12:20 PM, 28th March, Mhatre Outhouse
"So, this was the reason for Anna's changed behavior after she came back from Canada; why didn't she tell anything to me?" He said in a grave yet guilty tone as he held those papers in his hand and a moment of silence prevailed in the room.
"Did you find anything regarding that number?" She nudged him, but he doesn't stir, he was too busy grasping the sudden revelation that had just happened.
"Shreekant!" She called him in an unusually louder voice, tapping his shoulder gently.
"Hmm... Sorry I didn't hear you"
"I was asking you about the number"
"Yes, I got a very peculiar detail... This is Anna's last six months transaction detail, look at this name here, Amol Despande. She has transferred him about ten lakh rupees in February and that unknown phone number we were searching for... That also belongs to this man", He said, pointing his fingers at the papers while she was hearing him in complete engrossment.
"Why did Anna transfer such a huge amount of money in this man's account?" She asked confusingly looking at his face.
"That's what we need to find. The orphanage mentioned in the papers is in Bangalore and this man Amol is also from Bangalore. I really don't know why am I getting a gut feeling that all this has something to do with Anna's death. I have got the address of this man, Amna get ready... We are going to Bangalore by flight; we have to follow the same trail that Anna had followed. Let's see where does this ends..." She nodded in agreement.
After taking a flight from Mumbai to Bangalore, they took a rented car to go to the orphanage mentioned in the papers.
6:10 PM, 28th March, Mount Mary Orphanage, Bangalore
"So this is the place, the logo matches with that of the adoption papers." Both of them stood in front of the gate of the orphanage.
She gestured to him, "Let's go inside... We need to meet the person whose signature was there on those adoption papers." As they tried to get in the security guard stopped them, "Madam, it's already past five, visitors' time is over."
"We have come a long way to meet Sister Geetha, please let us in, It's very important, " She tried to reason in a compelling voice.
"Why does everyone want to meet her? Two months back also a lady came to meet her, I told her the same thing which I am saying now, Sister Geetha died a long time back. The person in charge now is Sister Akhila, you can meet her if you want, and she is in the office room... Second room to the left"
"That's alright, thanks a lot." Both of them paced into Sister Akhila's room to find a lady in a beige-colored saree and head covered in a cowl.
Striding towards her desk Amna initiated the conversation, "Sorry to bother you Sister but this is a little important. This certificate is issued here and this signature here is of Sister Geetha, right? Actually, we need the details of the person mentioned on the certificate, the name is Vaani, and can you help us?" She asked all the questions in one go.
Sister Akhila glanced up at both of them with frowning eyes, "Why do you need the details...?"
"The person mentioned in the certificate is my dead wife, please help us... We shall be indebted to you", he said in an appealing manner sensing the indifference of the lady.
"Dead!", the tone of her voice changed slightly on hearing his words and she continued, "Okay, I will help... Actually; you should be indebted to the person... I mean your wife who came with the same certificate about two months ago, she was trying to find her real family, and she asked the same question. I told her that the details are available, but are in paper format, as it was twenty-five years ago... Very difficult to find... But she searched the whole storeroom for hours, going through every old file to find the details... Wait, I will show it to you, give me a minute"
She then moved out from her chair and went to get the required documents while Amna and Shreekant waited patiently.
"Here are your documents... You can go through them"
They scrolled their eyes through the document and saw the Guardian's name, "Malesh Rao, Constable Pandharpur Police Station"
"Sister, why is it written, temporary legal guardian?", he asked anxiously as held the papers in his hand.
"Oh that... It's written when any person brings a child to this orphanage who is not related to him or her by blood. Sister Geetha must have made him the guardian on paper, it's written Pandharpur, right? That place was Sister Geetha's hometown."
After going through the old documents, both of them thanked her and went back to their car.
"I know what's next, we are going to Pandharpur right?"
"Yes, but before that, we will have to meet Amol Despande, Are you tired or what?"
"No! Not at all, let's go"
7:30 PM, 28th March, Amol Despande's House, Bangalore
As Amna pressed the bell of the house given in the concerned address, a short-statured thin woman wearing a white saree opened the door.
"You must have come from the insurance company, come inside..." Before both of them could ask or tell anything, they noticed a huge garland around the photo of a man.
