Deal Unto Death – Part XIV

She was standing with the gun pointed at him. Her soft hands barely able to hold the heavy gun without any shake. There were blood on her dress and she looked like a frail bird after a storm. Though it was evident she was not entirely normal due whatever she had been through, there was a clear display of taunt that can be gathered with the erectness with which she stood.
“My God!!! Keerthana!! Are you alright??? What are you doing here??” Ravi stood up.

“Stay right there!!! And don’t move a muscle”

“Keerthana what are doing??? What happened???” Ravi was flabbergasted. He looked down at the corpse and continued.”You know that guy” so saying he looked down at the face of body again. Then he slowly turned towards her and asked.”You killed him????”.

“Oh Ya!!! I killed him!! You are happy now???!!!! This idiot tried to black mail me!!! think about it!! black mail ME!!! I never thought he would go so far as to call you!!!! Idiot!! He was asking for it!!! I should have never hired him to kill Vilas”

“Keerthana calm down , I know you are….” He interrupted suddenly as the words from her mouth registered into his mind!!” You hired him to kill Vilas???????”

“Huh!!! It’s a big story!!! I never thought this idiot would actually go ahead and call you and you would be here so soon. Or else I would have been done with him and gone by now!!! Now I have to figure what the hell am I gonna do with you”

“My God Keerthana!! You were responsible for Vilas’ death!! My God!!how could you do such a thing……”

“Shut up you moron!!! Don’t chatter like an idiot. Yes I killed Vilas ,he was turning out to be an adamant nuisance. I don’t know what I was thinking when I married him”

“You married him???????”

“Hmmm!! Remember the part we were in love during college and Vilas’ parents didn’t agree to the marriage and then we broke up and all that??”

Ravi nodded his head with shock.

“Well!! That story is not entirely true. Its true that I was in love with Vilas in the beginning,but the feeling started to fade away day by day.There were daily some problem with him because of the fight he used to have with his parents and he was not the same old romantic and sweet guy as I had fathomed him to be. He was always cribbing,always angry , always pestering with his thousand worries.I was not sure whether I had made the right choice and as we reached the end of the college I was waiting for a chance to explain everything and dump him once and for all!!
“But fate took a decisive turn when he got a job in bangalore. He started acting even more weirder and wanted to get a commitment in place before he went away from Mumbai. Slowly he started hinting about getting married with the help of his friends. I didn’t think he was really serious about it until he started explaining his elaborate plans. We were to be registered married with the help of couple of his friends Sameer and Akbar. I was too shocked to say anything. I was too confused to formulate a plan of a break up and had been dilly dallying, hoping for a right chance to present itself. This situation was developing way too fast. In the confusion I was not bold enough to take a decisive action and went ahead with the plans like a lamb.
“But the relationship was a non starter right from the beginning.It didn’t even have a honey moon period as obviously we didn’t even have a honeymoon. We continued to live separately , our friends and relatives unaware of our marriage , just like the movie “Saathiya”. Our quarrels increased as I grew more unforgiving and demanding due to the marriage , for which I wasn’t totally ready. Our quarrels grew more and more and shouts became louder and louder.
“That was when my parents fixed an alliance for me, He was a nice boy working in US and was planning to settle there. I knew that was the life that I had always wanted to have. Now I was double sure I wanted to be separated from Vilas as soon as possible. I told him that I want a divorce. He didn’t agree.He said that the quarrels are just temporary and were natural in any married life. That idiot didn’t know that my alliance had been fixed with the US guy. I tried to increase the pressure and make him agree by various means. That moron never budged. That’s when I decided to contact kalia. I had know kalia during my college days. My friend’s dad who was a politician had hired him to take care of some boys who used to tease us. I used to see Kalia a lot in my friend’s place as he used to come to meet her dad in relation to his business. His full time job was to kill,maim,kidnap or simply beat up anyone in return for money. He had been quite handy to quite a few politicians in the area so he never stayed in jail for too long,no matter what crime he commited. He is an orphan has no friends but he had a lot of evidences against a lot of big wigs with which he commanded respect in the elite circles.
“I contacted him to get Vilas killed. I made it abundantly clear that the death should look like a suicide. Being a thorough professional, he did his job cleanly. He strangled Vilas to death with a nylon rope and hanged him in the hall to make it look like a suicide. I was hoping that the police would buy that setup but had never thought anybody would hire a private detective for his death.
“I was shocked when you made that call to me ,but by the time Kalia had also intimated that someone had been hired to investigate Vilas’ death. Moreover he started blackmailing me with more money long before you met me. He used to torture me day and night with the calls until I wanted to put an end to it all . I knew that not a soul would be worried if he dies as all his supporters will only heave a sigh of relief when they learn that their black mailer is gone for good. Also there are so many goondas in Mumbai that he wouldn’t be missed for long.
“My plan was to finish him off as that would totally annihilate any evidence of my relation with Vilas. One of the two friends who came for my registered marriage kabir, was dead in a plane accident and I made sure sameer was also silenced ,by convincing Kalia that he is a menace for both of us”
Ravi was listening to all this without closing his mouth. He just couldn’t believe it. It was totally crazy and incredible.
“But..but……………but how can you single handedly kill a professional killer”
“Huh!! A girl can make a guy do anything if only she knows how to seduce him or make him sympathise for her. Guys are such morons that they can do anything from dancing on their head to leaving their hand gun unattended when they feel there is a helpless girl in front of them. It’s the burning callousness and pride of being a man that prevents them take a girl too seriously. Kalia too walked around laughing as I acted as if Iam a defenceless girl begging for his mercy. I still cant forget the ridicule in his eyes as he saw me pick up the gun as he was seated on the chair negotiating a unfair deal. He thought I wouldn’t go ahead and shoot him !!! that IDIOT”
Just then they could hear the noise of heavy boots climbing up the stairs.
Keerthana got anxious and ran towards the window shaft to look out side. Her eyes grew wider as she saw police jeeps parked at a distance.
“You really thought I would come here alone without intimating the police.Iam a private detective remember ??” Ravi said.
Keerthana’s eyes burnt with anger as she stared at him as if he were a worm. For a second she contemplated whether to put a bullet into his head. Then she realized it would only complicate things and would turn out to be a pointless exercise.
She turned around quickly to make her way out of the house through the rear stairs adjoining the balcony. But she could see that the exit was covered as constables entered the room after climbing up the rear stairs. Couple of other policemen rushed in to the room from the other entrance.
Keerthana was stranded. For a split second her mind was busy thinking whether there was anyway possible to make up a story and make the police believe that Ravi was the one who killed Kalia. But she was over powered by the huge wave of disappointment over the fact that she was in a huge mess anyway and there was no way she can get out of this silently. There was an inexplainable anger fuming in her heart as she realized that all her plans of marrying and settling in US was most certainly washed away.As the heavy surge of emotions built up, her hands involuntary put the gun inside her mouth at the heat of the moment and she pulled the trigger.



Ravi was in Meena’s room. It had been over one months after Keerthana’s suicide. On the fateful day Ravi had called Meena soon after he had cancelled his meeting with Rishi. Meena was shocked to hear about Sameer’s death and had told him that it was Sameer who had contacted Meena for the case. Sameer had specifically told Meena not to disclose it as he had thought that it would prevent Ravi from investigating the case with a fresh mind without assumptions. Meera also advised Ravi to intimate the police about his visit as she strongly suspected that something fishy was going to happen.

