Crime Control Squad (Case #1 Hit and Run) Last Chapter 28 Pg 19 - Page 4

Originally posted by: marymol

Well, i am really liking how this case is progressing... 😊 I used to think that only stories with serial killing and stuff could make it curious..But with a single murder case ur story is intriguing...Well done.. 👏

Apart from the case, liked the nok-jhok of sagar and heera and Vikram-shilpa convo

Originally posted by: do0dleR

Mindblowing...👏...Awesome pace for the story...👏

And I really thought Vikram was thinking about his sister at the restaurant...😆...I am liking various facets of his personality

The team is superb...!!...Loved the entire discussion...intrigued...😉

Waiting for next...

Chapter 7

Vedant closed the collar of his white shirt unconsciously as he looked at the lane which held his victim's house. The colony had a calm atmosphere. Away from the main roads, the silence easily captivated the head of Special Branch. The tall trees around and the birds chirping circling it, accompanied by the slight drizzle left a strange feeling. He felt out of place. He felt peaceful. He observed the numerous cars parked on either side of the lane, with the word ARMY written at the rear windscreen. He turned to look at his partner for the day, Heera. She was dressed in a white kurta and blue jeans with a stole covering her neck. Except for the stole, both of them looked like they were in uniform.

"What do you reckon?" asked Heera looking at the cars. The cars indicated the presence of numerous army officers inside the house, not the best time for interviewing the wife of the deceased.

"Best behaviour!" joked Vedant wiping his glasses, and straightening his hair. Heera grinned, checking herself in the rear view mirror. Locking the police SUV, both the officers made their way to the victim's house, which was flocked with double the number of people she met the previous day. They jumped across the small pools of rain water, trying to save their footwear from waterlogging.

"Any known faces?" asked Heera. Nobody seemed to recognise them and the officers stood helpless. Nobody approached them thinking they had come to offer their respects. Probably they should have come in their police uniforms. The living room was packed with Army officers, mostly former army officers. The atmosphere had an unusual discipline but the air of sadness didn't fade. The officers stood in groups talking to themselves. There was a bigger group of officers who sat in one corner. Vedant looked around, hunting for the right person to send for Mrs. Singh. He saw an officer approaching him. Adjusting his glasses, he walked towards the officer with Heera behind him.

"Looking for someone?" asked the elderly officer.

"Yes Sir! I am Vedant Vashisht. Head, Special Branch. I am investigating Mr Singh's death. Uhmm...Mrs. Singh?" Vedant spoke like a thorough professional.

"She is in her room, exhausted. I hope you understand what she is going through?" Vedant looked at Heera to know if she had any idea what to do. She had already visited the house once and hence it was familiar territory for her. "I am Retired Colonol D Ranjan...Dinesh Ranjan." The two men shook hands. Though retired, Dinesh still carried the energy with him.

"I completely understand, Sir. But it's important we talk to her," explained Vedant his eyes surveying the room casually.

Dinesh waved his hand to get the attention of a lady sitting near the staircase. Noticing Dinesh, the lady walked to them. Dinesh explained the need of the officers to talk to her. The lady asked the officers to wait for a few minutes.

"How long have you known Mr Singh?" asked Vedant wanting to make full use of his waiting time.

"Around 30 years. Veer and I were together in a camp in 1983. Very brave and principled man," said Dinesh.

"Are...Were you both close?" asked Vedant awkwardly.

"Kind off. We didn't speak to each other every day. But we were in constant contact with each other."

"Why did he retire?" asked Heera.

"He was forced too on medical grounds. He was injured during a breakout and fractured his leg very badly. He was in bed for almost 6 months. Doctors informed that he would always have a limp. Poor guy. He was just promoted as Major General the previous month."

"So the army..." started Vedant.

"No! Even before any decision was taken, Veer decided to quit. He felt he was a damaged product and should be thrown out. He believed he was no use to the country anymore. He wasn't completely wrong too. He could have never done what he wanted to if he had continued his service."

"How did he spend his time after his retirement?" asked Heera. "Did he still have contact with the Army? Consulting or something?"

