Winter had set its foot on the accelerator. The roads wore deserted look even at 8 in the evening (quite uncharacteristic for the metropolis the city was). He checked his watch again. The radium lit dial showed that it was close to midnight. He was sitting in a park. Fog had taken reign of the entire area. The night was eerie aided by the absence of functioning street lights. He whispered something under his breath, waited and tried to look through the dark. If he was counting to keep impatience in check then probably the trick was failing him. The lone functioning light in the park flickered and went off. He suddenly felt a further dip in the temperature. Though he was well guarded, he had not expected such harshness from the weather. And then suddenly he heard a faint giggle.
“You are late.” he said.
“And what makes you think so?” came a female voice. The voice had a certain enchanting quality in it.
“Ah!! Now you would not accept that you are late. I am sitting in this cold for last half an hour just for you.”
“Just for me!! I am flattered. By the way, how do you know that I was not here since then? Observing people wait provides an understanding of their need and commitment. Besides it is fun watching you wait - reminds me of old time. You are becoming impatient with time though.” She had come closer and he could sense her presence.
“Severe cold can sometimes dampen your spirits.” He passed a weak smile.
“You have lost that convincing charm mister”. She was standing beside him. He could see her silhouette.
“I need your help.”
“How mean!! I am not even offered a seat!!”
“Baith jaa meri maa. Since when do you require special invitation anyways?”
“Thanks” and she sat by his side. “Now tell me.”
“I need your help.”
“That is quite obvious. I am not required for anything else. When was the last time you met me? Umm…”
“March.”
“What?”
“I last met you in March.”
“Yeah!! And after all these months you meet me to directly seek help. You know, you were never very good with social skills.”
“I know. And can you keep the ‘analysis of yours truly’s character’ part for a later discussion?”
“No problem. I am glad that you have given the idea of later discussion so much optimism. So, what brings you here? The serial killings?”
“Yep.”
“I had inkling that you would not be able to resist the lure of getting involved in this case. Good to see you back at what you do best.”
“No!! This is just a one off case. They requested me to join them as a consultant for this one. I think retirement was the right decision. It has helped me seeing life in a different light. Besides it seems that I have lost all my abilities.”
“It does not look like you are enjoying your current stint very well though. Tell me… do you really find peace in what you do now?”
He was silent for a moment. “I do not think now is the right time to discuss this. At this time I am bothered by this case.”
“Okay. Tell me what is troubling the supercop?”
“Don’t address me with this adjective. You know I never liked it when people called me that. Besides I am no cop anymore.’
“Okay baba… tell me what is disturbing you?”
‘Everything - the modus operandi… crime scenes… and especially the frequency of the killings. The entire case is like a complex
maze. The more I delve into it the more confused I get. And though the entire city has been fed with this ‘serial killer on prowl’ hypothesis, I have a gut feeling that these murders are not serial killings… at least not all of them.”
“Why So?”
“Well, I have been to nearly all the crime scenes… barring the first few. The crime scenes were clean… no fingerprints… no weapon… no clue whatsoever. It seemed as if the entire scene was cleansed before we arrived… Consistent across… Gave the sense of work of a professional… A single man… But…”
“But…”
“When you look at the way the wounds were inflicted on the bodies of victims… the story changes tracks. Though all the victims were murdered using sharp weapons, the execution of some of these victims bore the marks of refinement – almost as if the killer considers it a work of art. Few other victims were executed with finesse but having entirely different signature… precision was there but it looked more of a work of a trained professional carrying out his job with perfection and not of an artist. There is another set of victims who…”
“Whose murders do not seem to be the work of a professional at all… casual execution, many wounds… classical examples of murders done in charged emotions?”
“Exactly.”
“Different signatures… hmm… different people at work or a deliberate ploy? Interesting.”
“Could be a ploy as well but just look at the frequency… It started slowly. The first few murders were well spaced but now it is taking the shape of an epidemic. Plus look at the geographies being covered… The coverage area for the murderer is the entire metropolis… Add it to the frequency and it does not look like an average serial killer case. Does it?”
“I agree that you have a point. Have you sounded your concerns to the department?”
