Captain Fayyaz was busy with work when he received a message from Imran, summoning him to a restaurant near his office. It didn't take Fayyaz long to get there, and he found Imran drumming his fingers on an empty table. Imran smiled foolishly upon seeing Fayyaz.
"Anything new?" Fayyaz asked as he sat down next to him.
"Did Mir Taqi Mir use 'Ghalib' as his pen name?"
"You could have sent this information by mail," Fayyaz replied irritably.
"Where was that one-eyed beloved on the night of the 14th?"
"Why are you so obsessed with her?"
"Find out! If she claims she spent that night with an aunt, it's your duty to verify this with the aunt and immediately inform the Hamdard Dispensary, otherwise the correspondence will not be kept confidential."
"Imran, I'm very busy!"
"I can see that! Have the flies in your office increased lately? Increased, not in the sense that the flies are doing push-ups."
"I'm leaving," Fayyaz said, getting up in frustration.
"Hey, don't flies ever land on your nose?" Imran said, grabbing his hand and making him sit down.
Fayyaz, glaring at him, sat back down. He was genuinely irritated.
"Why did you come?" he asked.
"Oh! I don't even remember!... I think I came to ask you about the price of rice... but you'll probably say that I'm not a dancer to know the price... By the way, I can tell you that somehow the one-eyed beloved is definitely involved in those corpses... I didn't say anything wrong, did I... right!"
"How so?" Fayyaz suddenly perked up.
"It's written in the encyclopedia," Imran said, shaking his head. "Just find out where she spent the night of the 14th!"
"Are you serious?"
"Oh, come on! Only foolish people are always serious!"
"Okay, I'll find out."
"May God keep your female safe. Secondly, I need complete information about Judge Sahab's friend Ayaz—who he was, where he was born, which family he belonged to. Also, where do his other relatives live! Are they all dead or are some still alive?"
"Do one thing! Have tea at my house this evening," Fayyaz said.
"And the tea for now?" Imran asked innocently.
Fayyaz laughed and ordered tea from the waiter... Imran was rolling his eyes like an owl. After a while, he said,
"Will you introduce me to Judge Sahab?"
"Yes, I will discuss it with him in your presence."
"He... he... I'll be so embarrassed." Imran doubled over, biting his finger.
"Why... why are you being ridiculous... what's there to be embarrassed about?"
"No, I'll send my father."
"What are you blabbering about?"
"I don't want to arrange the marriage myself."
"God understands! I was talking about Ayaz."
"Goodness gracious," Imran pretended to be embarrassed.
"Imran, be a man."
"Alright!" Imran nodded obediently.
The tea had arrived... Fayyaz was deep in thought, occasionally glancing at Imran, who was making faces at himself in the mirror on the opposite wall. Fayyaz prepared the tea and slid a cup towards him.
"Fayyaz, that caretaker of the martyr's grave seems like a great man," Imran said.
"Why?"
"He said something very profound."
"What?"
"That policemen are idiots."
"Why did he say that?" Fayyaz asked, startled.
"I don't know, but he said it with great conviction."
"You're just intent on insulting people for no reason."
"No, my dear! Now tell me, who built the grave there and what do you think about the plaster in that one room?"
"I don't waste my time on trivial matters," Fayyaz replied irritably. "What do they have to do with this case?"
"Then the discovery of an unknown corpse there doesn't matter either," Imran said.
"What are you trying to say?" Fayyaz asked in frustration.
"That good children wake up in the morning and greet their elders. Then they wash their hands and face, have breakfast, go to school, and open their books to learn: 'A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat.'"
"For God's sake, Imran!" Fayyaz said, raising his hand.
"And they always remember God."
"Keep babbling."
"Alright, I'll be quiet. Silence brings a thousand slessings... Wait, what slessings... Goodness gracious... what did I just say?"
"Your head."
"Yes... thank you! My head is very strong... once it got so strong that I used to call it eggplant mash."
"Finish your tea and get lost," Fayyaz said. "I still have a lot of work to do. Make sure to come to my house in the evening."