"No my dear! It doesn't work like that. Yes. Sometimes...help is called for in matters one specialises in. But that didn't happen with Veer. It took him few years to fit into the normal world. That group of people over there," Dinesh pointed to the huge group sitting in the corner. "New Life Group!"

Vedant and Heera looked at the group with interest now. There were 10 to 15 members, formally dressed, few sitting, few standing, talking among themselves.

"Find anything different?" asked Dinesh.

Vedant continued looking at the group keenly. He could sense something different but wasn't able to deduce what it was. He saw a strange bond among the members, the body language was too endearing. He understood. "They all suffered some injury during their service." It wasn't a guess but a statement.

"Yes" nodded Dinesh. "This group drove Veer to live his life with positivity. He had completely lost it after he left the service. He wasn't able to focus on anything. Flashes of the battle, his fall, the pain, the scream fogged his mind every time he closed his eyes. But joining this group, he found motivation in every member, from their life. He realised he shouldn't give up. He continued being part of the group even after his...enlightenment. The group arranges motivational talks in numerous healthcare units. Veer became a prominent speaker in the circle. He spent all his time for the welfare of the need. I think you should speak to the group members. They will be of more help. Come..."

Dinesh escorted Vedant and Heera to the group before they could say anything. The two officers sensed many eyes on them as they walked to the group. They were sure word would have spread that they were the investigating officers. As they walked near the group, Vedant and Heera were able to see the disabilities. Crutches, proxy legs, absence of legs and hands, dark glasses, and many more - sadly the first thing that attracted their eyes. Gloominess filled them. To see the protectors of the nation to be seated in that condition, Vedant felt shame faced.

"Excuse me everybody!" Dinesh called for the attention of the group. "This is Mr Vashisht! He is investigating Veer's death."

"Hello Mr Vashisht!" wished an old man wearing a dark glass, sitting on the sofa. The command in his voice wasn't unhidden. Vedant bent to give a handshake. He gave a nod to everyone in the group as a sign of respectful acknowledgment.

"Don't worry about our disabilities. We have moved on," said one of the men with no left hand.

"Mr Vashisht!" called another man walking towards the officers. "Retired Lt H.P.Taneja. Call me Jeet." Vedant stretched his hand for a handshake. Jeet thought for a moment before taking his hand out from his coat pocket. The hand was gloved. He shook Vedant's hand understanding the question running in his mind.

"Fire." Jeet didn't go in detail. Vedant understood. "I am the operational officer at New Life Group."

"Would you mind if we ask you a few questions?" asked Vedant. Heera decided to let her boss do all the talking. She always enjoyed partnering with him. It was a huge learning process for her. She had her questions prepared too in case her boss suddenly opted for role reversal.

"Will always be glad to help," replied Jeet. "But I don't think this is the time or the place for it. No offence. Here is my card. Please feel free to call me." Jeet handed over his card. Vedant thanked him as he passed the card to Heera. "One thing Mr Vashisht!" The call was sharp but with respect. "We don't want to see shame on your face, or sympathy for us in your eyes. We just want to see pride." Vedant gave an embarrassing smile.

"You wanted to talk to me?" asked Mrs Singh, ceasing the uncomfortable moment. Vedant and Heera turned to face the widow. Jeet took his leave with another handshake. Mrs Singh walked to the dining where there was no one. The three took their seats around the table.

"Can I offer you something? Tea or Coffee?" asked Mina.

"No thank you!" replied Vedant with a small smile. "I am Vedant Vashist. I assume you have met Heera. I am very sorry we had to come back but it's really important."

Mina didn't think she had to answer.

Having faced so many situations like this, Vedant sat relaxed. Heera looked grim. She poured a glass of water for Mrs Singh.

"Mrs Singh!" started Vedant. Heera opened her file to take notes as well as to check if the conversation covered all the questions they wanted to ask. "Do you know anyone called Yamini Sharma?"

"Yamini Sharma?" Mina gave it a thought before she shook her head slowly.

"Your husband got a call from her number before he left the hospital. Any idea who would have called him at that time?" questioned Vedant.

