X: The Hunt Begins

by Unknown

  “That's probably also why your boss seems really interested in finding the criminal.” Aditya commented. “How is he as an employer? Strict? Soft?”

  “Just about medium.” Ravi said as he set down his empty glass. This time, he reached for the bottle himself. “He inherited the business, but he's not a fool like some other rich guys you'll see around here who got their money from their daddy and don't know how to handle it. The emporium was in a real bad way three years ago. Everyone was sure it was going to be shut down or sold off. But Singhji turned the company around and made it bigger than ever.”

  “So he knows his way around business.” Aditya said. “And how is he as a person? He's a family man, right?”

  “A wife and a daughter.” Ravi nodded. “They're a pretty quiet lot, the family. Too quiet for the wife's taste, I think. He's really stingy.” He lowered his voice. “Still takes the rickshaw when he can, and haggles with the puller down to the last rupee.” He grinned and rolled his eyes at them. “Some of the habits these rich people have are so strange. If I had the kind of money he does, I'd have twelve cars in the garage to take me where I want to go.”

  “That would be the life.” Aditya smiled. “I have to get back to the police station. You can finish off the rest of the bottle. My treat.”

  Before Ravi could do more than stare at him in groggy eyed surprise, he had risen from his seat and made his way to the cash counter.

  * * *

  Aditya returned to the police station to find Virat preparing his report on the case.

  “Find anything?” He inquired as Aditya took a seat opposite him.

  “One or two things.” Aditya told him about his lunch with Ravi.

  “I hope the money you spent getting that guy drunk was worth it.” Virat commented.

  “It was.” Aditya said slowly. “In a way. I did get some information, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear.”

  “He didn't tell you anything about Devesh.”

  “I didn't want to know about Devesh.” Aditya said. “That's not why I wanted to handle this case. I came here looking for Satbir Singh.”

  “What?” Virat stared at hiim in astonishment. “What's he done?”

  “Nothing that I'm aware of so far.” Aditya said slowly. He leaned back in his chair. “I've been chasing leads all over Delhi for months now. Most of them finish in dead ends. But occasionally names pop up where they shouldn't. A donation made to a fake charity. Unusual supplies ordered under the emporium's name. Satbir Singh's name has come up on no less than three separate occasions during the course of the investigation. When I found out about Devesh's murder, I saw a chance to observe the man at close range.”

  “Do you think Satbir killed Devesh?” Virat asked. But Aditya frowned.

  “Highly unlikely. Devesh was a small fish. Besides, I'm not even sure if it's Satbir I should be investigating or someone in his employee. But I need more time. I was hoping to get him to invite us to his house if I acted interested in his family's history.”

  “So that's what that was.” Virat remarked. “I was surprised by your sudden interest in architecture.”

  “But that didn't work. In any case, I got the phone number of one of the guards. That'll be usefull if any future investigation leads me back to the emporium. Where did you get to on the murder?”

  “It's still pretty early, but it seems like a pretty straightforward case so far.” Virat said. “Devesh owed money to some men. They found him last night and killed him.”

  “That's the most obvious explanaton.” Aditya said slowly. “But it leaves quite a lot unanswered. How long do you think this investigation might last?”

  Virat sighed. “Might be a while. There's still a lot of points that need straightening out. Like I said before, the killer could move around the emporium without being picked up on any of the cameras, which shows it was someone who was familiar with the emporium's layout. Then there's the fact of there being no blood at the murder site. I was looking for a place where the actual murder must have taken place, but there doesnt seem to be any place within the emporium with bloodstains. Some employee should have noticed them. That means either the stains have already been washed away or the murder occurred somewhere outside.”

  Aditya kepy quiet, and Virat glanced at him. “Did I miss out on anything?”

  “No, I think you got it all.” Aditya muttered. But he fell silent again, a frown on his face.

  “But...?” Virat said encouraginly.

  “There's one other thing.” Aditya said slowly, the frown deepening as his brain worked furiously. “It has nothing to do with the murder, or Satbir Singh. And yet... it's been been niggling at me for some time now.”

  “What is it?” Virat asked.

  “One of the guards I talked to has schizophrenia.” Aditya said slowly. “He said he's been experiencing hallucinations. Time dilations, size distortion, dancing light patterns, halos over objects and trails of light, as well as a feeling of euphoria.”

  “Well, that's not weird, is it?” Virat said. “An old teacher of mine has schozophrenia, too. He sees hallucinations all the time. And so did that guy in the grey man case.”

  “It's not the fact that he had hallucinations that's bugging me.” Aditya muttered. He got up abruplty from his chair. “I need a net connection. I need to read up on schizophrenia.”

