by UD Yasha
During Zakkal's trial, I had tried everything possible to learn more about his life. I was astounded there was so little out there. I knew his father had died when he was eight years old. The cause of his death was unknown. I had tried to find out but all I had come across was one medical record. It stated Madhavrao Zakkal was hit by a car. The death would have been suspicious but Madhavrao had a bad drinking problem. His blood-alcohol levels were extremely high on the day he had died.
Zakkal was eighteen when his mother had passed away from colon cancer. She had no chance to survive. She went to the doctor complaining of extreme nausea. Five days later, she was told she had less than six months to live.
Zakkal did not have any siblings. If the serial killer part was taken away, Zakkal's story was inspiring. He was one of the millions of kids in India who was born into a poor family. But he had worked hard and gotten good marks. He had a mechanical engineering degree from IIT Bombay and an MBA from Princeton University. Both were funded by full scholarships. He had topped his class till standard twelve but after that, he was a mid-level student. That meant there were not many eyeballs on him. His classmates and teachers described him as ‘kind but shy, smart and observant'. None of them believed he was capable of killing, which I found ironic because the same people also said they knew of Zakkal but never got to know him. He was married. He had met his wife at his job in India post his MBA. She had been shocked to know about Zakkal’s life as a serial killer and had always maintained that we had got the wrong person, despite evidence against her husband.
Zakkal was teasing us now. But why? What was his end objective? From the start, I had a feeling that Supriya Kelkar's murder and the messages to me were part of a larger plan Zakkal had. I went to the whiteboard and wrote ‘Zakkal's Objective?' on it. I began thinking again.
I felt I had a new clue now to know more about Zakkal. The Bedroom Strangler. Through him, even from deep inside a prison cell, Zakkal was coming back to haunt the world. I wondered how Zakkal had found such a loyal follower in the Bedroom Strangler. What had Zakkal done for him to warrant for such an extreme level of allegiance?
Just then, my mobile phone started vibrating. It was Rathod.
‘Yes, I’m leaving,’ I said.
‘No, it's not that,' Rathod said. ‘There has been another murder. A middle-aged woman, strangled in her own house.'
‘You think it’s the Bedroom Strangler?’
‘We’re heading there to find out.’
I bit my lip. There was no way I would be allowed on a crime scene. I was already testing the limits of ACP Shukla’s tolerance. ‘Let me know what you find. I’ll meet Karve myself.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, you’ll take a couple of hours. The Bedroom Strangler is on the offensive now. We’re running out of time,’ I said and hung up.
I stayed silent for a spell. I checked the time. It was nine. I still had half an hour before I had to leave to meet Karve. The more I tried to think about the link between the Bedroom Strangler and Zakkal, the more my mind seemed to clog. I kept going back to everyone who I had come across in my first investigation of Zakkal. Could it be one of his office colleagues? His own wife? I decided I would visit her after meeting Sucheta.
If not his wife or colleagues, who could tell me more about Zakkal? I had thought about that question for years. The answer could lie in his childhood. I had even spoken to his school teachers. He went to a municipality school. Back then, government schools kept records in yellowing registers. They were long gone by now.
I knew I needed to understand Zakkal better. I had taken assistance from various criminal psychologists the first time around. It was not helpful then as everyone assumed Zakkal killed those whom he kidnapped. But now, it was different. We knew he kept them alive, one of them at least. That had to say something about a person’s mind.
I decided I needed to speak to someone completely new so that what they knew would not cloud their vision. I knew a criminal psychiatrist in Mumbai. I had heard great things about him three years ago just before I left my practice. I went to the desk and opened my laptop. One of my email accounts had an address book that had all my work-related contacts I had gathered over the years.
I found him.
Dr. Ranjit Kadam.
I knew that three years ago, he was a visiting professor at Mumbai University. He used to assist the police in some cases. I had heard whispers that he was also contracted by the government regarding matters of national security. He also travelled the country to conduct workshops for victims of trauma.
Just as I was going to call him, a shadow emerged from behind me and I turned around. Radha. She was leaning against the garage door.
‘Everything alright?’ she said.
‘Another woman was found dead just now. It could be the Bedroom Strangler.’
‘Come on in,’ Radha said, her face giving away very little. ‘You should eat something before you go.’
I checked the time. Still fifteen minutes before I had to leave. I followed Radha inside. Rahul had again made an omelette for us. He had set it on the table for me with another cup of coffee. I ate in silence. My mind continued to think about the link between Zakkal and the Bedroom Strangler.
I finished eating, went upstairs and changed into a salwaar kameez, especially because I had to meet Sucheta later. I went downstairs to find Radha and Rahul ready.
Rahul took the wheel as I gave him directions. I dialled Dr. Ranjit Kadam’s number and put the phone to my ear and said, ‘I’m Siya Rajput. I’m a private detective. Am I speaking to Dr. Kadam? Is this a good time?’
‘Yes, and yes. Also, I know who you are,’ Dr. Kadam said.
My eyebrows went up in surprise.
