Killer Dearest

When she came out of the arrival lounge of Kolkata Airport that Sunday summer night at 7.37 p.m., I was dismayed to see her. She was a beautiful lady with a slim figure, medium height with a fair complexion, but at that time her prettiness seemed to have tarnished somewhat; her natural radiance and confidence on her countenance were somehow missing. 

 

As she walked towards me with slow steps, her head hung low and open hair partially covering her face, pulling her suitcase behind her, I felt a touch of sadness; my sentiments were with deeply with her. What was happening to this beautiful woman for whom I had fallen head over heels last year? Since then, a journey of eternal and loving happiness had started. I was genuinely attached to her; in fact, it had been bordering to such an extent that I had never experienced.

 

I stepped forward and took her in my arms for a few moments. " Hi, Garima, " I said, "I hope you had a pleasant flight?"

 

She looked at me wearily and started walking listlessly towards the car park. Taking her suitcase, I followed her; no words were exchanged. 

 

We were motoring out of the car park when I place my hand on her forearm, " What has happened Garima? Why are you looking so sad? Are you sick or something? Why are you not talking to me?"

 

Looking sidelong at her, I found her staring out of the window. 

 A few minutes later, she spoke. 

 

“Prasoon, I don't know what to say,” her voice was melancholy, but as always melodious, and now it was barely audible, “ I need help...or I will die.” 

 

Suddenly she covered her face with both hands; her body shook with violent sobs. I really did not know how to react. Gradually navigating the car towards the left side of the road, I applied the brakes and brought it to a halt. This needed urgent attention and I shouldn't be driving.   

 

Reaching out, I gently touched her face, and she turned to look at me. Her large beautiful eyes without the eyeliners, were filled with tears and beads of perspiration adorned her fair forehead; everything about her always fascinated me.

 

“ Tell me,” I said soothingly, “ I am always with you.” 

 

She looked at me for a few seconds then leaned forward and threw her arms around me, her soft lips touched mine, the sweet aroma of her perfume enveloped me taking me to a dream world. I could feel the wetness of her tears on my cheeks.  

 

I held her, whispering in her ear, “ I love you... I can't see you so unhappy.” 

 

Soon she relaxed and caressed her long open raven hair. Wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, she appeared to take hold of herself.  

 

“ Prasoon, what will you do if you know that somebody is trying to harm me? “

 I just stared at her; my mind was trying to understand what she meant. 

 

She continued, “ Will you believe it? Vikat is trying to blackmail me!” 

 She stopped for a few minutes, perhaps trying to let the matter sink into my mind; she knew that I was aware of her affair with Vikat much before she had met me, and we had come together. 

 

I just stared at her silently.

 

Vikat had come into her life when she was completing her school. It was typically a teenage infatuation which in numerous instances just faded away. But this was a different situation, both Garima and Vikat continued with their affair well into their initial college life and even after that. When Garima completed her MBA and Vikat his civil engineering, it was the perception of all common friends, and also the families that they would eventually marry. But their relationship did not last. We all knew that he used to make unreasonable demands on her, and there were several disagreements and fights between them.

Moreover, his subsequent drug-taking habit was extreme negativity. And adding to that there were whispers about his connections with the underworld. Perhaps he had turned his attention to criminal activities, including drug peddling. 

 

Garima was from a wealthy family, but she was fiercely independent and preferred to work. For her office was a mainstay of her self- respect. We all admired her for that. 

 

I was a Garima's colleague in her office for the past three years. Initially, we were good friends. Still, as I came to know about her breakup of her long relationship with Vikat and the resultant emotional sufferings she was undergoing, I always remained at her side, supporting her. She also was happy to gradually open her heart and share her difficulties with me. Changing his job from Kolkata to Mumbai - Vikat also went out of her life. 

 

After some time, her sufferings started to mend. 

 

As time advanced, my feelings for her were changing, and I could feel that she was also more disposed towards me. When and where our feelings metamorphosed into love, we could never understand, but it was there, intense, between us. And we were glad to possess each other in this manner. The fact that we both worked in the same office also helped. 

 

That day she had gone to Mumbai for official work and was returning the next night, and I had gone to the Airport to pick her up. 

 

But her sadness and revelation that Vikat was blackmailing her shocked me. It was totally unexpected and spontaneous. 

