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

by UD Yasha

  Atharva stepped forward. He said, ‘Do you want me to ask Malini about it? She would know about money being debited from their bank accounts.’

  ‘We'll wait for a bit. It shouldn’t take long now,' Radha said, glancing at the screen. ‘The data sorting has started. I've already got a few transactions that fit my theory. We need to get to a statistically significant point. A few more minutes.'

  I inhaled deeply. We were onto something. I could feel it. The room became silent. We could hear the seconds’ hand tick by.

  ‘The software has just finished running the scan for the first year,' Radha said and paused, She looked at all of us. ‘It confirms that they were paying for something using Bitcoin in 2017.’

  Radha grinned. Rahul raised a hand for a high five that I accepted gladly. Atharva was silent though. I nudged his shoulder.

  ‘Hey, what are you thinking?’ I said.

  ‘I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t know what Daksh or Malini were buying using Bitcoins.’

  Radha said, ‘Transacting in Bitcoin is not illegal in most countries in the world. It’s a grey area in India. But a lot of illegal activities are funded using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency as it is difficult to trace it.'

  I was concerned about Atharva but at the same time ecstatic about our findings. I did not want to waste any time. I kept my phone ready with one eye on Radha’s laptop screen. The code had run half through 2018. The months rolled over.

  ‘The scan for the second year is complete,’ Radha said. ‘I have again found statistical significance. The connection is stronger this time. I think it’s because Bitcoin was more volatile in 2018 than 2017.’

  This time the celebration was muted.

  Atharva walked to a corner in the room and pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times and put it to his ear.

  ‘What were you buying using Bitcoins?’ Atharva asked first up. A few heartbeats of silence as Malini replied. ‘How is that possible?’ Atharva was getting worked up. He walked from one end of the room to the other. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’ More silence. ‘Alright, we found something that is a possible clue. I thought I should ask you about it,’ Atharva said, shaking his head. He hung up after that.

  He turned to all of us. ‘Sorry for that,’ he said. ‘She said she doesn't know about any cryptocurrency related transaction. She said Daksh could have been behind them,' Atharva said.

  ‘In that case, we were probably looking at this very differently,’ Radha said. ‘What if Daksh did something that triggered all of this?’

  I wanted to speak to Jay Parikh. I was waiting for the most recent year's scan for confirmation. The months again rolled one by one. One of the files that we had taken from Mule's house had account information. Jay had told us that Mule had downloaded user information from the chatroom. I wondered if it would mean anything if there was an identical transaction on the chatroom on the same date as to when there was a debit from the bank accounts in question.

  ‘Done. Bang on target for year number three as well,’ Radha yelled, punching the air. ‘The ratios are statistically significant for all the years we checked. Both the Sinhas and the Gills used Bitcoin to purchase something. I also now know, they bought something with Bitcoin every month. Sumeira around the 14th of every month, while the Sinhas purchased something on the 20th.’

  I tapped on Jay Parikh’s contact number and held the phone to my ear. I told him what Radha had found.

  He said, ‘That’s really big. Given the situation, it’s highly likely that the transactions have something to do with the Dark Web. I’m on it. I can already see that Radha has shared her findings with me, including the raw data. I’ll go through it all.’

  ‘Sounds good,’ I said.

  ‘Thanks. It is useful. While decrypting anything of this kind, it’s easier to focus on cracking small segments at a time. If I know a part of the answer, I can work towards it.’

  ‘Good luck,' I said, feeling deep down that the answers we sought were in the data downloaded by Mule.

  He would not have put everything at stake for nothing. He also did not know he was going to be killed. So, he was prepared to face the consequences of his actions. Something also told me that Manohar picked Mule because of his strong moral compass. Both Manohar and Mule had risked everything they had—love, family and their own lives. Just as much as I wanted to get Rucha back home, I now wanted to find the truth for Manohar and Mule. They deserved it.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  It was eight forty when I went downstairs. I needed to prepare maa for her appointment with Dr. Pande. I could not wait to tell him about her development in the past forty-eight hours. I knew he was going to be ecstatic about seeing her with Natasha. Maa had not only been stable throughout this period but she had been able to think independently and look after herself. I prepared mental notes of what all to tell Dr. Pande. He asked me after every session about her progress.

