Crime Control Squad (Case #1 Hit and Run) Last Chapter 28 Pg 19 - Page 9

Originally posted by: ...Shibu...

Awesome update as usual...👍🏼
Sameer is lying, but why?
So many questions to be answered😆
update soon😊

Originally posted by: do0dleR

Res... Awesome update...👏

I know something is fishy regarding Samar...😆

More detailed comment later...

Waiting for next...😊😊

Chapter 16

"What? Come on!" Vedant was at the top of his voice. He was seated in his room at the office when he had received a call from the Commissioner. The loud exclaim instinctively gathered attention from the rest of the officers in the squad room. Vedant was pacing up and down now displaying his unhappiness openly to his team, unintentionally. He never closed his room.

Heera and Charith, who were going through the diaries looked keenly at their boss. Agastya, his hands still punching the keyboard, had a part of his mind on his boss. Something must have definitely happened for their boss to lose his cool. And if their boss had lost his cool, things should be worse that worst.

"But why? Why is it necessary? We are in the middle of the investigation and you want vital evidence to be sent to another team and wait for their results? We don't have time for all that, Jay...You very well know that. Why do you want to complicate our process?" Vedant listened impatiently to the other side before he spoke again. "No! I can't let this happen. The other team can investigate their case however they want and whenever they want. I am not going to make my team sit and watch POGO till then. The other team can have the files...but I need a copy sent to my team immediately. No...No...I am not taking a No, Jay. You know how important those files are for our investigation! I understand you might be under some pressure from the top...But I am sorry, I have my duty. Send orders for a copy of the files to reach my office...I request you Jay."

Another silence from his side while he listened. "Yes. I preferred the media to be there at the prison. It wasn't for any press conference or publicity. I want our progress to be on the news, simple as that. I don't want to be accused of running a secret investigation."

Another silence. He gritted his teeth as he let the words from the other side pass through his ear and camp in his mind. As much as he hated following orders, he was bound to pursue it because of protocol. He was answerable to his seniors and his seniors had all rights to question him. But he wasn't blindly going to be following orders especially if that was going to affect his team's morale in addition to his investigation.

"Yes Sir. I understand. That's a chance I am prepared to take," he was back to addressing the Commissioner as Sir. He was addressing the Commissioner as a friend before. They had that understanding. Pressing the red button on his smart phone, he noticed all eyes on him. He took a deep breath and shook his head in disbelief as he walked into the squad room and slumped into an empty chair, fatigued.

Vikram and Ruby entered the squad room and found the deadly silence unnerving. Particularly Vikram. He had never seen his team so quiet as a still sea. He blinked tensely, moving his eyes to be fixed regularly at every officer, trying to measure their reaction.

"Is everything alright?" asked Ruby before Vikram could deduct the reason on his own. He was annoyed at the early initiative.

Everyone craned their necks towards the door to look at the new known guests. Vikram and Ruby walked into the room, looking for any signal from their boss. A nod of the head to begin with. With no signal, they decided to settle down.

"Where is Sagar?" asked Vedant.

"At the cells. He has arrested Vincent. There he is..." Vikram replied as Sagar walked in briskly. He realised a meeting was in progress and took a seat silently without a word. That was so unusual, everyone else thought. Sagar entered, exited and lived with his one-liners.

"Files of AC Constructions are sent to the local police," began Vedant. Everyone sat wide eyed with astonishment. They were investigating AC Constructions and files relating to them were very significant for their investigation. They knew the company was related to the murder in some way apart from renting the construction site for murder. The files were their only lucky door.

"But why?" asked Vikram.

"Because AC Constructions had registered a complaint for a break in at their construction site, which is a burglary/robbery case, coming under the local police jurisdiction," clarified Vedant.

"But the break in could be connected with our murder," Sagar reasoned. "Strike could be...It IS connected with our murder."

"There is no robbery in the first place...What did they complain was stolen?" asked Heera.

"3 cement bags," replied Vedant grimly.

"What? You must be joking," remarked Sagar.

"Do I look like Charlie Chaplin?" asked Vedant sarcastically. He wasn't a happy man. He rubbed his forehead trying to calm himself down and focus on the current problem. His strength was his resilience. "Leave it! I have told the Commissioner that the local police can carry out their investigation..."

"But Sir," retorted Vikram.

"Patience Vikram. Let me complete," said Vedant, raising his hand with a small smile. "Local police can do whatever they want but we have to be sent a copy of all the files. Agastya, check for fax or email. Else coordinate with the local police authority and get the files in as soon as possible. Meanwhile, what do we have?" It was back to business for Vedant. It was 2 pm and still they were no were near closing the case. It was as if they haven't even begun the case.

"Samar is in the cells. He wants his lawyer present before he utters a word. God! He is very clever," commented Vikram unhappily.

"Nothing when you questioned him in the prison?" asked Heera.

"Few things. He is covering for someone or fearing someone that he is ready to ruin his own life," Ruby started sharing her findings.

"So he feels safer in prison?" asked Heera.

"In a way...yes. He feels him being in prison solves most of the problems. He isn't timid or nave. He is smart and clever. He weighed the odds quickly and accepted that he committed the murder," continued Ruby.

"But when asked about how he murdered Veerkaran, he dodged the question," cut in Vikram. "And that could only mean that..."

"He didn't know how Veerkaran was murdered exactly and hence...he didn't murder Veerkaran," completed Sagar.

