" We stopped checking for monsters under our bed when we realized they were inside of us. "
-Joker
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Ajay was intelligent, quick to make decisions and very sharp.
His only fault? Being super lazy.
As lazy as one could get. Tell him to go fetch his prize for being the winner of laziness award, and he would still send a substitute.
He was only moved by tricky cases, and anything less than that would never be able to get him out of his aloof and ever yawing attitude.
He didn't mind transfers and neither did transfers mind him. They were like the best of friends.
Already in his 15 year long record, he had been to 15 different cities, leaving an lasting impression on each city that he visited.
So, as a gift on his 16th transfer, he was sent to this small town on the outskirts of Shimla. It was calm and quite in this part of the town with crime rate almost down to a minimal.
The news of the arrival of a new officer circulated like wild fire in the section. Everyone was in anticipation of an efficient officer, with the previous one being completely incompetent and hopelessly fat.
But, anticipation mostly results in disappointment. And, arriving 2hrs late to the scheduled time, Ajay lived up to the disappointment.
In his defence, he merely said, "Man, the traffic today was terrible. Hope I didn't miss much."
Humming a song, he then proceeded towards his cabin, leaving everyone behind irritated and amazed in equal parts.
The senior officers cribbed at his, I-don't-give-a-damn type of attitude. But Ajay being who he was, didn't give a damn.
He spent the next two hours pondering over old case files, hoping something at least would catch his attention.
Skimming through the pages, a name suddenly popped up.
Aahana Roy.
The name brought back to him memories of his sister. She too, shared the same name.
He felt his thoughts pushing him back...long long back, and then a smile...a gap-toothed smile of a little girl....all of it seemed like a dream now.
Eyes closed, Ajay clutched his head hoping to stop the chain of thoughts. And, after almost ten whole minutes, they finally halted.
Looking up, he was greeted by curious looks from his colleagues. Ignoring them, he decided to give the case a good read.
Spending a good fifteen minutes over the file, he was sure that this was more than just a mere accident.
His inner instincts were telling him that the case was not as simple as it was pretending to be.
Something was off.
What could it be....what could it be....think damn it.
Unable to find anything substantial, even after rereading the file from cover to cover, he was beginning to feel more and more frustrated.
So calming himself down, he turned to his stress reliever. Gobbling down two twenty rupee pack of Blue lays, his brain cells again started to work sanely.
He thought about reopening the case and proposed the decision to all his colleagues. Most of them were skeptic about the decision and didn't quite agree.
"It's an accident case. What incites your sheer amount of interest in this case?" all of them asked in unison.
"I don't have an answer to that yet. But, I have a feeling that there is more to this case than what meets the eye.
The car falling off from a cliff.... never being recovered...the bodies never being inspected...It all appears too blunt to me." he replied.
He felt the case was interesting and didn't really give a damn about others agreeing to him or not. His making up of mind was a long and tiring process. Once done, it was impossible to change it.
So, an investigation unit was dispatched at the accident site just to cross check. Although, Ajay knew that the chances of getting any evidence were bleak.
A whole goddamn year had passed by since the case was filed. This was already crazy enough.
The next step was a good search at Aahana's house, which he decided to carry on alone.
That was his way of handling stuff. Alone. To top everything, the house was deserted and spooky.
After Aahana's untimely death, her parents were unable to bear the huge loss.
They weren't ignorant of Mohit's love for their daughter. So, when he requested to adopt Nikki, they instantly agreed, thinking he would be the best person to take care of her.
As soon as the adoption proceedings were over, they sealed the house and shifted abroad. Away from the town that was now haunted by their daughter's demise.
All this took place within just one month of Aahana's death. Death really changes people.
They didn't even think about having a look at their daughter's room for one last time. They were too worn off to think about that.
The room now held secrets. Secrets that now were buried deep under debris of dust. Secrets that were much more devastating than just memories waiting to be revealed....
Soon...
Ajay was in no hurry. He was still busy cursing his seniors for being lousy and irresponsible.
"Who in the fucking world takes almost 5hrs to sign a simple search warrant!!" he thought to himself, angrily spatting on the ground.
His calming therapy wasn't working properly, making him even more restless. His stock of chips ran out faster than he had hoped they would, and by then all the shops were closed.
So, all he had now was a mini pack of Kurkure that he always preserved for emergencies.
He was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't even realize that he'd reached Aahana's place. Suddenly snapping out of his trance, he saw that the destination was reached.
Letting out a yawn, he lazily stepped out of the battered police jeep, proceeding towards the front door.
He wasn't in a mood to prick the lock or anything. So, he fired his revolver right away, smashing the padlock with a deafening sound, in the heart of the night.
The silence adoring the place was shattered to pieces with the bullet laughing in the gleaming aura of the bright moonlight.
Without wasting anymore time, he entered the house.
It was just like any other upper middle class house. Just with furniture and electrical appliances missing.
Ajay quickly discovered that Aahana's room was on the second floor of the house. And, that was his main target.
He believed that, evidence (if any), could only be unravelled there.
Aahana's room was spooky and full of cobwebs. Ajay with a deep breath, entered the room.
After searching for a while, his attention diverted towards a cabinet. It was covered in thick layer of dust, and was almost hidden at the extreme corner of the room.
Advancing to it he realized that it was locked. "Fucking shit," he thought.
Another firing from the service revolver and there in front of him, was a shattered lock and a dusty cabinet. He secured some photographs, a dairy and few letters from within the rubble.
Finally, jackpot!!
Quickly stuffing everything, he then exited the house and drove away in the dead silence of the night.
It was almost past midnight by the time he reached the police station. But, he had an urge to read the letter and the diary right away.
It took him almost 3 long hours to finish reading the letter and the diary. And by then, his head was a tangled mess of wires.
This night was certainly one of the most exciting thing that he'd felt in a long time.
The diary wasn't of much help. But in the letter, one name that repeated itself quite a few times was :
"Mohit Manchandani."
Looking up at the records, and contacting a few people finally yielded Mohit's number.
Ajay's first impulse was to call Mohit right away, and bombard him with questions. He didn't give a damn to the fact that it was almost 3 am in the morning.
So, he dialed the number anyway, dreaming about chips.
Their exchange of words on phone was outright formal, and somewhat rude. Although, they managed to get a meeting planned, as Mohit promised to arrive with in 20 mins at the police station.
But, Indians are punctual beings. So, after almost 40 mins, Ajay heard someone entering the office. Finally.
Then, a question addressing him, "Excuse me, sir?"
Looking up from the file, he saw
a handsome man in his late twenties standing in front of him.He had a look of concern on his face. It felt like he was already very stressed out.
Ajay felt sorry for the concern that he was about to add, to the concern that was already making a hill on Mohit's forehead.
He didn't want to discuss about the letter in a haste, so he requested him to sit down. After everything settled, he gave the letter to Mohit which he started to read with trembling hands....
Little did he know that this letter was about to change his life...
( Maybe forever )
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