by Preeti Singh
Kinjal drove to the first location of the mobile and as Milan kept ringing it, they found a mobile lying in the dark bushes, on the roadside. Confused, they moved to the next number and it was found in a public toilet. It didn’t take long for Kinjal to realise; they had been played all along. The killer had switched on the phones lately and dumped them in various locations all over Zirakpur, making Kinjal and her team run around.
“Damn!” exclaimed a disappointed Kinjal as she halted her jeep to think what step to take now. “I am really dying to kill him now!” she said frustrated.
“Calm down, KJ. Let’s rack our brains together.” Spoke up a wise Maggie, startling Milan who still didn’t know she existed. Seeing his shocked expression on seeing a speaking mouse in Kinjal’s purse, Amber made the necessary introductions, quickly. No one was in a mood for pleasantries, anyway. Milan gulped on seeing a talking mouse but decided to focus on the present, instead.
“Ma’am, sorry but I forgot to tell you about the tag you pulled from the assaulter’s shirt. The shirt was stitched by Feroz Tailors, Zirakpur, itself. I met him, but with so many customers coming to him weekly, he could not identify who the tag belonged to. But when I asked if anyone came on a bike with a helmet, he recalled that one customer used to come, but would never remove his helmet. It was again a tall, slim built man.” Milan briefed her.
Kinjal immediately took out the tag she had removed from Vikash’s clothes earlier this evening. It also read Feroz Tailors, Zirakpur.
“Ok, Guys. Enough is enough. I am going to the police station tomorrow morning and getting an arrest warrant for Vikash. We have enough proof to get him for an interrogation at least, if not putting him behind bars”, she said determinedly, as she pressed on the accelerator and they sped home.
“But Ma’am, we will have to inform DIG sir for the arrest warrant, don’t we?” Milan asked.
“I will manage it, Milan. They both have seen the vulnerable side of me but now they will see the other side, which they will wish, they had not triggered.”Kinjal burst out angrily.
In a dead silence, she dropped Milan at his house and drove home. Tomorrow was going to be judgement day, so to say. She had to detach her feelings for Vikash and confront him like a cop.
Interrogation Room
Police HQ
Sector 9 D, Chandigarh
Kinjal did not have the heart to arrest Vikash herself. In fact, she was scared of her own emotions, if left alone with him. She was terrified if he held her once and whispered sweet nothings to her, she may fall weak and crumble in his arms. At this moment, she needed all the anger, strength and volcano within her, to confront him.
With DIG Uncle out of station, Kinjal sought the arrest warrant from the 2nd officer in command and sent Milan with a constable to get Vikash to the Police HQ. She waited patiently in the interrogation room.
Handcuffed, Vikash arrived. He had a contented smile on his face and that irritated Kinjal even more. But she composed herself and began while Amber and Milan stood behind her, patiently.
“So, Dr, Vikash Shrivastava, enough of playing games with me; let’s be honest with each other. Look me in the eye and tell me; why have you been killing all these women, who were your mother’s college friends?” Kinjal asked coldly, wasting no time in pleasantries. She lay out in front of Vikash, the butchered pictures of the 5 dead victims, including her own Mom’s.
Vikash saw the pictures and smiled, “They didn’t deserve to live so it was time for them to go.” he replied calmly.
“And you are God to decide who shall live and who shall die?”Kinjal asked anger rising in her eyes, at his calmness.
“No, I am not God, but maybe He used me as an instrument to put an end to my mother’s misery, by ensuring these women die.” he replied looking at her straight in the eye.
“They were your mother’s college friends, Vikash. See these snaps I got from your Dehradun house. See how happy they all looked together. Why did you stop them from meeting her? Talk to me.” Kinjal asked lowering her tone, remembering Amber’s words, that sometimes with loving words, you can do wonders. Amber slightly wagged his tail that she was heeding to his advice.