"As you already know my husband died earlier this month in a hit and run case, I desperately need the insurance claim for my daughter. I will get the necessary documents, please make yourselves comfortable." Her despair and hopeless condition were clearly visible from the way she talked. She hastily went inside one of the rooms.
"It's better not to ask her anything now, let's leave from here... The person whom we came to meet is already dead" Just as he was speaking, he noticed a group photo on one of the walls and went near it... He intently gazed at the photo as he saw his father and Parimal Roy's photo along with many people in the background. The photo frame was imprinted with the words, "ROYMHA BIOTECH 18TH ANNUAL FELICITATION"
The woman came back, "Here is the death certificate and other details. You can go through them"
"Your husband was an employee at ROYMHA?" He asked pointing towards the photo.
"Yes, he has been working there in the Finance Department for the last eight years" Shreekant then took the death certificate that she had brought and noticed the time along with the day of the alleged death... 8:00 PM 6th of March.
Amna saw the same and was confused but remained calm enough to conceal her expressions. She continued asking the woman, "Can I see the autopsy report of your husband?"
"Sure..."
She went through the autopsy details for a few minutes and then hurriedly said, "Thank you Ma'am but we will have to take your leave. Actually, we are new to the insurance company. Senior people from the company will come and check everything again." She then held Shreekant's hands and hastily left the place with him.
"Why did you haul me out from there? I had a few more things to ask. This is very strange, this man works at my father's company, ROYMHA Biotech, in its Bangalore Main Office also the date he died, 6th March it's the same day Anna died, this can't be a coincidence, right?"
"Not at all... Anna died at around 11:30 PM and he died at 8:00 PM which is around three hours apart and about the autopsy report, it's not a simple hit and run case... It's a murder in the disguise of hit and run"
"Wait! How can you be so sure..?"
"When any car hits someone the car's bumper causes bruises in the same shape as that on the bumper and a very small amount of the paint that the car has, can be found on the victim's body or his clothes due to the collision. Even the bruises which are not clearly seen by the human eye can be seen from ultraviolet photography and all these things help to find the type of car that hit the person. Can you guess which type of car is mentioned on the autopsy report? It's a gray-colored car with a Z-shaped emblem... He is the same masked man Shreekant..."
"Who is this man? And whoever it is, Amol definitely knew something about my wife... But what? Why was she giving money to him? Why was Anna meeting someone from my father's company? Everything is so weird and the picture is not fitting in place at all."
9:00 PM, 28th March, Bangalore
Shreekant was driving the car along the busy roads of Bangalore, while Amna quietly looked out of the window. As the car crossed the area where Amna's hospital was located, she looked at him wanting to ask him something, and finally blurted out, "Can we once go to my house, I really don't know in what condition it is... After that day's incident?"
"Do you really want to go there? I mean whoever that man was, he knew your place, and it might be dangerous"
"Hmm... It's okay, you are right. We should not go there"
He then reflected for a minute and said, "Actually, now that I think, it might not be a bad idea to go there", She looked at him confused when he suddenly changed his opinion.
"I mean that masked man attacked you there, he might have left some clue about his identity which we can get if we search your house properly but we have to be careful"
The car stopped in front of a small yellow-colored house in a not-so-populated locality. Amna opened the electric door lock with her passcode and both of them entered the house. There was total darkness and Amna's heart skipped a beat remembering that day as she went inside. She had been kind of afraid of the dark since that day.
"Don't let the door close... Give me a minute, I will try to fix the light." She went near the meter box and switched on the MCB.
"What is this?" As the room gets illuminated, she was greatly appalled to find many of her things scattered and thrown here and there as if someone had already searched her house.
"Why was the man searching your house? What did you have that he wanted?" He asked in a seemingly worried manner with his eyes narrowing.
"I absolutely have no idea... It looks as if my house was attacked by a tornado, God, I have to clean this mess now, I will see if I get any clue"
"I will help you", he said. After around three hours of thorough cleaning, searching, and fixing the broken window, they threw themselves on the sofa, both tired and disappointed as they couldn't get any single clue except the fact that the man entered the house by breaking the bedroom window.
"I will be back in a few minutes, I need to use the washroom" He went hurriedly excusing himself. Minutes later as he came out he saw Amna already asleep on the sofa and thought to himself, "What! She fell asleep within five-six minutes of my going", he smirked looking at her.