"When I questioned subtly about his family, something peculiar turned up. He seems really close to his brother...Like very protective of him. When I questioned about him, he got really defensive, more like he didn't want his brother's name entangled in the case at all." Ruby explained.

"So...he could be protecting his brother?" asked Charith.

"He could be...Or protecting both of them from someone," replied Ruby. "He confessed to the rape after at least few months of the trial. His brother was also one of the suspects then. His confession reduced his brother's sentence."

"It was just a matter of 2 years, wasn't it? If Rajesh was convicted, he would have got just 2 more years than the 3 years he got!" reasoned Heera.

"Reduction in punishment was still an advantage. It was the only way he could save his brother," said Ruby. "Or may be Samar expected Rajesh to be released, but the court decided otherwise."

"So we can eliminate the theory that Samar was forced to confess?" asked Charith.

"He wasn't forced or cheated by his own brother. It could be someone else behind all this," said Vedant.

"You mean to say, the rape murder and this murder are committed by the same person?" asked Vikram.

"MO seems the similar, don't you think?" asked Vedant. "Crime committed by a group of people, and the same person- one of the suspects- accepts committing it suddenly?"

"So what do we do with Samar? What line do we question him on? If we go by our theory, Samar would have no clue about the murder." Vikram stated.

"Then use the rape case. We need to know what made him change his mind then...that would be the same reason he changed his mind now," said Vedant.

"We also need to know about Veerkaran and Samar's meeting and why Veerkaran met Samar 5 months ago out of the blue," said Sagar.

"Should we start interrogating Samar immediately? We don't have time to wait for the lawyers," asked Vikram. "Let us not let him hide behind the lawyers."

"Let's go by the book Vikram. Let the lawyers come in...Explain the charges against Samar and then you can begin the enquiry. We know Samar is innocent. We need to break him emotionally and hence we need to somehow find out his weak spot," said Vedant.

"We have to locate Rajesh," said Sagar.

"What about Vincent?" asked Vedant.

"Scared. Sobbing," said Sagar with a smirk. "I haven't questioned him yet formally. But from what I see, he definitely rolled over Veerkaran. But he doesn't seem like a cold blooded murderer. He had done it for money. He probably knew Veerkaran was already dead and hence it didn't matter to hit him."

"Get him to talk. If someone paid him to do this, I want to know who," said Vedant. He turned to look at Heera and Charith.

"Yes. The funeral. I spoke with Sharad's friends. Sharad has had a good childhood. Happy childhood. Good in studies and sports. Well behaved and disciplined. Missed his father a lot but understood his father's absence. His father wanted him to get into the army too, but after lot of insistence, Sharad got into engineering. Initially not happy, Veerkaran eventually accepted his son's wishes. Top ranked in college and got a top job in a top IT company. Worked here for a year before he moved to the US 5 years ago," explained Charith.

"For a better job?" asked Vikram.

"Hmmm...Not really. His job in India definitely paid him better and had more opportunities for growth when compared to his job in US. But Sharad had said his ambition was to relocate to US and live there and hence he took the opportunity."

"5 years ago...The rape case was 5 years ago. May be Mina forced Sharad to go to US to keep him safe and away from everyone," said Vikram.

"Could be. The Singh family seemed to be a close knit. I spoke with few of the relatives. Apart from the usual arguments between any husband and wife, Mina and Veerkaran had a happy marriage. Mina was extremely proud of Veerkaran's achievements in the army and was extremely supportive when he retired. But one of them said, Mina wasn't happy with Veerkaran getting himself involved in the rape case. She wanted him to back down and she had complained and cried to her mother several times about her husband's stubbornness and her inability to convince him." Heera recounted the details.

"Hmm...But that's something we already know from our talks with Mina," said Vikram bluntly. "What's new?"

"These diaries," Heera ignored the sharp words. "Sharad gave these diaries. Charith and I are going through this."

"Anything interesting?" asked Sagar. He turned to his left to see if Agastya was still present. Agastya always remained silent during the discussions and said a word only and only when he thought it was really necessary.

"Yes. We are reading the diaries, much to violating Veerkaran's personal rights. His last entry was made on the previous day of his murder. He was very regular with his entries," explained Charith. "He didn't write down his personal feelings as such all the time. He just accounts the happenings of the day in short forms and occasionally mentions any interesting events."

"You better have something interesting to say after this immensely dull speech of yours," commented Sagar. Charith grinned embarrassed.

"We have been going through his entries from the last. The meeting days between Samar and Veerkaran- Veerkaran had wanted Samar to do something. Every date when Veerkaran had met Samar in the prison, there are words written as "Mission Failed", "Unable to persuade again", "Same result" etc under the title Meeting with S'. Apart from this, there are notes made on the lecture he had given in various places for New Life Group- date, time, place and the topic."

"We can now be sure that the meetings were definitely amiable. Veerkaran wanted Samar to do something for him, which Samar refused. Has he made any note about the last meeting with Samar?" asked Vedant.

"Yes," answered Charith ruffling the notes of the diary. "The exact words-Lost cause. Mission Aborted. It's always family first for everyone."

"It seems like Veerkaran could never give up on Military terms," laughed Sagar. "In his blood and ink."

"Family first," wondered Ruby aloud. "This could mean for both Samar and Veerkaran."

"Sharad did say his mother was being blackmailed by someone anonymous. If Veerkaran had got to know that, whatever mission he was on, he would have aborted it," Heera remembered Sharad telling her about the blackmail.

"Or..." Vikram mentioned his theory. "Veerkaran realised Samar would never give up himself. He would always protect his family no matter what."

