Warlock

by Vickram E Diwan

  “He would be rather more interested in getting his last installment,” Rudolf Schönherr quipped.

  “I wouldn’t blame him; he deserves to be paid for all that he has done for us, risking his job and freedom. He was telling me that the Crime Branch Inspector, the I.O. of your case has been pestering the D.C.P. for ordering a vigilance inquiry against him. And only the approach of a powerful Sikh politician from the Shrimoni Akali Dal – the prominent political party of Punjab, who is a distant relative of Joginder Singh, has helped him to save his skin. While Inspector Singh maybe greedy, he has played his role perfectly.”

  “How much have you paid him till now, on my behalf?”

  “The first installment was 1 Lakh; following which he went to meet the labourer and forced him into dissuading his daughter from identifying you in the line up in the Crime Branch office that made your bail possible. He told me that he paid 10,000 to the labourer and 15,000 each to the two constables from his Police Station.”

  “You mean the two cops that were guarding my farmhouse in the night after Inspector Thakur had to abandon digging because of rain?”

  “Yes; the bribe and cajoling by Inspector Singh made them look the other way, while labourers brought from across the border from Haryana dug up the grave and exhumed the body of the baby.”

  “Will Inspector Thakur be able to find them?”

  “No; they were brought in a mini-truck with a closed body and would not be able to find their way back to your estate in Mehrauli. Furthermore, Inspector Singh drove the vehicle himself from the border, so that the driver could also not become a witness in the future. And even if Inspector Uday were to miraculously find them, he wouldn’t be able to do anything without evidence, which had long since been destroyed. The expenditure on this was shown as twenty thousand by Inspector Singh.”

  “God damn it! How is that possible that four labourers charge 20,000 for an hour’s work?” said Rudolf Schönherr whose newfound wealth had not taken away his habits of misery from the days of his struggle.

  “Don’t haggle over such a petty amount Rudolf Schönherr; the peculiar nature of the job demanded that the labourers are paid handsomely and it was also crucial to buy their silence. Plus the rent of the mini-truck and the extra effort Inspector Singh put into organizing and executing everything.”

  “That accounts for 1.6 Lakhs. How much did you pay that head-constable to switch samples before they were sent to the laboratory in Hyderabad?”

  “That fellow turned out to be even more greedy that Inspector Joginder Singh. He realized the importance of the samples and our desperation to switch them with samples of cock, pigeon and lamb’s blood. He demanded 3 lakhs, which Inspector Singh was able to get reduced to 1 lakh after much haggling.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if he paid the constable only 50,000 and pocketed the rest,” Rudolf Schönherr said.

  “Never mind; he got the job done and that is what matters. And mind you, it was the lab report, which swung the balance in your favour and exonerated you from the charge of murder. It was only because of that, that duo of Uday and Kathuria gave up the effort to try and implicate you in the murder of the child.”

  “How much was that labourer paid; for making his daughter turn hostile in the Court and parroting the version tutored to her by Anjali?”

  “That makes the total to 3.20 Lakhs. And now we have to pay 2 Lakhs more to Inspector Singh, the remainder of the amount that I had struck the deal with him, following your arrest.”

  “I’ll get the entire amount transferred to your bank account.”

  “Don’t be a fool,” Rohit hissed like a snake. “One such transaction and we’ll both be in trouble; we can ill afford a pointing finger at us or which connects us in any way to Inspector Singh before the case is disposed of in the court. I am not running away anywhere, neither are you. I’ll take that amount later if you persist.

  Rudolf Schönherr and Anjali had left the party shortly thereafter. One of the younger assistants of Anjali was on the dance floor, but it seemed that he was happier supporting Leena’s drunken body that was falling on him, than partaking in any real dancing. As someone has said, to each his own; Rohit too was getting cozy with a fashion model and upcoming actress.

  As Rudolf Schönherr was coming out of the venue, he saw a battered Ford car parked outside. It was at a slight distance from the building and when Rudolf Schönherr’s eyes met the woman on the driver’s seat, she immediately looked away. Rudolf Schönherr got into his Landcruiser Prado and saw the green digits of the small electronic clock on the dashboard, showing 2310 hrs. There were dark clouds in the sky, and it appeared that it would rain that night.

