X: The Hunt Begins

by Unknown

  “Amma, they are not plumbers.” A young man with a bandaged hand had broken away from the crowd around Shahid. He walked quickly over to the old woman, laying an arm on her shoulder.

  “Eh?” The woman glared at Aditya beadily.

  “They're policemen, amma.” The man said soothingly, trying to lead her back to the house. “They're here asking about Dolly.”

  “Aye, she was a brazen girl.” The old woman said solemnly. “It's this fancy city air they inhale. It turns there heads right around! A city is no place to raise a girl. In my time, if I had behaved that way in my village, I would have been beaten black and blue with a cane and locked away in a room without food or water for a week. That's the only thing that does the trick with youngsters.”

  “I'm sure it worked wonders.” Aditya said politely. The man led the old woman away as she continued to mumble.

  Suddenly Aditya's phone rang. He saw it was Virat, and moved to a quiet corner next to a telephone pole to take the call.

  “Where are you?” Virat's voice appeared over the phone. “Are you done talking to Shahid?”

  “Yeah, I've found out what I could.” Aditya said. “I'm in a town called Gunny.”

  “I know the place. I'm nearby, actually. Wait for me, I'll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Right.” Aditya disconnected the call, and noticed the young man with the bandaged hand hovering nearby. This time there was an older man with him.

  “Sirji, my son told me what my mother said to you.” The older man said, stepping closer to Aditya with his hands joined before him. “I wanted to apologise on her behalf .Her mind is almost gone these days. But she didn't mean to insult you.”

  “That's okay.” Aditya said. “I'm not angry or anything.” Shahid broke away from the crowd outside Ramlal's house and made his way towards the three.

  Aditya addressed the man's son. “What's your name?”

  “Brijesh, sirji. I work at the textile factory near the sabzimandi.” The youth pointed to the east of the basti.

  “Are you the only working member of your family?” Aditya inquired.

  “I have a small clothes shop near the bus station.” Brijesh's father said quickly.

  “I see. By the way, did Dolly's dog do that to you?” Aditya asked, motioning towards his hand.

  Brijesh looked momentarily startled. “Yes, sirji. He nearly bit my hand off.”

  “He's a vicious animal.” Brijesh's father chimed in. “Barks and bites at everyone in the basti.”

  “You should get the wound checked. Might be rabies.” Shahid said, walking up to the group. “The dog seemed pretty out of it.”

  Brijesh nodded vigorously. “I was going to go to the clinic in Bamrauli today.” Shahid nodded to the father and son and steered Aditya towards the police car.

  “We'll be leaving soon.” He said. “As soon as Sukhwinder gets a written statement from Ramlal about Sujeet.”

  “I was talking to detective Virat.” Aditya said. “He's coming here as well. Before we move on I'd like to thank you for answering my questions this morning.”

  .

  Shahid grunted, not looking at him.

  Aditya stared at him for a moment. “Have I done something to upset you?”

  “Upset me?” Shahid's eyebrow were raised.

  “You've been distant all morning, to say the least.” Aditya said. “I'm not sure what I've done to create a bad impression, considering this is the first time we've ever met.”

  “You mean your pyschological abilities haven't helped you figure it out?” There was a frown on Shahid's face when he finally turned to look fully at Aditya. “There's a reason I wanted you to accompany me on this case. I wanted to show you what I have to deal with in my job everyday. Paan sellers and bus conductors. And sweepers and maids. What can your psychological profiling do to help me in this situation? What can a college kid talking about the subconscious do to make sense of the mess I deal with daily?”

  Shahid paused, staring at Aditya with the frown on his face more pronounced than ever.

  “I'm sorry you feel this way.” Aditya said quietly. “I'm just following orders like you. I'm not interested in making your job any more difficult.”

  “Do you believe everyone at the police station is a moron?” Shahid demanded. “I know you're not really here to play mental doctor with criminals. Whatever you're supposed to be doing here, I haven't been informed about it. You've been thrust on my department by my superiors, and they didn't have the courtesy to give me an actual reason. The Police Commissioner won't tell me the truth. You won't tell me the truth. But I'm still supposed to take you all across the city and answer every one of your hundred questions. And then you ask me what I'm upset about!”

  Shahid turned abruptly and walked away, back to Ramlal's house. Aditya did not try to follow him. He slowly made his way over to the center of the basti, where the ancient water tank stood. He took off his glasses and began to polish them, gazing up at the tower with a frown until he heard a bike pull up behind him. He turned to see Virat getting off his bike.

  “Ready to go?” Virat asked as he came up to him. “Have you wrapped things up here?”

  “Shahid's talking to Ramlal right now.” Aditya said.

