A night in Gail’s

Chapter 3

Miles away, out in the suburbs, Sreedevi couldn’t believe her eyes. She read the paper once again. Yes!! It is the same. A sob rose from her. She missed her husband. He was her Knight in shining armor, her prince charming. He came to her at a time when all hope was lost and rescued her from that hell hole she lived. He was her God! He is her God. Thinking back to her life at the village, she shuddered at the taunts and torture she had to endure from her mother. She always wondered if she was adopted. No mother can be this cruel to her child. She gave herself a mental shake to clear her head.

“Enough of it !! “ She had so much happy memories to think about.

Theirs was an arranged marriage. The sole attraction that her parents saw in this alliance was that Vinay’s family demanded no dowry. She got lucky, she got a loving husband who loved her and treated her like she was his queen. None of her wishes was thwarted. What she desired, she got. As was her desire, he bought a cozy little cottage in the outskirts of the city. They had a big garden where she spent hours, a swing in the porch to spent lazy evenings. Vinay’s job sent him away on long tours. But that was okay. The reunion was that much sweeter. He always bought back something special for her. Being from a small village, with just high school education to her name, the world Vinay created for Sreedevi was her heaven.  She used to pinch herself to ensure that she is not dreaming.

But Alas!!! The dream was shattered. It was just a month ago that she attended her husband’s funeral. She was still unsure of what happened. She was weeding her garden when the phone rang. It was the police. They had requested her come to the LiveCare hospital. They had found a brutally murdered body under the bridge two days ago and assumed that it might be Vinay. She was brought here to confirm their assumption. He had carried no identification with him when the police found him. His laptop, phone, wallet, credit cards, wedding ring everything was stolen. With no clue to trace his whereabouts, the police were about to bury him as an anonymous body. It was then that they recovered an abandoned car nearby and the car was registered in Vinay’s name. That’s how they contacted Sreedevi and on further verification, they confirmed that the body was indeed Vinay’s. Since all of his valuables were missing, Police were of the opinion that he might have got killed when he was being robbed and a case was registered under the same. All the police investigation was progressing in that direction. All this was gibberish to her. Only thing registered in her mind after that fateful phone call was that her Vinay is no more!!  Her perfect world came tumbling down so fast. She was so overwhelmed by all of it that she failed to comprehend the impact of all this. She walked around like a zombie for weeks. Her parents gave her little comfort and were reluctant to take her home. She found solace in closing herself in the cottage with her husband’s memories.

Today was one such day. Between crying over her lost life and reminiscing those happy memories she spent with her husband, she happened to see a picture in that day’s daily. She recalled seeing the exact same thing on his body when her husband was brought home for the funeral. She was naïve enough to think nothing of it at that time.  From the mark on Vinay’s and Jessi’s body it is clear that this was the handiwork of one person. As she read the news, she felt an instant connection with Jenni. Both of them are struggling to cope up with their loss. She decided to meet Jenni. They could each be a shoulder for the other to cry on. Sreedevi is not astute enough to analyze the situation or to reason out her decisions. She had a nurturing heart which ruled her decisions. And that heart is pulling her to Jenni.

Her phone hasn’t stopped ringing from morning. Jenni was afraid to attend any of the calls. She knew that hell was waiting for her at office. She dreaded going to office and facing Alex. But she has to. She owed it to Alex. She is no coward. Gathering her courage, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Alex’s number.

“Hi Alex,”

Silence..

“I am really sorry Alex. I had to do it. For Jessi. “

Silence..

“You know I was at tether’s end. With the total negligence from Police, this was my last shot at finding an answer. Please say something. Be angry. Don’t be silent”

“You could have told me. “

“I wasn’t sure what you would say. “

“With all that we have been through, you couldn’t trust me? I gave you my trust and you shattered it to bits. If you had let me into what was happening in your life, I would have been there for you. We could have sorted out all this together.”

