Chapter 14

[MEMBERSONLY] [NOCOPY]

A reader mentioned this and I thought I should finally announce the same. The song dedicated to not only the previous chapters but also the relationship between Arjun and Riya throughout the story is "Phir Mohabbat" from Murder 2. I had this song in mind when I wrote the first chapter but I somehow forgot to tell you about it. Thank you aptl123 for making the connection. It perfectly fits the setting and emotions of the moments shared between the leads. I would highly recommend you read the last two chapters with Arjun-Riya scenes while this song plays in the background.

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Chapter 12

Several groans resonated against the glass walls of the conference room. They hadn’t solved one case and yet another one came knocking on their door. As if they already did not have enough problems to deal with and now they were expected to solve other people’s.

Taking charge of the strange situation, Sameer commanded, “Team, don’t forget your duties. No matter how many cases are thrown our way, we have to solve them all. Let’s go.” 

Heads down in shame at their chief’s beration of their behaviour, everyone, except Arjun, filed out muttering a ‘sorry’. Sameer merely shook his head and followed the team, not before casually throwing a glare in Arjun’s direction. 

Being the last one to walk out of the office premises, Arjun noticed that everyone was already seated in their usual spots in the car. Well, all except one; Riya. The woman who always found reasons to be in the same closed vehicle as him was now willing sitting in Sameer's SUV. And although it did astonish him, he had more important matters at hand. So, being the akdu he was, he pretended to be unaffected by her ignorance and drove his SUV to the crime site. 

Riya, on the other hand, was trying her best to avoid her senior after the previous night’s fiasco. She knew her feelings for him ran deeper than the admiration she originally felt for him, and that terrified her. She knew he would hate her if he recognizes her, if he even suspects her for the secret she was safeguarding within her. And that was something she couldn’t afford. Knowing that these increasing intimate tension between them was nothing but trouble, she stayed firm on her decision of ceasing him from approaching her.

The team reached the factory, located near the forest where Arjun and Riya shared their first kiss. The subtle remembrance of the night caused both to shiver involuntarily; him in arousal and her in anticipation. Their eyes met briefly, holding the stare for a second too long, before she shied away from the intense emotions reflecting in his gaze. 

Everyone found themselves occupied in looking for any clues that could help them in this mystery. Sameer had magically vanished, no sight of him. If anyone had bothered observing his face before his sudden disappearance, they would have noticed the slight tensed expressions his eyes held and the shaking of his shoulders as he attempted to hold in his sobs. 

Scanning the perimeter, Arjun noticed the dead body of Sumit Awasthi, the rich businessman known for his playboy ways and vile nature. The body didn’t seem to have any bruises indicating that he wasn’t engaged in a scuffle before his murder. 

But nothing could be said until Lisa had examined the body and prepared a forensic report.

“Sir, marne waale ka naam hai Sumit Awasthi. Mumbai ke kuch mashoor aur badnaam businessmen mein ek naam inka bhi hai. His expertise is in buying hotels and ensuring their potential of reaching new heights. Family mein sirf ek chhota bhai hai jo aajkal London mein hai. Yeh kal hi Mumbai laute the apni ek business deal crack karke,” reported Riya as the team gathered to discuss the case. 

Sameer nodded in acknowledgement and glanced at the witnesses standing behind the ‘do-not-enter’ tape barricading the area around the dead body. Turning towards the puzzled faces of his team, he asked, “Inn logon ki statements se kuch pata chala?”

Heads shaking in denial, another flame of hope was extinguished. Although they had expected that the witnesses would be unaware of the crime, but still the negative response deflated their confidence. 

“Aakhir itne bade businessman ko iss tarah maara kisne?”, Sameer wondered. The same question everyone was impatiently trying to extract the answer to. 

Aisha, mentally recapping the facts of previous cases, said, “Sir, ho sakta hai yeh khoon chori ke liye kiya gaya ho?”

Riya jumped to defend her assumptions, “Yes sir. Aankdon ke hisaab se 83% cases mein ameer logon ka aisi sunsaan jaghaon par qatal karne ka kaaran chori hi hoti hai.”

“Nahi Aisha. Yeh khoon chori ke liye nahi kiya gaya hai,” Arjun declared without a moment of hesitation. The team eyed him, waiting for him to further explain his point. And he certainly did not disappoint them. “Laash ke paas se koi bhi keemti cheez gayab nahi hai. The gold chain around his neck, the rings adorning his fingers, the wallet in his back pocket and the cellphone; all are in their designated places. Qatal ki wajah chori ko chhod ke kuch bhi ho sakti hai.”