"So both Veerkaran and Samar were and are protecting their family from someone," said Ruby.

"And this someone could be our actual killer and mastermind behind everything," said Sagar.

"Anything else on the diaries?" asked Vedant. "Has he made any note about betrayal? If his wife had hidden something like blackmail from him, he would have made a mention of it?"

Charith ruffled the pages of the diary deftly, swiftly skimming through the details. "Yes. A week before his last meeting with Samar, his entry says- Never expected this. Feeling betrayed and raged. Truth should win. Truth will win."

"This guy is so dismal with his words. Who writes like this in a diary? I mean...Come on...Diary is a place where one pours out their heart and this guy writes in short forms which he himself might not understand after a few minutes," remarked Sagar.

"May be he was scared someone might read it?" replied Ruby to the comment. "May be he doubted his wife might read his diary or probably Mina did keep a tab on him by reading his diary and Veerkaran knew about it?"

"Could be...But it's not relevant for our case. So let's just move on," Vikram dismissed the theory.

"Agastya! ATM footages?" asked Vedant.

"Yes. For the last one year of the blackmail transactions- that's 12 months, there were 9 guys who withdrew the transaction amount from the ATM. 3 of the 9 guys did the work twice. Anyway...These 9 guys have criminal records but are no way connected. They weren't lodged in the same prison. They didn't belong to the same gangster group. But...Their crime was the same. Drugs."

"Dealers or users?" asked Vikram.

"Few of them are dealers. Rest of them are just users," replied Agastya.

"How did they all land up doing the same job of withdrawing money? They all must have come in contact with our...Mr X," wondered Vedant.

"Exactly. If our common factor is Drugs, then Mr X must be related with drugs too," answered Agastya. "That would mean, our Mr X could be a drug dealer and the 9 ATM guys could have done the withdrawing amount job for money."

"Can we say...these 9 guys may not actually know each other?" asked Charith.

"Could be. They could have been contacted just to do the withdrawal, hand over the cash and take the drugs," said Heera. "So even if we bring in these guys in, they may not be connected to our murder case."

"But would be connected to our killer," said Sagar.

"Ruby! What do you think of the killer?" asked Vedant, leaning back on the chair with his hands behind his head. He could sense a story forming. Could well be a fantasy story, nevertheless he always believed in it.

Ruby pressed her hands together thinking. "Our killer may not actually be our killer. What I mean is, he could just be passing orders and got the dirty jobs done by someone else, someone he knew, someone inferior who would follow his orders out of fear. He must be someone who understood the weakness of the people he assigned his jobs to. He is smart. He is revengeful. He isn't a serial killer. He doesn't kill for money. He kills on purpose."

"Would he strike again? Kill again?" asked Charith.

Ruby thought for a moment making his team wait for her reply. "There is a chance he would. But...only if he is provoked. Only if it is very necessary. These killings are something personal."

"Provoked as in?" asked Vedant.

"Sir...One point is troubling me a lot. Why was Veerkaran killed and none from the actual victim's family- Kiran' family? Kiran's family isn't troubled in any way, or any other person connected with the rape case. But...Veerkaran's family was blackmailed and he is now murdered."

The point never crossed anyone's time until then. All the members sat in dead silence analysing the newly found theory. They tried to fit all the evidence to yarn a story around the theory.

"Can Veerkaran be the prime target for our killer, not just because of the rape case, but because of something else too?" asked Vikram.

"Seems like that, doesn't it?" replied Vedant. "He and his family have been the only sufferers from the time of the rape case. Kiran's family got justice and their role in the case was over, but it continued for Veerkaran's family."

"Could it be because Veerkaran was meeting Samar and the killer was worried what if Samar got convinced and was ready to accept that he gave a forced confession and Veerkaran would reopen the case?" asked Charith. He was immediately bewildered to see his team looking at him with shock.

Sagar clapped with a grin. "Great theory my little brother. Everything seems to fit, doesn't it?"

Vedant rose up and walked to the board. "Kiran was raped and murdered. Veerkaran was the prime witness. Samar and his mates were convicted and sent to jail on the account of Samar's confession. Veerkaran didn't buy it. He met Samar in prison, probably to convince him to tell him the truth as to who was behind the murder, because of whose fear he confessed. The meetings could be related to that. Veerkaran didn't budge even when Samar point blankly refused to accept to Veerkaran's request but he was happy that Veerkaran didn't think he murdered Kiran. Seeing Veerkaran still pursuing the truth, our killer began blackmailing Mina for money. Mina succumbed. When Veerkaran knew of the blackmail, he went back to Samar one final time. Samar still refused and Veerkaran ended the meetings."

"But why was he killed?" asked Heera.

"Because Veerkaran put an end to the blackmail? He didn't do the transactions?" asked Vedant.

"So everything is for money?" asked Vikram.

"It could be for control," replied Ruby. "Our killer felt he was in control of the situation when Mina kept doing the transactions. He felt he had control over Veerkaran's family. But when Veerkaran stopped the transaction, he felt out of power."

"Again...why kill Veerkaran for it? He could have found some other way to trouble Veerkaran? In that way, he could continue tormenting his family. Now with him dead, he has nothing to do?" said Vedant.

"May be...Veerkaran got to know who was behind the blackmailing and the rape case and he was going to blow it...and hence was silenced," said Sagar.

"Likely," replied Vikram. "The killer got to know Veerkaran knew the truth. May be Veerkaran even confronted him. So...he killed him."

