said coldly.
Rakesh said nothing.
‘I’m asking you for the last time.’
Rakesh’s wife woke up from the noise. ‘Who are you talking to?’
The man put a finger on his mouth and stepped closer to Rakesh.
‘Nothing, it’s just me,’ Rakesh said.
‘I’m asking nicely for the last time,’ the man said looking right into Rakesh’s eyes. He whispered, ‘Where is it?’
Rakesh’s eyes broke the gaze and looked beyond the man.
That was enough of an indicator for the man to know where Rakesh had hidden what he sought. He moved backward and recognized the item he was after. He had been permitted to kill Rakesh even if he didn’t find it.
‘Please let me live,’ Rakesh said, trembling.
But the golden rule of all assassins was to never fulfill the last wish of their target if it was letting them live.
Using the silenced gun, the man shot Rakesh twice in the head. He moved to his bedroom and wondered if he should let his wife live. But he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. Better to be safe than sorry.
He shot his wife twice as well. She didn’t make a sound, and passed away silently in her sleep, the best way the man could have hoped for.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I got up at eight o’clock the next morning. First up, I wanted to know about Dr. Sonia’s health. I texted Rathod, asking him if he had an update.
Getting a full night’s sleep seemed to do wonders to how fresh I was feeling. As I heated some water to make coffee, I was thinking about what I needed to do that day. The much-needed rest had already given me new perspectives to consider.
The first point on my agenda was to know more about the murders of both the Ahujas. I agreed with Rathod. The two murders were most likely connected. Given that Sheena’s killer was still not caught, it made all the more sense. Even though Kabir Ahuja’s killer was caught, the police had not been able to find who had paid the contract killer. Sheena could also have been killed by another contract killer paid by the same person who got Kabir killed.
From what we knew then, the murders were the starting point. I made a mental note to start looking at who would benefit from the deaths of Kabir and Sheena. The motive, which the police had not known, was the key to uncovering the real killer.
I began wondering why someone’s spouse would be killed almost right after the death of the partner in a marriage. Kabir was in Pune when he was killed. It could very well be a matter of urgency and convenience. Both of them had to be killed because of a reason we didn’t know yet. But as the matter was urgent, Kabir was killed. Then, Sheena was taken out the next chance they got.
Sheena’s absence on the day she was killed also made me think about what she was running from. Or if she was hiding something. The Ahujas were well off financially. So, the fact that Sheena checked in into a cheap hotel to stay under the radar made me curious. She clearly didn’t want to be found. But why?
All the questions were coming down to the motive of the killer.
I called Rathod, thinking he would be up as well. He answered just before the call rang out.
‘How’s Sonia doing now?’ I said.
‘The second surgery last night went well. She’s still not out of danger. The doctors have put her on a ventilator as a precaution. The bullets didn’t hit any vital organs like her heart or lungs. So, while there is internal damage, the doctors think there’s a chance for full recovery. She’s hanging in for now, and the next twenty-four hours will be crucial.’
‘That was the first thought I had when I woke up,’ I said. ‘How’s the situation at work?’
‘Before coming to your house yesterday, I had spoken to the ACP about the anonymous tip we had made to Sonia. He is trying to figure out who sent it. But he took it at face value and was not suspicious about anything. Later, once I got back, I spoke to him again. Like us, he had gone through the case file of the Ahuja murders. ACP Shukla told me that he remembered the case as he was a junior officer then. In his words, even then it was bizarre but as we guessed, the media and political pressure was immense. That’s why this time, he doesn’t want the media to be told anything right now,’ Rathod paused. I heard car horns across the line. Once they waned down, Rathod said, ‘Shukla has passed strict gag orders on everyone at the CID. He doesn’t even want to involve the Mumbai Police at this moment. He told me that for all practical purposes, the CID will treat the fresh investigation into Sheena and Kabir Ahuja’s murder as the same case. However, officially, Sheena’s case will be independent. It will give the Pune CID complete jurisdiction over it.’
‘That makes sense,’ I said.
‘I am on my way to the CID office,’ Rathod said. ‘I’m trying to see if the ACP will allow me to go to Mumbai to meet the parents of Kabir Ahuja.’
‘I called to ask you that itself.’
‘We’re massively understaffed as most of our officers are temporarily suspended pending the investigation into Sonia’s shooting. There’s a chance that the ACP would let me go alone to Mumbai to meet the senior Ahujas.’
I sensed a hesitation in Rathod’s tone.
‘The only problem is that now, Kabir’s father, Motilal Ahuja is the Deputy Defense Secretary of India. We’ll have to check his schedule and make an appointment. He’s a busy man and may not have time at such a short notice. I know he moved to Delhi a few years back, so we might have to fly down to the capital.’
‘I think if the meeting is about seeking justice for his son and daughter, then he will find the time even if he doesn’t have it,’ I said.
‘I didn’t think about it that way.’
‘I was wondering if I could come. It’ll be difficult if you need to make an appointment beforehand. I wouldn’t have the right security clearance to meet him,’ I said, picturing the security and protocols that would be in place. ‘I can always say I was hired as a private detective by the Jathars. They were kill
ed by Jane Doe, who was possibly the person of interest for the mystery shooter who also killed Ahuja’s daughter-in-law. His enemy will also be my enemy, which makes me and Motilal Ahuja friends. Classic Chanakya 101.’
Rathod laughed at my mention of India’s most ancient and well-known political strategist from around 300 BC. ‘We’ll see what we can do,’ Rathod said.
Silence.
‘I’m thinking if we should tell ACP Shukla about your father’s angle in this case,’ Rathod said.
‘He would not take that well. Apart from Shukla not liking me or my father, we’ll have to tell him how we know about it and then tell him everything from the start.’
‘Yeah, the latter was my concern as well. I’ve an idea. Let me think about it. I’ll call you in some time,’ Rathod said and clicked off.
My coffee was ready and had already cooled down so I reheated it.
The second point on my agenda was speaking to Kedar Sathe. I texted him, asking him if there was any progress on reconstructing Jane Doe’s face. I gave him a brief update on what we knew about her. I also told him what I thought about trying to get a timeline on when she had got the surgery done as that could help us uncover her real identity even if we didn’t know how she looked exactly.
The third point on my agenda was to meet Kabir Ahuja’s killer in jail. Even if the cops had failed to know who had paid him all those years back, there was a slight chance that the number of years he had spent in jail had softened him. If he had been promised care, safety and support of his family back then, it would have been easier to accept it in the moment. But I knew first hand that it got more difficult to keep staying away from your loved ones after getting maa back sixteen years post her kidnapping. I also believed I could cut him a deal and offer him and his family a more enhanced protection. Given the gravity of the situation and the accolades that would follow solving a high-profile unsolved murder, I was sure ACP Shukla would be more than happy to pull in a lot of favours to make it happen.