“Haha you are so naive, Kinjal. All these women used my mother for her money. They would come and enjoy at her expense but when she needed their help after her accident, they always had excuses ready. My mother struggled alone and they would try to poison her mind against me, because I was the child of the man she loved and they didn’t know who my father was. No one, I repeat, no one stood by my mother.” Vikash’s eyes turned red.
“My parents did, Vikash. My mother, Mansi Joshi and your mother were the best of friends and you parted them as well. Not only that, you are taking revenge on my family since then,” Kinjal almost had tears in her eyes but she would not let them fall.
“Your mother was responsible for my mother’s accident Kinjal, and your father filed an FIR against my mother for drunken driving. How can I ever forget that?” he asked sarcastically.
“My father was doing his duty, Vikash. And my parents were constantly trying to amend things but you just grew up with venom against them; your chowkidaar told me everything”, she said sadly. “And when that was not enough, you stalked me in college, became close to me, just to take revenge on my family? How pathetic can you be, Vikash? And I thought you were in love with me! Yes, maybe you are right...I am naive.” It was time for Kinjal to be sarcastic now. She didn’t care Milan and Amber had heard her love confession. Let truth be told, today.
“Well... Kinjal I have never taken advantage of you, ever. But my hatred for your family is much denser than my affection for you.” he said warmly.
Kinjal didn’t melt but asked her next query, “Why did you kill your ailing mother, Vikash?”
“I didn’t kill my Pinky Mom, Kinjal. She died of a silent heart attack. You can go the hospital and check the autopsy reports. I am not a devil, Kinjal; circumstances shattered me. I loved my mother, but could not tell her in time,” he continued with moist eyes, “If you ever loved me sincerely, even once, Kinjal, please let me meet my father face to face, just once before my sentence. I know, you know who he is, so please tell me, so I can ask him why he abandoned me as a baby. What was my fault? Please Kinjal, do this one last favour for me.” Vikash pleaded with softness in his eyes.
But Kinjal was undeterred and unmoved by his tears. She knew he was a master manipulator and now was the time to trade her secret with his.
“Not so soon, buddy, na na. First, you will tell me why did you kill my mother way back and surfaced after 5 years to kill her friends one by one? I want the complete truth or trust me; you will be thrown in the dungeons without ever meeting your father, Vikash. Now, out with it!” Kinjal said icily, deliberately killing all her emotions for the man who had ruled her heart since long.
“I did not kill your mother, Kinjal but like I said before, my Pinky Maa’s friends deserved to die.”Vikash said calmly and Kinjal knew he was not lying this time.
“Okay, so from where did you collect the addresses of all the women? And after calling them, you threw the mobiles in different places? You were trying to make me run around in circles, Vikash?” she probed.
“I have been planning this since years, Kinjal. So, each time these women called Pinky Maa, I tracked their addresses and kept a watch on them, even after they got married and lost touch with us.”, he replied calmly.
“So you mean, each time you told me you went on vacation from college days till you became a doctor, you were in Chandigarh only, tracking this women?” Kinjal asked, shocked that she had been fed so many white lies all these years.
“You are my smart sweetheart!” he touched her cheek with his cuffed hands.
Amber instantly growled and Milan held back his hands in anger.
“So you spoke to me each day just to gather details about the case, Vikash?”
“My naive darling, you yourself wanted to share each detail. So, I planted each clue all
over, so you find the truth. I knew you would go to Dehradun to dig my past, so I instructed my chowkidaar to let you explore my house. I left my hospital room open for you, so you could find the clues you needed, sweetheart. You have not solved a case; I have made you solve it.” He said, sleazily.
“But why, Vikash, why me? What wrong did I do to you?” She asked frantically waiting for answers.
“Because, I wanted you to find my father for me, Kinjal. And you have found him, I know it.”, he replied.
“You could have just asked me once, Vikash? I would have turned the world upside down to find him for you. I know how precious fathers are.” she replied.
“Pretty lady, your father is not special; he deserves to be in the condition he is in now.”Vikash said. “Go home, kiss him on the cheek as he sleeps peacefully, but don’t forget to look in his pockets. Some skeletons in the cupboard still need to walk out.” he bent forward and whispered in her ears.