They didn’t speak for a long time. Ravi was visibly a bit shaken by the case. He suddenly started talking.
“So is this the state of love nowadays??”
“wh…what??” Meena questioned as she couldn’t catch the context.
“A gal kills her own husband because she got a better alliance. Is the love estimated only based on the happiness that it gives?? Isnt the love strong enough to see through the problems,issues and lean times??? Is it just me or does love only mean roaming around the city or having physical pleasure and showing off your mate ??? Isnt it a feeling of companionship,standing by the partner during bad times and being a support during challenges and showing affection and care when they really need the most”
“Ravi!! I think you are being too romantic about things.People are inherently selfish. There is nothing right or wrong about that. They cant carry on with something when they don’t believe it wont benefit them. That is the result of evolution where survival was possible only if you are the fittest and there were no extra mark for kindness. My husband went to somebody else because I wasn’t getting pregnant. I know iam putting it too bluntly but that’s the truth. May be it was little animal like behaviour,but we are animals basically. Keerthana wanted a happy life.she had dreams, she wanted to settle in US and she believed Vilas would fulfill her dream. So she loved him but when she realized that she was getting only trouble ,the love went away.” Meena replied
“Do you even call that love??? Wouldn’t the love stay through the thick and thin if it were really true love. Couples take a vow to stay together for better or for worse when they get married.’Till death do us apart’ they say. It’s a deal unto death. A life long companionship, which will take you through pain and pleasure and everything in between.damn!! I cant even believe I have to argue for this!! Aint it obvious”Ravi shook his head as he shrugged his shoulders.
“Such true love is very rare. Husband or wife serving his or her spouse even when the other one is in a vegetable state.All that is very very rare. Hardly you will find a madhavan marrying a vidya balan and holding her in his hands for decades as she talks about all her stories to abishek bacchan” Meena was referring to a recent movie where there is a character marries a girl who is physically challenged. Then she went on saying”By the way Vilas’ marriage with Keerthana was also a deal unto death !! Infact it was a deal that led to his death. Ha ha ha” she laughed out.
“I don’t find this a laughing matter Meena. Call me old fashioned but I shall only fall for a love that is selfless and pure otherwise I would rather stay single all my life”Ravi ended.
“Welcome to the world of lifelong singlehood ,coming to think of it,it aint so bad as it sounds” Meena smiled as she leaned back on her chair.

--THE END

Deal Unto Death – Part XIII

Ravi was not still out of the disbelief even after coming out of the police station. It had happened just too fast. He couldn’t believe that someone with whom he had talked , laughed and hanged out with just the previous day could be dead. He decided to go to Sameer’s place and collect any evidence that he can get. He knew that there could be a lot of connection between Vilas’ death and Sameer’s murder and Sameer might have been killed to stop him from blurting out anymore than he had already done. He also remembered that he had a meeting with Rishi at 10 and didn’t want to miss that by any chance. So he decided to meet Rishi and then go to Sameer’s place. He also thought that he had to talk to Meera to update her about the developments about the case and to seek her inputs before moving forward.
Just as he picked up the phone to make the call he received a call on his mobile. The display panel simply showed “unknown number” so there was no way he could guess as to who was calling him.
“Hello”
“Getting confused?? Afraid?? Don’t know what to do???ha ha ha “ A coarse voice mocked him at the other end.
“Hello!!Who is this??” Ravi got a little anxious.
“You don’t have to be concerned about that one bit.What you have to be concerned about is,how did Vilas die?? How did Sameer die.As a detective you should be more concerned about all this instead of my name”
“Who are you?? Do you know who killed Sameer”
“May be!! May be I can even tell you how did Vilas die. How much would you want to hear scene by scene depiction of what happened to Vilas minutes before he died??” The voice went on with the unrelenting coarseness. By this time Ravi was sure that the voice was fake and was used to cover the identity of the person actually behind the call.
“How do I trust you?? You can be the biggest lunatic having fun making crank calls, for all I know”
“It could be that or it could be the biggest outside help any detective had ever received in his case and you blew it coz you weren’t smart enough. You aint gonna lose anything by spending a bit of time on a false lead,but imagine how much you will lose if you fail to take a genuine break in the case!!”
Ravi started to think!!
“Why are you doing this?? Why would somebody do this??”
“May be Iam short of cash and want to make hay while the sun shines or may be I am really sad about poor Vilas’s demise and want to help. What the hell do you care”
There was silence for a few moments.
“Ok where can I meet you??”
“Now you are talking!!”so saying the voice gave him an address in one of the growing suburbs of Mumbai.
“I will be there in another one hour”
“or you miss me!! choose yourself” so saying the voice stopped.
The line was disconnected. Ravi was staring at his mobile for a few minutes and then started walking faster to reach his destination as soon as possible. He called up Rishi and told him that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the meeting. After an initial surprise Rishi agreed. Ravi felt that Rishi sounded as if he had already knew that Ravi is going to cancel the meeting.

Ravi knew that the caller had picked his spot really well as soon as he entered the locality. The place was eerily empty and was covered with few houses here and there. Soon he reached the place where he was told to come. It was a fairly big house and looked like the construction was abandoned at a point when it was almost over. It looked as if nobody had stepped on its floor for well over three four years. The walls were not plastered and there were no doors or windows. But the house was so big that if at all anything happened inside the inner rooms of the house, nobody would ever know.
Ravi stepped on the entrance without the steps and stood there wondering what to do. There was pin drop silence except for the wind that sounded like a distant scream . He stopped moving and had a good look around the house. There was a huge hall and spiral steps leading up to the first floor. There were entrances to other rooms one of which had a huge rectangular hole in the wall and it was clear that the room was proposed to be a kitchen.
“Hellllllllloooooooo……..anybody home” Ravi called as he tried to control the shrill in his voice.
There was no answer. He slowly stepped forward into the dark room as there were no lights and also because of the gloom that had set in the building because of its age. He made his way towards the spiral stairs with his boots making a spooky noise as it crushed the rubble beneath. He could see some more rooms but he instinctively chose to take the stairs. He let out another call of communication as he moved up the stairs.
“Is anyone there??? ………Can anyone hear me???............Hellooooooooo”
He could barely hear a slight echo of his own voice and nothing else.
Soon he reached the first floor. After reaching there he can see that there was a huge room and a passage on the right hand side with more rooms on its way.
On entering the huge room he could see someone sitting on a chair with his back to him. On the other end of the room there were two entrances taking leading into two different rooms.
“Oh here you are!! I have been looking all over for you. Cant you give me a reply” Ravi called out , slightly surprised at the lack of nervousness in his voice.
The guy on the chair did not reply. Ravi walked on towards the chair.
“I was…. Was thinking you might be down…..how the hell did you find this place anyway??”
There was still no reply from the guy, but by this time Ravi had reached very near to the guy.
“why dude??!! Wont reply me” so saying he placed his hand on the shoulder as his eyes grew wide on seeing the traces of blood near the guy.
The body fell to the floor spilling out some more blood as Ravi noticed the trail of blood coming from the nearby room ending up in the chair.Though Ravi had seen a lot of blood in his profession,this was the first time he was with a dead body before the police arrived. He had been shot several times with bullet wounds on his chest and stomach.
“Dammit” he cried out loud and bent on to the body and check for the pulse. It was dead. The face was oddly recognizable.He thought for a while until it struck him that it was the same guy who accidentally hit him in the mall the previous day before he met sameer. Ravi’s heart beat doubled and the blood grew hot as he perspired heavily due to the unexpected occurrences. Just then he heard someone walking and turned around to see someone moving into the room from the room on the left.
It was her.
……to be continued.

