Chereads / The Locked Room Girl / Chapter 6 - The Spider's Web

Chapter 6 - The Spider's Web

After hearing from the office worker about not having this Sriya in their office still Aneesha thought he was lying. When she came to Sriya's so-called office her primary purpose was to ask Sriya whether she is coming or not. She was fine if Sriya wouldn't agree to come to the apartment with her but after failing to see her it was like a weird button in her mind was turned on. So she didn't go back to her home and waited in front of that office till 11:00 PM. When there was no sign of any employee coming out of the building she left. After she reached her room she called her father. It was late at night and she knew she was disturbing her father but she needed the answer. So she waited for someone to pick up the call.

"Hello. What happened?" Her father asked. She could hear the anxiety in his voice.

"The girl staying with me, do you have a copy of her ID?" She asked in a hurry

"Yes, I have. Something happened to the girl?" Father asked worriedly

"Nothing happened. I need the ID. Send me now." She said

"Are you in the problem?" Her father asked

"Dad please, just send me the ID" She replied in frustration.

"Okey. I'm sending it but remember if something is troubling you, you can tell us. We'll help you." Her father said.

Without replying to anything she disconnected the call. Now is the waiting time. Every second was like a test of her patience. Finally, after 2mins she got a copy of her ID. There she saw the address village/ locality- Shymala Hills, Krishna Nagar Slums, Ps- Vidya Vihar, District- Bhopal, State- Madhya Pradesh, Pin- 462002. Now she knows where to go.

That night she could barely sleep. All night she searched through all the routes to go to Bhopal from Mumbai. After 3 days she reached her destination. For the first time in their life, Aneesha regrets not using social media. Even if she had arrived at the address she doesn't know where to go. In those 3 days, Aneesha opened all social media accounts and started searching Sriya. It felt like searching for a needle in a haystack still she didn't stop and kept searching but found no result. So she started asking around people about Sriya. After roaming around with the photo for half a day she went to a nearby restaurant to fill her empty stomach. That was a five-star restaurant. Aneesha isn't the one who likes to spend money on luxury but at that time her brain was performing only one function: searching for Sriya. Nothing else mattered but when her stomach started rumbling she knew she had to eat neither it'll torture her body and at this moment she can't bear falling sick.

After entering the restaurant she was stopped by the reception. The receptionist first greeted her politely, then asked how many people are there. She ignored the polite gesture of the receptionist and went straight to the two-sitter table that was located in the corner of the restaurant The waiter came and said in an enthusiastic voice "Hello madam. What would you like to have?" Hearing the waiter's voice Aneesha took out her head from the menu to order but was astonished after looking at the waiter because he is the same man who had brought the drunken Sriya to the apartment. So Aneesha forgot the food and asked "Where is Sriya?"

"Sriya? I don't know any Sriya." The waiter replied.

This time Aneesha started paying attention to his details. She put her repressed skill as a human lie detector into action. She saw the nervous gulping of the waiter after listening to Sriya's name. That was a clear indication of him hiding the truth.

"Madam if you've not decided what you want to order then I'll come back after some time," The waiter said

"You don't remember Sriya? Remember 8 days ago you brought a drunk girl to her apartment." Aneesha asked desperately for his reply

"Sorry mam, I think you took me for someone else." The waiter said

"How can I forget your face? I saw how you were supporting Sriya's body and all I was thinking was the image of blood gushing out from your arms after they had been cut off." Aneesha said angrily. After hearing this shivers run down that waiter's body. He had a sudden need to go to the washroom.

"Mam, I'm again saying this that wasn't me and I think you need some time to decide on the menu." The waiter said

"Why? Are you planning to run away? Shivsankar." Aneesha said after reading his name from his name tag.

He sighed and said in a tired tone "I'll bring you water."

"Please tell me about Sriya. I just want to know if she is fine or not." Aneesha said in a pleading tone but her pleading couldn't stop him and he went inside the kitchen. In the room full of people sharing happy meals, Aneesha was the only one who could not relate to them. After spending 5 days at home she thought that she had gotten the closure that she wanted. Now she can accept the outcome and move forward with the result but she was wrong. She couldn't accept that she could no longer see or hear Sriya. Only her luggage is left. Luggage. She had forgotten about them. Sriya would come to pick up her luggage. Even if she wants to leave her she has to come to Aneesha and that could be his chance. Aneesha could see the truth behind Shivsankar's eyes. He knows Sriya. Aneesha noticed how nervous he reacted when she asked him about Sriya. So Aneesha can send a message to Sriya through him. She thought of a lot of messages to tell Sriya and finally, she figured out what exactly to tell him. Now all she had to do was to wait for Shivsankar.

After some time, Shivsankar came with the water. Aneesha was waiting for this moment. When he came to her table she said in a monotonous tone "Tell Sriya to contact me within 2 days or I'll throw all her luggage. I can't take rent from someone who is not staying. So I'll look for another tenant. So tell her to contact me if she wants her luggage in good condition.

"Sriya is dead."