“I have but they are sticking their neck out to the deliberate ploy version. I agree it has few points in its favour especially the mark but…”
“Mark?”
“All the victims have been brandished with a mark – a cross at the neck. It is as if the murderer is claiming the body… almost like a sign of a conqueror. In a way it is vindicating the single man theory and this is what perplexes me. Despite the uninterrupted media coverage the mark factor is yet beyond common knowledge… the fact that all the victims have been branded with the same symbol takes steam out of my theory. And still I am pretty sure…”
“Are the symbols same on all the bodies?”
“Yep.”
“You mean there is no variation even in terms of form, size etc.”
“Nope.” He took out a laptop from his bag placed by the side of the bench and showed her the pictures of the victims.
There was a weird silence before she spoke “Interesting!! Very interesting!!”
“You are the best crime analyst I have ever seen including the ones they show on TV. I am counting on you to help me in this case.”
“Not bad at all. Learning a few tricks to sweet talk people? Good attempt… you could have included some more compliments though.” she chuckled.
“Well I must appreciate you then on having one of the best networks of informants at your disposal.” He said with a smile.
“Coming from someone who has a reputation of being the confidant of the most unlikely and reliable group of informants I take it as a great honour.”
“I do not boast of that gift anymore… lost connection to my entire network… they do not talk to me anymore… so you…”
“So I become your source for tapping information?”
It was an awkward moment for him but he answered with a straight face though a little reluctantly “Yes.”
“Don’t be hesitant. I know my place.” She said with a sigh.
“You have taken it in a wrong way…” he was trying to come up with some excuse before she stopped him. “Do not sweat. There is no need of being apologetic every time.”
He smiled at her. “I like that smile.” She said “And by the way you are looking smart today. Is this the same jacket I gifted you?”
“Yes” he nodded.
“I must acknowledge that I have a great sense of fashion unlike you… but let us focus on the work in hand. Is your laptop connected to the central server?”
“It is not. Remember I am only a consultant now.”
“Then I believe you would have used your jugaad to get access to all the files.”
“You bet.” He said with a triumphant smile.
“Let us take a look at the murders now.” There was excitement in her voice.
They started analyzing the crimes, case by case, evidence by evidence. The temperature was plummeting but they were too involved to notice the dip in the mercury.
“Hmm… can you draw any relation between the victims?” she said.
“That is what seems strange to me as well. You cannot demarcate the victims into any specific group… belongs to varied age groups across social strata… not goes in line with your regular serial killer types. Though…”
“Though what?”
“Nothing”
“I have an idea. Let us see if it works.”
“What?”
“You have classified the murders in three categories…Right?”
“Right”
“Now let us take each group and analyze them as if the others did not happen.”
“Shit!! Why it didn’t strike me?”
“Because you are not me” she said with an air “Will you run the data for me?”
“Of course.” He immediately sprang into action. His machine was processing the data for them.
“You surely are losing your abilities. How could a supercop miss such basic analysis?” she said with a taunt.
He was about to reply to her taunt when the laptop beeped twice to indicate the completion of processing. The screen was flashing a few graphs, some tables and a couple of grids.
“Ha ha” she was excited “look what I told you. Can you identify the patterns?”
“Yup. I can see them.” There was smile playing on his lips. “So in all likelihood, we are looking at more than one culprit for the killings. The first two set of murders bore distinct and different time stamps. The area of operation still remains an issue – it is still very big for both the sets. But this gives a fillip to my theory.”
“Exactly. But don’t you think this is an opportune time for you to acknowledge my contributions?” she was all theatrics.
“Thanku ammaji.”
“My treat?”
“Woh bhi milegi. But first let us wrap this up. The third set… the apparent crimes of emotions is the only scenario which shows the spurt in frequency… which means… ”
“Which means it is taking shape of an epidemic… these are not the handiworks of a single person… in all probability common people are taking shield of serial killings to commit crimes… honour killings… settling personal scores etc.”
“Hmm… In that case it becomes even more important to nab these serial killers at the earliest – otherwise this city will pay a heavy price. But there are too many loose ends even now.”
“Then tie them up.”