  He suddenly remembered Harry who instantly appeared on the seat of the car beside him and asked, “Yes Warlock?”

  “I think I have seen that woman, who is sitting in a Ford car, parked a little distance from the main gate of the Hotel. Go and see if you know anything about her,” Rudolf Schönherr ordered.

  “No need master, I know her already,” Harry said calmly.

  “Who is she?”

  “Sadhna Bhatnagar; the middle-aged divorced woman I told you about. The private investigator whom the old Colonel put on your tail, remember?”

  “Oh, that!”

  “But you said something about the old Colonel having called off the vigil.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “What is she doing here?” Rudolf Schönherr asked raising his eyebrows.

  “Colonel Narang had no intention of letting you off the hook; he may have been invisible to you, but his presence has forever been around you. He still is adamant to continue with his self-assumed crusade against you. It was he, who made Payal inform the public prosecutor about Neeta and made the latter agree to testify against you. And he is constantly pushing the blind Sorcerer Bharoo to attack and try to destroy your powers,” informed Harry.

  “I’ll settle scores with each one of them Harry,” Rudolf Schönherr declared with clenched jaws. “I will make this Sadhna pay dearly, and that Narang; oh, you just wait and see Harry! That idiot wouldn’t even get a chance to curse the day he decided to meddle in my affairs or to become my adversary,” declared Rudolf Schönherr in anger.

  “Whatever you say, Warlock.”

  “You tell me about this Sadhna,” Rudolf Schönherr said narrowing his eyes, “her immediate family and where she lives?”

  “As I told you earlier, her husband had divorced her. As for her family, her parents live in a house in Noida and she herself lives in a rented three-room apartment on the ground floor of an old bungalow in West Patel Nagar. She has a fourteen14-year-old school going son who lives with her in that apartment.”

  “I see; hang around Harry. Give me directions to her place, when we reach Patel Nagar,” Rudolf Schönherr ordered starting the engine of his station wagon.

  “Yes Warlock,” Harry said dutifully.

  “But first we will have to get rid of her,” Rudolf Schönherr said as he drove his Landcruiser out of the compound of the parking.

  It took hardly twenty minutes of rash and mindless driving of Rudolf Schönherr - his usual style - to get rid of the private investigator, who was a poor match for a master and skilled driver like himself. Once he had succeeded in greeting rid of her, Rudolf Schönherr put his car on the way to Shankar road and driving past hotel ‘Siddharta Continental’ reached West Patel Nagar.

  On Harry’s directions, Rudolf Schönherr drove his station wagon to an old double storied house in that locality. He closed the engine of his car outside that house that stood a little away from the main road; leaving Harry inside the car, Rudolf Schönherr locked the door of the car and went to the side door of the house. He put his finger on the button of the call bell; darkness had befallen by that time, on that cloudy night.

  Rudolf Schönherr was wearing a black leather coat a high neck cardigan and dark trousers; he heard the faint noise of approaching footsteps coming towards the door. Someone switched on a bulb
inside and a narrow line of yellow light appeared under the door. the door opened; Rudolf Schönherr saw a small boy in the doorway. He was barely four and a half feet tall, unbelievably small and tiny; with a small chest and long legs. He looked at Rudolf Schönherr with a questioning glance on his innocent, almost girlish face.

  “I’m looking for Mrs. Sadhna Bhatnagar,” Rudolf Schönherr said.

  “Mom is out at work,” the boy said in a voice as girlish as his face.

  “And you are her son; what’s your name young man?”

  “Gaurav Bhatnagar,” he answered with childish pride

  “Well Gaurav,” Rudolf Schönherr said smiling, “do you suppose that I could wait for your mother inside the house?”

  The little boy looked at Rudolf Schönherr as a kid looks at his idol, as only a teenager can look at a grown and adult man – who impresses him and makes him want to be like him when that teenager grows up. “Yes, please come in,” he said.

