by UD Yasha
He knew there was actually no point to any Pakistani person coming to such a show. It was a primetime news show on one of India’s biggest TV channels. It was like the entire charade was designed just to insult the Pakistanis.
That was a part of the reason Rakesh loved it. He cursed a few times—both out loud and in his mind. When he said something too dramatic, too loudly, his wife would get up and yell at him from their bedroom, which Rakesh loved even more. It felt almost as good as the Indian panellist calling the Pakistani panellist a mindless goon.
Rakesh was enjoying the program so thoroughly that he didn’t notice that the door of his apartment had been opened by a man using a lock pick. Only when he was in the living room did he see the man.
He knew it was trouble right away.
The gun in the man’s hand was a dead giveaway. He had not bothered to cover his face, so Rakesh knew he was counting down his last seconds. He said a prayer and then kissed the emblem of ‘Om’ on his ring, seeking pardon for all the sins he had committed.
‘Where is it?’ the man said.
Rakesh knew this day would come. He shook his head.
‘Do you want to see your wife die?’ the man said coldly.
Rakesh said nothing.
‘I’m asking you for the last time.’
Rakesh’s wife woke up from the noise. ‘Who are you talking to?’
The man put a finger on his mouth and stepped closer to Rakesh.
‘Nothing, it’s just me,’ Rakesh said.
‘I’m asking nicely for the last time,’ the man said looking right into Rakesh’s eyes. He whispered, ‘Where is it?’
Rakesh’s eyes broke the gaze and looked beyond the man.
That was enough of an indicator for the man to know where Rakesh had hidden what he sought. He moved backward and recognized the item he was after. He had been permitted to kill Rakesh even if he didn’t find it.
‘Please let me live,’ Rakesh said, trembling.
But the golden rule of all assassins was to never fulfill the last wish of their target if it was letting them live.
Using the silenced gun, the man shot Rakesh twice in the head. He moved to his bedroom and wondered if he should let his wife live. But he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. Better to be safe than sorry.
He shot his wife twice as well. She didn’t make a sound, and passed away silently in her sleep, the best way the man could have hoped for.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I got up at eight o’clock the next morning. First up, I wanted to know about Dr. Sonia’s health. I texted Rathod, asking him if he had an update.
Getting a full night’s sleep seemed to do wonders to how fresh I was feeling. As I heated some water to make coffee, I was thinking about what I needed to do that day. The much-needed rest had already given me new perspectives to consider.
The first point on my agenda was to know more about the murders of both the Ahujas. I agreed with Rathod. The two murders were most likely connected. Given that Sheena’s killer was still not caught, it made all the more sense. Even though Kabir Ahuja’s killer was caught, the police had not been able to find who had paid the contract killer. Sheena could also have been killed by another contract killer paid by the same person who got Kabir killed.
From what we knew then, the murders were the starting point. I made a mental note to start looking at who would benefit from the deaths of Kabir and Sheena. The motive, which the police had not known, was the key to uncovering the real killer.
I began wondering why someone’s spouse would be killed almost right after the death of the partner in a marriage. Kabir was in Pune when he was killed. It could very well be a matter of urgency and convenience. Both of them had to be killed because of a reason we didn’t know yet. But as the matter was urgent, Kabir was killed. Then, Sheena was taken out the next chance they got.
Sheena’s absence on the day she was killed also made me think about what she was running from. Or if she was hiding something. The Ahujas were well off financially. So, the fact that Sheena checked in into a cheap hotel to stay under the radar made me curious. She clearly didn’t want to be found. But why?
All the questions were coming down to the motive of the killer.
I called Rathod, thinking he would be up as well. He answered just before the call rang out.
‘How’s Sonia doing now?’ I said.
‘The second surgery last night went well. She’s still not out of danger. The doctors have put her on a ventilator as a precaution. The bullets didn’t hit any vital organs like her heart or lungs. So, while there is internal damage, the doctors think there’s a chance for full recovery. She’s hanging in for now, and the next twenty-four hours will be crucial.’
