by Jisha Rajesh
Ayana found it strange as Shanaya never discussed her work with her husband. But on second thoughts she concluded that Kumar knew that Shanaya trusted only Ayana with her work and hence her manuscripts were always sent to Ayana for editing.
“When I started reading the story,” Ayana kept her eyes low, “I found a striking resemblance between the characters and incidences in the story with her real life. And I believe that the story, which was based on her real life, could lead us to her murderer.”
Ayana halted to check whether he was shocked or surprise or projected any kind of emotion. But she was as dejected as she was perplexed to find that he was sitting unmoved, pivoted to his laptop.
“But sir,” Ayana gulped down heavily as she prepared to give him the shock of his life, “unfortunately, I lost the manuscript. I am extremely sorry, sir.”
Ayana sobbed with her palms pressed to her face. Kumar’s granite of a heart finally melted at the sight of a pitiably weeping Ayana. He took his hands off the laptop and turned to console the guilt-laden soul who was raining her remorse in the form of tears.
“You have no need to apologize, Ayana,” Kumar said calmly as he held out the glass of water for her, “as it was not your fault.”
Ayana was shocked by his reaction and promptly raised her head to scrutinize him for any signs of grudge he might be having against her.
‘How can a man be so serene and forgiving?’ Ayana said as she took the glass from him and had a sip.
“Aren’t you angry with me, sir?” Ayana asked as she recovered.
“Not at all,” he smiled, “in fact I have a little reward for you in return of whatever you have done for my wife.”
He pulled out a cheque-book and picked up a pen with his left hand. He hurriedly scribbled on it and held it out to her
“No, sir,” Ayana shook her head, “Ma’am has already paid me in full.”
“Fine,” he shrugged, “this is a small donation for your agency on her behalf.”
“But sir…” Ayana’s voice betrayed her, “…how …err…could I?”
“Take it Ayana,” Kumar got up from his chair and walked towards Ayana
“What happened sir?” Ayana asked as she saw him walking with a slight limp.
“Oh! Just an accident.” Annoyance painted Kumar’s face.
He smiled at Ayana and placed the cheque in her hands.
“You have been depressed after Shanaya passed away, “Kumar said as he seated himself back on his chair, “I will do you only harm, Ayana. I think it’s high time for you to get over the loss. You have a long life ahead of you. Let me suggest something exciting.”
He bent a little and pulled at one of the drawers of his desk.
“I have an invite for a fashion show,” he held out the flap of paper to her, “and as you know I am not at interested in such things. But fashion is a subject that appeals to you ladies the most. Why don’t you go and watch the show on my pass.”
“I would love to go sir,” Ayana bowed her head and flashed a coy smile, “but I am going for a movie with Varun. You must have met him, the ACP who is investigating Shanaya Ma’am’s case.”
“Oh I see!” he said rather to himself as his eyes flashed an eerie twinkle. “The guy has bounced back so quickly.”
“Pardon me sir?” Ayana stared at him quizzically as she tried to make meaning out of his words.
“Ah nothing,” he said with a wave of his hand. “So you must be in a hurry, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir,” Ayana said as she jumped to her feet, “I should take your leave.”
* *
Ayana marched to and fro in her bedroom anxiously. She was struggling within the grip of a suffocating feeling since her return form Kumar’s office. He pardoned her wholeheartedly for mishandling his late wife’s masterpiece. She should feel happy and relieved but she was not. On the contrary, she felt something dark and sinister weaving its web around her. Her gut instinct told her that there was something fishy in the whole affair, but she couldn’t lay her finger on exactly what it was. Her eyes fell on her mobile phone lying on her bed. Varun was not home yet and he was not allowed to take any calls while attending the confidential meeting. She craved to talk to somebody about the suspicions she had in her mind. And if she were not able to do so, it was going to be impossible for her to retain her sanity for long.