“This was my mess Alex. I did not want to involve you in all this. I didn’t want you to get dirty. “

“That’s it. You just don’t get it. Do you? All I ever wanted was to be with you. Has it ever occurred to you that  I would’ve gladly taken your mess as mine. I have been waiting for a long time for you to see me as a person. Not just your Editor. Waiting for the right time to invite you into my life, waiting to share your pain and sorrows, trying to prove myself worthy of you.  But no!! How much ever I showed you that I care about you, you are just blissfully ignorant of it. So now I am being as direct as I can be and asking you, I want to take care of you till the last breath. Will you let me? “

“Whoaa!! Alex!!  I am….mmmmm.  I don’t.. uuhhhh… I never thought…  “

“I think I got my answer. This just shows that I would never have a place in your life. I am not the first person whose love went unrequited. So don’t worry about me. I would be alright. Eventually..  I will be always there if you need me.”

“Alex!! Wait!!  You can’t do this to me right now. “

“ I am not doing anything to you Jenni!! Let’s not discuss about it anymore, By the way I have a message for you.  MD is so pissed off with that little stunt you pulled. He wants to see you right away. Good bye. See you around. “

Beep.. Beep..

Jenni fell back into the chair she was perching on. Alex?  In love with her??  How did she miss that?  She managed to lose another person who cared about her and the irony was that she didn’t know she had him to lose. She could feel hysteria overtaking her. A giggle burst out. She laughed at the irony of it all. Laughs gave way to hiccups. Her eyes began to get moist.  Exhausted, she laid down, silent tears were gushing out. She didn’t know what she was crying about anymore. Once the dam has broken, there is no stopping it. This crying has become a habit now. A smile formed on her lips at this thought. With that her eyes slowly shuttered shut.

She woke up feeling disoriented. It was mid afternoon. Wasn’t she supposed to be at work now? Slowly everything came back to her. Upon remembering the hysteria she had, she began doubting her sanity.

“Pull yourself together Jenni!! “ she thought to herself. “You will need all your senses to get out of this one. “

She took a shower and got ready to meet the MD. She was still unsure about how to handle the situation. On her drive towards office, a wayside church caught her attention. Something was pulling her towards it. She turned to the driveway of the church and pulled up near the curb. It had been long since she prayed or went to a church. She remembered her mother dragging the reluctant twins to church every sunday. She entered the empty church. She had forgotten how to pray. So she said a casual hi to God and sat on a bench. She could feel a strange sense of peace filling her. She just sat there.  She should have come here before. She felt strange here. Happy?  Peaceful?  She doesn’t know how to describe it. But it felt good. When she got up, she felt free. Her mind was made up. She knew what to do. She have to meet the MD first and then him.

To be contd…

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A night in Gail’s

CHAPTER 2

Not many were in attendance for the funeral. Her heart ached for Jessi. She vowed herself not to let her sister’s life be in vain. Even though Jenni, the cool and sensible of the two could never relate with irrational and temperamental Jessi, they shared a unique bond. She knew in her heart that this was not a simple case of random murder. She wanted to take a closer look at the burned mark on her sister. After the rites and rituals were completed, before the body was taken out to be cremated, she got few minutes alone with Jessi. After paying her final respects, she gently gathered the white blouse worn by Jessi aside.

Now that the dirt and dried blood have been cleaned up, she could make out a figure emerging. It seemed to be a distorted V. She didn’t know what to make of it but didn’t want to lose what she felt was a vital clue. Saying a quick apology to her sister for her insensitivity, she took out her mobile and clicked a picture of it. Rest of the funeral passed in a haze. She wished she could just take off and be herself. but it was not a luxury she could not afford now. She has to take care of people who came to the funeral. Working on autopilot, she somehow passed through the ordeal.

Next morning she scanned the newspaper to see if the incident had made it to the paper. She couldn’t find it anywhere in the front page. After a quick search, she found a small column towards the last page reporting about the incident. It dismisses the case as another rape and murder frequently occurring in a city this big. They had portrayed Jessi in a bad light, implying that she brought this upon herself. Nowhere have they mentioned about the imprint made on her flesh. It was completely ignored. Jenni couldn’t comprehend why the whole world is eager to sweep her sister’s death under the carpet and go on as if nothing is lost. She lost her sister!! Dammit!! Her resolve to get to the bottom of this mystery was getting stronger and stronger as she met each obstacle. In her determination, she barged in to the hospital and demanded Jenni’s post mortem reports. With some difficulty, she finally got her hands on the report. Though she didn’t expect anything relevant, she quickly went through the contents. As expected the report just says that she was raped and murdered. Jenni was dubious about the integrity of the report. Same forces which influenced the Police can have easily tampered with the reports. Nevertheless she decided to try convincing the Inspector one last time.