  He exited the room rapidly. Virat considered following him, but decided to finish his report first. They knew prescious little so far. All the witness statements concurred. Cause of death was clear. He was putting the last touches to his report when Aditya came striding into the room.

  “We need to get to the emporium fast.” He said, stopping in front of Virat's desk.

  “Why?” Virat asked, although he was already rising to his feet. The urgency in Aditya's voice was unmistakeable.

  “Not sure yet.” Aditya said, leading the way to the parking lot where Virat's bike was kept. “Not even sure whether it has anything to do with the murder yet. But I need to make sure. I think Robert knows far more about Devesh's murder then he let on.”

  * * *

  For the second time that day, the two made their way to Manas Vihar. Instead of the emporium, they made their way to the ruins next to Satbir Singh's house. Robert sat next to the gated entrance. His expression brightened when he saw Aditya and Virat, and he waved a cordial welcome to them.

  “Is the investigation over, saab?” He inquired as Aditya got off the bike and made his way towards the old guard.

  “I wanted to ask you something.” Aditya said. “And I'm going to need a straight answer. Time's running out.”

  “Of course, saabji.” Robert said with a beaming smile. “Anything I can do to assist-”

  “You've been lying about last night, haven't you?” Aditya said sharply. The smile was wiped abruptly from Robert's face. “You and Devesh switched patrol duty last night before he died.”

  Robert stared at him in amazement. The amazement quickly turned to fear, and finally to a piteous, pleading gaze.

  “I'm sorry, saabji.” Robert's eyes had welled up again. “I used to play cards with Devesh. It's one of the few pleasures I had left in my old age. I owed him a lot of money. Money that I didn't have. Devesh offered me a deal. There were some men he owed money to from betting on matches. He was afraid they would come looking for him at the emporium. He said he'd forget the money I owed him if I took his place on night duty yesterday while he took over mine. This morning I found out he'd died. I realised the men he was hiding from had found him. I was too scared to tell anyone about our deal.” He dissolved into tears. He looked up, and was startled to see the two officers had disappeared. He turned and saw them making their way towards the ruins. For a moment he considered calling after them. But he remained quiet.

  Aditya was racing towards the ruined old house, Virat following close behind. “Robert's story has been bugging me all morning. Why would you hire a man you knew was schizophrenic and subject to hallucinations, and
then give him a job that requires his vision and hearing to be absolutely uncompromised? I told you there was a reason I wanted to be a part of this case. And now we'll know.”

  The house loomed over them. Ancient and ornately constructed, it was riddled with half broken ridges and plants climbing up it's sides. The walls appeared ready to crumble to the ground. The entire sturcture seemed too dangerous to venture near. The steel door at the front was not locked, but did not budge an inch.

  “Looks like there's something blocking it from the other side.” Virat said.

  “There's another way in.” With that, Aditya handed his glasses to Virat. He took a few steps back, and bounded forward. He caught hold of a low wall next to the door and swung upwards. In a few moments he had disappeared from view. And then the door swung open on the inside and Aditya emerged.

  “It was bolted from the inside.” Aditya said, stepping aside to let Virat in.”

  “Does that mean there's someone here already?” Virat asked, drawing out his gun. He saw that there had been several new beams installed inside the house to fortify the ancient structure, and make it a lot sturdier than it seemed from the outside.

  “At this time of the day, I doubt it.” Aditya said. “It was a precaution, I think. Put in place by whoever did that.” He pointed to the ground, which was convered by an ancient and dusty carpet. But on the dust covered floor, were several large red stains, some of which had also splattered on the wall next to it.

  “Blood tracks.” Virat breathed, bending down to study the carpet. “So this is where Devesh was acutally killed. Look.” He pointed to the left of the blood stains. Amidst the dust on the carpet, a freshly beaten path was moving from the door into the inner rooms. Aditya and Virat followed the trail. They found a trapdoor with a fresh lock on it. Virat took out his gun and fired at the lock. Aditya lifted the trapdoor, and the two peered inside.

  “Stay ready.” Aditya muttered to Virat. Virat pointed his gun down the trapdoor. He entered first, keeping the weapon trained in front. Aditya was right behind him. The two entered a room that looked like a cellar.

  The room looked like a chemist's workshop. Several tables were arranged with rows of beakers on them. Cylinders of various chemicals lined the walls. Burners of different varities were lying under the tables. A large tunnel stretched out from the back of the room into darkness.

  “It's a drug plant.” Virat said, scanning the airy room.

  “That's what I thought.” Aditya muttered. “Liquid Sylergic Dimethylin, I think.”

  “LSD?”