She went to the kitchen hoping that a cup of coffee may help her relax. But the piercing pain in her head and the colossal pressure that was building upon her chest with each passing minute threatened to explode and crumble her body to pieces. She looked at the clock and prayed for Varun to return before the swamp of villainy sucked her life up. She sat down on the couch sipping her coffee. But each sip of coffee took her deeper and deeper down the mysterious dungeon that led to the culprit.
“But Mr Kumar…?” Ayana grimaced, “no…no!”
She shivered as she thought of the cold look in his deep grey eyes. They were impassionate, inhumane and as cold as death. They filled with fury when she tried to sneak a peep into that which lay hidden in their obscure depths. She shuddered as she remembered the way they turned into bright red ambers with vengeance. She gasped out of shock as her mind finally went back to the heinous twinkle in them. She had never seen so many shades in his eyes ever before. Instead, she had always seen them glinting with love and a peculiar riveting charm. She wondered whether he was the same man she had known as the husband of her Shanaya Ma’am or was he someone else.
Chapter – 7- Pieces Of The Puzzle
“Hey, what’s it baby?” Varun was baffled to see her pallid face and petrified eyes. “was someone bothering you again?”
“I am battling with an enigma, Varun,” she said in a teary voice as she made way for him to get in and closed the door behind him, “I don’t know what to believe and what not to.”
“Well, then you don’t have to worry,” he said as he put an arm around her as they sat down on the sofa. “Now I am here and you can benefit from my immense wisdom.”
He looked smilingly at her but her stony eyes remained fixed on the wall opposite them as her mind was trapped within some obscure diabolic world.
“Tell me, what’s gnawing on your mind?” he asked as he realized that his jokes were not going to help.
“I went to Mr Kumar’s office today,” her horrid eyes turned to him, “I encountered some things that were really bizarre while I was there.”
“Like what?”
“I told him about the manuscript and it’s resemblance with Shanaya Ma’am’s real life. But he didn’t even raise an eyebrow, as if….” Ayana gasped and turned her eyes back to the wall.
“As if what?” Varun tried to read her face that was as white as a sheet of paper.
“As if, he was already aware of the manuscript and its contents!”
“MaybeMrs Kumar had told him about the story while she was writing it.” Varun shrugged nonchalantly.
“No Varun,” Ayana waved her hands frantically, “she never discusses her stories with anybody until they are complete.”
“Then how?”
Ayana shrugged as she glanced at him for a second and turned her eyes back to the wall.
“And when I apologized for losing the manuscript, you know what he said?” Ayana’s contorted face turned back to him, “That it was not my fault. How does he know that the manuscript was stolen by a forced intrusion into my house where I had kept it securely locked?”
“What!” Varun was taken aback as he bounced forwards on the sofa owing to the impact of shock, “No baby, maybe he was only trying to console you.”
“No Varun,” Ayana rocked herself to and fro on the sofa, “he even knew that you were attacked yesterday night.”
“No way!” Varun got the shock of his life. “What did he say?”
“He asked about my plans for the evening and I told him that I was going out with you. I clearly heard him say, ‘the guy has bounced back so quickly!’”
“Well,
I was not able to see the face of the intruder as it was behind a mask.” Varun scratched his head as flashes from the perilous night danced in front of his eyes. “I think he was wearing the mask of a lion.”
“Yes!” Excitement colored Ayana’s face with a pinkish hue. “The man who attacked me the night before was also wearing a similar mask.”
“His stature was almost similar to Mr Kumar’s,” Varun frowned and slid back on the sofa as his mind wandered back to last night, “He was left handed as he attacked me with a rod with his left hand.”
“Yes, Varun,” Ayana folded her legs and crawled back close to him on the sofa, “Mr Kumar is also left handed. I saw him signing a cheque that he offered me with his left hand.”
“And one more thing!” Varun looked straight into Ayana’s eyes as his eyes shone with excitement, “while analyzing his footprints, I found that the impression of his right footprint was clearer than the left one which means he used to balance his weight on his right foot as if limping.”