‘I know you because of Kishore Zakkal’s case. I had studied it when he was caught. You’re quite a legend for catching him.’
Kishore Zakkal was one of India’s most researched killers. Still, ironically, no psychologist knew much about him when I last spoke to them. Dr. Kadam continued, ‘Also, please call me Ranjit.’
He had a calm and soothing voice. He spoke crisply and had a measured tone to his speech.
I said, ‘I wanted to talk to you about Kishore Zakkal himself.’
‘It was crazy how you caught him,’ he said.
I paused, not knowing how to take that compliment. ‘Well,’ I managed to say. ‘There’s been a new development in his case.’
‘Wasn’t he in Yerwada?’
‘Yes, but we suspect someone outside who knows him is killing on Zakkal's command. A woman was murdered. The state of her bathroom was similar to the bathroom when my mother disappeared. My mother's hair was left behind intentionally at the crime scene.'
‘Wow! That’s interesting,’ he said in an excited voice, before realizing the same man had taken my mother. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to -’
‘I know. Leave aside the formalities.’
Silence.
I said, ‘That’s not it. The analysis of my mother’s hair revealed that she was alive when it was chopped. That means she was alive forty-eight hours back. She could still be breathing.’
‘That changes everything. Extended kidnapping. It’s almost as if he has held her in prison.’
‘And someone else, most probably the Bedroom Strangler, was taking care of her when Zakkal went to prison.’
Silence.
‘I’m just trying to let it sink in,’ Ranjit said.
‘Everyone in the Pune CID is trying to find out who this killer is,’ I said. ‘I’m forwarding you CID’s case file as well as my report. It’ll be really helpful if you could make an assessment on Zakkal and the Bedroom Strangler.’
‘I went to meet Zakkal in his cell. Everything you would need is in the report,’ I said.
‘I'll get on it right away,' Ranjit said. I could sense the excitement in his voice, not the creepy kind but the one that stems from a love for your work. ‘I keep shuttling between Mumbai and Pune for work. And a
s it so happens, I’m coming to Pune tonight. We'll meet tomorrow to discuss this further. I'll call you if I find anything before that,' he said and hung up.
I looked out the window, my mind fluttering, knowing that within ten minutes I would be sitting face to face with a man who met Zakkal three times every week for the past three years.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hardik Karve’s office was on the ground floor of an old mansion in Shivaji Nagar. A peon sitting outside noted our names and asked us to wait. His boss still had not come in. It was five minutes to ten. A lot of lawyers arrived late at their offices or did not go to them till lunch as they were busy at their chambers in the court. The court itself was five minutes from Karve’s office.
We sat for fifteen minutes in silence before we saw Karve’s car veer into the parking lot. He walked out nonchalantly and continued towards the door consumed in his own thoughts. He did a double take on seeing me. He narrowed his eyes and went past us into his office. I followed him inside before he could say anything. His office walls were full of awards and medals. His three law degrees hung on the wall behind his desk.
‘I don’t remember having a meeting with you, Miss Rajput. Also, don’t you think it’s high time you find yourself a husband?’ he said, with his back to me.
I ignored his snide remark. ‘I didn’t take an appointment.’
‘And is that your dog outside? I don’t like them. Make sure you never put him in front of me ever again,’ he said, organising files on his desk with his back still to me.
Silence.
‘Why the hell are you here?’ he said, turning around and sitting behind his desk. He dressed like his mother still put on his clothes for him. His hair was oiled and slanted across his forehead.
I remained standing. ‘I’m here to ask you about Kishore Zakkal.’
‘I can’t tell you anything about him. Are you that bad a lawyer that you don’t remember that?’
‘You know what’s happening right?’
Karve shot a quizzical look. ‘Well there’s a lot happening and you’re keeping me away from working on it.’
‘Zakkal is killing again.’
Karve laughed. ‘I met him yesterday at Yerwada. There’s no way he could’ve done it.’
‘He’s got someone on the outside who’s killing for him. You know that already, don’t you?’
Karve leaned forward. ‘How dare you come to my office and accuse me of something like that?’
‘Why do you meet him three times a week?’
‘That’s none of your business.’
‘It is if the law is being broken. It is if contraband is being supplied to a prisoner in solitary confinement. It is if that contraband is responsible for another inmate's death.'
Karve shook his head. His eyes bulged out. He was a really good actor if he did know about Zakkal. But that did not say much. All lawyers are professional liars. The best ones are better than Oscar winning actors and poker players.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘The murder that was committed in Koregaon Park. They found a lock of my mother’s hair at the crime scene. She was alive at least forty-eight hours before the murder. Zakkal admitted to taking her fourteen years back. You join the dots.’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, miss. You mind your tone. Remember who you’re speaking to.’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘Take it any way you want as long as it helps you understand the message.’
My blood boiled. ‘Where were you between four and eight in the morning two days back?’
‘No comments.’
Silence.
‘Who the hell are you anyway to question me?’ he barked.
I knew this was coming. I bit my lip.
