At four on an early Thursday morning, I was in a mortuary accompanied by Sathvik to revisit the body with the reports. The smell of Formaldehyde made me sick to my stomach. We were following an asssistant who led us to a room which had rows of small chambers equiped with a drawer for keeping the body. She pulled out a specific drawer. A body cleaned and preserved slid out.
It was burnt almost all over the body. Whoever did this was either in a hurry or a complete idiot. The skin was hard from heat, there must have been bubbles on the skin which left deep holes all over it, deep enough to see the flesh. From the large opening on the throat it was clear he was slit.
'He was fourty-eight, five foot five.' He said 'He was tortured first and then killed, pretty brutally. No background similarities to suspects. No information of parents, no socila media presence not even a google account. He's a ghost. His occupation he was a clergyman at some monastery run by missionaries. Still no loved ones.'
I looked at the body. It reminded me of the time I lost my father.
'Any information about his friends or at least siblings?.' I said.
'No.' He replied.
'Which monestary he was in?' I asked.
'Reidle Amines. Somewhere in the sub-urbs. Rings a bell?' He said.
I shook my head, staring in the gloom.
'I'll go there. Maybe I could get something.' I said
'Contact me if you need any help.' He said.
Three hours later, I was at the office on the complete opposite end. I had to visit Ladwa for some important issue. He was on his chair, stuffing food. I just sat on the chair in dismay.
'Hey Joshi. I got a good news for you.' He said while sipping coke 'Or just news. I got a detective who can help you with this case.'
'Yes sir. I guess I've already met them.' I said.
'Well that's better. No need to waste time introducing them. And its just her, not them' He said.
I looked at him puzzled. There had to be two people, Avani and Vikram. But I did not correct him. There was a knock on the door.
'Come in' he authorised.
Avani came in with Vikram. She looked at me and then at him.
'She's the detective and him as well.' He said.
I was disapointed in him for calling me for this rubbish shit.
'By the way' he said 'be aware of the cops.'
I took his advise. I figured Sathvik could help me if I'm in some cops net.
'We have met before.' I said.
'I'm Avani.' she said sheshingly trying to seduce him 'He is Vikram. He's helping me in this case. Glad to meet you.'
He looked at her in amusemen, sprang up and extended his hand.
'I'm Ladwa. Joshi works for me.' He said like he owned me. I wanted to throw a punch at him, but I just sat still.
'I guess we should leave. You seem to be a busy man.' she complimented.
'Yes. But I can spare some time.' He said.
My phone buzzed. 'Admas Street. Hurry.'
'We gotta go now!' I said breaking off their conversation. Lawda looked at me just like does, like a fucking bore. We all rushed out.
'What is it?' she asked.
'I got a text from Rita. She called us immediately to Adams Street.' I said.
'I'll find a taxi right away.' said Vikram.
'I got a car.' I said.
An hour later, we were at the busy area of Adams Street. We were all seated in the car stationed on a parking area. ′ABOVE "H-NGER" SECOND FLOOR' read another message.
'Where's H-NGER?' he asked.
'I've seen it before.' I said 'It's a garment store. We gotta look for it.'
We alighted immediately and trifurcated and searched in different lanes. I headed North, Avani headed South and Vikram searched in the West. There were rows of small congusted shops, street vendors selling books and vegetables on the street. There were cluster of shops crowed with people crossing the road. I looked on either side but couldn't find it. I asked a shopkeeper but he did not know of it. I was on the wrong side. My phone buzzed.
'I got it. Fifteen blocks South.' she said.
We assembled there within a minute. I looked up. The floors above were for rent.
'What's up there?' she asked.
'Somethings wrong.' he said.
'Let's find out.' I replied.
We got to the second floor. There was a door locked from the inside. I knocked the door six times. It was like a sign. She opened the door.
The room was empty, the floor, walls and windows were all dusty. It was unused for a long time. I took a quick scan of it. It seemed like this room was never occupied before.
'What's the matter?' Avani asked.
'I gotta show you something.' she said and escorted us into a room.
It was dark. she reached out for the switch. The light brightened the room. What I saw was staggering. The room was packed from floor to the ceiling with jute bags filled with drugs.
′OH MY GOD! ITS A DRUGS BUST!′ he said.
I called Sathvik to let him know about this. Avani looked around the house and Vikram was scrutinizing it, like CIDs typically do.
'Rey.' Called Avani.
I went to the washroom from where she called. There was a smell of alcohol. I could identify a faint smell of oxidised fuel, or smoke. There was a curtain covering the bathtub. I moved it aside. The smell of smoke spread everywhere. I waved my hand to clear the ashes spread out in the air. The tub was black, fulled with ashes. I spotted a ring on the edge of the tub.
'Now we know where Alan was killed.' I said.
STILL NOT DONE YET!! LIKE AND COMMENT :)