by UD Yasha
I went to the kitchen and put some rice and daal in the cooker. My usual lunchtime was still an hour away but I was already feeling hungry. I made a call to my university, telling them I was going to take the next two days off because of a stomach bug. With my schedule clear, I went to the garage to plan my next steps. Radha and Rahul followed me inside.
‘Did you find anything on the Jathars?’ I asked Radha the moment we were inside the garage.
‘I spoke to some of her batchmates from college,’ Radha said. ‘Niyati and Malhar were college sweethearts. Niyati was the class topper, and Malhar was always a close second. Everyone spoke of them fondly. They mostly remembered both always being together.’
‘What about their colleagues?’ I said.
Radha pulled a chair for herself. ‘Both of them had a private practice while being associated with various hospitals. Malhar also taught at a medical school. I’m waiting for Rathod to send over their records.’
As if on cue, my phone buzzed on the desk. It was a message from Rathod.
I said, ‘Rathod just secured the warrant to get their papers.’
‘I also managed to speak to both their children,’ Radha said. ‘They were obviously shocked. I didn’t get much from them either.’
‘What about their friends here? They would know more about their day-to-day activities.’
‘I spoke to two of their common colleagues. From the way they spoke about the Jathars, it seemed like they were more than just acquaintances. They didn’t notice anything odd about their behaviour. Everything was going okay.’
Rahul turned on the fan as it was getting warmer. He took a seat on a bean bag next to us.
I said, ‘When did the two of them start their private practice?’
Radha referred to the notes on her phone. ‘I only have LinkedIn to go by right now. Malhar started it more recently. Eleven years back. Niyati started her cosmetic clinic about fifteen years ago.’
Dad had disappeared sixteen years ago.
Radha and Rahul also realized the connection. If at all there was any.
‘It could be a coincidence,’ I said. ‘We need something hard to tie Jane Doe to Niyati Jathar.’
‘I can show her photo to people the Jathars knew. Maybe someone will recognize her. I will also check her against Niyati’s patient records.’
‘That’s a good idea. We will do that once I hear from Dr. Kedar Sathe. He might show us how Jane Doe looked earlier and that could be useful.’
‘How do you want to proceed now?’ Rahul said.
I handed Rahul the list of the three people I wanted to talk to. ‘I’ll go to dad’s partner first—’
‘I remember him,’ Radha said.
‘Yeah, he has seen us as kids.’
‘Shrinivas Kulkarni,’ Rahul read from the list.
‘That’s right. The new information and names we have might trigger his memory. I was thinking of calling him but going over will be better. He lives on Karve Road so it isn’t too far either.’
‘Do you want us to come?’ Radha said.
‘No, I think it’s better if I do this alone. I have met him twice on professional terms and I think that would make a difference.’
‘Are you sure?’
I put a hand on Radha’s shoulder. ‘I know you’re worried about me. But I’ll be okay. I’m just going to meet dad’s former partner.’
I made a quick call to Shrinivas Kulkarni and told him I was coming. I didn’t tell him the reason. He sounded surprised to hear from me, as even I would have had he called me out of the blue.
We went back to our house. By then, the rice and daal were ready. Radha had also made bhendi sabzi. Maa, Radha, Rahul and I ate together at the dining table. Shadow also munched on his boiled eggs next to us.
Maa asked me about the cut on my cheek. I told her that I had slipped in the bathroom and got hurt. She was talkative, so I guessed she bought it. She told us about an incident from our childhood where Radha and I had made lunch for the first time together. The daal had become too watery and the rice was too sticky. She patted our backs as we finished and told us we had come a long way since.
I went upstairs to my room. I didn’t know what prompted me to put on my bullet proof vest. I picked a loose and black kurta to wear so that the vest would be hidden. I slipped my gun into the holster and walked out to my car.
It took me twenty-seven minutes to reach Shrinivas Kulkarni’s house. He lived in a small but cozy township called Puja Paradise. It was one of those old landmarks that everyone used to give directions to auto rickshaw wales.
Shrinivas lived on the sixth floor of a ten storeyed building. I knew he had a wife and two kids, a son and a daughter. Both were married and lived elsewhere. Anticipation swelled within me when I rang the bell of his house.
A lady of around sixty years old opened the door for me. She was wearing a cotton saree and several bangles around her wrist.
‘You must be Siya,’ she said with a grin as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. ‘Come in.’
I exchanged pleasantries with her for the next minute until Shrinivas himself walked out into the living room. I would have recognized him even if I had bumped into him on the street. He didn’t look much different than how I remembered him. Only his hair had become greyer and he had put on a slight amount of weight. But despite that, he looked nowhere as old as he was, which I guessed was again about sixty.
‘Sorry, I had gone to the loo,’ he said and chuckled. ‘It’s so good to see you after all these years.’
I made more small talk for another minute. His wife then stepped out of the living room a few seconds later, guessing that we needed to be left alone.
‘Tell me, how come you decided to come today?’
‘It’s about dad.’
Shrinivas’ eyes narrowed. ‘What about him?’
‘I don’t know how to say this, but some new evidence in his case has come up.’