 

She was saying, “Last evening after my work in Mumbai, I got a call from Vikat. He wanted to meet me. I was not too keen because everything had been over between us many years ago. There is nothing to be said or heard in our relationship. I was reluctant, but he was insistent. So, we agreed to meet in a restaurant over dinner. Initially, he was charming and made our conversation light and pleasant. Still, after a few pegs of liquor, suddenly his attitude changed. He wanted to come to my hotel room for the night, which I refused. I knew he wanted to do sex with me. He persuaded me repeatedly, but I was adamant. Finally, he got angry. He threatened that he would draw my life into hell, spread misinformation, make me look like a woman of the street, tarnish my reputation before my family, employer and make me a social pariah. He would use the pictures and letters of our past intimate moments." 

 

She paused for breath, then wiping her eyes continued, "Naturally, I walked out at once, but he didn't leave me. He phoned me several times late in the night and said that he could become exceedingly dangerous if I didn't allow his lust. And believe me Prasoon, I know from my past experience that he prefers unnatural sex which is life-threatening. That was not all, he also required money; lots of it; a whopping rupee one crore. He is a treacherous blackmailer! "  

 

She held my hand tightly, looking at me with imploring eyes, "Prasoon, I am petrified, what will happen to me? "

 

Hearing all this, I became quite upset. This was an outright criminal activity. Had the drug addiction and peddling made Vikat a crook? I had to do something for the sake of Garima, for my love for her. I kept quiet for some moments, marshalling my thoughts, then spoke, "What do you want me to do Garima?" 

 

Right away, her anger showed through, she said slowly with clenched teeth, "I don't care what you do, but please see that Vikat never gets the temerity to blackmail me or harm me! If he does that I will go to the police and get him jailed. Even if that is the last thing I do in my life!” 

 

She turned away frowning, her breath coming in nervous gasps.

 

I attempted to placate her, “Don't get so upset, ignore him …," then seeing her face; I hastily added, “I will get in touch with him and warn him; I will take a flight to Mumbai tomorrow and see him. He will never dare to trouble you again. ”

 

She nodded her head soberly. During the drive towards her house, we didn't speak; both lost in thoughts. I wouldn’t know her mind, but I was in a dilemma. How would I deal with this man? If I acted normally, perhaps Vikat would have learnt his eternal lesson, but I would risk losing my love, and that I would never accept even in my dreams; however, if I tried to be reasonable with him, nothing might be achieved. I decided to check out his present background in Mumbai, I had friends there. 

 

It was now increasingly becoming apparent to me that the time was approaching to tell my background to Garima; to come clean; that I dreaded. But how long could I be secretive with her?

 

The next day I was in Mumbai, having taken the first flight. 

 

When I called Vikat, he sounded normal. We had known each other in Kolkata. “Sure,” he said, “ we will meet in the evening at seven p.m. in my apartment after the office hours.” 

 

The apartment was in Andheri {East}. When I went in, he came out and greeted me civilly enough. He was a short and stocky man with short, clipped hair and clean-shaven. Although somewhat handsome, his eyes were hard, and the mouth was cruel. He was in his casuals.  

 

“What brings you to me here in Mumbai?” he sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs. 

 

I was unsure as to how I should begin the topic, which was so sensitive and also criminal, to say the least. More significantly, it involved Garima. I picked up the whiskey glass, offered to me, and sipped, thinking. Strangely, I was getting a sensation that some danger was lurking in this apartment. My sixth sense was attuned to risks that had saved me in the past on many occasions. 

 

“Did you meet Garima day before yesterday?“ I asked. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. I leaned forward and looked at him, “She has a complaint against you.” I paused, wanted to see his reaction; I was positive that he knew what he was doing; blackmailing Garima. 

 

He appeared not to understand and asked very innocently, “How come? We had a pleasant dinner that evening in a restaurant in Marine Drive, the next night she took a flight to Kolkata.” 

 

Was he as guiltless as he sounded? I was not sure, but this had to be thrashed out; that's why I was there before him; I had to be blunt.

 

"You blackmailed her and threatened her that night", my thick voice rose an octave, "do you know the consequences? It is criminal, and we will turn you to the police. And I intend to go to them just after this." 

 

I couldn’t and didn’t want to play any cat and mouse game here. 

