by UD Yasha
Shama opened the door for us. Atharva was behind her. Natasha was still in my arms. She was hugging me tightly. Radha had already informed them what had happened and that we were bringing Natasha back with us.
Shadow was waiting for me at the door as well, putting on display his best behaviour. He has a strange way of being perceptive. He sensed he could not welcome me in his usual way. So, he just rubbed his nose against my leg when I came in.
‘Maa’s awake,’ Shama said.
I carried Natasha upstairs. Shadow followed us. I wondered how maa would react on seeing her. As I opened the door to maa’s room, Natasha woke up in my arms. She looked at me quizzically.
‘We’re at my house,’ I said with a smile.
Maa was awake and sitting on her bed. Her eyes glinted with love and care.
‘This is my mother. We love her very much,’ I said, sitting next to maa.
Natasha’s attention was elsewhere. She was staring at Shadow, who was looking back at her with earnest eyes. I did not have to wait to find out if Natasha was scared of dogs. She stretched a hand in Shadow’s direction.
Shadow had received training to be a therapy dog after we had adopted him. He had played a big role in my recovery. He had gotten along well with maa. And now, he was working his magic with Natasha as well.
‘Do you want to play with him?’ I said.
Natasha smiled for the first time, revealing her crooked teeth. Her eyes lit up. Shadow started licking her face. She danced with her hands while sitting on the floor, enjoying every bit of Shadow’s love attack on her.
I said, ‘Is it okay if I go downstairs for a bit?’
Natasha tapped her foot.
Just before I got up again, Shadow took full advantage of me being at his height by licking my face. I stroked his head and walked out. Just before closing the door, I saw Natasha also stroking Shadow’s head. First in a circumspect way and then with more confidence. She was a bright kid. I was surprised but glad that she had opened up so much already.
I remembered that maa had an appointment with her psychiatrist Dr. Pande in a few hours at ten AM. It was almost six o’clock already. I knew maa would have waited for us all night and not slept. So, I texted Dr. Pande, asking him if we could reschedule it for the evening.
I went downstairs. Everyone was waiting for me. Atharva rushed towards me.
‘When I saw the news…it…it was bad. I was very afraid,’ he said.
‘I’m here, completely fit,’ I said, grinning. ‘Thanks for staying back home with maa and Shama.’
I let out a yawn. ‘Guys, we need to get some rest. We need our sleep. Let’s discuss the case in the morning. Before you go to sleep, just remind yourself that we won today. We rescued a girl. We lost a brave man in Manohar but he would have been proud of us for rescuing Natasha on time. Let’s make him even prouder now by rescuing Rucha Sinha and getting to the root cause of all of this. ’
As everyone went to their bedrooms, I stepped out of the house and got the black file that had dad’s name in it. I took the file upstairs and put it all the way back in my cupboard’s drawer. My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Dr. Pande, telling me he would come to our home for his appointment with maa at nine PM.
I realized how exhausted I was only when I hit the bed. My eyes were heavy as I pulled the quilt up to my chest. No matter what I tried, sleep evaded me for a while. Various thoughts coursed through my mind every time I closed my eyes.
I lost track of how long I had been up. My mind wandered. I thought about dad. What could he have done to end up in Mule’s book? I wondered if the book was accurate. Was it even a list of cops who had been bribed? I decided not to tell maa about it. Could she have known all those years back if dad had taken a bribe? She surely would have told me now, especially as he had disappeared within months of taking it. I discounted maa knowing. I decided I would tell Radha about it after we cracked this case.
My mind drifted again. Speaking to Zara Shroff earlier in the day had gotten me thinking about how my life was before I had defended Kunal Shastri. I realized I needed to get back to living fully. Seeing maa’s recovery inspired me further. I was happy with my progress in the past six months. But I needed to step up my game. Which got me thinking about Atharva. A part of him was still the same as it was when we used to go out. I was still curious about him but I did not know if I wanted to act on any thoughts.
