Chapter 3

Dev ~

As it was the night time, the street in front of me was as solitary as the asylum, in which I got into deep turmoil. My escape was always very brisk, I don't know what got with it that it became so bothersome. I side-eyed her and she was seeming fine now, no howling nor trying to escape. I had covered a pretty far distance by gushing my car from the asylum. Stridulation of crickets could be heard and only the sound of silence was widespread. Don't know where I am going to take this girl.

Each and every building's lights were close as I saw them, passing through my car. Every living being was swallowed in deep sleep. But the dogs, what's wrong with the dogs, that they are giving a loud cry. They are the only individuals present, who are making me feel that life on earth is still prevailing. My car is a black coloured Toyota, I had to buy it when I got lots of money from selling the cocaine packets to an international smuggling gang.

I was in the middle of the race towards my destination, the place where I was about to take her, kidnap her, it's my place.

I glanced at the pretty face right next to me, this time just to see why she was keeping calm. She's so beautiful when she's asleep. She's really gone far with her mental condition. Will she remember when she gets up about what happened? Or will she not? Again the sea of questions. Huh. I sighed.

She must be exhausted with all those screaming and stuff. She's not in her senses, so it's obvious that she will get tired easily. Otherwise, how can a sensible girl let me kidnap her, it's impossible? I mean, I would have still kidnapped her, better I would have killed her if she was a normal person. There was no chance that I would have abducted her.

She was sleeping so effortlessly as nothing happened.

I was about to reach my place, just a few more minutes, then I was there. I saw the time from my mobile and it was indicating 2 am.

God knows what my people will think when I'll take her to my place. Where will I keep her? It will be tedious to keep her in control but I have no choice. I have to do this. Don't know how far this will go. If she remembers everything after she's awake then I can't let her go but, if she doesn't then I have to think what to do with her. I can't keep her with me for too long. I have my personal and professional reasons for it.

~~

The police docked at the asylum's gate. The doctor went near them to bring them inside.

"Where's the dead body, first show us that," said an Inspector. He was about 6 feet tall, with three silver stars placed on his uniform. A wide and huge body typical like a wrestler.

"Yes, come, inspector, it's inside, please," Uttered the doctor with panic on his tongue.

The inspector with his three other people; One sub-inspector, One constable and one forensic expert starts to follow the doctor, where he's taking them.

"It's here, inspector. We didn't know how this happened. We have no idea.", Said the doctor on attaining ward no.44.

"Okay. We have to inspect the area now. You people, everyone, please stay outside," Ordered the inspector.

"Okay inspector."

"Tell me one thing, has anyone touched anything from here or misplaced or moved something from here," The inspector asked.

"No Inspector, nobody has touched a thing. It's as it is."

"Okay stay outside we'll see."

Inside the scene, the police overhaul each and everything. The forensic expert tries to extract fingerprints from here and there, from each of the things present inside the ward. The expert observes the slit throat of the dead and comes to know that it has been cut by a vegetable or fruit knife. Before telling the inspector about this, he takes the blood from the slit throat for sampling and checking in his laboratory. After finding no clue, the constable and sub-inspector tell the inspector that there's nothing found. The entire area of the ward is sealed with a crime scene- No entry label forming a square around the area.

"Sir," Calls the forensic expert.

"Yes. Did you find anything?"

"Yes sir, the dead body's throat had been slit and I found out that it was done through a vegetable or fruit knife,'' says the expert.

"What?. A slit throat.", The inspector's face turned black and dull, eyebrows into a frown.

"Yes sir."

"Let me see it."

He inspects the dead body.

"I know who has done it."

"Who sir?" Asked the sub-inspector.

"Let me go out and ask something," he hurriedly opens the ward's door.

~~

"Who was here on the night duty?" the inspector asked.

"There was this receptionist, these two ward boys, three maids and the watchmen outside the gate. Normally no doctor waits in the asylum at night time. If there's an emergency, then the ward boys inform the receptionist and then she informs us," Cleared the doctor.

"So everyone who was present here, didn't you see anyone coming?"

"No inspector, I didn't and none of the others either. Actually this morning the doctor found us all sleeping. We never sleep anytime on our duty, it happened for the very first time," The receptionist emitted the truth.

"Yes inspector, I at first thought that my people were careless, but then I realised, how will everyone sleep together at the same moment," Added the doctor.

All stand in silence, their hands folded. The inspector goes at the side, near a wall and rubs his fingers on his lips in worry. Sweat dripping off his face, eyes in distress. Everyone from the asylum's staff gives each other unsettled looks about what's going on.

"What happened sir, Is something wrong?" Asked the sub-inspector.

"Everything's wrong with this case."

"What's it sir?"

"I thought this murder is a simple case. But it holds a very dangerous and mysterious conspiracy behind it, as I know who must have done this. This is not a normal murder it's a huge setup," he says.

~~

Dev ~

I reached my place and I think it's much more needed to be concocted. It's a place where anyone can wriggle, watching. So starting from the weird forest that lies at all three sides of the house where I stay in. It's actually not a house, but some kind of a quirky haunted-looking place, dark, gloomy and where one can get nightmares.

Embellishing about the forest, there are lush green trees standing tall and upright. Huge and tall barks with deep and strong roots, that's how the trees here are. The forest area is as vast as an entire sea and in the middle of it is my place, my stay, hidden inside the greens of nature.

