Chapter 3

2 months later

"Now, we are coming to you with a piece of breaking news. Last night, the state's finance minister's teen daughter Ovika Pujari has been abducted. From our sources, we have gathered the intel that at the time of the abduction, Ovika was coming back from her football practice at the stadium. As of now, we have no exact further information on when or how it happened, or who is behind the abduction but stay tuned as we will inform you of the details as it unfolds. DCP Pradyuman has informed us that three local police team has been dispatched to the Minister Pujari's house, but we are not yet sure whether Crime Branch or CID will be getting involved yet."

"We should also note that DCP Pradyuman formerly led the extremely successful Mumbai CID team, so many are speculating that the case may go to CID. However, Minister Pujari is good friends with Crime Branch's director. So even if…."

Purvi switched off the TV, bringing out the bowl of fruit salad from her refrigerator and started eating it, after pouring a generous amount of coconut water in it. It was a recipe she learned from someone once she knew. Many people would scrunch their noses in disgust if they saw her enjoying her fruit salad with coconut water. But it is healthy, feels good on her tastebuds and a surefire refreshing way to start her morning, so what the hell. She synced her mobile's Spotify account to the TV and soft music filled her kitchen, as she prepared herself a cup of tea to carry in her tumbler and readied some chicken for the dinner that night.

Since because of her job she had no idea how long her day would be, she preferred to ready all the items, so that whenever she reached home she could cook a quick dinner. It helped her organise her routine perfectly and she did not have to worry about going to bed empty stomach. Fifteen minutes later, her work phone started beeping with an incoming alert that she had a new job and was needed in the bureau in an hour.

Disposing her bowl in the dishwasher and cleaning the kitchen counter, she rushed to take a quick shower, even though she already enjoyed a good soak after her workout. After dressing up and checking all the doors and windows, she got inside her car and drove towards the bureau.

When she parked her car at the allotted spot, she noticed Ishita, her co-worker standing, leaning against her own car. Looking at her phone. Purvi got out of the car, locked it and strode towards the, comparatively new and lean CID officer.

"Good morning Ishita, you waiting for someone?" she greeted her and looked around to see anyone else in the parking lot.

"Oh, hi. Good morning Purvi ma'am. Actually yes, I was supposed to collect some reports from the local police. So, I am waiting here, they asked to meet here." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, would you like me to wait with you here?"

"Oh no, it's okay. You can go ahead. I will be up in no time. Also, I think Shreya Ma'am is back." Ishita pointed to Shreya's Audi, a wedding gift from her husband - Daya.

"What, already?" the question had no ill-intention as Purvi looked at the car, Ishita pointed to. "Okay, I will meet you inside, Ishi. Bye." Ishita nodded at Purvi, even though she knew it was no necessary.

Entering the bureau, Purvi fleetingly moved her eyes around and saw Shreya arranging her desks. "Shouldn't you be honeymooning in Fiji, officer?" Purvi jokingly asked with a loud voice. Shreya looked up from her desk at her best friend and scuttled to hug Purvi, waiting with open arms and a huge, bright smile.

"Ah, missed you so much" Shreya murmured, hugging her tightly.

"Missed you too, doll. But seriously though, what are you doing here? You should be with your husband sipping margaritas and whatnot, laying under the sun by the beach, not solving crimes here in this office room."

"Ah, you know how Daya is. We went away for 20 days and just after the 9th day, he was already worrying about how his team is doing, if there were any cases that needed his help and whatnot. And honestly speaking, after the 12th day, I was also yearning to come back. So we cut our trip short and came back. Thought, we will take few days off later, whenever necessary" Shreya explained, while Purvi looked at her with a small smile playing on her lips.

She could not blame Shreya, though. Because she knew she would be the same. They had been fighting crimes and had been a part of the CID for so long, it had almost become impossible for them to sit and relax around for more than 2 or 3 days. So whenever Purvi went on a vacation, which was not too much if you are wondering, she would always carry a copy of an old unsolved case. So that she did not lose her mind.

So far, it helped her stay sane and she had actually managed to find new shreds of evidence that eventually led the team to solve two cold cases. You see things from a better perspective when you are mind is relaxed - that's what her father said, whenever they joked about how Purvi managed to find those evidence, during family gatherings. So Purvi had decided to take it as it is and continued doing so.

"I totally get it. How was it? The vacation. Have you had relaxing spa sessions? Have you visited any places? Did you guys go scuba diving?" The chain of questions poured out from Purvi's mouth even before she could realise.

Before Shreya could even answer any of it, Abhijeet came in, looking jaded, followed by Ishita who was carrying a stack of olive green and blue files propped against her waist with her elbow supporting it.

"Morning" Abhijeet greeted everyone as they murmured their greeting back. "As you might have already accumulated why we all are gathered here right now. Ovika Pujari, the teen daughter of Finance Minister Kanan Pujari was abducted last evening when she was coming back home from her football practice. Mostly her driver picks her up from the practice, but it is not uncommon for her to take a cab or auto as well.

She takes an auto at least twice or thrice a week. So, when she takes an auto she normally takes a short trip from the stadium to the auto stand her father says and I quote, "She says it clears her mind." Yesterday evening although, she never reached the auto stand. We have video footages from the stadium's front entrance CCTV proving she left her practice on time. But she never reached the auto stand." Abhijeet proceeded to hand over Freddy some CDs of CCTV footage to play. Once it starts playing, all of them look intently at the grainy video, to pick any evidence of how she disappeared into thin air. They saw her leaving the stadium at the same time she always did. They looked at it even after she disappeared from the frame, to see if anything suspicious was going on.

Zilch. Nada, Nothing. They found nothing that could be counted as out of place.

"I think we should start this investigation from the scratch. I am sure the local police did everything they could, but if this is our investigation, we should start from the beginning." Purvi offered.

"And so we agree" a voice from the doorway claimed, making everyone officer in the bureau whip their heads to the source of the voice.

"YOU! What the hell are you doing here?"

A/N: Hello, I hope everyone is doing okay, seeing how the situation of the pandemic is getting worse every day. Please stay safe and wear a mask if you have to go outside.