Vikash smelt of orbit. She shuddered; her assaulter’s breath also smelt the same, when she was attacked.
Kinjal turned her face away in disgust. “Take him away, Milan. I have had enough for today. Place him in custody till we have a case ready.” she said and started walking out of the interrogation room.
“Hey! Sweetheart! I love you!” Vikash said before Milan shoved him away towards the cells.
Kinjal didn’t move. He said those golden words finally; the words she had wanted to hear since so long. And he said them now, after she saw the other side of him.
Barking, Amber shook her out of her spell and said, “Let’s go KJ, he’s a jerk. Don’t pay attention to him. Let’s go home, it’s late.” He urged her towards the jeep.
She drove home quietly, occasionally crying in between, but Amber didn’t stop her. Maybe the tears were needed to flow so she could see the case more clearly, he felt.
On reaching home late night, Kinjal went straight to meet her father. Shivangi di and her family were asleep and she didn’t want to disturb them now.
Vikash said something being in his pocket and she was restless till she found it. Dad was fast asleep. Kinjal went through his clothes lying nearby, but nothing was in the pockets. She was now getting frantic and wondered if Vikash was lying again.
“Are you looking for this, KJ?” Asked little Maggie as she emerged from under the bed with a piece of paper. Kinjal actually didn’t know what she was looking for, but one glance at the handwriting and she knew this was it.
It was one of the letters DIG uncle had written to Vikash. Kinjal slumped on the floor reading it slowly, while Amber and Maggie tried to gather the contents themselves.
The letter revealed that one day, about 5 years back Gautam Joshi had a drink with Dinesh Mahajan i.e. DIG Uncle and both were pretty tipsy by the end of the evening. Dinesh had then confessed to Gautam, his love for Mansi Joshi since school days, not realising Gautam was still alert. That laid the foundation of doubt in Gautam’s mind about his wife having an affair with Dinesh, his best friend. But the truth was, Mansi was truly devoted to her husband and had sincerely ignored Dinesh’s blind love for her.
But Gautam Joshi was a suspicious husband; much different than what was portrayed to the world, as them being a happy couple. As Kinjal read along, she recalled Dad always kept himself busy and never really was a companion to Mom, who in turn had joined an NGO, Helping Souls, to keep herself busy. Maybe his doubts on his wife, kept him away from her.
She read on, that one fine day, Gautam found in the attic, some old love letters written by Dinesh to Mansi, confessing his unconditional love for her, even though she had married Gautam. Kinjal saw the date the letter was written. It was 2 years after she had joined medical college and Shivangi di was happily married; meaning Mom and Dad were alone in Chandigarh.
Kinjal read further, that her father had confronted Mansi about the letters, demanding an explanation. Mom had tried her best to explain her suspicious husband that it was only Dinesh in love with her, but she never responded, as she was in love with Gautam. But he didn’t believe her.
Kinjal realized, those were the love letters Dad had urged her to find in the glove box of the jeep.
She read on further, that in a maddening rage, Gautam slapped his wife who hit her head on the bedside table and fell unconscious. Gautam thought he had killed her and in panic he decided to make it look like a murder. He slit her wrists with a kitchen knife and strangled her with her own dupatta, which is when she actually died, looking one last time at the man she truly loved, but who doubted her endlessly.
Knowing her favourite song was also the favourite of Dinesh, as mentioned in the love letters, Gautam wrote the song on the wall and would later put the blame on his friend for killing his wife. But fate did not help him. Due to a sudden call of duty, Dinesh was out of station for a week.
Panicking at being caught, Gautam had hurriedly hushed up the case, called his family and cremated Mansi as soon as he could. But when Dinesh was back in town after a week, Gautam had confessed his crime to his friend, showed him the love letters he found and how doubt had clouded his mind. He was truly regretful and ashamed of his act, but now wanted Dinesh to save him somehow from the suspicious police.
