CHAPTER TWELVE
Madhu had thought twice before spilling everything about the enigmatic and grief stricken Ashok Dograâhow she had met, what she talked to him about. But she didn't mention the gun incident.
"Is he hot?" Vijaya beamed before Kishore nudged her by the shoulder. "Uh, I mean let me rephrase thatâwhy didn't you tell us?"
"Because I didn't want to intrude on your happiness. You guys were busy in your own world and I didn't want to barge in. And when I finally realized I couldn't hold on to it any longer, I told you. After all, you are the only family I've left." She sounded desperate, she thought, but that didn't deter Vijaya from hugging her tightly and kissing her on the cheek.
"Aw, we are always here for you. Don't you worry," she smiled.
"Yeah," Kishore mused. "So you said you beat Pran and escaped from him and your friend Ashok found you and took you to his house?"
"Yes."
"How did he find you in the first place?"
"He could be following her," Vijaya curled her arms, "aw, so romantic."
"That's not romantic. More like dreadfully creepy," Kishore protested in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I second that," Madhu lifted her arm in appreciation. "But he said I called him."
"I see," Kishore said. "Why didn't you tell about Ashok's interference?"
"Because he didn't ask me about him so I wasn't obliged to. Also, I didn't want to pull him in this mess." Madhu sighed. God. I almost feel like a sociopath right now.
"I'm just happy you found someone," Vijaya added. "About Pran though. God. Poor guy. There would be some sort of a funeral I guess."
"I think I have heard Ashok Dogra's name before." Kishore narrowed his eyes before he shook his head, rubbing Vijaya's back. "I'll talk to his parents." He pulled out his phone and left the room instantly, as if the thought of Pran had brought back the business side of him.
"He looks all right," Madhu suggested.
"Not really."
"Why?"
"He's like that. He wouldn't budge or cry. He'll just be very normal and it's kind of freaky."
Madhu ran her hands through her brownish hued hair, as she scratched her head. "So what's new other than the deaths around us?"
"I wanted to do this later but I think I should do this now." Madhu could see that Vijaya was trying to find the correct words. "I might be moving out, man. Like this weekend or something. Kishore says everything is official so we should not delay. I know he just wants to have sex without you in the other room hearing us..." she smiled to cheer the dreaded atmosphere, "but I'll be leaving."
The words were like a punch to Madhu and worse than Pran's death.
"I wish you the best."
Madhu fought back tears as she hugged her best friend.
*
Biswa had called to check on her and then later it was Ashok's call that she had been anticipating. It had been late night and Vijaya was yet again outside, probably at Kishore's place. As soon as she picked up and greeted him, Ashok sighed in relief on the other end.
"What happened?"
"The way you say 'hello' makes me shiver."
Madhu grinned at herself. He had the words of a charmer. But she had to get to the serious business and she began to tell him all about what happened with Pran and how the police had questioned her. When it was over, his voice wasn't playful anymore.
"What was his name?"
"Inspector Akbar, I guess," she had caught the name tag on his shirt. "Akbar Khan."
"It's good you didn't tell them about me. Would have caught unnecessary attention."
Madhu smiled at her cleverness.
"Also nice touch with the car sleeping at night. I'm not disappointed."
"Well, I tend to surprise people." She said.
"How many people are working on this case?"
"Don't know. For now, it's a zonal offense as it happened in Noida so there would be internal quarrelling going on. I might not be wholly out of the picture as well in the suspect area, as I am considered to have a strong motive to burn Pran. So let's see."
"I hope you are out of this. I don't want to lose you to prison."
Lose me? The words were like fire igniting under her skin. She loved how he spoke of her.
Madhu resumed talking about other matters and after a while Pran's death and the police matters were of no significance to them.
*
Inspector Akbar walked in the parking lot, counting steps till he reached the small kiosk like hut where the guard in his navy blue shirt was sitting. He joined his hands in respect as Akbar just nodded to him in return. He pulled out a stick of gum from his pocket and popped it in, chewing it as he gazed at the guard continuously.
"Yesterday, did you see a girl frantically running around?"
"No, sir."
"Were you sleeping on duty?"
"No, sir."
Akbar slapped him on the head. "Bol!"
"Y-yes sir."
Akbar grinned as he glanced at his sub-inspector Prakash. "So you didn't see a car coming?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you see a Santro here, leaving the place?"
"No, sir."
"When did you wake up?"
"After midnight around one I suppose."
"By any chance, did you see something that was out of place at that time?"
The guard nervously tried to bring forth his thinking face when Akbar slapped him again on the head. "First I have to deal with the zonal problems and then you with your Ghajini problems. Fucker tell me fast or you'll be thrown in the thane."
"No, no, sir," he begged, "sir I did see an Ambassador car. It just passed me at moment when I woke up."
"So?"
"It was odd to see someone drive an Ambassador in these times, sir."
"That's it? That was odd? That was what you think will help me solve a Noida arson case?"
"There was one more thing." He sighed. "I was awake when the cars were coming and I had seen one girl who owned a Santro enter the lot. But later, I saw the same girl in another car, the Ambassador I spoke of."
"So wait, she didn't return in the Santro?" Akbar's brows creased.
"No, sir, I mean I guess sir. I saw only a glimpse but I'm sure it was the same girl who owned the Santro."
"Who was with her?"
"Some guy,"
Some guy? Inspector Akbar spit the gum on the floor and clenched his jaw. Well that some guy has to answer a few questions for me now.
"You have CCTV here, right?"
*
Akbar chewed the gum hard, as he went through the footage that he had taken from the parking lot's Control Room to his house. He studied the footage back and forth and saw no girl running around, as it was the footage of the exit where the guard was fast asleep. At around eleven o' clock on the screen, he saw the first car drive by and he paused it right there to find it was a Santro. He couldn't see the insides of it and it was black and white but he was sure it had been that girl's Santro. Then he resumed the footage. At around one o clock, there was another car, an Ambassador, leaving the place and the guard waking up at that instant as he had told.
Akbar pictured the scenario. The person drove the Santro, dropped it at the respective place, went back but came from the inside of the banquet to the underground where the Ambassador was and then drove it back to wherever he went.
Akbar had been good as a techie so he uploaded the video on his editing software, zoomed and paused the time the car was close to the exit. He saw the license plate number, noted it down and then ran it across the License Plate Tracing network that was online. He only hoped a name and address would come up otherwise he would have to hack it through.
Fortunately, the name did come up and even the address. But there was something wrong with it. The driving license of Ashok Dogra, as the screen showed, had been expired...eight years ago.