“If these crimes of passions … eh… charged emotions are committed by ordinary folks then why the crime scenes are sanitized as if to give the reflection of a work of a professional?”
“Most certainly someone out there is sanitizing the scenes before you guys arrive… but that would mean either having upfront knowledge of crimes which deflates our theory or having a well-oiled information system which seems a little farfetched.”
“Exactly… Again if the murders are committed by different people why all the bodies are branded in the same way?”
“Certainly adds to the intrigue… I have been thinking over this… these have to be the work of a single man… could be either of the two serial culprits or an altogether different person… I have an inkling of the motive though…”
“What? To create panic?”
“Not exactly. The idea most likely would be to create hysteria… but to take it to that level which will induce common people to succumb to their dark sides and commit heinous crimes with the hope to escape in this serial killer wave… in a way he is offering a free ride to the potential culprits on this ‘serial killer on prowl’ syndrome. Once this becomes rampant it will not be controlled easily and…”
“This city will never be the same again… We need to do something urgently.” He looked expectedly to her.
“What? I do not have any idea on who he is or how he gets information about the crimes before you guys.” He was still staring her.
“Okay… I will ask my network to see if they can provide us with any information… and only because you are not able to connect to your network.”
“Thanks.” He smiled at her.
“I might have found you another reason to thank me” she chuckled.
“What?”
“Have you noticed that most of the victims of the second scenario have undergone organ transplants in the last couple of years?”
“Yes. I have been trying to work on this angle but things are still hazy.”
“Well then you must have noticed that the other victims were scheduled for organ transplants in next few months.”
“What? No!! Is that so?”
“Yes. The second serial killer… the one whose trade signature is precision seems to have problem with people undergoing organ transplants.”
“A person possessed with the idea that…” suddenly his cellphone beeped twice. He had received a SMS.
“Not again” he reacted after reading it. “Got to go… Another strike. Thanks for everything.”
He put his laptop in the bag and was about to leave when she advised “If I were you, I would be looking for a doctor preferably
a surgeon to solve cases related to the second serial killer.” She said with the knowing smile.
“You know the culprit!!”
“If you have complimented me on having a good network of informants then I should not betray your faith. I think I should be looking for someone who has a history of mental illness and have been relieved of his duties recently. There aren’t many fitting this description. Are they?”
“Thanks a lot… But if you know about it from beforehand then why didn’t you tell me directly? Why this drama?”
“Frankly I didn’t know every aspect of the case… especially the point related to that mark and the fact that crime scenes are being sanitized. I staged it because it allowed me to spend quality time with you… reminded me of the old days…”
He was in turmoil. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry that I do not spend time with you anymore… but you know the reason… Do you know anything more which could help me on this case… Anything on the first killer?”
“First go and catch one then we will talk of the other.”
“You know something. Don’t you?”
“I am not bound to share everything with you. Am I?” she said with a playful smile.
“Don’t play with the lives of innocent people. Every second we fail to nab that man means that we endanger the lives of many.”
“I do not mind endangering the lives of a few ‘not so innocent’ people.”
“Do not aid murderers for god sake. You have taken a vow to protect lives… Remember!!”
“Probably you have forgotten then that I am not bounded by that vow anymore” came the curt reply.
He felt a pang in his heart. He could not speak for a moment. When he did the voice was feeble – “I am sorry for what happened to you. It was my mistake and…”
“Shut it. It was not your mistake. You have never been wrong.”
“I was… at that time… when it mattered the most…” his voice trailed off.
“Hey!! You are the most upright and honest man I have ever known. You stand for justice and that is the reason I love you. It is time that you let go of that burden you have forcefully kept on your heart” she caressed his face. They shared a brief moment in silence in which he regained his composure.
“I shall be moving now” he said.
“Of course.” He moved towards the exit. A lamppost in the vicinity flickered back to life.
“Hey!!” she said.
“Yeah.” He looked back.
“Keep me posted about the development.”
“Will do - would expect some more help from you when we meet next.”
She smiled. “So I can expect a meeting soon.”
“Haan” he had a glint in his eyes.