"I don't know," replied Mina helplessly.

"Was your husband behaving differently lately? Any changes?" asked Vedant.

"I don't know...I mean...He seemed the same," replied Mina.

"Mrs Singh! We know about Kiran rape case," said Vedant. Immediately, he saw a spark shoot up in the widow's eyes. Finally a reaction. "Did anyone related to that case contact you in recent times?"

"Anything regarding the case, please talk to our lawyer," said Mina tensed. It was an instant answer. It seemed very evident that she didn't want to talk anything about the case for some reason.

"Mrs Singh! Did you know your husband was paying visits to Samar Lala, the one convicted in the case?" asked Vedant. He began observing Mina more intently. Mina was sitting tensed, a posture which could only mean she was definitely hiding something. "Mrs Singh?"

"I don't know," replied Mina. Vedant and Heera very well knew the answer was a yes.

"Mrs Singh! If you don't cooperate, we wouldn't be able to find out how your husband died," detailed Vedant calmly. He was saving the information on the nature of her husband's death for the right time. "Can you tell me why your husband was meeting Samar?"

"I know he was meeting Samar. But I don't know why he visited him or what he spoke with that guy. I told him not to be in contact with those kind of people, but he never listened." Heera made a note.

"I am not asking for the case details, Mrs Singh. But how did you feel when your husband gave witness in the rape case?" asked Vedant.

Mina gazed at Vedant for a moment, thinking. "It was his decision. He knew what was right and what was wrong. It was right of him to testify against those guys, because that was the truth. They deserved punishment for what they did to that girl. I was really happy he did that."

"But you are not happy now with that decision?" Vedant questioned immediately.

"No! I didn't mean that...Why you are asking about the case?" asked Mina confused.

Heera looked at her boss, who sat silently. She wanted to continue the conversation and not leave a break in between. But she knew she wasn't supposed to talk when her partner was doing the talking, especially if it's her boss.

"Because..." answered Vedant taking his time. "Because we believe your husband was murdered by someone and later made his death look like an accident."

Mina clapped her hands on her mouth. "What? Who killed him? You have any suspects?"

"Not yet. That's why we need your help. I know it must be really difficult to suddenly realise your husband was cold bloodedly murdered by someone, that too, was beaten brutally to death," Vedant's voice had taken a steep strong stern tone. Heera looked amazed. Mina stared with her eyes filled with tears.

"Mrs Singh! We need your help to find out who did that to your husband," continued Vedant with a sense of urgency now.

"I don't know. I mean...My husband was murdered and you are asking me to help you?" asked Mina in disbelief.

"I understand. But don't you want to find out who did that to your husband? Your husband was hit on the head and beaten all over the body several times. He bled to death and after that he was rolled over by the vehicle like garbage." raged Vedant. Impatience peeped in. He wanted more details so as to continue his investigation. He expected Mina to help him, but she seemed too preoccupied to even listen to his questions properly. Mina closed her eyes controlling her temper.

"Mr..." Mina forgot the name. "Officer...Please. I am exhausted...Please tell me when my husband's body would be released."

"Very soon, Mrs Singh," replied Heera. She looked surprised at the way her boss was talking to the widow. Mina stood up to leave.

"Mrs Singh! I understand your husband is dead, but that doesn't mean you can hide important details from us. Those details can help us catch the..." said Vedant agitated.

"Hide?!" exclaimed Mina. "Thanks for coming Mr Officer!" She ended the conversation abruptly, anger clearly visible in her body language. She started walking back to her room. The argument had already attracted many heads.

"If you aren't going to help us, we wouldn't be able to help you or protect you and your son in case of any threat..." Vedant seemed too determined not to let the haughty conversation conclude. His voice was loud but he didn't care. Heera stood appalled.

Mina walked back to face Vedant straight up. She looked directly into Vedant's eyes, rage and panic mixed in her voice. "You think I am dependent on your pathetic police force for my and my son's protection?" spat Mina. "You think I am scared of threats? Uh? I know how to handle threats and hence you or your police needn't worry about me, Got it? Just leave us out of all your investigation. My husband was murdered. I don't want my son to be killed too. I don't want to answer any of your questions, alright? I know what will happen after all this. Few weeks and the case will go cold."

