~Chapter 5~

Purvi stood gazing into the wide open listening to the waves crashing the shore. The rhythm of the sea brought back memories she wanted to forget

"I love you, Purvi. You are my life."

His honeyed voice had lured her just like a moth to the fire. His handsome face and naval uniform did little to help as she had drowned in his caramel eyes.

"Purvi... help... I am in danger"

She shut her eyes as she recalled that day he had come before her all bruised and tattered. He had been dishonorably discharged by mistake he said. He couldn't go to a hospital fearing arrest. Not knowing whom to call, she had called up her best friend. She had come and being a doctor, treated him. Her mentor had heard the news from her friend and decided to keep it a secret. No one but them knew of his presence in her house while the whole country was searching for him. During his recovery, he had stayed with her, made love to her and was all that she had ever dreamed of. All had gone well until one day she had seen him snooping through her official documents. A sense of unease had set in and she had felt suspicious of him. Knowing that she ought to follow her instincts, she had dug deep without telling him and his truth had shocked her. The first person she told was her mentor. She remembered that conversation just as if it had happened few moments ago, every word was etched in her mind

"Abhijeet sir..."

"Haan Purvi"

"I need to talk"

"Yes?"

"I slept with a traitor"

"What?"

"He is a traitor"

"But you said that the claims were false"

"You knew he was a traitor?"

"It's obvious that I would know why he was discharged. But you said it was a lie, I was searching for proofs to clear him"

"I was blind. He lied. The blueprint he stole I know where it is"

"What?"

"It's right now hanging in my bedroom behind a portrait we painted together as a symbol of our love"

He had placed his hand on her head and proceeded to ACP sir's cabin. Within minutes the team had gotten ready to raid her home. He hadn't talked at all, just pulled out his gun and started running. There had been gunshots and a lot of chasing. She had pleaded with him to listen but he had refused and then she had done it. She, who had loved him, who had planned her entire life with him had taken out her gun and shot him right at the chest. He had fallen, she had run to catch him and in her lap he had whispered that she was the only one he had truly loved, then the caramel eyes had closed forever.

"Purvi?"

She turned around and saw her two friends standing beside her. Tarika put her hand on her shoulder and Shreya held her other hand. In their embrace she felt warm

"You know, I put duty in front of my heart 4 years back. Somedays I am sad, others not so... but never once have I regretted doing it. All thanks to you both for being there for me when I needed you the most."

"Where else would we be? You are our family"

She smiled although her eyes were wet. Family, that's what they were. For a moment, she forgot her pain. The sound of a cellphone ringing broke the silence. Tarika took out her phone and seeing the number immediately attended the call

"Yes, Dr. Salunkhe... what? What nonsense... That's impossible... I'll come right now... yes sir... ok"

Purvi looked at her

"What is it, Tarika?"

"Di... Manisha Di has been arrested..."

"What, why?"

"He doesn't know... seems Chitrole sir is accusing her of killing Ravi now, he just got a call from her neighbor who is an old friend of his. I need to go, Salunkhe sir was at the research center, he said he is on the way to bureau... Purvi, love you... I'll see you tomorrow"

"No... I'll come with you..."

"But?"

"You just said I am your family... Then when my family is in trouble, I need to stay right where I am needed"

Tarika just nodded and looked at Shreya who nodded too and together they left.

****

Bureau:

ACP Pradyuman looked at the handcuffs on his ex officer's wife's hands and muttered an expletive. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his retired boss who seemed to have taken upon himself to never leave him.

"What is it now, sir? Why is Manisha in handcuffs?"

Abhijeet and Daya came down and stood on either side of Manisha anger visible in both of their faces. Abhijeet held her shoulder protectively.

"Haan haan come everybody"

Said Chitrole as the rest of the officers gathered around. Abhijeet looked at him frustrated losing even the last bit of patience he had ever since he saw her in handcuffs

"Sir, would you please tell why you have brought Manisha Bhabhi here in handcuffs?"

"Patience, Abhijeet Babu... Uh... Come in, Inspector Zoya Malik"

An woman who seemed to be around Tarika's age entered in. She was dressed sharply, had a command in her stride and had sparkling clear brown eyes. She saluted smartly.

