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Warming up I see. :) This was kind of sweet.
How come the doctor did not detect those other antidotes?
"Did you get what you wanted?" Keith asks me jabbing the button on elevator. I nod and take out several small paper packets and hold them out in my hand. "Did she believe you drove here on your own?"
"She thinks I am a typical alpha male with control issues which means I wouldn't accept help that easily invariably how much I trust my deputies given how my condition has improved a lot in past few days." I shrug nonchalantly. "For an anthropologist, that was pretty dumb." I smile at Keith.
"So she believed you when you told her that you have pain in your abdomen and forgot your pain medication in car." Keith escorts me out and we mingle with mass of student body and become a blur in the crowd.
"She made me tea and I showed her that I was vulnerable. I don't think she noticed how I didn't touch tea or if she did, she didn't comment on it. It was then I sent you a text under the guise of telling my sister where I was." I explain.
"I must say I was surprised when you asked me to hide somewhere but knowing your improvisation skills, I just took that as an order and hid in restroom," Keith answers with a grin of his own as he starts the car.
"It was an order Keith." I deadpan. He bursts into bout of laughter and shakes his head.
"So that's when you got this," he recovers and points to the paper packets in my hand.
I nod. "Khushi told me she kept several antidotes in her purse all the time. She told me that it was her job to keep them on her. I just took sample of everything I found in her bag." I shrug.
Keith nods thoughtfully. "Do you think she will find out what you have done?"
I shrug carefully. "She might. But if she does, she won't bring it up." I turn my head towards window and observe passing traffic. My blood howls for nicotine and the gum I popped in my mouth the moment I left Khushi's office isn't cutting it. Requisite for something more potent is growing by moment and it is taking considerable amount of energy out of me.
"Did she tell you how she found you were in danger?" Keith asks me the question that has been on everyone's mind.
"She lied." I reply shortly. It was impossible for her to figure out that I was in danger unless she was a part of it.
"We can swing by Arjun to get these checked out." Keith offers. I hum in response.
Keith doesn't say anything till the car radio buzzes. It was Shukla. There was another murder.
*****
Right after Shukla's call, I call Khushi and give her the address of the latest victim. She is silent for a moment digesting the gravity of my request. I had asked to come to the crime scene and see the body firsthand. She replied affirmatively after a moment of hesitation and had taken a cab to the crime scene.
The streets are wide, the houses upscale and money screams from every part of the neighborhood. I pop another Nicorette in my mouth, the addictive toxin pumping my blood along with the prospect of mystery. Khushi walks next to me, closer than usual, her hands clutched on her purse strap. She is scared and she is trying everything in her power to avoid showing it. I don't tell her that she is failing spectacularly.
"Who is the victim?" She asks as we make our way towards the main door.
"He was an ex-gangster turned smalltime politician. His family was away for a wedding and he was alone in the house, which I know is strange." Shukla answers on my behalf. Shukla tagged along with me the moment I stepped out of squad car and told him that Khushi would be joining us soon. He accepted that it was a good idea to involve her early on but his trust in her was marginally thin.
"Why is it strange for a grown man to be alone in his own house?" Khushi asks him.
"He is an ex-gangster Khushi who is dabbling in politics for last three years. He would have at least three men living under the same roof for security purposes. There were risks from old rival gangs, new gang lords, political rivalry et al." Shukla explained.
"But what's more freaky is the state they found him in." Keith said looking at the three of us walking towards him. He is waiting for us to enter. Khushi looks at me questioningly.
"He is six foot two weighing approximately ninety kilos and incredibly fit. It's hard to believe that one person walked inside the house and took that giant of a man on his own and submitted to that kind of torture." I help her to rationalize. She nods in understanding.
"Welcome to a new hell," Keith said sardonically and opened the door for us.
I hand a pair of gloves to Khushi and she snaps them in place. Her nervousness dissolves the moment her eyes land on the victim who is lying on a dining table which is pushed towards center of the room.
