Coffee With Stranger

The Investigation

"No nothing of that sort. Everyone liked him and his boss was a fan of him. His boss was always counting on him because of his performance among others. Recently, for the new project, he was sent to Hyderabad. Their company was planning to start a new branch over there. He said it to me.

"So no grudges from friends and family, who else did Vivan, interact with? Neighbours, colleagues, clients?"

"Well, yes, practically every one of those people. But do you think, anyone of those people killed my son?" Vivan's mom asked with surprise.

"Did Vivan ever mention anything to you? That he was angry with someone, or perhaps scared?" Gayakwad wants to get into the depth.

She thought for a moment. "Not that I can think of. But sometimes he was disturbed by his boss. You know how boss and subordinate's relationship is, right?

Gayakwad nodded his head and looked down in his notebook. He looked back up and met mom's eye.

"I know this is difficult for you and please take everything I say with discretion. But this is an –" he paused. "Investigation, into his death and I need to know everything."

"Anything else, do you want to share with me?" The inspector asked the couple.

"Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Malik. Thank you for your cooperation. I may call you if I need any further information in the future."

The couple stood up and move out of the cabin, but they left behind the hope that the culprit will be caught and punished as early as possible.

In the afternoon ...

Gayakwad and Shinde drove to the Vivan's office for further investigation.

They pulled into a long driveway of a large corporate house, around twenty-five story building. The entrance was huge, two white pillars extending from the ground to the second floor. The lawn was well kept and the bushes were trimmed to the perfection. They went up t to the twenty-first floors. Gayakwad took in a deep breath, grabbed his notepad, and made his way to the reception counter.

"Excuse me, who is the owner of this company? Gayakwad asked at the reception counter.

"I am the owner of the company, tell me what you want?" the lady replied in the same manner. She had short blonde hair that was cropped to her shoulder. Black eyes, no makeup, dressed in all black. She had a pleasant face, a face that people would enjoy looking at.

"I am inspector Gayakwad." He stuck out his hand. She was hesitant at the beginning, but eventually gave a light handshake.

"I have been expecting you. Please have a seat there," she said lightly.

"I said I want to meet the owner of this company, tell your boss that Inspector Gayakwad wants to meet him urgently." The inspector this time was rude with the lady.

"He hasn't arrived yet; you have to wait for some time there" She pointed towards the couch in the waiting area. Both Gayakwad and Shinde step back and sited on the couch. Gayakwad was observing his surroundings and scanning every little thing around him.

The floor was shiny, the air was different, and the lights were deemed. Was that even possible that the person working in this office got killed with three shots? He couldn't believe that someone had killed him cold-blooded.

He saw a person passing from his right to left two-three times. Carrying a tea kettle in his hand he was surely a peon running from one side to another. Every time he passes, he gave a sarcastic smile to Gayakwad. This made him very uncomfortable but he kept quiet.

"Excuse me, yes you two. The boss is here and has told him that there are two strangers want to meet him. He said it will take about half an hour more as he is busy with his urgent conference call with the client."