I thought about Natasha Gill as well. Why hadn’t she spoken? Would she be able to tell us who had taken her or where her mother was? At the same time, I was deeply concerned that she had not spoken a single word.
Somewhere along the way, my eyes eventually closed and I fell soundly asleep.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I woke up at eleven o’clock. Barring Radha, everyone was up already. My eyes searched for Natasha as I walked down the stairs.
She was on the couch, playing with Shadow. They played like they had known each other for a long time. Shadow had always loved kids. He was a different dog around them, not his usual jumpy self. But more considerate. With Natasha, I could make out he was even more careful.
Right then, I smelled Rahul's tasty omelettes.
‘Just in time,’ he said. It was his favourite line every time I got up later than him.
I saw Rahul bringing the massive omelette he had made for five adults and Natasha. He always made a big omelette so that we could all have it together. He put it in the middle of the dining table and got plates and forks for everyone. Just then, Radha also came down, rubbing her eyes.
‘Good morning,’ we all said in unison, by accident.
That triggered a round of laughter that did not stop until we finished the omelette. I thought of going to my office garage but it was too hot once again to sit out for long, even with an air-water cooler.
We settled in my room again.
‘The first task on our agenda is to find out why Manohar chose to work with Sitaram Mule,’ I said. We need to know why he trusted Mule. If we figure that out, we’ll get closer to knowing what all this is about.’
‘I have the address of his employer—Secure Point. It’s in Koregaon Park. I’ve forwarded the location to you,’ Radha said.
‘Thanks. Rahul and I will head there,’ I said and then looked at Atharva. ‘Can you please stay home with maa and everyone else? You’re the only one amongst us who has the ability to take on a hostile force.’
‘I understand. Anything that will help the team,’ Atharva said.
I turned to Radha. ‘You and Atharva have four tasks. You can divide them amongst yourselves. First, try to make sense of the files we got from Mule's place yesterday and see if you find anything helpful in them. Especially see if you can locate the building whose blueprint we found. Second, go through the laptops we found at Mule's place. Third, we haven’t completely followed through on the similarities between the illnesses of Rucha and Natasha. Speak to their doctors and find out what was happening to the girls. And fourth, go through the finances of Manohar, the Sinhas and the Gills. Rathod shared them with me this morning and I've already emailed them to you.'
‘I’ll take the first two,’ Radha said to Atharva.
I continued. ‘We’re waiting to see if the data from Sumeira Gill’s laptop can be recovered. I’ll let you all know the moment we hear from CID. I’m pushing to get a working copy of it so I can give it to Salim Khan.’ I saw the clock on the wall above my bed. ‘It’s eleven thirty right now. Rahul and I will be back from Secure Point around three in the afternoon. We’ll keep you informed,’ I said and paused. ‘Maa, Shama and Shadow are looking after Natasha. I’m surprised she’s holding up so well. Not just psychologically, but also physically. The doctors gave her a month to live. The month is almost up. But she seems to be holding up well.’
‘Do you want a doctor to check her out?' Radha said. ‘Things can go south pretty fast with a life-threatening illness.'
Radha had a point. I decided to ask Natasha if she would be okay wit
h being examined by a doctor.
I turned to walk out of the room. ‘If you need anything else, call me. Rathod is available as well.’
Rahul and I walked downstairs together. Natasha was still with Shadow. Maa and Shama were sitting at the dining table. Radha's words came back to me. Natasha needed to see a doctor soon. I was still concerned that she had not said a single word since we had gotten her back. She may be suffering from incredible trauma after everything that had happened to her. There had been studies that proved the impact of the environment even when the child was in the mother's womb. That's why it was advisable to speak to the tummy during pregnancy. Because the unborn child could sense the tone and mood of words. With Sachin raping his wife every day, screams and abuse would have consistently resounded in their house.
‘Hey, Natasha,’ I said, heading toward her.
She turned to me right away.
