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…