  He stepped aside for Rudolf Schönherr to pass and closed the door of the house when he was in. He inhaled deeply the strong imported cologne the man had on himself, as he went past him; he was even more impressed. The kid showed him to a modest drawing room and offered him a sofa chair; he himself also sat on one in front of him.

  “How old are you Gaurav?” Rudolf Schönherr asked

  “Fourteen,” he said and added with pride, “I am now in ninth standard in my school.”

  “Oh really! Very impressive,” Rudolf Schönherr said smiling.

  “You look like a Hollywood star,” the kid said shyly, looking with fascination at Rudolf Schönherr, dressed in expensive and fashionable clothes.

  Rudolf Schönherr was amused hearing that, and asked, “You live alone with your mom?”

  “Yes, dad left us,” the kid answered as his face suddenly became gloomy.

  “Don’t be disheartened Gaurav, at least you have got a loving mom. Right?”

  “You know my mom?”

  “Of course, as well as she knows me. She loves you, doesn’t she?” Rudolf Schönherr asked looking at the kid with his sharp blue eyes.

  “Yes, she says I am her life,” said the boy.

  “She does!” He said smiling menacingly.

  “Can I … can I see that coat?” The small boy asked hesitatingly.

  “Sure, come here, near me,” Rudolf Schönherr asked him.

  The unsuspecting boy, over-impressed by the image of ideal adult manhood came and sat down right next to Rudolf Schönherr, who seemed to represent a father figure to the kid that had not got a chance to know a father’s love and care. The boy touched the leather jacket in a mesmerized mood; his hands went all over the jacket, bringing him close to the perfect wear as much as to the perfect man, which every boy of his age chooses for himself and tries to imitate. Rudolf Schönherr caressed the soft hair of the kid as the latter was feeling the leather of his jacket.

  A rude and sudden voice broke that scene, “What are you doing here?”

  Rudolf Schönherr looked up and saw Sadhna, the private investigator standing in the doorway of the drawing room. “Hello,” he said with a lively smile dancing on his lips.

  Her eyes had widened with disbelief and alarm, “How did you find my house?” Her voice came out of a deep well it seemed.

  “Relax Mrs. Bhatnagar, all is well...for now,” Rudolf Schönherr added the last words in a menacing voice.

  The scared woman hurriedly took out a loaded revolver out of her handbag and aimed it straight at Rudolf Schönherr. “Take your hand off the head of my son,” she said.

  “Don’t panic Sadhna; see, your hands are shaking,” Rudolf Schönherr said as he rose up and walked up to her. He stood boldly and completely fearlessly before her, with the barrel of her revolver touching his chest. Looking straight into her eyes Rudolf Schönherr said in a low voice, “Would you like me to talk in front of the kid, or would you walk me to the door of your house like a civilized person?”

  She nodded her head in agreement as she walked with heavy steps behind Rudolf Schönherr to the door of the house. When he turned back towards her in the narrow passage that led to the wooden door; in the pale yellow light of the electric bulb, he saw how old and full of wrinkles her face had suddenly started to appear. How shallow, tired, depressed and lifeless her eyes looked, which seemed to have sunken deep in her skull. Her arm was hanging by her side and the revolver in her hand seemed a meaningless object, the weight of which she was carrying absentmindedly.

  “How did you find my house?” She repeated her question needlessly. And herself answered, “You must have seen the number plate of my car; on your mobile, you must have called your contact in the transport authority, who informed you of my house by looking in the records of vehicle registration,” she said.

  “Looks like as if you read a lot of cheap detective novels,” Rudolf Schönherr said with a sarcastic smile, which appeared momentarily on his lips. “Anyway, it is not the means but the lesson that matters.”

  “The lesson?”

  “I could have broken the tender neck of you boy with my bare hands,” Rudolf Schönherr said with all the evil of Warlock in his voice.

  “No!” The horrified woman stepped back shuddering. “I…I have heard the threats of hoodlums like you many times,” she said emptily.

  “But I didn’t do that,” Rudolf Schönherr said ignoring her remark, “not because I had any mercy on him or you, but because this is not the right time. I already have a lot of problems on my hands, but nevertheless, I have shown you what I am capable of. You have made the biggest mistake of your life woman by messing with me.”