Deal Unto Death – Part XIV

Deal Unto Death – Part XII

The next morning Ravi was awakened from his sleep by a call on his mobile. He picked it up.
“Hello..?”
“Mr.Ravi???”
“Ya speaking..”
“This is inspector Rajiv speaking.Do you know anyone by the name Sameer by any chance??”
“Ya…I just met him yesterday”
“Oh….ok..Mr.Ravi..Iam sorry to say that Sameer is dead”
“What???? My Goooooooooooood….when did this happen?? I was talking to him even yesterday night.”
“He was found dead in his room where he stays alone.The maid who comes everyday to clean up the room found him shot and intimated the police”
“My God….How did this happen????..............you got any leads,finger prints??”
“Mr.Ravi will you be able to come over to the police station.We would like to have a chat with you”
“Sure!! I am coming there right now”
Ravi jumped out of the bed.
He couldn’t believe whatever he heard in the telephonic conversation. He was wondering whether it was a dream as he had just got out of the bed. He freshened himself and called the inspector to confirm the location of the police station and then hurried to the place.
The police station was typical of what you can normally find in an indian police station.He could see two cells as he entered the station and could see that the inspector behind the desk talking on the phone with someone. The inspector looked at Ravi and pointed at the chair in front of him with a professional smile which disappeared from his face as quickly as it appeared.
Soon he was done with the call and replaced the receiver and looked at Ravi.
“You must be Ravi “he told Ravi.
“Yes Sir.Ravi…….Ravi Prasad…”He stretched his handshake.
“Iam inspector Rajiv” he shook hands across the table.
“How did this happen??? When did this happen??”Ravi couldn’t wait.
“It happened yesterday when Sameer was wait. We are yet to find out how the assailant broke into the house. Sameer was shot on his head as the murderer probably didn’t want to take a chance. I guess the gun must probably be of the .22 calibre variety,mostly stolen,hardly capable of inflicting instant fatal injury unless shot on the head. Seems like the assailant didn’t want to leave anything to chance.”
“Oh my god!! You got any leads??do you have any suspects??”
“That’s where you come in!! Your number was in his latest dialled numbers list,so we got in touch with you.”
“I had met him in relation to one of the cases I was investigating. Iam a private detective from Bangalore assigned with the job of investigating the death of Mr.Vilas.He was found hanging in his room in Bangalore”
The inspector clearly hadn’t expected this and leaned in his chair with his eyebrows raised.It looked as if he was expecting to hear more from him.
“This is my card” Ravi drew a business card from his wallet and gave it to the inspector.
“Hmmmm…so what were you talking to Sameer about?”the inspector asked as he was looking into the card.
“Generally about the case. His friendship with the victim and whatever he knew about his last days”
“where did you meet him”
“In a restaurant near crossroad”
“and then you went home??”
“No.Then we went to marine drive as he offered to show around the place as I hadn’t done any site seeing in Mumbai”
“How long were with him??”
“Totally some 3 four hours I guess”
“At what time did you see him last??”
“Around 7-7.30 I think”
“then you went home??”
“ya”
“Didn’t talk to him or contact him in anyway after that??”
“No”
“hmmm” the inspector seemed to be processing the answers from Ravi and trying to join the threads to piece together a logic.
“Are you aware of anyone following you or something during your meeting with Sameer ??”
“No Sir not that I am aware of”
“Can you think of anything out of the ordinary,that you noticed during your meeting with him yesterday??”
Ravi couldn’t recall anything.
“No Sir”
“Hmmm” the iinspector again got into his thinking mode as silence prevailed in the room for some more time.
“How long are you planning to stay here Mr.Ravi”
“I dunno,it depends on the progress I make in the case”
“Can you guess how long will that be based on the progress you have achieved so far??”
“hmm…..Iam not sure…there is still a fair amount of way to go”
“Will you be able to help us in the investigation whenever we need your inputs?? I think we would be required to contact with a few more questions as the case proceeds”
“Sure thing”
“Thank you for your cooperation Mr.Ravi. I really appreciate your coming in here today”, So saying the inspector rose from his seat.
“No problems, please feel free to contact me if you have anything to ask me”Ravi shook the hands with the inspector and left.
The inspector had his eyes fixed at Ravi as he left the room.
The head constable came up to the inspector and said, “I cant think of a motive sir”
“That’s the only god damn reason that stopping me from booking him in!!” the inspector replied as he continued to stare at the exit through which Ravi went out of the room.
……..to be continued.
Deal Unto Death – Part XIII

Deal Unto Death – Part XI

As he turned around thinking about the new addition to the list of people he had been meeting regarding this case, he hit a huge man who turned up from nowhere.

“heeey…….dont have eyes kya??....cant you see someone coming in front of you??”

He was a burly and big and was slightly bald even though he wasn’t all that old.

“oh…Iam sorry………I was just…..thinking about something…….didnt notice”

“If it were somebody else ,would have given you nicely………….open your eyes and look your path before you walk!! Understand??”

So saying he started walking.Ravi looked at the man walking away and wondered whether it really was his fault.The man turned back to look at him and then went on his way as he walked on.

Ravi shook his head and started moving towards the restaurant. After reaching the place he was thinking how to find out whether Sameer had arrived. As he looking around,he saw a young gentleman approaching him as if he was looking for someone.

“Ravi ???”

“Ya” Ravi replied with a smile.

“Sameer!!”he introduced himself, and said ”Welcome to Mumbai” he stretched his hands for shake.

“Thanks”Ravi shook hands with him.

They entered the restaurant and found a table to sit.After ordering some light snacks, Sameer started to talk.

“So…Mr.Ravi…how is Mumbai?? You have been here before??”

“No..this is my first visit…haven’t got much of a chance to explore,have been pretty busy right from the minute I came here”

“Wanted to talk to you ever since I learnt you came here, finally got the chance now only!!”

Ravi merely smiled in reply.

“So you got any leads in the case??”

“The investigation is still on and I am learning more and more by the day”

“Good” He replied ,while it was abundantly clear that he wanted a lot more information from Ravi than what he had just heard.

“You and Vilas have been friends for a while??”

The glow on Sameer’s face darkened a little as he took some time to recollect himself from the grief of losing his friend.

“Me and Vilas have been friends for a long time!! I met him when I came to Mumbai after my tenth. I grew up in a small village and my parents sent me here so that I can get a better education. I can never tell you what was so special in him that drew me to him and vice versa .But we were thick friends right from the beginning. We studied together, roamed around together , watched movies together, checked out the girls together……….well you will never find us either of us alone….Luckily when we finished school we got admission in the same college, same class. College only made our friendship stronger.We studied,played and took part in all other activities together. We were the best buddies. Uh…..I understand that Pooja had told you about Keerthana??”

Ravi shook his head vertically to concur with Sammer

“He had told me about his love before anybody else and used to crib about his inability to propose to her. I was the one who pushed him to tell her about his love. I was overjoyed when I heard when she had agreed to his proposal and I used to motivate him whenever he used to be upset by the opposition to his love. I wished I could just stay with him and hang on until he is through with the situation. But the situation never improved. I seriously believed the change in location will help him forget about his pains and help him start a new page in his life. But……I never expected this”

“Hmmm” Ravi looked down as if he was assimilating the stuff told by Sameer and was trying to fit things together.Then he looked up to Sameer and asked.

“How about this Rishi?? Where does he fit in”

On hearing this Sameer heaved a sigh as if preparing himself to say something that he really didn’t want to say.

“Rishi………….Well……We had problems with Rishi…long before we knew he was connected to Pooja”

Ravi raised his left eyebrow as a sign of surprise and question.

“There is another face of Vilas which most people do not know,not even his parents and sister. Being a short tempered guy, he would get into misunderstandings with a lot of people which could end up with violent repercussions. He had been involved in various street fights with gangs from different colleges. The reason need not be anything special and any simple provocation can build up to something nasty. I know this because I had been with him during those violent encounters myself. Typically it would be a minor street fight spanning just a few minutes.An odd blow here and there,but never escalated to police cases or something. We gained the enemity of Rishi in one such unfortunate fight. He was part of another gang from another college and with every meeting our relationship with him went sour.”

“So you guys were part of a gangwar” Ravi interrupted.

“Gang war is probably a very strong term to be used for this. When you are in college ,your blood is always hot and you are constantly looking for something to break so that you can prove your strength.And one thing leads to another and.….. you know……” he shrugged his shoulders. “I know a lot of my friends and seniors who were in to this.But once they are out of college and into a job and all that , they somehow get removed from all this. I haven’t had any tussle with anyone ,for sometime now ever since I got out of college”

“So Vilas had a problem when Pooja introduced Rishi as her boy friend??”

“Obviously, Vilas tried his best to make peace. Since he himself had a experience of love he was more understanding to his sister’s cause.He tried to reason with Rishi and become friendly with him through phone calls when he was in Bangalore. But the conversation always used to turn sour due to some misunderstanding or the other.They just couldn’t bury the hatred and start from a clean slate. Vilas even came to Mumbai to have a meet with him. I was there with him during the meet,where the situation went so hopeless,that in the end they came to blows. Vilas walked away shouting that he would make sure Pooja does not marry Rishi as long as he is alive.After that he had been advising his sister to forget Rishi.”

“hmmmmmm”Ravi patiently collected the words into his mind and after a brief moment,spelt out the question that was building up in his heart.

“You think Rishi could have killed Vilas to get him away from his path??’

“cheezzze….That would be an overkill…I mean………I had never thought about it ……………Could he do that??...would he do such a thing” Sameer ended up replying with a question rather than an answer.

