by UD Yasha
Mathew got up and left the conference hall along with his laptop.
Bhalerao continued once the door was shut. ‘A total of seventeen women wrote to Zakkal while he was in Yerwada Jail. Out of them, Zakkal responded more than twice to eight, more than thrice to seven and then the number dropped off to three for more than four letters,’ Bhalerao said.
I turned to Rudra. ‘Do you think there’s any chance that Zakkal’s lover could be amongst the fourteen women he stopped responding to?’
Rudra said, ‘My reading of Zakkal is that he’s a master manipulator and control freak. With that in mind, while it could be possible, the odds of it are very low. I’d first focus on the three women he was in touch with longer.’
‘How long did their communication last?’ Rathod asked.
‘Zakkal was in Yerwada for sixty-two months. All three women of interest started writing to him at different times. He has been speaking to Kritika Das the longest. She wrote to him during Zakkal’s second month at Yerwada. The second woman, Anita Thomas, wrote to him in his ninth month. The third woman, Sheetal Patil, wrote to him in his twentieth month at Yerwada. None of them stopped writing to him. Zakkal’s last reply to all of them was three weeks before Ranjit Kadam started killing for his mentor.’
‘What was the usual time between the letters?’ Shukla said.
‘It varied each time. There was no pattern. Sometimes, Zakkal wrote back the day after he received their letters, while other times, he wrote back to them a month later. The same with the women. Although they usually responded within two weeks of hearing from Zakkal,’ Bhalerao said and handed us copies of the letters that the three women had written to Zakkal.
I glanced at the clock. It was three-fifteen.
‘The topmost letter in the stack of papers was written by Kritika Das,’ Bhalerao said. ‘It’s the first one she wrote to Zakkal.’
Dearest Kishore,
I have been following your trial very closely. I look forward to watching you on the news every day. I really wish that the trial hadn’t ended. That was the only way I could see your face. Now, they have locked you up in jail.
How are you? I hope they treat you well inside. There’s a part of me that doesn’t believe that you killed all those women. But there’s another part of me that forgives you. Those women must have done something terrible to you.
I don’t even know if you’ll read this letter. In case you do, I’d love to hear from you.
Yours,
Kritika
I turned to Rudra. ‘I need to understand this. Why do women feel attracted to serial killers?’ I said.
‘The human mind is a funny place. Hybristophilia is a condition of the mind in which you’re sexually attracted to people who commit crimes. These crimes could be of different types—robberies, armed assaults, mass murders…the list goes on. A lot of serial killers across the world have received fan mails and female attention. Some serial killers have even gone on to marry their fans. The most popular example is Ted Bundy. He was said to be handsome and charming. Some women went crazy over him. The same happened with Zakkal. He was arrested at a time when social media usage and news consumption exploded. He was also an unlikely killer. He was a husband and a father. Yet, for these women, he took on the risk by killing so many women. He wasn’t caught for many years, which indicates he’s highly intelligent. He was charismatic, mysterious and authoritative. Having said all that, there isn’t much research on hybristophilia right now so it’s hard to say why women are exactly attracted to serial killers. From the limited research conducted, it is believed that women are more likely to have hybristophilia. It's kind of strange but seventy percent of the reviews of True Crime books on online bookstores are by women. I remember reading that in a working paper written by some professors at Oxford University.' Rudra paused for a flash. 'It's not just women though. All of us have an element of darkness in us and we like to play with it.' Rudra leaned forward. 'Just look around. We call ourselves investigators. We've all seen dozens of horrendous dead bodies. We've listened to criminals speak about their crimes. These are dark acts. But we keep going back to them. We want more of it. You all will admit, that as bad as all this is, we get a kick from solving a crime and getting a killer. Forget about us. Even people who don't work in law enforcement are drawn to crime. The sales of crime books are going through the roof, shattering the previous year's record every time. Crime TV shows are binged at a rate faster than anyone can make them. The BDSM genre in romance is ripe. As I said, we're all dark in some way. Most of us use that darkness to entertain ourselves on a Sunday evening or to put food on our table. Some go the extra mile in indulging it for the thrill.'
