A night in Gail’s

               Chapter 6

Alex was waiting for them at the library when Jenni drove in.

“Hop in. We are going to meet Vinay’s dad. “  Jenni instructed Alex as soon as she saw him waiting by the curb.

“What happened? “

“Vinay’s dad had called me regarding Jessi’s post mortem reports. He wants to see us immediately. I think he found something rather disturbing in the reports.”

“I went back to your apartment after dropping you off and found this when I snooped around for a bit” Alex took out a plastic cover having a lock of hair and showed it to them. “ It was stuck in between the cupboard doors.  “

“This can’t be mine “ Jenni replied. “ I have curly hair “

“I know. That’s why I took it. I need to take this to a lab and run few tests. Maybe it is nothing. Who knows! “

“Where did he say he would meet us, Sree?”

“He asked me to come to the hospital canteen. He would be waiting for us there. “

Ten minutes later, the trio was hurrying down the corridors to the canteen. All were quite apprehensive about the report as this was the last bit of evidence they had.

“Hey dad! How are you holding up? “

“I am quite fine dear. I am anxious about you though. “

“I am alright dad. Stop worrying about me. Remember Jenni?  I have told you about her and this is Alex, our friend. “

“Hi Alex. How are you ? Hi Jenni. “

Sreedevi couldn’t contain the suspense any longer. She interrupted the introductions and asked “Were you able to get that report I mentioned you about?”

“Ya. In fact I needed to talk to you about it. The authorities have gone into a lot of trouble to ensure that this report never comes out. If they find out what I have done, we are in for a toss. I don’t think this is something we should to be mixed up with. Leave the investigation to the police.”

“We fear the Police are also involved in this, we can’t trust them dad. Don’t you want to find out who killed Vinay so brutally? “

“I lost my son. I don’t want to lose my daughter too. “

“I will be careful dad. If we don’t stop this murderer, I fear there will be lot of such victims. “

Dad was filled with indecision. He wanted to make his son’s murderers pay. But on the other hand anxiety about Sreedevi’s safety held him back. He had grown quite fond of Sreedevi during her marriage to Vinay.

“Alright!! “ Sekar , Vinay’s dad, squared his shouldered and said. “Count me in .I will do what I can. “

“Thanks dad!!” Sreedevi squeezed his dad to convey her gratitude.

“Now, about this report.. There is a lot about it that didn’t come out in the original report. There were traces of morphine in Jessi’s blood on the night she was murdered. “

“Morphine!!!!  I didn’t know she did drugs“Disappointed,  Jenni sighed and fell back in her chair.

“This seems to be a drug used mostly by patients to ease the pain. But these kinds of medicine require a prescription to obtain it, not everyone can buy it. Also very few medical stores sell them.”

“Why would Jessi have this medicine? Was she under any treatment? “ Alex asked Jenni.

“No. Not that I know of. And knowing how Jessi loves drama, I am sure if she had any ailment, she would have made a big deal out of it. “

“This medicine induces certain amount of drowsiness. There is a good chance that somebody slipped the drug in her drink to make her unconscious. The report, after all, says that she was raped.“

“Oh my God!! “  It was Jenni. She was having a hard time digesting this. She was never very close to her sister. But to think what Jessi had gone through.. She would never wish this even to her worst enemies.

“Jenni.. “Alex wanted to comfort her but was at a loss. There was nothing to say. “Be strong Jenni. We will get to the bottom of this and make him pay. “

“Hmmm.. “ Jenni nodded “Is that all Uncle? “ She asked Sekar.

“There were some dead cells that were found between her nails. It would have got there when she scratched the hell out of him in her struggle to get away.  A DNA report of the same is attached but no match to it was found .It could be useful to prove the case if we finally did get hold of that bastard though. “

“I found this lock of hair in Jenni’s apartment after her home was vandalized. Is there any way to check if this hair belongs to the same person?”

“That would be no problem at all. All you have to do is to give this for DNA test and compare the results. Here. Give me. I will take care of it. “ Sekar took the plastic cover from Alex. “ Your home was vandalized? “

“Yes. But I am safe now. I am staying at Sreedevi’s and we are taking extra care to guarantee that we don’t give away her address too.”

