It was little after nine in the morning when Maan knocked front door of the Handa residence. The door was opened by a woman in her fifties.
"Yes?" She asked looking at both Maan and Satya one after the other. They showed their identity cards at the door and Maan introduced them.
"I am ACP Maan Singh Khurana and this is senior inspector Satya. We are here to talk about Geet. May we come in?" Maan asked politely.
"Is Geet alright?" She interrupted as soon as he said 'Geet'.
"Yes ma'am, she is fine. One of her friends isn't so we just came here for general inquiry. May we come in?" Maan responded and asked again.
The woman pointed towards open patio with sofa and a coffee table and hurried back inside to call her husband. Maan nodded and walked back with Satya. Handful of moments later an elderly man came out and introduced himself as Mr. Handa.
"Hello Mr. Handa. I am ACP Maan Singh Khurana and this is senior inspector Satya. We are here to talk about Geet. Geet is fine sir. I assure you." Maan repeated. Mr. Handa nodded.
"Then why are you here?" Mr. Handa's voice only held curiosity and probably a bit of apprehension.
"Sir, do you know anything about Geet' stalking from college?" Maan asked knowing fully that Geet had kept them in the dark as per Mal. But Maan had a feeling that it wasn't the case.
"What stalking?" Mr. Handa asked startled. Neither Maan nor Satya responded. Maan stared at the older man. Mr. Handa wasn't being fully truthful.
"Sir, we know about it. Geet's friend Mal has told us all about it." Maan said impassively. The older man sighed. He removed his specs and pressed his eyes to inhibit a slowly building headache.
"How is that case relevant now?"
"We believe that there is a connection between the stalker and the recent murders of two women. The evidence isn't very concrete but potentially we are pursuing the stalker as one of our leads purely on victimology and given how the killer knew everything about the women he killed and also Geet."
"Who..." Mr. Handa looked stricken.
"Anjali", Satya said.
"Oh my God!" The exclamation was one of surprise and mild fear.
"We want to cover all the possibilities here; including eliminating or considering him as our prime suspect." Maan said. Mr. Handa sighed. He was crestfallen. He spoke slowly.
"Are you sure there is actually a stalker involved?" Mr. Handa asked. Maan looked surprised.
"You think there isn't?"
"Do you have concrete evidence that a stalker actually existed?" Mr. Handa pressed.
"Sir, there was one time when the stalker actually went to her room and took her pictures. He also cut her hair and stole some personal items. And once she graduated, he even spoke to her." Maan said.
"Is there anyone who can substantiate this?" Mr. Handa somehow refused to believe that there was actually a stalker involved.
"Mr. Handa, if you believe otherwise then please tell me the reason. We can talk back and forth about this for the rest of the day but believe me, nothing good is going to come out of it", Maan said keeping his annoyance in check.
Mr. Handa looked at his wife who was silently witnessing the exchange. She nodded her head and sighed.
"We are unable to believe the fact that Geet was stalked ACP because we have already been through this before." Maan and Satya looked at each other. Was Geet some sort of natural magnet for stalkers and killers? They didn't respond.
"I think we have to start from beginning." Mr. Handa said and picked up a tea cup. Maan and Satya had identical looks - how complex life of Ms. Geet Handa was anyway? It seemed as if they walked into a live setting of a crime show.
"Geet was a very sensitive little girl. When she was nine, her puppy died. She cried about it for couple of days but her depression went a little longer. When even after a month she was being depressed about her pet we thought there might be something wrong."
"Her depression worsened?" Maan asked. Mr. Handa nodded.
"She was a stellar student till then; excellent in studies and also in extracurricular activities. In two months she was almost at the bottom of the class. There was increased amount of withdrawal from day to day activities in school and almost a month after the death of her puppy we were called by the school authorities. Her teacher complained that Geet's concentration was worse and was always looking away from the board doodling or looking out of the window. And when asked why she wasn't paying attention - she burst into tears and it took almost an hour to calm her down."
"You took her to counseling?" Satya asked. Mr. Handa nodded.
"In couple of months our old Geet was back. She still had depression hitting her from time to time but with medication and psychotherapy she was getting better with each passing day."
"But it didn't last?" Satya asked again.
