Author's Note: Hey guys! I know I am a little late in posting but well...my schedule has been rather unpredictable...I hope this chapter will be worth the wait. Thank you to Drumboy100 and Elizabeth K. Joan for reviewing last chapter AND for sticking with the story till the very end! It was an amazing journey and you guys made it all the better!
So, for the final time, Story So Far: After the criminal is caught red handed and she confesses to the crime, a lot of chaos ensues. All those indirectly involved break down under the police pressure and come clean about their actions. The teenage detectives are tired and the day after the confessions finds all of them in a pensive mood...
Hope you enjoy this final chapter!
Chapter 8: An Evening for Fun
"The end was definitely unexpected," Vijay admitted, staring up at the sky.
It was late afternoon on the day after the press conference and long gruelling of the arrested. The six of them had slept through the entire morning. After lunch, they decided on a drive along one of the more peaceful and quieter parts of Goa. After all the excitement of the last few days and all their sleuthing and jumping from windows, solitude and a calm ambience were precisely what they needed. Not to mention, they would be taking their flights back to River Heights and Bayport the next evening itself.
They were driving along a road with clusters of palm trees on either side. The clusters were too tempting and they conveniently halted there.
Not many people could be seen around but it was a weekday after all. Given the time, most were still at work.
"Anybody knows what charges the accused would face?" Bess asked.
Nobody knew the answer to that. As a matter of fact, it was hard to determine what their crimes precisely were.
"Well I have been thinking," Nancy said leaning back on the tree as everyone sat down on the ground, "Who do you reckon is the most at fault here?"
That was indeed a matter of debate on which everyone had varying opinions. This question had come up in the press conference when a reporter had asked the Commissioner, "So sir, whom are you holding as guilty?" This discussion had gone on for a long time indeed.
Now, when Nancy asked the question, Joe said, "I think it is Akshay Tripathi. First of all, he admitted that he was carrying a gun merely for the purpose of bragging. This shows just how careless he is. Moreover, it is irresponsible of him to fire a gun at a person unnecessarily even if it was a blank. I mean, we all know just how fatal a blank can be at a short range," he reasoned, "Really, if someone is carrying something as dangerous as a gun, they should be capable enough to take full responsibility of it."
"Well in that case, the rest of the group are equally to blame. They did nothing to stop Akshay," George said, "They have equal participation in the crime. Or..." she paused and seemed to reconsider something, "no, we don't definitely know exactly who was involved how much. So, it seems that maybe one or two of them were less responsible than the others, which does make them marginally less guilty. Or...I don't know, it is difficult to contemplate on their individual involvement without knowing the full facts," she shrugged.
"I think Suresh wasn't completely innocent either," Bess provided her opinion while leaning back on her palms. "I understand that he wanted to spoil their evening, if only a part of it, but he really had no business meddling with Akshay's gun. And even when he did, why didn't he replace all the bullets? Why leave one unchanged?"
"That could have been because he probably didn't get the time to replace all the bullets," Vijay said, "He probably did it when he found the gun unattended and we know that we don't get such critical opportunities twice. Or there is the possibility that he didn't have enough blank bullets with him. It was risky, indeed but I don't see much cause to blame him," he said.
"But it was this interference on his part which brought risk to his life after all," Bess retorted.
"Well actually," Nancy interrupted the impending argument, "Don't you all think that it was Pallavi's actions?" This caused all eyes to turn to her. "Well, yes. In the end, what actually exposed Suresh and brought him at the end of the revolver was Pallavi's call. Yes Frank, I know what you are going to say," she stopped Frank who had opened his mouth to speak. "I know that Pallavi was worried and it was the dead of night and one of the teenagers in front of her was brandishing a gun. I understand all of it," she implored, "But just think, if Pallavi hadn't ringed up Suresh, there was a high chance that Suresh might never have been discovered. The infuriated teenagers would have moved on after a while. There would have been no murder. Pallavi wouldn't have planned out the entire 'Blind Fire Case' as a repercussion," Nancy shook her head, "Technically, none of this would have happened."
There was a long and heavy silence. Finally Frank said, "Anyways," he seemed to shake off his thoughts, "Let's drop this topic. It will be literally disappointing if we spend the rest of our time in Goa worrying about the case."
"Yeah you are right," Nancy agreed. Everyone seemed to stir themselves out of their deep thoughts at Frank's words.
"Want a mint?" Frank asked holding out one for Nancy.
"Sure," Nancy said nibbling on the edge of the white toffee before putting it into her mouth.
"Guys, what if we go to Calangute beach for parasailing tomorrow?" Joe proposed, "It will be a shame to leave Goa without indulging in a bit of adventure sports."
That made everyone laugh. Adventure sports? They would appear rather tame after their other bone-chilling events of this trip.
Only George prompted up, "Parasailing has been a dream for me!"
"Count all of us in," Bess said. Who would want to miss this experience?
"You know what guys, it will be even more of a shame to leave Goa without tasting the finest port wine the country has to offer," Vijay said, "I don't know if you all have noticed or not but wine shops here are more common than fruit juice stalls," he looked around at everyone, "What do you all say? Shall we have a drink by the sea tonight?"