Silence resounded in the conference room.
‘Let’s go back to the letters,’ Rathod said.
Zakkal had replied to Kritika a week later.
Dear Kritika,
It's nice to meet you (through this letter?). I loved hearing from you. I hope we can keep talking. It gets lonely at times, but otherwise, I'm fine. I'm keeping myself in shape so that takes a lot of time.
Let me tell you something. You’re right. They were all mean women. I’m glad you understand me. I would love to know you more. You seem like such a sweet woman. Tell me something about yourself.
Till next time,
Kishore
PS- I’ll try to see if I can arrange for a picture to be sent to you.
‘He did manage to send her a picture,’ Bhalerao said. ‘Look at the seventh paper from the top. ‘Even she sent him her photo. First with clothes, and then without.’
‘Did he ever—’
'No, he told her in one of the letters that he wanted to save him for her when she met him in person. He went into graphic detail about the shape, size and what not.'
‘What about the other women?’ I said.
‘Anita Thomas’ correspondence with Zakkal is in the next part. They are held together by a different paperclip,’ Bhalerao said.
I flipped through the stack, pulled it out and read the first letter that Anita Thomas wrote.
Dear Zakkal,
I’ve been a silent admirer of yours for a long time. I had been wondering if I should write to you at all. I’m shy that way. I don’t even know if this letter will reach you. But I was having a bad day, and all that I could think about was you. So, I thought that I would take the plunge and write down my thoughts. In all honesty, I don’t know if I’m going to send this to you.
I first saw you when they spoke about you on the news. They called you lots of bad things. I want to know your side of the story.
I wish I could meet you once in my life. It would be something special. I want to keep writing these letters to you because I already feel better talking to you this way. Like I said before, I don’t yet know if I should send them to you. Maybe, I think I will. If just thinking about you made me feel better and more secure, hearing back from you will be even better. I really want to know you as a person.
Hopefully, you'll read this soon.
Anita
‘The language in this letter is better than the first one we read, but the content bone-chillingly creepy,’ I said.
‘I know what you’re talking about,’ Bhalerao said. ‘This woman, Anita Thomas, conveys her disturbing thoughts like someone’s writing an email to their boss, telling them that the email has an attachment.’
I went to Zakkal's reply to Anita.
Dear Anita,
I'm glad I made you feel better. I hope what was bothering you has been handled. Also, please remember that you are a strong woman. I know it. You don't need me or anyone else to tell that to you. Especially not another man.
I would love to share all my thoughts with you. Let’s play a game. We’ll ask each other one question each time. There’s just one rule—we will never lie to each other.
Are you game?
If yes, please tell me what you’d do if I was standing next to you right now?
I hope you indulge
me. Even I want to know what goes on in that mind of yours. Looking forward to knowing you more. I thought this game would be a fun way to do that.
See you around!
Kishore Zakkal
‘They go back and forth like this,’ Bhalerao said. ‘As you can imagine, the questions and answers get strange. In fact, there’s banter, sexual innuendo and a genuine effort to connect in all the letters that Zakkal wrote to all the three women.’
‘Is Sheetal Patil, the third women’s letter any different than the first two women?’ I said, flipping through the pile once again.
‘More of the same. But Sheetal Patil explicitly told Zakkal in the first letter that she masturbates to his image and the idea that he’s pleasing her.’
‘What did Zakkal say?’
‘He told her to share her picture because he wanted to return the favour.’
A rap on the door and Mathew entered the conference room. ‘I’ve got the details of all the three women.’
‘Brilliant! Can I have a look at them?’ Rudra said.
Mathew turned to Shukla for permission. He gave the information to Rudra once Shukla nodded.