"Mrs Singh! You are becoming emotional now. There can be a genuine threat to your life especially after your husband's murder. Hence it's important for us to nab the killer." Vedant wanted answers. "You are a women, a widow now..."

Heera was astonished with Vedant's insensitivity. She could see the pain and frustration in Mina's eyes. Her world must have revolved around her husband and her son, and both weren't there with her when she needed them. Her future would seem a blur to her now. Her life with her husband would flash in front of her eyes, moments of sadness, moments of happiness, moments of pain and moments of regret. But here they were trying to solve their case without giving any respect to her situation.

"Mr Officer! Enough of your nonsense. Please leave. I have taken care of my son all these years, and I know how to take care of him." Mina didn't attempt to polish her disrespectful tone.

Vedant looked irritated. He had received a message from Commissioner for an update meeting and he had absolutely nothing to provide him. Not a single suspect.

"Maa!!"

Mina immediately turned towards the hallway and ran towards the man standing with the bags. The man took his mother in his arms and held her tightly.

"Are you alright, Sharad? No problem, right? I was so worried for you," sobbed Mina.

"Maa! I am absolutely fine. Please don't worry," replied Sharad wiping his mother's tears. "But what is going on?"

Vedant and Heera who were witnessing the scene, walked to Sharad and introduced themselves.

"Please don't mind my mother...She is very protective of me. I would be glad to help out to find who killed my father. But will it be possible if we can have all these discussions after the funeral? Please?"

Heera reassured immediately much to Vedant's annoyance. Heera expected her boss to at least apologise for his insensitive and rude behaviour, but to her surprise he walked out directly without acknowledging anyone around.

"What was all that about?" asked Heera exasperated. They had reached their car and she couldn't hold herself anymore. "Sir! Didn't you see how insensitive your words were? Mina had lost her husband...her husband. It would take her time to come around and understand the situation. I feel your behaviour would completely halt her from approaching us for any help even if she wants to. This would be a huge blow to our..."

Vedant who had been listening patiently to his colleague's sharp words, raised his hand. In a very cold tone, "Heera! Just because I am liberal doesn't mean you can doubt my judgment or question my action. I don't have to hear all that you want to say. There is still a line which both of us shouldn't cross. I know where the line is. Its better you understand where it is too."

Heera could feel her eyes burn and tears collecting. She stood glaring at her boss.

"I have to meet the Commissioner. You get back to the station and get hold of the Singhs' financials. Yes?"

Heera nodded sadly as she walked to get an auto. Vedant stood coldly, watching his colleague get into an auto and leave.

-------------

"The murder couldn't have possibly happened on the main road, don't you think?" asked Sagar flattening a huge map on his table, pushing the other things assembled to a side creating a mountain. Charith had his face buried into his computer monitor, while Agastya was busy on a call.

"They staged the accident on the main road...So...May be they murdered on the main road too?" questioned Charith still watching the CCTV footages. He didn't find any stationary vehicles on both the south and the eastern side. None of the CCTVs provided anything on the junction. He had moved to the other footages.

"So...This is JP Link road junction," Sagar made a red cross at the location on the map. "This is the hospital." Another red cross over the location of the hospital. "There aren't many routes from the hospital to the junction. The easiest and the simplest route would be the highway." Sagar sat pondering over the map. The distance between the hospital and the junction was 7 kms.

"Charith! Is CCTV active at the previous traffic signal to the link road junction?"

"Previous junction is..." Charith tapped his computer, "4 kms from the junction. I have to check. But possibilities are very low. Maintenance of CCTVs are really high and the city lacks funds. So I don't think we would get an active CCTV."

"Hmm...I think we need to widen our radius. We need to find out if Veerkaran passed the previous signal, or was he murdered before that. That would narrow down our area of search."

"I have acquired CCTV footages within a 2 Km radius only. Should I..." asked Charith. He always disguised his idea as a permission.

