Chapter 2

Amidst their loud voices and all the commotion, the door flung open and Dr Salunkhe walked in.

'Ye kya ho raha hai bhai? CID bureau ko sabzi market bana rakha hai tum logo ne! Wo nayi officer aayegi to kya kahegi? Senior aur junior officers dab milke timepass kar rahe hai?' said Dr. Salunkhe.

'Sir yaha par bohot hi interesting topic pe baat chal rahi hai. Isiliye itna shor macha rahe hai sab log' said Abhijeet.

'Accha? Kaunsi baat?' asked Dr Salunkhe.

'Ye shaadi na karne ki condition ACP sir ne kyun rakhi hai uspar discussion chal raha hai' said Abhijeet.

'Oh accha accha. Kise karni hai shaadi?' he asked.

'Jaywanti ko' said Freddy promptly.

'Kya?! Are nahi nahi sir! Yr Freddy sir majak kar rahe hai' said Jaywanti quickly.

Dr. Salunkhe smiled. At that moment, ACP Pradyuman entered followed by a pretty girl with short hair.

'Aao aao Shreya. Sab se mila deta hoon.' said ACP Pradyuman beckoning her forward.

'Ye hai hamari nayi officer Inspector Shreya.' ACP Pradyuman announced.

Daya's phone rang and he excused himself gesturing Abhijeet to follow him. Meanwhile ACP Pradyuman continued to introduce Shreya to other officers.

'Sir mere Khabri ka phone tha. Wo drug dealer ka pata chal gaya hai. Mujhe aur Abhijeet ko milne jana hoga khabri se.' said Daya.

'Thik hai. Tum log turant waha jao. Phir aage ka dekhenge' said ACP Pradyuman.

'Thik hai sir' said Abhijeet.

'Accha Shreya ye hai -' ACP Pradyuman was saying looking at Daya but Shreya interuppted him.
'Senior Inspector Daya, right?'

Daya gave her an arrested look. Her kohled eyes were shining and she was looking indeed very beautiful.

'Shreya Malhotra' she said offering her hand.

'Sahi pehchana tumne. Par tum kaise jaanti ho mujhe?' asked Daya taking her hand and giving her a firm handshake, refusing to let go of her hand.

'Aap dono ke baare me kaun nahi jaanta? Aapki photo toh har hafte chapti rehti hai paper me! Aapki aur Abhijeet sir ki' said Shreya managing to free her hand from his grasp and shaking Abhijeet's hand as well.

'Nice meeting you Shreya' said Abhijeet smiling at her.

Tarika was scrutinising the entire introduction scene with great interest. She found Daya's reaction when he shook hands with Shreya quite odd. Also, she thought, his eyes flickered quite frequently towards Shreya. She observed them further but neither Daya nor the new girl Shreya showed any signs of recognition. Tarika made a mental note to talk to Abhijeet about it.

O-o-o-o

Abhijeet and Daya left immediately to meet their informer and the next instant, the phone rang inside the bureau.

'Hello? Kya? Kaha par? Accha tum wahi ruko hum abhi pohochte hai'
Sachin put down the receiver.

'Kya hua Sachin?' asked ACP Pradyuman.

'Sir ek laash mili hai ek band pade bunglow me. Kaafi sunsaan ilaka hai. Mumbai se 100 kms door' said Sachin.

'Thik hai. Tum, Tarika, Purvi aur Pankaj chale jao aur dekho kya pata chalta hai' said ACP Pradyuman.

'Sir ye lijiye wo blood report reports jo aapne mangwayi thi. Aur sir mujhe iss Friday ko thoda jaldi jana hai. Kuch kaam hai' said Tarika.

'Haan thike jao. Koi baat nahi. Aur ha Salunkhe mujhe teri madad chahiye. Kuch terms hai report me jo samajh me nahi aa rahi' said ACP Praduman.

'Haan haan boss isiliye toh aaya hun yaha par' said Dr Salunkhe.

'Shreya aur Jaywanti tum dono wo files dekh lo jo tumhari table pe rakhi hai. Aur Freddy tum chalo hamare saath Lab me' said ACP Pradyuman in an instructive voice and the officers dispersed one by one.

O-o-o-o

They kept working round the clock till 8 pm that day.

Shreya having enjoyed her first day at CID and having made great friends with Purvi was indeed in a very nice mood. She was walking towards the exit gate when someone grabbed her waist from behind.

She tried to scream but another hand shut her mouth. Shreya's heart was thudding loudly. Panic gripped her. And then she felt warm breath over her cheek and she comprehended who her assailant must be. Her assailant was dragging her to another Black Sedan parked in the opposite direction.

Shreya tried to free herself but his grip was firm. Shreya narrowed her eyes and then she bit his hand.

'Ouch! Shreya kya kar rahi ho tum?' Daya yelled.

'Kidnapper se self defence aisa hi kiya jata hai' said Shreya giggling.

'Tumhe pata tha na ki main hu? Phir bhi?' said Daya.

'Nahi. Mujhe kuch nahi pata. Maon aapko nahi jaanti' said Shreya

'Haha. Very funny Shreya. Anyway, gadi me baitho' said Daya.

'Kyu?' asked Shreya

'Kyu ka kya matlab hai? Hume din bhar baat karne ka mauka nahi mila. Mujhe baat karni hai tumse. Jaana hai ki tumhara pehla din CID me kaise gaya' said Daya.

'Mujhe na bohot neend aa rahi hai. Bohot thak gayi hu. Toh main nahi aa rahi aapke saath' said Shreya.

