The Tranquil Predator ✔️

Chapter 22

14 year's ago

"Where do you work Mr. Desai?", a thirteen-year-old curious young boy asked with a Feluda book in his hand.

"I am a doorman, I work for a 4 star restaurant which is thirty minutes away from here", smiled Mr. Desai. "speaking of work, Arjun don't you have any work to finish at home?"

Arjun giggled shyly and said, "Yeah, I have homework but I wanted to help you with cleaning your house."

"No need dear, I can do it on my own. You need to go home or else your mother will be worried for you."

Arjun was reluctant to leave but he finally agreed. Picking up his pokemon school bag he bid goodbye and left the house. Mr. Desai was his secret friend. His mother always told him not to talk to strangers because they are bad. Mr. Desai was not a bad man. He was an old grandpa whose son threw him out of the house and he was all alone. Walking out of the congested colony he bumped into a bulky looking middle-aged man.

"I am sorry uncle", Arjun apologised innocently. The man looked down at him with disgust and pushed past him.

"Jeez, what's wrong with him?", Arjun told himself as he looked behind his back. The man was rugged looking and had some kind of knife in his back pocket. It was small but looked pretty shiny and sharp.

Now, any kid would just be frightened and run away, but Arjun? He decided to follow that man. He maintained his distance and kept following him until the man stopped in front of a familiar-looking house.

Mr. Desai's house.

Arjun kneeled and hid behind a dirty and broken rack that was outside the neighbour's house. He could hear faint voices.

"You know you need to return the money you took within 2 days right?"

"Sir, please! I need more time!"

"How much more time do you need? You took 6000 Rs from him. Boss was so generous to you. He gave you money for your wife's medicine. Not his fault the old hag still passed away. Boss sent you a message, it is simple. Either pay back the money you took, or I will send you to your wife. 2 days is all you have", said the scary man and left the house.

Once Arjun was sure that man was gone, he came out of his hiding. He wanted to meet Mr. Desai, wanted to ask him who was the scary man and how did he know his boss. But Arjun knew going inside now wouldn't help Mr. Desai. On the contrary, it would make him worry even more. So Arjun came up with a plan, to help Mr. Desai repay his debt.

He quickly went home and set to work. He worked all night because he wanted to help Mr. Desai. He decided to sell stylish hand-made paper bags. Paper bags were in demand because of the 'no-plastic campaign' that had taken over the city. Also, since it was the peak of summer, the temperature had risen and the weather was really hot. So he also had a side business of selling lemonade. Arjun skipped school the next day and sold his products.

Believe it or not, thanks to his 'noble' cause of 'reducing plastic' and adorable face, he made 4000 Rs by that business. But it was not enough, so Arjun finally decided to open his piggy bank. He had been storing money there for years. The money he earned and the one in the piggy bank added up to exactly 5000 Rs. One the second day, once school was over, he went back to selling and finally made up with that remaining 1000. Once Arjun had packed all the money in his bag, he rushed over to Mr. Desai's house. It was evening and he was still in his school uniform, he was sweating but that didn't matter. A lot of hard work had been put into earning that money. When he reached the house, he was caught by a surprise.

Mr. Desai was no more.

His neighbours said he met with an accident on his way to work in the afternoon and died on the spot. That was the first  time, he encountered a 'murder'. He was just thirteen.

Present Day

"Did you tell the police?", Patricia asked in a low and weak voice.

"Yes, I did. But it was no use. No one was ready to believe a thirteen-year-old. My parents were furious when they heard that I had befriended a stranger. They were angry because I used to go to his house every day and spend time with him. Well if they had been real parents and given me company, I wouldn't have befriended someone like Mr. Desai. I needed a friend. I needed someone to talk to. I found that friend in a man who was poorer than me, lived a life different from mine. A man who was older and weaker than me. But a man who had a heart of gold. The restaurant even hired a new doorman. It was as if Mr. Desai's absence didn't even matter to these people. For these people, it was just an accident of some insignificant doorman. But I knew it was the murder of my best friend."

They had gotten off the bus when they reached their stop. It had happened a long time ago. From there Arjun and Patricia had decided to walk up to her house where he would drop Patricia and finally turn around and go to the rented house where he was staying. They were in front of Patricia's cottage now.

"I joined law enforcement for him. Those books he used to lend me had changed my thought process. They had made me more logical, inquisitive, social and had improved my vocabulary, thus improving my communicating skills. I passed my entrance exams with flying colours and my tutors always said I had raw talent and a knack for problem-solving. Little did they know these were the result of reading so many books to a point where I became a character in the story. After I started working, I wasn't exactly a homicide detective. I was more like an assistant of one. I used to carefully observe my senior's work and in my free time would work independently to track down Mr. Desai's murderers. And I did succeed. I started from the beginning. Talked to his son, his neigbours(whoever was remaining), and finally caught the 'boss' who had orchestrated his murder. That man was an underground drug dealer and had taken many innocent lives. Catching him impressed the higher authorities and soon I got promoted to my current post", Arjun explained.

"So you took this job not only to catch the bad guys in the society but also to protect the good ones. Protect innocent people like Mr. Desai", Patricia said as she lovingly looked at Arjun.

"Yeah, you can say that", Arjun giggled.

They stood under the lilac sky with a genuine smile and sparkling eyes, looking dreamily at each other.

"Get inside Ms. Fernandez. It's getting dark", Arjun beamed.

"Don't be so bossy Detective Malhotra, work on your case. I can handle myself", Patricia replied in a sassy tone that made Arjun showcase his signature smile.

Bidding goodbye, Patricia finally went inside her house and Arjun turned around to go to the police station. This little trip had refreshed him. Memories of Mr. Desai had energized him. He felt like a mastiff that had recently woken up from a deep slumber and was ready to hunt someone down. He promised himself he won't talk nor interact with Patricia anymore, not until this case was solved once and for all.

He was ready to put a bullet inside the Tranquil Predator's head.