"Let me do one thing. I will take a stroll and let you know the companies which might have the angle we need in their cameras."

"Guys! Listen!" Agastya banged his telephone as he made a quick note on his stick notes. He pulled the map Sagar had covered his table with and turned his computer monitor to face his colleagues. "As I said yesterday, all of Yamini Sharma's calls were from public places which would make it impossible to trace the person. But...the location from where the call was made to Veerkaran at 12 am was from outside City Corporation Bank, just 2 kms from the hospital."

"Could Veerkaran have actually gone to meet this ghost guy of ours...like...on his own?" asked Sagar.

"Possible!" replied Charith. "If Veerkaran was murdered, there has to be a reason for that. We can rule out robbery because he still had his wallet. There has to be a motive behind and hence he must have been killed by someone he knew, or something he was involved in."

"In that case, he knew the person who was calling him regularly," pointed Agastya.

"No doubt there. He wouldn't have been talking to customer care at midnight, would he?" commented Sagar. "Check when this number first popped up in his phone records."

"How many years shall we go behind?" asked Agastya.

"5 years! Let's keep the rape case year as our flag."

"Is Yamini Sharma's number postpaid or prepaid?" asked Charith.

"I checked that. It's prepaid. Hence it's difficult to trace. But, I have asked for all the numbers registered to Yamini Sharma with the same address. May be there are more numbers which were bought together," explained Agastya. "And if any of those numbers are active, maybe we can get a lead."

"The police caller's number isn't on?" asked Sagar. Agastya shook his head. "I am tracking Veerkaran's number also. It's also not active."

"What about our convicts? Where is Samar?" asked Sagar.

"I am still working on that. But it's not easy as it seems like the other three doesn't exist. After completing their sentence, it seems like they disappeared. And Samar...That would be easy as the parole officer would know where he is...and he has to be back in jail in another one week. I have got hold of the name of the officer...Rest...Boss have to take care."

"Get hold of the City Corporation Bank security services and get their CCTVs. I will go and meet the watchmen...This is ridiculous. We don't even have a face to chase. What will I go and ask? Did you see anyone talking on phone? That's like 90% of our population." Sagar stormed out angrily.

"Agastya! I wanted to know if we could filter audio from the CCTV?" asked Charith.

"Not possible. CCTVs are just for video surveillance," replied Agastya sitting beside Charith.

"There are few footages where we see reflection of headlight going haywire which I assume is the moment of accident. The time is according to our timeline. But we don't have anything else. No vision of the slightest. I checked for reflections also. But dead end there too."

"Frustrating I know! May be we will get something from the bank's footage," Agastya tried to raise Charith's hopes. "We are missing one piece, one significant piece because of which we are hitting dead end in every direction."

"Hopefully Heera, Ruby and Vikram Sir have a good day," wished Charith.

-------

Another superb update...👏

Interesting as always..

Well, lily seems to hav got some idea about how the story is going, but i am still at dead end.. 😆 No idea at all..

Wat happend to Vedant? Is it just frustration about the lagging case or something more???? Eager to know.. Waiting for next update.. 😊

Originally posted by: do0dleR

Another superb update...👏

I really like how you describe scenes in general.👍🏼... here specifically funeral scene, the members of new life group that Veerkaran was associated with...

I felt Vedant was unnecessarily agitated maybe after visiting that lady in the hospital...Poor Heera!...

I was also having a random guess about the story..(Well, I may be wrong)... I better PM it than spoiling the thrill for others...😆

Looking forward for next part...😊

Originally posted by: marymol

Interesting as always..

Well, lily seems to hav got some idea about how the story is going, but i am still at dead end.. 😆 No idea at all..

Wat happend to Vedant? Is it just frustration about the lagging case or something more???? Eager to know.. Waiting for next update.. 😊

Originally posted by: marymol

Interesting as always..

Well, lily seems to hav got some idea about how the story is going, but i am still at dead end.. 😆 No idea at all..

Wat happend to Vedant? Is it just frustration about the lagging case or something more???? Eager to know.. Waiting for next update.. 😊

Another superb chapter...👏