ArHi SS! Escape Velocity [Completed] - Page 30

Hmmm interesting convo with the doctor! I eider if he really knows khushi or she has seen him in her hallucinations! Ohh they are going to finally meet!!! Excited!

nice update...keeps me glued to the seat...nice change from the usual love story..

nice update...tx for the PM.

Hey RB!


Apologies for not commenting earlier.


Man skinning women alive. Khushi's deja vu's. Arnav handling the case. You have definitely caught my undivided attention,RB. Khushi having epilepsy is not something I would have expected and those hallucinations add to the mystery and her uber-attention to the doc's choice of words..a hint to something? Her convo with the doc was anything but normal to leave me curious. Man who skins women without sexually assaulting..Do we have here a sadist of the highest form?


Psychotic thrillers is the genre that tops my list and so does your FF, RB. Bloody excited for this one!


And I like how you mentioned that Arnav and Khushi are a part of the story..makes the reading worthwhile.

That was a good update... I cant figure out anything... I am doubtful if one of the characters so far is suffering from MPD... Cant guess anything...

Chapter 5: Ruby lips, dimpled chin

"Universe is conspiring against me." Khushi said as soon as she saw Arnav walk inside Bharadwajs' living room. "You know that person?" She asked pointing her thumb towards Arnav whose expression was turning sour.

"Oh come on." He said annoyed when his eyes fell on Khushi and heard what she had grumbled. "Universe is conspiring against both of us and probably hates me too much at the moment."

"How do you two know each other?" Bharadwaj asked handing Arnav a glass of tender coconut water. Arnav looked at his glass and saw that the rest of them were drinking something which definitely had alcohol content in it.

"No alcohol for you Arnav; the treatment you are currently under demands a strict food diet," Bharadwaj said sheepishly. Arnav shrugged as if he didn't care but the way he licked his lips when Payal poured herself a glass of wine betrayed what he was feeling.

"We met briefly last evening at the palace's entrance," Arnav said. Khushi smiled gratefully at him. "She thinks I am carry a fake police ID," he added and saw that Khushi's smile turned to one of merry.

"I believe we haven't been introduced." Payal said offering her hand trying to nip the argument before it escalated. Khushi had been in a weirdly prissy mood since doctor's visit. "I am Payal – Khushi's friend, sane voice in her head, her nanny and assistant." Arnav smiled charmingly making Khushi roll her eyes and introduced himself.

"I am ACP Arnav Singh Raizada but currently facing suspension. I am here for a fortnight-"

"Two months," Bharadwaj interjected and Suman, his wife, giggled seeing Arnav's glare. "He will be here for two months," he iterated cheerily.

"It's nice to meet you Payal," Arnav said and shook her hands ignoring Bharadwaj's interjection. "You are the writer?" He asked.

Payal shook her head smiling seeing his face fall. "That weirdo is the writer?" He asked in stage whisper. Bharadwaj and Suman sniggered behind their palm while Khushi bared her teeth without adding humor to it. "Anything I might have read?" He asked Payal.

"I doubt it," Khushi interjected. "I can guess the books you keep on your nightstand," she said looking at her nails in a snooty way.

"Go ahead and impress me with your psychic abilities," Arnav said biting his lower lip and challenge evident in his eyes. He grinned when he saw her close her eyes and embraced the phoney spookiness of a psychic.

"I am seeing few books…there is something work related…forensics. Ooh…I am seeing something philosophical now or is it spiritual?" Khushi closed her eyes and dropped her voice to a hushed whisper. Payal was smiling but Bharadwaj and Suman were looking at her agape. Arnav was looking at the weird writer sceptically. Khushi wasn't done yet. "Wait, am I seeing classical literature now? My vision is a bit hazy now…oh, and, there are couple of magazines – political ones." Khushi opened her eyes biting her cheeks inwardly so that the laugh bubbling in her throat would be contained. She stretched her hand and wriggled her fingers back and forth. "Cough up police man. Psychics don't come cheap," she said in good humor.

"Why I should I pay you when you have got almost every book wrong?" Arnav said in mood for bargaining.

"There is no money back guarantee in these businesses mister. You have to pay for the services utilized not for the results. Now pay up." She said smiling. Arnav rolled his eyes and dropped one rupee coin in her outstretched hand.

"That's for your effort. Had you got your predictions right, it would be thousand times more." She rolled her eyes and Payal giggled at his comeback.

"Let's eat," Bharadwaj said ushering the group towards dining area.

Dinner was pleasant and conversation flowed freely between the five of them. Khushi's editor had recommended her to check out services at the resort and it turned out that Payal and Suman were together in same college. They had lost contact after Payal moved out of the country briefly and Suman was married and migrated out of the city by the time she was back. It was one of those things in life which happened to almost everyone and only when one saw their old friend after years, did they wonder why in the first place they didn't work hard to keep in touch. Payal and Khushi had become regulars in their resort after that.

Khushi was standing in the balcony with a cup of coffee in her hand unlike Payal who was schmoozing expensive liquor. The steaming filter coffee heightened her senses and the cool spring air added its own spice.