‘Forget a gutless lawyer. Even the police don’t have a right to ask me that question. If the police think I’m a suspect, then they are welcome to take me in. I’ll sue them the hell out of their asses, including yours. You’re coming to my office and troubling me. I’ll sue you for harassment and stalking,’ he said and smiled, or at least I thought he did. ‘So, get the hell out of here.’
I did not have a choice. I got up. I had to pick my battles and this was not one worth fighting for right now.
‘Miss Rajput?’ Karve said.
I turned around.
‘If I were you, I’d watch where I go,’ he said and flicked two fingers in the air, beckoning me to get out.
I joined Radha and Rahul outside.
‘What did he say?’ Radha said.
‘Nothing apart from vomit and filth. I thought I could appeal to his human side.’
‘Did he say anything helpful?’
‘Nothing. But I know he knows something about this entire project that Zakkal has planned. He may not be the killer but he probably knows who it is.’
‘Can’t you ask Rathod to have his men keep an eye on Karve?’
‘There’s not enough proof for CID to sanction additional men. They’re already following two other people. Plus, they have their own investigation to run and Karve is smart enough to cover his tracks,’ I said. ‘There’s not enough proof that Karve is guilty. No judge will issue a search warrant on the basis of what we know right now. ‘Let’s go to meet Kataria’s wife, Sucheta. She was willing to talk to me. She knows something.’
I felt my phone vibrate as we got in the car. It was a call from Rathod. I picked it up.
He said, ‘It's the Bedroom Strangler again. The new victim was strangled as well. No blood in the bathroom this time. But her vagina has bled out big time on the bedsheet. And there's a message on the wall this time. It was written in blood and then wiped. The luminol lit it up again.'
‘What does it say?’
‘Please be seated for this. It says–I would have loved for my next victim to be a Rajput lady. But I have other plans. Their time will come. They have been warned. Second time now. See you soon, Siya.’
A shiver shot up through my spine. My stomach sank. Everything around me seemed to collapse and time came to a standstill.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I took a minute to gather my thoughts. Radha got from my demeanour that Rathod had confirmed that the Bedroom Strangler had killed again. I was not sure whether to tell her about the message. Or how much if I tell.
‘He left a warning for us at the scene of the murder,' I said.
Radha turned back. ‘You and me?’
‘Yes. He addressed the message to all the Rajput ladies in his message. That means you, Shama and I. She’s away for now.’
‘We’ve each other. We’re safe because we’re together. All three of us.’
Silence.
Radha said, ‘Shama called me yesterday to ask what was happening. She said Karan cannot get away right now. She has extended her stay by two days though as they have let her stay longer.’
I was relieved. Shama being away meant one less person to worry about. ‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘We’re stronger together.’
We reached Kothrud in thirty minutes at fifteen minutes to noon. Rahul pulled over where he could find a spot on the crowded Paud Road. He parked in a small lane that sprouted from the main road. The construction of the metro had everyone on the edge of their tempers. Some frustrated two-wheeler riders had hurled their bikes on footpaths in pursuit of a faster way out of the traffic jam. Cars honked at the slightest of pauses on the road. Pedestrians walked like land mines were buried every metre. Everyone put on display a dazzling combination of never-heard-before-expletives. Their boiling tempers provided entertainment to the bystanders.
I was not sure where the new metro station was located near More Vidyalaya. There was not much of it yet anyway, just beams and columns high up in the sky. so, I looked for it on foot while Radha, Rahul and Shadow stayed in the car. I went to the More Vidyalaya Bus Stop and asked for directions. I checked the time on my phone. Five minutes to noon.
My phone buzzed in my hand. It was Sucheta.<
br />
‘I can see you. Keep walking straight,’ she said. ‘I’m afraid someone is going to try to hurt us.’
I looked around, trying to spot her. The cars continued to honk. People pushed past each other on the broken footpaths. Crowds provided security, but they also lent anonymity. I still could not see Sucheta. I followed her instructions, wondering what had made her so afraid. Who had reached out to her to give her husband a pollen grain?
I walked straight for less than thirty seconds when Sucheta said, ‘Okay, now take the first left.’
I followed her directions and hung a left. I entered a small by-lane on Paud Road.
Sucheta spoke again. ‘Walk up to plot number 12. I work in that house. The owners have gone out of town. I just finished sweeping their garden. We’ll sit in their backyard. No one will disturb us there,’ she said and hung up.
Though hesitant about trespassing on someone else’s property, I knew I did not have a choice. But I suddenly realized I was going to an unknown place, away from the crowded streets. I was blindly taking the word of the wife of a known felon. What if this is a trap? My stomach collapsed. Radha and Rahul were far away. They would not be able to help even if they wanted to. I was suddenly aware of everything around me. The by lane itself was deserted. I pulled out my phone and called Radha.
‘Please stay on the line,’ I said and told her the house number that Sucheta had asked me to enter.
I put the phone on speaker and entered the house. A hand grabbed me, pulled me inside and shut the gate.
A woman was standing just by the gate. She turned to me. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her face had gone white. Her blouse had patches of sweat.