‘I need to ask you something,’ I said.
She tapped her leg. I wondered where she had learned that from.
‘Are you feeling okay?’
She tapped her leg again.’
‘Are you experiencing any problems?’
She was unmoved.
‘Do you want to see a doctor?’
She broke down. She had been alright a second before. I crossed to her and held her in my arms. ‘I won’t, I won’t call a doctor. I promise,’ I said.
But she kept crying. I patted her back while holding her. She calmed down almost a minute later. Maa walked over to us.
‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘In this house, we will only do what you want. Nothing else. I won’t call anyone.’
Natasha tapped her leg again. I put her down. Shadow licked her slowly. Within the next minute, she was playing with him again. Maa sat next to them on the couch and stroked Natasha’s head once.
‘Beta, we’re here for you if you want anything,’ maa said. ‘I don’t know why you aren’t speaking, but that’s okay. We’ll take care of you.’
Natasha did not react but her eyes were curious.
As we walked out, I realized that Natasha was doing fine until I mentioned a doctor. Why was she so afraid of a doctor? Rahul veered the car out on the road. I called Radha while getting inside the car and told her about the incident downstairs.
‘I’ll be thorough when I speak to Rucha and Natasha’s doctors,’ Radha said.
We began driving to Koregaon Park. I wondered where Sumeira Gill could be, if Natasha would ever feel safe, if Rucha was alright, and if we could crack the mystery of how Manohar came to trust Sitaram Mule.
Chapter Forty
We reached Secure Point's office at one in the afternoon. It was in Lane Number 3 on North Main Road in a tall commercial complex. We parked in an underground parking lot and rode up the elevator to Secure Point’s office that occupied the entire fifteenth floor.
We passed through a metal detector and a full body scanner outside the main door. A guard waved us in and guided us to the reception. A young man in a white shirt greeted us. The metal clip on his breast pocket told us his name was Abhay. I looked around. The main area was behind another door that could only be opened by authorized personnel.
‘We are here to meet Sitaram Mule,’ I said to Abhay, lying but not knowing how else to get inside.
‘Let me check. Please have a seat in the meantime,’ Abhay said and pointed us to a couch behind us. ‘May I know why you want to meet him?’
I had two options. Make up a story or tell the truth. I lied.
I said, ‘We go back a long way with Sitaram Mule. We wanted to seek his services.’
Abhay nodded and made a phone call. He stayed on the line for about half a minute. He replaced the receiver and said, ‘Mr. Mule hasn’t yet come to the office but you can wait for him in the lobby. I’ll make two temporary ID cards for you. Can you please provide me with some government identification?’
In less than two minutes, Abhay had signed us into the main area of the office. It was a massive space. There were about fifty open cubicles to my left while a string of glass offices lay to my right. There was a large corridor between the two. All the cubicles were occupied. The people working in them did not even lift up their heads when we entered.
A young woman walked towards us and asked us to take a seat on another couch. She disappeared somewhere for two minutes and returned with two glasses of watermelon juice for us. We thanked her and took the glasses.
She said, ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for a while. Someone will be with you soon as Mr. Mule isn’t here.’
We waited and waited, wondering if anyone ever took a break at Secure Point.
We did not see the man who was wearing a suit as he walked up to us because he came from behind us. ‘You’re here for Sitaram Mule right?’ he said.
The name tag clipped to his blazer told me his name was Sashi Kolte. I shook hands with him. He had a slight stubble and must have weighed about a hundred kilograms.
‘That’s right,’ I said.
Kolte referred to his watch. ‘He should’ve come by now. I can help you out if you wanted to hire him.’
‘Sure, I said,’ I said.
‘Give me a moment. I’ll check which conference room is free,’ Kolte said and broke away from us.
‘Mr. Kolte?’ I said loudly in the dead silent office.
A man in one of the cubicles looked up at me.
Kolte walked back towards us. ‘Yes?’ he said.
