Square Accounts

Chapter 3

It was Monday evening when Noel was packing for the day at his office that he received a call from Max. What Max had to say took the shit out of him "Buddy, I thought you must know this?" And then Max gave him all the details. After Noel had reported the missing couple, the local police had been searching for them everywhere. They searched with the woman's details at all the lodges and hotels in the town. No woman matching the description had checked in for the past few days, also no tourist was missing. They had searched near that cliff but couldn't find anything. Also there was no news of the man until this afternoon. Nearly after noon, some local villager reported a crashed SUV hidden in bushes a mile away from his village. The car must have fallen from great height and had crashed in the forest near the valley. The windscreen was shattered to rumbles, the doors were jammed. There was a dead man in the driver's seat very badly stuck beneath the air bag. It took a good amount of time for the rescuers to bring the body out. After a background check the police had confirmed that it was the same man who was missing from the resort. Though his face was severely damaged with shards of glass, he was carrying his driving license in his wallet that confirmed his identity. According to the local doctor he died sometime around sunset on Saturday. He diagnosed a cardiac arrest probably due to the fall or minutes before it. While doing the background trace the police found that the man was a businessman from Chennai and a widower with no offspring. Jesus! It turns creepier from here. It was found that his wife died an unnatural death few years back during their visit to the same hills. It was reported that she had accidentally slipped her foot from a view point while shooting with her camera. She had then fallen before her husband could catch her. Though the police had suspected a foul play and the husband was interrogated for several months later. However the man was not convicted.

Max continued "Buddy, I know there are doubts about the woman you saw. But I know few people in the police. If you insist I will request not to stop their search for the woman....." But Noel was not listening anymore. He now wished that what he saw was false and that the cops find the woman alive and safe.

After disconnecting the call Noel reclined back to his chair loosening his tie and belt. He was sweating profusely though the air-conditioning was working perfectly. There was uneasiness in his chest and he felt difficult to breath. His phone rang again. He looked at the screen, this time it was Ashley. They were supposed to meet afterwards to shop for their engagement. Feeling it very hard to speak, Noel took the phone clumsily in his palm and disconnected the call. He then rested his head on the rim of the chair and tried to grasp for air. "So much for a weekend getaway" he thought to himself.

[End]

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