“Oh that’s good then. Sreedevi also will be safe. “

“About this drug, you told us that not many stores sell them. Is there any way to find out those stores that do sell them?  “ Alex inquired.

“I know someone who works as medical representative. He would be able to help you. “

“So if I find out the medicines that have heavy amount of morphine in it and the stores that sell it, we might be able to get some clue.”

“It’s a long shot. But let’s not leave any stone unturned. “ Jenni enthused everyone.

They got up to leave. Alex stretched out his hand to give shake hand and said “Thank you so much for taking so much risk for our sake. We are forever indebted”

“Oh don’t be so formal son. Even I have some personal interest in this case. I will call you with this after this DNA test.  You guys please take care. “

On their way back, Alex took out a mobile and handed over to Sreedevi. “ This is your new phone. Even I have got a similar one and have fed my new number in this already .We will be using only this to communicate with each other. Don’t use any outside number or home phone to call me. Let’s be safe. “

“Ok Alex. “

Sreedevi was worried about Jenni as she was silent throughout the drive. “What happened Jenni ?”

“I was just wondering what to do next. “

“Don’t be so tensed. We made so much headway today. At least we got something to work on. “

“Yeah. I know. I am not tensed Sree. Just thinking. “

“Where are we going Jenni ? “Alex interjected.

“I need to go by Jessi’s place. If we have her credit card bills, it might throw some light about her whereabouts that night. “ Jenni then explained Alex about finding Vinay’s credit card and what it revealed.

“Ok. Let’s make it quick. “

Hours later while Jenni and Sreedevi was reclining in the den after dinner, Jenni noticed Sreedevi staring at nothing in particular, deep in thought. Even in such a short span of time, a genuine friendship has started blossoming between them. Jenni felt like she got someone who understands her, who knows every nuance of her behavior. She no longer felt like she had to carry the whole world on her shoulders. Even if nothing good came out of this venture of theirs, she felt grateful to have found Sreedevi. Suddenly Sreedevi spoke. “I am very confused. I don’t know what to think anymore. “

“What are you talking about? “

“I had such a wonderful married life. At least I thought I had. The only memory of me feeling any happiness in my entire life was when I was with Vinay. Now even though I know that all that was a sham, I don’t want to let go of those memories. I know I was cheated. But I am not able to stir up enough anger to hate him. Does this make me a lunatic? To love a man whom I know had cheated me completely? “

“You silly girl!! What is so lunatic about it?  It’s is in a girl’s blood to love the guy to whom she gave her heart out to the first time forever. Even if the guy is a complete Jackass, you just remember the love and happiness she experienced. Not the wounds he inflicted. So my dear, you are perfectly normal. “

Sreedevi laughed out loud. “And here I am thinking there is something fundamentally wrong with me.  Anyways, did you find anything useful in Jessi’s bills?“

“No. There is nothing unusual in it but a long strew of payment made to discotheques and pubs. “

“Can I have a look at it? “ Sreedevi got the bill and was casually scanning through the contents when Jenni noticed a frown mar her face.

“What is it Sree?”

“It’s nothing. It can be just a coincidence. Let me just confirm it first. “She got up and went to her bedroom.

An impatient Jenni followed her.

Sreedevi exclaimed “Come look at this!! This can’t be a coincidence!! “

 previous chapter

A night in Gail’s

               Chapter 5

Alex was enjoying the way the wind fluttered her hair while he spoke. They had arrived at the beach an hour early. While they waited for Sreedevi to join them, Alex filled her in on how Sreedevi came to him in search of Jenni and everything that is going on in the office. Sreedevi joined them around 5 o clock and after the initial introductions were made, the three of them found a secluded place in the beach and sat down to talk about the case.

As Sreedevi explained how the police found her husband’s brutalized body, Jenni took out the picture she had taken of the marking she found on Jessi’s body.

“ I remember seeing a similar marking on his chest when Vinay was brought in after the post mortem. I didn’t give much thought to it then because his body was covered with bruises and scars.”