  “Yes. Some of the hallucinations caused by schizophrenia seem similar to those caused by LSD. But there are actually significant differences. I realised a lot of the hallucinations Robert was experiencing while on night patrol were from hullucinogenic fumes rather than his mental disorder. There was one place on Robert's beat that was ideally suited to handle a drug manufacturing base which could emit the fumes. LSD's a particularly potent psychedelic drug. One whiff of it can send a man on an acid trip filled with visions of impossible things. But to a man who already suffers from hallucinations, those visions won't be anything new. Robert was already deeply loyal and grateful to Satbir Singh and wiling to swallow any lies he might have told him. Even if he had spoken to anyone about the strange sights and smells, they would have assumed it was another one of his hallucinations.”

  Aditya took out his mobile and dialled Robert's number. “We need to know where the tunnel leads to. I'm guessing somewhere underneath the emporium. Hello? Yes, Robert. Where are you? I can't hear you. I need you to come to the ruins right now.” Aditya paused, his eyes widening as he heard Robert's reply. “No, wait, don't go there! Listen to me! Robert, Listen! Can you hear me?” The phone went dead. Aditya turned, and Virat saw fear in his eyes. “Satbir Singh called Robert to his office.” Withouth another word, he turned and dashed up the trapdoor, Virat once again right behind him.

  They raced into the emporium, sprinting past startled employees and alarmed guards. They made their way to the floor on which Satbir'Singh's office was located. The girl sitting at reception outside the office looked up in surprise as they bounded towards her desk.

  “Where's Satbir Singh?” Aditya demanded as he skidded to a stop in front of her.

  “He's gone to talk to Yadavji.” The girl squeaked in surprise, staring at the two panting men in amazement.

  Aditya strode towards the main office. Despite the girl's protests, he pushed against the door. It opened unresistingly. A blast of air conditioned air hit the two as they entered the office. Satbir Singh was gone from his place behind the desk, but there was someone else in the room.

  Robert was lying spread eagled on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood. His eyes were stared blankly upwards. There was a deep gash in his neck. The receptionist had followed the other two into the office, and she gave another squeak of terror as she saw the body on the floor.

  Aditya bent to touch the body. It was still warm. But there was no hope of saving the old guard. “Call Shahid.” He said to Virat. “And you.” He added, looking at the girl, who looked like she was on the verge of hysterics. “Get back to your desk and calm down. There's going to be a lot of explaning to do before this day is over.”

  * * *

  For the second time, the police was called to Mannat Emporium. There was no sign of Satbir Singh anywhere. A bewildered and panicking Ramakanth Yadav reported that all the stored security footage had been erased. Satbir's hysterical wife and teenage daughter claimed not to have seen him since the morning. Aditya had taken the oppurtunity of the second investigation to rifle through the documents kept in Satbir Singh's private drawer. Meanwhile, the police found an underground tunnel leading from the cellar under the ruins to one of the storage cells at the emporium.

  “This is big.” Shahid said. Evening was beginning to set in, and he stood next to Virat and Aditya watching a team of officers extract the contents of the cellar and bring them out of the old house. “Really big. Drugs are usually exported into Delhi from other cities. This looks like Singh was making an attempt to set up a local manufacturing base. From the look of it, he's been doing it for some time, too.”

  “Three years, I think.” Aditya said quietly.

  “Did you let Robert's family know about his death?” Virat asked Shahid.

  “He didn't have a family.” Shahid said. “An old schizophrenic bachelor living alone in a single room rented apartment. That's who was guarding one of the biggest drug dens in the city. It's Satbir Singh we need to look for now.” He started towards the house as an officer called out to him.

  “Finding him won't be easy.” Virat mused. “Satbir was a far more cold blooded criminal than I could have imagined, killing Robert as soon as he sensed danger.”

  “I doubt it was him who made the call.” Aditya said, his expression grave. “Satbir had been keeping an eye on our investigation from the start. But the story of the drug cellar is a lot older. I've managed to reconstruct some of it from his personal documents.”

  “Three years ago Satbir Singh's financial state was in ruins. He was on the verge of selling his property to pay his debts. That was when an offer was made to Satbir. He would get the money for restarting his family business if he allowed his private property to be used as a drug lab. Satbir accepted the deal. He reopened his emporium, and got involved in supplying the drugs manufactured in his lab to dealers. An army of guards keeping watch over the ruins would have aroused suspicions. But Satbir had to keep at least one man to make sure a wandering tramp didn't stumble upon the drug lab. He knew about Robert's condition and saw an oppurtunity to hire an ex soldier of a highly respected character without having to bribe him to keep his mouth shut. But then that night Devesh switched patrol duty with Robert. He decided to explore the old house and saw something that Satbir did not want him to see. And so he had to be removed as quickly as possible. They moved the dead body to the emporium storage cell through the underground tunnel. From there it
was a short trip to the parking lot. Satbir saw to it that nothing was caught on any of the security cameras.”