 

My mind was clear. I had information that Vikat had a serious criminal record, and these days he was out on parole. 

 

Initially, I had thought that I would somehow convince him to back off from Garima. Yet, after checking his present background, I felt that some strong-arm tactics could do the trick.  

 

Anyway, my face at that time must have reflected that I meant business.

 

Immediately he went very still and gazed at me for long moments, scowling, then suddenly laughed out aloud. "So that's what she told you? My God! What a liar! What a bitch! " He got up and walked towards the side cabinet. " I will give you proof of what I do to bitches and those who come talking about them and threatening me!" 

 

Opening the top drawer, he turned towards me in a flash; he had a revolver in his right hand, which had a long silencer. Pointing it towards me, he smiled a malicious one, which appeared to completely transform his face to that of a criminal. I saw his forefinger's movement for tightening on the trigger. His intentions were evident. 

 

I was not totally astonished at this turn of the event, even the revolver didn’t surprise me a bit. "So straight off your true colours are showing; let me talk to Garima. But cops will definitely move in." I spoke slowly and distinctly. I had to buy some time. 

 

He sneered. “Oh, is that it? That I can’t allow. The only person who will move will be you … permanently out.” 

 

Without shifting my eyes from his revolver, I gently got up and put my right hand in my coat pocket. His eyes followed my hand but said nothing. He didn't anticipate any danger from me; only a mild-mannered executive of a commercial firm. 

 

He only appeared to have underestimated me. He couldn't have known my lethal background. How would he know that from a tender age, as an orphan, I had become a killer, first by accident and then took it up as my discreet profession, through unfortunate circumstances? The killing of my fellow student when I was in class 7th was purely out of the flash of my temper in an argument, and then coming under the wings of a mafia don who nurtured and supported me in my growing years, made me what I was today.   

 

At this time, Vikat’s sixth sense must have told him that I was not what I looked; or else why would he pull the trigger? There was a muffled noise of the gunshot. But I was too quick for him. He missed me, and the bullet whizzed past my head and lodged itself in the woodwork on the opposite wall.  

 

My reaction was equally fatal. This had to be in self-defence. 

 

I shot him from my revolver hidden in my coat pocket. There was another muffled noise. Mine also had a silencer. The bullet tore a hole in my coat, but hit Vikat squarely on his chest, puncturing his heart... a flowering red patch appeared on his T-shirt which started to grow. He clutched his chest and with a loud groan collapsed face down on the ground like a fallen log. He went into a shock, was repeatedly convulsing and then was dead within minutes. His revolver slipped from his lifeless fingers and clattered on the ground. As a stream of blood started to flow out on the mosaic floor, I blinked my eyes and made a face in some disgust; these familiar incidents irked me. 

 

Then, looking around, I went to him and checked his pulse. Satisfied, I shrugged out of my coat, folded it, kept it on my left shoulder, climbed down the stairs to the main street and started walking away unhurriedly. There was nobody around me in the building when I had entered, and I didn't see anybody when I left. 

 

Hailing a taxi from about a kilometer away I moved towards the Airport. Taking the next available flight, I was back in Kolkata. 

 

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It was late in the night. 

 

Lying on the bed, my thoughts were clear. I didn't kill Vikat without provocation, in fact, he was a dangerous criminal, a blackmailer to boot, and a murderer who tried to slay me. My action was only in self-defence. Vikat would never have dared to attack me if he had known that I was a professional assassin who killed for money. 

 

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Early the next morning, I called Garima. She knew that I had gone to Mumbai for her. "I have taken care of your problem Garima, please don't worry. Vikat will not disturb you anymore. In fact, he told me that he has been transferred out of Mumbai and his existing telephone numbers will no longer be available.” I heard a sigh of relief from Garima; she only said, “Thank you Prasoon, I will always remember this. I love you.” 

 

She had been satisfied, but I was feeling awful having told a lie to her. There shouldn't be any secret between lovers, but I had so many. I was a regular death merchant. I didn't know how I would tell her that, redeem my life for her sake...for her love.     

                

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After that days passed uneventfully. That Saturday night, when I was retiring to bed around 11.45 p.m., the front door calling bell rang. 

 

Opening the door, I found Garima standing; her pretty face was grim. 

