**Death's Shadow**
*(Translated into English)*
The year was 1998. I had just completed my Master's degree in Psychology from Delhi University. Unfortunately, for the next two to three years, I couldn't find any work that would allow me to pay for my hostel expenses.
Then, on the recommendation of a friend, I landed a job as a junior therapist at a well-known hospital called Plus. My duty hours were from 8 AM to 4 PM.
Dealing with mentally ill patients was an extremely complex and exhausting task for me. Many times, while treating and studying them, I felt my own nature becoming increasingly irritable and lazy day by day.
Perhaps the main reason was that I was too young for this kind of work. After all, what is twenty-seven years of age?
Anyway, I couldn't last more than seven months at Plus Hospital because my own mental health was deteriorating rapidly. I started having terrifying nightmares, which left me unable to sleep properly for many nights. As a result, my entire body was drying up like a bamboo stick.
After leaving the hospital, I managed to save my mental health from further damage, but my financial health began to collapse dramatically. This is what happens when you quit a job without thinking twice.
For several months, I ran from pillar to post looking for work, but I remained unemployed for nearly eight months. I even tried going back to the same hospital where I had previously worked, but they had already hired a new therapist in my place within a week. Because of one impulsive decision, I was left neither here nor there.
Then one day, I remembered something. When I was working as a therapist at Plus Hospital, a tall young patient dressed in a black coat had once come to me.
His father had passed away just a few days earlier, and because of that, the patient had become a victim of loneliness.
During therapy sessions, he would often tell me that someone had murdered his father and that he wanted to find the killer.
In reality, this patient had a habit of suspecting everyone. But apart from that, he was an extremely intelligent, sharp-minded person who reasoned everything on the basis of science.
As time passed and I continued treating this special patient, my interest in him grew. Eventually, we became friends. He too showed great interest in the way I asked questions.
He particularly liked my skill of phrasing questions in a roundabout yet simple manner, along with my boldness.
He became so impressed with me that, during our last therapy session, he insisted that I become his sober companion. In return, he was ready to pay me double the hospital's fees.
Dear readers, many of you may not know what a "sober companion" is. In a country like India, this is not even considered a proper profession.
Let me explain: A sober companion's job is to help a person overcome dirty habits such as opium or drug addiction. Mostly, only rich or upper-class people in India can afford to hire one.
At that time, I had refused his offer. But as he was leaving, he handed me his card so that I could contact him whenever I changed my mind.
The moment this memory came back, I rushed to my hostel. I was now living in a cheap, rundown hostel because I no longer had money for a decent one.
I went to my room number 201, opened the drawer, and took out the card the patient had given me. There was mention of some agency in one corner, but I didn't pay much attention and directly dialed the number.
"Hello – Is this Sudhir Verma speaking?" That was the name written on the card.
"Yes," came the reply from the other side.
"Um… Sudhir, this is Ajay."
"Who Ajay?"
"…Ajay Mishra, your old therapist."
"Oh."
"Yes… do you remember me?" I said.
"Hmm."
"…By the way, how are you now…"
Before I could finish, he interrupted.
"Doctor, can we skip the unnecessary talk? Let's get straight to business. I have very little time, and you are also desperately looking for a new job. So here's what you do — meet me at the address on my card within half an hour. My offer is still open."
With that, he abruptly hung up.
All the clever script I had prepared in my mind to persuade him went to waste.
I quickly got ready and reached Sudhir's large haveli within half an hour. Sudhir's father had clearly been one of the richest men in the city and had left behind immense wealth for him.
I went to the door and was about to ring the bell when a beautiful woman suddenly came out. She had heavy red lipstick and thick makeup on her face.
We almost collided, but I managed to step back just in time.
She paused for a moment upon seeing my startled face. Then a slight smile appeared on her sharp red lips.
She turned toward the half-open door and shouted loudly, "Sudhir, looks like you won't have to go mad today… another new client has come to meet you."
After saying this, she flipped her hair and walked past me with lightning speed.
The heavy door opened fully again. Standing before me was a thin, fair, tall young man — Sudhir Verma.
Sudhir was wearing a long red gown. His eyes showed that he had spent many sleepless nights. But the moment he saw me, a spark of light appeared in those tired eyes, and he smiled.
"I was waiting for you."
Saying this, Sudhir quickly extended his hand. I shook it somewhat hesitantly.
While shaking hands, a slight frown appeared on Sudhir's forehead. In a single tone he said,
"Hmm… the last seven-eight months have been very difficult for you. After losing your job at the hospital, you couldn't find any other suitable employment."
My eyes nearly popped out.
"…The notable thing is that you didn't want to trouble the friend who had helped you get the job at Plus Hospital again, so you didn't want to burden him with another favor. That's why you ran around a lot in these seven months but found no way out. Then today, around three in the afternoon…"
He glanced at the watch on his wrist, "…you suddenly remembered that an unusual patient had given you his card almost a year ago."
Hearing all this, I wanted to ask how he knew everything, but as soon as I opened my mouth, he cut me off.
"One second — I know both your questions. First: Who was that colorful girl who just left my house?
Second: How do I know so much about the past few months of your life? …Am I right?"
After almost two seconds of silence, I stammered, "Y…yes. Are you some magician or astrologer?"
He laughed and said, "There's no magic or astrology involved. It's pure science, Watson."
"W…what?"
He said in a disappointed tone, "It seems you've never read Sherlock Holmes stories."
I made a blank face and shook my head "no."
"Come, I'll answer all your questions inside."
Saying this, Sudhir took me inside his house. It was huge and luxurious, with many rooms, but not a single light was on. However, the ACs in all rooms were running perfectly.
I thought to myself: This house is the perfect place for a vampire to live.
We reached a large hall-like room. Light entered only from one window. Right in front of it was a large deep-red sofa. Sudhir jumped onto it in one leap and gestured for me to sit on the cushioned chair opposite.
As soon as I sat down, he said his favorite line:
"So… let's start from the beginning. Ask whatever you want."
"Hmm, my first question is," my words faltered, "how did you know so much about me?"
"What exactly? Tell me clearly."
"…That I've been troubled for the last seven months."
"Oh, that's very simple — from your tie and your missing ring finger."
I looked at my tie and finger; they looked perfectly normal. Seeing my naivety, Sudhir smiled slightly and said,
"I remember that when I used to come for therapy, every two months you would discard your old tie and buy a new one. That strange hobby was part of your habit. But right now, you're wearing a green tie… and I clearly remember that you wore this exact tie on the day of our last session. That session was almost seven to eight months ago.
From this, I guessed that your job had ended seven or eight months ago. And once the job was gone, there was no need for you to wear a tie. So this tie has remained safely with you for seven months."
"…And what did the missing ring tell you?"
"That these seven months have been full of running around for you. At one point, you didn't even have money to send to your family or pay hostel rent, so you sold the expensive ring from your ring finger at a low price.
If that ring had been missing from some other young man's hand, my guess would have been different. But Doctor, I know you well. You are a very decent doctor, and your face proves that you have no addiction to any kind of intoxication. Any other question?"
Sudhir shrugged.
I was stunned. How could a person be so amazingly intelligent? But then I thought maybe it was just a lucky guess, so there was nothing surprising about it.
"What happened? Lost in thought?" Sudhir's deep voice broke my overthinking.
"Oh yes — by the way, who was that woman who left your house just as I arrived?"
"Oh, her… her name is Laila," Sudhir straightened his back. "…She is a local prostitute in this area. She has a guest house on the right side of the street."
"So does that mean…?"
"…Oh no, no. It's not what you're thinking," Sudhir's face turned red. "Laila works as an agent for me. Actually, she knows a lot about many men in this area as well as other areas. Every Sunday afternoon, she comes to my office and gives me information about the men of the city in exchange for 300 rupees. She knows more about half the men in the city — their names, addresses, daily routines, and families — than any man could know about himself in his entire life."
"Okay… but what do you do by collecting so much information?"
Hearing my last question, he took a deep breath, got up from the sofa, and while walking slowly toward the window, said,
"Nine months ago… when someone murdered my dad, I tried very hard to find his killer but couldn't. My mental balance got slightly disturbed after that. Then you, Doctor, helped me become normal again, and I was almost cured. But…"
"…But?"
