Pursuit (Completed)

Seven - Part B

Deepshika stepped into the room silently, checking for any occupants. The bedroom exuded a feeling of solidarity and emptiness. On the bed were a pure white duvet and monochrome striped pillows. To the side near the window, a desk stood with a collection of books and files stacked in piles.

The walls were covered with a dull greyish blue brocade wallpaper. She closed the small door, and it perfectly merged into the wallpaper. It was a secret her mother shared with her. Aakriti had asked Jhanvi to set up a passageway from her room to the basement so that she could go out through the back door when required.

Deepshika checked the entry door for the bedroom and found it locked. Dhruv must have received Ayaan's message, and he must be waiting on the other side, keeping watch.

She quickly got to work searching for any documents, photos, electronics that might contain evidence of Aakriti's planning. She was alarmed at not finding the laptop as it could lead to massive amount of information. Then, she remembered that Dhruv was asked to lock the door which meant he might have picked up the laptop. Even if Deepshika laid her hands on it, she would need Dhruv's help to crack into it.

The files on the desk were all corresponding to AMC; not of any use to her. She moved to the dark grey four-door cupboard. It was locked. She searched for the keys in the side table, the dresser and the desk drawers. Finding no success, she sat on the bed calming down to think where Aakriti could have kept it. Ayaan talked often about Aakriti having a puzzle ready even for simplest things. A puzzle for the keys she had to solve now with little choice.

Deepshika thought of where people usually kept them - under the pillow, in the drawers, on a key rack, in the wallet. She glanced across the room. There were plenty of places to hide such a small item. She walked past the dresser. In the full height mirror next to the dresser, she saw her reflection spotting a stain at the ankle end of her tights. She bent down to rub it off.

Suddenly, it crossed her mind. She went behind the mirror and moved it away from the wall. There the keys were, against the laminate of the dresser, as if she threw them there in a hurry.

Opening the first set of doors revealed dresses and shoes. The second set opened to traditional wear and jewellery boxes. The bottom rack was filled with different types of shoes and bags. There were three drawers with single keyhole for the first one. After a few tries, Deepshika found the correct key and opened the drawers. The first two came up empty, with nothing but a memo pad and bundle of pens. The third drawer was empty. Deepshika was about to close the doors when she was reminded of Ayaan's words.

She pulled out the three drawers. In the space, she found a file labelled Vipul Gupta. Without a second thought, she dropped it into the backpack she brought with her. It made her take a look at the remaining contents of the cupboard once again. Sure enough, between a deep red silk saree and a light brown embroidered one, she found a draft agreement between BatraP and Alpha, with corrections in green ink. There were some photographs of Aakriti and Ankush from their younger years. Surprisingly, the pictures were stored inside a maroon jewellery case. Within the folds of a sea blue maxi dress, she found a thick wad of cash amounting to nearly four lakh rupees. Making a mental note about the cash, she collected the pictures and draft papers into her bag.

Moving to the western wear section, she rummaged through shirts, trousers, blazers and bags. But it was the stole rack that hid the treasure. Among the neatly organised scarves, there were two files. The papers in the archives looked worn out; some even washed away leaving behind a white paper with yellow stains. Both contained receipts of bank transfers with dates ranging over the last 15 years. She deposited them into the bag as well.

One last item she had to find: the mobile phone. She had texted Ayaan when she left her apartment asking if Aakriti had her phone with her. She received the reply from Raghav in negative. That meant the phone must be at Mahanidhi or her car. Ayaan would search her car, but she decided to go-over the room first.

With little effort, she found the phone under a pillow, switched off. That was the last item to go into her bag.

Deepshika took the same escape door and left the place unseen.

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This chapter was interesting to write so I might have gone overboard with the descriptions. I am sorry if you found it boring. On the brighter note, it gives you better idea of who Aakriti is.