 

“ Hello, why are you here at this time?” I asked. “Any problem?”

 

She walked in wordlessly and sat on the sofa. I shut the door and got back. 

 

Without preamble, she spoke in a high-pitched voice, "Why did you kill Vikat? I just wanted you to warn him, but…." Tears were in her eyes, " How can you be so ruthless? How can you be a murderer? This is very wrong ... criminal...both of us now will be in deep trouble... is it the way how you show your love to me?“ Her voice faltered, sobbing.

 

 

I was absolutely flabbergasted. She had told me she didn’t care what I did with Vikat, but it was apparent that she did not want me to eliminate him. But how did she know that I killed him? At that time, there was nobody around, and no one saw me enter or leave his flat. Also, I had used my silenced weapon. Was there any witness?

 

I could only reply, "Garima, how can you say that? You cannot accuse me like this! Who told you these lies?"

 

She glared at me, “No need for you to know! You cannot stop one crime by committing the most heinous crime! I hate you! I hate you!" She was seething in such a rage that I had never seen.

 

My mind was in a tizzy. I desperately tried to find an answer when the bell rang again. My sixth sense also started warning me of some impending danger. Entering my bedroom, I picked up my revolver, put it in my pyjama pocket, and opened the door.

 

Indeed, there was a danger in front of me! 

 

Vikat was standing at the door! My heart suddenly started palpitating; sweat formed on my brow. This man was dead! I had killed him! It was totally crazy. At that instant, I lost my mind, my control and swiftly took out my revolver and shot at him... one-shot…two... Huge noise reverberated in the corridors of that building; I had forgotten to screw in the silencer; the bullets lodged in the woodwork of the neighbour's door… there was a shout inside that flat... I could hear voices in other flats; it was sheer madness.

 

And what about Vikat? He simply vanished in front of my eyes. I looked around in trepidation and turned and ran back into my flat closing the door behind me. All these were beyond logic. Scary! 

 

Before I had opened the door, Garima was sitting on the sofa, but now I couldn't find her. I went to the bedroom, bathroom and searched my entire flat, but she was nowhere to be seen. There was no other exit from the flat. Where had she vanished? What was this mystery?

 

I was taken aback by all these bizarre occurrences. Not one to lose my cool quickly, I was nevertheless sweating a bit. I could have easily left the building unobtrusively since nobody had actually seen me shoot down, I went back to my flat and sat down on a dining chair. The arrival and disappearance of Garima seemed to have taken away my inertia to do anything to save myself. Somehow Vikat was not in my mind, although that should have been my fear factor. But that was not logical; I was not psychologically built to be afraid.  

 

Meanwhile, the police came and led me off to the police station; my neighbors had sent for them. It was a meek surrender by me!

 

Things were happening much too fast. 

 

Later in the night, while sitting in the station house, one of my lawyer friends told me that the police had found Garima's dead body in her flat. It appeared that sometimes during that evening, she had died of extreme fright; there was no injury on her body. That news seemed to shake my personality to the core. That was the first-time tears welled out of my eyes, and I couldn’t stop that. 

 

I was to be interrogated by the police the next morning about my unprovoked firing outside my flat with my unlicensed revolver. I knew what the provocation was; but who would believe that? 

 

By that time, I was positive that Vikat or rather, his ghost had come, it couldn’t be otherwise. I always finished off my victims conclusively. And he wanted to retaliate against me. His apparition couldn’t have been there in my flat for any other reason. Unfortunately, before that, Vikat had executed Garima; another measure of revenge against me in which he succeeded.  

 

Sadly, and strangely Garima's apparition had also come to me in the flat at that time, showing her displeasure of my killing Vikat. How could she know that? Only he could have let out this secret of his death before executing her. 

 

I never trusted in the supernatural, but how could I reject what had occurred? 

 

And how could I even the score against the malevolent spirit of Vikat? I could go after his girlfriend, Richa and snuff her life away just the way he had done to my Garima. Only I will be merciful. 

 

Sitting in the police station, I was in a contemplative mood. With my lawyers, I could argue my way out to safety. Nevertheless, I felt that I deserved this. I then decided to make a clean confession of my all criminal activities. Perhaps that would be my atonement and the price of my love for Garima; that she would have always wanted me to do!

 

A new Prasoon would now emerge from the ashes of his sins!