Treat You Better

Chapter 32

Radhika stretched around in her big bed. She could feel the baby flutter around in her belly.
'How is Mommy's baby?', she cooed  to her baby bump. She was in the last month of her pregnancy and couldn't wait any longer to meet her little bundle of joy.
'Who are you talking to?', asked Raghu. He stood in the doorway to their bedroom looking roguishly handsome with his dishevelled hair.
'The baby. Experts say the baby starts developing it's senses from their time in the womb itself.'
'Time in the womb? Sounds like they are serving time in the prison.', Raghu joked.
'Of course, you cops can't think beyond your prisons and crimes.', Radhika said with a pout.
'That's not true. We think about other stuff as well.'
'Like?'
'Like how I can please my darling and obnoxiously beautiful wife.', Raghu said circling his arms around her.
Radhika had been on cloud nine for the past two weeks. Raghu was making up for the lost time and had been treating her like a queen, spoiling her with flowers and gifts.
She had not forgotten their past but was also appreciative of the efforts Raghu was making towards. Everyone deserved a chance to be better and Radhika had given into her heart's glimmer of hope and had decided to forgive Raghu for his earlier misgivings and so far he had done nothing to prove her wrong.
Raghu felt like a new man. He was feeling a sense of elation he had never felt before. Not even when he was with Revathy. He cursed himself for being a half-wit and almost destroying his relationship with her for a past fling that was annoying him in the form notes and puzzles relentlessly.
Her missing case had been driving him crazy for months now. But a few days ago, he had received a postcard that was a limited edition one that was released for the independence day. Each post card had been published with a unique serial number. His team had successfully tracked down the store that sold the limited edition postcard with that particular ID. They were currently questioning the store owner and scanning the neighbourhood for any traces of Revathy. He was running out of patience and he wanted to discover why Revathy was playing games with him as soon as possible.
'Radhika, I have to go. Some urgent work has come up.', Raghu said snuggling into her neck, breathing in her calming scent.
'You are going? What about the baby shower?'
'I wouldn't miss it for the world. I will be back in time for that.', he said reassuringly, planting a kiss on her rosy cheeks.
***************
The drive to the store was tedious and dangerous. The store was located deep in a valley atop a hill station. Raghu's mind was focused on just finding Revathy and returning back to Radhika in time, nothing more and nothing less, as his jeep wound up the hairpin turns of road.
He quickly clambered out of his jeep as soon as he reached his destination.
'What's the status?', he murmured quietly into his subordinate's ears.
'Sir, we are waiting for the man who usually mans the shop in the evening. The woman who sits at the store in the morning doesn't recollect anything about selling this postcard.'
Raghu stepped into the store to get a better look at the woman. She was a nondescript lady, clad in a cotton Saree and scantily ornamented with gold jewellery. They loitered in front of the store, waiting for the man to come, all the while earning curious glances from passersby.
Soon a man with a small limp scampered into the store.  He was dressed in a plaid shirt and a thick denim pants of cheap quality covering his head with a woolen cap.
'Sir, this is my brother who sits here in the shop during the evenings.', the woman informed them.
The man looked up at them and gave them a toothy grin.
'Sirs, what is it that I can do for you? Do you want a guide that will help you navigate around the valley?', he said wiggling a finger in his ears.
'No. Not today anyway. But do you remember who bought this postcard from your store?', Raghu asked,  presenting the post card in a clear envelope.
'Sir, what is this sir? You think too highly of me. I possibly cannot have an eidetic memory and recollect what each of our customers bought from our shop.', he said pretending to be humble.
'That is enough. We know you don't have that many customers in the evening and we also know that not everyone buys postcards these days. So now you can dig deep into that poor memory of yours and make recollection for us.', His colleagues said, stepping in and grabbing his collars roughly.
'It could have been a woman. Medium height, very fair and long ringlets of hair. Does that ring a bell?', Raghu asked pointedly.
The man started to think before putting forth his hand to pick up the postcard.
'Now, when I come to think of it, I do remember selling this.', the man said scratching his scruffy chin.
'Was she from somewhere around here?', Raghu asked with unmistakable eagerness.
'No. He came late at night in a huge black vehicle. He seemed like he was in a hurry to get somewhere.'
'He?'
'Yes it was a man. But i have never seen him around here.'
'Did he mention where he was going?', the other police officer asked.
'No. But I think he was heading towards the abandoned factory located at the foot of the hill.'
'Will you be able describe this man?', Raghu's subordinate asked while taking down notes.
'Well, he was all. Around this sir's height.', he said gesturing towards Raghu.
Raghu walked away from the duo as they haggled with each other about the details of this strange man.
He was feeling as lost as he was before. He was sure that this would be prove to be their missing link to find Revathy and the new turn of events had left him even more mind boggled. Raghu came to the assumption that the mystery man must have connection to Radhika.
A sketch artist from the local police station had arrived to the site to help them give life to the shopkeeper's description of the hooded man.He kept checking his watch to make sure that he leaves in our time for the baby shower in the evening.
Soon the portrait was complete. Raghu examined the portrait. The face was a familiar one that Raghu couldn't recollect. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Radhika. He answered it happily, only to hear sobs from the other side.
'Hello, Radhika? Is everything okay?
'Radhika..Radhika is gone', Radhika's mother informed, sobbing uncontrollably.
Raghu gripped his phone tightly and tried to speak but no voice came out of his throat. He was stricken by fear and everything around Raghu seemed to fade away and soon darkness engulfed him.