"Yes sir..."

Chitrole introduced her to the team

"This is Inspector Zoya Malik. The sharpest inspector at the headquarters. She found some details which lead us to suspect Manisha. Go on, Inspector Zoya"

"The victim Ravikiran of the open case number 7895 had been Senior Inspector Abhijeet's CI for the past 4 years. On the day of the shooting of Senior Inspector Freddy, the victim had sent an sms to official burner of Senior Inspector Abhijeet. Although the message itself is untraceable, it can be deduced that the message is related to the case."

ACP interrupted.

"That doesn't explain anything. Why is Manisha in handcuffs. I need an answer"

"Yes, sir... I am coming to it..."

"What's happening?"

In entered Dr.Salunkhe along with Tarika, Shreya and Purvi. Tarika rushed to Manisha.

"Di... Di... are you ok?"

Manisha nodded quietly. She was about to say something but Chitrole intervened

"Zoya... continue..."

"Sir, as I was saying, we went through the bank accounts of Ms. Manisha here. We saw that every month, she has been putting a hefty sum in her bank as fixed deposit with the nominee as Senior Inspector Abhijeet's daughter, Shreya. Based on this intel, we suspected that Shreya had killed the victim on Manisha's bidding..."

"What?"

Abhijeet and Tarika exclaimed simultaneously. Zoya looked at them and said

"Yes, yes we know it's not true, but her history with crime made us think so. She did live with a criminal in childhood"

"Dare you talk another word about my daughter like that"

Abhijeet growled in anger.

"Sir, I know she is your daughter but as CID officers we need to take practical decisions and not think about emotional bonds"

Chitrole clapped his hands

"Well said, Zoya... well said... like a true CID officer"

The team grumbled, ACP sir gestured Abhijeet to be silent.

"Inspector Zoya, how did you know Shreya is innocent."

"We interviewed her at school today and she denied any knowledge of the money...."

Tarika looked livid

"What you talked to my daughter at school alone? Do you or do you not know the law that a minor cannot be questioned without the presence of a guardian?"

"Dr. Tarika, I know the law but it was kind of urgent and we didn't want her to be influenced by anyone. Although we did question Sr. Inspector Abhijeet's daughter in the presence of a teacher... Just so you know it wasn't your daughter we questioned."

Tarika felt her heart crush at her words. She shut her eyes trying to concentrate, when Abhijeet spoke,

"Shreya is her daughter in every sense. Just blood or bits of paper doesn't make a woman, a mother. Tarika is Shreya's mother. End of subject. People who don't know us need not talk about our family....."

Daya interrupted

"And she also has the right to know as a law abiding citizen of this great country wether or not the law has been followed"

Dr. Salunkhe said

"And Shreya belongs to our CID family. Everyone here would protect her. Whatever you did without our knowledge is wrong..."

Chitrole looked frustrated,

"Alright, Alright... as if you guys are so perfect... Go on Zoya, these guys have a history of intimidating anyone who dared to question their so called family."

Zoya nodded and continued

"Anyways, since Shreya had no knowledge of the money, we investigated Manisha directly and she confessed to the crime"

Manisha who had been quiet for so long said softly

"I did not confess to the crime"

"But..."

"You asked me if I had put in money in a fixed deposit and nominated Shreya, I said yes. You asked me if I knew Ravi, I said yes. You asked me if my husband knew him, I said yes. You asked me if I suspected he had any involvement in my husband's death, I said yes. Then you asked me if I met him on the day he died, I said yes. Then you handcuffed me and brought me here. That was all that happened. I don't believe I 'confessed' to any crime here"

Shreya pitched in

"Exactly... how can you do it... did you verify where she was at the time of death?"

"She said she met him..."

"She met him on the 'day' he died, she was at Tarika's house at the time of his death. You must've checked her mobile records before arresting her"

Pradyuman suddenly hollered

"Why is she still in handcuffs? As far as I am concerned, there is no evidence against her. Removed the handcuffs."

Zoya took a sheaf of papers in her hand and showed it to Pradyuman

"Look at her fixed deposit statements... she..."