They talked to each other for a long time. After leaving the restaurant, Sameer took Ravi to marine drive where they talked for hours together. In the end when he bade him good bye and left for his hotel he felt as if he had found his first friend in Mumbai.

That nice feeling was rudely disturbed next morning when he got a call from the local police inspector.

……………to be continued.

Deal Unto Death – Part XII

Deal Unto Death – Part X

Keerthana took some time to reminisce in the past, to get back to the happy times. The beautiful days that made her heart bloom with the scent of love and the eventual heart break that left an inerasable scar.

“I knew he was special right from the beginning.He was not just another friend and the way my heart used to beat whenever I saw him, I knew it was more than mere friendship.But I was confused , I was not sure whether I was really in love and I used to suffer the pain of hidden love in my heart. I was sure ,Vilas was going through the same but I never had the courage to make the first move. But I didn’t have to. He proposed to me in the third year. Apparently he too had something going about me right from the beginning,but was never sure how to go about it. I was ecstatic when I heard him tell me that he was in love with me but I was put in even more confusing state then.

I knew our parents wouldn’t be too happy to hear the news. There were too many complexities and there is fair amount of social inequalities and segregations in our society.But he was after me all the time and persuaded me to agree to him. He was the sweetest and kindest lover anybody can get”

She paused a little as her heart was going through a fair amount of pain and she had to recollect herself.Then she continued.

“One day we were spotted by his neighbor and his parents found out we were in love. They were really very adamant and weren’t even ready to talk. He used to comfort me saying that they will yield to us with time. But it never happened. Day by day, the situation only worsened and his attitude towards me was also turning sour. He was not the same sweet,kind and soft Vilas and I got to see a more cranky and angry version of him from time to time. By this time we had graduated from our college and were looking for a job and that’s when he landed on a job in Bangalore. I totally freaked out. I pestered him to no ends to make his parents agree somehow and one fine day, just a few days before he was to leave Mumbai,he exploded. I had never seen Vilas so angry and he even raised his hand in a fit of rage. I came home crying and fuming. That night I didn’t sleep and was thinking all through. I decided that if I carry on with my relationship with him then all the days of my future shall turn out to be like what happened that day.If this is the way he was going to behave then there was no guarantee as too how he will turn out after marriage. I knew I had to take a practical decision rather than being an emotional fool.

“The next day I called up Vilas and told him this wasn’t going to work out. He apologized to me saying that he was under a lot of stress and all that but I told him very clearly that this wasn’t with that one off incident. He tried to meet me a lot of times and called me a million other times. I ignored him all through. He even tried to contact through our mutual friends.I used to cut off the phone as soon as I heard his voice.Sure it wasn’t easy for me and my heart was torn into pieces everytime he tried to contact me,but I just had to do it.I knew I was doing it for his good too.It was the only logical solution to the problem ,hard as it might be for me and for him.”

There was an uneasy silence between the two. Ravi was stirring the cup with the spoon even though the coffee had been mixed well and had gone cold.He just couldn’t help thinking about his lost love and empathize with the pain

“My parents never knew about this affair all through and when they started looking for a groom I couldn’t find any reason to say no. I had to move on with my life and try to forget the past. But the past does not leave me in peace and keeps coming back to me to haunt me in my sleep!!”

There were tears in her eyes. Ravi felt really bad for conceiving the meeting.

“I….Iam sorry” he blurted out.

“That’s fine” she said ,wiping off her tears before anybody could suspect anything.

“I think I owe you a really big thanks ……….for you coming here and all that……”.He said

“That’s fine!! If only we understand why he committed suicide we can let his soul and my past rest in peace. I never knew he would take the break up so hard“

“hmmmmm….”Ravi just replied with a elongated sigh.

“I got to go now.There will be doubts if I take time”

“Of course, I really appreciate you agreeing to meet me!”

“No problems…………uh..” she looked at the cashier’s desk as if she was wondering about the bill.

“I will take care of it.Dont worry about it” he quickly said.

“Bye”she said and got up.

“Take care” he said and watched her leave the place.

He was calmly thinking to himself for a while and left the place after paying the bill.

He had lunch before going to the hotel and started adding the newly acquired information in the case file. Just then there was a call from Rishi.

“Dude…tell you what…think I cant make it today evening…but I got time at around 3…think you can make it??”

He was really getting under the skin of Ravi and Ravi made a conscious effort not to be angry or sarcastic.

“Hmmm .. think that should be fine”

“OK man!! See you there” the line was cut.

Ravi estimated the time and left for Cross road, the agreed place of the meeting. He entered the shopping mall and tried to find out his way to the hang out they had agreed to meet. After reaching there , Ravi gave him a call.

“Oh …Ravi??.Uh ….tell you what……..something came up man….dont think I can make it right now……..how about tomm??”

Ravi couldn’t take it any longer.

“Listen Mr.Rishi!! this is not a joke,If you are not willing to cooperate I will have to take up the assistance of the police to get to interrogate you through the legal channel”

“wowow!!chill down dude!! Am all for cooperation and all man!! Just that I was a bit tied up!! Come on its Pooja’s brother!! You know !! the guy was sure a pain but what am I gonna gain by not talking to you”

“So you will definitely meet me tomorrow??”

“Sure man ten o clock,pucca!!”

“Good see you tomorrow” he cut the call rather rudely. But he was angry and was not very happy to be made to come to the place for nothing. That’s when he got another call. He picked up the line.

“Hello”

“Hello! Can I speak to Ravi”

“Speaking”

“Hi!! This is Sameer!! Vilas’ friend”

Ravi raised his eyebrow.

“I have been trying to reach you but I had got the wrong number from Pooja.just verified with her and got the right number.I want to meet you”

“Oh Iam currently not in my place,just out in cross road to meet someone”

“You are in cross road now???”

“Ya!!”

“Oh cool , I am very near to the place right now. You got time now?? Or can I meet someother time??”

“We can meet now I guess”

“Great just stay there”

Then they confirmed the name of the restaurant where they can meet up.Ravi heaved a sigh.It was getting more and more interesting.

…..to be continued.

Deal Unto Death – Part XI

Deal Unto Death – Part IX

The next morning when he woke up, he was very fresh and enthusiastic.He quickly had his breakfast and prepared a detailed report to be filed in the case file based on the conversation he had with the various witnesses for this case.

He added the meetings,the information he got from them and also his interpretations and leads based on his analysis of the statements from the witnesses.

He was still not completely ready to rule out the suspects he had short listed during his meetings in Bangalore. The case sure had become very complicated due to the facts about Vilas’ problems on the personal front , but the problems he had in Bangalore, in his office and with his room mates etc could not be ruled out totally as well. And his death could be due to any of the two, or worse it could have been due to a crazy combination of both. And his job was to fit the pieces of the puzzle in its place and make sense of the plethora of information thrown at him. He also realized that he still had quite a bit of unexplored territory to conquer and the more he learned, the more he will be able to recreate the past.

After noting down his findings in the case file he spent some time trying to assimilate his thoughts. Then he called up Meena.

He told her about his meetings and explained her the story of Vilas as told by the various people he met .He also described the character profile of Pooja,Vilas’ dad and Keerthana as per his perception. Meena was listening to all this,asking relevant questions at each point. As he was talking to Meena Ravi got the intimation of another call in his mobile.It was from Keerthana. He promised to call back Meena before disconnecting and attended the one from Keerthana. Keerthana confirmed her meeting with him and the place and told him that she will come to the coffee shop at 11:30 am.

“What a time to have coffee!!”,He remarked

“Ah well,that’s the time when the crowd will be the least and we aren’t exactly meeting there to have coffee.I have chosen the time and place in such a way that we have the least chance of getting spotted”

“Ya I understand that!!.”

“Hmm Ok,see you there” she disconnected the line.

He called back Meena and told her that Keerthana had confirmed the timings for the meeting.

“What are you possibly gonna achieve by bothering that poor girl”she asked.

“I don’t know madam!! My gut feel tells me to meet her”

“As a fellow detective,I have all the respect for your gut feels.I only hope you don’t end up ruining her life”

“I shall try not to do any more damage than what I had already done”

“All the best” He could hear her smile.