“I definitely feel this mark is a vital part of the case. It could somehow lead us to the killer. I had thought that my sister had fallen prey to some creep who raped and left her dying. But now, after hearing about your husband, I feel something really dangerous is going on here. The killer is just lurking around waiting for his next victim. From the looks of it, he is a psychopath who kills just for the hell of it.”

“Ladies, I think you both ought to be extra careful. For all I know, he just picks his victims randomly. Anyone of us can be his next victim.”

“Past one month I was wallowing in self pity, moaning over the lost life that Vinay had created. I think it is time to pull myself together and find that bastard who destroyed my life. It’s the least I can do for Vinay.”

Alex reached out for the picture in Jenni’s hand  “Hey Jenni, don’t you feel this can be an ‘A’”

Sreedevi who was sitting diagonally opposite to Alex replied, “Looking from here, it sure looks like an A. But upside down this makes a rough V.”

“It is really sick!! Why would anyone want his initials branded on his every victim?” Jenni was disgusted and revulsion filled her on the very thought of it.

Alex put an arm around Jenni to comfort her “Hmmm.. It is a very good lead. I will try to find out about the escaped convicts or criminals with similar track records whose name has an ‘A’ or a ‘V’. But we are still not sure if this is really his initials. “

“It is something to start with “ Sreedevi sounded hopeful. “Hey did you find anything unusual in Jessi’s post mortem reports?  It can give us some clue. “

“There is nothing useful in the reports but I doubt it is the actual report. I got it from the hospital after much hassling.”

“ I can probably help you with that. Being doctors, Vinay’s parents know quite a lot of people in the hospital. Maybe they will pull some strings and get us the report. There was nothing untoward in Vinay’s report that can lead us to the murderer. We are on a dead end as far as Vinay’s case is concerned. Given the chance that both the crimes were done by same person, catching Jessi’s killers might help us find Vinay’s too. “

“Oh that’s great Devi.. I feel we are onto something here. I can feel it in my bones. It is so nice to be able to talk to you both about these. “

“You can always talk to me.. I will be there for you. Always.“ , Alex replied.

A chuckle rose from Sreedevi on hearing this. “Seems like you had that chat with Jenni. Good for you. “

Jenni turned to Alex with a puzzled look. “ I will explain later.” With a smile he continued. “Come on lets go. It is getting late”

“Bye guys, Have fun” Sreedevi left them to board the bus to her place.

After enjoying an elaborate dinner together, Alex was driving back to Jenni’s home to drop her. Jenni had dozed off, her head resting on his shoulder, He felt peaceful, happy at that moment. “Nothing can break my mood today” he proclaimed to no one in particular.

Alex was waiting for Jenni to open the door and get into the house before driving away when he heard a shout from Jenni. “The door is ajar. I am pretty sure I had locked it before we left “

“Wait here. I will go check out. “

“No I will come with you. I don’t want you to go alone “

“Jenni!!! “ he saw the determined expression on Jenni’s face and realized it is useless to argue with her, he gave in “Alright!! But stay with me all the time “

Someone had broken in to her home and turned everything upside down. “Looks like they were searching for something. “  They searched every room, all were in similar state. Suddenly Jenni gasped. Alex turned to see what she was looking at. Across her bedroom wall, written in bright red letters were the words “Stay away or else you can join your sister!! “ When Jenni began to shiver, Alex rushed to comfort her “ It’s alright. It is safe now. There is no one here now. “

“I am shivering in anger. Not out of fear. I really have to catch them and make them pay. This is too much. Let me call Devi and check on her.”

“Wait!! Let me see your phone. They might have tampered with it. Like I said!! See? “

“What is this?“

“I am not sure. But I think this will track all the calls you make and I am pretty sure they have your cellphone tapped too. “

“Oh!!! Give me your phone. “

“Just to be careful, we will use the public booth. What if they have tapped mine too? We don’t want to put Sreedevi in danger. “

“Yeah.. you are right. We will make the call and drop me back. “

“You are not staying here today. Stay at my place today so that I can keep an eye on you.“

Jenni hesitated. “You can trust me “ , Alex said on seeing her indecisiveness.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. Okay come. Let’s go. “

They found a phone to call Sreedevi. “Hi Devi, Are you alright? “

“I am alright. What happened? “ She sensed something is wrong from Jenni’s frantic tone.