  I had decided not to call Dr. Pande a doctor that day. When I had brought up that word in the morning, Natasha’s body language had changed drastically for a few heartbeats and only returned to normal when I told her I wouldn’t call anyone. I had to be careful. I needed to get Dr. Pande on board with what was happening. He usually had a stethoscope dangling around his neck. He would have to keep it inside his suitcase today.

  I sent a text message to Dr. Pande.

  Please don’t mention you are a doctor today. Hide your stethoscope. Don’t worry. This is not about maa but someone else. I’ll explain later.

  I tapped maa’s shoulder to wake her up. I was careful to not make any sudden movements because Natasha was sleeping with her head on maa’s lap on the couch. She had gotten terrified the last time I had woken her up from sleep.

  ‘Hey, get up. It’s almost nine,’ I said to maa.

  Natasha woke up instead. She looked at me with curious eyes. Just a day of being treated like a child must be had sparked life on her face. I remembered Jaggu and felt angry for a flash but that emotion washed away when Natasha smiled at me. I wondered again what she could be thinking. I decided I would ask Dr. Pande to somehow examine Natasha without letting her know. I had no idea how that was possible but Natasha needed to be checked.

  I again began thinking about what she had been through. I waved my hand at her. She tapped her leg and smiled again. She put her hands in the air, beckoning me to carry her. I held her firmly and then raised her as high as I could. She giggled again. I raised her high again and she began tapping her foot. Her giggles filled the living room. They were soft but sweet and genuine.

  I made an airplane of her, and while playing entered the kitchen. I put her on a chair.

  ‘Are you hungry?’ I asked.

  She tapped her leg.

  Radha loved chocolates, especially KitKat, so we always had some in the fridge.

  ‘This is one of my favourite chocolates,’ I said, peeling the wrapper for Natasha before giving it to her. ‘Even my sister loves it.’

  Natasha munched on the chocolate with a smile on her face. She licked her fingers after eating it and giggled once again. I wondered if this was the right time to ask her if she remembered anything about what had happened to her or if she knew where her mom was.

  ‘Did you like it?’ I said.

  Natasha tapped her leg once again.

  ‘I want to ask you a question. May I?’

  Natasha tapped her leg again.

  ‘Do you remember what happened to you before we met yesterday night?’ I said.

  Natasha did not move. Her body stiffened. I hated to put her through this. I imagined all the terrible things embedded in her memory were flashing behind her eyes. She began shaking.

  No. No. Not again. Please, I am sorry, Natasha.

  I stepped closer to her and wrapped her in my arms. She shuddered so much that I began shivering with her.

  ‘What’s happening?’ maa said, probably watching from the back.

  I had not thought
this through. I had asked her in the same room as maa. Would maa be able to take this?

  ‘Are you okay?’ maa said again.

  I hugged Natasha tighter. I only realized she was crying when my T-Shirt got damp. I stroked her hair. ‘It’s okay,’ I whispered in her ear. ‘I’m sorry I asked you.’

  Amid Natasha’s loud heaves, I heard maa walk up to us. I had been an idiot to do all this in front of maa. I first felt maa’s hand on my head. Then she hugged me from behind. Even she was breaking down. Her tears were warm on my neck.

  Just then, Natasha tried to escape from my embrace. She was gulping hard while trying to breathe. Was she finding it difficult to breathe again? This surely was not great for her blood pressure.

  She put a hand on her mouth and heaved loudly once again. The face of Suhana Kulkarni, the girl who was in coma because of my mistake, flashed in my mind. Have I hurt another child?

  ‘Radha!’ I yelled at the top of my voice. ‘Radha!’

  The next second she was thundering down the stairs. My attention was on Natasha. Maa had released me from her embrace. She was behind Natasha, stroking her back.

