The Undertaker: Chapter 4

LET’S WELCOME YOUR PICK, GABRIEL

The Patnaiks was all rocky and had no rationality left in their behavior. They ignored everything their child did to them. The Police found them handcuffed and their mouths were tied with nylon tape. Blood was visible in the centre and the portion was swollen. Pressure marks formed in their hands due to the handcuffs. Mr Patnaik, a Bureaucrat himself felt the urge to use his bureaucratic powers off the limits. He never contacted the police department but moved directly to his distant relative, the MLA of their constituency. Pressure mounted on the city’s police. Print media got the access from Mr Patnaik. It was almost five hours since Jaan eloped and his posters got posted on public walls and street light posts. The case was kept within the administrative niche.

POLICE HEADQUARTERS

SP Khan assembled a team. He chose four police inspectors, each from different stations. All of them occupied their positions in their respective seats and the projector showed a giant photo of Jaan. The inspectors looked at the photo with curiosity. The projector showed Jaan’s photo with an immature chin curtain style. He smiled widely in the photo like a normal happy teen. Apart from the police officials, I was present as a photo retouch specialist. “Good evening everybody. A probable homicide took place at Jatayu today. The subject, Jaan Patnaik, as you can see in the photo is either missing or dead”. SP Khan changed the slide and appeared the photo of Jaan’s blood-stained clothes on the projector. Bloodstains in the grey pullover made the printed logo difficult to decipher. Bloodstains were present in the track pants too. The inspectors glared at the picture from different angles and sympathized with the twenty-year-old subject. “We have not yet recovered the body. Intrinsically, parents are of the opinion that their child is not dead. But, we all know the dreary truth from our experiences”. The other police officers nodded in agreement. “We will be conducting a search operation in the city, though. Or else, MLA sahib will be infuriated” one of the officers commented. SP Khan concurrently proceeded to imply the tasks before. “We will search for Patnaik’s body in the Jatayu Forest. I will be heading the search. Inspector Tyagi and the team will cross-search his friends and relatives. Lastly, Inspector Raz and team will search Jaan’s home and houses around Jatayu forest. Is everything crystal clear, folks?” A loud ‘YES’ came in unison. “Thank You! Disperse!” The officers stood up and saluted the Superintendent. The room gradually vacated with SP Khan dispersing at last. He passed through the ground corridor as the guards saluted him. SP Khan was on the verge of retirement. Having solved around two hundred cases in his three decades of service, he wanted to bring justice to the last official subject of his.

                                                

 Khan came outside the Headquarter and caught glimpse of a friend. A smile came on Khan’s face and he proceeded towards the person yelling “Namida Sensei!” The old friend of his was his ex partner Kartik Shah. The two of them have been hailed as father figures of modern investigation in India with a track record of ninety-five percentile. Only a few highly proficient killers escaped their grasp. Kartik Shah got procured into the police academy to teach the upcoming generation investigative and psychological analysis techniques. Both of them got into SP Khan’s Fiat. “How have you been, partner?” an elated Khan asked Shah. “Every job is better than being a busy administrative officer” replied Shah. They laughed at the relatable reply. Both of them discussed personal and professional lives. SP Shah admitted how badly he missed the merger between both of them. He complained about the conjectural work of his officers and the dictatorship their Prime Minister has been showing from recent times. After a brief conversation, Shah claimed his reason of abrupt visit saying “Khan! I am here to shift a liability upon you”. Shah gave a confusing smile asking him to continue. “There is this boy called Gabriel. He is twenty-five but completes the most heinous investigation drills very easily. And I admit it that he is a combination of both of us” Shah said in a formal tone. Khan realized the formal tone and asked “So, he has something to do with me?” Shah nodded and continued “He, the guy, Gabriel wants to cooperate with you in any one of your confusing case. I mean he is your big admirer”. Khan knew that Shah was a man of dignity and his words were wise. He remained silent for a while pondering. After a few minutes, he responded saying “OK! Tell me his uniqueness”. Shah was happy with the response and handed Khan a report. “This is the recent ‘Womaniser’ case from the city of Mumbai. You might know that police got a lead that the killer can be necrophilic and it turned out true. I was the one who gave them the lead and you are smart enough to know who helped me” An astounded Khan asked “How the hell would he know that?” “He saw the photos of the corpses. They had make-up on and wore the sexiest lingerie possible”. Both of them stared at each other and Khan did not want to disappoint the young mind. “OK! Send him for this ‘Jaan Patnaik’ case. Both of them are contemporaries so Gabriel can help us track Jaan if he is alive. Let us welcome your pick, Mr Gabriel”. Shah understandingly smiles looking forward and both awaited the next morning.