Abhijeet snatched the papers roughly and said

"Remove the handcuffs and then we can talk"

Zoya looked at the team shooting daggers with their eyes and decided to do what they wanted. It would be difficult to have aby sensible conversation with an hostile team. She took out the keys from her pocket and removed the handcuffs

"Done"

Pradyuman looked at Manisha

"Manisha beta, are you all right? Sit down. Purvi get a chair. Daya some water please?"

Manisha sat down and drank the water Daya gave. She looked up guiltily at Abhijeet as he was going through the papers. As soon as it struck him, he looked at her questioningly

"Why, Bhabhi... I... uh..."

"I told you I didn’t need the money. You refused to listen"

She turned to Zoya.

"Inspector Zoya, you never bothered to ask me how I was able to put in so much money every month earning the meagre salary of a Montessori teacher. I assume you thought the worst of me. Well, here is how... I never wanted to keep it a secret. Ever since Freddy was killed, Abhijeet has taken it upon himself to take care of my every need. He does that everyday but in addition to that, he deposits a cheque every month. I have told him multiple times that I don’t need it, but he refused to stop. I couldn't return it to him so I did the next best thing. I deposited it in his daughter's name."

"Bhabhi it wasn't..."

She looked at him

"I know Abhijeet but I really don't have anybody else... that money wasn't useful for me, it may as well be used for Shreya."

Zoya shook her head

"But you said you suspected Ravi..."

Manisha sighed

"Ravi was Abhijeet's CI when my husband was alive, remember? A few days before he was killed, my husband told me that Ravi was behaving oddly. Dhenchu had told him that Ravi was meeting up with some odd people. He said he had informed Abhijeet and Abhijeet had confirmed that he was doing so to get information only.... still he told me he had a gut feeling that something was wrong. I didn't think much about it then but when Abhijeet was suspected in Ravi's death, I suspected that maybe Ravi was involved in Freddy's killing and so they are suspecting Abhijeet of taking revenge..."

Chitrole interrupted

"So, you thought Abhijeet killed Ravi for revenge..."

"Oh no, I did not... Abhijeet would never go against the law, had he suspected Ravi, he might have been angry but he wouldn't kill him, he would have made sure he caught him and got him the maximum sentence. I thought you would definitely suspect him if you thought Ravi had any involvement in my husband's death. You always think the worst of him, don't you... Chitrole saab?"

Chitrole grunted. ACP Pradyuman looked at him

"Well sir, since Manisha isn't a suspect and neither is anyone in my team, I guess you have a lot of plans for your retired life. Why don't you leave now?"

"Are you trying to chase me away? Don't be too happy. The headquarters called me from my retirement because they suspected you guys were involved in something shady. Now as per their instructions, I will be leaving Inspector Zoya here who would be monitoring your activities and reporting directly to me."

Saying so, Chitrole left the bureau. Zoya looked around at the team who were still looking at the door angrily and said

"Well that's that... Uh... you... Purvi, show me a desk that's free I want to setup my things..."

Daya intervened

"One minute..."

He looked at ACP sir

"Sir are you really going to allow this to happen. How can someone enter the bureau just like that?"

Before Pradyuman could respond, Zoya said

"Well you have too many open cases, cases gone cold without reason, cases shut by mindless encounters... The headquarters feel you really need someone like me to back you up."

Purvi looked at her in anger

"We do not have 'too many' open cases. At present there are only 3 open cases, 1 where Sachin has gone to Kolkata to investigate, 1 which came in yesterday and Pankaj is following a lead and the other Ravi's case is what we are all working together to get it closed. All cold cases are accounted for, we have the highest number of cases closed in India. Every encounter we did has been of a criminal and we have valid reason. It would be good if you do read some statistics before spouting nonsense."

"Wow... you do talk a lot, I heard you stopped talking much ever since you shot that boyfriend of yours... an encounter again... which this team carried out based on 'proof' you provided... Maybe you got tired of him, who knows? Anyways, for a heart that became a stone as the rumors say, you do show some pretty good emotions... rumors aren't to be trusted I guess..."

Abhijeet snorted and fisted his palm trying to control his temper throughout the sarcastic speech.