"But look at the murder. It was all well planned. It must have taken him weeks to plan this murder," remarked Heera.

"Could it be someone close to Veerkaran? Someone he knew?" asked Charith.

"Someone related to the rape case?" added Sagar.

"Could be. Check the rape case files again and go through all the Person of Interest. See if anyone is suspicious. See if any of the witnesses changed their statement later. Someone could have threatened them to change their statement," instructed Vedant.

"Now what?" asked Vikram.

"Sagar- Interview Vincent. Get to know who his friends are and whom he was in contact with," said Vedant.

"No need," Agastya called everyone's attention. "Vincent is a young guy. College drop out. What do guys like them definitely have?"

"Girlfriends?" asked Sagar laughing.

Agastya shook his head returning a smile. "Social networking. I traced Vincent's social networking account and as expected he had posted lot of pictures."

"Selfies I assume," said Heera.

"Of course. No account is free of selfies. But apart from selfies, lot of pictures with his friends. And guess whom I found out?"

"No games please," said Vikram irritated.

Agastya walked to the board, pasted a picture he had just taken a printout off. He took the marker from the table to circle a face. "Tejpal Kumar aka Tejesh Kumar- One of the rape case convicts who got 3 years imprisonment along with Rajesh."

There was a sudden brightness in everyone's face. Finally a grand connection.

"Great work Agastya!" appreciated Vedant. "This is a wonderful piece of connection. Vincent is connected to Tejesh who in turn is connected to our killer. So Tejesh can lead us to our killer."

"I will get the address from Vincent," said Sagar as he left to begin his task.

"Vikram! When are the lawyers in?" asked Vedant.

"Tomorrow morning," said Vikram.

"No!" said Vedant shaking his head. "Tell them that they are needed in immediately. You are going to start questioning and if they want to be present, they better be here."

"Who are the lawyers?" asked Heera.

"A law firm," said Charith checking his files. "L and O- Law and Order."

"They represented Samar last time also?" asked Vedant.

"Yes," replied Charith.

"Tell me about L and O," asked Vedant.

"Hmmm...Established 14 years ago. Represents many popular companies and celebrities. Famous lawyer, Mr Rajini Sengupta heads the team of lawyers."

"Specialisation?"

"Both civil and crime."

"How come a famous law firm like L and O represent a criminal like Samar who has no background," wondered Vedant.

"We do know Samar is a big name...I mean in the political crime circle. He represents Jeetenge Hum Party and does all their local dirty work," reminded Vikram.

"But his personality doesn't fit with a local gangster," said Ruby.

"Could there be a political angle to the entire case?" asked Vedant.

"Someone has to pay the firm, right? They aren't going to do social service by representing Samar. I don't think Samar or Rajesh could have afforded it," said Heera.

"Especially when they lost the case last time when Samar confessed," said Vedant.

"L and O represented not only Samar but the other three convicts too," said Charith.

"Set me a meeting with the law firm. I want to talk to the team who worked on the rape case for Samar," said Vedant.

"We will try to get Samar talk and make him see sense that he is helping the wrong person," said Ruby.

"Shall we give him word for police protection for his family?" asked Vikram.

"Provided we know where his family is. Agastya! See if you can track down Samar's family. We need to know where they live," said Vedant. "We need to track down Rajesh. Any luck at railway station or airport?"

"No Sir. I have sent a picture of Rajesh to all the police station. There hasn't been any news yet," updated Agastya.

"Charith! Keep going through Veerkaran's diaries and see if he mentions any dislike or hatred towards anyone...anytime," instructed Vedant. "Agastya! Follow up on the ATM guys and also see if you can get hold of Tejesh. Heera! Get hold of AC Constructions records and see what you can find."

"Sir!" called Agastya. "L and O- Their client list- They represent both AC Constructions and New Life Group."

Connection. Connection. Connection. Finally they were able to slowly connect the dots.

Originally posted by: ...Shibu...

Awesome👍🏼
so many connections😲
waiting fr the killer to be revealed😊

Originally posted by: do0dleR

Res... Whoa!!... that was bit mind boggling for me...😲... Maybe because exams are taking a toll...😆...

I think too many evidences and connections are confusing me... Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it so much...👍🏼...

I will make sure to read the previous parts again after my exams to clear them out...😆😊...

As the investigation heavily relies on Samar's statements (they intend break him down and speak his heart..), I remember the famous " The Liar Paradox"... It says - A man says, "I am lying". If he is lying, then what he says is true and so he is not lying. If he is not lying, then what he says is true, and so he is lying. In any case, he is lying and he is not lying...😉

Looking forward to the next update...😊...(Sorry, for late comment...)

PS - There is a Res at the beginning of the comment.😆.. When I unres them I'll discuss my confusions in detail...😉

Chapter 17

Fingers tapping on the table in a rhythm and the seat of the rolling chair dancing slightly left and right, Sagar peered at a shivering Vincent with a smirk conveying "You are in big trouble, boss". Vincent was mincing his words. He wasn't able to speak a proper complete sentence. He was on drugs. He was raving. Sagar was waiting patiently for Vincent to get himself together and at least have a relatively stable mind to understand his questions. He wanted to be sure that he could rely on Vincent's words when he uttered them. He didn't have the time to cross check his statements before proceeding his investigation.

