PART 44
Josh and Kripa had just reached the offices of CBI, when he got a frantic call on his mobile. It was Neeraj from the Hotel:
SIR! COME BACK AT ONCE! THERES BEEN A KIDNAPPING!
WHAATTT! Josh sprang up….WHAT HAPPENED?
SIR, SOMEBODY KIDNAPPED PRATEEK! UR SON IS MISSING!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Josh was pale, shaking!
SOMEBODY HIT KANAN ON HER HEAD AND TOOK OFF WITH PRATEEK, SIR!
AAP JALDI AA JAYIYE….YAHAN LOCAL POLICE BHI AA GAYI HAI!
The phone dropped from Josh's nerveless fingers. Kripa picked it up and yelled: HELLO, HELLO, KYA HUA? Phone cut gaya! JOSH….KYA HUA? BATAAO, JOSH….she shook Josh fiercely, panting with anxiety!
Josh turned to her with horrified shock in his eyes, trembling with dread, his voice shook: Kripa…..humein abhi Hotel wapas jaana hai….abhi….he turned and ran out of the doors, calling a cab, Kripa running to keep up with him, yelling after him: JOSH…..JOSH!
Josh jumped into a passing cab and tersely waited for Kripa to join him! He ordered the driver to take them to Regency Hotel, his voice tight with awful tension.
Kripa grabbed his arm, panting with apprehension : Josh, kya hua? Please mujhey batao? JOSH? Angad ko kuchh hua kya? Kripa's mind at once started imagining horrible scenarios for Angad in her panic.
Josh glanced at her, his jaws clenched with immense self-control, instilled only by years of CBI training and field-work. Only he knew how he was controlling his panic after hearing the terrifying news…..Sunny had been kidnapped!!…..he closed his eyes, hoping it was a nightmare he would wake up from! He hoped fervently that somehow Zaib/Angad had kidnapped Sunny….at least then he would be in safe hands!
Kripa shook Josh's arm, urging him desperately to tell her…..Josh looked at her again…he couldn't tell her in the cab….she might collapse there!
Kripa….his voice was gruff with suppressed emotions….Hotel wapas chalo, wahan jaakar sab pata chalega"
Kyun? Tum mujhey yahan kyun nahin bata rahey ho? She protested angrily.
Please Kripa, Hotel….wapas chalo….his voice choked, he looked out of the window….silent, unresponsive. Kripa gave up prodding him and sat tensed beside him. That was the longest cab-ride of their lives!
Josh and Kripa ran into the Hotel Lobby to find several people at the Front Desk….including some local cops in white uniform.
Mr. Kapoor? A Chinese policeman approached him….Josh nodded silently….I'm Inspector Han! Come with us….upstairs to your Suite"
They followed him silently upstairs. Kripa's heart was thudding loudly with dread……she knew something terrible had happened….she wasn't sure what but she felt it in her icy heart!
They entered the Suite to find Kanan lying on the couch with an ice-pack on her head. She was moaning and groaning, surrounded by Neeraj, local cops and the Hotel Manager.
Kripa knew right then: KANAN! PRATEEK KAHAN HAI? KAHAN HAI? She cried out loudly, shaking with fear.
Kanan tried to sit up with a loud groan, then fell back on the cushions again : Im sorry, Mrs. Kapoor! I'm so sorry!
Josh made Kripa sit down on a couch: Kripa….Prateek ….ko kisiney…kidnap kar liya hai….Sunny…(his own voice was shaking) Sunny is missing!
Kripa stared blankly at Josh, uncomprehending, too shocked to react at once, she whispered to herself: Prateek? Kidnap? …..then her voice rose hysterically: WHAT DO U MEAN? PRATEEK KO KIDNAP?….KAUN KAREGA? KYUN? KYA KEH RAHEY HO TUM?
Kripa….Josh sat down and held her tightly in his arms as she shivered in shock: Kripa, please, Prateek ko kidnap kiya hai kisiney, pata nahin kaun…now please let me ask Kanan…….he turned and sternly asked Kanan: Batao, kya hua tha?
Kanan appeared too weak and overcome to go over the details, so Neeraj did the filling in: Kanan was going to the Mall with Prateek…..but somebody hit her on the back of the head in the lift, left her unconscious, and took off with Prateek. When the lift reached the lobby, they had discovered her lying on the floor. She was revived, the cops were called….but Neeraj was on the scene first, since he was already present in the lobby.
The cops also supplied their version …..the Hotel Manager was very apologetic and worried that such a crime took place in his Hotel.