“I will try to find out whatever I can on the man who has been busy giving it the shape of an epidemic.” She assured him.
“Thanks in advance” he smiled affectionately.
“You are most welcome.” As he watched, her body shimmered and disappeared within a few moments. The famous ‘ghost communicator cop’ stared in the blank for an instant before making his way to the exit.
“You are late.” he said.
“And what makes you think so?” came a female voice. The voice had a certain enchanting quality in it.
“Ah!! Now you would not accept that you are late. I am sitting in this cold for last half an hour just for you.”
“Just for me!! I am flattered. By the way, how do you know that I was not here since then? Observing people wait provides an understanding of their need and commitment. Besides it is fun watching you wait - reminds me of old time. You are becoming impatient with time though.” She had come closer and he could sense her presence.
“Severe cold can sometimes dampen your spirits.” He passed a weak smile.
“You have lost that convincing charm mister”. She was standing beside him. He could see her silhouette.
“I need your help.”
“How mean!! I am not even offered a seat!!”
“Baith jaa meri maa. Since when do you require special invitation anyways?”
“Thanks” and she sat by his side. “Now tell me.”
“I need your help.”
“That is quite obvious. I am not required for anything else. When was the last time you met me? Umm…”
“March.”
“What?”
“I last met you in March.”
“Yeah!! And after all these months you meet me to directly seek help. You know, you were never very good with social skills.”
“I know. And can you keep the ‘analysis of yours truly’s character’ part for a later discussion?”
“No problem. I am glad that you have given the idea of later discussion so much optimism. So, what brings you here? The serial killings?”
“Yep.”
“I had inkling that you would not be able to resist the lure of getting involved in this case. Good to see you back at what you do best.”
“No!! This is just a one off case. They requested me to join them as a consultant for this one. I think retirement was the right decision. It has helped me seeing life in a different light. Besides it seems that I have lost all my abilities.”
“It does not look like you are enjoying your current stint very well though. Tell me… do you really find peace in what you do now?”
He was silent for a moment. “I do not think now is the right time to discuss this. At this time I am bothered by this case.”
“Okay. Tell me what is troubling the supercop?”
“Don’t address me with this adjective. You know I never liked it when people called me that. Besides I am no cop anymore.’
“Okay baba… tell me what is disturbing you?”
‘Everything - the modus operandi… crime scenes… and especially the frequency of the killings. The entire case is like a complex
maze. The more I delve into it the more confused I get. And though the entire city has been fed with this ‘serial killer on prowl’ hypothesis, I have a gut feeling that these murders are not serial killings… at least not all of them.”
“Why So?”
“Well, I have been to nearly all the crime scenes… barring the first few. The crime scenes were clean… no fingerprints… no weapon… no clue whatsoever. It seemed as if the entire scene was cleansed before we arrived… Consistent across… Gave the sense of work of a professional… A single man… But…”
“But…”
“When you look at the way the wounds were inflicted on the bodies of victims… the story changes tracks. Though all the victims were murdered using sharp weapons, the execution of some of these victims bore the marks of refinement – almost as if the killer considers it a work of art. Few other victims were executed with finesse but having entirely different signature… precision was there but it looked more of a work of a trained professional carrying out his job with perfection and not of an artist. There is another set of victims who…”
“Whose murders do not seem to be the work of a professional at all… casual execution, many wounds… classical examples of murders done in charged emotions?”
“Exactly.”
“Different signatures… hmm… different people at work or a deliberate ploy? Interesting.”
“Could be a ploy as well but just look at the frequency… It started slowly. The first few murders were well spaced but now it is taking the shape of an epidemic. Plus look at the geographies being covered… The coverage area for the murderer is the entire metropolis… Add it to the frequency and it does not look like an average serial killer case. Does it?”
“I agree that you have a point. Have you sounded your concerns to the department?”
“I have but they are sticking their neck out to the deliberate ploy version. I agree it has few points in its favour especially the mark but…”
“Mark?”