  ‘What’s happening?’ Radha said, her voice full of concern.

  Natasha brought her hand down from her mouth. She stopped shivering. She tapped her leg again. She took five sharp and short breaths.

  She opened her mouth. Was she okay?

  The doorbell rang. Radha ran to open it. I could make out Dr. Pande’s voice when he spoke to Radha. Natasha opened her mouth again. She froze and could not close it. She touched her cheek with her hand.

  ‘Come here fast. She needs medicine,’ I said as Radha arrived with a glass of water as Dr. Pande ran towards us.

  A sound came from her mouth. I could not make out what it was.

  And then Natasha Gill spoke for the first time.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Natasha spoke each world clearly: ‘He has a golden tooth. I do not know anything else.’

  She started crying again. She buried her face in my stomach. I patted her back.

  ‘Thank you so much,’ I said. ‘You’re a brave young girl.’

  Everyone was stunned. Rahul and Atharva had also come downstairs. All of us exchanged glances. I patted Natasha’s back. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Dr. Pande stepped forward to examine Natasha. Radha got his attention by tapping his shoulder. She took him to the other end of the hall and spoke to him in a hushed voice.

  Twelve minutes went by before Natasha calmed down. She was holding me tightly. She loosened her grip after a spell and let go of me. Everyone around us stepped away so as to not scare Natasha.

  ‘Do you want one more chocolate?’ I said.

  Natasha stayed still for five heartbeats. Then, she tapped her leg.

  Relief flooded through me. She was back. My heart thudded against my chest. I went to the fridge and got one more bar of KitKat.

  ‘Here you go,’ I said and handed it to Natasha.

  I checked the big wall clock to my right. Nine thirty. We had gotten a valuable piece of information. Now, we needed to act.

  I realized maa was trying to get my attention without Natasha knowing. She tapped herself twice and then did the same thing in Natasha’s direction, telling me that she would look after Natasha. Maa had also been upset just a short while back. I did not want her to go through the same emotions again. But Dr. Pande, who was standing behind maa, gestured for me to take her word. I felt relieved for a beat, knowing that he was here. Radha used to call him a God-sent gem.

  I turned to Natasha. She was still having her bar of chocolate ‘Is it okay if I go for some time? I said. ‘My mother will be here with you.’

  She tapped her leg with the bar of chocolate in her mouth. I planted a kiss on her forehead and went upstairs. Radha followed me up. Rahul and Atharva were already in my room. To my surprise, Dr. Pande followed me as well.

  ‘What’s the matter with her?’ he said the moment the door closed.

  I told him about everything. It was nine forty-five in the evening.

  ‘I can examine her,’ he said. ‘I won’t tell her I’m a doctor. Not so long ago, I worked in the paediatrics department at Sasoon Hospital. I got along well with kids.’

  ‘Yeah, I was going to request you to do it. I’m just very concerned that her health is deteriorating and we don’t know enough about it.’

  I turned to everyone else. ‘She remembers a man with a golden tooth.’

  ‘We haven’t met or spoken to anyone who has a golden tooth,’ Rahul said.

  ‘The girl uttered eleven words. That’s it. It has to be important. What is a golden tooth anyway?’

  ‘Is she using some sort of a metaphor?’ Radha said.

  ‘I don’t think so. She’s not even ten,’ Atharva said. ‘But she might have heard someone say it. And then it could have gotten stuck in her mind.’

  ‘I think she described a person. A man with a literal golden tooth,’ I said.

  ‘Like a tooth capping,’ Dr. Pande said.

  ‘Exactly. But who is she describing? The person who took her?’

  ‘Does Jaggu have a golden tooth?’ Radha said.

  Radha had a point. Her last captor was Jaggu. I called Rathod.

  ‘Can you please check if Jaggu has a golden tooth?’ I said.

  ‘What?’ he said.

  ‘Yeah, long story. Please check and tell me.’

  ‘I don’t think he has one. I would’ve noticed it otherwise. I punched him several times last night and today morning to get the truth out of him.’ Rathod paused. ‘What’s the matter?’