“He was also limping today, Varun.” Ayana was as calm as a placid ocean, “and he got furious when I asked him about it.”
“You mean he was after the manuscript that could probably incriminate him?” Varun sank deeper into the sofa as the truth dawned upon him, “He is the murderer of Shanaya Kumar!”
“Take him into custody Varun,” Ayana, who was almost on the verge of breaking down, took his hands into her own and shook him, “before he gets away.”
“No I can’t,” Varun turned his face away from her tear-stained one.
“Why?” she hissed back.
“He is a powerful man,” a frown of annoyance stared back at her from his face, “rich and politically well connected. I won’t be able to touch even a hair of his without some solid evidence.”
“We have all this evidence against him.”
“No Ayana,” Varun’s face was flushed due to anger, “they are only probabilities. If I drag him into custody based on such petty assumptions he will make sure that I am fired from my job right away.”
“Then what will we do Varun?” Ayana sobbed, “the culprit is right in front of our eyes and we can’t do anything except watching him escape unhurt with our hands tied.”
“First of all, we have to prove that he was the man who attacked us to steal the manuscript that may have led us to the criminal. His arrest will then pave way for solving the mystery,” Varun said as rubbed her back to calm her down, “there could be many men who have statures similar to him and who limp but there is one thing that can easily prove that he is the culprit.”
“What?” Ayana’s sobbing instantly came to a halt.
“As you know that during our struggle last night, I had hit him with the rod of that statue, which bears a star at the end,” he pointed towards the statue of the angel in the corner of the parlor. “The hot flaming star had burnt his skin and left a mark over it. If we could somehow expose the mark on his body, we can easily prove that he is the culprit.”
“But how?”
“I have a plan,” Varun clasped his hands together, “but to work it out I need to meet him in private. Do you have any idea about a place suitable for such a meeting?”
“He visits his friend’s beach house during the last weekend of every month.” Ayana turned her curious eyes to him. “Does that suit your plan?”
“Perfect!” Varun tapped on the table as his eyes danced merrily.
* *
The numerous waves of the ocean were trying their luck to touch the orange globe of fire hovering over them from the vast stretch of the sky above. But there was still time for the evening Sun to rest in their embrace. A love-sick young couple was playing in the waters, absolutely lost in each other. Their laughter echoed in the silence of the beach which was interrupted by the roaring noise of the frothy waves. Kumar was stretched upon a beach chair clad in a T-shirt and shorts. He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. The beach was the best place where he could meditate and flush out the tension and stress building upon his mind. He was eagerly waiting for the month-end to arrive so that he could set out on his usual visit to his friend’s beach house.
‘I don’t think it will remain concealed,’ Kumar thought as he exhaled and opened his eyes to the endless stretch of sea in front of him, ‘within the grave for long.’
His face was crossed over by as many wrinkles of concern as there were waves in the ocean as he brooded over the problem that was nagging him for quite some time. He had been spending sleepless nights since the abominable truth had stared at him right in the eye. He had tried his best to wash it off but the ghosts that escaped from their casket were still chasing him day and night. He let out a sigh and sat upon the chair. He opened the bottle of champagne placed on the sand below his chair and poured its bubbling contents into a glass. A sip from it and the caressing wind blowing through the beach acted as a tranquilizer to calm the tsunami of anxieties swelling within him. As a wave of serenity took over him, he slid back on the chair and closed his eyes again.
“Good evening, Mr Kumar.”
Kumar was jolted out of his placid sleep by a voice that appeared to come from right behind him. He opened his eyes with a start and immediately turned his head backwards.
“ACP Patel!” Blood drained down and made his face horridly pale for a moment but then he regained his composure instantly and held his hand out to him.
Varun flashed a knowing smile as he held Kumar’s outstretched, icy cold hand in his and watched it tremble as he shook it.
“Have a seat, Officer,” he said as he pointed towards the adjacent beach chair with shaking fingers and then pressed them tightly on the bottle of champagne, “Would you like to have a drink?”