"Whenever I was alone or free, memories of my dad would surround me again. I still remember, he wanted to tell me something in his last moments, but he died before he could.
His memories tormented me a lot. So, to keep my sharp mind occupied, I started solving complicated cases of ordinary people that the police would immediately reject. And… you may not know, but I am the most famous detective in this small area — and my professional name is Sudhir Nayak."
The moment I heard this name, my mind rang like a bell. My tongue trembled. I thought to myself: So this is the same famous private detective… Sudhir Nayak.
"I only changed my surname," Sudhir sat back on the sofa. "You know, Verma is a very boring name."
"S…so you are Sudhir Nayak?"
"Hmm."
"Sorry, but I cannot work with you," I stood up from the chair and started gathering my things.
"But why?"
"Because behind Sudhir there are all those criminals whom he has helped catch in the last six months. They can eliminate you, i.e., Sudhir, at any time, and like every human, I value my life."
"But understand, no one can do anything to me."
"Why?"
"Because all the local inspectors in this city are my friends… if any killer or criminal escapes from jail, I will be the first to know."
"But I don't want to take the risk to my life… you should find another sober companion."
"Wait, who needs a sober companion?"
"Then…"
"I need an assistant, and I have seen that you have all the qualities to become one."
"But I haven't come to assist anyone, nor do I want to become a detective."
"…How about if I pay you 200 rupees per day?"
The moment I heard about the money, both my ears perked up. Sudhir came toward me and gestured for me to sit back on the chair.
I thought to myself: Okay, this is fine. I'll work with him for ten days, take 2,000 rupees, quit the job, and try to find another job while surviving on that money for two months.
I calmed down a bit, sat back on the chair, and in a hesitant voice said to Sudhir,
"I think… even for a therapist, it is very important to interact with detectives so that he can understand people better."
While I was saying this, Sudhir was nodding his head with a slight smile, as if he had read my intentions.
"So… I am in," I completed my sentence, and we both shook hands on it.
Suddenly, a mechanical sound like a heartbeat came from Sudhir's watch. He quickly pulled his hand back, looked at the watch, and said,
"Ah… it's time for my client to arrive."
"Client?"
"Yes, the same client whom Naina mistakenly thought was you. But the thing is, my client is not a man but a woman, and she is a bit worried about her husband's problem."
"Why?"
"You will know this in five minutes, i.e., exactly at four o'clock," Sudhir looked at his watch again. "…But if the client is very serious about her case, she might arrive four or five minutes before the scheduled time…"
As soon as Sudhir said this, the doorbell rang.
Sudhir said in a special style, "…See?"
He picked up the walkie-talkie kept on the table. It was connected to the speaker outside the door. He said into it,
"Miss Sehgal, the door is open from inside."
"J…yes," I heard a sweet but nervous woman's voice.
"As soon as you reach the hall, please come to the last room on the right side."
After saying this, Sudhir placed the walkie-talkie back on the table and turned his face toward the window.
Then I heard the faint sound of a woman's sandals. The sound gradually grew louder, and then…
"Welcome, Miss Sehgal," Sudhir suddenly turned and greeted his client.
I also stood up from my chair and turned toward the door behind me. I saw a very beautiful woman of medium height, looking like a fairy in a white dress. She was carrying a brown purse, and a very fragrant perfume emanated from her.
"…It seems your case is quite interesting," Sudhir said. "And the incident that happened to you in the last one week has shaken you to the core, so much so that you haven't been able to sleep properly for the last one or two nights."
Hearing this, the woman was shocked. She asked with a jerk, "How do you know all this? Were you following me?"
Sudhir said in a calm, measured voice,
"Your pale face tells everything, and your arriving here before time, along with the dark circles like tunnels under your eyes on your ice-white face — all these small pieces of information confirm my claim that you have been losing sleep for many days. So obviously, you must have been restless about something for a week. Anyway, please don't think too much about it. First, make yourself comfortable."
Sudhir gestured toward the chair next to me. But before sitting, the lady glanced at me nervously. Sudhir then said,
"Don't worry, he is my companion and assistant — Ajay. You can speak openly in front of him."
"I am not his assistant," I said with a slight irritation.
"Yes, I mean… he is trying to become my assistant. Anyway, why are you both standing? Please sit."
Hearing this, the lady and I sat down quietly. The beautiful woman sat on the chair next to me. This was the first time I had seen such a beautiful woman so closely. Otherwise, most of the women who came to my hospital were such that seeing their face once would make anyone hate the entire female race.
The beautiful woman began to speak.
"I… my name is Priya Sehgal…"
"…Yes, I know. You sent me a letter last night with your complete bio-data, and it only mentioned that your husband is in shock about something. Tell me what happened after that… what is the reason that made you take the trouble to come here?"
"I… I am scared, Mr. Nayak. Ever since that unknown man entered my husband's life, my husband has gone into shock and his behavior has completely changed."
As she said this, pearl-like tears welled up in Priya's eyes.
I immediately tried to offer her my handkerchief, but unfortunately, she had already brought her own.
Seeing my actions, the woman was not impressed with me, but Sudhir realized why I was being so overly kind to her.
After a while, the woman wiped her tears and said, sobbing, "Sorry — I should tell you everything from the beginning."
"Hmm — please," Sudhir gestured with his hand.
"I… I and my husband — Rajneesh Sehgal live in Enjoy Villa. By profession, he is currently a bank manager. The thing is, he wasn't getting any job. So, on my recommendation and because of my grandfather's connections, he got the manager's job.
Actually, my grandfather was Major Anand Sehgal, one of the country's freedom fighters. He made a significant contribution in freeing the country by joining the Indian National Army.
Then in 1949, after independence, he started a business, and my dad took that business much further. He had a lot of hopes from his only daughter — me — that I would take the business even further.
But my interest was in the field of art. I wanted to become a painter. But my dad was against it, so to get away from him, I went to London for a few months. While roaming around London, I met my future husband Rajneesh Dixit several times.
Rajneesh and I kept meeting as if we were made for each other. Rajneesh used to be an amazing man. He helped me adjust to London a lot. He knew everything about every thing. He could solve any problem in a snap. Impressed by his style, I decided to marry him. But…"
"…But then your dad came in between this relationship."
"Yes, exactly! He was against Rajneesh. He used to say that Rajneesh was not a good boy for me. He always felt that Rajneesh had married me only for my property."
"Yes, every rich father often feels the same about his only daughter," I commented.
Sudhir said seriously, "By the way, was there any special reason for his suspicion?"
"Yes," Priya said. "Actually, when I married Rajneesh in London, he made me promise something strange. At that time, the promise didn't seem serious to me, but now that same promise has become a chain for me."
"What was that promise?" Sudhir asked.
"His promise was that I would never ask him about his past life, or what he used to do, or what kind of people he associated with. And if I ever asked him such things, he would leave me forever."
"Oh no…" Sudhir said. "You made a mistake by giving such a promise, and that too to a person you met in a country you knew nothing about."
"…That's exactly what my father also tried to explain to me. But in the heat of youth, I ignored everything he said. Anyway, a few days later he passed away."
"Cause of death?"
"Heart attack. Though I shouldn't say it, but after his death, Rajneesh started loving me even more deeply. But this love didn't last long. Just when I felt my life was getting better, that unknown man entered my life and destroyed everything.
That day I was watering the garden when Rajneesh came to me. He gently held my waist and pulled me into his arms.
'Hey… what are you doing? Someone might see,' I said shyly.
'Darling, no one will see us. Have you forgotten that all the servants have the day off today, and to top it all, no one is coming to meet me today either…' As soon as he said this, the doorbell rang.
I smiled loudly, and Rajneesh's face was worth seeing. As soon as his grip loosened, I fixed my saree and went to the door and opened it.
There I saw a very strange man outside. He was a full six feet tall. He had black sunglasses on his fair face. His beard was very black and long, and his clothes were also very odd. Overall, the man did not look like a civilized person at all.
While looking at him, I didn't even have the sense to blink. Then the man said in his heavy, booming voice,
'Does Rajneesh Sehgal live here?'
'Yes, this is his house, but who are you?'
'Can you please call him? Tell him… that an old friend of his from many years has come to meet him.'
'Oh, so you are Rajneesh's friend.'
'Hmm.'
'Okay, I'll call him right away,' I said and called out to Rajneesh.