“Someone broke into my house while we were away. I just want to check if you were ok. “

“Nobody knows about my connection with you. So I think I will be safe. Hey why don’t you come here?  Nobody can trace you to me. “

Jenni told Alex about Devi’s plan. He took the phone from Jenni and replied “It is a good idea. I will drop her there first thing tomorrow morning.”

“I think it is best to go now. What if somebody follow us there tomorrow?  I don’t think anybody is following now, the road seems deserted. “ Jenni replied.

“Okay Sreedevi. We are coming there now. Give me the address. “

Sreedevi was waiting for them in the hall when they reached.  “Sorry to disturb you at this hour “

“No sorry. We are all in this together. “

“We should get rid of our current phones and get new connection. Sreedevi, just for safety, you too get a new simcard. All conversations regarding the case should be made only through the new numbers. “

“This is no petty criminal Alex. We have to move very carefully. “

“Will you be okay here tonight? “ Alex asked the two ladies.

“This is a safe place. We will be fine here. Don’t you worry about us. “

“Okay. Let us meet in the central library tomorrow at noon. Don’t call me on my cell for anything. We will discuss everything there. That ought to be a safe place. Good night. “

Later at night, Jenni found Sreedevi surrounded by a huge pile of bills. “I guess all the paper work finally caught up with me. I had been avoiding all this until now. “

“What is all this? “

“Documents from Vinay’s office which require my signature, his last month’s credit card bills and so on.“

Excited, Jenni jumped out of her seat, “If I get Jessi’s credit card bills, We will get a clue as to where she went on that day she was murdered. It might lead us somewhere.”

Scanning through the paper before her, Sreedevi replied “  Vinay had been to a local pub and diner hours before he was murdered. And he had paid for two. “

“Who had he been with that day? A colleague?”

“Come to think of it, he was supposed to fly in from Bangkok around 7 and he was murdered by 8 15. I thought it happened on his way back home. But this bill shows that he was in India days before that day.”  There was shock on her face. What is going on? Has Vinay been lying to her?

Jenni gently stroked her, trying to comfort her. “He would have reached early for some official purpose “

“I had talked to him that noon and he told me his flight was at 2 30. “  Further scrutiny revealed more discrepancy in Vinay’s behavior. Sreedevi was devastated. She could not believe that the Vinay whom she had trusted more than anything had not been honest with her. She closed her eyes, tears flowing.

“We need to make a stop at Jessi’s bank before meeting Alex. I need to have a look at her credit card bills.”

“Here take the keys of Vinay’s car. I don’t know to drive anyways.”

Tring tring..

“hello. Ya we will be right there. “

“Who is it Sreedevi? “

“Let us go. I will explain on the way. “

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A night in Gail’s

               Chapter 4

“Excuse me”

“Yes ma’am? How may I help you?”

“I am here to see Miss .Jenni D’silva.”

“I am afraid I can’t help you. Nobody by that name works here”

“But this is the office of The daily chronicle? Right?”

“Yes. But I don’t know any Jenni “

“How can that be? It was just this morning that I saw her article”. She pulled out a copy of Daily Chronicle from her bag and asked the receptionist once again.  ”Can you tell me who wrote this?”

“I am sorry. I don’t know who wrote this. But I will tell you one thing, please stop asking around about this article. It has created a huge furor around here. I can see people running here and there as if their tails are on fire. That girl is just trouble. Please go back to where you came from. For your own good.“

Sreedevi was bewildered! She couldn’t understand why was her simple request to meet Jenni was evoking such strong reactions. Wanting to give one more try before giving up, she scanned the people in the lobby for a sympathetic face. Her eyes fell on a young man walking towards her. He had kind and strong features. Feeling confident, she approached him.

“Excuse me! Do you work here?”

“Not anymore..”  On seeing her disappointment he quickly added “But tell me, what can I do?”

“Can you help me find whoever wrote this article?”

She didn’t expect the sharp intake of breath nor the pain that crossed over his face when he saw the article she was pointing to. It seemed like he was lost in his own world, a myriad of emotions mirrored on his face. Feeling awkward, Sreedevi was about to turn when he came out of his trance and caught her hand.

