Chapter 4

Three more days came and went and still there was no sign of Daya. Shreya wondered whether he had changed his mind about supervising the case. Maybe he didn't want to see her and he changed his mind?

Brushing aside her thoughts, she got dressed and drove to CID Bureau. She had to go to the Forensic Lab as the post mortem had been done.

Dr Salunkhe nodded at them as the lab assistant rolled the gurney with Jia's dead body towards them.

'We found traces of cocaine in her blood. But only slight traces. She died due to multiple stab wounds. The wounds inflicted on the body are made with a butcher knife which is usually used to cut meat. The impact must have been heavy. Mere two or three stabs would have finished her off. There are no signs of rape. Time of death would have been around 4 am.' said Dr Salukhe.

'Okay and what about the fingerprints which we gave for analysis?' asked Shreya.

'We found five different fingerprints around the house which match with Jia, her two servants, the Chauffeur and the neighbour. The killer was careful to use gloves' said Tarika.

'Chauffeur and the neighbour - they must have left their prints when they broke open the door.' said Shreya.

'What did you get from her handbag?' asked Shreya.

'Nothing much, just makeup and stuff' said Tarika.

'Okay' said Shreya sighing.

Shreya thanked them and left the Forensic Lab. She hurried off to the CID Bureau to tell Sameer what she had found out. He was already waiting for her, looking impatient.

'Shreya, you are late. Anyway we have got a meeting in the conference room in one minute' said Sameer and rushed to the Conference room before she could utter another word.

Shreya stared irritably after him. 'He won't even listen where I had been! Ridiculous!' Shreya muttered and slammed her bag on the table.

Wondering why the meeting was being held out of the blue, she made her way towards the conference room. Sameer, Pankaj, Jaywanti and the other ground level officers had already gathered inside the room. Shreya saw Dr Salunkhe's assistant Dr Vaibhav chatting with one of the juniors.

'Who's coming?' Shreya asked Jaywanti.

Before Jaywanti could reply, the door opened and he walked in. Shreya gasped. It was Senior Inspector Daya followed by another young Officer.

'Hello everyone, sorry I am late. I was tied up with work.' he said.

He glanced around the room and Shreya was sure, he did a double take when he saw her. She blushed. She was desperate to see him since past few days and his sudden appearance no doubt pleased her. Daya however didn't show any further signs of recognition.

He looked almost the same as she remembered him two years ago. Broad shouldered and good - looking in a rugged sort of a way. Shreya noticed a slight change - his hair had thinned a bit.

In a very professional tone he said, 'those who don't know me - I am senior Inspector Daya. Though I see a lot of old faces' he said looking at Shreya.

She gave him a meek smile.

'Okay, let us not waste anymore time. I have just been speaking to the ACP sir and he is not happy with the way the case is progressing. We haven't been able to gather any concrete evidence as yet. I should have been here two days ago, but I was held up at the headquarters. So, I have planned that each member will tell me what he or she has found out till date. Let us start right from the beginning -'

'Excuse me Sir but I think there is no point in going over the same points again and again. We are merely wasting our time' said Sameer.

The room fell silent as they watched Daya apprehensively as to how would he react.

'Your name is Sameer, am I correct?' asked Daya.

'Yes. Chief Officer Sameer' said Sameer.

'Okay, Sameer I believe that I am the senior and here onwards things will happen according to my wish. Have I made myself clear?' said Daya.

'But-' Sameer protested.

Daya held up his hand and he felt silent at once.

'I think I've made myself very clear. I have heard that Officer Shreya joined the case two days late?' asked Daya staring at Shreya.

'Yes. The reason-' Shreya said but Daya held up his hand once again.

'I know the reason. So Chief Officer Sameer, you were assigned to the case right from the beginning?' asked Daya.

'Yes' said Sameer coldly.

'Great. Tell me everything right from the beginning' said Daya.

'The victim was discovered dead by her Chauffeur and her neighbours on Monday morning at 9 am. The house has only one entrance and the CCTV cameras didn't catch anybody going to the victim's house. Nothing has been robbed and there are no fingerprints. There was no sign of break in. The victim was brutally stabbed in the stomach and we are considering Revenge as the motive for murder' said Sameer.

'What about the murder weapon?' asked Daya.

'The Victim was stabbed four times with a sharp butcher knife. There are no signs of rape. I have just been to the Forensic Lab. The murder weapon is missing.' said Shreya.

'Which persons have been interrogated so far?' asked Daya.

'Jia was working with a famous fashion designer. We have interrogated all people who have worked with her including her makeup artist, her colleagues and her Chauffeurs' said Sameer.

'And?' Daya prompted.

'They all are clean' said Sameer.

'I spoke with Jia's parents. They were out of the country when it happened. They had seen very little of Jia ever since she became one of the leading Models of the Country. They didn't like the negative publicity which surrounded her constantly. When was in her struggling period, she often pestered them for money and her father refused to pay for her expenses. She had a big fight with her parents and since then they never really got along. Her parents have no clue as to who could have killed her. Jia didn't have any siblings.' said Shreya.

'Who else?' asked Daya.