Rajneesh came running with full enthusiasm. But as soon as Rajneesh saw that bearded man standing next to me, his entire body trembled and streams of sweat began flowing from his face.
'Rajneesh,' I tried to introduce the man to Rajneesh.
'He said he is some old friend of yours.'
But Rajneesh did not pay attention to my words. He seemed lost in some other world.
'Hello Rajneesh,' the man said, raising his hand with a devilish smile. 'Have you forgotten me?'
The man's sharp, masculine voice brought Rajneesh back to his senses. He quickly ran toward me and grabbed my hand as if he wanted to pull me away from that unknown man.
'Y…y you? What are you doing here?' Rajneesh asked, trembling with fear.
The man said, 'I need to talk to you about something important.' Then he glanced at me. 'But in private.'
My husband Rajneesh's face was drenched in sweat, and the paleness of his face showed that he was very scared. He turned toward me and said,
'P…Priya.'
'Yes,' I said.
'I am going to the living room with this guest for some time. Make sure no one disturbs us.'
'Yes, but…?' I was about to ask who that person was.
But before that, Rajneesh hurriedly took the man inside the house. Then both of them had a private conversation in the living room for about twenty-five minutes. During this time, I tried several times to hear their voices from outside the living room, but I couldn't hear even a single word. It felt as if no one was inside.
Exactly after twenty-five minutes, that stranger came out of the living room with a frightening smile and left our house.
But Rajneesh was still sitting inside the living room like a statue. His face had become as hard as stone. I went to him and, seeing his condition, called out to him. But he gave no reply. Seeing this, I gave him a light push on the shoulder.
Then suddenly from his throat came, 'No, I haven't killed anyone!'
After saying these words, he took long, deep breaths and then suddenly fainted.
Miss Priya, after narrating this sad story, said with a tearful face, "Mr. Nayak, I have no idea what happened during that meeting, but my husband Rajneesh has not been the same since that man came. All kinds of strange changes have started happening inside him."
Sudhir leaned forward, taking interest in the case. "What kind of changes?"
"Like — whenever he was alone in the haveli, he would start breaking and smashing things. Sometimes he would take out my photos from my drawer and burn them, sometimes he would suddenly get scared of small things.
His fear kept increasing day by day, to the extent that he started feeling that the servants would kill him. In this frenzy, he permanently dismissed the only maid in our house."
"Any other changes, Miss Sehgal? Any strange incident that forced you to come here?" Sudhir asked.
"Yes, let me tell you about one incident. This happened the day before yesterday morning. Around four o'clock when I woke up, I found that Rajneesh was not in bed. I was startled and quickly went outside. I saw that someone had destroyed our beautiful garden. I panicked and went to the other side of the garden, where I saw Rajneesh. I could only see his back. Rajneesh was doing something near the soil.
When I called out to Rajneesh, he turned around and, without saying anything, just looked at my face and ran inside the house.
I had never seen Rajneesh behave so strangely. Anyway, I went a little further to the place where Rajneesh had been doing something. After walking a short distance, I saw letters made with lines in the soil that Rajneesh had written.
It said: 'Death's shadow always remains around me.'"
"Oh, this seems like…" I exclaimed. "a case of schizophrenia — in this, a person starts harboring strange delusions in his mind, like someone will kill him, someone is after him, or someone has done something wrong to him. By the way, let me tell you that I am a doctor of the mind myself, and I have seen many patients like your husband before."
"Sir, the real issue is not that his mental condition is bad," the panicked young woman said. "The real issue is that he has been behaving like this ever since that guest came to our house. This means there must be some connection between that guest and my husband that he wants to hide from me."
"By the way, what do you want?"
"I want you to find that strange man, because I tried a lot on my own, but I haven't seen that man anywhere in the city again, nor has he come to our house again."
"Miss Priya, it is possible that the man you are talking about is just a pawn, and the person who sent him to your husband may have already eliminated him."
"Yes, that's why I am scared. What if the next victim of such dangerous people is my husband?" Priya said, moving forward quickly. "I just want you to find out what is going on in my husband's mind."
Sudhir said, "Then you have come to the right place. Because in this case, you need both a doctor and a detective. Anyway, just arrange a meeting for me with your husband."
"Yes," Priya said and was about to get up from the chair when she remembered something. "By the way, sir, do you both have time at 7 PM this evening?"
"So soon?"
"Yes, because I have taken leave from the office today, and under my supervision, he will not misbehave with you."
"Okay."
The woman got up from the chair and then remembered, "Sir, and your fees?"
"Fees… see, I take fees only after the case is solved, and then you can give me as much as you want with an open heart."
"Yes."
Saying this, the woman started to leave. I stood up and opened the door for her. She smiled at me and left.
"What a beautiful and rich woman, right?" I said while closing the door.
Sudhir stretched his legs on the sofa, lay down, and while yawning said,
"Beauty, intelligence, youth, and fame are gifts from God; they are taken away with time. Therefore, one should never measure anyone on these scales."
I asked in surprise, "Then on what scale should one measure?"
"On the scale of self-control — how much a person can control himself. And seeing your drooling, it seems that even as a doctor, you lack this very thing."
Hearing this, I quickly closed my open mouth. Just then, the loud ringing of the telephone came from outside the room. I opened the room door again and we both went out together.
Sudhir picked up the telephone and said,
"Hello, this is Sudhir Nayak, who are you?"
"Why Sudhir? A woman just came to your house, right… h…hasn't she?" A harsh voice reached Sudhir's ears from the other side.
"Y…yes, who is speaking?"
"That is not necessary for you to know. Just remember this… remember that if that woman comes to you again or if you go to her house, then consider that you have bid farewell to your life at that very moment."
"Look, if you want to threaten, come and do it face to face," there was sweat on Sudhir's forehead, and I was also quite scared. Sudhir continued, "Because I am not afraid of threats from people who don't even have the courage to stand in front of me."
"Oh, so you want to see my face… okay, the day you see my face will be the last day of your life."
The phone was cut with a click.
"Hey man, who have you messed with? I say, leave this case right here," I said, grabbing Sudhir's shoulder in fear.
But Sudhir said, "This was a fake call."
"Fake call?"
"Hmm. Didn't you notice how falsely the man was speaking, and he kept repeating the same words several times? That means he had read all the words from a piece of paper. And if my guess is not wrong, this man is a citizen of Delhi itself and belongs to a respectable family. Anyway, he won't do anything to us," Sudhir placed his hand on my shoulder. With the other hand, he looked at his watch and said,
"Anyway, we have a full one and a half hours left to meet Mr. Rajneesh. So why not take a short walk till then?"
I said nervously, "You have already received a threat, Sudhir. For now, you should avoid going anywhere unnecessarily."
"Hey, didn't I tell you it was a fake threat?"
"Still…"
"Okay, let's do one thing — let's toss a coin and decide," Sudhir took out a one-rupee coin from his coat. I was also firm on my intentions.
A few minutes later, we were crossing the city's largest pool. From there, Sudhir took me to a library. From that library, Sudhir took a thick book titled 'London Crime Record' and sat there reading it. He flipped through many pages of the book. After reading something astonishing for about twenty minutes, he came to me and said,
"Look, in 1985, on the streets of London, a rich man's purse was snatched and he was killed. And here… on this page, look, in exactly the same way in 1986, a woman's body was found lying dead on the street, and from 1987 to 1990, many such incidents were seen in London."
"Yes, but what is the connection of all this with our case?"
"There is a clear connection… just read what is written below the photo of this dead woman."
I read it. It said something like this:
"Looking at the injuries on the body, experts believe that this is the work of a big gang. That gang collectively loots rich people and then kills them — Oh, so you mean to say that Rajneesh was once part of this gang."
"Look at this," Sudhir turned the page. It was news from 1990, and in one photo, a total of seven people were shown with handcuffs on their hands. One man among them had a big beard visible in the photo.
But since that man was standing at the very back, his face could not be seen clearly. Sudhir suddenly said,
"You know? These gang members were sentenced to twenty years. But two of them escaped from jail just five years later, about six months ago. And where are those two men now? There is no answer. In my opinion, both of them have come to India in search of their companion who had betrayed them and run away."
"You mean Rajneesh?"
"Exactly."
