Death trial

Date: 12th January 1999   

Time: 9:14 pm

It was a late night. Moon was struggling to escape from the ruthless grip of strange dark clouds. The dogs were howling. The wind kissed the banyan tree leaves. Slowly it started drizzling. No one was in the street. The Oldman was in his house and was busy tuning the radio channels. Suddenly he heard something interesting.

BREAKING NEWS: A psychotic killer from Phoenix jail has escaped and on a rampage. He killed two who were alone in their houses. One of them from revolt street.

The Old man was shocked and frightened as he was in the same street.

Just one week before his daughter Tara delivered a baby. She was ill. Her husband left her as she was poor. The Old man couldn’t help her. He is a laundryman. He gets only a little money which is enough for their daily food.

He went to Sara’s room to check her. Suddenly he heard someone knocking on the door. The Oldman went near the door. But he feared to open. He slowly opened the door. He saw a man with bloodshot eyes. He was looking dangerous. The Oldman asked him slowly, “who are you? what do you want?”. He replied, “I am Sara’s friend. I am coming from UK. Can I meet her?”. The old man doesn’t know what to do next. The man asked, “Hello, can you hear me?”. The old man replied positively and asked him to wait outside. He closed the door and thought of the man who escaped from the jail. The Oldman was cold and nervous. He went to the man and said that Sara is ill and she can’t meet anyone and closed the door. Again, he started to tune the radio. At once he started to tune, someone knocked on the door. He thought it might be the same man and ignored it. The sound of knocking on the door became vigorous. He opened the door he saw a kid. The kid asked for water. The Oldman refused to give. The kid asked again. The Oldman went inside to bring water. Unexpectedly the power was gone and became dark. He heard a knife falling sound. He rushed to Tara’s room. He found Tara dead.

It was a mysterious death…

Day: 12th January 1999

Time: 9:50 pm

“That’s it. It was so quick and I couldn’t help my child. Will this inquiry bring back my child? Leave me alone. I'm already scared.” said the Old man in a depressed voice. “Where’s she?” questioned the senior cop Neeraj. “upstairs” replied Old man in his somber voice. The dead body was identified upstairs and found that Tara was brutally stabbed three times in her face. She was dead at the spot and looked almost unrecognizable. Blood was spattered everywhere and her pale peach dress was covered in blood. It was the third murder in the same week. The first two murder was clueless so they started digging the third which was Tara’s case. Policemen were seriously examining Tara’s body to find any clues. They covered Tara's face with a white sheet of cloth.

The Old man was sitting at the corner of the room. He was continuously moaning “Sorry my child”. He closed his feeble eyes and began to drown in his thoughts.

Two hours before…

There was ghost silence in the house. Old man and Tara just returned home from the hospital. He was preparing some rice porridge for dinner. Tara was in her room upstairs feeding her baby. He took a bowl of porridge for Tara. His hands are trembling while holding the bowl. He gave and asked whether she was okay. She nodded. He looked at the baby. His adorable face glowed like a pearl in dim light revealing innocence. “Doesn’t he look like Madhav?” asked Tara. Once he heard the name of Madhav, he became nervous and felt air rushing into and out of his lungs. “I miss him, dad will he return?” asked Tara. He smiled and said, “Don’t stress yourself, try to get some sleep”. “Good night Dad” replied Tara. The Old man went downstairs. His eyes focused on the letter which was kept hidden under the book. He checked whether the letter was safe and felt a gut-wrenching pain tore through his inside.

“Let him be in our custody” said Neeraj to a constable. The Old man opened his teary eyes.

Date: 10th January 2005

Time: 10:14 am

It was a clement morning when I landed Musiri. I approached a stranger to find an address and reached the place in an hour. A big board ‘Blossom Orphanage’ matched my address paper. “This is it”, I said myself. I walked through the doorway and stepped inside. A lady in her early twenties approached me, “Hi. I’m Kavya. How can I help you, Sir?” asked in her sweet voice. Her beautiful peach gown matched her fair complexion. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “I want to see a boy” I answered. “Please, come inside”, She took me to the reception hall. I sat opposite her table. She took a book that had children’s profiles and asked “his name?”. Her eyes glowed like a pearl. “Arjun” I answered. She took the receiver of the telephone near her and said “Arjun has a visitor”. She turned to me and asked, “What is your name? I have to enter in the profile”. “Vinay” I replied.

“He’ll be here after his classes. You can wait here.” I positioned myself which offered a clear view through the window. Kids roaming around, playing in the backyard garden. A small boy approached me “Hello! I’m Arjun”. 

Date: 27th January, 1999

There were already two murders unsolved before Tara’s death. Each case was different from one another. They didn’t find fingerprints, weapons, or any clue.

Cops began their investigation in this brainstorm case. The entire house has been sealed and was under full surveillance. Police searched every nook and corner of the house. After two hours, police found a secured letter on the bookshelf. It was dated a year before and was never opened to date. Neeraj got doubt and opened it.

Dear Tara,

           

Hope you’re doing well. I know you’re mad at me but I’m sure you’ll be happy after you finish reading this letter. I have a surprise for you at the end of this letter.

It’s been six months since I left you. But every day and every minute I was thinking about you. You were on my side from the beginning and I hope that continues till now. My project is almost at the finishing stage and you won’t believe me if I say what it is. This is going to shock you and surprise you in the same. But for that, you will have to wait for another few months. I know this is going to be difficult for us, but believe me, the world will look after us. Our struggles will end one day. This too shall pass my dear. Just bear this for few more months and I’ll be all yours. I won’t leave you for a single second. If my project succeeds, I’ll be the happiest person in this entire universe.

And here comes your surprise part, I have made everything ready for our kid. She will have the best childhood and will be proud of us one day. I am so eager to see you and our kid. I promise you that I’ll be the best dad like you’ve imagined. Waiting for your reply my dear.

With Love,

Madhav.

Neeraj reached the station, rushed to the Old Man, and asked “Who is Madhav?”. The Old man became nervous. His eyebrows pulled up together and his heart started pounding. “I don’t know” he replied.

“I can feel that you are lying. Be true to us so that we can find the killer at the earliest. If you continue this, then I will do whatever it takes to bring out the truth from your mouth. I’ll leave you now. But tomorrow, you have to say everything you know. Don't try to play games with me” warned and Neeraj left.

The Old man once again started to weep. Everyone in the station felt pity for him. There were no tears left as his eyes drained of crying. He carefully sat on the wooden chair.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Tara in front of him. She came near him, held his hand, and said “Dad”, a drop of tear from her eyes fell into his palm.

Will be continued....