  I told him what Natasha had said.

  ‘I’ll look up in our database for convicts with a golden tooth. Tell me if anything else comes up,’ he said and hung up.

  The very next moment, just as I brought my mobile down from my ear, it started buzzing again. Someone was calling. I looked at the screen. Jay Parikh. I pressed the little green icon and put the phone on speaker.

  ‘Siya, I have cracked it. I have cracked the accounts file.’

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Heat rose from my face in anticipation. We are so close. I remembered Rucha’s smiling face from the photo that Atharva had shared with me.

  ‘Please go on,’ I said.

  ‘Radha shared with me the code that she wrote that told for certain that the funds from their accounts had been used to buy Bitcoins,’ Jay said. ‘I got timestamps of when the transactions were made. I then cross-referenced it to the payment made to the chatroom Bitcoin wallet. I considered a lag of two days between the two. Let’s call this sample set A. I made another list of all payments made to the chatroom based on the location from where the payment had been made, which was easy because the chatroom stored that data.’

  ‘What did you find, Jay?’ Rahul said.

  ‘Sorry, I got carried away. I found that Sumeira Gill and Malini Sinha were paying the chatroom in Bitcoin.’

  ‘What were they buying?’

  ‘They were buying medicines from the people who controlled the chatroom.’

  ‘You mean drugs?’ I said.

  ‘No, medicines. Not branded but generic medicines. They have all the properties of a proper medicine but are priced cheaper because they’re locally produced.’

  ‘Why were they buying medicines from the Dark Web?’ I said. ‘Even normal legitimate pharmacies had generic medicines if they wanted cheaper alternatives.’

  Radha said, ‘Why would they buy medicines from the Dark Web at all? It doesn’t make sense. I spent six hours going through their financial records. I know they spent a lot on them through proper pharmacies. Are you sure it’s not something else?’

  ‘Do you know the names of the medicines they bought?’ Dr. Pande said.

  ‘Yeah, I’ll forward you the list of medicines they purchased,’ Jay said. ‘I found forty different users paying a similar amount to the chatroom. I used Radha’s code to get them. I’ll forward their names to you. Four of them, including Ma
lini and Sumeira, are from Pune.’

  ‘Great work, Jay,’ I said.

  ‘That’s not it. I found a video file in the data as well. I’m very close to decrypting it. I’ve cracked the code to fifteen per cent of the pixels. I’ll send it to you as soon as I am done,’ he said and cut the call.

  ‘This doesn’t make sense. I thought the chatroom was something bigger,’ Radha said.

  ‘We’re missing something,’ I said. ‘Mule entered the chatroom by paying two crore rupees. He wasn’t a fool.’

  ‘Maybe even he was expecting it to be something else,’ Rahul said.

  ‘He wouldn't have kept working on it if it was just a drugs marketplace—even the hard kind like cocaine and heroin. There’s something much more than just generic medicines,’ I said.

  ‘I know pharmaceutical companies have insane profit margins,’ Radha said. ‘It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. They could be testing out a new product or maybe even selling it a premium on the Dark Web. It’s entirely possible to have a parallel black market of legitimate medicines on the Dark Web. Maybe Mule was trying to expose a scam to loot innocent people who bought these medicines.’

  I considered Radha’s point. It was possible. Pharma companies across the world spent hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying to make sure their profit margins stayed intact. My phone buzzed in my hand again. It was a message from Rathod.

  No hits on the golden tooth.

  I read the message out loud. Radha’s laptop chimed. ‘Jay sent me the names of medicines that Sumeira and Malini ordered,’ she said.

  ‘I’ll have a look,’ Dr. Pande said.

  Radha handed me her laptop to give it to Dr. Pande. He put on his reading glasses and squinted his eyes as he read. He put the laptop on the bed.

  ‘You told me Natasha has Atrial septal defect. Have I got that right?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Can you tell me what symptoms she reported?’ Dr. Pande said.