FF: Betrayed by Love ~(Note pg 151)~ - Page 28

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Part 7B

Arjun felt his anger rise at the mention of the friendship between him and Priya. "Then tell me Swati, where was my friend when I needed her the most? Where was my friend when my wife, her cousin, was being killed?"

"She never stopped being your friend Arjun." Swati answered calmly, she wanted to take her frustration out on Arjun for not seeing the plain truth in front of him but it was not the time nor it was up to her to tell him the truth.

Swati couldn't let him get off easy either, "You were the on who distanced yourself from Priya and Sameer long before your marriage, and after your marriage you increased the distance between your friendship for your own reasons.

Arjun clenched his jaw, but kept his face blank. He could not deny Swati's accusations but he won't let her see that her words had left a big impact on him. He turned to walk out the door but stopped when Swati called his name.

"Arjun," he turned towards Swati, "I hear you are a great cop and you have the ability to see beyond the obvious but remember that sometime we are blind to the flaws of our loved ones. Just because we love someone does not mean that they are perfect."

Arjun frowned, he felt there was message hidden behind Swati's words, that she is trying to warn him about something or someone but he couldn't figure out what or who she is talking about. He walked out of her office without saying anything to her.

Arjun slammed the SUV door and banged his hand on the stirring wheel. He was mad at himself for losing control once again. His emotions and thoughts were scattered all over the place since Priya entered his life again. He felt as if everyone knew the whole story but him.

Before he could go further with his thoughts his phones loud ring broke his chain of thoughts. He breathed deeply before taking the call. "Yeah Rathore," Arjun waited for Rathore to tell him why he was calling him.

"I will be there in fifteen minutes." Arjun pressed the end button on the phone before starting the SUV to go back to the ETF office.

Sometime later, at the ETF office

"Shree what do we have on Ashish Chopra?" Rathore asked as he gazed at the photograph of the head of the billing department of Fortis hospital.

"Sir prior to ten years ago Mr. Chopra did not exist. I have scanned his picture into the facial recognition program to see if we can come with a match of his face and the name to go with his face." Shree answered.

Shree tapped more keys on to his laptop to what he has for the past ten years. "Mr. Chopra has been in Mumbai for past ten years, and if we are to go by his birth date listed in his employment application he is forty-five years old. He has been with the hospital for past eight years, started out as a billing clerk but was quickly promoted to head of the department because of his organization skills and perfection of his work."

"Why did he just become our suspect?" Arjun asked as he studied Chopra's face.

"Sir according to him he filed an official report on the two women's complaints but when we asked for the reports no one could locate it. We went to ask his assistant about the report but she had no idea about any report filed by Mr. Chopra. He was very evasive when we asked about Mrs. Tiwari and Kanak, he was very edgy and at one point he started snapping back at us. There is something very suspicious about him sir." Chotu said.

"Sir I also got the reports back from forensics and the lab. They did find few fibers of clothes that did not come from Kanak's clothes and blood that did not belong to her." Shree added. "At one point, when we were questioning Mr. Chopra I noticed a bandage around his right arm and I also noticed that his arms looked as if he shaved them recently." Shree said as he looked at Priya.

"The clothing fibers and the blood is a positive sign, but how can we link it to Mr. Chopra, if he is indeed our killer?" Priya asked.

This stumped everyone. "Shree find out if there were more complaints against the billing department and if Chopra handled any of them." Rathore ordered.

"Yes sir." Shree picked up his phone and left the conference room.

Few minutes later Shree rushed back into the conference room. "Sir there was no complaints as far as the billing goes but Mr. Chopra's assistant said that Mr. Chopra and head of the patient services," Shree glanced down at the paper in his hand, "Ms. Sneha Singh had a heated argument over a complaint that came that a patient made to her regarding a bill."

"Okay Shree you and Priya head over to Sneha Singh and find out more about the argument." Rathore instructed.

"Sameer wait," Priya, said, "I think we should not question Ms. Singh at the hospital just to be on the safe side. If Chopra is our killer he will become alert and then we may not be able to catch him red handed."

Rathore nodded, "Okay let's wait until Ms. Singh leaves the hospital and contact her at home. Shree find out when Ms. Singh goes home and also get her home address and phone numbers. Meanwhile let's see what Chopra has been up to for the past ten years." He instructed the team.

By this time Arjun's thoughts had shifted back to Priya as his eyes rested on her one more time. He couldn't help be impressed with her quick mind; he always knew that she would go long way in the police force.

Priya was complete opposite of his wife; no one who met them for the first time would ever guess that they were related and may be that was the reason he had been taken in by Roshni the first time he had been introduced to her by his parents.

Roshni had been beautiful and vibrant; she had made friends easily while Priya preferred to keep to herself. She hadn't liked interacting with people on a personal level and Arjun had been unable to figure out her reasons for maintaining distance from her fellow trainees.

Arjun had managed to make friends with her with Sameer's help but he had always known that Priya felt more comfortable with Sameer than him.

Arjun's eyes focused on the computer that was running the facial recognition program when if beeped to alert them that it has found a match to Chopra's face. The whole team gathered around the computer to read the information displayed on the screen.