"D…do you still believe that the person who threatened us on the telephone was not some dangerous man?"
"I never say anything without being sure," saying this, Sudhir closed the thick, heavy book with a loud sound.
Just then, a man came near us. He was looking at the 'London Crime Record' book with surprise.
I asked, "What's the matter?"
He said hesitantly, "These days many people are showing interest in this book."
"Oh."
"Just wait a second," Sudhir signaled me. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, about a month ago, I saw this same book in the hands of another man. He was sitting in that corner reading it."
Sudhir thought for a while. "Okay… can you describe that man's appearance?"
"That man was tall. He looked very arrogant and short-tempered."
"Anything else?"
"No, that's all I know."
"Did he have a big beard or anything?"
"No sir, he was completely clean-shaven and wearing glasses. While reading, he kept touching his glasses with his finger again and again."
"Glasses… okay, thank you very much."
We both came out of the library. Now we had only forty minutes left to meet Mr. Rajneesh. So we both headed straight to Gallery Market.
That market was only five minutes away from our client Priya's house.
We stopped there for a while and had dinner together.
During dinner, while drinking coffee, Sudhir suddenly said,
"We are being followed."
"Umm," the morsel got stuck in my throat.
"Just look at the person sitting at the table behind me. He has been following us for the last eight minutes."
I raised my eyes forward and then saw a person at the table behind Sudhir wearing black sunglasses and a black raincoat, reading a book. Even though the book was in his hand, his entire attention was toward Sudhir. Seeing this, I was startled.
"Don't get so scared…" Sudhir said in such a way that no one could know he was moving his lips to speak.
"If he sees the expression on your face, he will immediately know that we have spotted him."
"T…then what should we do?"
"First, stop panicking and quietly act as if you are behaving normally."
"Hmm." I started eating again as I was before, but this time swallowing every morsel was becoming more difficult than before.
Then Sudhir, maintaining his low voice, said, "…Now look carefully and tell me if that person has any kind of weapon. And if he does, instead of moving your tongue, touch the spoon to the plate twice. I will understand."
I saw that in his right hand he had a pistol, which he was holding under the table. I was immediately startled.
But without showing any expression on my face, I signaled twice with the spoon. Sudhir understood the signal and said,
"Don't be afraid. He won't do anything to us in this public place. If he wanted to kill us so quickly, he would have done it on the way long ago. But because of the fear of the public, he has kept us alive."
Suddenly, the pistol-wielding man stood up. He covered his pistol with his coat and hung the coat on his arm. He started walking slowly toward Sudhir.
My heart started pounding. I said to Sudhir,
"Sudhi…r, he is coming toward you."
"Yes, I know. Can you please stay quiet for a second? I don't know why, but his footsteps sound somewhat familiar to me." Sudhir began concentrating hard.
"Sudhir, he is very close to you."
"…"
"Sudhir, he has reached right next to you." But Sudhir was lost in his thoughts. His eyes were closed. Sudhir did not turn back even once. By now, the pistol man had come right next to Sudhir and pointed his pistol at his temple.
"Sudhi….r," I screamed.
Then Sudhir opened his eyes and with a smile said, "Inspector Lokesh, I know it's you."
"How do you always find out?" The unknown person removed the pistol from his temple and put it back in his coat. "This time I didn't even wear my fragrant perfume."
"What?" My heart almost stopped. "You both know each other?"
"Oh, this is Lokesh. The new station officer of this area and my old friend," Sudhir introduced the man to me. He was six feet tall. His beard was very pointed, as if he had shaved it just a few hours ago. Anyway, Inspector Lokesh came and sat on the third chair next to us.
Sudhir continued, "Sorry, my dear friend has a bad habit of joking with people even though he is a policeman."
"Was this a joke? If it had continued a little longer, I would have had a double heart attack."
"Sir, I apologize profusely for that," Lokesh said in such a sweet manner that anyone would forgive him. But I am no one, so I turned my face away in stubbornness.
"By the way, who is this?" he asked.
"Yes, he is my assistant — Pad," Sudhir said.
"Wow, by the way, you didn't tell me how you knew it was me this time."
"It was very simple. I started suspecting from the sound of your heavy footsteps that it was you. But I don't shoot arrows in the dark with my suspicions. So, to confirm my suspicion, I took the help of this small tool."
Sudhir showed us a shining spoon in his hand. Then I understood that Sudhir had not closed his eyes; instead, he had bent his eyes toward the spoon kept on the table and was trying to see who the person standing behind was.
"This is cheating. You used the spoon," Lokesh said, pursing his lips.
"Lokesh, this is not cheating but smartness. And it is always necessary for a detective to take full help of all the tools available to him in the present situation."
"Oh, that's why you have made me your friend," Lokesh said.
"No — Inspector Lokesh, you have misunderstood me," Sudhir hesitated a little. "Okay, by the way, we are quite late now," Sudhir signaled me.
I and Sudhir stood up together from the chairs.
"For whom?" Lokesh also stood up.
"We have to go to Priya Sehgal's haveli. She believes that some dangerous gang will kill her husband."
"What gang?"
"Hmm."
"Strange, about two weeks ago, a young man came to me with almost exactly the same case."
"What? So what did you do?" Sudhir asked in surprise.
"We… posted a watchman with that young man. But…" Lokesh got lost in thought while speaking.
"But…"
"But a few days later, that young man himself became fine again. And till today he is completely alive."
"Do you still remember that young man's name?"
"No, but it must be in my records."
"Okay. By the way, I have many questions to ask you about this, but because of the limit of time, we have to leave now. But please give me the information about that young man on the phone. It is very important for my case."
Saying this, Sudhir and I left from there.
A few minutes after crossing the road, we were inside Priya and Rajneesh Sehgal's haveli. As soon as we arrived, Priya welcomed us and took us toward her husband's room. Then in the corridor, a young man came walking slowly toward us.
Priya introduced us to that young man. He was Rajneesh Sehgal's office boy — Harshit Mathur. Harshit was undoubtedly quite tall, with golden hair, and so handsome that any girl could go crazy for him. Harshit stopped us three and told Miss Sehgal that he had bought a new car and tomorrow he was giving a party at his house to celebrate.
"I will definitely come," Priya accepted Harshit's invitation.
"And… if possible, please bring Sir too."
Then Priya said a little hesitantly, "I can try."
"Okay," saying this, Harshit started to leave quickly. But then Sudhir stopped Harshit and asked him,
"Harshit, you work in Rajneesh's office. So according to you, what was Rajneesh's nature in the office? Was he a bit short-tempered?"
"No," Harshit replied. "He is very professional. He doesn't get angry at anyone without reason, and… before his current condition, not a single day passed in the last five years when he was absent from the office." While saying this, something suddenly came to Rajneesh's mind and he said,
"Oh no! He took an extra day's leave from the office only once. Even I don't remember the reason properly."
Sudhir said, "Okay, no problem."
Saying this, Sudhir bid farewell to Harshit.
I noticed that after meeting the gentleman named Harshit, Sudhir became lost in deep thought.
Anyway, the three of us reached Mr. Sehgal's room.
Sehgal was about five and a half feet tall, with a light beard and mustache on his face. Many wrinkles had also appeared on his face. When we arrived, Sehgal was half-lying on his bed, smoking a cigar.
Some pillows were supporting his back, and right to the side of his bed was a large open window. A lot of cigar smoke was going out through that window.
In the room, Miss Sehgal introduced us to Mr. Rajneesh, and then when she realized that Rajneesh's behavior was better than before, she left us alone with Rajneesh in that room and went away.
"Sir, look, we know that ten years ago you were associated with the Gang of Lineage," Sudhir said. "And now some people from that gang have escaped from jail and are after you — but I promise that there will be no risk to your life."
"Yes, I wish it were so," as Mr. Rajneesh said this, he coughed loudly. Then something flashed in Sudhir's mind.
He suddenly said, "Ajay…"
"Hmm," I said.
Sudhir suddenly turned toward me and said, "I think we should leave now, because Sir's condition is not such that he can tell us anything."
Just then Rajneesh coughed again, and only ten minutes after entering their house, we were returning from their home. Throughout the way, Sudhir's face looked as if he had received some very important information from Rajneesh's coughing. But despite my repeated asking, Sudhir did not tell me anything.
Then he said,
"Okay, how did you find the office boy Harshit?"