His eyebrows went up. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘I can’t say much right now. But I wanted to know if you know some of these people.’
‘Go ahead.’
‘I know you have spoken about this before, but was dad in any kind of trouble before he disappeared?’
Shrinivas shook his head. ‘No, not at all. I would’ve known. We used to practically live together because of our work.’
‘I know. But I have a reason to believe that he was taking bribes.’
‘What?’
Silence.
‘Where did you hear that? It’s impossible.’
‘I know. I find it hard to believe too.’
Shrinivas leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. ‘Aniruddha Rajput would never do anything against the law. We worked on all cases together and there was no funny stuff happening.’
Mule’s register flashed in front of my eyes. I said, ‘By any chance, can you tell me the case were you investigating in May of 2003 or to be precise on 22nd May that year.’
‘That’s six months before Aniruddha went missing.’
‘I know.’
‘Why that date?’
‘I can’t go into the details but I have a reason to believe he took a bribe of fifty lakhs then.’
Shrinivas went silent for a spell. ‘I have a summary log book myself. I have been helping the police in digitising old records. Let me see if I can look anything up.’
He disappeared inside. In the meantime, his wife stepped out with two cups of coffee.
‘I haven’t put any sugar, so you can take it according to your liking,’ she said and handed me a cup and placed a bowl of sugar on the centre table. She went back to one of the rooms just as Shrinivas walked out with a laptop and a thick book in his hand.
‘Here,’ he said, and turned the laptop screen towards me so that we both could see it.
I sipped my coffee as Shrinivas used the dropdown menu to search for the cases in May 2003. Only one case came up. It was that of the local
don who was smuggling drugs from the port in Mumbai.
‘The database isn’t complete yet. I’m sure there were other cases,’ Shrinivas said and then started flipping the pages of his thick book and began reading out the different cases he and dad had worked on that month.
‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘Do the names Malhar and Niyati Jathar spark anything?’
Shrinivas scratched his slight stubble. ‘Not right away,’ he said and paused. ‘You can’t tell me anything more?’
‘Both of them were doctors. They were killed today morning,’ I said, knowing that he could easily find that out through his contacts in the police.
‘How are they connected to your father?’
‘That’s the thing. I don’t know. Not yet at least. I don’t even know if they are related to dad.’
Shrinivas kept the thick book away. ‘Siya, can you please tell me what’s happened so suddenly that you’re asking these questions now?’
I said nothing, unsure what to say. I told him about the call I had got in the morning and how Jane Doe had got plastic surgery.
‘Do you have a photo of this woman?’
I showed it to him on my phone. ‘She’s not in the best shape,’ I said.
‘I haven’t seen her before,’ Shrinivas said after a spell of silence. ‘Why don’t you do one thing? Send me the names and pictures of these people. I will ask my colleagues.’
‘I don’t want to spray around this information,’ I said.
‘I understand,’ he said and paused. ‘I want to help you in whatever way I can.’
‘The bribe might not have been related to cases in May. It could have been about something that happened in the following or preceding months. Can you share the cases you and dad worked on that year till August?’
‘Sure, I’ll email you the scanned copies.’
‘Thanks. I’ll be in touch,’ I said and rose to leave. ‘You know where to find me in case you remember something.’
‘In that case, I’ll be calling you first thing. Please take care, Siya,’ Shrinivas said.
I walked back to my car and started driving back, a thought struck me. As much as I had hoped to get something from Shrinivas, I knew there was a high chance that he would not be able to add much value. I still decided to go through the cases dad worked on that year. But I wondered about the usefulness of that. Unless it was a glaring case of corruption, it was hard to track it down by just looking at the paperwork. And if all the people involved were careful, they would make sure to leave no paper trail behind.
That’s when a thought occurred to me. There are two kinds of proof. The first is material evidence. Stuff like money trail, murder weapon and forensic data like fingerprints and DNA among other things. The second kind of proof involves people. Eye-witnesses and people who were a part of the crime. Generally speaking, the second type was harder to prove. How could the court be sure that someone was not lying?
In this case, I had no material evidence. There was not even any sign that any kind of material evidence existed. But if what happened in the morning with me and the triple homicide were linked, then I was staring at four deaths. All possibly linked to one crime. If that was the case, someone was trying their best to keep that crime a secret.
My phone started ringing on the dashboard. A cursory glance told me it was Dr. Rastogi. I answered the call.
‘Siya, I have some information for you,’ he said and cleared his throat. ‘I analysed the blood on your clothes. It matches Jane Doe’s blood.’
‘Thanks doctor,’ I said.
As I drove home, my head began thudding, like it had every time I tried to remember how the hell a woman had bled out on me and I didn’t have a clue about it.
Twenty minutes later, the guy in the leather jacket dialled a number that connected him to a secure line with another person he called the Viper.
‘I’ve got information,’ the guy said.
‘What’s happening?’ the Viper said.
‘Senior Inspector Kapil Rathod just paid the CID’s forensics unit a visit.’
Silence.
‘They’re getting closer,’ the guy said in an urgent tone.