‘Are there any traits that are observed in women who have hybristophilia? I asked Rudra.
He said, ‘There are but they are wide-ranging. I don’t think you would be able to narrow down suspects just based on them.’
Rudra Dastur was the first criminal profiler I had come across who claimed to not have all the answers. My respect for him went up significantly.
It was as if he was reading my mind because he said, 'If there was a wider pool of suspects, then I would have been able to help you narrow it down. But I'm imagining three suspects are manageable. However, I firmly believe that you can only call a piece of information in an investigation useless in hindsight. You never know what might come in handy. Since you asked, typically, women with low self-esteem, an absence of a father figure and anxiety issues among other traits tend to suffer from hybristophilia. The women can also feel that they can correct the behaviour of the criminal. Deep down, they might even think that there's a valid reason why the killer committed those murders. In most cases, the women, by themselves, wouldn't have committed the crimes. The criminal manipulates them. I've heard of instances of a complete brainwash too. Most likely, having such a person in their lives, makes the criminal even more successful.'
‘I had an unrelated question about the bodies we found at the farm,’ I said. ‘Why do serial killers like Zakkal have dedicated places to dump bodies? Isn’t it risky?’
‘Serial killers like to visit the place where they can marvel at their work. Visiting a body dump can give serial killer immense satisfaction,’ Rudra said.
Shukla turned to Mathew. ‘Can you tell us what you have found out about the suspects?’
Mathew stepped forward. He referred to the paper in his hand and said, 'Yes, sir. Kritika Das is thirty-one years old. Records show that she works at an IT company called Sans Technologies. She lives in Kalyani Nagar. I tried to call her but she didn't answer. I called Sans Technologies but there was no response from them either. I'm following up on her. The second suspect, Anita Thomas, died from a rare form of blood cancer soon after Zakkal escaped from prison.'
‘How soon?’ I said.
‘A week after he escaped.’
‘Wait—are you sure it was cancer?’ Bhalerao said.
‘Yes, I even spoke to her doctor and her family. They confirmed that she had been suffering from cancer for the past six years. I even asked her doctors to send me her medical records. They obliged without a warrant and the records checked out.’
‘So, Anita Thomas was writing to Zakkal while she was terminally ill?’ Rathod said.
‘She did mention throughout that she was feeling bad but then writing to Zakkal made her feel better,’ Bhalerao said. ‘She never mentioned she had cancer though.’
'She could have been living a dark fantasy by writing to Zakkal—think of it as a dying wish, sort of an escape,' Rudra said.
‘Let’s still go see her family. You never know. They might know something about Zakkal through their late daughter,’ Rathod said. ‘Where does she stay?’
‘They stay near Vanaz,’ Mathew said.
‘What about the third woman?’ Rathod asked.
Mathew said, ‘The third suspect, Sheetal Patil, is thirty years old and works as a social media manager for an advertising agency. She lives alone in Kothrud. She’s originally from Nagpur, but moved to Pune for education and has been here for the past twelve years.’
My phone buzzed in my pocket. The pattern of the vibration told me it was Radha. She had sent me a text with the name of the women who had written fan mails to Zakkal. Just like CID's list, it had seventeen names with three women of particular interest. She and Rahul made a formidable team, and I tried to hide the gleam on my face that I felt from being proud of them.
I said, ‘Do these women have any social media accounts?’
‘Kritika Das has a Facebook and Instagram profile that hasn’t been updated for a while. Anita Thomas was extremely active on various platforms before she passed away. Sheetal Patil has only reposted stuff that her employer has published.’
‘Okay, great,’ Rathod said. ‘Can you try reaching out to Kritika Das once more?’
‘Yes, sir,’ Mathew said and then dialled a number on his phone. Thirty seconds later, he shook his head and said, ‘Still not answering. Let me try connecting with her employer again. I forgot their contact number on my desk. I’ll come back.’