"Harsh… look, don't think I'm gay, but Harshit was quite handsome in appearance."
"And Priya?"
"She was also excellent. But…"
"And Rajneesh?"
"R…Rajneesh. He looked quite older than Priya, but why are you suddenly asking all this? You don't give priority to beauty."
"Look, Harshit, even though he is an office boy, buys a new car. Harshit's height is also six feet like that unknown guest, and didn't you notice how sweetly Priya was talking to Harshit?"
I thought for a while and said, "Oh, I understand. You mean to say that there is a relationship between Harshit and Priya, and that's why Priya wants to remove her husband by scaring him."
"Yes, that is possible. Anyway, there are many such medicines available in the market. If given regularly, they can make a person mad and create any kind of delusion in his mind."
"Yes — perhaps Priya has been feeding her husband the same delusion-creating medicine for many months, and later Harshit came to their house disguised as that unknown man whom Rajneesh knew from years ago."
Hearing my words, Sudhir thought for a few moments and said, "Yes, but this puzzle is not that easy! Now the question arises: if Priya wanted to scare and kill her husband, then why did she ask us for help to save her husband's life?"
"Sudhir, the answer to this is very simple. Priya wants us to keep searching for the real killer and not suspect her."
"No, there is some other reason behind it. Anyway, first of all I have to find the person who read that London crime book in the library a month ago," saying this, Sudhir ran and opened the house door, and we both entered the house.
"But Sudhir," I asked. "Why aren't you answering one of my questions?"
"Which question?"
"You suddenly realized something from Mr. Sehgal's coughing and didn't ask him any further questions, even though you had prepared a big list of questions to ask him."
Sudhir sat down facing the window and said, "…I didn't realize it from his coughing, but from the language he spoke, I learned one special thing."
"And what is that special thing?"
Sudhir turned and looked at me.
"Rajneesh himself is the person who threatened us on the phone during the afternoon to stay away from him."
8.
"W…what?" I said, startled.
"Hmm… and that's why Rajneesh was speaking in a fake voice when we met him. No doubt, he also tried to speak in a fake manner on the phone. But no ordinary person except a skilled or talented actor can completely change his real voice, and here Rajneesh failed. Then, to avoid getting exposed, Rajneesh also made fake coughing sounds twice."
I was stunned. This case was taking new turns every moment. And the needle of suspicion was pointing at almost everyone.
Just then, another call came on Sudhir's phone. But this time it was from Inspector Lokesh.
"Yes, tell me," Sudhir said on the phone.
"Sudhir, you had asked me for the details of that man this evening who had filed a complaint with me about his death threat."
"Yes, what happened to him?"
"I was urgently called to the police station today, so I thought I'd finish your work today itself. So…" the sound of Lokesh flipping files came. "His name is Anukool Sinha and he lives at 65, Brijnath Road, Downhill Villa. There is a whole haveli in his name."
"Okay," Sudhir wrote down his address on a piece of paper. "Thank you very much."
"See, Sudhir, the police are not as lazy as you detectives think," Inspector Lokesh boasted.
"Hmm, I have to admit," Sudhir smiled and then immediately hung up the phone. At eleven o'clock at night, he started getting ready to go somewhere.
"Hey, where are you going so late at night suddenly?" I asked. "Do you even realize it's eleven o'clock at night?"
While wearing his overcoat, he said, "I am going to confirm my suspicion, and I may be late in returning."
Saying just this, he left the house in my care for the night and went out.
Not just the night — he didn't return home even by afternoon. Then at four o'clock in the evening, the doorbell rang.
When I opened the door, an old beggar was standing there. His back was quite bent, and he looked so dirty that it was difficult to look at his face.
"Does someone named Sudhir Sharma live here?" he said in his pleading voice.
"Yes, this is his house. But who are you?"
"He sent me for a special task," saying this, the old beggar entered the house along with his dirty clothes, and I couldn't even stop him.
He quietly went to Sudhir's dining room and sat on the sofa.
I said to him, "You cannot enter someone's house like this. At least tell me who you are? And what is your work with Sudhir?"
Then the man took out a white envelope from his pocket and, shaking his hand, gestured to open it.
When I opened the envelope and looked inside, there were some photographs. But they were not ordinary photographs.
Rather, in those photographs was a man with glasses and a flat face — exactly the kind the man in the library had described.
I thought for a moment: Why has this old man come to give me these photos? Then, while looking at these photos:
"This is the same man who lives in Downhill Villa on Brijnath Road — Anukool Sinha," I realized. This was Sudhir's voice.
I looked around in surprise, and then I realized that the beggar sitting in front of me was Sudhir Nayak himself.
Sudhir was unrecognizable because of the black color, white beard, shaved head, and large rabbit-like fake teeth.
"S…Sudhir, is that you?" I said, recognizing him.
Sudhir removed his makeup and apologized for startling me like this.
I asked, "But where have you been all this time?"
"I went to Anukool's villa in the disguise of a beggar. And look what Anukool did to me," Sudhir pointed to his torn dirty clothes. While removing those clothes, he continued,
"Anukool is a very stubborn, short-tempered, and obstinate person. I made acquaintance with Anukool's maid and cleverly inquired about Anukool from her. She told me that Anukool gets irritated over small things. And about ten months ago, when his wife divorced him, his nature became even more short-tempered. About a month ago, Anukool received some threatening letters and became quite worried. He even went to the police and filed a complaint about it. But a few days after the threats, the killer murdered his father and ran away."
"Father's?" I said.
"Yes, father's… Anukool's father was a big government officer. He had property worth five crore in total. Anyway, on the evening of his death, Anukool was busy playing cards at his friends' house."
"What happened next?"
"I was trying to find out a lot more from the maid, but meanwhile Anukool came out of the house into the garden. Seeing a beggar in his garden, Anukool turned red with anger. He immediately shouted at his maid and had me beaten and thrown out."
"…And you did nothing?"
Sudhir said while removing his fake teeth, "When the time comes, I will answer a brick with a stone. But at that time, being in a beggar's disguise, I was bound not to raise my hands and feet on him."
"Oh… so that means you went out last night to find out so much about Anukool."
"Certainly."
"And what was the benefit of this?"
While wearing new clothes, Sudhir said, "You know, Ajay, every case is solved twice by a detective — once in his mind and the second time in reality. And just by going there, this case has been solved 99 percent."
"How?"
"You will know that tonight."
I said with disappointment, "You always say this."
"Hey, just have a little more patience." By now Sudhir had worn his new clean clothes. "By the way, today Miss Priya's secretary Harshit is keeping a party at his house, right?"
"Hmm… so?"
"…If my guess is correct, today Priya will call us and give some excuse why she cannot come to the party. Especially headache, leg pain, or stomach pain."
As soon as Sudhir said this, the landline phone rang. We both quickly went toward the phone. Sudhir immediately picked it up, and Priya was on the other side.
"Hello — this is Priya speaking."
"Yes, Priya ji, tell me," Sudhir said.
"Look, I won't be able to come to the party today."
"Why?" A smile appeared on Sudhir's face.
"I suddenly got a headache. And I don't know why, but I am feeling dizzy. You had told me that if such a thing happens, I should inform you as soon as possible."
I was surprised at how quickly Sudhir's words were proving true. Then Sudhir looked at me and signaled me to leave from there. He wanted to talk to Priya alone.
Anyway, I couldn't hear their conversation. After just two minutes, Sudhir placed the phone receiver down.
Sudhir came back into the room where I was already present. I wanted to ask Sudhir many questions at once. Like:
What is Anukool Sinha's connection with this case?
How did Sudhir know beforehand about Priya's sudden excuse of feeling dizzy?
Who was that unknown man who sowed the seed of fear in Mr. Rajneesh's mind and then disappeared forever?
And if Rajneesh is scared, then why did he threaten us on the phone to stay away from this case?
Many such questions were running in my mind.
But before I could ask anything, Sudhir said, "Ajay, have a little patience. I promise that before midnight tonight, you will have answers to all your questions."
"…"
"And yes, right now a special guest is coming to meet us."
"Who?"
"Reetika Sharma."
"Now who is this?"
"Rajneesh's house maid, whom Rajneesh had dismissed from work ten days ago."
"But why did you call her?"