Josh turned sharply to Kanan: Tumney lift mein kisiko nahin dekha?
Kanan looked dejected: Shayad koi tha…mainey notice nahin kee…..I was talking to Prateek…aap toh jaantey hain kitna excited hota hai Mall jaaney ke liye….he was talking so much I didn't notice….
Josh looked oddly at Kanan, but didn't say anything. Kripa just sat there, numb, pale as a ghost, turned to stone with shock!
Prateek….her mind screamed….NOOOO, Prateek cant be gone! Main usey nahin kho sakti…..kahan gaya wo? Nahin, wo kahin aas-paas hai….zaroor yahin kahin hai….mera bachcha…..
Kripa suddenly got up and ran out of the door like a madwoman, screaming: PRATEEK! PRATEEK! Josh ran after her…..and caught her, she struggled against him: JOSH! PRATEEK YAHIN HAI…..DHOONDO USEY…..WAPAS LE AAO….WAPAS LE AAO USEY……JAAO….she collapsed, sobbing in his arms….then she went limp! Shock after shock had made her faint!
Josh lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom, laid her down on the bed, covered her with the blanket.
He bent and kissed her forehead gently: Kripa, main vaada karta hoon, Sunny hamarey paas sahi salamat wapas aayega…..main dharti-aasman ek kar doonga…lekin usey zaroor dhoond loonga. I promise you that!
Tears fell down his eyes….from worry, anxiety, fear. He wiped his cheeks and went out to Neeraj with purpose in his stride: Show me the lift, where exactly you found Kanan….
The lift in question had been put out of service…and was being searched for clues….the cops were dusting it for fingerprints, scanning every corner for the smallest clues left behind by the kidnapper/kidnappers. Josh stepped in too and started searching for clues. He took the other elevator down to the Lobby and looked for clues there…he asked around if anybody had seen a little boy leaving with somebody in the last 2 hours. Unfortunately, nobody had seen anything! He asked the Security Guard at the exit door….even the Guard hadnt seen any child leaving in the last few hours, whether alone or accompanied by adults.
Outwardly, Josh was holding up well to the shock of losing Sunny but deep down inside, his heart was heavy…with fear. He could only hope that Prateek was with Zaib….and not with any criminal with intention to hurt him!
We can only imagine what Josh and Kripa were going through at that point….a lost child, a kidnapped child is every parent's nightmare!
Josh went back to the room to find Kripa had regained consciousness. The cops and Neeraj had left the Suite ! Kanan was also up and about…she seemed very apologetic about losing Prateek! She offered to make coffee for Kripa and Josh in the in-room coffee-maker.
Josh nodded and went to check on Kripa in the bedroom. She looked up with red, puffy eyes, hopefully, expectantly: Josh….kuchh pata chala? Batao…..Prateek kahan hai?
Josh shut the door and sat down beside her: Kripa….dekho, mujhey shaq ho raha hai….kahin Angad usey toh nahin le gaya? Shayad wo tumhey bhi leney aaya tha…lekin tum Hotel se nikal chuki thi, isiliye ab Prateek ko le gaya hai……baad mein shayad tumhey leney aayega"
Josh was speaking more out of his hope than reality ….he wanted to reassure himself and Kripa that Prateek was with Angad!
Kripa looked at him with surprise: Kya yeh ho sakta hai, Josh? Agar Angad usey le gaya toh usney mujhey bataya kyun nahin? Abhi tak phone kyun nahin kiya? She asked in a tortured tone.
Josh pacified her again: Angad kaisey phone karta? Chaaron taraf police ke log hain….Im sure wo tumhey contact karega….baad mein….he looked away to hide his own fears from Kripa.
She sat there frowning: Lekin Angad yahan kyun nahin aa raha? Kya majboori hai uski? Usey kyun yeh Hotel chhodna pada?
Josh sighed….he didn't want to tell her about the rifle found in Zaib's room: Kripa, mujhey lagta hai wo darr gaya tha….our guys were searching his room…so he ran away!
Lekin agar usney koi gunaah nahin kiya toh bhaag kyun gaya ? He is not a criminal!
Josh gave it up: Kripa, yeh tum usisey poochh lena, when u meet him….I have to go now!
He got up abruptly and opened the door. Kanan was standing right in front of their bedroom door, holding the tray with coffee cups. She smiled quickly at Josh, her face was flushed a deep red : Coffee tayyar hai, Mr. Kapoor! Something about her smile, about her demeanour told Josh that she had been eavesdropping.
His suspicions about the kidnapping were strengthened…. From the start, he was feeling that something in Kanan's report wasn't right.
