Eleven
21st March 2003
8.00 A.M
'Summerhill estate agency, how may I help you?' the voice asked. 'Connect me to "The Boss"' Jeel replied.
'There's no such associate, I would recommend-'
'It's me, Jeel. Now connect my line to "The Boss"' There was a small twitch on the other side and the call was put on hold. A few seconds went by, there was no response.
'"The Boss" here. What do you want?' The voice was harsh.
'You know what I want. My original passport and documents, so I can run away from this ruckus you created.'
'I'm afraid that's not possible. They are my only assurances for now.' Jeel rolled her eyes in annoyance.
'Boss, please. We have worked together on so many successful operations. A single prick of a thorn shouldn't form distrust among us, don't you think so?'
'We are done talking if that's all you have to say.'
'Boss-' and the line went dead. Jeel kicked the cushions which lay beside her and cursed 'The Boss' under her breath. Her apartment was comfortable enough, but she was hiding. Her photos and descriptions were all over the places, she had to cover her face with a dupatta every time she walked out of the apartment. The strange part was that David had finally stopped contacting her. He didn't have her secondary number, nor did he have the dummy address. She wasn't sure what he had on his mind, perhaps it was time for her to contact him.
There was a sudden buzz, it was the doorbell. Jeel was startled! Was her address traced? Or was her phone call intercepted? She was well aware that the case was still with the SHO and not transferred to the DSP or ACP, irrespective of nature. But then, who was it? Slowly, she advanced towards the door, she had no time to search for her gun, she secretly removed her pocket dagger and clutched her hands tightly on the door, ready to open it.
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21st March 2003
8.03 A.M.
Five cops filled in, guns in their hands. They paced towards the doorstep, slowly, without disturbing the silence. Mr. Khatri had instructed them to ring the doorbell politely, without announcing who they were. The upper windows were open, indicating that someone resided there.
There was a crack, and the door opened slowly, the cops were ready with their guns. When the door was finally unlocked, they stood there, confused. Standing in front of them was a 12-year-old girl, who screamed instantly at the sight of the guns.
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'I'm sorry to disturb you, but is your neighbour, Mr. Kapoor, out of town?' There was a stranger on Jeel's doorstep. She sighed, although her right arm still clutched at the dagger. The man was no threat, but she kept her face hidden.
'I have no clue about their whereabouts.' She replied in a slightly different voice.
'That's strange, I saw a bunch of newspapers and letters unopened on his doorstep. Any idea when he might return?' Jeel shook her head.
Thud. She closed the door immediately and buried herself on the sofa.
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The cops carried out a thorough search of the entire house. It was just a normal middle-class family residing in the apartment. They checked every corner they could locate and even asked the family a few questions. The result was that Jeel was in no manner even remotely related to them. This meant one thing, the address which Catherine's sources had provided was wrong. Mr. Khatri bumped his fists on the car and cursed at Catherine. Syna roared and called her a 'bitch' on the radio when Mr. Khatri notified her. They were back at the start-line and had to begin the game again.
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21st March 2003
6 P.M
David was pacing in his endless hallway, talking over the phone with Catherine, whilst Akash enjoyed the scenario.
'This wasn't what I had expected from you, David. It's all on my head now.' Catherine complained over the call.
'I told you; it was just a hunch. I didn't give you any assurance. I'm really sorry Catherine.' And the line went dead.
'Looks like Cat's pretty angry at the stunt we pulled.' Akash grinned, and so did David.
'It was a good move, Akash. I'm indebted to you.'
'Anything for my estranged brother.' He said, and they both clinked their glasses of wine together.
Even at the funeral of his deceased family members, he was worried about Jeel. The cops were going to target her and his lawyer had counseled him to not maintain any contact with her. All David wanted was to keep her safe. And that was when, despite his lawyer's advice, he approached Akash.
