FF - ABOAW - SEE PAGE 48 - Page 31

To clear a general confusion, Khushi had hidden herself under the table. Why you ask? Sorry, can't tell.

Chapter 6 - The Cracked Mirror

Arnav glared at the giggling girl in front of him. "Do you find all this funny?!" he asked her. She stopped laughing then and widened her orb-like eyes at him. Arnav breathed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Leave" he snapped, just as quickly. She got up quietly then and walked out. "Remember one thing detective Raizada" she said, her voice no more giggling and high pitched. "Most mirrors are mere errors"

"Thank you for the warning, Ms. Gupta" he replied to her. She left then and they heard her walk down the stairs. "Crazy bitch" NK swore under his breath and wheeled out of the room. Arnav looked at NK's retreating back.

Privately, he agreed with NK.

* * *

Arnav walked down to the room where Lavinia Rodriguez had been found dead and closed his eyes. At once his surroundings melted away and the night of the death solidified in front of his eyes.

He felt himself stumble to the huge painting on the wall and collapse on its feet. "Forgive me lord, for I have sinned" he said in a voice that sounded distinctly foreign. He felt the edge of his brutally cut off hair and sobbed some more. He felt his body turn to lead as each tear streaked down his cheek.

The painting on the wall provided no forgiveness. He felt its merciless eyes bore a hole into his back. At last, he stumbled up to stand. He walked back to the sofa and stood uncertainly for a minute. And then it came.

He felt his feet turning numb, as though they had no life left in them. The feeling passed on to his knees. They gave away as he sank to the floor. The fall was not gentle and he could feel that something has broken. The feeling passed to his stomach and oozed its way to his chest. At once his lungs and heart stopped working. The air he breathed had just as quickly disappeared and then he toppled onto the floor. He clutched at the moldy couch and tried to breathe. The black welcomed him with open arms and at last he gave up. And just like that, he fell dead.

Arnav gasped and opened his eyes. He reached for the bottle of water he always kept with himself and gulped down the water in one go. And then he walked over to the mirror carelessly hung on the nail above the sink and checked his appearance. And then he froze.

He remembered reading the list of things in this room and had cross checked with the land lord and the neighbors. There had been no mirror.

Where did this mirror come from?

And then he remembered his conversation with Khushi Gupta from before. Most mirrors are mere errors.

He reached for his phone and dialed for NK. "Get your men to the room where Lavinia was found" he barked into the phone. He walked back to the mirror and put his nose close to its cracked surface. The cracks seemed to making a strange pattern. He patted his pockets to search for a paper and a pen.

How much do you know, Khushi Gupta? He thought, while examining the mirror closely. How much do you know?