Saagar was the first to regain his senses and grabbed the man's wrist to check his pulse.
Abhimanyu noticed a white light emanate from the man's body, spreading into the surroundings.
Saagar said, "He's dead."
Neha asked, "What should we do now? Should we call the police?"
Deeljeet said, "I'll call the police."
Deepak said, "By the way, did you all hear what he said before he died?"
All the girls were quite scared.
Arun said, "He said 'Jhalka', maybe he meant 'Jhalkari', but he died before he could finish."
Hearing this, all the girls started panicking, and Neha stammered, "Jh-Jh-Jhalkari, does that mean she killed him?"
Rihana was trembling with fear.
Abhimanyu said, "Calm down, everyone," and then he went near the corpse. First, he looked at the trident and flicked its handle with his finger. Then, he put on rubber gloves, which he took out of his pocket using a ring, and started searching the man's pockets. He found some money and a wallet, but there was no phone.
Neha said, "Why does he carry gloves in his pocket?"
When Abhimanyu opened the man's wallet, he found an ID card.
Abhimanyu said, "He's a reporter, and his name was Nadeem."
Deepak said, "Nadeem? Isn't he that daring reporter who exposes many people without fear? His channel isn't very big, but he's quite famous."
Vaibhav said, "Not is, he was. He's no more in this world."
Abhimanyu put the ID back in the wallet and returned it to the man's pocket.
Abhimanyu said, "I've heard that when Jhalkari targets someone, she hangs them on the tree in the village square."
Neha asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Abhimanyu replied, "I mean, if Jhalkari killed him, she will come to collect the body. If she didn't, no one will come. And if someone does come, it won't be Jhalkari. So, we need to stay alert. If we're lucky, we might meet Jhalkari."
Vaibhav whispered to Saagar, "Has he lost his mind? How is meeting Jhalkari considered good luck?"
Abhimanyu overheard and said, "Haven't you heard? Jhalkari was a very beautiful girl and a devotee of Shiva. Meeting her would be an honor."
Vaibhav said, "And then we'll get to see God directly too."
By then, Deeljeet returned and said, "Alright, we can only wait until the police arrive."
Saily asked, "Did Jhalkari do this?"
Abhimanyu thought to himself and replied, "No, this is the work of a human. I don't sense any special energy. He was killed by a trident thrown with the force of a normal person. And this person isn't a martial artist either."
Saily said, "That's amazing."
Abhimanyu said, "Maybe there are fingerprints on the trident's handle. We'll see what the forensic team finds. By the way, his phone is missing. Can you track where it is?"
Saily said, "Yes, give me a minute." After some time, Saily said, "The phone is switched off. Its last location was 500 meters outside the village; it was turned off after that."
Abhimanyu said, "That means someone took the phone. Maybe this reporter recorded something he shouldn't have."
Saily said, "So, it's a murder."
Abhimanyu replied, "Could be. What does the post-mortem report of the last corpse say?"
Saily said, "A trident was also thrust into his chest, but it looks like he was attacked from the side, while this man was stabbed from the back."
Abhimanyu thought to himself with a smile, "I can't kill the same way every time."
Saily said, "Yes, and the locations on the chest are different. But why did he say 'Jhalkari'?"
Abhimanyu said, "I don't know, maybe he wanted to say that it wasn't Jhalkari, it was a human or something."
Saily asked, "Do you think Jhalkari is real?"
Abhimanyu said, "Looking at this corpse, I'm 60% sure it's not Jhalkari, but there's a 40% chance there's another story."
Rihana asked, "Are we going to stand here until the police arrive? We've called them, right? They'll handle it now."
Abhimanyu said, "What if Jhalkari makes the body disappear by then?"
Rihana said, "Why would she make it disappear? She'll take it to the village square."
Abhimanyu said, "If a human did this, they'll destroy the evidence first and then place the body there."
Rihana said, "But how long will we stay here? I'm scared looking at this."
Just then, they heard the sound of anklets a little distance away, as if a woman was walking slowly, humming. Her voice was very melodious, but it felt strange in the silence of the night.
Abhimanyu telepathically told Ramika, "Go and see what's happening."
Ramika quickly emerged from Abhimanyu's ring as a black shadow and moved toward the sound, looking around. But she didn't see anything unusual, and the sound started to feel eerie, slowly fading as if it was going far away, and then it stopped.