Akash quickly came up with a solution. He asked David to enact a small drama where he would claim to have a hunch of Jeel's whereabouts in front of his lawyer and then would pass the same address to the media by anonymous means. The cops would heed the media's tip and chase the address, simultaneously pulling out all the other search parties, which would give Jeel a good headstart to escape the town and be off the radar. Furthermore, having been tipped off with the wrong address twice, the cops would get frustrated. They would think thrice before making another move.
'So, did she leave town?' Akash asked.
'She didn't, but she's safe. I had one of my trusted colleagues approach her apartment this morning. He came up with some excuse and talked to her. She had covered her face. Pretty smart, I tell you.' David replied, happy.
'Look, David, the only reason I agreed to help you is because the killer is a man. But we still need to find the reason as to why she's running away from the cops. Understand?' David nodded.
'You still doubt her anyway, don't you?'
'Of course, I do. She could be in alliance with the killer or she could have outsourced the killings. Since you mentioned the real reason for your party, I doubt her even more.'
'Hm. As long as she is safe, I'm okay with anything. You can interrogate her, the address is-'
'Don't.' Akash yelled. 'Keep the address to yourself, or give it to your lawyer. Due to Attorney-Client privilege, he cannot reveal your conversations. If things go downhill and I'm asked to speak the truth, I will.'
'I understand. So, should I inform my lawyer about our play?'
'You should. But I advise you to not contact Jeel, nor meet her in person, no matter what. Furthermore, avoid using your cell phone, it could be traced, use a public phone.' Akash advised and stood up.
'I'll remember that, thanks.' They shook hands, and Akash left the villa.
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21st March 2003
9 P.M.
Syna and Dexter walked along the Mysore colony. Complexity was ambling all over the case, but she was gloating thinking about Catherine's failure, the bitch would finally lose some of her credibility.
'So, what's our next move?' Dexter asked.
'I have an intuition that the information which that "bitch" received through the anonymous ID was just a distraction.' Dexter turned his face instantly, raising his brow.
'I mean it could be-'
'Jeel herself.' He clapped and Syna nodded.
'Gives her a good chance to escape, since we called off all the search teams.'
'God-damn it. What should we do now?'
'Find and hack her email and then track the ID.'
'Fair enough.' He swallowed and hesitated. 'You know, since we are talking about intuitions, I too have one.'
'Which I hope would give us good news?'
'Not really. I have an intuition that there is a letter waiting for us at the station.' Syna hit him on the back.
On reaching the station, they noticed that a lot of their colleagues had gathered around, with Mr. Khatri acting as the anchor.
'Here comes the great Robinhood. SHO Syna, there's a letter for you.' He said, lifting a small envelope.
Before Mr. Khatri could make another move, Syna grabbed the letter and hurried to her cabin. Ignoring the comments of his fellow mates, Dexter followed her. He picked up some sentences, 'Another letter in her name?', 'Why's that dickhead following her everywhere?'
Whatever the content within, one thing was for sure, this letter would prove who they were really facing.
Important!
Never was I asked for justification and never did I spare any imitation, two reasons performed the unification and forced them to break their limitation, acting as motivation, they aided me in many decimations.
1."The last attempt of Pure love through a ruthless ritual, unstopped by everyone and followed by none, although debarred, justice was never done."
2."From Aryabhata's zero to John Wallis's infinity, a professor's theory was never given any continuity."
Failure gave them what success couldn't.
I offered them what justice wouldn't.
Biding my time till their execution,
the Known-Unknown finally returns!
Break the code and you shall confirm my identity and existence. Reach your deductions before I plan my next destruction.
Supremacy is hailed, revolutions always failed, my fear always sailed, but antiquity was never.......'
~The Stalker
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And It is here!
Cocaine granted a short escape, Dopamine a long one, but Death came with an escape held in perpetuity
~The Stalker
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A/N : This letter took a lot of research and hard work to for, do let me know in the comments if the poetic touch (which I'm NOT good at) was eye-catchy for you? Until then!