"You will understand as soon as she arrives." Sudhir's mechanical watch rang again. "Oh, our meeting with her is going to happen in just three minutes."
Just one minute later, the room door opened, and as soon as the door opened, what I saw left me utterly astonished. I saw that Reetika, Priya's maid, had a face that matched almost seventy-five percent with her mistress Priya. From a distance, that woman looked exactly like Priya.
Chapter 7
"Come — Madam," Sudhir welcomed the maid and gave her a proper place to sit. Sudhir understood from the expression on my face what I was thinking, but he chose to ignore me for some time.
Anyway, the maid sat like a civilized woman and said in a cheerful manner, "So sir, what did you want to know by meeting me?"
Sudhir stood like me and said, "You were dismissed from your job by your mistress Priya ten days ago, right?"
The smile on the maid's face disappeared. She became serious and said, "No sir, not her, but that rude man got me dismissed from the job."
"A… you mean Rajneesh."
"Yes, he is a cheap kind of man — he only pretends to be good in front of Madam. Otherwise, in reality, he has tried to force himself on me twice. I had also complained to Madam about his behavior, but Madam is so blind in his love that she cannot tolerate even a single word against him."
"Okay, so that's the matter. By the way, why were you suddenly dismissed from the job?"
"Sir, you will not believe it!"
"You tell me."
"Actually, for the last one month, that cheap man had been finding faults in my work forcibly so that I would get angry and leave the job. But that didn't happen, so in anger, that man started doing such drama as if he was afraid for his life from the servants in his house. The servants would kill him, and therefore ten days ago, Madam Priya ji had all the servants removed from the house."
Hearing the story from Priya's maid's perspective, both I and Sudhir were stunned for a moment. But then a smile appeared on Sudhir's lips again, and after thanking the maid, he respectfully bid her farewell.
But like all of you, I still couldn't understand anything about what was going on here. But Sudhir kept assuring me again and again that by night I would know everything.
Time passed slowly, and as soon as the clock struck seven, Sudhir called Inspector Lokesh on the telephone, talked to him for some time, and then by half past seven we reached Rajneesh Sehgal's bungalow. The bungalow's door was closed from outside. But Sudhir had a duplicate key to that door in his hand.
We both quietly entered the bungalow's garden. At that time, it felt as if there was no one in the bungalow. Not even Miss Priya.
Sudhir somehow forcibly took me and opened the large window of Rajneesh's room and took me inside. Needless to say, the window was already open from inside.
While entering the room, in the faint light coming from the window, I could only see that Priya ji was sleeping on the bed in front, covered with a light-colored sheet.
Sudhir quickly took me to one corner of that room. There was no light at all in that corner. We both waited there quietly for a total of forty minutes without making any noise or commotion. There was so much silence that when I put my hand in my pocket, even its sound could be heard loudly.
Then after some time, an unknown shadow slowly opened the glass window and entered inside. Seeing a large dagger in that shadow's hand, my body started trembling. But then Sudhir placed his hand on my shoulder and signaled me to stay still.
Meanwhile, that shadow carefully stepped toward the bed.
Priya Sehgal was sleeping on the bed. That shadow struck not one but three-four continuous blows with his sharp dagger on her body.
But suddenly he stopped.
He panicked.
And his feet slipped two steps backward. The killer realized that despite striking the dagger so many times, not a single drop of blood had flowed from the body.
Then suddenly Sudhir pressed the button on the switchboard in the corner, causing the entire room to be flooded with light all at once. Then my eyes were dazzled. When I saw the face of that killer holding the dagger in his hands, he was a flat-faced person drenched in sweat. Seeing this, I racked my memory, and then I remembered that this was the same person — Anukool Sinha — whose photo Sudhir had shown me in the morning.
I was greatly surprised. Why would Anukool, who had no connection whatsoever with this case, suddenly come to kill Priya Mehra?
The murderer alias Anukool was first surprised upon seeing us, and the second time he was surprised when he saw that what he had slashed with the dagger was not Priya Sehgal but a pile of pillows.
The pillows had been wrapped over the sheet in such a way that they looked like a living person.
Suddenly Sudhir came to the middle of the room, clapped for Anukool, and said,
"The time to answer a brick with a stone has come. Now get ready to go to jail."
Anukool paused for a few moments and said,
"Jail? Never." Anukool advanced toward Sudhir with his dagger. By this moment I was quite scared, but Sudhir firmly caught Anukool's dagger hand with such force that the dagger slipped from Anukool's hand and fell on the floor. On Sudhir's instruction, I immediately picked up that seven-inch dagger.
Then the room's door was broken with a loud push, and from that door entered Inspector Lokesh. Along with Lokesh came a havaldar, a sepoy, and two other officers. Besides them, there was a scared and trembling Priya Sehgal wrapped in a white gown.
Seeing Priya alive, Anukool freed his hand and ran toward the window to escape. But he was caught by the police at the right time, and his face was pressed and shown to Priya. Then:
"Who is this? I have never seen him in my life," Priya said hesitantly while looking at the person. But that person's face was completely unfamiliar to Priya.
"Perhaps you have seen him before?" Inspector Lokesh said.
"No, I can swear that I have not seen this man's face even in my dreams," Priya said again.
"Then why did he come to kill you?"
"Yes, that is my question too," I asked.
Sudhir said, "All of you please have patience… I am going to lift the curtain from all the mysteries in just a little while, but first we have to take this gentleman to his right place without any delay."
Saying this, Sudhir pointed with his right hand toward the boiling-with-anger Anukool. Looking at Anukool, it seemed as if even if his bonds were loosened for a moment, he would finish Sudhir right then.
While going to jail, as soon as Anukool passed near Sudhir, he threatened him that he would not spare him. But such threats were a daily matter for Sudhir.
Then Sudhir went near the telephone kept in the room and dialed someone's number. He spoke on the call for only 5 seconds and then quickly hung up and kept the phone down.
"I know, Priya ji," Sudhir put his hand in his pocket. "Many questions must be running in your mind, and… Inspector Lokesh, you too must be thinking what is going on here, and Ajay, you must be completely confused about what is happening here."
I nodded in agreement, "Yes, I am very confused. After all, why would a person who had no benefit in killing Miss Priya come to harm her?"
Sudhir put his hand inside his coat and said, "Both of you, don't think too much. As I told you, I will answer all your questions. But before that, let's have a glass of cold coffee."
***
Sudhir finished the entire glass of cold coffee in one gulp without breathing. Meanwhile, Inspector Lokesh, Priya, and I sat on the sofa waiting for Sudhir to speak. Sudhir placed the empty glass on the table after finishing the coffee, rubbed both his hands together, and said,
"So… let's start from the beginning. First of all, Miss Priya, please tell Inspector Lokesh what case you had brought to me."
Priya, a little hesitantly, turned her face toward the inspector and said, "Actually, I had a suspicion that someone would kill my husband."
"…And why did you have such a suspicion?" Sudhir interrupted. "Was there any special reason?"
"Yes, his behavior suddenly started changing. He started talking nonsense."
"But Sudhir," I asked, "what is the connection of all this with Anukool? Why did he come to kill Priya?"
"Come, to answer this, let me tell you three a story," Sudhir stood up from the sofa. "So the story begins with two different individuals — both living in two different cities — associating with different kinds of people. But one incident makes them one."
"What is that?" Lokesh asked in surprise.
"A train journey — during the train journey, both meet each other and discuss the thorns in their lives, i.e., their troubles. Now, to make this story more exciting, let's give names to both characters.
So the first character's name is Anukool Sinha. Poor Anukool is very angry with his rich, seventy-year-old father because his father has become irritable with age and has also stopped giving him unnecessary money. Now Anukool had started fearing that one day his father would disinherit him. Therefore, Anukool wanted to get his father killed. But if he did so, the police would easily catch him.
Now our second character had exactly the same problem. The poor man wanted to kill his wife to loot her ancestral property. But because of the fear of the law, he could not do so."
"Wait a second," Priya understood something. "Are you trying to say that the stranger Anukool met on the train was… my husband?"
'Yes, unfortunately, you have guessed absolutely correctly."
Priya's face bowed down.
Sudhir continued speaking. "Anyway, during the two-day journey, the two strangers met many times, talked a lot, learned about each other's problems and each other's enemies, and then together made a plan to do an exchange murder."