‘That was the first thought I had when I woke up,’ I said. ‘How’s the situation at work?’
‘Before coming to your house yesterday, I had spoken to the ACP about the anonymous tip we had made to Sonia. He is trying to figure out who sent it. But he took it at face value and was not suspicious about anything. Later, once I got back, I spoke to him again. Like us, he had gone through the case file of the Ahuja murders. ACP Shukla told me that he remembered the case as he was a junior officer then. In his words, even then it was bizarre but as we guessed, the media and political pressure was immense. That’s why this time, he doesn’t want the media to be told anything right now,’ Rathod paused. I heard car horns across the line. Once they waned down, Rathod said, ‘Shukla has passed strict gag orders on everyone at the CID. He doesn’t even want to involve the Mumbai Police at this moment. He told me that for all practical purposes, the CID will treat the fresh investigation into Sheena and Kabir Ahuja’s murder as the same case. However, officially, Sheena’s case will be independent. It will give the Pune CID complete jurisdiction over it.’
‘That makes sense,’ I said.
‘I am on my way to the CID office,’ Rathod said. ‘I’m trying to see if the ACP will allow me to go to Mumbai to meet the parents of Kabir Ahuja.’
‘I called to ask you that itself.’
‘We’re massively understaffed as most of our officers are temporarily suspended pending the investigation into Sonia’s shooting. There’s a chance that the ACP would let me go alone to Mumbai to meet the senior Ahujas.’
I sensed a hesitation in Rathod’s tone.
‘The only problem is that now, Kabir’s father, Motilal Ahuja is the Deputy Defense Secretary of India. We’ll have to check his schedule and make an appointment. He’s a busy man and may not have time at such a short notice. I know he moved to Delhi a few years back, so we might have to fly down to the capital.’
‘I think if the meeting is about seeking justice for his son and daughter, then he will find the time even if he doesn’t have it,’ I said.
‘I didn’t think about it that way.’
‘I was wondering if I could come. It’ll be difficult if you need to make an appointment beforehand. I wouldn’t have the right security clearance to meet him,’ I said, picturing the security and protocols that would be in place. ‘I can always say I was hired as a private detective by the Jathars. They were killed by Jane Doe, who was possibly the person of interest for the mystery shooter who also killed Ahuja’s daughter-in-law. His enemy will also be my enemy, which makes me and Motilal Ahuja friends. Classic Chanakya 101.’
Rathod laughed at my mention of India’s most ancient and well-known political strategist from around 300 BC. ‘We’ll see what we can do,’ Rathod said.
Silence.
‘I’m thinking if we should tell ACP Shukla about your father’s angle in this case,’ Rathod said.
‘He would not take that well. Apart from Shukla not liking me or my father, we’ll have to tell him how we know about it and then tell him everything from the start.’
‘Yeah, the latter was my concern as well. I’ve an idea. Let me think about it. I’ll call you in some time,’ Rathod said and clicked off.
My coffee was ready and had al
ready cooled down so I reheated it.
The second point on my agenda was speaking to Kedar Sathe. I texted him, asking him if there was any progress on reconstructing Jane Doe’s face. I gave him a brief update on what we knew about her. I also told him what I thought about trying to get a timeline on when she had got the surgery done as that could help us uncover her real identity even if we didn’t know how she looked exactly.
The third point on my agenda was to meet Kabir Ahuja’s killer in jail. Even if the cops had failed to know who had paid him all those years back, there was a slight chance that the number of years he had spent in jail had softened him. If he had been promised care, safety and support of his family back then, it would have been easier to accept it in the moment. But I knew first hand that it got more difficult to keep staying away from your loved ones after getting maa back sixteen years post her kidnapping. I also believed I could cut him a deal and offer him and his family a more enhanced protection. Given the gravity of the situation and the accolades that would follow solving a high-profile unsolved murder, I was sure ACP Shukla would be more than happy to pull in a lot of favours to make it happen.
