The COMPLETE Siya Rajput Crime Thrillers (Books 1 to 4)

by UD Yasha

  Rathod turned to me again. ‘Siya, I know you’re going to take matters into your own hands and try to find that girl. But you have to be careful. I have a feeling that something disturbing is at play here. We’re talking about four murders. If Shaunak Manohar didn’t kill them, then the killer is out there. They wouldn’t like it if someone came snooping around.’

  That thought had not crossed my mind. ‘Atharva Mehta is reaching Pune by midnight,’ I said. ‘He’ll be with me throughout. I wouldn’t be worried about my safety with him.’

  ‘I’m sorry to ask the question. But are you certain you can trust him?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said without hesitation and without thinking. A beat passed. I asked myself that question again. Of course, I could trust Atharva. He was a great guy. Even though I had not interacted much with him in the past twelve years, I knew the kind of person he was deep down. I firmly believed that even when situations change, a person’s core values remain constant. In fact, the values get stronger and come to the fore under extreme circumstances. I looked at Rathod. ‘Yes, I can trust him,’ I said.

  Silence.

  ‘How well was the Sinha house searched?’ I said.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The CID was not aware that a girl was missing until an hour after you arrested Manohar. In that case, I’m guessing the house was not searched with that in mind.’

  Rathod shook his head. ‘Two junior officers went and searched the place after that as well.’

  ‘Did you speak to the girl’s friends? Or other family members?’

  ‘Yes, I personally called her school and got the names of her friends. I called their parents but they don't know anything about what happened. I also asked Atharva Mehta about the Sinha family's closest relatives. Even they do not know who could have done it. Everyone said things were going well for them and that they were a good bunch of people.'

  ‘Is there a connection between them and Manohar?’

  ‘We’re digging into it. Nothing has come up so far. Atharva Mehta will also reach in some time. We're hoping he and Malini can tell us something useful,’ Rathod said and paused. He narrowed his eyes and said, ‘I need you to be careful, Siya. Atharva is also a suspect. I know he was in a completely different city at the time of the murders, but he could have hired someone to kill them and take the girl. You and I both know what human beings are capable of.

  I opened my mouth to defend Atharva but I knew where Rathod was coming from. Even though the idea of Atharva being the killer seemed outrageous to me, I did not want to discuss it with Rathod.

  ‘I’ll be careful,’ I said.

  Rathod turned to go but paused and looked at me. He put a hand on the table and leaned forward. ‘What did you make of Manohar?’ he said.

  ‘Too early to tell. But I feel he isn’t sharing everything he knows.’

  ‘A night in police custody and a transfer to the jail tomorrow will set his thinking straight.’

  As I saw Rathod walk away, I wondered whether that would be the case. Was there a chance that Manohar was actually more afraid of something outside the jail?

  Chapter Seven

  The cold blast from the car's air conditioner was a relief. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and lips and thought about my next steps. There were at least two things on my agenda—know more about Shaunak Manohar and speak to Malini Sinha. Mothers have a strangely strong radar when it comes to their kids' safety. Malini could have picked up on clues that could be useful. It was five minutes past midnight. Atharva would be landing in Pune in twenty minutes and he would take about forty minutes after that to reach the CID office.

  Rathod had said he wanted to visit Manohar’s family himself, along with the ACP. That gave me a small window to meet them first before they spoke to Malini. I would have liked for Radha’s fiancé Rahul Mehta to accompany me.

  Rahul worked as a biologist at a consulting firm whose clients included some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in India. He also consulted with law enforcement authorities every now and then when they required a biologist’s opinion. His knowledge of biological forensics was his specialty and there were not many people with his skill set in India. We had worked on many cases together when I used to practice law. But there was no time to wait for him right now.

  I wondered for a beat if I would have preferred him coming along if I had not gone wrong with Kunal Shastri. I hated doubting myself. I was never this way before. I put my foot on the accelerator, hoping the infusion of adrenaline would make me think better thoughts.