"Can we have the room please?" Keith calls out. Except for Arjun, everyone else walks out of the room. To make sure of their exit, Keith locks the front door.
The man is lying naked on the table with numerous glyph and symbols carved on him. There are few symbols common between the ones from this crime scene and the one from Vimal Sharma's. But the glyphs and symbols have changed.
"What do you think Khushi?" Shukla asks standing by the victim's feet. "Is this another sacrifice?"
Khushi doesn't reply immediately. Her eyes are on the symbols carved on the man's throat and his forehead. She examines other symbols carefully and looks at the wall opposite to victim's feet and stares at the symbol which is also inked on her back.
"This isn't a sacrifice." She says walking along the wall and observing symbols made from blood. She stops in front of one particular symbol and traces the shape in air. "It's a punishment."
"Punishment for what he has done as a gangster?" Shukla asks.
Khushi shakes her head and walks back to the dining table. "This symbol here," she points to the victim's throat, "it represents bad words. And the symbol here on his forehead," her finger now points to the victim's forehead, "can mean bad or immoral or unconstitutional thoughts."
"Was he punished because he was a lying cheat?" Keith asks, raising an eyebrow. "He is an ex-gangster and a politician after all. Cheating and lying are kind of occupational necessities."
Khushi shakes her head once more. "No, the punishment isn't for what he does professionally. But what he did to offend the person who believed he deserved this sort of punishment."
"Vimal Sharma was a sacrifice and this guy here is punished." I looked at Khushi and she nods at me affirming my conclusion. "Can you find out the reason from all the older case files I gave you? Maybe we can find a pattern. Start with latest victims first."
"What is it?" Arjun asks me.
"We are looking at this wrong." I start pacing which helps me organize my thoughts. "We have to look from their perspective and not crime in general. The killer is clearly leaving the reason behind because that's how it is supposed to be done," Khushi nods at me in acquiescence, "and we have to find out what that is. If we find out the killer's reason for selecting these very people, we will be closer to figuring out who the killer is."
"Can it be more than one?" Shukla asks, looking at both Khushi and Arjun.
Khushi shakes her head. "This sort of ritual isn't part of my community, to begin with. The symbols are drawn using special sort of paints or blood in some cases. Most of the times, the rituals are done as a part of healing from an ailment. Rituals for death do exist but they don't really involve the victim to be carved out like this."
"Then how are they killed in your community?" Keith was interested.
"They are poisoned." My reply is measured. Khushi nods but refuses to meet my eye. It's suddenly awkward and I feel like a douchebag to bring it up this way. But measuring her reaction was important at this point so I manage to push the bitterness in my throat back.
Arjun clears his throat and draws attention to him. "I think there are at least two killers who have worked on this body." He moves towards the head region and points to the symbol carved on throat. "This symbol is carved with utmost precision and the depth of laceration is consistent throughout and it's the same with the one on forehead. But other symbol," he points to one on the shoulder blade, "this is cruder and the lines aren't consistent, the depth of laceration isn't consistent, the straight lines aren't all that straight. It looks as if-"
"It's an apprentice." Khushi blurts. "It isn't uncommon in our community to work in pairs. A teacher and his apprentice would work on same task, each taking a specific role. The symbols which depict the core sentiment of the ritual are definitely drawn by a teacher – someone who has done this before and has had enough practice." Khushi swallows and looks at me.
"The teacher doesn't have just one apprentice, does he?" I ask already knowing answer. Khushi shrugs.
"Technically, there is only one student for every teacher to who the teacher teaches all the necessary things to carry on the legacy but he will have a handful of apprentices who do all the minor work."
"So they work in pairs or more, right?" Arjun asks look at Khushi and me. Khushi nods. "But can just two or three people overthrow this hulk of a man who had a weapon on him? First of all, would he even open the door for strangers?" Arjun asked.
Khushi shrugs.
"None of this adds up." Shukla agrees.
We are in for a long day.
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