"Ready now, Vincent?" Sagar asked casually after nearly an hour of wait. Vincent was confused in placing Sagar. Was he really a cool officer or was he just acting. Or was his coolness just a trailer to his threatening image. Swallowing hard, he gulped down another glass of water. He knew he was trapped. He knew he was on the wrong side. He didn't like the place one bit. At 20, he wanted to live his life and certainly not in a jail. He wanted to help the police in turn helping himself. At the same time, he was scared about the consequences of his truth. He was aware that if he told the truth, and in case if he was let off, he had to face the outside world. He had to meet the people who hired him. Would they let him to live? Was it better to be inside the prison?

"Vincent?" Sagar pulled Vincent out of his dreadful reverie. "What are you thinking? Which is a better place for you?"

Vincent sat open mouthed. Can the officer read his mind? Did he know the truth? Was he checking if he recounted the same?

"Look Vincent! Face the truth and don't run away. If you start running away, there would be no end to it. Tell me what happened."

Vincent sat silently pondering. His life was at stake. His future was in his own hands. He wasn't foolish. The life he had been leading- on drugs, on the roads with his jobless friends, stealing money from his brother-in-law, taking him for advantage- he knew he was on the wrong path. He wanted an out. But he didn't have anyone to help him out. His sister had kept him on check, but after her demise he felt completely left out and lonely. His brother-in-law tried his best but he never got along with him from the beginning and his pride stopped him from taking his help. He didn't want to continue his life on the roads. He wanted to change for the better, even if it was in the prison, probably.

"Don't try to save your friends. They are murderers, Vincent. They kill people. They snatch loved ones from others. Like your sister was snatched away from you, people are snatched away from their family. Imagine their plight. I know you miss your mother. Just like you...the man you killed? His son misses his father. Do you want to be the reason behind their misery? I know you are better than that," Sagar tried convincing him. From the moment he saw Vincent, he knew he wasn't a bad boy but someone who swayed in the wrong path. He needed help. He was lonely without family and whoever offered to help, he accepted it. He wanted company, even if it was the wrong one. "I will help you Vincent, provided you help me. Don't let the murderers run free. I promise, I will get you the best offer. Change yourself Vincent, for your sister."

Vincent couldn't stop his tears flowing. It had been a long time someone spoke compassionately with him.

"Have some water," Sagar poured a glass of water and pushed it towards him on the table gently. Vincent accepted as he drank it down.

Vedant was sitting outside the interrogation rooms, watching the interviews on the monitors. One side he had Sagar questioning Vincent and on the other side Vikram and Ruby were dealing with Samar. He sensed Sagar breaking Vincent. Vincent's weak point was exposed quiet easily. It was just a matter of time Vincent blurted out everything. On the other hand, Samar was still rigid in his mind. It wasn't going to be easy to break him, to get him tell the truth. He saw Vikram and Ruby coming out of the room disappointed.

"He has sealed his mouth. He will speak only with the lawyers," said Vikram.

"Where are they?" asked Vedant.

"Stuck in rains. But they are on their way," replied Ruby.

Vedant nodded as all the three focused their eyes on the second monitor.

"I wanted money for drugs," started Vincent, taking short breaths.

"When did you start taking drugs?"

"Around a year back I suppose. I left home and college after my sister died a year back. I never used to be at home before that too. I lived in my friends' room. He got me into drugs. I didn't want to get into it. I knew it was wrong. But..."

"It's Ok," said Sagar. "Who was this friend? Was he the same who asked you to create the accident?"

Vincent nodded. "His name is Meru. He was a mutual friend before but we became close later. He helped me with his place and used to pay for my expenses. Got me a job at the mobile shop too. I will ever be grateful to him."

"Was a guy named Tejesh or Tejapal in your group of friends?"

"No," said Vincent confused.

"Who is this guy?" Sagar placed a print of the picture Agastya had taken from the social networking account of Vincent.

"That's Meru. He is Tejesh?" asked Vincent looking at Sagar surprised.

Sagar nodded. "You haven't seen him before? What do you know about him?"

"Nothing. He was a friend of my friend. That's all. He works in the same mobile shop and..." Vincent stopped his sentence. His expression expressed guilt. "and...he sold drugs. That was his main source of income. Is he famous?" he added.

Sagar thought for a moment before he replied, "Leave it. Tell me about the accident."

"I wasn't well...I mean...I didn't have money for drugs and Meru refused to give me without money. He was never like that. He always used to help me out but suddenly he said I should pay back all his money and only then he would give me drugs. I was desperate, Sir. I couldn't live without drugs. It drove me mad to the extent that I resorted to self-harm and even...suicide."

"John didn't help you?"

"I didn't ask him. I didn't even tell him about my problems. As I said, my ego overtook me. I was related to him through my sister and now without my sister, I didn't consider him my family." There was a heavy wave of guilt. "John is a good man. He curses me under his breath but he always offered to help me even after my sister's death."

"What happened then?"

"My desperation reached to such an extent that I was ready to do anything for drugs. That's when Meru offered me a way out."

"What did he say?"

"He said I have to hit a bike on the road and smash it away."

"Are you sure he said only that?"

"I promise. He told me only that. I never knew about the dead body involved," cried Vincent.

"Ok Ok...Calm down. Tell what exactly the plan was and what happened that night?"

