Part-5:
I always have a method to my madness. It's just that sometimes my madness slightly exceeds my method.
The hand pulled the steth from his hand.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
"What Bhaiya?"
"Doctor asks the steth, Arjun."
"See Bhaiya, he is not sleeping, just acting. I haven't yet checked. Tell the doctor."
He stirred to sit up.
"No, no. I'll tell him myself," The attendant said quickly.
"Won't you go to sleep, Bhaiya?"
Arjun asked sleepily.
"My duty is over now. I'll go home and sleep."
"Are you going to leave me alone?"
Arjun clutched his hand worriedly.
"No, no, a new Bhaiya will come to take care of you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, he'll be here in ten minutes."
"Then ok."
Arjun closed his eyes.
.~>
"It's all yours," Arjun heard his bhaiya's voice outside.
"Right, sorry brother I couldn't make it yesterday night."
"Oh, come on. It's all right. Won't you do it for me if I have an emergency?"
Arjun who was standing behind the door touched the doctor's car key in the coat's pocket.
As soon as he heard that the relieving attendant's footsteps fading away, he knocked the door and hissed, "God, who locked the door outside? Can't you see a doctor is checking a patient inside?"
The car key:
He saw the key hanging on the wall; while he took the coat he took it too as a compliment!
.~>
ETF office:
"We nabbed the gang, sir," I (Shree) started.
"Tell me the whole story," Arjun insisted.
"Right, sir. It all started at 8'O clock this morning,"
He looked impressed.
I went on, "God, I doubted it the moment I heard Chottu's voice over the phone, for itd be you who 'd always wake me up every morning before 5'O clock, no matter what time I went to bed."
"I just stayed in the mental hospital a single day, the respect is going away,"
Arjun pointed out.
"No, sir! You are wrong!"
I refused his statement right away, "Just the one who is sleeping can know what an alarm clock is. And-"
"Then?"- Arjun cut me in sarcastically.
"Haan, yes, he informed me that it was 8 O clock and you were not still present in the office as he heard my sleepy voice.
"At 08:05 I called you up, but couldn't reach. At 08:30 I brushed my teeth. At 08:45, I took my bath. At 08:55 took my breakfast. At 09:00-"
An impatient Arjun cut me in again.
"Drank some water,"
"No, that was at 08:58," after getting a glare from him, I started again, "At 9'O clock-"
"Came to the office. Then?"
And he thought he needed the patience to hear my story, definitely in the class of the doctor he met in the hospital.
"God, I was in the office the whole time! I reached here at 08:05 once I cut Chottu's call!"
I exclaimed.
"Well-"
"Sir, let me tell my story full," he was silent and I started, "At-", I waited to see if he was going to interfere again, then, "-09:00..., we started writing your leave letter," I finished and it caught him off- guard. He raised an eye brow.
'What?'
I could see that he did not expect this.
I had to give him an explanation then and I did it duly.
"See, it was 09:00 in the morning and still no answer from you, what we could say if the commissioner called up? After all, a door bell is more terrible than an alarm clock, you know, you have a chance to shut an alarm while it screams, but not a door bell," I deliberately avoided the eye contact as I continued, "Actually, we had not much choice then, at 09:30, we checked your house and got it was locked. We had to collect the news papers and milk at your door step for you."
He did not move a muscle.
Good!
"The next door aunty said you weren't home yesterday night. We wondered where you went with the dirty shirt. Once got that your car too was missing we confirmed that you were roaming somewhere, for sure."
I stopped to take a breath.
"At 10:00, we were still trying to reach you. Your mobile rang. You weren't picking it up. 10:30, 11 O'clock. We considered the possibilities and changed the leave letter into a resignation letter."
Arjun eyed me; I could not see any glimpse of pleasure in those eyes then.
"It's very easy, you know. We just edited the body of the letter to, 'As I'm suffering from fever, I'm resigning my job. That's all."
I was not sure whether he needed a cutting-chai here or just the night was giving the impression of a deadly shadow over his face.
I started quietly, "Right, it was 11:30," with my eyes sparkling, "We drank a cup of coffee. After that I could think clearly and finally I settled with my lap-top. I got this doubt suddenly that what if these all were preplanned. I started tracking your mobile and got it, with/without you, was rounding somewhere outer city."
He seemed got interested again.
"Then?"
"Then what, we followed it, chased and caught these high spirits. Retrieved your mobile where you had stuffed it behind the back seat of their car. So you too can try coffee. It gives you energy and a clear mind to handle the situations..."
I was saying as Arjun smiled to himself as a thought surfaced to his mind. Then he turned to me and asked casually, "And the recording device?"
"God, at last you asked that question. That- is- it! That's the reason we started searching for you. As I said, after the coffee I started thinking seriously and had a doubt that these all were happening all of a sudden. I checked my items and found one piece was missing. God, my doubt was confirmed. Then I traced your mobile and got that piece from a man's pocket where you'd planted it," I was pouring like a rain, but he asked,
"So guessed it right. If I didn't take that piece with me, you people wouldn't have even doubted whatever had happened to me."
He asked slightly sarcastically.
"Sir, no. Not fair. You can't say so," I denied at once, before I said, "See, as we guessed you came back on your own, that piece couldn't have, right?"
His face changed and I added fast, "Hah, how you entered in to the office in that coat sir, see, still it's before my eyes, wow! Manly,", as I said it dreamily with enthusiasm, he had no way but to ask, "Then?"
"Well, we seized the garage and yes, I forgot to tell you about your car. We got a call from the control room that someone informed them that your car was standing alone in a side street. It's in our garage now."
"Right," he sighed and said, "I've to return the doctor's car-"
"Haan, he called. After nabbing the gang, we were seeing their small needs and were settling them for the night. It was when a mobile rang. It was the gang leader's. It was the doctor; he informed, 'A mental brother of mine named Arjun had escaped his hospital perimeter with his car and asked if he could publish it in the papers.' Then I had to say, 'No doctor, it'd ruin the life of my poor brother and if he went in a car, there was nothing to worry about it. If I couldn't find him before the dawn I'd inform the police myself. No wonder, he was missing, it was his routine doctor and actually he couldn't stay in a place long. That was all and in fact, I too was searching his whereabouts,' then the doctor asked somewhat nervously, 'Why was me searching for him, when they had found him missing just then,' and I replied, 'It was my routine doctor,' that stopped him."
Arjun smiled at last.
'Thank God!'
I said the remaining, "Then he said to inform him once you were found. He seems too much good, right, sir?"
.~>
Next morning:
At the hospital:
The attendant reached the doctor's room in haste.
"Doctor, that fellow who went with your uniform has returned back in a police uniform. See there."
.~>
Arjun returned the things he borrowed from the doctor (?!)
"As I promised."
"So you were here to check our hospital, sir?"
Arjun smiled and shook his head.
"No! Seriously, I was mad yesterday. Now I'm all right. And if anything I said or did had annoyed you, doctor, kindly forgive me."
The doctor shook his head and smiled, "No, No-"
"But please consider the walking seriously, doctor."
-The end-
Thanks,
~K-..
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Anupamaa
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