"She must have been very tired... Let her rest for some time" He strolled around the house guarding her in case someone tried to enter again.
A few moments later he heard soft whimpering moans from the sofa side. He went there and found her mumbling, "Please don't kill me... Please... Save me". Then suddenly she woke up and tightened her hold on him, crying like a child. Her fear seemed like an open wound to him and although he was taken aback by this, still he stood there totally motionless tapping her shoulder in comfort until she decided to leave him.
A couple of minutes later, she withdrew herself from him and averted her gaze down, "Shreekant, sorry... I..." With embarrassment and nervousness clearly seen in her voice and eyes she promptly changed the topic, "Ah, I fell asleep... How much time has passed?"
"Not much... Only two hours", he said casually, "Anyway, you can sleep for some more time if you are tired, we will leave for Pandharpur early in the morning"
She answered in an awkward and uncomfortable tone, "No need... I am fine. It will be unnecessary wastage of time, plus I have already taken some rest, we will drive in turns so that when one person drives the other one can get some rest"
"Okay then... Let's leave now", He replied in agreement
After Amna packed a few of her things, including some clothes, her ID card, driving license, and her old phone in a bag, both of them left the house.
10:00 AM, 29th March, Pandharpur Police Station
Shreekant and Amna reached the police station, which was visibly busy with a lot of people. "Is a person named Malesh Rao still posted in this Police Station?" He asked in his usual hoarse voice to a constable who sat near the entrance.
"Rao sir! He is the SI of the station... He is in his cabin now, Do you want to meet him?"
"Yes, we wanted to meet him regarding an important matter", she replied in a low yet assertive manner.
"You can go straight and then take left, the first cabin is his," He said and got busy with his paperwork again. Both of them, then headed to the cabin to see a bulky man going through his files
"Excuse me!" The man glanced up at them trying to recognize the two strangers who had just barged into his office.
"Sir, we are extremely sorry to bother you like this. We needed some information regarding an adoption in which you were named as the temporary legal guardian"
"Are you talking about the adoption of a girl named Vaani around twenty-five years ago? The girl came to me about two months ago and asked about the adoption, but how are you related to her...? His words gave confidence to them as they looked at each other hinting that they were in the right direction.
"I am her husband... She died a few weeks ago"
"What! Died! Poor girl... She has indeed been very unlucky" He gestured at them to sit down and began with his story while both of them were ready to listen to him in great concentration and pin-drop silence.
"I still remember the day I saw her for the first time. It was the month of June or July 1995. I was only a newly appointed constable at that time; one night while patrolling the area near Solapur-Pandharpur Highway when I saw a white ambassador car that had an accident. As I went near, I saw a pregnant woman in the driver seat badly injured and bleeding; in the back seat, I saw another child of around three or four years"
"I reported all this and called for an ambulance, just then I smelt something strange. I understood what it was and immediately took them out of the car in time, transporting them away from the car as far as I could. Just minutes later the car blasted into flames... It shocked me. I can never forget that incident in my whole life" He spoke as if he had that moment still afresh in his memory even after twenty-five years.
"The woman was injured badly, but luckily the child was not injured that greatly but was still unconscious. As the ambulance came, both the woman and the child were taken to Pandharpur Government Hospital. I waited in the hospital lobby for some time. Then a nurse came to me and told me that the child is fine, but the woman had already bled a lot so they couldn't save her and they had to perform an emergency C-Section. She had given birth to a premature baby girl of seven months who was placed in an incubator immediately"
"Later on, when the other child was awake I went to her and asked her name, she replied, "Vaani...", I asked the full name again, but the only thing she told me was, "Vaani...", I asked her mother's name, she replied, "Mamma", she didn't know her full name or her mother's name or father's name. The car had already blasted badly and there was no way to know their identity" He said, heaving a sigh of disappointment
"A missing complaint was filed, but no one ever came to take the woman's body or even identify either of them. Also, everyone in our department at that time was very busy regarding the security arrangements of Regional Temple's Annual Festival as the Health Minister and high-ranking Police Officers were coming as the chief guests. Later on, the case was dropped; the body was donated to a medical college and both the children were put for adoption"
As Shreekant and Amna were listening to every bit of the story with total immersion, Rao's phone rang and he stopped midway in his narration. He went out of his cabin gesturing to them that he will be back in a few minutes.