Early Monday morning, I was still preoccupied with the fact that I was without any clues for my investigation. Mary's death at this point had become more complicated to understand. Already there was a death of an investigator, and now I had no co-operation from Avani. The culprit was still hiding in the shadows unknown to me.
The next thing I knew was that I had spent a whole week and made barely any progress. I couldn't come close to the murderer, nor could I get close with the possible suspets. It was in shambles.
As my usual routine, I wake up to the alarm, exercised and a jogged. In all this while, I kept my phone aside and offline. So, I was unaware of anybody trying to contact me. This was a routine I followed in the training camp, in Gujarat. But the origin preceeded that, in my college days, while I had a lot of pressure as a student of the best university in the country. I had adopted this to not destroy my health in the persuit of high academic performance.
When I got back and took a nice hot refreshing shower, I found an E-mail from SLAC, a law firm that was quite popular. The E-mail was for me, seeking my help in the mysterious shutting of the case of Mary's death.
An advocate had taken up the case of Mary's"unsolved" death. The main aim was to file a petition in the high court for the re-opening of her investigation. They believed that Mary did not commit suicide and that she was murdered. The name of the advocate was unheard to me, as I have connections with lawyerss and hence, know the popular ones.
I guessed that since the case involved a challenging issue, an experienced advocate would have been hired.
This E-mail changed my dull and dieing investigation a kick-start.
A few hours later, I was at the law firm. It was a huge firm with all advocates, lawyers and students on internship working. I was in third floor. The elevator opened to a wide aisle. On either side there were cabins where the lawyers used to work. The attenders used to clean the tables for them before they came, and arranged the shabby paperwork after they left.
I was ushered inside a cabin at the corner of that aisle. The chamber was spacious, containing a wooden table that had papers stacked on it, chairs and a washroom attached to the room in the corner. Behind the table there was a wide window, tinted just enough to prevent the harsh sunlight, supported with the artificial light in the room so that the room is not dark. I was seated on the chair looking outside the window.
After a while, the advocate walked in from the door into the cabin. He was thin, lean, about six foot tall, black hairs and handled a thick mustach. Brown complexioned man in his fourties. He was dressed in black suite and a white shirt with black trousers, like a typical lawyer. He walked in with a pecular style by keeping his back completely straight and stiff. I found that quite funny.
He walked really fast and looked outside the tinted windows, scanned the outside world like he was building up dramatic phrases in his mind. There was a hotel beside the firm that could be viewed from the window.
'I was looking forward to meeting you, Mr. Joshi.' He said. 'Your works are quite impresive.'
'Thank you.' I said.
He turned around wearing a serious expression.
'I have shared all the details for our meeting, so I presume you know why you are here.' He said.
'Yes,' I replied. 'The issue of Mary's death is what I'm here to discuss.'
He nodded, then sat down on the chair opposite to me, accross the table.
'I want to know what all your investigation has to offer to me.' He said.
It was a fifteen minutes discription of my investigation. I told him everything he needed to know about my investion, from the fake suspects from Maxam Hospital to the death of Vikram. He just nodded like he comprehended it easily.
'So you suspect Mahammad Khan might be the culprit, and you can't find him. Correct? Now you want to go back to that monestary and cross examine.' He conformed. 'What I suspect is that your team is not really reliable. So, I suggest you go alone.'
'I might need a back-up. It might get a little tough.' I said.
'What about that drugs you found at the house? Do you seee any connection?' He asked.
'With the present information I don't see any connection. But there might be a faint clue but I don't trust it. There was a man we found drunk in that flat next to the drugs. He said the drugs were to be shifted to Kerala, and Mary being from there might one way or another related to it.' I said.
'Can you be more precise to where they were shifted?' He said.
'They were to be shifted to the port in Kerala, via Tamil Nadu.' I said.
'Why?' He asked.
'I'm not aware of it.' I said.
He nodded again. My statement was recorded with my clear concent to it. After we were done, the attendent came in, speaking of some other client. I then came to know that he provides legal services to those who are unable to get the remedy the deserve, so is the case of Mary.
'Ujit Mishra is a very skilled lawyer. He's had a lot of success. You're fortunate.' Said the attendent in the firm.
The next day, Advocate Ujit Mishra was all over the news. He had attracted a lot of attention from the media. This also attracted the wolves we wanted to hunt down. It could be dangerous for him, or anybody around him, that included me as well. But I had my safety mesures in place, so there were less chances of that.
The same afternoon, Rita and Avani were at my house. It was the only place where they could seek proper protection.
'So is it all ready?' I asked for the fifth time.
'Yes, it's all set in plan.' Avani said.
'Rita, you know what is to be done right?' I asked.
'Yes. I know.' She replied.
Kaira was in the bedroom. She was upset. She thought that I was breaking the promise I made. I went into the bedroom and closed the door behind me.
'Hey,' I said calmely. 'It is a little risky. But just trust me. I know it will work out just fine.'
'You are not sure of it.' She said. 'I know Rey. I don't want you to get into this. I can't be calm when you are going to get into trouble. So stop lying.'
'I've a good back-up. Even if my plan fails, I've got a back-up plan. I'll be safe.' I siad.
'Then why don't you take me there. I can help you there, trust me.' She said.
'Please understand, Kaira. I trust you, but if something happens to you, then I can't protect you there. You're safe here.' I said.
'You can't be safe there. They will...' She began crying. I held her chin and held her face at level to me.
'Keep this.' I said as I kept a watch in her hand. 'Hold onto it. In twenty hours, you'll see it in my wrist again, just infront of you standing fully healthy and unharmed, and that's a promise.'
I opened the door. They both heard Kaira wiping her tears. She seemed a little better than before, that's what they thought.
I was all set to visit Redlie Amines again.
====================================
TO BE CONTINUED...