"There were no problems till she turned sixteen. She was just any other normal girl who did great in school and collected anything in pink color. During that summer of her sixteenth year, she fell in love for the first time. There was this relative of ours, Dev, hailing from a decent family and the family we have known for years. When he showed interest in Geet we all kind of encouraged it seeing how they obviously liked each other. Come monsoon, he went back to Sydney to pursue his studies and Geet never heard from him again."
"Was she rejected by him or was he plain ignoring to the point of breaking up?" Maan asked noting down things that he felt important in Mr. Handa's interview.
"He was a seventeen year old boy who showed interest in a girl as she was the only one of his age group he knew of. He wanted companionship for the summer so he hung around with her most of the time. Like Geet, us adults misunderstood his intentions. Before leaving India, he called her as 'one of his closest friends' and gently said that they cannot be anything more."
"But for Geet it was rejection. That was the trigger." Maan said.
"Yes. A rejection that sort of brought back everything that we had worked in past six years. We hadn't realized that the issue that she had wasn't temporary. Only this time, we weren't dealing with a little girl but with a teenager. There were too many variables involved and there were lots of things that could go wrong. Every day I used to check her room and bathroom for hidden alcohol or drugs or blade or knife. We were so scared that she would start hurting herself but thankfully she didn't take that direction. She was again an inattentive student in school and decreased intake of food. She however enjoyed art classes so we let her take extra classes in evening as it kept her occupied." Mrs. Handa now answered.
"During those times there was a serial rapist active in this town. ACP sir, this is not a very big city but it's not a village either. Crime rate in this city is practically minimalistic so a case like serial rape caught media's attention and entire town's attention too. After about three such cases, police asked women and children not to wander late in the night till the perpetrator was captured. Geet used to be home by six in evening and the cases took place late in the night. Since her art classes were nearby we didn't worry too much but asked her to go with her friends and come back with them. One day she came home in total panic and in verge of tears saying that there was someone following her. When we asked her friends who also walked to art classes along with her, they denied it. According to them, nobody followed them." Mrs. Handa's voices sounded exhausted. After a taking a sip of water, she continued.
"We talked to Geet about it but she denied. When we walked on the road she used to turn and look every thirty seconds and say that there was someone following her. When it escalated to shutting herself in her room and refusing to come out when we planned to temple, we took her to her doctor again."
"Delusions?" Maan said rubbing his temples.
"Yes. She was under this belief that the serial rapist was targeting her and he was playing a game with her." Mrs. Handa said.
"But didn't you check for at least a possibility that there could be some truth in her words?" Maan asked frowning.
"We did. But there was no concrete evidence in her words. She even went on to believe that we are the ones who is making that guy follow her. She didn't come out of her room for an entire week because she felt that the stalker or the rapist was hiding in our utility balcony and was looking for an opportunity to kill her." Mrs. Handa sighed.
"One day she came home running after going half distance to school saying that the rapist was coming after her as he had managed to enter her bus. She was too scared to look at him but she felt him close. She even said that the man smelled like dark chocolate and freshly peeled oranges. We tried to tell her that the rapist was already caught, but she never believed us. Actually, she never believed anything we said. She was already on her treatment but still consoled her and went to police station. She seemed a little relaxed when the inspector told her personally that the rapist was caught and was sent to jail."
"So after this affirmation did the delusion stop?" Satya asked. Mr. and Mrs. Handa shook their hands. Maan felt very sorry for this elderly couple.
"It worsened actually." Mr. Handa said.
"She couldn't handle all the denial that was thrown at her, correct?"
"Yes. We pulled her out of school and increased the medication and therapy. In about six months, she was feeling alright. She had come to terms with reality and was dealing with the news well." Mr. Handa explained. Maan frowned at this. He didn't disagree with the older man but was only surprised at the rate of recovery. Mr. Handa noted that.
"I know that it sounds almost like a fairytale but trust me, when we saw her progress, we felt the same too. Her therapist said that cases like these happened but we should keep her under observation. She was on medication for the next two years till she went to engineering college. Once going there, her dosage was reduced."
"Do you think she stopped taking those when she went away? And why did you send her to a college away from you in the first place? Don't new environments make them even more nervous?" Satya asked without realizing the underlying accusation in his words. Maan looked at him sharply.
"I don't like what you are trying to imply here inspector Satya." Mr. Handa's voice was suddenly hard.