"Exchange murder…" I said. "That is, the one in which one person kills the other's enemy in exchange for the other killing his own enemy."
"Yes, exactly that, and in such murders, the chances of getting caught become very low. Because at the time when the killer's partner is murdering their enemy, the real killer is present in front of ten people, gathering proof of his presence.
Anyway, Anukool and Rajneesh made this plan during the train journey. But the difficulty was that this murder should not look like 'contract killing' either.
It should not look at all as if Anukool and Rajneesh had hired or bought another man to kill their enemies. So now what did these two do?"
Then Lokesh, thinking, said, "…In such a situation, both of them prepared a false story to mislead the police."
"Yes, exactly! One evening on the train, Anukool remembered that a couple of days ago he had read a small book about London crime in the library. And since Anukool and Rajneesh had both been to London several times before, both planned to give their murder a new angle.
After the train journey, when Anukool and Rajneesh were about to separate, they swore that they would not tell anyone about each other till their last breath, and after the work was done, neither of them would even see each other's face.
Anyway, both separated from each other, and then five days later, Rajneesh took one day's leave from his office. Rajneesh's colleagues thought that he had become tired during the long train journey, so perhaps he wanted to take leave. But the truth was that Rajneesh changed his disguise that day and went to Bataudi city.
There he murdered Anukool's father — Rajesh — and then caught the return train and came back.
On the evening when Rajneesh was murdering Rajesh, Anukool was busy quarreling with people at the club. Later, those same club people gave testimony to the police about Anukool's presence, and thus the first perfect murder was successful.
Now the second victim of this pair became Miss Priya Sehgal."
Hearing this, Priya Sehgal raised her head to listen carefully to Sudhir's words. Priya's face was filled with tears.
"…So for Priya's murder," Sudhir said, "first of all, Anukool came to Priya's house in the afternoon disguised with a fake beard and appearance. Here, in the guise of that strange guest, Anukool and Rajneesh performed such a drama in front of Priya that she felt that man was some old enemy of Rajneesh.
Actually, Anukool had only two objectives behind coming to Rajneesh's house.
First, he wanted to see Priya's face so that he would not make any mistake while killing Priya.
And second, he wanted to become familiar with the house where he was going to kill Priya.
Anyway, that day, by doing the drama, Anukool sowed the seed of suspicion in Priya's mind and left. After that, the rest of the work was done by Rajneesh himself…"
In between, Priya said, "You… you mean to say that the fear visible on Rajneesh's face was all his acting?"
"Yes, Rajneesh did that acting so that you would go to the police and ask for help, and after your murder, the police would feel that the real target of the killer was not you but Rajneesh. But due to coincidence, Rajneesh survived."
Then Inspector Lokesh stood up from the sofa and said, "Rajneesh is the murderer of Mr. Rajesh, so I should immediately leave from here to arrest him."
"No sir, there is no need for that, Inspector," Sudhir said.
"Why?"
"Because as soon as we took Anukool into custody, exactly one minute later, I called Rajneesh and gave him the news that his wife, i.e., you," Sudhir pointed toward Priya, "…has been killed. She has been slashed to death with a dagger by someone. And if my guess is correct, Rajneesh will come running and appear before us in just a few seconds."
Then the sound of someone running loudly came from outside the room, and just as Sudhir had said,
"Priya!" Rajneesh, drenched in sweat, reached the room door. "No, you cannot die."
Suddenly, as soon as Rajneesh entered the room, he saw Priya sitting alive on the sofa, and seeing this, Rajneesh became so silent as if someone had taped his mouth shut.
Then Sudhir clapped for Rajneesh and said, "We were all waiting for this entrance of yours, but unfortunately, it is of no use now."
Seeing Sudhir and the atmosphere of the room, it didn't take Rajneesh long to understand that he was caught from all sides. Therefore, Rajneesh did not try to run away like an ordinary criminal.
Instead, he came straight inside the room. For a moment, he made eye contact with his wife. There were only tears in his wife's eyes. Then he went straight and sat on the empty sofa opposite Sudhir, taking a long breath.
"I knew beforehand that you were a danger to me," he said, panting.
Sudhir said, "That's why you threatened me on my landline so that I would stay away from this case."
"Yes, I had no idea that Priya would go to you to ask for help to save me. My plan was that after getting Priya killed, I would cry in front of the police and say that the killer who came to kill Priya had come to kill me. But I was at the party, and Priya was sleeping in my room. Because of which he killed Priya instead of me and left."
"…Then for a few days you would continue the drama of being scared, and later you would take over Priya's entire property."
"Exactly."
As soon as Rajneesh said this, Priya angrily banged her hand on the table. Obviously, the man for whose life Priya was running around so much was himself bent on killing her.
Sudhir shifted his attention from Priya and, putting his hand inside his pocket, took out a small cutting from a newspaper. The newspaper was from 1990, and it had a photo and news of a rich girl named Sophie lying dead on the streets of London. Seeing this, Rajneesh stood up startled.
And then Sudhir said, "I have dug out your entire horoscope. Now will you tell the whole truth yourself or should I tell it?"
Rajneesh sat back on the sofa, lowering his head.
"You yourself murdered that rich woman Sophie from London, right?" Sudhir said.
"Yes…" Rajneesh confessed. "Twenty years ago, I was a con-artist in England."
As soon as Rajneesh said this, everyone in the room — Lokesh, me, and Priya — were shocked.
Rajneesh continued.
"I used to befriend rich women and loot them. That was my profession. The last one I looted was Sophie. Sophie had a very delicate mental state. When she found out that I was cheating her, she threatened to go to court against me. Sophie had some evidence that could have implicated me. So I called Sophie to the park at seven in the evening on the pretext of a meeting.
And on the way, I murdered her and ran away from there. I thought now there was no danger to me. I could continue looting rich women in England.
But later I found out that at the time I murdered Sophie, a girl was passing through the same park and she had clearly seen me killing Sophie. Because of her testimony, the police reached my house to arrest me, but I fooled the police and escaped from there.
The police were searching for me all over London. In such a situation, I could not hide by changing my identity for long.
Therefore, it became extremely necessary for me to go to another country. I hid in England for many days with a fake face and disguise. I also got a passport made in my fake name — Rajneesh — and now I needed to find a girl who had come to England from another country.
Then one day I came to know about Priya. Priya was in London at that time. I secretly found out everything about Priya — where she went, what she ate, what her preferences were, and what kind of books she read.
After finding out all this, I also started deliberately going to the same places where Priya used to go. I didn't say anything to Priya, nor did she say anything to me. Both of us used to pass in front of each other at the same place, at the same time, every day.
For three days, Priya ignored me.
But then our eyes started fighting for some time. That is, she had started noticing me.
Anyway, after a week, as I had thought, my patience bore fruit.
'What a coincidence, isn't it?' Priya came to me and said. 'How similar our tastes are?'
'How?' I pretended as if I knew nothing.
'We have both been going to the same gym for many weeks. I saw you three days ago at my favorite singer's seminar too, and today in this library, the book you are holding in your hand — I have been looking for that book for the last one week.'
'Oh, then you are the one who deserves to read it first,' I said in such a way and gave Priya that book. Poor Priya was thinking that this was God's indication. God was making us meet again and again on some pretext. But the naive girl did not know that all this was part of my plan.
Now that Priya had become acquainted with me, the rest of the work was only a week's job for me. I took Priya for lunch, read her favorite book to her, and made her feel like a complete queen.
Overall, I created such an image in front of Priya that even if the whole world screamed and told her 'that I am a murderer,' Priya would not believe it even a bit.
Just one week after our meeting, Priya decided that we both should get married. The poor girl was very naive. I convinced Priya that we should get married in India, and Priya again listened to me.
Anyway, on this pretext, I came to India from England with my fake identity.
But after reaching India, when Priya's old crazy father came to know about our relationship, that old man became against making me his son-in-law.
That clever old man started explaining to his daughter,
'Daughter, the person you don't know properly, the man you met only a week ago, and that too with the condition that the man will not tell you anything about his past life. How can you spend your life with such a man?'
'I don't know anything, Daddy,' Priya took my side. 'I love Rajneesh and will stay with him for life.'