I had vacated the front area of my place and made it a little stay-able. At the backside there's a lake with green water, this colour was probably due to the growth of the algae in it. Some ferns also grew alongside the edge of the lake. Everything is green, dark, wild green.

I drove my car to the backside to park it there. She's still not awake. The weather was getting cold as night was at its pinnacle. It was 2:30 am. Taking her inside was not a good thought, all members will be sleeping and I don't want them to ask me any sort of questions right now. It's better I'll take her inside in the morning, so I could explain to them easily too.

I took off my seatbelt and hers too. Even if she gets up, she will not escape, I'll not untie her hands and untape her mouth.

My stay is briefly a house which is expanded up to a good amount of area. But it's total crap. The building, no I can't call it a building. It just has a ground floor. The construction is improper where algal growths are grazing the side of the walls. The rooftop is made up of iron sheets and there's a small wooden railing surrounding the house. There's even a small courtyard at the front where there is a rectangular wooden table and some chairs. A small lightbulb hanging in the courtyard emitting yellowish-orange light.

Outside the fence, there's a water drum which can hold approximately 150 litres of water. At the left side, there's a blooming tree which gives flowers. That was the only tree which I didn't clear for the stay.

The ground around my house is encircled with mud and small pits, a village-like floor. It's actually an experience of staying in an actual forest even if the land is cleared up.

A small bonfire is made in the front, it's flames have turned into ashes now, after scorching for a long time. But it still has it's steam vaporising. The grey ash is mixed with the mud. Earthy smell is what one can smell, giving me a hint that my gang members have gone to sleep just now, as I got out of the car and observed the area.

And yes, there were a number of fireflies visible, illuminating the forest. Their light was enough to do the work of a torch. An absolute fantastical woody place with a spooky feeling.

I picked up a cigarette lying on the table in the courtyard and lit it up with the lighter laid beside it. I smoked and smoked sitting near the edge of the lake on the huge black rock covered with little algae and mud, the starry black sky hovering upon me.

I glanced back at my car, seeing her still in sleep. Her asylum's clothes were all mucky and blotted with some spots of blood, looking like it needed to be washed up right away. How am I going to deal with this? Her lips were dry and her face was dismal.

Thinking about the day to day and how much of the things happened in just one night, the night passed away. It was 4 in the morning when my eyes exhorted for sleep. And within a minute or two I fell asleep on that huge rock, granulating the used cigarette beneath my feet.

~~

"What do you know about it, sir?"

"Call the commissioner right away."

"But sir, what's it?"

"Just call him damn it."

"Yes sir."

~~

"Hello sir, this is sub-inspector Naman speaking. Romil sir wants to talk to you," Phoned the sub-inspector.

"Yes. Give it to him," The commissioner mandated from either side of the phone.

"Okay."

~~

"Sir. Inspector Romil speaking."

"Yes Romil, what's the matter?" queried the commissioner.

"I want to meet you right now sir."

"Right now? Why? Is something serious?"

"Yes sir. Very serious and Complicated."

"About what?"

"I can't tell you on the phone sir. I want to meet up."

"Okay," the commissioner said with an interlude.

"I'll come right now sir," the inspector hung up.

~~

"Take the dead body with us.", Instructed the inspector to his people.

"Yes sir," Kowtowed the constable.

"C'mon quick. Hurry up."

The constable takes out the body on the stretcher with the help of two ward boys.

The forensic expert insists on taking the dead body with him for further scrutiny to which the inspector agrees. An ambulance is where they keep the body. The ward boys accompany the ambulance following the police jeep. The inspector gets in his police jeep but the doctor stops him.

"Wait, Inspector, there's one more thing I have to tell you," says the doctor precipitously.

"About what," Asks the inspector settling inside his jeep.

"About shalmali. She's was our patient, a mentally retarded amnesiac. She's missing too. Her condition is worse than any of the patients here. See if you can find her too. I pity the poor soul," Implores the doctor.

"Shalmali, I see. What's her age, height, colour and something more about her features."

"Her age must be somewhere between 23 to 24 years and height will be 5 foot 6. She has a fair complexion and is very pretty. She is wearing our asylum's clothes".

"Fine. Since when is she missing?"

"Since today morning, right after this murder happened, I marvelled that she's also missing from the night."

"What? From night too? It's a parallel case then."

"Please find her inspector."

"Don't worry, I will try my best," the jeep dashed out, with a swift.

~~

"Sir," Salutes the inspector on entering the commissioner's cabin.

"Yeah, Romil. What's the matter?" asked the commissioner with a worried frown.

"Sir that," he eyes towards his left, indicating the commissioner to tell other members to move out.

"Everyone else out," The Commissioner ordered while all comply.

~~

"Is it that secretive Romil?"

"Yes sir."

"Tell me every detail about it then."

" Sir a murder has taken place in the backstreet asylum at night, a man was murdered in his ward. A mental patient? Why would anyone kill a mental patient, sir? And guess what sir, same way of murder. His throat was slit," He threw out the words as fast as possible.

"Is he back?" The commissioner stood up from his seat immediately.

"Yes, sir he is."

"Dev Mathur the Serial killer and the most wanted gangster Is back?"

"Yes."

They both stared at each other for a while like saying Dev's name was even a menace. They both perspired on his name.