Ramika said, "I can't see anything unusual, nor do I sense any evil power, but the sound is heading toward the village."
Abhimanyu said, "Alright, go check it out."
Ramika quickly moved toward the village, where the sound was still faintly audible.
But then Ramika felt that the sound was suddenly coming back toward Abhimanyu.
Ramika said, "The sound is coming back toward you."
Abhimanyu sensed something was wrong and said, "Alright, come back quickly."
Ramika turned into black smoke and swiftly returned to Abhimanyu's ring. Shortly after, the humming sound came closer to Abhimanyu, along with the sound of anklets. Then, the person started singing a song, which sounded very sweet.
Rihana asked, "Could this be Jhalkari?"
Neha said, "Oh come on, it's just a woman humming."
The sound of anklets suddenly came very close, and the song was now much nearer and not scary. Then, suddenly, there was a rustling sound from a bush, and a girl emerged, singing.
Everyone was shocked to see the girl.
Abhimanyu thought in surprise, "She looks human, but we need to stay alert."
When the girl saw the corpse, she screamed and looked at Abhimanyu and the others in fear, holding a lantern.
Deeljeet said, "Look, here's your Jhalkari."
The girl stammered in fear, "So, you are the ones murdering in Jhalkari's name. I'll tell all the villagers that Jhalkari isn't killing anyone, it's you."
Abhimanyu said, "Please calm down. We didn't kill him. In fact, we've already called the police, and they'll be here soon. Please calm down."
The girl, looking at Abhimanyu, asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
Abhimanyu said, "I swear I'm telling the truth."
The girl calmed down a bit and asked, "If you didn't kill him, then who did?"
Rihana said fearfully, "Jhalkari did."
The girl said, "Jhalkari didn't kill anyone. She's a goddess, the protector of our village. She doesn't take anyone's life. It's all a rumor."
Abhimanyu asked, "Why do you think Jhalkari didn't commit this murder?"
The girl replied, "Because I am Jhalkari."
Abhimanyu said in surprise, "What?"
The girl said, "Oh, I mean my name is Jhalkari. She is very revered in our village, and I am the daughter of the village priest, so my name is also Jhalkari."
Saily said, "This doesn't seem logical to me."
Abhimanyu said, "Yes, but she is telling the truth."
Abhimanyu asked Jhalkari, "But what are you doing alone in this jungle?"
Jhalkari said, "So what? Can't I come to the jungle alone?"
Abhimanyu said, "No, wandering alone in the jungle can be a bit dangerous, you know, scorpions, snakes, and wild animals."
Jhalkari said, "Jhalkari Devi herself protects our village. Whether we are in the village or not, she protects us. But what are you all doing in this dangerous jungle, and with this lion?"
Abhimanyu thought to himself, "She got scared seeing the corpse, but not the lion."
Jhalkari said, "Are you wondering why I am not scared of the lion?"
Abhimanyu said, "Yes."
Jhalkari said, "I told you, Jhalkari Devi herself protects us, so what is there to fear? I just got a little startled seeing a corpse."
Abhimanyu said, "Okay, aside from faith in Jhalkari Devi, why do you think these murders weren't committed by Jhalkari Devi? Do you know something about this?"
The girl said, "We will tell all this only to the police."
Abhimanyu thought to himself, "Her character seems very mysterious."
Saily said, "Like yours."
Abhimanyu was about to say something when two police constables arrived, followed by a car with its siren blaring.
The two constables got off their bike, but then they saw the lion standing behind Abhimanyu. Seeing the lion, they stepped back in fear. Seeing this, the lion roared loudly, and the constables ran to the car. Then, an inspector got out of the car, and her nameplate read Shruti Sharma.
Shruti was a tough woman who had joined a year ago. In that short time, she had solved four major cases and had been involved in three encounters, earning her a lot of praise in the department.
Abhimanyu said, "I don't need an intro."
Saily said, "I thought you should know."
Abhimanyu, "What difference does it make? What do I care about her qualifications?"
Saily said, "Yes, that's true. But she's quite beautiful, though she looks very angry."
Shruti walked towards Abhimanyu and said, "Is this lion yours?"
No one answered, and everyone looked at Abhimanyu.
Abhimanyu said, "Is this related to the case?"