‘Do you know Mr. Mule well?’ I asked.
‘Yes, we head different departments and work closely together. We grab a drink every now and then as well.’
‘Can we please have a word with you in private?’
Kolte narrowed his eyes. ‘What's the matter?'
‘Something’s wrong. We need to speak to you about Mule.’
‘About Mule? What do you mean?’
‘It’s difficult to explain all of this. But we can’t. We need to be careful.’
Kolte looked around and rubbed his nose once. ‘Alright, come with me,’ he said.
We followed Kolte down the big corridor. The roof was high and as shiny as the tiles on the floor. We passed several conference rooms and even more cubicles. We eventually reached Sashi Kolte’s office after a minute. It had full length glass windows and shiny marble flooring. I looked out the window and marvelled at the colour of the sky. It was past noon but it seemed like early evening. Light grey clouds had gathered in the distance.
Kolte held the door open for us as we got in. The office itself had several shelves, various books on law and technology and four certificates highlighting different achievements.
Kolte took a seat on the other side of a glass top desk and said, ‘Tell me now. What’s the matter?’
‘I am Siya Rajput and this my colleague Rahul. I'm a lawyer and a private detective. I'm working on a case that involves Sitaram Mule.'
Kolte’s eyebrows went up in surprise. ‘I thought you were seeking Mule’s services.’
‘My client was working with Mule,’ I said.
Kolte was confused. And alarmed. ‘Can you tell me what’s happening here?’
‘I request you to please bear with us for a few minutes. We’ll tell you everything you want to know. This is a serious matter.’
‘All matters concerning Secure Point are serious because of the kind of work we do,’ Kolte said.
‘If you don’t mind me asking, what is it that Secure Point does exactly?’
‘First tell me what work you have with Mule,’ Kolte said.
Silence. Rahul and I exchanged glances.
‘Alright, I’ll go first,’ Kolte said. ‘Secure Point is a security analytics company. We help organisations and governments stay secure online. We do active threat detection and elimination for several large organisations across the world.'
‘Computer and network security?’
‘Not just that. We go deeper. There's always a human mind behind every threat, whether it be a hack, a virus,
a case of surveillance or anything else that you can think of. The human is pulling the strings. We try to get the human. Because that reduces the chances of the same threat coming back with the same strength right away. It's a never-ending process. Like in various organisations, most people can be replaced with relative ease. But there's always a gestation period before the new person takes over completely. In our world of cybersecurity, even a five-second delay can result in a loss of millions of dollars. We also work with various governments. For them, a five-second advantage can result in a massive strategic advantage—that again will result in saving a lot of money and gaining invaluable tactical advantage. When we take out the mastermind, we save much more than five seconds.’
‘What do you mean when you said we take out the mastermind?'
Kolte laughed. ‘I’m not talking about executing the person. Sorry if it came out that way. What I mean by that is we get evidence against the person and hand it over to the police. Because we are thorough at every step, the police are able to nab the criminal. In the meantime, we track the criminal closely and make sure he doesn’t flee. Our expertise, as I said, lies in closing out the threat.’ Kolte gauged us after he finished speaking. ‘What are you here for exactly?’ he said.
‘We were investigating a clue that led us to Sitaram Mule’s house. We found him dead in the bathroom of his house,’ I said.
Kolte’s face turned pale in a jiffy. ‘What? When?’
‘We suspect he was killed around midnight yesterday.’
‘What’s this case?’
‘Before we say anything more, we need your word that you will not tell anyone what we discuss.’
‘That’s going to be hard. Our man has gone down. Can you please tell me what happened?’
We did not know if we could trust Kolte. So, we told Kolte about what was there in the public domain from the four murders and Rucha’s disappearance to the murder of Sitaram Mule. It was good enough information to get him interested without revealing our cards.
‘We want to know why and how Manohar, who was so afraid to trust anyone, teamed up with Mule. Can you please tell us about him?’ I said.