Dinesh, who was totally shattered with Mansi’s death, burnt within to put Gautam behind bars, next morning. He would not let him get away, no matter how close their friendship was. But again, fate had other plans. After confessing to his friend, when Gautam was driving back home, his jeep toppled over the highway, leaving him crippled for life.
Dinesh, then reluctantly, closed the case. His Mansi would not have liked her husband’s name maligned in public. Dinesh met his friend for the last time in the hospital and never visited him again. Instead, he kept a watch on Mansi’s daughters.
Kinjal was aghast. She could not believe what she read. There must be a mistake. She and Shivangi di were raised by parents who loved each other, didn’t they? Or was it all a farce, like most parents do; hide their fights so their kids have a happy childhood.
Kinjal could not stop her tears from flowing. Now she understood why her father hushed up the investigation and she was not allowed to probe into the case further.
She needed to speak to DIG Uncle now. Vikash was in custody and now his father had to give her the answers and put together the pieces of the puzzle.
She didn’t know whether to be angry at her father or feel sorry for him. She just sat there numb and watched him while waiting for the morning to bring her some ray of hope.
CHAPTER 11
Skeletons in the Closet
Joshis’ Villa,
Sector 12, Panchkula
By morning, Kinjal was composed and in control. It was time for Shivangi di and Jeeju to leave, but Kinjal decided not to tell them, that their father had killed their mother. Maybe it was not the truth and even if it was, she vowed herself never to disclose this fact to her family and let them carry on hero worshipping their crippled father.
As soon as she bid them a heartfelt goodbye, Kinjal decided to meet DIG Uncle, who was back in station, but still on leave. But before that, she needed some data about him as well.
“Milan, I need the DIG’s handwriting verified with the song written at the crime scenes. We still do not have concrete proof that Vikash is the killer as he actually did not confess to the murders that day. Also find out the DIG’s phone location at the time of Suman Mishra’s murder. If he has committed one murder, he may have done the previous ones too. Bring me the details ASAP; we have to visit him today evening itself.” she concluded, firmly.
“Yes, Ma’am, I will. But one fact is disturbing me. Vikash’s HOD came to release him on bail but Vikash refused to be released. He has even refused a lawyer to fight for him, Ma’am. It was rather strange, so I felt you must know this.” Milan informed her.
It was indeed very strange, Kinjal thought. Usually criminals are eager to get out and prove their innocence till the court decides a sentence. But Vikash was laid back, content wit
h the arrest and had completely surrendered himself to the law. Why was he so calm and happy being arrested? Why wasn’t he resisting and defending himself?
Something was not fitting the puzzle, Kinjal was sure. She decided to speak to DIG Uncle first and then ask her Dad, regarding the letter.
The entire afternoon, Kinjal, Milan, Amber and Maggie kept going over any loopholes they may have missed. DIG Uncle was away to Pune on duty, when Suman Mishra was murdered. Milan also verified that his mobile location showed he was at his home during two murders and out of station during the other two. The handwriting in the letters written to his son, Vikash and the songs written at the crime scenes were poles apart, as confirmed by the handwriting expert. So far, even he seemed clean.
Yet, something didn’t seem right; Kinjal could feel it in her bones. But things would be a lot clear after meeting him.
The DIG’s Residence
Sector 8, Panchkula
It was dark when they reached the DIG’s house. They had taken an appointment with him earlier so while he waited, he poured a drink for himself and sunk into his rocking chair, as he did daily.
As soon as they arrived, the DIG offered Milan a drink, but he refused. Amber agreed for a peg, but one cold look from Kinjal and he sat upright. They were on duty, he reminded himself. Maggie offered to stay back home to keep an eye on Dad.
Skipping the pleasantries, Kinjal came straight to the point, “Sir, we have reason to believe, that the case you offered me, has your involvement in it too”, Kinjal said as politely as she could, not once forgetting he was her senior.
“Go on, Kinjal, I am hearing. Please ask me anything you need to.” the DIG said calmly, as he gulped down his whiskey and poured himself another one.