  “Go away!” She said with her both hands outstretched before her.

  “For now I will, but when I come back next time, I won’t leave you alive behind me. Tell that Colonel Narang of yours the message of Warlock; yes, I know all about him and his petty schemes and the stunts he has been up to. Tell him that it is now all out war between me and all my enemies and adversaries. The time has come for me to strike back ruthlessly, destroying all my enemies, including you,” Rudolf Schönherr said pointing his finger at her.

  “Is that why you came – to threaten me?”

  “Not threaten you, but to tell you of your unalterable fate, and also of your old and senile Colonel. Tell him that till now you all were hounding me, but the time is fast approaching when the scales will be turned and the Warlock would once against be the predator and not the prey,” thundered Rudolf Schönherr with rage.

  “Go away before I call the Police!” She shouted with eyes filled with tears.

  “Sweet boy you have got woman; give him all the love you can in the days to come. For the days of your life are but numbered,” Rudolf Schönherr said and opening the front door went out of the house.

  The chill of the dark overcast night rushed inside through the open door; it found a terrified and shaken woman, who seemed to be on the verge of collapse. It was not Rudolf Schönherr’s words as much, but the ruthlessness, determination and unflinching resolve in those words; which had terrified that lone woman to the very core of her heart. She was shaking on her weak knees, as she stood alone in that passage lighted by a yellow bulb, which was visible from the dark road outside. Suddenly, after many years of her lonely life, she felt alone, completely powerless against the coming storm that she heard the foreboding of.

  CHAPTER 13: THE IMPENDING STORM

  Bharoo was sitting on the bed in his attic, smoking ganja (cannabis) in a chilam, when the ghost Shamsher approached him. He listened intently to his report, repeatedly nodding his head and asking for a few clarifications before he dismissed him. On the floor before him sat his spastic assistant Twinkle, which was bemused to see the semi-transparent holographic image of the ghost and his conversation with the blind Tantrik, before it vanished.

  “Twinkle; the time we have been waiting for has come; my slave Shemshar has told me about the conversation of Warlock with his Ghost Harinath. Tomorrow he will start the Bhadra Kali
Saavri Sadhan – in an attempt to revive his powers. It will take three to five nights for him to complete the invocation and when he succeeds, he’ll ask the great Goddess Bhadra Kali, to restore his tantrik powers.”

  Twinkle did not respond or commented; which Bharoo didn’t expect either. For the Sorcerer, his companion was someone whom he could confide in and their essentially one-sided conversations helped clarify things in his own mind. “I must call Colonel sa’ab, to inform him and obtain his permission to go ahead with my plan. You just wait and see how I’ll shock that arrogant Warlock. I’ll also begin my own invocation tomorrow, to strike on our adversary. We’ll leave in the morning to clean the place for invocation, which shall start in the earnest after nightfall. We should be in position, to move in when the critical moment arrives; which should be on the third or fourth night, counting from tomorrow.”

  Twinkle grunted; he gave Bharoo his wand, and holding him by his elbow took him to the door of the room and down the stairs. “I am so excited; we’ll break the poison teeth of that snake before we crush its hood with our boot.”

  The owner of a small confectionary shop below dialed the phone number written in a pocket diary, which Bharoo showed him and gave him the receiver; Harish put him through to the Colonel. “Yes, sa’ab; this is me, Bharoo. I have learned that he will start working tomorrow on the job I had told you about.”

  “You mean Warlock will attempt to revive his occult powers?” Colonel tried to clarify.

  “Yes Colonel Sa’ab; it will take 3-5 nights for him to complete it; I have called to inform you and obtain your permission.”

  “Go ahead Bharoo. Give it your best shot and also be extra vigilant; you are an extremely valuable asset for me, in my battle against Warlock and I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Thank you for your concern for a small man like me Sa’ab,” Bharoo said with humility. “I’ll also start work on tomorrow and try my best to succeed; since I’ll be working elsewhere, I’ll not be available on the phone.”