‘Don’t do anything right now.’
The guy was feeling frustrated. He could act now and make sure nothing happened. But his boss was always more patient than he should have been. He didn’t realize that the deeper the situation went, it became harder to eliminate targets. The guy found it ironic that the man they called the Viper was not ready to kill at first chance. What the guy didn’t realize then was that the Viper waited and waited and then slashed his mark.
‘But they’ll find out soon,’ the guy said, trying to hide the frustration in his voice.
‘I don’t like your tone.’
Silence.
The Viper paused to let his words sink in. He said after a spell, ‘They’re still a long way away from finding the truth. We’ll make sure they don't get there.’ The Viper didn’t wait for the guy to respond and hung up.
The coolness in his boss’ voice sent chills down the guy’s back. For now, he watched Rathod head to a tapri outside the CID building and drink his fifth cup of coffee.
Chapter Seventeen
I got back home at half past two. My headache had eased by then. I saw Radha and Rahul were in the garage. I went to them.
‘Maa’s sleeping,’ Radha said, realizing what I was worrying about even before I asked her. ‘Rathod just sent across all the documents he has got on Malhar and Niyati Jathar. It includes their bank statements, list of assets, patient information and personal notes.’
‘Great,’ I said. ‘I didn’t get anything from Shrinivas. I think we’re looking at a crime that was completely off the record, especially if dad got a bribe for it.’
Rahul said, ‘You look exhausted. You need to take a nap.’
My eyes were feeling heavy. I had barely got four hours of sleep at night. I gauged the situation. Radha and Rahul were fully capable of sifting through heaps of information that Rathod had sent across. I could help them, or I could sleep for an hour and get some much-needed rest. Even the doctor who had conducted the CT scan had told me to rest.
‘That’s a good idea. I think I’ll sleep for a bit. Wake me up in an hour,’ I said and went upstairs. Shadow had curled up at the foot of bed, enjoying his afternoon siesta.
I closed the curtains and snuggled into my comforter. As I closed my eyes, the scenes from Stan Mills started playing in my mind. How could I not remember what had happened? What had I seen that was so shocking? Was it dad? But if he was there, then how had I ended up unconscious. And who had put Jane Doe in my car? My head began hurting again. I rummaged in my purse for the painkiller the doctor had given me. I gulped it down with water and lay back on the bed, my eyes wide open and heart thudding against my ribs. If only I could remember what had happened.
I was facing a roadblock in the investigation. I had two more people to speak to who knew dad. But with the way my conversation with Shrinivas had gone, I was starting to not feel too upbeat about it. I picked up my phone to message Rathod.
Just then, it vibrated in my hand. It was a message from Rathod.
I spoke to Vikram Badami. He doesn’t know the four people involved. Neither did he recognize John and Jane Doe.
My phone buzzed again. It was another message from Rathod.
We are circulating their pictures in my criminal informants’ network. Let’s see if there’s a hit.
I sighed. Another dead end. I checked the time. It was close to three. Kedar Sathe, the facial reconstruction expert, would probably just be getting free now. I hoped he could give us a face. There was a high chance that Jane Doe was the one to have called me in the morning. Knowing her identity would definitely give us new leads.
I felt hopeful.
With that thought in mind, my eyes closed and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.
I woke up again with a start, all sweaty. There was no nightmare this time. Just a
restless nap. I checked the time. Twenty minutes past three. It hit me that I thought I had overslept and wasted valuable time, and that’s why I woke up in a panic.
I tried to close my eyes, but the thoughts flew in and out. I realized that sleep was a luxury I could not have then. I sat up on my bed and closed my eyes to meditate. My therapist had suggested I start meditating while I was still recovering from the Kunal Shastri episode. It had been life-changing. I had gotten into the habit of starting and ending my day with it. Only when the stress was too high, I would seek the calm in the middle of the day.
After just ten minutes of practice, I felt more in control. And I had a new plan. But I had to confirm something else first.
I called up the clinic where we had got my CT scan done. The lady across the line told me the results were ready and they hadn’t gotten around to emailing them to me yet. As soon as I got off the line with her, my phone chimed. A copy of it would have also gone to Dr. Rastogi.
I dialled his number and asked him to check the results. He called me back in five minutes and said, ‘The report looks good, Siya. You’re clear of any major brain injury.’
I punched the air and let out a sigh of relief, realizing only then that a part of me was worried about the results showing something serious.
‘Seeing this result, I’m positive that your memory loss was induced by stress or trauma,’ Dr. Rastogi said.
I thanked him. That’s all I needed to take the next step. I was dreading it but it was required. My finger hovered over the name of my therapist. Komal Raheja. She had been a massive help when I was at rock bottom after the Kunal Shastri incident. I was afraid because talking to Komal meant getting emotionally exhausted. Could I afford that right now? But at the same time, the conversation with her could help me remember what happened in the morning. Because of all the dead ends I was hitting, I tapped her number to make the call.
Chapter Eighteen
After taking an hour’s nap at his house, Rathod got back to a packed CID office. The triple homicide had gotten everyone busy.