Realizing that he was right, a hush fell over the already quiet team. On one hand, they were dealing with Sikandar’s case, where they had arrived at a dead end. And on the other, they were forced to deal with this murder case that they couldn’t put their heart into solving, no matter how much they tried. Sighing loudly, the juniors exchanged a glance before dispersing into their unspoken teams to investigate, leaving behind their seniors. The dead body was sent to the forensic lab so Lisa could study it.

Sameer spared a glance in Arjun’s direction and whispered, his voice barely audible, “You’re right Arjun. You were always right.”

No sooner had he finished than Arjun’s head snapped in his direction, eyes wide in shock. For a moment, he suspected that his ears were playing a sick joke on him. However, one look at Sameer’s guilty face and Arjun knew that this wasn’t a fragment of his imagination. His once best-friend was indeed acknowledging that he had been right all along. But the question still stood; why now and why so suddenly? 

He couldn’t allow the hope to bubble within him, not if he was going to be disappointed once again. Before he could begin to formulate the reason behind the abrupt guilt in Sameer’s eyes or even question him on the same, something shone brightly in his eyes, catching his undivided attention instantly. He bent down, grasping the metallic object between his thumb and index finger and observed the unusual pattern on a silver chain. 

The team returned, their sulking faces indicating that they’re returning from yet another futile trek. Gathering his composure, Sameer posed the question, “Did you guys find anything?”

Groans of displeasure immediately sounded out from the juniors. “Kuch nahi mila. Kuch bhi nahi,” complained Chotu.

Aisha, continuing his sentence, said, “Haan sir. Aisa pehli baar hua hai ki khooni ne koi saboot nahi chhoda.”

The ACPs nodded, mentally processing the information. Yet again, there were too many questions and too little answers. But they realized that something was amiss in the situation, something they couldn’t quite put their finger on. And that fact frustrated them.

Wanting to share his discovery of the jewelry, Arjun almost spoke up, almost. But he held his tongue in the last minute, patiently waiting for the rest of the people to speak up. On a normal day, he wouldn’t have hesitated. But today was not normal, not in any dictionary and not by any long chance. Therefore, the akdu boss stood quietly in the corner.

“I got something, sir,” Shree announced. Six heads turned to stare at him in anticipation. “Maine Sumit ke call records check kiye hain. There’s one number that had repeatedly showed up on the list last night. Aur toh aur sir, Sumit ke qatal se theek 5 minutes pehle bhi iss number se Sumit ko call aaya tha,” he completed the news. 

The team’s face lit up with hope and they sighed in relief. Finally they could see the light at the end of the dark tunnel; the first lead to this bemusing case. “Sir, yeh number Sumit Awasthi ke account handler, Chander Madhan ka hai,” Shree added as an afterthought.

“Great job Shree!” Sameer exclaimed in praisal, “Main, Rawte aur Sakshi, Chander ke ghar jaayenge. Aisha aur Chotu, Sumit ke office jaake puchh-tachh karo. Dekho kuch milta hai ya nahi. Shree and Riya, go back to the office and try to gather more information about the ricin poison that was found in those victims’ bodies and find clues on Sikandar.” 

Hearing Sikandar from his mouth surprised everyone. He didn’t believe in Sikandar’s existence this morning, why the change?, they thought and glanced at Arjun. But his facial expressions remained stoic, forbidding any hint of his emotions to leak through. The team nodded and separated, heading towards their destinations.

Arjun, Sameer and Sakshi stood outside the door of Chander’s house. Several knocks and a few minutes of wait later, an aged man opened the door and peered at them hiding behind it. “Hume Chander Madhan se milna hai,” Sameer informed him authoritatively. 

The man stared at him and asked, “Ji aap kaun?”

“Emergency Task Force,” Arjun showed his batch to emphasize on it. 

The aged man scanned them, checking if they were speaking the truth before moving aside and allowing them to enter. The battered condition of the house narrated a tragic story. It was evident that Chander was a poor man, but how did he manage to bag the job of Sumit’s account handler was still a huge question mark.

The man hastily drank a glass of water, his hands shaking tremendously. “Main hi hoon Chander. Aapko mujhse kya kaam hai?”, he said fearfully.

The trio exchanged glances before turning to face Chander. The fear on his face confused them. Had he been innocent, he wouldn’t be shivering like a culprit. And they collectively labelled him as a suspect. “Aapne kal raat Sumit Awasthi ko kayi baar call kiya tha. Koi khaas wajah?”, Sakshi began the interrogation.

Chander’s head snapped in her direction, eyes wide in shock. With a fumbling voice, he asked, “Aap Sumit ji ko kaise jaante hain?”

“Sawaal ka jawaab ek aur sawaal nahi hota. Jo puchha gaya hai uska jawaab do,” Arjun said firmly, leaving no room for arguments. Sameer glanced at him, noticing the underlying threat in his tone, and sighed helplessly.