  Manohar’s family had already been told about his arrest. They would cooperate with me since their hopes of seeing Manohar free again rested on my shoulders. Being a defence lawyer was useful at times like these.

  I dialled the phone number on Manohar's file. It would be tapped by the CID, but that did not matter. I veered the car back onto the main road as the call got connected to the Bluetooth in my car.

  Sheila, Manohar’s wife, answered it on the second ring. Her voice was heavy. I introduced myself, told her I was on my way and hung up. It was better to keep such conversation short when the other person was in shock.

  I reached their house in twenty minutes at half past midnight. They lived in a newly constructed standalone building by the main road. It was painted a light shade of yellow and was called ‘Tulip’. I rode up the elevator to the fifth floor and found Manohar’s apartment with ease. I rang the bell and waited.

  Sheila opened the door and her lips broke into a smile upon seeing me. But it did not reach her eyes. They were red and puffy. She used the dupatta of her salwaar kameez to wipe her them and then stepped away from the door.

  ‘Please come in,’ she said, beckoning me inside.

  I took off my jutis and went in. A young teenage boy observed me closely, then ran to the kitchen. Sheila guided me to the couch and sat diagonal to me. I looked around to give her a moment to gather herself. The house was like most first apartments—compact and personalized.

  The boy returned a few seconds later with a glass. Beads of water had condensed on its outer surface. I muttered a thanks and accepted the glass. Sheila jerked her head towards an open door in the corridor, and her son got the message. He turned and went inside, closing his room’s door behind him.

  ‘My husband couldn’t have killed them,’ Sheila said. ‘He’s a good man.’ She was on the verge of crying.

  For his family's sake, I hoped Manohar was not our guy. This seemed like a normal happy family. Like any hard-working parents who tried to imbibe good values in their kids. Sheila once again looked away and wiped her face with her dupatta. She needed more time. I looked around the house again. The living room had two family portraits; one was taken recently and the other when the kids were small. Their daughter was younger. I placed her to be about eight years old. The same age as Rucha. Was there any connection between them?

  ‘I’m going to do my best in defending him,’ I said, surprising myself at how easily I lied. ‘I need to know a few things though.’

  ‘Anything you need.’

  ‘When did you last see your husband?’ I said.

  ‘Before he left in the evening. I had just come home from the office. It must have been around seven.'

  ‘What did your husband tell you before he left the house today?’

  ‘That he was visiting a friend.’

  ‘He didn’t say who?’

  Sheila looked away for a beat. ‘I know this doesn’t sound great. But he told me he was going to see some of his friends from back in college.’

  ‘Was he friends with Daksh Sinha?’

  Sheila shook her head.

  ‘Have you ever heard that name?’

  She thought for a beat and shook her head again.

  ‘Can you think of any reason why he lied to you?’

  ‘He would never lie to me,’ her voice trailed off. ‘There must have been a good reason.’ Sheila’s eyes watered up. She buried her face in her palms and sobbed
. I put a hand on her back. ‘I don’t know why he would lie to me. He has never done it before.’

  I stayed silent. There was little I could do. It would not really matter even if I comforted her.

  Sheila looked up a while later. ‘I’m sorry. This is just a tough time.’

  ‘I understand.’

  ‘Many difficult questions come up in a murder investigation. It's important that I ask them.'

  ‘I will answer any questions that will help you prove Shaunak’s innocence.’

  I said, ‘Where were you earlier today between seven thirty and nine o’clock in the evening?’

  Sheila looked at me with disdain. ‘What? You think I killed them?’

  ‘I have a reason to believe that whoever killed the Sinha family had a partner.’

  ‘Why isn’t Shaunak telling you what happened?’

  ‘He gave me his version. But there are some loopholes in it.’

  Silence.

  ‘You still haven’t told me where you were.’

  ‘I was home.’

  ‘Were your kids here?’

  Sheila shook her head. ‘My daughter was at karate class and my son was at football practice.’