Radha and Rahul came downstairs when I looked up from the table. We spoke a bit about the case but I wanted a change of topic. It was easy to get sucked into an echo chamber. At the same time, none of the things I wanted to follow up were time sensitive. The Warden at Yerwada Jail would only let me in after eleven in the morning, which was still an hour and a half away.
I said to them, ‘I know this may not be the best time to bring this up. But we need to start making a list of all the remaining chores to do for your wedding. It’s just six months away.’
Radha and Rahul started laughing. Radha said, ‘I wouldn’t have imagined you to speak about it at this time.’
‘I know. It’s just that I feel some time away from a problem can often give a fresh perspective. Just sleeping well got me thinking clearly.’
We laughed some more, and then we made a list of all the things we needed to buy and plan before the big date in June. Maa was also up shortly, and for just a little while, we were not talking about murders and blood, but about love and a life of togetherness.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
An emergency call was made to the CID helpline almost at the same time that Rathod stepped into ACP Shukla’s office.
A young attendant answered the phone call. She knew the protocol that had to be initiated after what she was told. Even though she was young and had only six months of experience, she had answered at least eleven calls where a murder had been reported. Each of those times, the person across the line was shocked and hysterical. In a strange, almost ironic way, it reassured her faith in humans. Like communal hatred and jealously inspired rage, at least murder was not a commonality, yet.
She took down the details like who was killed and where the murder had been committed. She also noted the person who was calling, the time of day and similar facts that could be useful later in the investigation. The attendant felt this call was less messy than others. The short story was that the house help had not got a response after she had rang the bell several times. She had spoken to the neighbours, at whose house she worked as well. The neighbours had a spare key. They opened the door of Rakesh Patil and his wife’s house. Smiles and an offer to have chai didn’t greet them this time. It was death and murder instead.
The alert generated by the attendant was triggered in ACP Shukla’s office. At that moment, Rathod walked into his office as well.
A small beep went off in the ACP’s office when a new murder was reported. He automatically got a printout with its details.
Both ACP and Rathod knew what the small beeping meant. Shukla tore off the printed message. Seeing the name of the person who had been murdered piqued his curiosity right away.
‘This can’t be true,’ Shukla said.
Rathod walked closer to Shukla’s desk and leaned in.
‘No way. It’s Rakesh Patil.’ Shukla looked up from the paper at Rathod. He has been killed,’ Shukla said, his voice fading out.
Rathod knew Patil. He was a cop who had had a long career with the Pune Police. Rathod was about to ask what happened when Shukla said, ‘He was killed last night. His wife as well. Somebody went into their house and killed them.’
Rathod knew Patil and Shukla used to get along well. They had a bunch of common cop friends as well. ‘I’m sorry,’ Rathod said.
Seeing the expressions on Shukla’s face, Rathod felt he looked surprised, more than hurt. ‘What’s the matter?’ he said.
‘Patil was one of the main cops on the Ahuja murder case,’ Shukla said. ‘It cannot be a coincidence that he died the very day we got new evidence about it.’
‘Who were the other cops investigating it?’ Rathod said.
‘Amongst the other senior ones, let me remember,’ Shukla said. He had a copy of the case file on his desk.
That was the first time that day Rathod got a good look at Shukla. He was looking dead tired. His eyes were red and puffy. His shirt was crumpled. His pants were creased. Shukla had not gone home. He had been at the office, going through everything to see if he could make sense of the events. Rathod also realized that two people had been shot within six months at the CID office. The first time, a suspect who was actually innocent, and now Sonia. Also an innocent woman. The CID had been under attack and it must have been a stressful night for Shukla. Looking around the room, Rathod saw three cups and an empty takeaway box on the side table.
Referring to the case file, Shukla said, ‘The three cops were Shantanu Dutta, Milind Kamble and Rakesh Patil.’
‘Can we contact the other two and tell them to stay alert?’ Rathod said.
