The Case of Known-Unknown

Rahul Arora

*****

The clock chimed, 9:30 A.M, Syna walked to her desk, with another cup of coffee in her hand. It was her third since dawn, she sat on a chair, her face all pale and skinny, her eyes revealing that she was awake for the entire night and hardly took a nap, all because of that piece of paper. 'Damnit Stalker' she cursed several times. She was hoping for no involvement of The Stalker in this particular case, but now here it was. She hoped that maybe it was an imposter, trying to copy his tactics and scare everyone, but the accuracy of the letter, the same pattern, same handwriting and the riddle, proved that the odds were against her.

A cool breeze blew through her hair as she gave another glance at the telephone, the phone rang, awakening every sensor in Syna's body, the forensics' reports! She thought and picked up the call,

   'What are the reports?' she asked breathlessly.

   'Hello ma'am, our team has sent a detailed report of the murder, I expect it to reach you at any given moment now.' The voice was calm.

   'Tell me about the bloody outcome!' Syna said in a loud tone, she could sense the caller flinch for a moment.

   'The reports were similar to the intel you had received.' He said in a soft voice now. And there it was! Syna's worst fears came true, she embraced fear and frustration again,

   'But, I must inform you about something which might help you in some manner, it is mentioned in those reports but this one needs an ear to be heard. The first observation by looking at those deep cuts is that this crime could only be committed by a man, the second is-' The officer of the forensic department said, without waiting for Syna's response he informed her everything that he had to, Syna's eyes widened in response and she banged the phone down with a 'thud' noise. So, it was all true, that letter wasn't to delude her but came as help, and maybe now a legitimate proof that He is still alive!

This was some news, grave news. Syna wondered, how else would he know his plan and the methods used to kill the people? What exactly does he use to stalk people? There came a knock on the door, pulling Syna back from her thoughts. It was Dexter, her junior. He was standing there with his brow raised and lips shut tight. There were a few documents in his hands,

   'The forensics' reports.' He said and placed them on her desk. There was silence for a few seconds, both pair of eyes staring at those documents until Dexter spoke,

   'I read the reports, it's the same as he said.' In response, Syna gave a small nod.

   'We have to tell everyone about this. The further we delay, the further the problems flusters.'

   'You don't have to tell me what to do! Spare me the time, until the investigation!' she shouted at him. Dexter rolled his eyes and sighed. He began to make his way out of the room,

   'You can join the interrogation.' She said in a mild tone. Dexter turned around instantly, surprised.

   'Is this leverage to keep my mouth shut?' he asked; it was Syna's turn to roll eyes.

   'I can make you keep your mouth shut, I don't need to impress or bribe you with something to get things done.' She said firmly. 'I allow you to join so that you can help me find and notice some crucial points, if any, which others cannot figure out.' Dexter jumped with excitement from within.

   'I appreciate that and look forward to it.' He said, trying his best to hide the joy behind those words.

   'Send a word to Inspector Khatri, that he must join the investigation as well as the usual, which even includes the DSP.' Dexter's face crumbled at the mention of Khatri's name, his senior who always used to brag about things he wasn't, Dexter always thought and suspected that Khatri was involved in some local crimes as well as drugs, but he had no concrete evidence to raise a voice against him. He nodded in response and left the room.