Delhi
She was taken into an empty cell and left alone by herself. Her eyes glanced at the dark, little room. She sat down on the cold floor while releasing a tired sigh at where she was brought, which was no different from Abhimanyu's house. The only difference was that his home had furniture, and this didn't. Nevertheless, both were prisons, according to her.
Life was being cruel to her for no reason. She was on her bad days, but she thought, like every other, she would come out stronger.
****
Abhimanyu was explaining to his family why he married her.
"I thought she killed our pooja."
"Don't try to sugarcoat the truth for it to suit you. She killed my daughter and your sister." His mother cried in her palms helplessly because she could do nothing when her daughter's murderer stayed with her.
"She said she wanted drugs." His mind was also confused now thinking about it again because when she stabbed her, she was still in her senses.
"Do you have a soft corner for her? Where is the oath you said you took? Why are you defending your sister's murderer?" She exclaimed as she raised her head. Her face had turned red because she was burning with regret that she had let her daughter's murderer leave before her eyes.
Abhimanyu had never seen her look so angry. He became silent because he didn't know the right words he would tell her that would comfort her.
"Maybe I liked her yesterday, not anymore," he whispered, as when she spoke rudely towards his mother, it made him lose the friendly feeling he had acquired for her.
He then dashed out to go to the station. In his car, he took a pause to ponder all that had happened. It was never his plan to expose everything so soon. Also, he had no idea she imported drugs. How was she able to hide it for so long? How did the money from them never enter her account until yesterday?
Instead of going to the station, he decided to investigate the matter himself. He called up his partner, Raghav, and they met at the restaurant that had a view overlooking the North River.
"How did the police find out she imports drugs?" He chewed the food he just put in his mouth, looking at him as he also muffled his food before shrugging.
"It escaped us. I'm wondering how they found it. Either an enemy is setting her up or she ran out of luck. I can't think of anything else."
"Money went into her account for the first time from the sender. I can't think of what to make up. I won't say she's not capable. She's capable of importing, but then, if she does, how come we didn't know about it?" He looked out the window at the serene view as he tried to think over it while his friend shared his point.
"She must be in the interrogation room by now. We will find out through her statement if she's guilty or not."
••••
She fiercely refused to break contact with the man on her head who was staring at her with aggressiveness while questioning her.
"I won't repeat myself, Ms. Poonam. Confess to your crimes."
"I'm not a fool to say anything without my lawyer reaching. So stop wasting your breath," her answer remained the same. The interrogator got furious because she hadn't said a word of benefit to him since she came; rather, she was relaxed more than she should be for his liking. She sat on the wooden chair like a boss, in the manner she always does at work, her legs crossed and with a dominative face.
"Let me try," Abhimanyu said the instant he waddled into the room, already guessing she wouldn't say anything to anyone.
"Oh wow, dear betrayer." She rolled her eyes, munching a little smile on her lips, because, like the other man, even he wouldn't be able to make her speak.
The man stepped back for him, and he stood on the other side, leaning forward with his hands resting on the desk as their gazes connected.
"We have evidence already."
"Also the confession from my call with my mother. Use that," she said, giving him a smile.
He eyed her, as he wasn't expecting he would come and see her this relaxed, given how she reacted when he first sent her the tape.
"Do you know what? There was a film I watched long ago where the man who was a police officer like you gave his girlfriend the evidence he had against her for murder just so that they would live happily ever after. That woman committed the murder, yet he still chose her over his work. And here, when I am innocent," she took a pause, looking at the man who was interrogating her at first, back at him, who all had stern expressions, none of them following her tale.
"Whatever. I am innocent, and I don't care if you believe it or not. My statement won't be changing, even in court." She completed it and got up to take her leave.
"Sit right back!"
She found herself sitting back, as his face was devoid of any hint of lightness. His eyes concentrating on her, he conveyed in a weighty tone,
"Confess to your crimes, Ms. Poonam," he emphasised over every word, looking her dead serious in the eyes.
"I... I..." she wanted to deny again, still not intimidated until he came near.
"Are you into drugs? Do you import substances?"
"No." Her voice was low when she uttered it, with a glaze of hesitation and fear as she peered into his eyes, both of them knowing what the truth was.
"But you've killed people for your convenience." He stopped her hand, which was trying to reach the recorder on the table because she wanted to turn it off.
"I don't import drugs; I don't kill, Mr. Abhimanyu."
"We will have a test performed on you. If you won't confess, your blood will speak."
"Are you really stupid? Do you think I will take the substance if I do import it? I take alcohol, of course, which is allowed in India, but except for that, I don't take any other thing."
"So you don't take the substances you import?"
"Why will I take them? Rudra takes them, but I don't. I know how it's addictive and also harmful to one's organs."