Shruti said, "It could be. It looks wild but behaves domesticated. I'm asking, is it yours or not?"
Abhimanyu said, "No, it's not ours. We came here for a picnic and found this lion here."
Shruti said, "And it became your pet?"
Abhimanyu said, "Yes, friendships can happen with anyone at any time."
Clearing her throat, Shruti asked, "Who made the call?"
Deeljeet stepped forward and said, "I did."
Shruti asked, "What happened here?"
Deeljeet explained everything from the camping incident to what had happened so far.
Shruti said, "And at the end, he said 'jhalka'?"
Deeljeet said, "Yes, he couldn't say the whole word and then he took his last breath."
Shruti then looked at Jhalkari and said, "So you are the priest's daughter and your name is Jhalkari?"
Jhalkari said, "Yes, madam."
Shruti asked, "Could you explain what you were doing in this jungle so late at night?"
Jhalkari said, "I knew this reporter. He told me he was going to find some evidence here about the mystery."
Shruti asked, "Tell me the whole story."
Jhalkari said, "Madam, I am a big devotee of Jhalkari Devi. She protects us at all times, but when she was accused of murder, and then there were two or three more deaths, everyone started speaking ill of Jhalkari Devi."
Shruti said, "And deaths? But there has been only one death, right?"
Jhalkari averted her gaze.
Shruti said, "Tell me the truth, or you could also be charged with the murder because the victim mentioned your name before dying."
Jhalkari said, "No, madam, please don't do that. I am innocent. I will tell you the whole truth, but you must promise not to tell anyone that you heard it from me."
Shruti said, "Alright, I won't say anything."
Jhalkari said, "No, you must promise first."
Shruti said, "Fine, I promise."
Jhalkari said, "Before the thief's death, there was another death of a villager. But that man lived alone; he was the only one in his family. So his last rites were performed and the matter didn't spread. But when the thief died, people started talking that maybe Jhalkari Devi was angry with us for some reason. Then this reporter came here to investigate the case. We knew it wasn't Jhalkari Devi's doing, so we wanted to prove her innocence."
Saagar whispered, "Amazing, living people can't prove their innocence, and she wants to prove a ghost's innocence."
Jhalkari continued, "After some time, we both started working on this case together and began gathering information. By tomorrow morning, he was going to reveal the truth about this mystery to everyone in the village. He said he was about to find some crucial evidence."
Shruti asked, "What kind of evidence?"
Jhalkari replied, "I don't know. He said it was a surprise."
Abhimanyu asked, "How did the rumor spread that Jhalkari Devi is doing all this out of anger?"
Jhalkari said, "For that, you need to know the story of Jhalkari Devi."
Abhimanyu said, "Alright, let's hear it."
Shruti glared at Abhimanyu.
In return, Abhimanyu glared back at her.
Jhalkari began, "A hundred years ago, a girl named Jhalkari hanged herself from the peepal tree at the village square and cursed everyone that any outsider who stays in the village would be killed."
Abhimanyu said, "But according to this curse, the villagers shouldn't be dying, right?"
Jhalkari explained, "That's the story the villagers believe, but in reality, Jhalkari Devi was collecting leaves and wood from the forest. It got very dark by the time she was returning, and she remained in the jungle. She didn't know that night would be her last. An English soldier, who was drunk, saw Jhalkari. He was roasting a pig with some people nearby. The Englishman asked her to stay with them, but Jhalkari Devi ignored him and walked away. The other soldiers started laughing at him, which made him very angry. He started following Jhalkari."
Seeing this, Jhalkari Devi quickened her pace.
The English soldier ran after her and put his hand on her shoulder. Feeling this, Jhalkari Devi dropped the leaves and wood she was carrying, brandished her sickle, and warned him to stay away, swinging it menacingly. The soldier pretended to retreat, and Jhalkari picked up her bundle to leave. But the soldier quickly turned back, snatched the sickle from her, and threw it far away. Jhalkari Devi started to run, abandoning her bundle, but the soldier, being very agile, caught up to her. Just as he was about to harm her, a huge snake, larger than a human, appeared and hissed loudly, scaring the soldier into letting Jhalkari go. Jhalkari ran towards the village. Before the snake could do anything to the soldier, a giant eagle swooped down and carried the snake away in its talons. Perhaps a battle was about to take place between the two.