“Come with me “

She followed him. Maybe it is the eyes, the truth in them that made her follow him unquestioningly. He led her to a nearby coffee shop. They ordered coffee and sat down. He smiled at her.

“I am Alex. I was Jenni’s editor. Now what brings you here? “

“I am Sreedevi. I saw her article in today’s paper. My husband was also found murdered under similar circumstances a month ago and I feel that we both can ease each other’s pain. I know I am not making any sense wanting to meet a complete stranger. It’s just that I just felt an instant connection with Jenni when I read this article and wanted to meet her.”

“She could use a friend like you. I have been of no use to her. All I did was aggravate her pain. “

His forehead was creased and Sreedevi could feel that he was struggling hard to hide his pain. She placed a gentle hand on his hand and asked    “What happened? “

That was the last straw. That unexpected sympathy from a complete stranger broke him down. Alex couldn’t hold it in any longer. He described how in awe was he of Jenni. “ Jenni had lost her parents at a young age and she single handedly handled all the household affairs, She took care of her sister Jessi even though they were of the same age. She never lost her zeal for life amidst all this. She thrived. She made a life for herself. When I first met her, she was like any other girl. But then I began to respect her, slowly the respect grew to love. But I knew she never saw me as anything else other than her friend. In the beginning it was enough. Just to be with her, To be her friend, to lend her the silent support which she didn’t know she needed. But then I grew greedy. I wanted her to love me as well. That’s when I lost her. Love is not something which we can command or order. It should come of its own. That’s where I made mistake.”

“Does she know about how you feel?”

“That’s the irony of it all.. I was waiting for the right time to tell her, The perfect moment to make her realize it for herself. But when I saw this article, I completely lost it. I was frustrated at her for not allowing me into her sorrows, for not needing me like I need her. When I realized that it’s me who need her more than she needs me and not the other way around like I always thought, I got scared and burst out my love to her. I expressed my love at the worst possible moment. She is trying to cope up with everything life has dealt out to her, picking broken pieces and rebuilding her life once again, when I go and demand her love. She doesn’t need this extra burden on her now. She has enough on her plate already. After what I have said to her, I don’t know how to face her anymore. “

“What did she say when you professed your love?”

“She didn’t say anything. That itself was my answer. I didn’t wait for her pity or sympathy.”

“Come on Alex!! I don’t take you for a fool. How can you expect her to give an answer instantly when you drop a bomb like this on her? She probably didn’t have any inkling of your feelings towards her. You just caught her on surprise.  I am sure she loves you. But with everything going on in her life she wouldn’t have got a chance to comprehend it fully. Give her time.”

“I think I screwed up big this time!! “

“Nothing is permanent. Let’s wait. You will have to apologize to her for your behavior though..”

“You think there is hope for me then?“

She grinned at his question.. “There is definitely hope!! Now can you take me to her or not? I have more important work than listening to your sob story and seeing big men cry.”

Alex acknowledged the sudden change in the mood and the subject as her ploy to avoid any embarrassment for him without getting awkward. He smiled his thanks and replied

“That article she wrote has brought in lot of trouble. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing.  It seems like there is lot of pressure from the top. The Police were here threatening to file a case against the paper for publishing news without proper evidence. The MD could somehow convince the Police by promising to retract the news in the next issue. Otherwise there would be hell to pay for him. He was spitting mad at Jenni, ready to kill her on spot if he saw her. It was at that moment that Jenni walks in, her head held high. It was a sight to behold!!! “

“Focus Alex!!! Tell me what happened! “

“She walked in without a word and gave her resignation letter. MD was stumped. I think he couldn’t find the right words to shout at her because he was stuttering; his nose had turned red in anger… “ Alex chuckled remembering MD’s face. “ MD threatened to sue her, but I don’t think she gave a damn. This was, after all, supposed to be her temporary job until she found what she was really capable of.”

“I am beginning to like her more and more. When can I meet her?”

“Soon.. I will give her phone number.”

“When I asked if you work here before, you told not anymore. Don’t tell me they fired you too? “

“No they didn’t fire me,  I quit. I didn’t want to work there anymore after Jenni left. I have couple of job offers in the offing. The only reason I stayed was because Jenni was there. Now that she is gone..   “He shrugged.