Arjun quickly scanned the data on the screen and gave a startled look to Priya who was looking back at him with triumph. Just for a moment her eyes sparkled with genuine happiness at job well done but it was quickly gone leaving her eyes dull and blank. She turned away to glance at the screen again.

Arjun was getting more and more frustrated by Priya. He wanted to stand up and shake her; he wanted to ask her why she always closes him out? Why she had never answered him when he had asked her about the trouble in hers and Roshni's relationship? He wanted to know what had happened, after Priya went to live with Roshni and her family? Why had Roshni felt insecure regarding the friendship between him and Priya? He had so many questions but no answers.

"What are you thinking about Raute?" Rathore snapped making Arjun lost train of his thoughts.

"Looks like Chopra was hiding from something so decided to change his whole identity after being dishonorably discharged from the military. Is there any way to get hold of his records?" Arjun asked.

Sameer, Chotu and Shree gave him a weird look. "Shree is already on it Raute; didn't you hear me ask that first?"

Arjun shook his head and stood up. "Sorry I was thinking about something else," he said while gazing at Priya's bent head. "I am going to get some tea, I will be back in few minutes."

Everyone except for Priya was confused by Arjun's distraction from the case. It was not like him to not pay attention to every detail of the case.

Priya had a feeling that her presence was making Arjun restless and she did not blame him. She wished she could reveal everything to him to put him at ease, but the truth will only make him more restless. Once he knows the truth, he will never be at rest. She hoped that he doesn't do anything rash if and when he finds out the whole truth behind Sikandar, and what exactly transpired once her cover was blown.

Priya hoped and prayed for a slim chance of taking care of Sikandar on her own with help of her team that is still in place searching for him. She knew Sameer would be upset with her for not telling him about her search for Sikandar on her own, but she wanted to spare Arjun more pain. She needed Arjun to stay oblivious to the truth and hope that when he comes to know that Sikandar has been dealt with he will gain some peace and put the past behind him.

She also knew that he would hate her for not letting him take his revenge on Sikandar but she would rather have his hatred than his pity. "Sameer I need to make few phone calls I am going into my cabin for few minutes." Priya informed Sameer who nodded absently because he was distracted by the case. Priya left quickly before he could question her.

Later that evening outside of Fortis Hospital

Sameer drummed his fingers on the stirring wheel as he looked around the hospital ground. They were keeping tabs on Ashish Chopra to make sure that he did not leave the hospital unnoticed.

Earlier in the day Shree and Priya had questioned Sneha who had given them enough information to confirm that he is the most likely person to kill both Mrs. Tiwari and Kanak. They only had circumstantial evidence so they needed to catch Ashish red handed in order to have enough evidence for an arrest.

Ashish Chopra was formerly known as Siddarth Chaudhry, he had been dishonorably discharged from the military for misconduct and abuse of other cadets. His temper had been legendary according to his superiors. He disappeared ten years ago after the death of his mother, who had been strict on him according to his old neighbors. Mother's death was questionable but most of the people in their old neighborhood thought Siddarth killed his mother.

There had been no evidence as Mrs. Chaudhry had died in a house fire, but people who knew Siddarth and his mom thought that he might have set the house on fire and disappeared.

Siddarth deep-rooted hatred may have been the triggers for Kanak and Mrs. Tiwari's murders. According to his co-workers both ladies had been extremely upset and had yelled at Ashish when they filed the complaints regarding their bills. Ashish had wanted to humiliate them like they humiliated him, like his mother humiliated him constantly hence the rape and the murder.

Sameer glanced at Arjun, who seemed to be distracted again, "What's the problem Raute? You haven't been yourself lately." He asked even though he knew exactly what and who is Arjun's problem.

Arjun looked at Sameer, his best friend, who he had shared everything with except for few things after they met Priya and the things about his and Roshni's marriage because by then they had drifted apart. "How come you didn't tell me about yours and Swati's relationship?"

Sameer was taken back by Arjun's question. "Our relationship did not start until after we left the training academy and by then you had decided you no longer needed my friendship."

"What the hell are you talking about Sameer?" Arjun asked.

"Don't act dumb Arjun, both Priya and I knew you had moved on after we left the academy. You didn't even tell us you were getting married until after you were engaged." Sameer accused Arjun.

"I wanted to surprise you both." Arjun said without any conviction. He knew he had been at fault but he also had some deep-rooted fear that had made him withdraw from Sameer. He hadn't wanted to ruin their friendship yet that is exactly what happened.

Sameer opened his mouth to blast Arjun but the shrill ring of his phone stopped him. He picked up the phone quickly when he saw Shree's name flash on the screen. "Yeah Shree, is everything okay at Sneha's house."

"Sir, you need to get here quick, Chotu just spotted Ashish entering Sneha's apartment building." Sameer's blood ran cold when he heard Shree's message.

He quickly hung up the phone and put the car in gear and screeched out of the parking lot. "Priya is in trouble." He said to Arjun.

Arjun felt chills go down his spine. Priya is in Sneha's apartment posing as Sneha to catch Ashish red handed. He knew Priya could handle herself but Ashish is loose cannon and they knew he is capable of overpowering Priya and her skills. He hoped that they all get to Priya before Ashish figures out that Sneha is not in her apartment.