  “What about?” Virat asked. Aditya told him about the complaint and the subsequent investigation.

  “Well, then there's nothing more to do here.” Virat said. “Payal's waiting at Lucky's, and I think Shahid will be glad not to have you hanging around his neck like Vetaal for the rest of the day.”

  “Look, I'll take the bike and meet Payal at the restaurant.” Aditya said in a low voice. “You stay here and carry on with the case.”

  Virat stared at him in surprise. “What are you talking about? The case is closed. We can't press any charges if the girl wont testify against her parents or the boy.”

  “Listen to me.” Aidtya's voice grew urgent. “You need to continue with the investigation. Ask around the other houses. Try to get an idea of exactly what happened here last night. I'd stay to do it, but Khan doesn't want me here. I don't want him to be distracted by my presence. You need to trust me on this.”

  Virat stared at him for a long moment. Finally he nodded, handing the keys of his bike to Aditya as the two parted ways.

  * * *

  Lucky's was a small but comfortably furnished restaurant located a block away from the building where Payal's office was. Aditya parked the bike outside the restaurant and entered through the glass doorway. Soft music played in the background, and it was relief to step inside the air conditioned room, away from the morning's searing heat. He spied Payal sitting at the back of the room nursing a cup of tea, her back to the door.

  “Hey.” Aditya said, taking the seat opposite her.

  “Oh. Hi.” Payal looked up and stared at him in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “Slight change of plans. I'm going to keep you company while Virat takes my place on a case.”

  “Oh.” Payal paused. “That's great, then.”

  “Spoken with just the right amount of restrained enthusiasm.” Aditya grinned. “I can't replace Virat, but I'll try my best to fill the role.”

  Payal laughed, a hint of a blush on her face. “It's not like that.”

  “That's okay, I'm just kidding.” Aditya reached out for the pitcher of water and a glass. “It's pretty dificult to make friends in a busy city like Delhi.”

  “Exactly.” Payal agreed. “And I've known Virat since we were kids. We were classmates all through school. Then I went to Miranda while he joined the police academy. We fell out of touch except the occasional facebook birthday greeting. You know how it is.” Aditya nodded. “Then came the time when I was just starting out in the newsoffice. There were a dozen other interns like me trying to get noticed. I wasn't getting leads on any interesting cases. Then I found out that Virat had started work as a sub detective in Delhi. I called to meet him and badgered him for information for an entire evening. We got bac
k in touch again after a long time. It was good to get a school friend back after everyone else from that time had scattered. He told me about the apartment above his being empty, and I moved in.”

  The waiter arrived as Payal finished her story, and they gave their orders. Payal smiled at Aditya as the waiter left. “So there you have it. My account of how I wound up in Hakikat Nagar. What about you? You're from Allahabad, right?”

  “Yeah.” Aditya leaned back in his chair. “I'd visited Delhi before, but this is the first time I'm making an extended stay. Now I understand why it's called India's melting pot. There are so many people migrating here every year from every corner of the country. The case I was involved in today took me to a town where the residents were all from the same village of Bihar.”

  “That happens often here.” Payal nodded. “Villagers tend to travel in groups. They don't really trust the cityfolk, and the sad thing is, their distrust is often justified. At my office I've heard so many stories of villagers being abducted and sold into human slavery and prostitution.”

  “And all those people are too afraid to approach the police.”

  “Can you blame them?” Payal asked. “A rich man gets into an argument at a traffic signal, and it's his driver who'll get manhandled by the police. A girl is promised education and boarding in the city, and instead she's put to work sweeping the floors and cooking food. Whenever there's a crime the police always takes the side of the rich guy.”

  “That's where I come in.” Aditya sighed. “The scary policeman who's looking for an excuse to throw them in jail. At least, that's what they think. That's why I miss Allahabad. People were more willing to have faith in each other their.”

  “It's not all bad.” Payal said with a laugh. “It can be pretty grim for the police, always dealing with the worst of humanity. But can you honestly say the people of Delhi are any worse than those of other cities?”

  Aditya was silent for a long time, staring abstractedly into the distance. He finally looked at Payal with a smile.

  “Human nature is the same everywhere.” He admitted at last with a shrug. “But I don't relish seeing it up close in all it's ugly detail. Textbooks allow you to keep a dispassionate distance from it all.” He took out his mobile and opened the internet browser. “What you said about the police favouring the rich is true. But it wouldn't be wise to paint all the village immigrants as innocent victims either. Hatred and cruelty aren't specific to one particular class of humanity.”

  “Or a short attention span.” Payal remarked. “Is our conversation so boring you decided to check your facebook acount?” Aditya smiled at her apologetically.