“Thanks” he disconnected the line.

It was 10.30 by then and he wasn’t sure where exactly was Ullhasnagar.He tried to get some information and direction from the receptionist of the hotel.As he came to his room he realized that he had totally forgotten to contact Pooja’s boyfriend.

He promptly dialed the number.The phone was picked up almost instantly.

“Rishi speaking”

“Hi this is Ravi,Iam a detective from bangalore”

Rishi’s voice interrupted even before he can finish.

“Oh…Oh ya!! Pooja called me!! told me abt you”there was a strange tone of defiance and aggression in his voice.

“oh good!! I was thinking whether I can meet you sometime”

“You want to meet me?? well lemme see………hmmmmmmm……….”he was taking a fairly long time to think mumbling some stuff to himself all the while before he said,“how abt today evening ?? around 7??”

“hmm sure, that should be fine”

“Dude…wait a minute……..think I wont be available this evening!! How about tomorrow?”

“Oh ok!! Tomorrow at what time??”

“Hmmmm tell you what?? We can have today evening!! Guess I should be able to make it”

Ravi was just a little bit annoyed with Rishi’s mannerism,but he patiently confirmed the timing one more time. Rishi suggested that the meeting be in a famous hangout in Cross road for which Ravi agreed without any qualms.

After the call he had just enough time to reach the place. He hurriedly went in and thanked the Gods for being able to find the place without getting lost. Otherwise he would have been late for the meeting for sure. He looked around to see whether he could find some one looking for him. He was wondering whether he should call keerthana as he sat near one of the tables laid there.

Just then a lady in burkha neared him and asked.

“Mr.Ravi??”

He gave a bewildered look into the face covered by the veil and said.”yes??”

Then the lady lifted her veil as she said “Iam Keerthana” and sat in the opposite chair.

The lifted veil revealed a beautiful face with a fair complexion with a noticeably big piercing on her nose. She had sharp features and a heart shaped face that made it impossible for any man to resist looking at her twice.There was a fair amount of mystery in her face which would make anybody to look at her again and again in search of the answer they will never find,the extra something that she hid it in her face. The face , polished by the pride of the knowledge that people are unaware of, that extra something that made her beauty stand out from the rest of the beauty queens.

“Nice idea” remarked Ravi in reference to the attire she had chosen for the meeting.

She let out a measured smile which slowly turned in to an expression of sadness in a rate more smoother than the precision of a satellite launch.

“What happened…how can this happen??”

“We are figuring out the events that led to his death. That’s the reason I want to talk to you”

“How did he die?? Were there any traces!! I mean…. any evidences”

“The police is still working on it!!I am trying to piece together the people and events in his life,trying to make sense of his situation”

“Hmm,Iam sure he must have been under a lot of stress.A break up is never an easy thing to take. Especially for a man of Vilas’ ego”

“Hmmm,lemme ask you something Do you think its possible that he might have commited suicide?”

“Well its hard to say ,I would have never imagined Vilas to commit suicide,but human mind is a strange thing….you never know”

They ordered for coffee and the drink was served.

Vilas knew its time for him to go for the kill.

“Keerthana!! Can you tell me why you broke up??”

Keerthana placed the cup on the table after sipping the drink with involuntary care so as to make sure that her lipstick did not make a mark on the cup.

“The day I met Vilas,I knew that he was going to be someone whom I might never forget in my life.I just didn’t know it would be for all the wrong reasons”

Ravi forgot that he had a cup of coffee in front of him on the table that was fast becoming cold.. He leaned forward to make sure he did not miss even a single word from her mouth.

……..to be continued.

Deal Unto Death – Part X

Deal Unto Death – Part VIII

There was no doubt in Ravi’s mind that, for all he knew he might be kicking up the dirt on a forgotten land and might end up hurting someone without any results, but he wanted to call her anyway, guided by his gut feel.

At around seven o clock in the evening , after dilly dallying for minutes together he dialed in the number of Keerthana that he had noted down from Pooja.

It started ringing on the other end.After some 2-3 rings he could hear a sweet female voice saying.”Hello”

He forgot to breathe for a moment. He was wondering whether to cut the call and forget about the whole thing. But he was surprised to hear himself saying.

“Hi….Uh……Iam………….Ravi…..Ravi from Bangalore.I would like to talk to you…….uh………is this a right time to talk or…….can I call you some other time??”

“Hello who is this?”

By this time Ravi was clear that he had taken the plunge and he better get his act in place than making a fool of himself.

“Iam Ravi.Iam a private detective.Uh..wanted to …I wanted to talk to you regarding the death of Mr.Vilas Achrekar”

There was no sound for sometime. He can barely hear some elderly lady asking Keerthana who was on the phone. Soon after she said “wrong number” and disconnected the call.

Ravi was pretty disappointed with himself.He kept on repeating to himself “I shouldn’t have called” in a feeble voice.After exactly three and a half minutes,his mobile phone started vibrating.It was a call from Keerthana.Ravi promptly picked up the phone.He realized that she cut the call as there were people around her and removed herself to a private place from where she could talk alone.

“Hello”

“Hello Mr………..Mr..whatever!! Do you think this is a joke??”

“No madam!! Iam serious…Iam……..Iam a detective”

“where did you get this number??”

“I got this from his old diary.I went to meet his family today afternoon.His sister Pooja found out for me”

There was silence for a few seconds.Then Keerthana asked as if the fact had just hit her.

“Vilas is dead?????”

“Yes…Iam sorry..I know this could be a really shocking news for you”

“My God! When……How……..What happened?? How can this happen???”

“It was tragic……He ..He was found hanging in his room in Bangalore”Ravi replied.

“Oh My God”

He could hear her voice breaking up and could start hearing the weeping sound from the other end,Then he heard her say”

“how could this happen??”she was still weeping.

“that’s what I want to find out.so I wanted to contact you and wanted to see whether you might have any information”

“me??Iam…”her speech was broken down by the outburst of emotions.After a moment of self control she started to talk“Me and Vilas met in college. We studied in the same group. At first we were friends but all our friends used to tease us saying that we were a perfect match. After some 2 years our friendship bloomed into love. He was the one who proposed to me. Initially I didn’t agree even though I was madly in love with him . We were not of the same caste and I knew our parents wouldn’t agree to our love. But he convinced me saying that we can get them to agree. The months after that were the happiest of my life”She paused a little as she struggled to control the surge of emotions playing on her.

“We were seen as the best couple in our college and amidst all of our friends. We went around together to all movies restaurants and every other hangout in Mumbai.We were spotted by his neighbor during one such outing. That’s when all hell broke loose.

“His parents were very very adamant over our issue, a lot more than Vilas had anticipated. After a long struggle I knew this wasn’t going to work out.So……”

He could hear that she was taking a deep breath as she said”We broke up some 6 months back. Just before he left for Bangalore.

“I am engaged with some other guy now and my marriage is fixed next month.”

Ravi had never expected this and the message sure was a rude shock for hin.This news did have a fair influence in Ravi’s thought process. He was sure that he wouldn’t want to disturb her as she was trying to forget her past and trying to get on with her life. Also he wasn’t sure whether to congratulate her for the engagement or not. He ended up muttering.

“Oh……Iam……..sorry…and ….”

He realized he was making a mess of things.

“Initially I was wondering whether I can have a meeting with you but I didn’t know you were…uh…..engaged and all”

“I cant this believe this happened.why did he have to hang himself”

“That’s wht we are trying to find out…listen….when was the last time he contacted you??”

“uh…..Well it must be around 3 months back.He tried to contact me and I cut the call on my mobile as soon as I saw his number”

“After that you haven’t heard anything from him”

“Nopes!!! I thought he took the point and decided to give up”

Ravi had thousands of questions in his mind. He was dying to know the circumstances and happenings that led to the breakup. But he didn’t want to talk about it over the phone also he was a little hesitant over having to disturb her. He was in a dilemma.

“Is there anyway I can meet you to discuss about this…I mean….I understand that you are engaged and all…..”

“what???.........see!! nobody from my family knows that I was in love with Vilas,not even my parents.what if any of them see me with you?? What if someone of the groom’s family see me with you?? How will I be able to explain the meeting??”