"Penny for your thoughts," Arnav said stepping next to her with a matching coffee cup in his hand. "Coffee here is amazing." He said after taking a sip.

"I thought Bharadwaj asked you to drink buttermilk and not coffee," Khushi said cheekily. Arnav rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell him okay?" He whispered. She nodded happily.

They were quiet for several moments. "So which books are there on your nightstand?" She asked finally.

Arnav checked his watch. "You have been holding that question for an hour and half now. Feel better now?" He asked drolly.

"I am a whole new person now," she deadpanned. Arnav chuckled.

"I have five case files on my nightstand right next to my gun." Arnav said after willing his mind to relax. Maybe it was the company or maybe it was the cool night breeze, the thought of unsolved cases didn't agitate him as it did of late.

"Are they unsolved cases?" Khushi asked turning around to look at him for the first time.

"They are. There were five murders in a span of a little over two years." Arnav's response was clipped.

"Wouldn't there be more cases unsolved in your department? I mean it's a very big city with a crime rate higher than national average," Khushi noted. Arnav raised an eyebrow at that. "I write crime thrillers officer, I have done my homework." She replied to the unasked question.

"These cases…stood out. One doesn't come by cases like this often." Arnav said haltingly.

"Why?" She asked her curiosity piqued to an exponential level.

"I have seen my share of crimes but these stood out from the rest of them primarily because of the execution of crime. There was an incredible amount of rage in the way victims were killed. One of the victims had cash and jewellery ten feet away from where we found her body. They were untouched. Nothing was stolen from the victims' houses' and they weren't sexually assaulted. With that kind of rage you would expect to see vandalism of the victim's house but the killer's rage was directed at the women only. Their neighbors knew nothing, their friends vouched for them and their employers were happy. These victims were everyday working single women with plush jobs, cosy home and a contended life. There must have been a specific reason why those victims were chosen." Arnav explained more than necessary. He was surprised at her choice of genre and mildly impressed.

"You are guessing the reason behind the murders have a psychological gratification, don't you?" Khushi asked.

"Or it could be compulsion. The women triggered something in him which made him react so violently." Arnav shrugged.

"What about forensic evidence?" Khushi asked. Arnav hesitated to reply. "I understand if it's confidential," she said softly. She knew that the police department didn't disclose all the information to media in some cases which had potential to escalate. It was a subtle counter measure to protect any possible future victims.

Arnav shook his head. "There were none; no prints, blood or DNA. The neighbors heard or saw anything. It was probably a ghost who committed these murders."

"Were these women threatened?" Khushi asked frowning.

"I worked that angle too. I looked up their phone records for both their cell phones and landlines for the weeks leading up to their death. Zip. I could account every number for. Their emails didn't show anything outstanding and the paper communications were actually minimal." Arnav sighed.

"Now you are at a dead end, huh?" Khushi asked feeling sorry for him.

He shrugged. "I am going to revisit all the cases from scratch and do some out of the box thinking. I have a feeling that the regular investigative procedures aren't going to be enough for this one." Arnav said. "Why do you write crime thrillers?" He asked abruptly changing the subject.

Khushi smiled. "They are like solving a mathematical puzzle, you know? A thriller should be like doing mathematics. There will be lot of assumptions along the way but they will help you in getting the right answer. You balance equations, you apply different concepts, you interpret, extrapolate and then you end up an answer. I like the process of unfurling a mystery knowing both sides of the game but ensuring that I give right amount of hints along the way." She stopped. She turned to look at him with an unreadable expression. "It's almost meditative." She said.

Arnav smiled. "I find sifting through papers therapeutic. I looked through phone records of each victim – about four weeks of information on paper and cross checked each number with each of the victim's phone records. We don't have sophisticated systems in our branch which can do this online so lot of human involvement is necessary."

"Doesn't it slowdown your investigation?" Khushi was intrigued.

"It definitely does but your mind is occupied and sometimes these mundane work lead to a spark which can take you in a direction you wouldn't have ventured otherwise. That's why I prefer doing this work on my own." Arnav said.

"How are you going to proceed now?" Khushi asked.

"I will look through phone records again but will go back few more months and see where it will take me. I have lots of time now given how I am jobless." Arnav sighed.

"May I help?" Khushi asked suddenly. Arnav hesitated. It wasn't really a state secret what he was doing and the job was quite mundane. "I think I should be able to recognize patterns in the call and another set of eyes won't hurt." She added for good measure.

"Fine. You can help." Arnav said not having a heart to turn her down. His mouth reflected her smile almost immediately and his heart hammered in his chest for unknown reasons.

"May I ask you something?" She asked several moments later. He turned around to look at her.

"Have we met before?" She asked softly. He looked at her confused.

"I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"The slight dimple on your right chin – just few millimeters away from your mouth is…very familiar." She said slowly.

Arnav looked at her not knowing how to respond.

ME

Twiggy

Khushi the nerdy weirdo writer seems to have caught the ACP's