"Ok." Vincent was eyeing like a little boy being questioned by his teacher. "Meru said I have to come in a car and park in one particular place. He said when he calls, I have to drive in high speed and run over the bike parked on the road. He asked me to be ready with the car at 12.00 am at JP Link Road Junction. Around 1.00 am, I saw Meru with another guy getting out of a car. I was terrified to see that they had an unconscious man with them. I didn't know he was dead then. Then another guy came riding on a bike and parked it on the middle of the road on its centre stand. Then Meru and the other guy lifted the unconscious man and placed him on the bike. Meru then called me on my phone and asked me to run over the bike along with the man. I was shocked. I told him I can't. I told him the man would die if I did that. Meru said the man was already dead. I was petrified, Sir. I was scared to death. I told Meru that I can't do it. But...But...He threatened me. He said he wouldn't give me the drugs. He said he might even kill me. I didn't know what to do Sir. I told myself that I wasn't killing anyone, but just hitting a bike and...I DID IT!" shouted Vincent at the end. He broke down into heavy tears.

Sagar didn't move. He waited for Vincent to control himself on his own. Outside, Vedant and the rest waited patiently too. At least the Hit and Run case was about to be solved.

"I did it, Sir," repeated Vincent wiping his face and continuing to sob. "I hit the bike along with the man. I saw them fly to the right. I didn't stop. I was shaking in fright. I drove a few meters before I lost control and hit a tree on the roadside. I sat inside the car unable to accept what had happened. I immediately called Meru. He asked me to go home. He said he will talk to me later. I didn't see him after that."

"You didn't meet him after the accident?"

"No Sir. Through a friend, he sent me the drugs and money. But I didn't see him," he paused. "Then I drove to my brother-in-law's apartment, parked the car and went back. I know only that much Sir. I promise. I didn't do all this intentionally."

"You did do it intentionally Vincent. For drugs and money," said Sagar acerbically. Vincent looked down in shame. "Tell me about the other guys. How did they look?"

"I couldn't see clearly Sir. I was far away. But I am sure...one was bald. The man who came in the bike...he didn't take part much in the staging up. He just stood in one corner."

"And the car they brought in? Was it your car?"

"No Sir. Not mine. I don't know whose it was."

"Remember anything about the car?"

"No Sir."

"Are you sure, Vincent?"

"Yes Sir. I promise."

Sagar pressed the earpiece in his left ear, an indication to the officers outside if they had anything to ask. Vikram and Ruby looked at their boss who seemed to be running loads of complex calculations on his mind.

"Sagar!" Vedant made Sagar press the earpiece harder to listen carefully to the question. He talked into the mic present in front of the monitor which was connected to Sagar. "Ask him if he knows who Yamini Sharma is?"

Their first ever clue- Yamini Sharma, the person who called Veerkaran at the hospital.

"Vincent...Who is Yamini Sharma?" Sagar questioned.

"Yamini Sharma?" Vincent furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I don't know Sir."

"Ask if they provide SIM cards without ID proof?" instructed Vedant from outside. Sagar and the rest immediately understood. Vincent was working in a mobile shop, so did Tejesh. They could have easily taken SIM cards under a false name. Sagar repeated the question to Vincent.

"Sometimes," admitted Vincent. "I haven't done it but Tejesh always did. I saw him take few SIM cards and fill the forms in haste. He didn't have any ID proofs."

"Show him pictures of Samar and Rajesh," Vedant again spoke to the mic.

"Recognise them?" Sagar asked Vincent as he spread the photographs of the brothers on the table. Vincent studied them carefully.

"No Sir. I have never seen them before."

"Fine! Wait here," Sagar stood up and walked out of the door to join his colleagues.

"Charge him for Hit and Run," said Vedant. "Get the papers ready and inform the prosecution team. And get me Tejesh's number from his mobile."

"Shouldn't we give him some medical attention?" asked Sagar.

"We don't have time for that and it would be foolish of us to take him outside the building. He is one of our main witnesses. We have to keep him safe," reproached Vikram. He couldn't believe Sagar even suggested that. Whoever was behind the murder would have known that Vincent had been arrested. They would do anything to silence him.

"I am asking for medical attention to keep him safe...not to get him killed," rued Sagar. "He has to be alive to give witness, don't you think."

Vikram glowered.

"Enough! You guys don't leave a peaceful moment," remarked Vedant. "Sagar! Vikram is right. We cannot risk taking Vincent outside. He is very important. Put him in the cell with high level protection. Arrange for a doctor to visit and talk to him. Keep meeting him regularly. That's all we can do. He has an equal danger of being harmed by himself. No sharp objects anywhere. He is your responsibility."

Sagar nodded and left to make the arrangements.

"Monitor Samar. I am going upstairs," said Vedant to the two officers before rising up from his chair.

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"Mrs Sheetal Hansraj, Operations Manager, L and O will be meeting you in an hour. She has accepted to come down here."

"Wise to directly suspect her of misguiding the previous investigation?" asked Vedant.

"I don't think so. Our objective might be lost and probably she isn't guilty of anything," replied Agastya earnestly.

"Alright. Get me some background information on her. I want to read it before the meeting. Important points from the case."

Agastya got down to work.

"Sir! Setback," said Heera. She was waiting for her boss' conversation with Agastya to end. "Local police have given 2 days' time for AC Constructions to submit their files. So we won't get our hands on it for at least a couple of days which would mean...those files will not be helping us in our investigation." Heera expected her boss to explode while Vedant sat calmly to the contrary.

Vedant took his time to think. After contemplating all the odds, he finally spoke. "No point in getting into a fight with our own men. It will just waste our time, something we don't have. Go to AC Constructions and talk to Prakash- site supervisor. He accompanied me and Sagar when we found the murder scene. Talk to the reception man too. Both in private. I feel they might be able to help us. Both seem to be good men. See if you can get information about Rajesh or anything else suspicious. Take Sagar with you. He knows Prakash. I'll give a note for the reception man." Vedant immediately took a plain paper from the bundle to write down.