  ‘So, you don’t have an alibi? A neighbour or someone else didn’t drop by or see you?’

  ‘No. I was alone. I didn’t speak to anyone.’

  I narrowed my eyes. Old memories that were crystal clear flashed in front of my eyes. There was just one thought in my mind—Kunal Shastri killed with his wife. My hands became sweaty. I wanted to get away from there and scream out the pain and agony. Instead, I sat silently with memories that had made demons start screaming in my head. Kunal Shastri’s red eyes…that grin…the excitement in his voice when he said my name and thanked me for setting him free…it all came rushing back.

  ‘Siya?’ Sheila said.

  I was shaken out from my stagger down that dark alley. ‘What is it?’

  ‘You asked me if Shaunak was friends with a man called Daksh Sinha. Am I getting the name right? Were they close friends?’

  ‘Yes, go ahead,’ I said, leaning forward.

  ‘Shaunak knows him. Even I know him. At least I think we do.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Is he Dr. Malini Sinha’s husband?’

  A trepidation rose within me. ‘That’s right,’ I said.

  ‘I know Malini Sinha. Though I’ve no idea why Shaunak would’ve wanted to meet her husband.’

  ‘How do you know her?’

  ‘She was my doctor. Shaunak and I had a hard time conceiving so we went in for a consultation with her at the time of my second pregnancy. That’s when I last saw Dr. Malini. Eight years back when Kalindi, my daughter, was born. Her husband is a financial advisor so he had suggested a child plan to us. That’s how I remember him.’

  ‘Has Daksh Sinha been your financial advisor since then?’

  ‘No, we didn’t take the plan. Shaunak didn’t like it. Also, we like to invest our money on our own. We do a decent job with it as well.’

  ‘Do you know if Shaunak ever met or spoke to Daksh since then?’

  ‘I’m sure he hasn’t. He would’ve told me otherwise.’

  ‘Can you think of any reason why he would have wanted to meet Daksh?’

  Sheila thought for a spell and then shook her head. ‘I can’t think of anything.’

  ‘Shaunak Manohar himself told me he wanted to meet Daksh. He said it was going to be a social evening. Food and drinks.’

  ‘I don’t know why he would say that. It doesn’t make sense. He lied to both of us,’ Sheila said and started crying again. ‘I know all this lying doesn’t make him look good. I don’t know why he is behaving like this.’ She paused. ‘He must have had a reason.’

  ‘Are you sure you didn’t hear of the Sinhas any time after your daughter was born?’

  ‘I’m convinced.’

  Silence.

  I downed the last two sips of water. ‘In which school does Manohar teach?’

  ‘Ad Astra International.’

  I had seen ads of the school on billboards all across Pune. It was an international school on the outskirts of the city. They had branches in four cities across India.

  ‘Is there anything else you would like to share with me that could help me prove your husband’s innocence? It could be anything. Something that didn’t feel right. Or the way he was behaving. Or a phone call he got. It could be anything.’

  Sheila thought about it once again. The past few weeks would have flashed by in her mind. ‘I don't think anything was wrong. I would've known otherwise. We shared everything.'

  I realized I was not going to get anything more from Sheila. ‘Can I speak to your kids?’

  Sheila’s face went white.

  ‘Don’t worry. I won’t tell them anything. I just want to ask them a simple question.’

  Why was Sheila hesitating? Was she just scared or was it something else?

  Silence.

  I said, ‘Children have a strange ability to be more observant than adults. It’s as if age starts chipping away at a person’s curiosity.’

  She gulped once and nodded her head. ‘I’ll ask them to come out,’ she said and walked to the room into which her son had gone. She came out with him a few seconds later. Her daughter walked behind them.

  I dropped a knee to the ground to be level with the daughter. I pulled out a bar of KitKat from my tote bag, thanking Radha in my mind for offering it to me two days back. She absolutely loved them. I broke the bar in half and handed one piece to Kalindi.

  She grinned right away. ‘Thank you,’ she said just before she blushed and looked away.