‘We can’t,’ Shukla said. ‘They are both dead. Dutta died from a heart attack sometime last year. He was almost eighty years old then. Kamble died in a car accident several years back. I have been to both their funerals.’
Silence.
Shukla said, ‘I remember then how hard we all worked on trying to find who killed Kabir Ahuja. I can’t imagine that what we didn’t find then is coming back to haunt all of us. The entire police force had left no stone unturned.’
Rathod offered his boss some water. Shukla muttered a thanks and then got up.
After another spell of silence, Rathod said, ‘I'm sorry to bring this up. But it feels extremely convenient that all cops investigating Sheena Ahuja’s murder are dead. The timing of Patil’s murder makes it seem like the others were also murdered.’
Shukla said nothing. He simply got up from his desk and said, ‘We need to go to the crime scene. The media gag order stays. We have to follow protocol and get to the bottom of this right away.’
Rathod nodded and exited Shukla’s office. By then, every officer present on the first floor knew about Patil’s murder. Rathod went to his desk, wondering why the police officers investigating the Ahuja murders were killed. Did they know something more than what they put in the report? There was no way to know now.
He called Siya and told her about Patil’s murder and how the other cops were also dead, presumably not murdered.
‘I have an idea,’ Siya said. ‘I was planning to visit Kabir Ahuja’s killer in Yerwada today. I will also see if I can get hold of the medical examiner on the case. Maybe the Judge who heard the case as well. I’ll try to get their perspectives. They both ruled that Mukund Dhar was the killer, but it doesn’t hurt to see what led them, especially the Judge, to that conclusion.’
‘I’ll process an access pass for you that will allow you to go and talk to Mukund Dhar in the Yerwada Jail,’ Rathod said and paused. ‘Siya, you’ve to be careful. Someone is on a cleanup mission and we’re breathing right down their necks. We’ll be on their radar too.’
‘I’m going everywhere in my bulletproof vest and carrying my firearm.’
‘Tell Radha, Rahul and your mother to be careful as well.’
‘I will. You take care as well.’
�
��I’ll set up the meeting with Motilal Ahuja and his wife and tell you once it's confirmed. I haven’t spoken to ACP Shukla about it. But after Patil’s murder, I don’t think he’s going to have a problem with granting me permission to do everything I can to investigate this matter,’ Rathod said and hung up.
He ran to the CID van waiting outside to go to the crime scene. Something told Rathod that he was not going to find much except for knowing that Patil and his wife were killed by a professional hitman.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I knew it would take time for Rathod to get me the access required to meet Mukund Dhar in jail. It was a bureaucratic process and Rathod would also be tied up at the crime scene. Radha and Rahul were still sifting through the papers that Rathod had given us yesterday.
I decided to go through the case files on Kabir and Sheena Ahuja’s murders in detail. It was a thick file and I was going to take time to read it. I wanted to get a more detailed idea about the various stages of the investigation, the logic of the investigating officers, what the witnesses had said and what the forensic evidence proved.
I started by looking more closely into the murder of Kabir Ahuja.
A major part of his murder investigation was handled by the Pune Police. Dhar was already in police custody by the time it was officially declared a joint investigation.
On 20th November, Sheena got worried when Kabir repeatedly did not answer the landline phone at his farmhouse. His mobile phone was out of range as far as Sheena and Kabir’s parents could remember. Back then, cell phones weren’t popular because of how expensive they were, so everyone preferred landlines. In the evening on the same day, Sheena raised a complaint on the central line of the Pune Police Station.
I listened to the call recording. Sheena sounded scared and desperate. I found that odd. Not that Sheena was worried about her husband, but that she was worried so fast. It could very well had been that Kabir was somewhere outside and that’s why he couldn’t answer the call. His cellphone might not have had a signal. That Sheena got worried the same day at six in the evening, after trying Kabir’s phone for about seven hours, got me thinking if she knew Kabir was in any kind of danger.