"So you admit to importing them?"
"People buy it with their money. They know the consequences since there is a warning on every bottle. How is it my fault if they are very foolish?"
"You admit to importing them?"
"I don't import them. I only give them......" She remembered she was being recorded and thus paused and changed her mind to say anything.
"I don't. For the umpteenth time, I have nothing to do with this. It's slander. They're trying hard to defame me."
"You're permitted to call out a name if you suspect anyone doing it to defame you. They would also be called for questioning."
"When is my lawyer getting here? Where is my father?"
"Leave us," he asked the interrogator.
"Excuse..."
"Leave us," he repeated.
The man exited the room, however, still stood guard outside, while Abhimanyu, on the other hand, looked at Poonam, who was looking at him suspiciously and confusedly.
He smiled and took the recorder, throwing it at her to catch it, and she did,
"Do you realise what you're doing?" She spoke while deleting the recording that was taken of her and also proceeded to destroy the recorder by banging it on the table repeatedly until the wires inside were exposed.
"You are my wife, and we're meant to be married again in front of both our families. This came up unexpectedly about you doing drugs. I saw a credit alert in your bank with lots of money for the first time. I want to save you from this mess, but I can't until you tell me if you're involved or not. There is no recorder anymore. Look around. The cameras have stopped working long ago too.
"I don't trust you at all. You revealed that video," she whispered so that only he could hear her and no one else.
"I didn't reveal your video. I want us to still be married despite everything."
"Why should I trust you? Your colleagues entered your house, took your wife, treated her like an ordinary citizen, and..."
"The Pooja you stabbed was my sister. Your action led to her death, but still, I didn't get you arrested. Instead, I married you."
"Pooja Ahluwalia, Abhimanyu Ahluwalia," she mumbled and then gasped loudly from shock, looking at him, now in a different way, and instantly, tears brimmed in her eyes because she never thought she died.
"Pooja is gone?"
"That's enough reason to trust me. If I married you despite you being the cause of my sister's death, then you should understand I don't harbour any ill intentions towards you."
"I didn't; it was an accident. She was a good person," she tried to explain, but he cut her and held her hand, sitting on the table and facing her.
"Let's not go there now. We will talk about it when you come home. To save you now, you have to tell me if you're involved."
She drew in a long breath and chose to trust him since, despite knowing his sister died because of her, he didn't get her arrested using his position. "I am involved. I import, ...I get them the permission that lets them bring it into the country. It is a business that involves a lot of people, including my aunt Lakshmi and other government officials."
He gave her all his listening ears, although his eyes were furthered towards the camera behind her that was mirroring their conversation in a room watched by other policemen.
"Which government officials? I have to know to cover their names too."
She listed the names that were involved, then held his hands and softly mumbled, "People buy it with their money. We don't force it upon anyone."
"What about your father's hospital? They said, both of you administers it to the patients."
"It is a lie. I know my line. My dad is an honest man, and if I were to do that, he would realise immediately and disown me. Yes, I ask for the report of patients who come for therapy and treatment for healing. I consult them and tell them I have a cure, but all that happens outside my father's hospital. I do sell them the product, but it has never entered my dad's hospital."
"The patient that died from the surgery who bears Shraddha's name,"
"It was intentional. I intentionally caused her death," she said, looking down at the tears that fell from her eyes. "I left her children without a mother even though they asked me to save her. But I didn't do anything wrong. I was also deprived of a mother," she said, looking ahead unbothered, "You can have my licence revoked seriously. I won't mind."
He withdrew his hands and got up, but she held it again and inquired, "When will I be released?"
She couldn't read through his face, however, he exited the room without giving her a response.
"I hope I haven't made a mistake trusting you again." Her eyes wandered around the room tiredly. On the other hand, he came across her father, who had just entered the station with a squad of lawyers, and the police who were keeping an eye on him.
"Where is my daughter?" he asked the moment he reached to greet him, and when he leaned forward to take his blessing, he shifted back, coldly telling him,
"I blame you for whatever happened to her. I knew something was off about your marriage because I know my daughter won't marry a man like you for herself, and you proved it right. Someone accused her, and you believed them. Tell me you were blackmailing her with all these"
"I'm very sorry, but you can't meet her today. Of course, you can convey whatever message you want to tell her through your lawyer, and while he is there, you can wait in my office. I will join you in five minutes," he endeavoured to sound as respectful as he always was, but Anand still overlooked it and rather got more furious.
"This is what I was telling you. Let's transfer her to Mumbai prison. My friend is the commissioner there. If we let her stay here, she won't be granted any bail."
"My office is open for you, Uncle. Excuse me," he said, walking past all of them to go to the department and ask about the confession tape.