  The son took a step towards me. ‘I’m Soumitra,’ he said. I offered him the second piece of KitKat.

  His eyes lit up.

  ‘I wanted to ask you something,’ I said.

  Soumitra nodded. ‘Is it about dad? Will he come back soon?’

  I could see Sheila turn sharply towards me. She had thought her kids would not have known that something was wrong. Like most adults, she had underestimated how much kids understand. I had only realized to what extent it happened when my mentor Santosh Hegde had pointed it out during a case. A child’s curiosity is your best friend in domestic cases, he had told me.

  ‘Yes, it’s about your father,’ I said. ‘I’m doing my best to make sure he comes back soon.’

  ‘Then I’ll answer your question.’

  ‘Did you notice anything different about your dad in the past few weeks?’ I said. ‘Maybe he got angrier or more irritable than usual, or he said something he normally doesn’t.’

  Soumitra looked away as he thought. He even bit his fingernails. ‘No,’ he said. ‘He did the same things he has always done.’

  I hid my disappointment and turned to Kalindi to ask the same question, just as she said, ‘Something happened yesterday.’

  Chapter Eight

  All three of us leaned forward towards Kalindi. I have finally got something.

  ‘Daddy wasn’t home last night,’ Kalindi said.

  I saw Sheila’s eyes bulge out of their eye sockets. She turned to her daughter. She put her hands on her shoulder and said, ‘What are you talking about?’

  Kalindi began shivering. Her glances kept switching between me and Sheila.

  ‘Tell me. What are you talking about?’ Sheila said.

  I did not want to meddle but Kalindi was clearly afraid of something. I stepped forward and put a hand on Sheila's arm. ‘Please, you're scaring her,' I said.

  Sheila withdrew her arm. ‘I didn’t realize, beta,’ she said to Kalindi. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  I turned to Kalindi. ‘It’s alright, don’t worry. Tell me what happened.’

  ‘I woke up in the middle of the night to use the toilet. I don't know what time it was. I was feeling scared so daddy said he would stay with me through the night. But then he wasn't there when I got up. It was dark as well so I got even more scared.' She turned to Sheila. ‘I pee
ped into your room as well. He wasn't there either.'

  Sheila was confused and afraid. Her world had turned upside down. ‘He didn't come to the bedroom yesterday night.'

  Kalindi said, ‘I was going to come to you but I heard a sound in the living room. I don’t know what it was. I…I got very scared and ran to my bed. I covered my head with a quilt and started crying. I don’t know when I slept. Then like…like every day, daddy woke me up. I asked him why he did not sleep with me last night and he said he had to go to his school for some work. He then promised me we would go out to have ice-cream later that night so I forgot about it. But then I realized he doesn’t go to school on Sunday and yesterday was a Sunday.’

  ‘Thanks a lot for telling us that. You are a superstar,' I said and held my hand up for a high five.

  Kalindi eventually stopped shivering. But I could tell she was still afraid by the look she had in her eyes. She tapped my hand once.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Sheila said and hugged her daughter.

  She pulled out of the hug. Sheila closed her eyes hard, trying desperately to not break down in front of her daughter.

  ‘Please bring daddy home soon,’ Kalindi said.

  ‘I will, especially after the information you gave me. Is there anything else you can remember?’

  ‘I don’t know if it’s anything. But daddy has been putting me to sleep a lot more lately.’

  Sheila turned to me. ‘She’s been getting more afraid for the past few weeks. Shaunak sleeps in her room on such nights. She’s completely a daddy’s girl. He’s been sleeping there a lot more of late as Kalindi had a high fever last month and she insisted that daddy stayed with her.’

  ‘Do you remember when Kalindi had fallen ill?’

  ‘Actually, I do. It was the day after our anniversary. 16th April.'

  That was six weeks back. I said, ‘In hindsight, did anything change since then?’

  ‘Nothing at all. But now I feel I had no idea what was happening in my husband’s life.’