Eyes widened in fear, Chander began, “Main Sumit ji ka account handler hoon. Unhe jab bhi paise deposit ya withdraw karne ho toh wo mujhse kehte the. Kal bhi unhone paise withdraw kiye the aur uss paise ki safety ensure karne ke liye main baar-baar unhe call kar raha tha.”

Sameer nodded and continued with the discussion, “Toh tum isi tarah humesha paison ki safety ke liye Sumit se baat karte ho?”

“Nahi sir. Main aisa kabhi nahi karta kyunki Sumit ji usually sirf kuch lakh rupees nikalte the. Lekin kal achanak unhone mujhe 50 crore withdraw karne ko kaha. Bas isiliye mujhe tension ho gayi thi. Aur jab maine unse aakhri baar baat ki thi tab paise unke paas hi the,” he broke the crucial news. 

Silence enveloped the room as the three ETF members exchanged looks in shock. The last time Chander talked to Sumit was five minutes before his murder. And if the money was with Sumit at that time, then that would indicate that the money is with the murderer. Their eyes widened by a fraction as they understood the motive behind this heinous crime.

At the office, Aisha and Chotu were investigating regarding the personal life of Sumit but to their dismay, every path led to a dead-end. They had interrogated the entire staff, checked every corner of the premises but all their attempts proved to be futile. However, just as they were about to retire from the place, a peon caught their attention. He was cleaning the floor, but often threw a glance in their direction.

Suspicions raised to the sky, the duo cornered the peon and Aisha asked, “Itne ghabraye hue kyun ho? Kya chhupa rahe ho?”

The peon scanned the perimeter, slightly hesitant in talking. “Wo madam, mujhe aap dono ko kuch batana hai.”

“Bolo. Kya batana chahte ho?”, Chotu probed him further.

The peon gulped in fear, genuinely frightened to see the furious eyes and giant build of Chotu. He drew in a shaky breath and revealed, “Sahab, kal jab Sumit sahab office aaye toh bohot ghabraye hue lag rahe the. Poora din sab pe apna gussa utarte rahe. Aur jab office se jaa rahe the toh unke paas ek bag tha, green colour ka. Wo kafi hadbadi mein bag ko lekar nikal gaye.”

Aisha and Chotu glanced at each other, processing the information in accomplishment. They had another lead to further solve the case. Gathering the CCTV footage that contained the images of Sumit leaving with the bag, the two returned to the office to share their findings.

Hours later, the team gathered in the conference room, shock and frustration evident on their faces. As the new facts were discovered, the case complicated itself. So many questions were still left unanswered and it seemed that they won’t be answered soon. And they couldn’t ignore the crucial case lurking at the back, occasionally drawing attention of the officers.

Sameer, composed himself being the chief, addressed his team, “Let’s revise the recents facts that were uncovered in this case-”, his sentence was interrupted by a panting Lisa, who frantically opened the door. 

“I’ve got something,” she announced, her voice no louder than a breathy whisper. Seven pairs of eyes turned in a flash and stared at her as if she has suddenly grown another head. Hope bubbled in their hearts as their exhaustion washed away. Had they not been drained of energy, they would have jumped in happiness. They waited for her to continue.

“I’ve found two things sir. Sumit ki body se ricin poison ke traces mile hain. He was killed by the same poison as those social workers. And…”, she trailed off as her mind registered the shocked faces of her team. This information was completely unexpected. And for the first time, even Arjun couldn’t deny that he was surprised as well. 

Noticing her trail, Arjun asked, “And what?”

Her eyes met his and she sighed loudly, releasing the breath she had been unconsciously holding because she feared his reaction. “It’s better if you see it for yourself, sir,” she responded lowly.

The team had become so accustomed to shocks that they wordlessly followed her to the forensic lab. What could be worse than finding that the two cases, Sikandar and Sumit, hold a probability of being interconnected? The team entered the lab, confused. Realizing that Lisa is gesturing to observe the back of the dead body, they did as told.

Their eyes fell on a sentence, brutally carved into the skin of the victim, and the breath was knocked out of them. 

‘ACP Arjun ko Sikandar ka salaam.’

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Do you like it? Please do comment to let me know your thoughts.

I am sorry for being very late with the update. September hasn't been the best month for me and a lot of things happened, more than I would've liked. But from now on, I'll try to update as frequently as possible. I've read all the questions you have and I assure you that they will be answered as the story starts unfolding all the secrets. I will focus a little bit more on the case in the upcoming chapters but you will get your required dose of Arjun-Riya tension as well.

It'd be a great help if readers can just tell me who wants to receive a PM. I forgot who asked for it lol. And also, if you want a PM, please make sure your inbox has space to receive it. I'm tired of re-selecting people because one person has reached their inbox limit.

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