'Jia had hired an architect for renovating her ground floor and basement. I spoke with the architect. I see no problem there. They never had any serious argument over anything. Infact Jia had even paid him a handsome advance before the work had started. Then I met Jia's personal agent. They run a famous agency. They managed Jia's contracts and stuff. The meeting was a short one and I plan to visit her again after I get few more leads' said Shreya.

'We have been digging Jia's past as well. She's had a series of affairs from servants, chauffeurs to famous celebrities. We are yet to interview them' said Sameer.

'Sir, Jia had been to the rehabilitation centre twice. We still have to meet her doctors' said Pankaj.

'That's it?' asked Daya.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

'Okay, now I will start from the basics. Who checked the CCTV footage?' asked Daya.

'I checked it, sir' said Jaywanti.

'You checked the CCTV camera fitted in Jia's house, correct?' asked Daya.

'Yes Sir' said Jaywanti.

'What about the CCTV cameras of the neighbours? Did you check them? Jia lived in a posh locality and every house will have its own security camera' said Daya.

'There is no point in looking the other CCTV footages sir. As I told you, there is only one entrance to Jia house - via front door. If anyone had entered, he or she would have been seen on Jia's CCTV camera' said Sameer.

'ARE YOU REALLY THAT DUMB?' Daya bellowed.

'Sir I-'

'Did Jia drop dead on her own? Or did she commit suicide? The killer is not stupid! He must have gained entry to her house by some other means! There has got to be some explanation for this! Maybe the killer knew her well. He went to her flat the previous day and then killed her the very next day' sad Daya angrily.

'Sir, I have checked the previous day's CCTV footage as well -' said Jaywanti.

'For heavens sake, I am repeating it for the second time. You have checked only Jia's CCTV camera. What about the other surveillance cameras fitted in the apartments which are next to or behind the victim's house?' asked Daya.

'Sir, I will get them checked' said Jaywanti.

'There is no other way to enter the house. I have checked the crime scene thoroughly' Sameer muttered.

'You fucking haven't!' Daya yelled.

'I surveyed the crime before coming here and do you know what I found? The wall on the back side of Jia's house is broken. The bricks have come loose. There is a huge hole large enough for a person to crawl in. It is so well hidden by the creepers that you didn't notice it. The killer could have come from there. What's even more interesting is that House no 44 which is exactly behind Jia's house has only two occupants - An elderly man and his wife. They don't even have a pet dog. The killer could have entered the victim's premises from there. Now, if you had checked the CCTV footage of House no 44, you might have spotted the killer. Isn't that a likely possibility?' asked Daya glaring at Sameer.

Sameer didn't utter a single word. He was seething in anger. He didn't like the way Daya was speaking to him.

'I want all the surrounding surveillance cameras checked by tomorrow, is that clear?' asked Daya.

Jaywanti nodded.

'Did you find out any people who were close to Jia? Such people with whom she is likely to share her secrets?' asked Daya.

'Not really. A colleague of Jia with whom Jia had worked a lot of times is busy with an ad shoot outside India. We will call her to the Bureau once she gets back.' said Shreya.

'And you believe that Jia had just one close friend? What about others? Have you hunted them down?' asked Daya.

'No.'

'you told me nothing was stolen from her flat. Have you ever given this a thought that Jia's death might give the murderer a lot more money than stealing a small amount of cash from her flat?' asked Daya.

When Pankaj looked confused, Daya said, 'Have you checked what happens to Jia's property after her death? Who are the beneficiaries?' asked Daya.

'No.'

'The person who manages Jia's finances. Even he might have killed her. Have you enquired about him?' asked Daya.

'No'

'Shreya, you told me Jia requested money from her parents when she was struggling to get work and recognition. Surely she wouldn't have stayed here at that time? She must have rented a place or would have even shared a flat with someone? Her roommates might know something about her. The doctors who treated her at rehab, her boyfriends, her -' Daya was saying when Shreya interrupted him.

'We haven't got that far yet. It has just been a week' she said.

'I know that but we really need to make a move. ACP sir said we will have to make a press release within two weeks regarding how the case is progressing. And before that, we will have find something which will give us a lead, a direction. Right now we are merely roaming in blind alleyways not knowing where are we heading' said Daya.

'Okay, tell us what to do' said Sameer in a blunt tone.

'Yeah, I will' snapped Daya.

Daya continued to speak for another hour. Shreya yawned, trying to pay attention to him. Her head was spinning. When, he would up the meeting, she was the first one to get out.

Her head had started to ache and she wanted to go home as soon as possible. She was going to go back to her cabin, when she saw Daya hurry towards the exit.

'Gotta go. I have an urgent call to make. I want everyone present at 8.30 am tomorrow in the Bureau. I want to have a little personal chat with each one of you' he said and left the Bureau.

Shreya watched him go. He hadn't even asked how she was. Had they gone that far in those two years?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Pankaj.

'Phew! I am so scared of him. You never know when he would vent out all his anger on you. But you know what? It feels good to work with him. I got to work with him after a long time. I kind of miss working with him. Don't you?' he asked.

Shreya didn't know what to say. Pankaj would never know how much she missed him. She had worked with him, loved him and he had loved her back with the same passion. Now seeing him again, her feelings for him had gotten much stronger. She felt angry that he hadn't even bothered to ask her how she was. All she longed now was to curl up on her bed and try to disunite herself from those feelings.