“No thanks, Mr Kumar,” Varun said as he looked straight into Kumar’s eyes.
Kumar stole his eyes away on the pretence of putting the bottle down on the sand.
“So what brings you here, Officer?” Kumar turned his gaze back to the ocean carefully avoiding the scrutiny of Varun’s eyes
“The waters and the sand, I guess.”
Varun flashed a disarming smile and Kumar raised his glass to him. The sound of laughter coming from the young couple who were playing in the water echoed in the air that surrounded them. The gorgeous girl, clad in a blue bikini, screamed as her boyfriend lifted her up and threw her in the water. She burst out laughing as she saw him rolling on his stomach over the sand as he watched her get drenched. The beach was deserted except for them and the two men seated by the side of the ocean.
“Well,” Kumar said heaving a sigh, “I thought it was an official visit. And you have hunted me down for an interrogation.”
“I am a man too, Mr Kumar,” Varun said as he straightened the curve on his lips and turned to face the sea, “and like every other men I too crave for a break from work.”
“But why did you choose such a desolate place when there are lots of other exciting picnic spots?” Kumar shifted uneasily on his chair as a quizzical frown appeared on his face.
“Because I am in love with solitude,” Varun smiled impishly at the ocean,
“You have an intriguing personality, Officer,” Kumar finally dared to face Varun and even look into his eyes.
“It is the demand of my job.” Varun kept his eyes fixed to the ocean. “I am not allowed to reveal everything to everybody.”
“You reveal nothing to anybody, Officer.” Kumar’s avid eyes tried to study Varun. “your face is a mask and so are your eyes.”
“Help! Help!”
All of a sudden their attention was drawn towards the couple because of the petrified screams of the girl. The man was struggling with enormous waves of the sea to get back ashore and in the bargain gulping down a large amount of sea water that was almost choking him. It was sure that he was on the verge of losing his battle anytime if not helped immediately.
“Oh good God,” Varun sprang up from his chair and looked around, “the guy is drowning and there are no costal guards around
who can help him. What shall we do now, Mr Kumar? I don’t know swimming otherwise I would have saved him. Can you do anything to save that poor guy’s life?”
“Sure, Officer.” The urgency of the situation made him forget everything else and he jumped forward to help the drowning man.
Kumar pulled off his T- shirt and threw it down on the sand. He ran towards the sea like a flash of lightning in spite of the limp. But as he was about to jump into the sea, he was taken aback instantly by the sight his eyes perceived. The drowning man walked calmly out of the waters with a determined stride towards him. His baffled eyes turned towards Varun who was standing behind him with a gun in his hands.
“They are my undercover officers, Mr Kumar,” Varun said as he pointed the gun towards him. “You are under arrest.”
“What!” Kumar gasped. “But why?”
“You don’t need any explanations, Mr Kumar,” Varun said glaring at the star-shaped scar burnt into his skin as he handcuffed him, “you already know why.”
Kumar’s bewildered eyes kept staring Varun for a few more seconds and then he glued them down on the sand in a gesture of surrender. He picked up his T- shirt and walked away silently with Varun and his team.
* *
Varun closed his eyes as the soft music playing in the background got him drunk with ecstasy. He was dressed in a black suit wearing a bow tie and was looking strikingly handsome in the faint glow of the candles lit in the middle of the rounded table. He was waiting on one of the candlelit tables of the Blue Moon Restaurant for Ayana to arrive. The restaurant was lit with dim lights and an orchestra was playing enchanting melodies on the stage,creating a perfect ambience for a romantic candle light dinner date. All other tables of the restaurant were full of beautiful young couples who were busy smiling and chatting with each other, absolutely unaware of the world around them. He opened his eyes and glanced at his watch. He sighed and slid back on his chair with a smile. Though he’d been waiting for more than half-an-hour expecting her arrival, he was neither disgusted nor furious. He was enjoying each and every moment dreaming of a future with her.