"We catch criminals here, Inspector Zoya. We don't gossip. Also we respect each other's private life. We don't go around probing or nicknaming people based on their private life. The proof that you talked about was solid enough for us to go after him. Inspector Purvi is a dedicated, hardworking and intelligent cid officer who is exceptionally good at solving cyber crimes. If you really have to comment then you are free to comment on that but dare you intrude her private life."

Daya looking thoroughly frustrated looked at ACP

"Sir, do we really need anyone else? Aren't we enough?"

ACP sir nodded

"Yes, I'll talk to the DCP.... Till then..."

"Of course, I'll stay"

ACP sighed, she looked like a piece of work. He had mentored a lot of juniors throughout his career and was known to judge every individual personality well. Knowing things will only worsen if they all simply stood together, he said

"All right everyone back to work. Purvi, I want you to talk to Pankaj and get updates. Salunkhe, you and Tarika can go back to the lab. Daya, Shreya come to my cabin and help me with the report. Abhijeet take Manisha home and I am sure you would want to visit Shreya. Go. And Inspector Zoya you can work on whatever task you are working with the headquarters. You aren't part of my team until I personally verify with the headquarters. You are not to interact with my team until I say so."

As everyone started dispersing, Tarika looked at Salunkhe sir. He gave a small smile

"I know you want to go see Shreya... Go... I'll manage"

Nodding, she joined Manisha and Abhijeet on their way out.

****

The car ride to Manisha's home was mostly quiet. As they approached her house, Abhijeet slowed down and looked at her

"Bhabhi... I... uh... sorry..."

"Oh come on Abhijeet, I am used to all this."

"But Bhabhi, had Freddy been here... he... uh... you know... he protected you... I..."

"He would have done the same thing, Abhijeet... stop beating yourself up. Tarika... talk to him na?"

Tarika nodded slowly but didn't reply. Manisha gave a sigh

"What is it, Tarika?"

Abhijeet looked at Tarika and said

"I guess she is wondering why you never mentioned to us about Ravi. I mean whatever you said to Zoya... I... uh... I mean we didn’t... know that you suspected Ravi until today"

"I guess it slipped my mind until today."

Tarika looked at her and shook her head

"You said you met Ravi didn't you?"

Manisha gave a short laugh

"Really? Come on... I sometimes wonder if he is the detective or you are"

"No Di... That's not it... It's just..."

"I know... You are scared... Tarika, I can take care of myself... and yes, I met Ravi 2 months back. He came to the supermarket near our house to shop for something and recognized me. He was pretty cordial considering the last time we met, he fought with my husband"

Abhijeet looked surprised

"Fought with Freddy? Why? Bhabhi, can you tell us what happened?"

"The fight was something really stupid. He came home drunk one night around 10 when we both were about to sleep. It was all of a sudden and you know how Freddy is, he hated to bring strangers home. So he was alrrady irritated and then Ravi started blabbering that you weren't paying enough and he asked for more money. Well, my husband got angry and shooed him. They had a war of words... That was all. I completely forgot about it until I heard that you were a suspect in Ravi's case. Since he visited us just few days before, yes it crossed my mind that he might have been involved in the shooting. Again, I didn't think much about it. I was more worried about you"

"Bhabhi, you could have told me. What if something happened? What if he had come after you?"

"You would have rescued me... Anyways, he was dead at that point and as I said I was worrying about you... Stop, Now, there's my home. I am a grown-up, I can very well take care of myself, you don't have to babysit me. Both of you, go on a date, have some fun and stop worrying about me. I'll see you soon, bye"

As she got down, Abhijeet called out

"Bhabhi... Bhabhi... one minute..."

"Haan?"

"Promise me you'll call if you feel uncomfortable about anything again. Big or small... anything that doesn't make sense... let me know"

"I will... Now go... Or I'll get a policeman to whisk you away from here"

Abhijeet gave a small smile

"You know, if something happens, I'll be the one whisking you away to wonderland and you'll have a nice tea party like Alice in Wonderland"

She said nothing but nodded and turned away to leave knowing if she didn't move, they would stay there forever trying to guard her. As she entered her house, Tarika turned to Abhijeet. He looked back at her, his eyes revealing more than what his lips could. She sighed understanding and reached out and took his hand in hers and squeezed it tight. He gave a small smile his heart comforted by her unsaid promises.

****