  “Not at all.” He showed her the wikipedia page he had opened. “I was checking out the uses of sulphuric acid.” He turned the screen back to face him and continued to scan the page. “There's a point that needs clearing up. The last nail in a very ugly coffin, so to speak.” He paused, opening a few linked pages. His expression darkened as he read the information displayed. Payal watched him with raised eyebrows as their food was placed on the table.

  Aditya sighed and exited the net, typing a brief message before putting the phone back in his pocket.

  * * *

  “I was always afraid she was going to take our daughter astray as well.” Bala's wife was speaking rapidly to Virat. “She was always a rotten girl. Rotten to the core. But I raised my Pinky better. She always listened to her mother first, and she'd tell me all the wrong things Dolly was telling her in college. I ask you, what sort of respectable girl would roam around on a bike with a boy she barely knows-”

  “Yes, yes, I see.” Virat nodded, edging away slowly. “Well, I have to...” He moved rapidly away from the excited woman and made his way back to Shahid. It was time to close the case. No complaint against Ramlal from Dolly, possible complaint against Sujeet from Ramlal. Suddenly his mobile buzzed. He took it out and saw a new message from Aditya. His eyebrows raised in surprise as he read the text.

  “Let's go, Virat.” Shahid called out to him from Ramlal's doorway. “We're done here. We need to get back to the station.”

  Virat nodded. He hesitated, staring at the screen. “I just need to check something first.”

  Before Shahid could respond, Virat had turned away. He made his way rapidly towards the water tank.

  “Where are you going, Sahab?” Brijesh called out, the fear evident in his voice as he ran up to him.

  Virat ignored him and continued on his way. Everyone in the basti had come out of their house, but no one spoke except Brijesh, who continued to plead with Virat to stop.

  Virat reached the ladder next to the water tank and began to climb. The ancient metal structure creaked and groaned, but did not break. Virat reached the top of the tower. The huge lid of the water tank was sealed shut by a shiny new lock.

  Virat took out his gun and took aim. A single deafening shot rang out around the basti, and the lock shatterrd. Virat removed the remains of the lock and with an effort, lifted the lid.

  A blast of dank, musty air hit Virat's nostrils. But combined with it was a much more terrible odor. The smell of rotting flesh. The body of a young girl lay inside tank. She had been dead for a long time.

  Virat stared at the body for a moment. He turned to look down at Shahid. “I found Dolly. She's dead.” A ripple of murmurs broke out among the crowd. “Don't let her parents get away.” Shahid had been watching Virat in open mouthed amazement. But now he turned and gave rapid orders to Shyam and Sukhwinder.

  Virat climbed down from the tower to the ground. The constables had arrested Ramlal and his wife and were dragging them to the police car.

  “Better take Brijesh, too.” Virat said, pointing to the young man, who stood pale and terrified, his eyes darting from Ramlal to Shahid. “Let's find out exactly why he didn't want me to go up the tower.” Shahid pointed his gun at Brijesh and he froze, raising his hands shakily.

  “How the hell did you know?” Shahid asked Virat even as he kept his gun trained on Brijesh.

  “I didn't.” Virat said, holding up his mobile. “I got this.” The screen displayed a message from Aditya: Dolly's corpse is in the water tank.

  * * *

  That evening Payal and Aditya sat talking at the table in the kitchen in Virat's apartment. The two had gotten to know each other a lot better that day. Aditya was filling her in on the details of the Gunny town case, and she was listening with growing amazement when Virat and Shahid entered the room.

  The frown on Shahid's face had disappeared, and replaced by a mystified expression. He and Virat sat down opposite Aditya and Payal. Shahid was staring at Aditya, who stared blandly back. “Did Ramlal confess?”

  “He did.” Virat said. “Once we found the body he came clean about everything.”

  “How did you know?” Shahid spoke at last, still staring at Aditya. “How did you know the girl had been murdered and put in the water tank?”

  Aditya studied him for a moment before he spoke. “The dog told me.”

  The confusion deepened on Shahid's face. “What?”

  “It was lying under the girls's sleeping cot.” Aditya said. “It showed several symptoms of depression. Hair falling out in patches. Chewing on it's own tail till it bled. Alternating between listlessness and anger. It had clearly experienced a traumatic event recently.”

  “Animals don't get depressed.”

  “Of course they do. They have the ability to process loss just as much as we do. The dog was there when the girl was murdered by her father, probably in a fit of rage. The dog was there when Brijesh carried the body to the water tank. That's when it bit him. The only person who had ever been kind to Moti was killed violently in front of him. He'd been suffering from post trauma stress ever since.”