Seeing all this, the soldier smirked shamelessly and ran towards the village, reaching it as Jhalkari was running towards the temple.
Jhalkari reached the temple and fell at the feet of Lord Shiva's statue.
The soldier, still running, entered the temple.
Seeing this, Jhalkari Devi grabbed the trident from the statue of Lord Shiva. It was a real trident, the very same one you see here.
Jhalkari pointed at the trident.
Jhalkari continued, "Jhalkari Devi aimed the trident at the soldier and warned him that if he took another step forward, he would lose his life.
But the soldier didn't stop. Seeing this, Jhalkari Devi thrust the trident into his chest, killing him. Jhalkari Devi was very troubled by this and was found dead the next day near the village square. Other soldiers had arrived, and all the villagers had gathered. Even several officers had come with guns aimed at the villagers.
One officer said, 'Jhalkari, you have committed a crime by killing our officer. We want you to hang yourself, or not a single person in this village will be left alive.'
To save everyone, Jhalkari Devi hanged herself and gave up her life. After that, the British soldiers took their officer's body and left. All the villagers watched Jhalkari Devi's hanging body with sorrow, but one man, the village priest, was filled with a desire for revenge. Seeing the departing officers, he vowed to himself that he wouldn't let any of them live. The matter was buried for the British, but soon after, one by one, the soldiers' bodies started appearing, and the rumor spread that Jhalkari Devi was taking her revenge. Every officer was killed one by one, but in reality, it was the priest who killed them. However, after all the officers were dead, ordinary people from other villages started dying. Maybe the priest had developed a habit of murder or had gone mad, but the killings didn't stop. After that, the rumor spread that Jhalkari Devi had cursed everyone, and that was the effect of the curse. But no villager was being killed, only outsiders. Over time, everyone started believing that rumor to be true, and the village established the rule that no outsider would stay here. The murders stopped, perhaps because the priest didn't like outsiders staying in the village. Since then, there haven't been any murders here until a month ago when the killings started again. The style of the murders was similar to the priest's, and now the rumor has spread that Jhalkari Devi is angry because villagers are also being killed. Since no one worships Jhalkari Devi anymore, I decided to investigate everything."
Shruti asked, "How do you know this story that even the villagers don't know?"
Jhalkari pulled out a letter and showed it. "I found this letter in a hidden chamber in the temple. It was written by the priest before he died, where he confessed his crimes. Maybe he felt guilty for killing innocents along with the guilty. Perhaps after some time, he found peace and his anger subsided."
Shruti read the entire letter and handed it to a constable, instructing him to get it forensically examined.
Shruti then looked at Jhalkari and asked, "What did you investigate with the reporter?"
Jhalkari replied, "I was investigating Jhalkari Devi, and he was looking for evidence of the murders. He was supposed to find the evidence today. Maybe it's on his phone."
Shruti asked the constables, "Did you find his phone?"
The constable shook his head.
Shruti looked at Abhimanyu and asked, "Where is the phone?"
Abhimanyu said, "We don't know. We didn't even touch the body."
Shruti said, "We'll find out soon enough."
Abhimanyu then asked Jhalkari, "What were you saying about the snake and the eagle?"
Jhalkari looked at Abhimanyu in confusion.
Abhimanyu said, "You mentioned that Jhalkari Devi saw a snake and an eagle. Is that mentioned in the letter?"
Jhalkari nodded.
Abhimanyu asked, "And the priest knew about it?"
Jhalkari said, "Yes, maybe she told the priest everything."
Abhimanyu smiled and said, "And he thought it necessary to mention this in the letter?"
Jhalkari fell silent at this.
Abhimanyu thought to himself, "Maybe I should go to that chamber; there could be something useful there."
Shruti said, "Stop asking these pointless questions. What do those animals have to do with this case?"
Meanwhile, the forensic team, after completing their investigation, reported that they found no fingerprints or any other evidence. The constables also arrived and reported that they found no evidence or the phone.
Shruti ordered, "Search the entire area and question everyone in the village. Note down all their statements. We need to solve this case quickly." She then walked ahead while some constables began taking statements from everyone.
Shruti said, "We will go to the village in the morning. Until then, search this area thoroughly. And you all," she looked at Abhimanyu and the others, "I don't know where you all came from, but you will have to stay here for some time."