Chapter 3:

Tarika reached a bungalow and rang the door bell. The person who opened the door was a dark-complexed man, his eyes somewhat similar to Abhi's. His hair was cut short and his face was very eager. "Andar aoo" He said to Tarika. Tarika came in and sat on the sofa. He saw tears flowing down her cheeks. "Kya hua? Tum ro kyu rahi ho?" He asked her. "Kuch nahi" She said. "Tarika, tum mujhe apna bada bhai manti ho na? And I have known you from the past year, You can't lie to me. The Tarika I know doesn't shed tears for small and silly things, so I'm sure it's something big." He said. "Rajat, Tum kuch hi dino mein CID join karne wale ho na?" She asked him. "Haan to?" Rajat asked her looking confused. "Tumhe yaad hain maine tumhe Abhijeet ke bare mein bataya tha?" She asked. Rajat smiled and nodded yes. Tarika told him the whole story and he was as shocked as she was. "Par wo aisa kaise kar sakte hain? Maine unke baarein mein bahot kuch suna hain, lekin mujhe nahi pata the ki wo aisa kuch kar sakte hain." Rajat said with a bemused look. "And he told me to wait for one month and then he'll tell me the truth. I don't know what he means by that." Tarika said. "Hmmm... hota hai aisa kabhi kabhi, but don't cry because I can't see my sister crying." He said trying to cheer her up. "Ab raat bahot ho gayi hain, I think you should go home. I'll drop you off." He said. "No, it's fine I'll go." She said wiping her tears. "Are you sure?" Rajat asked her with concern. "Yup, thanks for asking though." She replied walking towards the door. She went outside and got in her car.

In the party at Abhi's house:

Tasha had told Muskaan about Tarika's behaviour. They were both shocked. Abhijeet had also seen Tarika leaving the party in a rush and had guessed the reason. He went towards Daya. "Daya, ye Tarika kaha chali gayi?" He asked in a low tone. "Pata nahi yaar, even I saw her leaving the party, she seemed in a hurry." Daya replied. "Daya, tum please jaake Tasha ya Musaan se pooch na, kyunki agar maine jaake poocha to problem ho sakti hai." He said in a concerned voice. Daya smiled at the concern shown by Abhi towards Tarika. "Ok boss" He said smiling. Then he went towards Tasha and Muskaan. "Musi ye Tarika kaha chali gayi?" He asked Muskaan. "Don't you dare call me that!" Muskaan said in a threatening tone. Tasha tried to hide her smile but Muskaan saw her and came back to the topic. "Pata nahi usne Tasha ko kaha ki use kuch zaruri kam yaad agaya hain and she gave the house keys and left the party." Muskaan said with concern. "Waise tum kyun pooch rahe ho?" Muskaan asked Daya. "Maine...wo Abhi ne..." Then he realized what he had said. "Abhijeet sir ne kya?" Tasha asked. "woh ACP sir ne Abhi... Abhijeet ko bataya ki Tarika kahin chali gayi hain, issliye Abhijeet ne mu...mujhe behja tumse poochne ko kaha because he was bu...busy." He replied stammering. "Haan pata nahi wo achanak kaha chali gayi." Muskaan said worriedly. "Don't worry hoga use kuch kaam issliye gayi hogi" Daya said. He went back and in a few hours the party was over and everyone went back to their home.

As Muskaan and Tasha reached their house they saw that Tarika's car was already there. They went inside and sae Tarika sitting on the sofa dejectedly. She was analysing what had happened two or three hours ago. The moment when Shruti hugged Abhijeet was replaying in her mind. "Kya hua Tarika tum kaha chali gai thi?" Tasha asked. Tasha's voice made Tarika break out of her train of thoughts. "Huhh? Kuch nahi main wo Rajat se milne gayi thi." Tasha and Muskaan knew about Rajat, They knew how once Rajat had saved Tarika from having an accident and since that day both had developed a bond of brother and sister between them. "Oh tou aisa keh deti na hum sab kitne pareshaan the including Abhijeet sir" Muskaan said. "Lekin Muskaan, Daya sir tou kaha ki ACP sir ne Abhijeet Sir ko bataya ki Tarika kahin chali gayi hain." Tasha said confused. "Main Daya ko bahot achche se janti hoon, mujhe pata hai ki woh jhoot bol raha tha." Muskaan said giving a proud look. "Ahem Ahem." Tasha coughed. "use pareshaan hone ki bilkul zarurat nahi hain, Shruti hain na..." Tarika said with fresh tears in her eyes. "Chodo Tarika chalo so jaate hai." Tasha said. "Nahi isse pehele hume Daya ko phone karke batana chahiye ki Tarika kahan gayi thi." Muskaan said dialing Daya's number. She told Daya that Tarika had gone for some personal work, though Daya knew about Rajat. Daya called Abhijeet.