Agastya called for Vedant's attention. "Sir! I have checked Samar's last few days' whereabouts from the list of places provided by the parole officer. He had visited the provision stores a couple of times. Cloth store, mobile shop, saloon, and a toy shop. Apart from that he had gone to many crowded places like the market, a temple and a theatre. We can't point out exactly where he went there or if he had met anyone. Apart from that, two places stand out. One is a travel agency office. Another is a housing colony. His mother stays in the housing colony."

"The mobile shop- same as Vincent's?" asked Vedant.

"No...Different one."

"Talk to the travel agency guy and question regarding Samar," said Vedant, a little troubled. "But Samar should have gone to meet his son. But none of the places match our requirement. Talk to the guy and try to find out any connection to Samar's family. I'll get the area police to check out the place."

Agastya nodded and continued his work. Vedant sat staring at the board with ideas flying around his mind.

"What's on your mind?" asked Heera realising her boss' mind was tangled with thoughts.

"We found Samar's hair at the accident scene, right? In that case, he has to be either the bald man or the jacket man. Surely he is not the bald man seeing he still has hair one his head," he laughed. "Hence he has to the jacket man."

"So?"

"But Vincent said he had never seen Samar before and he wasn't there at the accident scene..."

"May be he is wrong..."

"May be he is right. It's a weird idea but what if Samar was not actually present at the accident scene or the murder scene? What if only his hair was?"

"Meaning?"

"See the evidence. Samar's hair was found only at the accident scene and not at the murder scene- the construction site."

"So? I don't understand, Sir."

"The killers would have never expected us to find the murder scene. They staged the accident scene so that we think it was a Hit and Run. What if Samar's hair was deliberately planted at the accident scene so that he is framed? The hair wasn't present at the murder scene because we weren't supposed to find the place."

"Saloon?" asked Heera with a lopsided smile. She finally understood where her boss was heading.

"Exactly. Samar visited the saloon. What if someone took his hair from there to plant him at the accident scene?"

Heera laughed. "Don't you think that would be going too far to frame..."

"I know...but how else could have Samar's hair landed at the scene?"

"Want me to talk to the saloon guy?"

"Yes. See if the saloon guy is connected to Samar or others or if anyone entered soon after Samar and took his hair." Vedant grinned. "I can't believe I just said that. Doesn't it sound ridiculously funny?"

Heera nodded joining the moment.

Vedant sighed massaging the back of his neck and turning serious. "These are way too trivial matters. These can only help us get the story right. That's it. We know someone else is involved. We have an entire Pandora box to be opened. Problem is...we have no clue where the box."

--------

"I don't have time for niceties, Mrs Sheetal," Vedant began the meeting with the Operations Manager of L and O. 2 lawyers and Mrs Sheetal had arrived at the premises. The lawyers were escorted to meet Samar.

Mrs Sheetal Hansraj was a tough women. A sagacious civil lawyer previously, she had cofounded L and O along with her friends and colleagues. Unhappy with the way things were protocoled in the justice department, she wanted freedom of speech and expression. Result of that was her company. She left the profession of law to focus more on the development of her business. She believed her skilful lawyers immensely. Nearing her 50, she was considered by many as a shining inspiration for confidence and courage, especially by women lawyers. She sat opposite Vedant with equal exuberance. Short hair, dressed in a cotton suit and spectacles corded around her neck, she looked at her supposed interviewer with interest.

"I don't have the time too, Mr Vashisht. Honestly, I didn't have a choice but to come. I was more or less summoned." The words were direct and sharp, and didn't mask her feelings.

Vedant had to know who was paying for Samar's defence. He knew Samar wasn't going to tell him. Perhaps he didn't know it himself.

"Your company represented Samar in his previous case and you are representing him again now. I just want to know who is backing him up. Simple question, right?" Vedant smiled.

Sheetal smiled back understanding the situation. Her help was needed for his investigation and she was asked indirectly. "Why do you want to know that?"

"We are looking into Samar's contacts- his family and friends. I don't see any of them paying for Samar's representation. Then who is paying it? Especially paying to keep Samar in prison." The smile stayed while the eyes zoomed to closely focus on his opponent's expressions. There was steel in his gaze. His opponent was as good as him.

"That's confidential," she said, her tone thick as a brick.

"Oldest excuse in the book," commented Vedant. "You want me to get a warrant and search your office and files to find the answer? I think we both can save us the trouble."

Sheetal sat silently. She wanted to see if anything was offered in return for her information. From the time she had taken active part in business, it was all profit and loss, and assets and liabilities.

Vedant's smile widened. Lawyers would never cease to think low of the police force. Police, for them, were the weakest link in any case. Lawyers had to put together all the bits of evidence, apply all the laws in hand to create a solid case. He wasn't going to fall in the trap and prove her right.

"Fine. Don't tell me," Vedant shrugged briskly. "But you do know that it wouldn't take me much time to get your company's bank details, cross reference to the dates of Samar's case, make a list of all the clients who had made payment then, and question each and every one of them regarding my case in hand. I can bet my life- your clients aren't going to be happy. Not with me...but with you," Vedant pointed his finger at her. "And you do know that I can make your clients feel so bad with my questions and suspicions that they might terminate any kind of contract with your company. And you also do know that I am a media friendly person, at least according to the media. Won't take me time to send a tip to someone..." There was confidence and authority in the way he spoke his words. There was no doubt that he meant every word he said.