On Priya saying this, the old man got very angry and, shouting, looked at me angrily and said,
'I know such young men very well. These people trap rich girls in their love and then loot them and leave.'
Hearing these words from the old man, my mind wanted to finish him right there. This was the first time someone had made such an accurate guess about me. But I knew that I had blinded Priya with my love. Now no advice was going to have any effect on her.
Anyway, a few days later, Priya's crazy father himself died of a heart attack. That is, I did not have to make any effort to remove one thorn from the path.
After the thorn removed itself from the path, my mind always wanted to kill Priya. But patience was the most important link in my work.
If I had killed Priya the very next year after marriage, all suspicion would have gone straight to me. Therefore, for five years after marriage, I continued the drama of being a loving husband.
During this time, I came to know that many men were going to jail even after ten-ten years of marriage by killing their wives. That is, now the police suspect the husband first as soon as the wife is murdered, and my method of murder had become very old.
Therefore, I started looking for a new arrangement to kill my wife so that even after Priya's murder, no one would suspect me. Then one day, while returning to Delhi on work, I met Anukool Sinha on the train.
During the journey itself, I came to know that he was a very short-tempered person, and I was looking for exactly such a man. Because short-tempered men definitely have at least one enemy.
I used the same tactic on the train to befriend Anukool that I had used when I met Priya. Then we talked a lot till night, and in the darkness of the night, he told me about the thorn in his path — which was his father — Rajesh Sinha.
Then I told him about 'exchange murder,' and in this way, we both agreed on the idea of killing each other's enemies.
My real plan was to get my wife killed first. But Anukool was a very stubborn and obstinate person. He said to me,
'No, first you come to my house and kill my father, only then I will kill your wife.'
'Okay,' I had to agree forcibly. 'But how does your father look?'
'He lives alone in the house and cannot even walk because of old age. It will be very easy for you to recognize him.'
'Okay, and how will you recognize my wife? Because many times my maid comes and goes in my house. Her appearance is exactly like my wife. It is possible that you might mistakenly kill her instead of my wife. The whole plan will be ruined.'
'Then dismiss that maid from the job…'
'I will try, but that maid is very stubborn like you, and she also has the support of my wife. By the way, do you have any idea that would make my reason for dismissing her from the job look completely natural?'
'No…' As soon as he said this, something came to Anukool's mind. 'Oh yes, a few days ago I read a book in the library. It was written in it that two men from some mafia group escaped from an English jail just one or two months ago — and coincidentally, when they were jailed, you were also in England at that time.'
'What?'
'Yes, I will come to your house pretending to be a prisoner who has been released from that same jail. With this excuse, I will see your house and your wife's face and appearance, and then you perform a drama in front of your wife and get all the servants dismissed.'
I found this idea very strange at first. But then I thought that by adding this angle to the murder, the police would not consider me as my wife's killer. On the contrary, the police would be busy searching for that man who had come to my house. And since that man would not exist in the real world, where would the police find him?
Anyway, we both agreed on this plan.
But I clearly explained to Anukool that he should not use this plan in his own murder. Because if the police found even a little similarity in both our stories, both could get caught. But Anukool had never listened to anyone till date.
Anukool went to the police and lied that someone was following him and perhaps wanted to kill him. Anyway, what happened after this? You all already know the whole story."
Rajneesh stood up from the sofa and, taking a deep breath, said,
"I just want to say that I realized very soon that Anukool would become the next thorn in my path. Therefore, as soon as Anukool finished Priya, the very next day I would have finished Anukool too. Because it is foolishness to trust such a man who cannot even control his emotions. Such a foolish man would have revealed our real world to everyone sooner or later in anger."
Sudhir said, "And now because we have caught him red-handed, he will not only go to jail himself but will also testify against you in court."
"Surely, that is what I regret. That…" Before Rajneesh could complete his sentence, a hard slap landed on his cheek.
This slap was given by Rajneesh's wife Priya. Priya's face had turned red from crying.
"I trusted you so much! I went against my dad only for you."
Rajneesh said with complete shamelessness, "Every girl does this. You haven't done anything new." There was not even the slightest feeling of guilt on his face. He was a completely emotionless person.
Poor Priya went away sobbing, and no frown appeared on Rajneesh's face. I had never seen such a hard-hearted person in my entire life.
After a while, Inspector Lokesh arrested Rajneesh and took him away. Priya was still sitting on the sofa with her head down, crying.
Then I went to Priya and gave her my handkerchief. This time my intention was not wrong. I was genuinely feeling very bad for Priya.
Then Sudhir came to Priya and, while patting her back, said,
"Please don't be sad. Life is still quite long, and anyway, what is the use of shedding tears for a person who doesn't care whether you exist or not."
Hearing this, Priya's sobbing stopped, and after a while, she raised her eyes and looked at us. The three of us stood together.
Then Sudhir placed his hand on Priya's shoulder and said, "Many times, God tells us the reality of people through the tongue of elders. But even after knowing the truth, we deny that reality."
Saying just this, Sudhir wore his cap, and then both of us took the fees from Priya's house and left from there.
The journey was long. Therefore, to go home, we both took a taxi.
We both didn't speak for almost a minute. Then
"After all, how?" I couldn't stop myself from saying this. "After all, how? You knew everything beforehand? How did you know that Priya would not be able to come to the party this evening? And how did you know that Anukool would come to Rajneesh's house tonight to kill Priya?"
Hearing my questions, Sudhir thought for a while and then said,
"Come, I will tell you everything from the beginning. When Priya came to us with Rajneesh's case, till then my view of the case was also that some old enemy of Rajneesh wanted to kill him and Rajneesh was scared of him.
But my perspective of looking at this case changed when we met Inspector Lokesh at the hotel and Lokesh told us that almost the same case had come to him a month ago.
And in that case, the person who was in danger of death did not die. Instead, the person who owned the entire property of the house was murdered. It was from here that I started seeing connections between Miss Priya's case and Anukool's case.
And my suspicion was confirmed when I called Rajneesh's office boy home and inquired about the day Rajneesh had taken leave from the office. Do you know, Rajneesh's leave day and Mr. Rajesh's murder day are the same — the 27th. Because on that day, Rajneesh had taken leave and gone to Bataudi city to murder Mr. Rajesh."
I asked, "And how did you find out that Priya's health would suddenly deteriorate?"
"…No, Priya's health had not deteriorated."
"Then?"
"She had been given drugs."
"Drugs."
"Yes, that drug was given by her husband Rajneesh so that Priya's health would worsen and she would refuse to go to the party with Rajneesh. Then Rajneesh would pretend to be a good-ideal husband in front of Priya, leave her sleeping in his bed, and leave. And at night, Rajneesh's partner, i.e., Anukool, would enter through the window and kill Priya."
"And… how were you so sure that Rajneesh would choose today itself to kill his wife?"
"Simple. Rajneesh always had the habit that whenever he did something, he would make it look as if he himself was not doing it. Now, if such a shrewd-minded man had to choose one day to murder his wife, he would choose the same day when some outsider would call him to his house. That is, the day of the office boy's house party."
"Just one last question… what did you talk to Priya on the phone call?"
"Ah… when Priya told me that her health had suddenly started deteriorating, I asked Priya only three questions.
First question: Did Rajneesh leave her in his own room to rest?
Second question: Did Rajneesh leave the room's window open?
And third, the most important question: Was Rajneesh behaving very nicely with her?
Then I got 'yes' as the answer to all three of my questions, and I immediately understood Rajneesh's plan.
Then I gave Priya only one small suggestion — that she should immediately leave Rajneesh's room, and while leaving, arrange pillows on Rajneesh's bed in such a way that it looked as if someone was sleeping there. So Priya acted on my suggestion, and in this way, the killer was caught red-handed."
Hearing Sudhir's words, I could not stop myself from clapping for him.
Then the taxi suddenly stopped, and after paying the taxi fare, we both started walking toward Sudhir's house. Suddenly Sudhir stopped me and asked,
"So what is the plan? Do you want to live the same boring life every day like a doctor, or do you want to see the world by staying with me?"
Sudhir was waiting for my answer. Meanwhile, I was unable to decide.
Then I said,
"I still have seven days left to think." Saying this, I ran and entered Sudhir's house, and Sudhir ran after me shouting. Sudhir knew that I was greedy for money and that I would take any decision only after spending ten days with him.