I turned to the clock. It was four-thirty in the afternoon. We had eight hours to get Zakkal. It felt like a noose around my neck was tightening with every passing minute.
Mathew returned. 'I got through to her employer. They told me she has been on medical leave for the past three days.'
‘That’s a red flag,’ Bhalerao said. ‘Let’s go to her house. We might find something there.’
‘Let’s split up. Kritika Das lives in Kalyani Nagar. Bhalerao and I can check it out to see what we find there,’ Shukla said. ‘Siya and Rathod can go to Sheetal Patil and Anita Thomas’ house. They live close to each other. At this stage, we have to split our hours. It’s already four forty. Our objective is to find where Zakkal is holding Sudha Barve and his other victims. I have Justice Chandra on speed dial. I’ve explained the situation to him. He understands that we’re pressed for time. So, as a one-off, he will issue warrants that we want very quickly.’
We left the CID building at forty-five minutes past four. I wondered what we were going to do if none of the women who were writing to Zakkal were involved with him.
The thought sent chills through my body.
Chapter Forty-One
I found the number of people who had been sucked into Zakkal’s web extremely staggering. Half of everyone who had written to him when he was in jail, had said something nice to him. That he had killed women, broken apart families, given the victims’ loved ones hundreds of sleepless nights and instilled fear in vulnerable women had no effect on their admiration for Zakkal. I also feared that we had missed someone from all those who had written to him.
The thoughts scuttled in my brain as we drove to Sheetal Patil’s house.
Sheetal lived in an apartment complex in a relatively good neighbourhood in Kothrud. We had to sign ourselves in at the main gate before going in. We found her building with ease and were soon knocking on her house door.
Mathew had sent us a picture of Sheetal Patil before he had left. So, I recognized that the woman who opened the door was Sheetal Patil herself. She narrowed her eyes when she didn't recognize us.
Rathod flashed his badge through the metal grill of the door. ‘We’re CID. We need to ask you some questions.’
Sheetal glared at the badge and said, ‘What do you want?’
'We are investigating a crime. We had some questions regarding it,' Rathod said.
Sheetal continued to look at us but said nothing. The seconds wer
e ticking by. I felt like punching the door hard but that would have only resulted in me fracturing my knuckles.
‘We’re short on time, Ma’am. Can you please let us in?’ Rathod said.
Sheetal nodded her head slowly and then unlatched the lock. We stepped in.
‘Please don’t mind the mess,’ Sheetal said even though her house was clean.
We sat on a couch while she pulled the only chair from a small dining table. Sheetal Patil was wearing a yellow T-Shirt and dark blue jeans. She had a sharp jawline and thick eyebrows. She was attractive, the kind of woman to whom Zakkal would be drawn to. Her hair was as black as her eyes. But Zakkal's cupboard full of wigs and contact lenses could change her appearance completely. I doubted he would ask his lover to go bald—it would raise too many eyebrows.
Rathod got right to the point. He said, ‘Can you tell us if you wrote to Kishore Zakkal when he was in prison?’
Sheetal’s hand reached her mouth first before she wiped her forehead. He licked her upper lip two times. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong. I swear,’ Sheetal said.
‘Yes, by just writing to him you didn’t,’ Rathod said.
‘I had even consulted a lawyer and checked. I did nothing wrong by writing to him,’ Sheetal said.
That was true. There was nothing illegal about writing to convicted felons.
‘You’re both making me extremely uncomfortable,’ Sheetal said and got up. ‘Can you please leave?’ She held a hand towards the door.
'We're not going anywhere,' I said, feeling enraged. 'Shut up and sit down, now.' I said this very slow, emphasizing each and every word.
‘This is harassment,’ Sheetal said.
‘I’m a lawyer myself and I know what you’re doing is illegal.’
‘Writing to him isn’t,’ Sheetal shouted.
‘It’s not just exchanging love letters with him, is it?’ I said.