Sheetal's jaw tightened. She could feel her slipping onto the losing side. The biggest advantage the police had was access, which could be delayed but never denied.

"Think about it Mrs Sheetal. One client's unhappiness versus all your clients. I am sure you don't have any confidentiality clause signed for this." Vedant paused a moment to see if Sheetal had anything to say. He continued when she didn't. "Mrs Sheetal, Understand. In this case, we both are on the same side. You are defending Samar and we all believe too that Samar didn't murder anyone and that he is innocent- just not in this case but probably on his previous case too. I don't have authority to reopen the rape case, but I could certainly use this case to request the court to reopen the rape case later. I don't know what happened during the previous case and why, when and how Samar changed his stand and confessed. May be you know why he did that. May be that was the entire plan. I don't care what happened then. But I DO care what happens now. I am not going to let the real criminal slip away this time. If you aren't going to help me...it doesn't matter. My team and I aren't going to stop. As I said, I have million ways to get to the information I want." Sheetal didn't respond again. "Fine! Yes or No? Are you going to help me or not?"

"I'll help you, provided you don't do anything you said you can," Sheetal finally relented. Her tone was decisive. She was bargaining, another business aspect.

"Why would I when I get what I want!"

"This information cannot be used in court."

"I can't guarantee that. If the name of the client is very significant for my investigation and if he is a vital person of interest, I am sorry...I will acquire evidence against him to prove my case. And Mrs Sheetal...When your company represented Samar 5 years ago, you had very few clients since your business wasn't doing well then. But now? Imagine the positive publicity you would garner when word goes out that you helped the police uncover the truth just not for the murder case but also the previous rape case. Your client list would touch the sky. I can see you are a business minded person. Nothing wrong with that. I am just offering you an idea to develop your business more. We both can be profited at the end."

Sheetal took her time before making her decision to talk. "It's not a single person. We were paid by a company called Moon Iron and Steels Limited. A top executive from the company approached us saying we have to take up Samar's defence and we will be paid any amount we quoted. Our company was going down and we had very few clients then. We needed the money and hence we accepted. No one from the company visited after that but the payments were made perfectly on time."

"No one from the company met Samar anytime during the course of the trial?"

"No."

"I am sorry, I have to ask a question or two regarding the previous case. Don't answer if you don't want to. During the case, who all met Samar? I mean from outside."

"I wasn't part of the legal team and hence I can't be very sure of it. But I did go through the reports before I came here. I prefer to be prepared for my meetings. I see you had done your homework too regarding my company," she raised her eyebrows in question. Not waiting for an answer, she continued. "It was a very peculiar case indeed. We weren't told by our clients what was expected as a result. We just had to defend Samar and the rest. We went by their statements and the evidence and tried creating a defence for them. No one visited them. We knew there were no chances of getting them out because there was solid evidence against them. Against all of them. But we took our chances. We requested for a reanalysis of all the forensic evidence just to buy us some time."

"How did that happen? How did the court agree?"

"We just about managed to plant a doubt on the credibility of the forensic officer and requested someone else to do it. The results were shocking. It completed pointed at Samar. The evidence put the rest on just being an accomplice. Samar didn't say a word when he was informed. The next day in court, he confessed without informing us. And the court came out with their verdict the same week."

"And your client? They must have been unhappy."

Sheetal had slowly slipped to being comfortable with the questioning. She could see Vedant was honest with his intentions. He was definitely trying to get deep under the cases to understand the people and motives involved. She could have turned to be money minded and ambitious when it came to her company but she still believed in truth and justice. If someone was trying to bring people to justice, she couldn't stop herself from helping them.

"I don't know. I tried getting through to the client, to talk about the case but I was never put through. The final payment was made and everything was settled. The executive who met me on the first day, he was the only person I had contact with during the entire time. I must have spoken to him like 3 or 4 times but nothing significant. I called him to give updates but he never seemed to be interested in all that."

"Is the same client paying you now?"

"I don't know. I got a call from your office saying Samar has called for his lawyers. I just wanted to know what was going on."

"If he can't pay, you will not represent him?"

"Yes. I think so. Ultimately, we work for justice and money. I am not ashamed of telling that."

"Did you call the client asking if they want them to represent Samar?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I did. I called the company and talked to the same executive. He said he hadn't been given any instructions. So as of now, the company has no hand on the case."

"What do you think is the relation between the company and Samar? Did Samar say anything about the company?"

"He said he had no idea why the company was paying for him. No one knew why the company was paying for them."

"Did the company had any hand in Samar's confession?"

"I don't think so. I am sorry. It was 4 years back. I can only remember what's on the reports. If someone had met Samar and if it's not mentioned in the report, I can't help."

"I understand. Thank you so much for your time Mrs. Sheetal. I really appreciate it. I know I had diverted from the topic and queried something else. Nice of you to answer them. I just have one more question. I read that your client list also includes AC Constructions and New Life Group. Do you feel any possible connection between them and the current case or may be the previous case?"

Sheetal looked curiously at the man sitting on the other side of the table. "Why these two companies?"

"I can't tell you that till you confirm you are representing Samar in the case." Vedant was reticent. "All I can say is, these two names have cropped up in our investigation."

"I can see why they made you Head of Special Branch. You do know where to draw the line." she laughed. "To my knowledge, both these companies weren't even our clients when the rape case was on. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks a lot again for your help, Mrs Sheetal. I am grateful," said Vedant affably. "Shall we go and see how Samar is doing?"

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