Abhi's House:

Shruti was sleeping in the guest room but Abhijeet was still awake and was thinking where Tarika might have gone. He was feeling really bad for her, and he perfectly knew the reason of Tarika's sudden decision of leaving the party. Just then he heard his cell phone ring. "Haan Daya bolo..." He said. "Boss Tarika kisi personal kaam se bahar gayi thi wo wapas aa gayi hai." Daya said. Abhijeet sighed in relief. "Ok thanks Daya. Goodnight" Abhi said and then cut the call. He was about to go to his room when he heard a noise outside on the balcony. He took his gun and torch and went in the direction of the noise. He reached the balcony but whoever it was there, had already run away, Abhijeet turned to go back when he spotted something shining in the torch light. He brought his gloves and wore them. Then he picked up the object. It was a men's watch with the letter 'S' engraved on it and it had some drops of blood on it. It was an expensive watch. He thought the letter might be the initial of the person's name. He went outside the house and asked the guards about it. The guards said that they knew nothing about the watch nor did they see anyone coming through the gate.

Next Day- CID bureau:

Abhijeet told everything to ACP sir. "Abhijeet mein janata tha ki koi Shruti par nazar jaroor rakhega. Tum Shruti ko phone karo are use kaho ko wo yahan bureau mein akar baithe, We can't afford to leave her alone. Mein Vivek ko bhejta hoon wo use lekar ayega" "Ok sir" Abhijeet called Shruti and told her to come to the bureau with Vivek. "Chalo ab hum Forensic lab chalet hain, Salunkhe ne kuch na kuch hopefully dhoondh nikala hoga." ACP sir said.

Forensic Lab:

Tarika was carrying out the DNA test of the blood found on the watch. Though she was carrying out the test, it seemed that her thoughts were lost somewhere else. Dr. Salunkhe saw this. "Kya hua Tarika, Tumhari tabiyar to theek hai na?" He asked even though he knew what was wrong. "Haan sir I'm fine." She replied. Just then ACP sir, Abhijeet and Daya entered the lab. "Haan Salunkhe iss watch ki upar se koi company ka naam ya logo mila?" ACP asked in a stern voice, but this had become a daily routine for Salunkhe so he replied. "haan boss ye dekho isske upar 'S.K. Accessories' likha hai. "Good Job" ACP sir said. Abhijeet saw Tarika carrying out the DNA test. He could clearly see the upset look on her face. His heart ached to see her this way, but he was helpless. "Tarika DNA reports humare records mein hai kya?" He asked her hoping to strike a conversation with her. "Sir, DNA samples ke matched humare records mein nahi hai." She said looking towards ACP. Abhijeet was shocked at her behaviour but didn't say anything. He looked a Daya and he gave him a helpless look.

S.K. Accessories:

Daya asked the manager "Ye watch aapki dukaan ke hain, kya aap bata sakte hain ki ye watch kisne kaharida tha?" The manager looked at it carefully. "Sir ye watch un mein se ek hai jo chorri hue the." The manager replied. "Chorri?" Muskaan asked. "Haan madam, wo 1 hafte pehele humare dukaan mein chori ho gayi thi." The manager said. "Tou aapne koi police report complaint ki thi?" Daya asked. "Nah...Nahi sahab wo sirf 4 ya 5 watches chorri ho gaye issliye humne nahi karwayi." The manager replied. "Kya? Agar aap complaint ki hoti tou shayad ye chor pakde jaate." Muskaan said sternly. "Galti ho gayi mein agli bar se choti se choti chorri ki complaint karunga" He replied.

Dayuskaan went to the bureau. They saw Shruti sitting in the waiting room. "Hello Muskaan, tum kaise ho idher anne ke baad maine tumse baat hi nahi ki hai." Shruti said to Muskaan. Muskaan looked at Daya. Daya said nothing and just went towards ACP sir's cabin. "I'm fine" Muskaan replied blankly.