Part 1A month earlier "Come here, doll, and dance for me." She made her way towards the hulking man clad in black, forcing her bile down. Her revulsion increased as he tried to grab her but she stepped away with a saucy smile. "No touching," she warned playfully, while concealing her desire to bash his head in with the nearest chair and began to dance. The next few hours were a blur and all she remembered after that was crying in the shower, scrubbing her skin raw to get all the body glitter off...
"Wakey, wakey Princess Aisha," Liza said, in her best King Julien impression. "The big chief has called twice already and is threatening to break down the door if we're not out in ten minutes flat."
She woke up with a start, breathing a bit faster than usual.
"Bad dreams?" Liza asked her sympathetically.
Aisha nodded, reaching for the glass of water by her side.
"The same ones?"
"Those. And a few others. Nothing I can't handle," she said, getting out of bed.
Liza gave her a sudden hug. "Talk to me, Aish. How else can I help you?"
Aisha returned the hug, laughing shakily. "Tumse baat karne ka koi fayda hai? Specky Sen ke ilava tumhe kisi aur ki baatein sunai kahaan deti hain?" she teased, rumpling her room-mate's hair. Predictably, Liza launched into a list of wrongs Shree had done her and the topic changed. Aisha bustled about getting ready as Liza continued her tirade, smiling at the not-very-secret crush her friend had over the geeky tech specialist. They would make a rather cute pair, she mused, jumping when the phone rang insistently.
Liza rolled her eyes at her. "That would be lover-boy, I suppose," she teased, laughing as Aisha chucked her hairbrush at her. "Let's not keep him waiting any longer, huh?"
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ETF Chief Sameer Rathore was a hard man to impress. His high standards made him a tough boss, but he was also very caring and a thorough gentleman, which was why his team adored him. Life hadn't been easy for him, especially in the past five years, but things were slowly looking up. He'd be the first person to accept that the reason was Aisha. She was smart, loyal, fearless and lovely, and she was his. Or soon would be. He hoped. Sometimes he thought he knew nothing about her, that a part of her was cut off from him, buried under so many layers that he'd never really get through. It was okay, though. If things went his way, he'd have his whole life to understand the mystery called Aisha Kapoor.
He smiled as she came running down the stairs, closely followed the imp she called a friend. "Badi deir laga di," he said, opening the door for her, ignoring the excessively sappy faces Liza was pulling behind her. "Haan, woh, I overslept..." she muttered distractedly, hurrying into the car. He looked at Liza curiously, who mouthed the word 'nightmares' at him before scrambling into the backseat. He sighed. When would she confide in him?
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The ride to the HQ was quiet. Aisha didn't seem to be up to much conversation and Liza's conversation was something only Shree could deal with, so Rathore focused on the road. They were just pulling in when Arjun, Shree and Chotu came rushing out. "Next case. Nanny murdered. Children taken hostage. Juhu."
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"It's been set up to look like a robbery gone wrong," Aisha pointed out to Arjun, as he examined the evidence at the crime scene. Liza was examining the body, Shree was taking pictures and Rathore and Chotu were talking to the parents, who seemed to be in shock.
Arjun gave her a slight smile. "Make sure to tell that to Rathore when he makes his grand statement about catching the gang of thieves who've turned kidnappers."
Aisha shook her head. Sameer was... predictable. A brave and honest officer, he'd probably never quit thinking linearly. It was one of the few things that exasperated her about him. She, like Arjun, thought in a much more
disorganized manner, which probably baffled and frustrated Sameer. She sighed. "He's too good to ever think like a criminal." Arjun raised his eyebrow at that. "And you aren't?" Aisha's eyes flew wide open when she realized what she had said and to whom. "Umm, most of the valuables have been left intact. Some minor knick-knacks have been stolen, but the safe under the painting hasn't even been touched. Any professional gang would've known that that's probably the first place to look for concealed safes. This isn't a pro job," she babbled, trying to draw his attention away.
It worked. It helped that Liza arrived that minute to say that the nanny had not been killed in a scuffle as would be expected if she had attempted to fight robbers, but she'd first been poisoned and then shot to make it look like that was the cause of death.
It had been fairly straight-forward from then on. All they had to do was to reconstruct the last few hours of the unfortunate girl's life and they had their killer - her ex-boyfriend, who'd decided to make a quick buck while killing the girl who had 'ditched' him. The problem had been to trace him before he harmed the children but, moron that he was, he'd made a ransom call from the area he was hiding out in and it was a matter of bringing in the local police to comb about four streets before the man was caught and the children restored to their relieved parents.
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"This has got to be one of the easiest cases we've ever worked on," Shree commented to Aisha, who was writing up her report. From time to time, her eyes would shoot to the cabin at the corner, an action that was missed neither by Shree nor by Liza, who'd dropped in to indulge in her favourite pasttime of riling Shree up. Liza cleared her throat, but she'd just opened her mouth when Rathore walked in. "Ready to leave, love?" he asked Aisha, nodding at Shree and Liza. "Of course! Let's get out of here. I'm starving!!" Aisha exclaimed, jumping out of her chair. She shot a last lingering glance at the cabin before shaking her head and walking out with Rathore. Shree and Liza exchanged concerned looks. That was Arjun's cabin.
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So what do y'all think? Okay so far? Let me know! The case is crappy because it is unimportant. I promise I'll write a better mystery when it really matters. Next update next week! Edited by dee86 - 12 years ago
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