Jenni was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She finally said good bye to that job. Although she can’t imagine herself enduring all that again, she is glad about the turn of the events. She had one more thing on her agenda; to meet Alex. She needs to set something straight with him. The phone rang when she was about to leave to Alex’s.

“Hello.”

“I am Sreedevi. I wanted to talk to you about the article you wrote. Is it possible to meet?”

“What about it? “

“I might be able to give you some information about it. I mean no harm. Just want to help you.”

Skeptical that somebody would take the trouble to reach out just to help her, she replied “Is the beach okay? “

“Ya sure. What time? “

“Around five-ish.”

“Ok. Meet you there. Good bye Jenni.”

The incessant ring of the bell woke him from his fitful sleep. Cursing, he got up from bed to open the door. A very angry Jenni stood there!!

“You have got lot of nerve to sleep so peacefully after putting me through all that!! I haven’t been able to sleep a wink after that bomb shell you dropped. And here you are. Sleeping!! That too in the afternoon!! Don’t you have work today? “

“I am not peaceful at all. How can I be peaceful after losing the one thing I cared about?”

“Oh. So you are ok with losing me? U won’t fight for me? I thought you were a better man than that!!”

“Do I have any chance of winning you over after what I did? “

“You can always try “  Jenni was trying to hold on to her fake anger and let Alex grovel. But a giggle burst out of her, giving her away.

“Sensing his chance, Alex said “ I am sorry Jenni. Please forgive me. I shouldn’t have blasted at you like that.”

“I never had any inkling of how you felt about me. But once you put your feelings out in the open, I realized that I too love you. I have loved you for a long time, I just didn’t realize it. You opened my eyes. If it hadn’t been for your outburst, I would never have delved deep enough to understand how I really felt.”

Alex couldn’t contain his happiness at her words that he rushed forward to hug her. But she stepped back. On his puzzled look she replied “But.. “

“I hate that but. Don’t say but please “

“Listen. You have to wait little longer. I have something I have to take care of before I commit myself to you. Something I promised myself.”

“Whatever it is, we can do it together. “

“No it’s too dangerous. I need to get to the bottom this mystery and expose Jessi’s killers. And I don’t want you to be involved in that. “

“Do you honestly believe that I will let you go through that alone? What do you think I am? Do you take me for some kind of heartless creep who will silently stand by and watch you in trouble and do nothing? I can’t do that. I am sorry.  I won’t let you do this alone.”

“Listen to me. I can’t put your career and your life in jeopardy. I can’t live with myself if anything happened to you. “

“And I can?? Don’t worry about my life or career. Both hold no value to me if you are not in that. I quit earlier today because I can’t stand to work in that place anymore where you are not there. It’s not your decision to make anymore. I will be part of this no matter what you say.”

With a resigned look she nodded her head. “But please promise me that you will be careful??”

“Only if you promise. “

“ I promise!! “ She placed her hand on his hand and said.

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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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A Night in Gail’s

CHAPTER 1

  Jenni   threw her pen down in frustration. It was 10 o clock  and still she hadn’t come up with a story for her column. She was sick and tired of this job. She accepted this job offer as the columnist for a mediocre newspaper when she began losing her hope of making it as an investigative reporter. She thought that with enough experience she would have better chances of acquiring a job as reporter. But that was three years ago. She fell into the comfortable but boring routine of a daily columnist even though it hardly stimulated her. Her logical and analytical mind is better suited for reporting than writing these fluffy pieces like who dates whom and who inherited what. With a sigh she went back to brainstorming hoping that some idea would pop up.

The tring tring of her cell phone broke her already precarious concentration into shreds. “Jessi calling…” She debated with herself whether to pick the call or just ignore. She was in no mood to deal with her erratic and unstable twin. But the consistent ringing made her to attend the call. She was greeted by an unfamiliar voice. She hoped against hope that it was not another call asking her to escort  Jessi  from another of the dark and shady local pubs she frequents.

“Freddy speaking.. How do you know the owner of this number?” Jenni was not surprised by the rudeness in his tone. Her sister hardly have any classy friends.

