Part 8
Arjun felt sucker punched in his gut.
Nandita..
It was a name he remembered with every breath he took but had least expected Aadhira to blurt out.
There could be no connection between her and the being that was the soul of his life 13 years ago. A professional criminal could have been expected to dig all there was to the man that was Arjun. But someone like Aadhira could hardly have known something about the past Arjun had so carefully buried.
"Nandita?" he asked looking at her carefully his breath coming in rapid successions.
Aadhira looked at him with compassion and sorrow filling her eyes. She walked slowly towards him and put her palm over his cheek. It was a gesture meant to soothe a devastated person. But in Arjun's mind no one was more broken than Aadhira at this time. Then why was she offering ...
"Who is Nandita?" Alisha's urgent clipped voice broke through the connection that had developed in this moment of trauma. Arjun roused himself.
"Who are you talking about, Aadhira? What has this person got to do with Ellie & her killers?" he asked her wanting to believe that Aadhira had a different person in mind.
"No, Arjun. Don't pretend you don't understand. You know who I am talking about," she had not broken her eye contact at all and stared at him willing him to understand what she was saying.
"What is going on here?" Alisha was perturbed.
But she sensed that her question had not registered with the two souls standing in front her , two beings that were silently communicating with each other in a way only those who bonded over a shared excruciating pain could communicate.
"What are you talking about, Aadhira?" Arjun asked softly still unable to fathom that he and not Aadhira had become the point of focus in this bizarre game of blood and deceit.
"Sir, I have meaning to ask. Do you know Aadhira before coming here? What is she saying? Who is Nandita? " Alisha fired rapidly her head spinning wildly.
Arjun shook his head." I met her the night Rajneesh was killed. I did not know her before then,"
A rush of sudden anger shook him and he turned on her."But Mrs Sickand seems to know a lot about me."
She looked back completely understanding his anger and shook her head regret fully at how completely misplaced it was.
A wave of regret and sense of loss washed over him. He needed to be in control. He was in the middle of a major investigation and there was an associate watching him. But try hard as he might he could not rein in his roiling emotions that one name had triggered in him. That the trigger should have come from a totally unexpected quarter blindsided him completely.
Nandita...After all these years...
Something struck Alisha and she pounced on Aadhira.
"You said you talk to dead people. Then in the same vein you said you talk to..to this Nandita. So...is he dead too?"
Colour drained from Arjun's face and he could take it no more.
"Enough!", he thundered. "Enough of this nonsense."
"Alisha, please make sure this room guarded well for the night."
Turning to Aadhira in a voice full of anger Arjun said emphatically ,"Nandita is not dead, Aadhira. She is happily married and settled in Europe,"
Striding outside he called for the duty nurse.
He instructed her to call the duty doctor and asked him make sure their suspect is well enough to make appearance in court in the morning.
As he was about to step out Aadhira called out in an anguished voice,"Arjun, please believe me. I can see & talk to dead people,"
He kept walking without a backward glance.
"Arjun, Nandita is dead," She had pushed away Alisha's hold and rushed to the door. Arjun was quickly striding away into the dark corridor.
"ARJUN!" she called
"She is dead. Has been dead for 13 years. Naren and his friends raped and murdered her. THEY THEN BURNT HER BODY!"
He stood still. After Aadhira shrill pronouncement everything fell deathly silent. He swayed a bit such was the powerful impact of her word. He felt numb. Then a hot liquid spring burst forth within him. His eyes zoomed in & out of focus. He turned around and rapid walked towards where she stood her eyes now full of big fat tears.
"What did you say?" he hissed. He looked much dangerous than the few Alisha had shut inside jail cells.
"She did not betray you, Arjun. They conned her & then did the unspeakable with her," Aadhira wanted to hold him to cushion the blows she was dealing him.
Naren...
The rich spoilt brat of the politician Arjun was charged with guarding.
It was his first assignment after coming out of Police Academy and he had cursed the day he joined the training every moment of his duty hours. This was not what he wanted to do. He wanted to be out there clearing out muck and make society a better place. Not babysit fat lazy junior minister while he tramped from one lavish party to another.
He noticed a kindred soul in the sad girl who was ordered about all day carrying files, typing out useless letters and booking hotel rooms and party halls.
Nandita was the intern from the government run secretarial school who was assigned to work in the office of this politician. Both had loathed their jobs and had morosely gotten through their days of slavery to this sort of hegemony.
Slowly they began to gravitate towards each other and a friendship developed between them. Which soon blossomed into love. There were so many things common to both and their outlook towards life matched perfectly it felt they had known each other forever.
Both were orphans raised in Government shelters and badly wanted a sense of belonging and family to call their own.
It was a beautiful relationship. Both were looking forward to a rosy future together when Nandita fell in the path of the rich and handsome Naren Gehlot. He had just returned from finishing college abroad was usually seen coming in and out the house with a bunch of fat rich kids.
Once he had waylaid Nandita and began flirting with her. She ignored him and walked away.
Naren Gehlot
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