Suddenly, it flashed in his head what it was!! Kanan had been holding the ice-pack on the top of her head….. not the back!! If the kidnapper had hit her from the back, her pain would be at the back, not on top! He looked at Kanan closely as she served coffee to him and Kripa….she seemed quite hale and hearty, considering she had just been hit hard enough to knock her unconscious! Daal mein kucch kaala hai! As it is, her story of not noticing who else was in the lift had been quite unconvincing!
Josh quickly gulped down his coffee and said: Kripa, main thodi der mein aata hoon….Kanan, please stay here with her!
Kanan nodded: Don't worry, Sir! I will look after Mrs. Kapoor very well!
The way she said it suddenly sounded sinister to Josh….he wasn't sure what she meant!
He went out of the Suite and called Neeraj to meet him in Zaib's room which had now been sealed off by the CBI!
As soon Neeraj arrived , Josh asked him: Can you tell me exactly how you found Kanan in the lift? I mean the position of her body?
Neeraj looked oddly at Josh: Sir, she was lying on her back, unconscious! I remember clearly.
Did u take pictures according to our procedure? Josh's eyes lit up as his suspicions strengthened!
Yes, Sir! Of course, with my ever-ready digital mini-camera…..Neeraj grinned and fished out a pocket sized digi-camera ….he showed the pictures he had taken of the crime scene immediately after finding Kanan.
Both the pictures showed Kanan lying on her back….if she had been hit from the back, she would be face downwards! That meant she had made up the whole story about being hit on the back of her head. But the finicky Kanan had not deemed it hygienic to lie face downwards on the lift floor. She hadnt given it a thought…..that Josh would catch the discrepancy!
Josh's eyes gleamed with fury….Kanan was involved in Prateek's kidnapping…he was sure of it now!
He thanked Neeraj and let him leave the room….then he called Kanan on the phone.
Kanan, come down at once…to Zaib's room…you are needed here!
Haan, main abhi aa rahi hoon…….Kanan sounded meek!
Then he called Nishant and told him all about Prateek's kidnapping, about his suspicions on Kanan! Nishant was stunned, shocked: Yes, I have heard about Prateek…..but Kanan? Are you sure shes involved in this?
Yes, Nishant, I am positive….shes lying!
OK, you stay there, I am coming right now ! Nishant ended the call.
Josh waited for Nishant and Kanan in Zaib's crime-taped room! He wished he had asked Nishant about searching the Big Boss's yacht! But now he very much doubted that Sunny was with Angad. He was afraid, very afraid for Sunny's safety! He feared it had something to do with Zaib's connection to the Underworld! Or his own enemies from the world of crime….who he had arrested in the past!
He gripped his throbbing head, for the first time he prayed ….he prayed desperately that Prateek would be safe and….alive!
GOD! Please keep him safe and sound! I don't care what happens to me ….but don't let anything happen to my little boy!
Kripa paced restlessly in the Suite after Kanan had left her alone. She couldn't sit there, just waiting for further news about Prateek. She took her purse, went down to the Lobby and showed Prateek's picture to every person there, asking whether they had seen him that morning. She didn't get any positive response. Pale and dejected, Kripa made her way up in the lift…as the lift neared 10th floor, suddenly her heart palpitated strangely. Perhaps Angad had left some clues in his room about his hideout! She badly wanted to talk to him….to tell him about Prateek's disappearance. Perhaps he would be able to help her look for him….he knew this city quite well…..she would be lost if she went out! She didn't even know where to start looking for Prateek.
Kripa stepped out of the lift and went towards Zaib's room. The door was ajar…she pushed it open and went in. The room was dimly-lit……with only a stand-lamp in the corner. Then she saw Josh sitting on a chair by the window…..still, unmoving!
Josh….she called out to him….he didn't respond.
He was strangely still and silent. Kripa's heart pounded with dread: Josh, tum itney khamosh kyun ho? Prateek ka kuchh pata chala? JOSH! She yelled at him.
He still didn't move…..she went forward and shook his shoulders….he didn't respond!
She turned the chair around…..
HE WAS SITTING SLUMPED FORWARD….HIS HEAD BENT ON HIS CHEST….THERE WAS A BULLET-HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS FOREHEAD….BLEEDING SLOWLY DOWN HIS FACE AND NECK! THE GAPING HOLE LOOKED FRESH….HE HAD JUST DIED!
She opened her mouth to scream…..but no sound came out! The world turned black…as she made a strangled sound in her throat and slumped to the ground!
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pallavi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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