“I am her sister. May I know who you are and where my sister is?”

“I found a lady’s dead body behind the cement factory downtown. I got this mobile from her purse and dialled the first number in the call log”.

Her heart stopped for a second. Her twin sister dead? No.. it cant be.. This guy must be wrong.  She will know if Jessi is in trouble. This can just be a ruse to get her downtown.. But for what? That doesn’t make sense. Nobody would go into this much trouble if their intention was just to mug her. She was confused and her mind was refusing to believe that her sister is dead.

“Are you there lady? I haven’t got all day”

“I am sorry. Are you sure she is dead? Did you check her pulse?”

“I am not touching the dead body , I knew I shouldn’t have bothered to call you. I am not gonna be tied up  with this. Good bye lady”

“No!!! wait!! Where are you exactly? Did you call police?”

“the alley behind the cement factory next to the river”

Beep.. beep.. he had cut the call..

Frustrated with the lack of information, Jenni picked up her keys and rushed to her car.. She called police on the way and gave them the details. When she reached the scene, she could see that a crowd have already formed and two police jeeps were already parked in the aisle. She pushed through the crowd to where the Officer was standing. She saw the dead body. Yes it was her sister. Dead and pale!!! There were signs of violence. Blood was oozing out of her head like she was hit there with something. There were scratch marks on her face and arms. Her sister was always so vivacious and energetic!!

Not able to stand the sight, she turned towards the Inspector.

“I am Jenni. I called you about the murder”

“Ah yes ma’am! This is your sister?”

“Yes, Her name is Jessi. She is a DJ in Enigma”

“From preliminary investigation, its clear that this is a classic case of rape and murder”

White hot anger pulsed through her body when she heard Inspector explaining about her sister ’s murder in such a cold and unemotional way.

“I don’t think so!! My sister is a trained martial arts expert and I know she can defend herself.”

“She reeks of alcohol and I am sure if tested we could find signs of drugs in her blood. I don’t think that she could have defended herself against a kid at this stage. We are sorry for your loss ma’am. But I think your sister was a disaster waiting to happen”. With this he turned and left to talk with other policemen.

True, her sister was out of control. What with her drug use and over drinking she was the apt candidate to be raped and murdered. But Jenni’s mind wouldn’t allow her to believe this to be a rape. She felt something more devious was at work here. She went near her sister’s body. Her clothes was torn. It was too perfectly torn to be torn in haste. It looked like someone wanted it to be perceived as rape. She know she don’t have enough evidence to convince the Inspector otherwise. All she had was a gut feeling. She knelt down to adjust her sister’s dress. It was then that she saw it.

“Inspector!! Inspector!!!   There is something on her chest.. Like she is branded with hot iron”

“Yeah.. we saw it. It might be another of her tatoos gone bad.”

“How can you dismiss it so offhandedly? This can be a clue of some sort to identify the murderer. When I saw her yesterday she didn’t have any kind of tatoo on her chest. And it looks like it was freshly burned.”

“Look mam, We did a background check on her. She was involved in all kinds of drug deals. She is not what we call as an epitome of virtue. This can either be a gift from her so called boyfriends or a drug deal ended badly. Frankly speaking we have enough on our plate and don’t have time to waste on investigating why a slut like this was murdered.”

Jenni was shaking with anger. It is her sister. She had to get to the bottom of this. Jessi doesn’t deserve to be treated like a street dog. She went back to her sister. Police was ready to take her away to morgue. She was lifted in stretcher and taken to ambulance. Jenni just stood there watching the headlights of ambulance fading away. Now she was literally alone.. Jenni and Jessi lost their parents at the age of 15. The added responsibility made Jenni wordly wise and a mature beyond her age where as Jessi’s life took a turn towards disaster.

Back at home, Jenni was tossing and turning in her bed. Sleep was eluding her. The sight of burned flesh of Jessi’s  body was troubling her. No one would carry a burning iron rod around. This one clue eliminates the probability of it being a rape or chances that she was the victim of fights between drug lords .No one would be insane enough to brand someone….

Unless… Unless the person is actually insane….

To be contd…

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