Chapter III
“Jay... the ideal
kid... the topper of his class... the one who had no enemies... the one who had
a peaceful life... the one who’s parents loved him... the one who was gay...”
Aryan’s thoughts troubled him more than they should.
“Sir, we have a
problem.” It just took these few words from Shlok’s quivering mouth, and Aryan
sprang up from his cabin sofa. He hadn’t slept in 24 hours now, and it didn’t
seem like he was going to be at peace for quite some time.
“We can’t locate
the victim’s friend, Harshil Jhaveri. He had caught a flight to Delhi on the
night of the murder itself, before we reached his house.” Shlok went on, “His
parents said that he has gone for a music festival and it’ll be difficult to
reach him. His phone is switched off.”
Aryan looked
irritated; frustrated even. “Then why are you wasting your time here? Contact
the Delhi police. Co-ordinate with them and get hold of that guy. I will not
tolerate a suspect on the run.”
Shlok turned pale,
but he still went on. “And sir, we found Jay’s phone and wallet in a dumpster
nearby. I’ve kept them safely on your table before the tech team comes in. And,
the victim’s girlfriend Miss Divya is here, along with a few of her friends.”
By now Aryan had
already straightened his shirt and tidied his hair. “Keep her waiting. I’ll
look at his phone first”
A few minutes
later, Aryan’s lean figure strode into the interrogation room, and from that
very instant he started reading Divya. From her dress, to her make-up, her body
language – Aryan analyzed everything in a matter of seconds.
Divya was
strikingly beautiful. Her dark brown hair fell in waves around her shoulder.
Her skin was milky soft, complimented well by her bottle green dress that would’ve
been the talk of the town in any pub around Bombay. For a second, even Aryan got
distracted, and Shlok was at his uncomfortable best. Her eyes, however, were
distant and expressionless. They looked like the sky after a storm – peaceful,
yet devoid of every emotion.
With a soft sigh,
Aryan began, “Kevin told me that you were Jay’s girlfriend...”
“You’re right. I
was.” She didn’t even look at Aryan.
“I know that you’re
a bit shaken up, but where were you the night of the murder?” Aryan was being
more civil than he usually is – was it his lack of sleep or her beauty, he didn’t
know. He decided to keep himself in check.
“You mean last night?
I was out... at this club... Trinity”
“You went without Jay?”
Aryan said
“I told you... I was his girlfriend. We broke up a week
ago.”
“Did you still love
him?” Aryan knew the answer. No one says that they hated a dead man.
“Yes, I loved him.
I loved him even when we broke up. But I wasn’t the one for him.” The
expression on her face altered as she said the word ‘love’. For that brief
moment, her eyes looked alive. As if she’d found what was stolen from her.
Aryan had planned
this well, and he was proud of it, as he continued, “And still when he texted
you that he misses you, you didn’t reply to him for a long time.”
This is the first
time Divya looked towards him. She was genuinely baffled. “But, sir, I replied
within 5 minutes of receiving it.”
“Nonsense!” Aryan
wondered why she would even bother lying. “He texted you at 11:16 pm and you replied
to him at 1:30 am. I have his cell phone right here.”
Now she looked even
more baffled. “But sir, I received it at 1:22! I’m sure.” Divya drew her phone
out from her purse and showed it to Aryan. Sure enough, it read 1:22 am.
“Interesting”,
after a moment’s thought, Aryan asked, “What time did you get home?”
“4... I guess. My
friends dropped me.”
“Why did you’ll
break up?” Aryan asked
Suddenly, Divya’s demeanour
changed. From the sad, distant girl, she turned into someone defensive and
angry. “With due respect, I don’t see how will that help you solve this murder
and I will not answer questions about my personal life.” Her fiery eyes and
clenched teeth may have come as surprise to Aryan, but he didn’t flinch.
“Thank you. You may
go now.”
Aryan was back in
his office and was sitting calmly on his chair, with his long legs propped up
on the table when Shlok entered the room, and said, “Sir, I’ve spoken to all of
Miss Divya’s friends. They said that she was with them throughout the night. And
sir, you didn’t really think that Divya could do this, right? I mean, she looks
like a delicate girl, and the stab wounds were so gruesome! And, Jay would’ve easily
fought her off...”
“Everyone is a
suspect Shlok, and even though you’re captivated by her looks, I’m not. I just
got a text from Shalini. She’s done with the forensics. Our victim’s blood
alcohol level was so high that he may not even have been conscious when he was
stabbed.” Before waiting for a reaction, Aryan continued, “Do you have any idea
why is the time stamp in Jay’s phone 11:16 pm and why does Divya’s phone say
1:22 am?”
“I... I have no
clue.” Shlok wouldn’t have dared to speak even if he knew.
“That’s because you’re
not observant. Listen carefully now. These are not traditional text messages.
This app uses internet to send messages. Jay here didn’t have mobile data
enabled on his phone. He depended on WiFi. When he typed this message and
pressed send, it didn’t get sent because he didn’t have internet access. But
his phone time stamped it at 11:16 pm. It got sent at 1:22 am because that’s
when he probably got a WiFi connection. Take this phone to Harshil’s place and
find out if he has WiFi or no. I’m sure that you won’t find any router there. Then,
from Harshil’s house walk back towards the victim Jay’s house and tell me when his
phone gets connected to an open WiFi source. That’s where he was at 1:22 am.”
Shlok’s eyes were wide
with amazement and awe, but before he could flatter his boss, the door opened and
a beautiful girl entered the room. Like Divya, she was impeccably dressed. But
her makeup had smeared and her eyes were red and puffy. With tears still
streaming down her face, she began, “Sir, I’m Amisha. Jay and I had been best
friends for a long time and I want to make sure that he gets the justice he
deserves.”
“Have a seat, and
please have a glass of water.” Aryan said, while he lowered his legs switched
on the voice recorder.
“When we got to
know about Jay, all of us had just gotten home from the pub, and we rushed here
as soon as we could. All of us were upset, except Divya. She seemed so... normal. Sir, their break up was so sudden.
Overnight, her love had turned into hatred. She adored him one day and loathed
him the next! And she wouldn’t even tell anyone why. I still remember the day
of their break up... it was Jay’s birthday and we had given him a surprise
party at Harshil’s place. In the midst of all the celebrations she suddenly
walked up to him and slapped him hard. The next minute she strode out of the
house. Even Jay didn’t know why it all happened.”
After a moment of
silence, she continued, “But sir, Jay was a great guy. Very pure at heart. And,
that’s why I decided that you had to know... last night at the pub, a few of us
were dancing and a few of us were at the bar. But towards the end, Divya wasn’t
with any of us... and when we were leaving, at around 3:30 we met her near the
gate.”
“One question, was
Jay into drinking alcohol?” Aryan asked
“No... Jay won’t
touch it! In fact, he always said that your life should give you a better high
than any liquor.”
“You have been very
helpful, Amisha. Thank you.” Aryan had a soft triumphant smile on his face.
After Amisha left
the office, Shlok had a grave look as he said, “Sir, I think we have found our murderer.”
With a small chuckle, he added, “or should I say, murderess?”
(To be continued)
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