"I apologize." Satya said not sounding apologetic at all. Maan resisted an urge to roll eyes.
"Thank you inspector. As a family we decided this. Geet's college is one of the best ones in this part of the country. We spoke to her therapist and her therapist encouraged Geet to take this chance. She was very excited when we agreed to get her admitted to college of her choice."
"Do you know why Geet wouldn't tell you about stalker in college?" Maan asked.
"I guess she thought that we wouldn't believe it."
"Would you have?" Satya asked still little miffed about the whole thing.
Mr. and Mrs. Handa looked helplessly while Maan fully glared at Satya.
"I am sorry Mr. Handa. But just so you know, Geet was visited by her personal stalker in her final year while she was sleeping. There was a lingering smell of cologne when her roommate came in and vouched for it. Guess she wasn't delusional this time, after all", Satya said and walked out of the patio.
"We are sorry for bothering you this early in the morning Mr. and Mrs. Handa. We appreciate you helping us", Maan said politely. He saw that Geet's parents were worn out after talking to them. He felt sorry for the parents who did everything that any other normal parent would yet always feeling hollow about the past.
Maan found Satya leaning on jeep, smoking and talking to someone on phone. He patiently waited till Satya finished his call. As soon as the call was finished, Satya beat him to it.
"I was on call with Mal. I asked her to remember how the cologne smelled. She swore that it smelled like citrus fruit." Satya said eyes wide. Maan whistled.
"But you are still not off the hook about those words you threw in there." Maan wasn't done.
"Once we finish this case, okay sir ji? Where do we go now?"
"Let's go to this area police station. I want to check out that rapist case."
"But sir ji, the rapist was caught even before Geet saw or felt or smelled him in the bus."
"Yes, that's true. I just want to validate. Since we are already here, let's clear up that end too", Maan said.
Satya managed to find the police station in next twenty minutes. Once they had settled down in the station with the serial rapist case file, the investigating officer arrived at the station. Once introductions were done, Maan talked about Geet.
"Yes, I remember that girl. I was only a sub-inspector back then and I was on duty when the family came in with a hysteric daughter. Once I told her that the rapist was caught and was put behind bars, she seemed relaxed." Maan simply hummed.
"All these women were sexually assaulted but never killed, correct?" Satya asked.
"Yes. They were beaten up and raped at least more than once. No women could recognize the rapist because it was too dark and he wore a woolen cap covering his head and most part of his face."
"Did the man confess to his actions?" Maan asked.
"Yes. He did for three cases. He denied assaulting the fourth woman."
"There was a fourth victim?"
"The fourth woman was an eighteen year old girl who was walking back to her house from her music classes. The assault had happened few hours before we captured the rapist."
"Wait, this doesn't add up. The first three women who were raped were all in their mid to late twenties and who worked at a garment factory nearby to the crime scene in second shift, making their return commute time around ten in the night. But the fourth one is a teenager and was assaulted in a residential area in a different part of the town. The victimology doesn't add up", Maan said. The inspector didn't respond.
"Can we see that girl's statement?" Satya asked. The inspector nodded and provided another file. Satya raised an eyebrow at that.
"I agree that it doesn't add up. The fourth case didn't match with the first three. The rapist was charged guilty for the three cases. There was absolutely no evidence in fourth case and the girl wasn't exactly raped. The girl's family didn't press charges since the rapist was caught. So all we have is first account statement at the crime scene." Satya nodded at the given explanation.
"This is strange. The girl remembers a musky cologne, sort of lime or lemon when she was assaulted by the man." Maan said.
"That's right. Actually she remembered it accurately because she felt that she was in a shop smelling a fresh lemon when someone tugged her from behind. And then that man spoke to her." Inspector narrated.
"What did he say?" Satya asked curious.
"'You are not her'" Maan was puzzled.
"Did you release this information to press or..." Satya trailed.
"No, since the rapist was caught the same night and the family also ignored the incident, we didn't look into it further."
"Is this the girl?" Maan asked wide eyed. Satya took file from Maan's hands and took a sharp breath.
The girl could easily be Geet's older sister.
She was almost a replica of Geet.
Geet wasn't delusional when she felt her stalker. In the bus, she had actually felt the real stalker.
To be continued.
PS: Picture of Emily added in first page! Check it out!
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