“All the victims have been brandished with a mark – a cross at the neck. It is as if the murderer is claiming the body… almost like a sign of a conqueror. In a way it is vindicating the single man theory and this is what perplexes me. Despite the uninterrupted media coverage the mark factor is yet beyond common knowledge… the fact that all the victims have been branded with the same symbol takes steam out of my theory. And still I am pretty sure…”
“Are the symbols same on all the bodies?”
“Yep.”
“You mean there is no variation even in terms of form, size etc.”
“Nope.” He took out a laptop from his bag placed by the side of the bench and showed her the pictures of the victims.
There was a weird silence before she spoke “Interesting!! Very interesting!!”
“You are the best crime analyst I have ever seen including the ones they show on TV. I am counting on you to help me in this case.”
“Not bad at all. Learning a few tricks to sweet talk people? Good attempt… you could have included some more compliments though.” she chuckled.
“Well I must appreciate you then on having one of the best networks of informants at your disposal.” He said with a smile.
“Coming from someone who has a reputation of being the confidant of the most unlikely and reliable group of informants I take it as a great honour.”
“I do not boast of that gift anymore… lost connection to my entire network… they do not talk to me anymore… so you…”
“So I become your source for tapping information?”
It was an awkward moment for him but he answered with a straight face though a little reluctantly “Yes.”
“Don’t be hesitant. I know my place.” She said with a sigh.
“You have taken it in a wrong way…” he was trying to come up with some excuse before she stopped him. “Do not sweat. There is no need of being apologetic every time.”
He smiled at her. “I like that smile.” She said “And by the way you are looking smart today. Is this the same jacket I gifted you?”
“Yes” he nodded.
“I must acknowledge that I have a great sense of fashion unlike you… but let us focus on the work in hand. Is your laptop connected to the central server?”
“It is not. Remember I am only a consultant now.”
“Then I believe you would have used your jugaad to get access to all the files.”
“You bet.” He said with a triumphant smile.
“Let us take a look at the murders now.” There was excitement in her voice.
They started analyzing the crimes, case by case, evidence by evidence. The temperature was plummeting but they were too involved to notice the dip in the mercury.
“Hmm… can you draw any relation between the victims?” she said.
“That is what seems strange to me as well. You cannot demarcate the victims into any specific group… belongs to varied age groups across social strata… not goes in line with your regular serial killer types. Though…”
“Though what?”
“Nothing”
“I have an idea. Let us see if it works.”
“What?”
“You have classified the murders in three categories…Right?”
“Right”
“Now let us take each group and analyze them as if the others did not happen.”
“Shit!! Why it didn’t strike me?”
“Because you are not me” she said with an air “Will you run the data for me?”
“Of course.” He immediately sprang into action. His machine was processing the data for them.
“You surely are losing your abilities. How could a supercop miss such basic analysis?” she said with a taunt.
He was about to reply to her taunt when the laptop beeped twice to indicate the completion of processing. The screen was flashing a few graphs, some tables and a couple of grids.
“Ha ha” she was excited “look what I told you. Can you identify the patterns?”
“Yup. I can see them.” There was smile playing on his lips. “So in all likelihood, we are looking at more than one culprit for the killings. The first two set of murders bore distinct and different time stamps. The area of operation still remains an issue – it is still very big for both the sets. But this gives a fillip to my theory.”
“Exactly. But don’t you think this is an opportune time for you to acknowledge my contributions?” she was all theatrics.
“Thanku ammaji.”
“My treat?”
“Woh bhi milegi. But first let us wrap this up. The third set… the apparent crimes of emotions is the only scenario which shows the spurt in frequency… which means… ”
“Which means it is taking shape of an epidemic… these are not the handiworks of a single person… in all probability common people are taking shield of serial killings to commit crimes… honour killings… settling personal scores etc.”
“Hmm… In that case it becomes even more important to nab these serial killers at the earliest – otherwise this city will pay a heavy price. But there are too many loose ends even now.”
“Then tie them up.”
“If these crimes of passions … eh… charged emotions are committed by ordinary folks then why the crime scenes are sanitized as if to give the reflection of a work of a professional?”
“Most certainly someone out there is sanitizing the scenes before you guys arrive… but that would mean either having upfront knowledge of crimes which deflates our theory or having a well-oiled information system which seems a little farfetched.”