'Tum aa rahi ho mere saath Shreya. Aur tumhari thakaan dur karne ke liya mere paas bohit saare raaste hai' said Daya grinning naughtily at her.

'Daya! Chup raho' said Shreya blushing furiously.

'Accha Okay. Ab chale?' he asked and without waiting for her to respond, he pushed her into the seat and got in beside her.

'Daya please aap jara dheeme awaj me baat kijiye aur apni batameezi control me rakhiye. Kisi ne hume dekh liya toh problem ho jayegi' said Shreya as Daya started the car.

Daya laughed. 'Kya batameezi ki maine?' he asked.

'Subah kitni der tak haath pakad ke rakha tha mera aur aap mujhe ghur rahe the' said Shreya angrily.

'Okay, okay sorry. Agli baar jab hum akele rahenge tabhi batameezi karunga tumhare saath, okay?' said Daya.

'Daya!' said Shreya while Daya continued to snigger.

O-o-o-o

Half an hour later, Forensic Lab -

'Tarika jee, aap ka ho gaya ho toh chale?' Abhijeet whispered in her ear making Tarika jump.

'Abhijeet! Tum iss waqt Forensic Lab me kya kar rahe ho?' asked Tarika looking around them making sure that Dr Salunkhe wasn't lurking nearby.

'Are aap hi ke liye toh wait kar raha tha Tarika jee' said Abhijeet moving dangerously close to her.

'Abhijeet, dur raho mujhse.' said Tarika brandishing a pen knife at him.

'Are ye kya kar rahi ho? Maar dogi kya mujhe?' said Abhijeet making a face.

'Jee nahi. Tum mujhse door raho' said Tarika.

'Tarika, Dr Salunkhe nahi hai yaha par' said Abhijeet.

'Haan pata hai. Par hum abhi CID Bureau me hai' snapped Tarika.

'Tumhare paas har waqt koi na koi bahana hota hai. Bureau me Salunkhe sir ki problem aur ghar me tumhare mummy daddy ki problem. Kya aise koi jagah hai jaha hum bina tension ke baat kar sakte hai?' asked Abhijeet irritably.

'Abhijeet jab hum dono dinner yaha movie ke jate hai tab main tumse koi shikayat nahi karti. Lekin yaha nahi. Salunkhe sir ne dekh liya na toh meri band baj jayegi. Unhe already humpar shak ho gaya hai. Aur wo sirf tumhari wajah se' said Tarika.

'Meri wajah se? Maine kya kiya?' asked Abhijeet.

'Tum Lab me jab bhi atte ho tab sirf Tarika Jee, Tarika Jee karte rehte ho. Toh unhe to shak hoga hi na?' said Tarika.

'Oh. Toh tumhe ye baat pasand nahi. Thik hai isle baad main Lab me bilkul baat nahi karunga. Jo bhi baat karni hai wo main sirf aur sirf Salunkhe sir se karunga. Khush?' said Abhijeet.

'Sach me? Bolne ne pehle ek baar soch lo Abhijeet' said Tarika laughing.

'Tum bas dekh lo. Abhijeet kya cheez hai wo tumne dekha nai hai abhi tak' said Abhijeet angrily.

'Okay. Dekhte hai' said Tarika smiling.

'Main ghar jaa raha hoon. Good night' said Abhijeet.

'Are nai Abhijeet ruko. Mere paas gadi nahi hai. Mujhe jara ghar chod dena. Bohot late ho gaya hai aaj. Taxi milne me problem hogi' said Tarika.

'Main kya tumhara driver lagta hoon? Mujhe jaroori kaam hai. Main abhi nikal raha hoon' said Abhijeet still very angry.

'Abhijeet? Tum mere saath aisa behave karoge? Tumhari Tarika jee ke saath?' she asked in a sweet voice.

Abhijeet's anger melted away almost immediately.

'Are nahi nahi. Tumne aisa soch bhi kaise liya? Main toh bas majak kar raha tha' said Abhijeet.

'I knew it Abhijeet. So sweet of you' said Tarika.

'Toh ab...' said Abhijeet moving closer.

'Toh ab kuch nahi. Tum waha jake baitho. Main dus minute me aati hu' said Tarika.

'Huh! Ye tum thik nahi kar Tarika! Aur mujhe nahi pata main tumhare liye ye sab kyu kar raha hu' said Abhijeet and went to sit in the chair far away from her.

O-o-o-o

As Abhijeet drove Tarika home, he decided to discuss with Abhijeet the thing which was bothering her since Shreya had arrived.

'Abhijeet, tumne aaj Daya ko notice kiya? Uska bartav kuch ajeeb nahi laga tumhe?' she asked.

'Ajeeb? Nahi toh. Kyu kya hua?' asked Abhijeet.

'Mujhe Daya par shak ho raha hai. Wo jaroor humse kuch chupa raha hai' said Tarika.

'Kis bare me?' asked Abhijeet.

'Wo nayi ladki aayi hai na Shreya? Mujhe lagta hai Daya use pehle se jaanta hai' said Tarika.

'Kya? Ye kya bol rahi ho tum? Daya aaj pehli baar dekh raha hi use. In fact hum sab log usse pehli baar mile hai aaj' said Abhijeet.

'Nahi Abhijeet. Main un dono ki expressions observe kar rahi thi. Kuch na kuch baat toh hai' ssid Tarika.

'Nahi Tarika. Agar aisa hota toh Daya hume jaroor batata. Hum uske dost hai' said Abhijeet.

Tarika didn't say anything. But she could smell something was definitely fishy. And she was pretty determined to find out what it was.