Jenni approached the Inspector with the photo she had taken. She hoped to convince the inspector to re-open the case but the inspector brushed her off. His offhandedness lead her to believe that some very influential people are pulling the strings here. She tried meeting the Commissioner of police and appeal to him to consider her sister’s case. She doggedly knocked on every door she could find. All her efforts fell on deaf ears. She placed herself in front of Commissioner’s office hoping that someone would eventually come to help her. Hours passed. Night became day. Sun rose again, but Jenni was still waiting on the stairs. An agitated Commissioner sent the guards to remove her from the premises. He didn’t want the press to get hold of this issue and make it to headlines. It was with great difficulty that he and his men suppressed the news from leaking to the media.

On the drive back home, Jenni was surprised to find tear drops falling on her hands. It has been a long time since she had cried. To be precise, she last cried on the day her parents died. Her tears had dried up after that. Probably because there was no one to console her, she had learnt to suppress her feelings and emotions. But now the frustration and grief have finally broken her down. She parked the car to near to the ledge and wept her heart out. The feeling of being totally and utterly alone was tearing her. Much later, when her sobs and sighs have died down, she started her car and started home. She felt a little better. But she won’t rest until her sister’s murderer is brought to light.

Her phone rang as she entered the gateway.

“Hello sir”

“Hey Jenni, How are you holding up? Don’t forget that we all are here for you. Call us if you need anything.”

“Thankyou sir, I really appreciate it. I am really sorry that I was not able to make it to office last couple of days”

“That’s okay. I understand. You take as many days as you want. Although would you do me a favour? Last couple of days your column was handled by Sandy in advertising and she have been dishing out utter crap. I got few calls from the top asking me what the hell was going on. If I had any choice, I wouldn’t have given it to print. But you know how understaffed we are..”

“Come on sir!! Please don’t beat around the bush. After all you have done for me, the least I can do is this. I will come to office from tomorrow. “

“No No.. I don’t expect you to come. But if you can, please write something for your column and send it to press directly. “

“Sure sir. I will mail you a copy before that”

“That’s not necessary. I know about your work and it doesn’t need my editing. “

“Ok .. I will start working on it. “

She tried to come up with something remotely interesting for the column. But her mind was totally occupied. She could only think of that mark on Jessi’s body.

“Is marriage in cards for Saif and kareena!! “  Off came that page.

“Are the dogs treated with more care than children?” It found its place in dust bin.

“Jessi”.. It got stroked out too. She is a columnist, and not a reporter as she aspired to be. She can’t write this. But her heart was willing her to write. Put her thoughts to words. She knew she will never give this to print. But writing always soothed her. She took the crumpled paper back from the bin, smoothed its wrinkles and wrote. Just to clear her mind. Her hand flew. She wrote about Jessi, her life, her current predicament, how the police is ignoring her pleas. With a lighter heart she put down the pen. As she was re-reading it, out of nowhere an idea got planted in her mind. She has the permission to directly send this to print. No one is going to stop her.

No. I can’t do that to Alex. I can’t betray his trust. He was her pillar of strength. He was there for her whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on. She remembered that he was beside her the whole time for the funeral lending his silent support. Although she never acknowledged his presence, he was there for her, never expecting anything in return. Though they never crossed the boundary of their editor – columnist relationship, she considered him her special friend. And friends don’t do this to their friends. She crumpled the paper again and threw it away.

To remove herself from any more temptation, she went into kitchen and started making coffee.

“Although… If he truly cared about her, he would understand. Right? “  her mind was struggling to find excuses to make this right.

“This is about Jessi. What if through this I can finally make the Inspector come to his senses?”

“I will apologize to Alex first thing in the morning” She made up her mind. Before she lost her resolve, she quickly typed it and faxed it to the office. She was filled with remorse. But little ecstatic that she did something about the situation.

The city read this article with mixed emotions. Some with surprise. Some warily. But there were two souls who read this with shock and panic and vengeance…

To be contd…

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