“Ya ya …I understand …Just that I thought it would be clearer if we had a meeting…thought it would help me in the case…to understand things better”

“see…I really want to help you………even I want to know why he hanged himself …………but…..wait a min….we can do this way”

It looked like she was seriously engrossed in some thinking for sometime.

“We can meet at……..ummmmm”she was thinking for a while and then she mentioned the name of a famous coffee shop in Ullhasnagar.Ravi noted down the place and address.

“We can meet tomorrow sometime at the afternoon,that’s when the crowd will be the least.”

“Oh…Ok!! Thanks…”

“Listen…I got to go now..See you tomm”she disconnected the line.

He was looking at the mobile for a while and then he wondered how he would recognize a woman whom he had never seen in his life.

Then his mind was thinking about the million questions that rose regarding the break up.He was wondering how can two people who were so much in love,break up so easily.He was thinking all about it even when he went out to have his dinner.In the end he decided that he would find the answers during the meet that he was to have with Keerthana the next day.He went to sleep that night with more questions than answers.

……..to be continued.

Deal Unto Death - Part VII

Ravi knew that her anger might be due to his extra interest in her private life and not much more.He was a little ashamed for being a bit too expressive about his surprise over her love life. But he quickly gathered himself to carry on with the job at hand.
"Oh...so ..your brother had a tussle with the guy??"
After a bit of a silence Pooja started. It looked as if she was framing her words in her mind to get it right.
"this happened some one month back. My parents had started looking for a guy for my marriage when I told about Rishi to my parents and bhaiya. I had to."
Ravi raised his eyebrow.
"Rishi is the name of my boyfriend"she added coldly as she noticed it and continued on.
"Bhaiya wasn't very happy with him right from the beginning and wanted to meet him,talk to him.So I gave him Rishi's number.I do not know what they talked but it didn't go very well. The next weekend bhaiya came home from Bangalore and went out to meet Rishi. He had not told me about the meeting and even Rishi hadn't told me about it and I knew about it only when he came back that day. There had been some problem during their meeting and in the end they had come to blows and had to be separated by people around them. After coming home, Bhaiya was walking around the house like an injured lion and repeatedly told me to forget Rishi. I didn't argue much as I could see that he was pretty angry.He said Rishi was not the right person but he refused to say what went wrong. Rishi does not want to talk about it and he gets furious whenever I ask about this and just tells me 'your bhaiya is an idiot'.Upon this I get angry and we stop talking."
"where was Rishi and what was he doing when you brother was dead??"questioned Ravi.
That added fuel to the already fuming eyes of Pooja.
"He was in Mumbai only at that time.Listen!!! there is absolutely no connection between my boy friend and my brother's death. Iam dead sure about that. Agreed there were a few problems but Iam sure he wouldn't have done anything to hurt my brother" the words came out like a bullet. It was clearly evident that she was upset and also fairly angry over the turn of events. She was breathing heavily and in the end she looked away as if she was disgusted with Ravi and didn't want to talk to him anymore. It looked as if she would slowly end up crying.
Rahul wasn't very happy to see his daughter getting upset. He stroked her hair with his trembling old hands as he said" cool down beti.Iam sure Ravi is not going to doubt Rishi"
Then he let out a deep sigh and said "I don't know who laid the vicious eyes of jealousy on our happy family. This place used to echo with fun and laughter. Now it is sounding like a graveyard filled with the sound of wails and weeping. Things had never been the same ever since that demon entered lives and left with trails of confusion and tears."
Now Ravi was really listening to each and every word of what the old man said.
"You mean..."he queried
There was another deep sigh from the old man."That's a very long story young man.".he said and then he rearranged his seating position to make himself comfortable and continued.
"This happened fair amount of time back,Vilas was in final year of his college when the neighboring lady told my wife that she spotted Vilas with some girl in a movie theatre. At first we didn't believe her. We never thought our kid could do such a thing but the lady was adamant so we decided to ask him.
"That evening when he came home we confronted him with the question.Though he denied at first he agreed after we asked him repeatedly. He said her name was Keerthana and he was in love with her and wanted to marry her. We couldn't believe it. Nothing like that had ever happened in our family,on top of that the girl was not the same caste as ours. How can a guy's mind go so crazy. We were livid and made it absolutely clear that we would have none of it but he was adamant and was not ready to let go of her. This continued on for a fairly long time and he used to roam around with her until he got the job in the IT company.When we knew he had to go to Bangalore, we were sad about having to part with our beloved son,but we were happy over the fact that the separation will help him forget that girl and get back to his senses.
"He was aware of that fact and fought with us day and night in the last days before his travel, to somehow make us agree to his affair. We just couldn't do it. Even if we were to agree for him,what would the world say?? I have a daughter to be married to someone.How will she get a groom if the world come to know that her brother is married to someone from another caste. That was the main reason that prevented us from agreeing right till the end .We told him very clearly that we cant agree and that's the final decision.Then he went to Bangalore.He never talked about this issue after that. Life was never the same again. He was not the same old laughing and childish Vilas. He was always very moody and talked as if he had no interest in life. We thought its just the initial reaction for having separated from the girl and he will slowly get back to normal.
"But before things can get to that this girl broke another story of love and all that crazy stuff.I simply cant understand whats wrong with the youngsters these days! It's the love that wreaking havoc in people's lives." The old man ranted on until he was stopped by a dry cough.
"Papa." Pooja attended to her old dad and brought water from the dining table.
"So you never contacted that girl...uh..that keerthana anytime"Ravi asked
"No no why would we ever do such things?? We never encouraged him to meet her too.Just that he never listened to us.Now his sister is also following the tradition and is not listening to us ,though we have been telling her not to meet that Rishi" the old man replied.Upon this Pooja leant back in her seat and folded her hands as a clear sign of defiance."
"Hmmmmmm..Do you think your son might have killed himself due to the heartbreak??" Ravi had to ask this question.
"Chi Chi!!Bhaiya would never do such a thing.He is a very level headed and courageous man. I cant even believe that he could have even commited suicide.If at all he committed suicide for her,why would he do that 6 months after he left her??" Pooja replied as the old man started coughing again.
"Excuse me ,but I think my dad would need some rest now.He has been having pretty rough days lately"so saying she stood up to help her dad get up.
"Oh ya.I probably should be moving now too..I am really really thankful..by the way,Miss.Pooja,I would like to get some contacts from you"
"Oh ok,Please wait,I shall lay my dad to rest and be back" she said as the old man got up.
"Take care young man..and spare no means to find out the mystery behind my son's death"the old man mumbled as he got up.
"I assure you I will do my best Sir"Ravi stood up in respect and watched the old go back to his room,guided by Pooja.
Pooja came back after a few minutes.
"Miss.Pooja would you be able to get that Keerthana's number"
She raised her eyebrows and said "Why do you want you reopen closed stories !!..Hmm I think I saw her number somewhere in bhaiya's old phone book.hang on"
She went in and returned with a number.He noted it down.
"And..uh.......can I have your boy friend's number??" Ravi was half afraid that she would yell at him when he said that.
"Would you leave him out of this???Iam sure he has nothing to do with this"
"If you are so sure that he is not part of this ,then you shouldn't be worried about me having a small chat with him" he replied assertively ,yet politely.
She stared him real hard as she pulled out her mobile from her bag and dictated the number to him.Ravi noted down the number and got up.
"Thank you so much Miss.Pooja,I really appreciate the help"so saying he moved towards the door.
"hmm!" was all the sound,that came from Pooja. No smile,no greeting,no other acknowledgement of any kind.
Ravi stepped out of the door and said "Good bye Miss.Pooja"
"Take care Mr.Ravi"she replied without a smile with the same cold voice and glare intact.
He climbed down the stairs as he heard the noise of the door closing behind him. He wasn't sure how to proceed in the case and was getting more and more confused as he recalled the meeting scene by scene.As he reached the hotel he had decided to give a call to Keerthana and carry on depending on how the call goes. He wasn't even a trifle sure as to whether he was proceeding in the right direction.

.....to be continued.

