The Undertaker: Chapter 8

SPREE!

Gabriel too heard it and Mr Khan looked at him with perturbation. Gabriel too hesitated to start over a conversation and the air turned cold for the moment. Finally, Khan headed forward for an important question. "Murder to Massacre! This guy is diabolical" Khan said in a sad tone. Gabriel responded with his eyes. "Do you think profiling should still continue?" Khan asked while nibbling the nail of his index finger subconsciously. Gabriel tilted his head in disagreement. "Why would you think that? This is now a 'spree killer' case" Khan said. Gabriel was busy thinking things and seemed absent-minded. Khan could see the young mind was indulged in some thought and decided to add another question. "Gabriel! You seem to think something for the times ahead. Do you have some plan or something?" Khan asked. Gabriel looked at his Senior's eyes and nodded. Khan sprightly sat to hear the novice. "Spree killers need profiling more than anyone else. Our guy Jaan wants to kill a lot of teachers and students from his own school. But, he will select the victims he knows have done something. His rooms had piles of memoirs, photos and stuff related to famous victims of juvenile perpetrators This is the reason behind the massacre" Gabriel started explaining the Superintendent. "So, this son of a harlot believes in Justice. Then why Ahaan Sengupta?" Khan exasperatedly asked. "Yes! Because, the school has secrets. Someway or the other, something bad has happened". Khan acceded to the speaker, Gabriel. "So, what should be our next move?" he encouraged Gabriel for suggestions. Gabriel took the opportunity and vacated all the thinking he did during the conversation. "This guy studies serial killers. He has Hybristophilia for Jeffrey Dahmer. His choice undoubtedly clarifies his interest in the morbid 'True Crime', He is enjoying this chaos he is causing, This massacre is a crave for media so that his narcissist desires are fulfilled He will surely watch the news. The fact that he is killing people he himself has tagged evil is going to make him more resolute" Gabriel halted for a while and was about to continue when Khan said in a loud voice "What's the plan?". Gabriel sensed how he was providing information instead of ideas and adjusted his sit to tell the plan. "This guy as I said, is a True crime fan and he knows both the party's psychology, Now, to evade escape, he must have had disguised his face. So, let us spectate every look and spread it on the State's Broadcast media. Simultaneously, let us spread posters of his normal last look statewide. Most importantly, our search should be limited to the cities where the crimes had occurred." Jaan provided his idea of Manhunt. Khan brooded for a while but nodded at last. "What do you think about his current status and position?". "Sir, I need to go to the latest crime scene. But, it alone won't help. I have this friend from my Academy who is at par with me in case of interrogation. His name is Ronit Jha. Send him to interrogate Jaan's siblings and his best friend, Mausam, especially. We must also search his southern houses" Gabriel replied. Khan was satisfied with Gabriel's suggestions and permitted him to visit the Juvenile home ASAP. As Gabriel left, Khan went deep into reminiscence in order to tighten their efforts. Nothing in particular came to his mind even after vicious effort., Yet he decided to play with every online profile of his subject. He called his friend from the academy and asked him to get Ronit Jha started. Gabriel meanwhile completed the one and a half hour journey and was introduced to the crime scene. The juvenile centre was a big wattle and daub home structure with steel fresh doors. Gabriel entered the crime scene accompanied with Chetry and the city's SHO, Zubair Ahmed. The house had a big cuboid shaped room, big enough for three double bunk beds to fit in. It was built for the staff comprising of 4 retired police constables, two cooks and two stand in security guards. A long corridor followed and there was a far narrower kitchen built in the middle of the corridor. The corridor's periphery led to a square room built for the juveniles. This was the end of the interior. Outside, there were barbed wires in the entry gate and beneath the house was a big field. This field was the playground for juveniles. A big patch of cemented ground began from the wall bordering the house with its height and barbed wires. The juveniles built a basket for themselves upon the cemented ground. There were four lavatories separated by thick walls and coveted by wooden doors built beneath the household for the juveniles. The staff's lavatory too lied opposite to the convicts'. However, they were more spacious rooms. As Gabriel swirled his eyeballs around the first crime scene, he saw bloodied bed sheets. The office tables and chairs too stood normal with a pack of four files placed upon each other and a table lamp. The corridors stood and Gabriel looked at the kitchen. There were vegetables laid upon the floor and two bags of rice stood against the wall. However, some kitchen utensils scattered on the floor and a bottle of turmeric was broken. "He stole biscuits ans snacks" Chetry said from behind. Gabriel moved towards the last room. The sight was the same as the first room as bloodied bed sheets spread on the earthen floors. One of them was completely blood ridden. Gabriel walked to it and looked at it with disregard. "Where are the victims?" Gabriel asked Chetry. "Yes! They are out there. Umm, Lok Nayak Hospital" Chetry replied. The next step was indubitably visiting the Lok Nayak Hospital. Upon reaching the hospital, Gabriel and Chetry moved to the third floor where the patients were kept. There were a few constables guarding the victims. "What is the briefing?" Gabriel whispered to Chetry. "Victims are not in a position to talk, except one" Chetry replied on point to Gabriel. Gabriel's eyes shone and he said "Even one person's account can help us catch him". Gabriel and Chetry walked to the last room of the floor S-36. An elderly male laid down on the bed with his right hand plastered and several marks