"Yeh bhi koi puchne ki baat hai?" Joe tried to mimic Vijay's standard dialogue in a horrible accent before translating it, "Is it even something to ask about?"
"This, is great," Nancy said tipping back her glass of wine.
All of them were sitting on the cool sands of Calangute beach. It was semi-dark around them. The Arabian Sea looked glorious. All around them, people sat in clusters. Now and then, loud shouts of laughter could be heard from here and there.
It was decided when Vijay purchased the two bottles of wine and a number of disposable wine glasses that there would be only one rule for the evening: No discussion of the case.
"Hey Vijay, did you finalise our parasailing plans for tomorrow?" George asked. She had been not-so-secretly eager about it ever since they started making their plans for Goa.
"No, he didn't," Joe replied looking a little sad,"We wouldn't be going for parasailing tomorrow." A small smile crept on his face, "Rather, we will be going for parasailing plus a cruise tomorrow morning." He smiled being unable to feign sadness any longer.
It took everyone a moment to register what Joe had just said before they burst into peals of joy.
"You see," Vijay said raising his voice over the commotion, "I found a package for enjoying both an adventurous paragliding over the sea clubbed with a beautiful cruise at a reasonable offer," he shook his head, "It was simply too good to resist."
Amidst their raptures of laughter, they heard footsteps approaching them.
"Hey guys!" Stacy exclaimed joining them on the sand.
"Good to see that you could finally make it," Nancy said moving aside to make space for her to sit.
"Yeah, I managed to escape from that terribly boring family get-together," she said looking exasperated, "I am glad I came here. That was turning into a living nightmare."
"Here, have some wine," Nancy offered handing her a glass. Stacy hesitated for a moment before taking it. Nancy smiled and turned to Vijay, "Pass the bottle, Vijay."
Meanwhile, Vijay was extremely busy pouring himself a perfectly measured glass. No one knew why, but Vijay had suddenly got it into his head that he would fill precisely three-fourths of his glass. Not even a fraction of an inch either way. He was holding the glass at eye level, carefully scrutinizing it. On hearing Nancy's call, he replied, "Shh..."
"Hey come on, what are you doing?" Nancy asked impatiently.
"Shh...Don't talk," Vijay said, "I am very busy with..." he paused searching for the right word to describe this unique phenomenon, "...with titration."
Everyone who was taking a sip choked on their drinks. They again erupted into laughter.
"Hey!" Bess said, mildly affronted. Everyone knew just how much Bess loved Chemistry. Nancy couldn't count the number of times Bess had helped her in analysing a poisoning substance.
"That was just a joke," Joe pacified, "Besides what better word could be used to describe the way Vijay was pouring the wine in drops."
"Chemistry is awesome," she finally said, a little out of context.
"So..." Stacy said taking a sip of wine, "You all will be leaving Goa tomorrow," she didn't seem too happy with the prospect.
Everyone quietened down. Their stay here hadn't really been short but they really didn't want to leave.
"It is a beautiful place," George said, "And we made some really beautiful memories here too."
"You are lucky Stacy," Frank said, "You get to see these beaches and this majestic sunset every day," he looked far away at the horizon where only the waves could be seen.
"If I ever want a really relaxing vacation, I would know the right place to go to," Nancy said laughing with the rest, "No really, this is my perfect relaxation spot."
"Well, you guys definitely have a way of spicing up the ambience whichever part of the world you go to," Stacy admitted, "I mean, no sooner did you guys step here than the place got filled with mysteries."
"It did make our stay all the more memorable," Joe said. It certainly did. Their experiences in Goa would remain with them for a lifetime.
There was a brief span of silence before Stacy asked, "When are you coming back to India?"
"Soon," Bess assured, "Really soon."
"Where shall we go the next time?" Vijay asked appearing confused, "Honestly guys, there is a long list to choose from."
"Hmm...Let's see," Stacy sat up straighter, "There are the mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the arid soils of the Thar Desert to the west, the lower hill ranges of the southern peninsula, the backwaters and sea shores of Kerela. Moving to the east, there is the mangrove forest of West Bengal which is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, the green hills of north Bengal where the Darjeeling Tea is grown. A little more to the north, there are the 'Seven Sisters' of the north-east and..."
"Ok, ok, that is enough options to choose from," Joe interrupted.
"Well, next time, we better verify one thing," Nancy said, "that there won't be any chance of getting involved in a mystery. I mean, I don't intend to get a new case next time I am on vacation."
"Wait, you don't seriously mean that," Frank asked practically horrified.
Nancy looked serious for a moment before replying, "Of course not! I would hate that." Everyone burst into laughter.
THE END
Author's Note: So...that was all for this series. It had been a mindblowing experience writing the whole thing and I really want to think all my reviewers, every single one of them and all those who followed or favourited. I will remember this story forever...
It was on the 19th of July, 2021 that I started writing the very first chapter of the first part: 'A Click'. And now, on 10th July, 2022 I am posting the last chapter. Time really seems to have flown. And I got really attached to this entire plot over this last year and especially to Goa.
Also, I will be taking about a three-year break from writing for the time being to get my studies on the right track. So, I am reallly going to miss all of this...but, I will be back. I won't be able to keep myself away from this for too long.
Signing off,
Prithika