“Exactly… Again if the murders are committed by different people why all the bodies are branded in the same way?”
“Certainly adds to the intrigue… I have been thinking over this… these have to be the work of a single man… could be either of the two serial culprits or an altogether different person… I have an inkling of the motive though…”
“What? To create panic?”
“Not exactly. The idea most likely would be to create hysteria… but to take it to that level which will induce common people to succumb to their dark sides and commit heinous crimes with the hope to escape in this serial killer wave… in a way he is offering a free ride to the potential culprits on this ‘serial killer on prowl’ syndrome. Once this becomes rampant it will not be controlled easily and…”
“This city will never be the same again… We need to do something urgently.” He looked expectedly to her.
“What? I do not have any idea on who he is or how he gets information about the crimes before you guys.” He was still staring her.
“Okay… I will ask my network to see if they can provide us with any information… and only because you are not able to connect to your network.”
“Thanks.” He smiled at her.
“I might have found you another reason to thank me” she chuckled.
“What?”
“Have you noticed that most of the victims of the second scenario have undergone organ transplants in the last couple of years?”
“Yes. I have been trying to work on this angle but things are still hazy.”
“Well then you must have noticed that the other victims were scheduled for organ transplants in next few months.”
“What? No!! Is that so?”
“Yes. The second serial killer… the one whose trade signature is precision seems to have problem with people undergoing organ transplants.”
“A person possessed with the idea that…” suddenly his cellphone beeped twice. He had received a SMS.
“Not again” he reacted after reading it. “Got to go… Another strike. Thanks for everything.”
He put his laptop in the bag and was about to leave when she advised “If I were you, I would be looking for a doctor preferably
a surgeon to solve cases related to the second serial killer.” She said with the knowing smile.
“You know the culprit!!”
“If you have complimented me on having a good network of informants then I should not betray your faith. I think I should be looking for someone who has a history of mental illness and have been relieved of his duties recently. There aren’t many fitting this description. Are they?”
“Thanks a lot… But if you know about it from beforehand then why didn’t you tell me directly? Why this drama?”
“Frankly I didn’t know every aspect of the case… especially the point related to that mark and the fact that crime scenes are being sanitized. I staged it because it allowed me to spend quality time with you… reminded me of the old days…”
He was in turmoil. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry that I do not spend time with you anymore… but you know the reason… Do you know anything more which could help me on this case… Anything on the first killer?”
“First go and catch one then we will talk of the other.”
“You know something. Don’t you?”
“I am not bound to share everything with you. Am I?” she said with a playful smile.
“Don’t play with the lives of innocent people. Every second we fail to nab that man means that we endanger the lives of many.”
“I do not mind endangering the lives of a few ‘not so innocent’ people.”
“Do not aid murderers for god sake. You have taken a vow to protect lives… Remember!!”
“Probably you have forgotten then that I am not bounded by that vow anymore” came the curt reply.
He felt a pang in his heart. He could not speak for a moment. When he did the voice was feeble – “I am sorry for what happened to you. It was my mistake and…”
“Shut it. It was not your mistake. You have never been wrong.”
“I was… at that time… when it mattered the most…” his voice trailed off.
“Hey!! You are the most upright and honest man I have ever known. You stand for justice and that is the reason I love you. It is time that you let go of that burden you have forcefully kept on your heart” she caressed his face. They shared a brief moment in silence in which he regained his composure.
“I shall be moving now” he said.
“Of course.” He moved towards the exit. A lamppost in the vicinity flickered back to life.
“Hey!!” she said.
“Yeah.” He looked back.
“Keep me posted about the development.”
“Will do - would expect some more help from you when we meet next.”
She smiled. “So I can expect a meeting soon.”
“Haan” he had a glint in his eyes.
“I will try to find out whatever I can on the man who has been busy giving it the shape of an epidemic.” She assured him.
“Thanks in advance” he smiled affectionately.
“You are most welcome.” As he watched, her body shimmered and disappeared within a few moments. The famous ‘ghost communicator cop’ stared in the blank for an instant before making his way to the exit.
Comments
- Manoj