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of battening were clearly visible on his body. Gabriel walked slowly towards the patient accompanied by Chetry and the SHO of the city police. Gabriel sat in the stool beside and gave the patient the most comfortable smile he could. The patient was a retired constable and comparatively had better mental restructuring. "Sir, Will you like some beverage? Hot or cold?" Gabriel began. The old constable, Eklavya went with a glass of hot water. He sipped it slowly and the right ambiance was set. "I will ask you a few questions regarding the last night. Are you mentally prepared to go through this session?" Gabriel asked calmly. "Luckily, I worked alongside good cops in my career. I have controlled mobs during the Babri demolition and nothing can be a worse night than that. So, Go ahead!" Eklavya replied pretty soothingly. A genuine smile spread across Gabriel's friend and he tapped the retired constable's secular shoulder. "What happened last night, Sir? Did some creature creep in?" Gabriel asked with the periphery of interest. It was time for Eklavya to tell the whole of his account. "Last night's memories are short. Opened my eyes for a while and was covered in duct tape. Then, my eyes again dead" the retired constable began. Gabriel asked Chetry to note the information on his pad. "As far as I remember, I was running out of consciousness and unconsciousness. Non of us know when all these happened. I was covered with blood for sure. There were massive repeated blows on our body. But, he avoided the head completely". Gabriel asked the portion to be noted again. "Did you personally see him? Can you identify him?". Eklavya's face showed gallant instead of dismay upon the question. He proceeded to reveal "His appearance, I will never forget. He was in a corporate tuxedo and was bald. His face was hidden with a muffler but I saw it when his muffler fell due to his awful dancing", Gabriel grasped the fact that Jaan was still in Sengupta's clothes. He asked for Jaan's photograph and showed it to Eklavya. "Sir! You seem to be a real cop. Audacious, responsive and clear. Now use all your memory and tell me about this face before you" Gabriel wheedled before Eklavya. Eklavya indeed had the genes of a discernible cop and performed the task of recollecting vividly. It took time but when the memory struck, an exasperate Eklavya said in a loud voice "I bet! I bet! I won't forget the laughter and face. This is the intruder". Gabriel did no reconfirmation owing to the respondent's attitude. "The next morning at around 11:30 a.m., I regained consciousness and got rid of the duct tape somehow. Everybody was unconscious and blood ridden. I went to the juveniles' room and the beating was worse there. Luckily, I found Chandan a few moments before his death. His face was unrecognizable due to repeated thumps on the floor" Eklavya said to Gabriel. "You were indeed very helpful, Sir. You will recover soon. Thank you yet again" Gabriel said poignantly; "We were able to talk with Chandan just before his death. He was recovering, you know but ended up dead" Chetry informed Gabriel. Gabriel asked Chetry to elaborate and Chetry replied saying "Jaan Patnaik had the register comprising the notes of Chandan's crime record. He raped and murdered one of his classmates when he was 15". "Yes! He did not want the staff to get killed so he avoided the head. He also did not want them to complaint immediately either so he severely injured them. He wanted to buy time that way. See! He knows he is a part of manhunt. He is one step ahead" Gabriel said lurching against the bathroom wall. As they were swiping cigarettes, the SHO came running to the bathroom. Both of them noticed a torrent of urgency and excitement in the SHO's face. They walked towards him to uncover the information but the SHO himself started. "Jaan Patnaik has eloped with the car of Mr and Mrs Maurya" the SHO claimed. Gabriel asked him with some confusion on his tone "Who are they?". "A couple came to us today at around 9:30 a.m. They said a bald guy with face covered in muffler manhandled them with acid and stole their car. The couple got a lift at around 4 a.m. since the area was Anshura. People come very rarely to Anshura and it was the time of dawn" the SHO told everything. Gabriel and Chetry looked at each other. The team decided to do an immediate surveillance around the Anshura area. They immediately kicked off from the hospital itself. As they reached Anshura, they immediately knew why it attracted no visitors at all. The area had pot holes all over the ground which spawned geographically. It was all sand in the ground and the elevated land of Anshura had immense vegetation indefinitely. Gabriel was not accompanied by Chetry who was busy communicating the new city's reports to Khan. Gabriel could see tire marks resembling Sengupta's car. The asphalt and rarity of travelling around the area allowed the marks to stay. Gabriel followed the marks and climbed the rich Anshura. Ahaan Sengupta's car stood all culminated before them. 'Fuck' echoed out of despair among the men. Gabriel could now catch the pattern of his diabolical self. Their vehicle returned and hours flew like gusts of wind. Forensic reports came confirming Jaan's clear and exclusive presence in the Jatayu crime scene. Gabriel did not leave the city and Jaan Patnaik was in the state's television and vacant walls. The law authorities were awaiting any information clarifying Pattnaik's status. The police convoy was returning to the first city at around 8 pm. "This guy, Jaan Patnaik has pattern. He kills then carjacks and then he kills and carjacks. Plus, look at the locations- the most outcast ones. We need to catch him as quick as possible. He is a vehement player" Gabriel shared his ideas and they responded mildly. The convoy got stuck in a temporary traffic as Jaan told. A loud beep came in Chetry's walkie-takie. "Hello!" Chetry responded. "Chetry, there is a good news. Jaan visited the restaurant 'SAKHA' in the city today at around 3 pm today" the message came. A jolt of happiness came into the convoy as finally the riveting night and plans did leave a good news.