Deal Unto Death – Part IX

Deal Unto Death – Part VI

It was well past 1oclock in the afternoon when Ravi woke up. For a few minutes he was just sitting there, rubbing his eyes as his numb mind was finding its way back to reality. Then he frantically looked for his watch which he had placed on the table. He got up with a jerk as he realized he needed to get ready to meet Vilas’ family. He quickly got into the shower and dressed himself before venturing out into the hot sun. He reached the railway station and took a ticket to Mulund. He had never been on an electric train before and was excited as he was waiting for the train. After a while there was noise of the train coming with a loud horn and he leaned a bit and peered at the direction from where the train was supposed to come, only to be startled by the vibration and sound of the train entering the station on the other end. He smiled at his silliness and watched as the people converged to get in to the train. As he was watching it there was a gush of air and the train in his platform rushed in to stop gradually. Soon people were rushing towards the entrance with a strange mix of orderly chaos. He followed the crowd and pushed himself into the compartment just as everybody else. As he stood in the cramped space he listened to the rhythmic beat of the electric train and bent down to take a peek at the city of Mumbai through the windows.

At every station he tried hard to catch the name board speeding past through the window to ascertain the place. As he was moving up and down at each station trying to catch a glimpse,the guy standing next to him asked.

“Where do you want to go..???”

“Mulund”

“huh???”,the guy couldn’t hear as his voice was washed away by the noise of the train.

“I said MULUND”

“two more stops away,will let you when it arrives”

“Oh!! Ok thanks” he thanked the guy and started breathing easy.

Then he looked around at the people from different walks of life waiting patiently for their stations to arrive. After a few minutes the guy next to him intimated that the next station is going to be Mulund.He thanked that guy and got down the train

He stepped out of the station and breathed in the fresh leash of air. He looked into the address which he had written in a piece of paper and started finding the place. He reached the place after roaming around for some fifteen minutes. He looked at his watch and was happy to know that he wasn’t late. It was a 3 storied apartment complex and in the ground floor there was a board indicating the door number of each of the tenant. He located Mr.Rahul Achrekar in the board and climbed up the stairs to reach the second floor.

After confirming that he had reached the right home ,he knocked at the door. After a couple of seconds ,the door opened and a young gal in her early twenties stood on the other side of the door. She looked very pale and weak and was not wearing any bindi. There was unmistakable grief but that didn’t diminish the confidence and strength displayed in her plain face. Her beauty was an odd mix of fragility and reassurance which left the person in front of her to forget what they wanted to say when they saw her first.She was wearing a pale churidhar and was wearing spectacles.

Ravi couldn’t speak for a couple seconds before he gathered himself to say

“Hi,this is Ravi…You are Pooja I suppose.We talked today morning”

“Oh ya… please come in” she released the door chain and let him in.

It was a fairly old home with the paint fading away and a strange dark layer forming over the walls taking away the sheen and brightness of the rooms.As he was looking around the place he heard Pooja saying

“Please be seated,I will be back.”

Ravi smiled and sat on the sofa as he started looking around the hall and the various showpieces kept on the showcase.After a while she returned with an old man who looked like he was in his late fifties. His walk was not very steady and he looked as if he was very strongly hit by something.Ravi stood as the old man neared the sofa. Mr.Rahul joined his hands for a traditional namasthe and asked him to be seated. Pooja sat in the adjacent sofa .

“You had any problems finding the place” Rahul enquired.His words were slow and calm.Ravi realized where his daughter had got the talking style from.

“not much of a problem Sir,took a couple of wrong turns but not much of a problem”Ravi replied.

“What would you like to have ?? tea,coffee……..?”

“No Sir..Iam fine”

“how abt a juice?? Pooja can you get some juice for Mr.Ravi??”

Pooja simply nodded her head and went in to the kitchen.

“Really,you don’t have to strain yourself so much”Ravi refused for formality, though deep within he wanted a drink.

“No strain at all” the old man replied and looked back at the direction of the kitchen and then he continued “Pooja’s mom is sleeping.She has been badly hit by the grief of losing her son and has spent several sleepless nights crying. We are a pretty closely knit family and the loss has been unbearable for all of us.So I decided not to disturb her”

“That’s fine Sir.I understand “ Ravi said and was wondering how to start asking the questions.

“We never thought something like this could happen. Our beta was the apple of our eye and we were hoping that he would carry on the legacy of Achrekar family. He was very brilliant and studies and all. I sometimes cannot understand what is God’s plans” suddenly his voice went low and he was trying hard to control his tears. Still a few tears lingered on to his eyes. He wiped them off and asked”You got any leads about his death?? What is the police saying??”

“hmm …not much sir…..we are still working on it and I just wanted meet you so that I can hear whatever you have to say??

“What is there to say now??? We had high hopes on him!!Expected him to take on the family burden and relieve me from my duties.Thought he would get our beti married to some nice man in a really grand fashion” he pointed on to Pooja as she entered the room with a glass of juice on a plate.His voice grew soft as he spoke the last words showing how deeply he was missing his son.

“Uff papa ….how many times have I told you not to worry about me” Pooja chided as she handed over the juice to Ravi.

“I can understand how big a loss it is for your family Sir” Ravi said as he sipped the juice.”Can you think of anything unusual in his behaviour in recent times?? Anything out of the ordinary?”

“Well!!! he was pretty tensed and angry most of the times in the last few months. It all started ever since he had that fight…..”the old man stopped abruptly and looked at Pooja,realizing that he might have said something which he probably shouldn’t have said.

“what happened ….”Ravi looked at Pooja and then at Rahul “listen!! you can feel free to say everything, what you say might help me find the reason behind your son’s death and i can assure you that iam not going to use it for any other purpose”

Pooja let out a deep breath and said “Bhaiya had a bit of a fight with my boy friend”

“You have a boy friend???” Ravi exclaimed.

“Yes…!!!” Pooja stared at Ravi as if she wanted to turn him into ashes.

Ravi was a bit startled by her stare. He knew he had touched upon a topic which was not exactly a favourite for Pooja. He also knew he had got an interesting lead in the case.

………….to be continued.

Deal Unto Death - Part VII

Deal Unto Death – Part V

By the time Ravi left the campus he was sure that the answer to the riddle was lying hundreds miles away from Bangalore on the shores of Arabian sea,in the city of Mumbai.

He called Meena and told her about the conversation with Raghav.

“I think I should go to Mumbai”

“hmmm”

“I shall go home,pack up some stuff and go to majestic”

“You leaving today??”

“Tonight”

“You got tickets??”

“I will find something.bus,train something. There is never a question of whether something will be available, it only depends on how much you are willing to pay for it.You should probably be happy iam not asking for a flight ticket” he was smiling.

“Very funny!! You are not asking coz you know you are not gonna get it”

He smiled a bit more as he heard the expected reply.

“Iam not asking coz I know its not that urgent,wouldn’t hesitate to ask if I felt the situation demands it!! Anyways!! Wish me luck”

“wish you all the best.take some from me if you want”

“wouldn’t hesitate to ask if the situation demands! Ok bye”

“take care!! Call me once you reach Mumbai and if you need anywhere,anything,anytime”

“will do , good night”

He disconnected the call.Ravi had never been to Mumbai. The excitement of going to the business capital of India mixed with the possibility of finding a breakthrough in the case made him walk faster.

He reached home,packed his bag with essential items and few clothes.He made a copy of the case file and stuffed it into the bag . He went to majestic and checked out the train and bus ticket availability. After roaming about for while he landed in the office of one of the hundreds of travel agents strewn around the railway station. He got a ticket for a bus leaving for Mumbai that night though the charge was several times higher than normal rates.After some time the passengers for the bus in which was going were beckoned.

He got a window seat but it was at the back of the bus and near to him was a middle aged guy who had a lot of pan in his mouth.

“am shaary butsh can I haav dha windho seeth,I need thu shpill paan frhom thime thu thime” the guy requested Ravi while taking care not to spill out his saliva on Ravi.

Ravi immediately got out letting him take the seat while ruing his bad luck. After a while the bus started and the guy next to him was preparing to sleep.Thankfully there was no pan in his mouth.

“boss!! How long does it take to for the bus to reach Mumbai”

“around 14-15 hours!! Normally!! But it might take longer too” he replied.

“Damn” sighed Ravi. He knew its going be a really long journey.



The bus dropped him in Dadar at the wee hours of the morning. His heart was jubilant on landing on a new place and he couldn’t control his heart as it jumped to see the famous landmarks in Mumbai.His nostrils were filled with the freshness of morning air and rejuvenated him with the liberal dosage of Mumbai spirit which it was carrying. He walked with a stride though he had been traveling for a really long time. He ignored the taxiwallahs and two other people who offered him to take to a hotel to stay. He had already made up his mind as to where to stay as he had already got the contacts of a decent hotel to stay from a friend before he left Bangalore.He reached that hotel and was guided to his room.

He freshened up and called meena to inform that he had reached safely and then he went out to have breakfast.After coming back,he opened up the case file to locate the number and made a call to Vilas’s home. Somebody picked up after four rings.

“Hello” it was lady voice. Sounded like someone in her twenties.

“Hi !! this is Ravi from Bangalore. Iam from Meena detective agency …uh I just landed here regarding the investigation over the death of Mr.Vilas”

There was silence on the other end.

“What can I do for you” the voice said.

“I was wondering if I could meet someone from the family to get some more information….umm…….May I know who is speaking”

Again there was fair bit of silence on the other end.Looked like the person was thinking a lot before spelling out each word.

“This is Pooja! Vilas’ sister.What do you want from us”

“I …..I was just wondering whether I can have a meeting with you guys……you know……just having a small chat….”

There was a sound of a deep breath on the other side following which Pooja continued.

“Listen!!! We are pretty down and depressed right now and my parents……….” There was a brief pause and it sounded like she was trying to control herself from breaking down.”they have lost their only son..only now they are trying to come to grips of the situation. Why do you want to disturb us”

“Madam!!I totally understand how extremely painful time it is for you right now…I really do……….I am sorry but aren’t you interested to know why your brother had to meet such a tragic end??...I am really sorry for having to bother you this way but…….but I really think a meeting with you would help me find out why your brother died.”

Pooja took a couple of minutes and said”I do not know how my parents can take this!! When do you want to come”

“How about today after noon around 3?? I wont take too much of your time”

“Ok….But please bear in mind that my parents are under a lot of pain right now. I would appreciate if you could consider their state of mind during your visit.”

“I am fully aware of that and I will make all efforts to make sure I don’t hurt their feelings as much as possible”

“Thanks”

“Thank you so much, meet you at 3”

The conversation ended.



After switching off his mobile he was sitting on the bed visualizing the meeting and his conversation. He knew he had to do a lot of homework and prepare his mind to handle these people without hurting their sentiments. But before that he was dead tired due to the long bus trip he had taken.

He just lied on the floor trying to imagine how vilas’ parents would look like and was trying to fix a face to the voice of Pooja. He closed his eyes trying to guess various scenarios that could have happened in Vilas’ life leading upto his death. Soon he fell asleep.

…………..to be continued.

· Deal Unto Death – Part VI

Deal Unto Death – Part IV

Ravi’s master plan to beat the hosur road traffic by going in the evening bore little fruit as he was stuck in heavy traffic anyway.

As he was moving inch by inch towards electronic city he was thinking what kind of questions to ask Vilas’ manager. He didn’t even know what kind of guy he might turn out to be. But the rich experience he had acquired by meeting people in his profession had given him enough confidence. Also he couldn’t help thinking about Vilas. What kind of guy was he?? Is he the crazy unstable guy as described by kishore?? Is he the eternal cribber, not happy about anything around him,getting depressed over everything and anything?? Or is there something more to him than what meets the eye. Was he plagued by the stress in his professional life or was it his personal life that drove him to suicide. He had almost missed the electronic city bus stop as he was lost in these thoughts.

He got down the bus and crossed the road. He went to the gate and a security personnel came up to him. He told the security personnel that he wanted to meet an employee in that company. After a bit of argument,the personnel referred him to the security head. Ravi reasoned with the security chief who called Vilas’ manager and asked him whether he would be interested to meet Ravi and told him the purpose of his visit. After a bit of silence Vilas’ manager agreed to see him.

“We usually don’t let such visits from strangers Sir but we will let you through this time. Hereafter please plan your visits outside the campus” the chief told in a stern voice with an expression which oddly resembled like a smile.

Ravi was given a visitor’s ID card and was instructed to go to one of the buildings in the sprawling campus. He spotted the building which looked like it was made purely of glass without any solid frame and entered into it to meet another security guard who also served as a receptionist for the building.

“I want to meet..Uh….Raghav.. this is his number” he gave the piece of paper which was given to him in the security check point.The guy at the desk called the number and told Raghav that someone is there to meet. After disconnecting the line he said.”He is on his way sir, you can sit there while you wait.” So saying he pointed to a set of furniture placed.

He thanked the receptionist and sat on the sofa.

After some 5-10 minutes a bespectacled gentleman who looked like he was in his late thirties,climbed down the stairs and walked up to Ravi.

“Hi…….you must be Ravi……Iam Raghav”

“Hi , Iam Ravi from Meena detective agencies. I am here as a part of an investigation on the ………uh………death of your colleague Vilas”

“Oh….ya ….sad thing!! He was …uh…bright chap…. Mr.Ravi, Do you mind if we talked about this in the cafeteria. Its time for my tea break which I usually take at this time everyday”

“Oh sure no problems!!”

Soon both the guys were walking towards one of the food courts in the office campus.

“How is he like??I mean vilas??” Ravi asked.

“Well…pretty bright chap…was a bit and immature…needed some cool head then and there!! Otherwise pretty … pretty..you know….useful”

Ravi was just little taken aback by the usage of the term “useful”, but he continued.

“Did you happen to have any kind of misunderstanding or any issues with Vilas”

“Well…….ours is a demanding client and the project pretty challenging…I got to say Vilas was not upto it !! attitude wise and he had problems trying to cope up with ……you know…..the pressure and all that.And….we had quite a few heated discussions a few times when he used to get pretty much over the top…you know what iam saying??....”

By the time they had reached the canteen. Raghav ordered a cup of tea and some light snack and offered to buy something for Ravi. Ravi declined it saying he didn’t feel like having anything.

“Come on man,the tea is pretty good here”Raghav insisted.

Ravi thought for a while and said”On second thoughts , I think I will have just tea”

Raghav ordered a tea and they found a place after getting their orders.

“So where was I” Raghav started.

“I think you were saying something about project pressure or something”Ravi said.

“Oh Ya..Like I was saying..This is pretty interesting job you know!! Interesting and challenging..but if you are not up to it,it can really get to you!!And this guy!! It looked he had some kinda personal problems as well!!”

“personal problems???”

“Oh ya….he used to get some calls every now and then on his mobile and he would just disappear …and he would come back after a really long time……..you know what iam saying…….”

Ravi wasn’t very sure what he was saying.So he raised his left eyebrow.

“I mean…..this guy…he always wanted to go back to Mumbai or pune or whatever…somewhere close to his home..and was really pushing me for a transfer…I told him about the project and all but he never listened…..”

“Someone wanting to have a workplace near home is not such an unusual thing”

“I know but……trust me I have been in this business for a while…and have seen people wanting to go back home and all……..I mean this guy… there was something to it…May be its just me but…..You know..something wasn’t normal.”

“How was his relationship with other team members”

“He was pretty cool..you know…professional and all…and pretty good in communication and all…”

“was there..uh anybody in your team?? Any gal with whom he had any special relationship”

“sorry dude!! There are no gals in the team…may be that’s why he hung himself.Ha ha ha” so saying he started laughing out loud.

Ravi let out a half laugh though he didn’t find the comment all that much funny.

Just then Raghav looked at his watch and said.

“Oh shit…listen man… I got a meeting for which I really got to go now…uh… you can call me ,if you really need something…and……”,he opened up his wallet as he was speaking and drew out a business card.

“Oh sure ,Thanks !! I got to say that I really appreciate your time”

“Hey no problems!! All the best” so saying he left the table and started walking briskly towards his building.

Ravi sat there for some more time finishing off his tea. He was in a deep thought. He was trying to assess how genuine Raghav was. Was he telling the truth or was he trying to put him off track. Ravi knew he had one sure shot way to find that out. He knew he had to go to Mumbai.



To be continued………….

· Deal Unto Death – Part V