The Missing Owl — #7
Aravindhan left, promising to have lunch in our home the next time he visits.
Sandya — “You promised me that I would never have the chance to get involved in any of your cases.”
Lindo — “Chechi! Don’t worry. We’ll only call over your sister for the hearing or investigation since she’s related to this case via Aravindhan.”
Sandya — “Wait! That implies Aravindhan is also an accused.”
‘Ende Bharya! That’s not true. Come on! Aravindhan doesn’t have any accusations against him. So, the thing is… we can proceed with the case now only if we have Jobi. That’s the first step to anything.’
And my mind went blank all of a sudden. Thoughts began converging over and over while words stopped coming to my mouth.
Sandya — “Oh! I see what’s happening. We’ll go have lunch. Come in when you’re ready and I nodded my approval.
LOST IN MENTAL SPACE
My consciousness was like a crowded textile shop. Took a few deep breaths and blanked me out of everything. Imagining myself in an empty infinite space floating in the middle of the sky like superman. I started visualizing everything like Augmented Reality.
3 outlines of people appeared before me.
Jobi, Aravindhan, and his girlfriend. The fourth person appeared and I struck it out since it’s the dead man whom Jobi killed.
Now the question is, why would Jobi choose Aravindhan. Or vice-versa. Does Jobi have an eye on his girlfriend? Let’s assume that’s a No! Cause it isn’t, as he kidnapped her just for ransom.
Second question — Aravindhan took a wrong path on purpose and had a chance to ignore it but refused to ignore it. Why? Does he have anything against her? His anxieties are because of their fights.
Counter argument — It is a NO because Divya, the psychiatrist was her reference. He never stated his triggers to his girlfriend. This is weird because a normal person would easily identify what the triggers are if they live together for some time.
This is outrageous. Shit!
It’s so frustrating that I have every piece of evidence and have zero clues about the next step because of one new twist.
BACK TO REALITY
It was almost an hour since I started contemplating. It was 2:30 PM. I was sitting and staring at the case files on the table in front of me, my phone rang. It was from the Unknown Number. I thought it was the mystery voice but it was Jobi.
Jobi — “Hello Sameer Sir! Jobi here. I still have not gotten my money.”
Me — ‘Jobi! This isn’t fair. Whatever squabble you have with Aravindhan can be resolved. Now please, come back here. We need to talk. You’re only adding new cases to your list.’
Jobi — “So you think that one sentence is going to make me come back. I made my demands and wish to have them met. I would also be happy if you ask Aravindhan to stop getting involved in this case? I’ll leave his girlfriend once I get the money. Because that would be good.”
Me — ‘Jobi that doesn’t sound like a request. It’s a command!’.
The Mystery Person now spoke over the phone and the voice was certainly modified as it sounded hoarse and he said,
“Hello, Sameer! Yes, it is not a request. As you can see, you know what’s the priority here! So, I would recommend fulfilling this for my friend. I know you’re smart enough to find our whereabouts but I certainly don’t care about what you do. For Veena to be safe, the needs have to be met. Firstly, the money and secondly, dropping all charges against Jobi. Or else the consequences are going to be worse for her.”
Me — ‘You wouldn’t kill her!’
Person — “You want to bet on that?”
Me — ‘I certainly do! We can adjust the calculations in the ransom money.’
Person — “You know someone I know has said that the overconfidence in something bad will be devastating. You think you are the smartest person here, but you have met your match now.”
Now suddenly, few things began to make sense. My thoughts became very clear. I was 100% confident about how to solve this riddle. This newfound hope will never die.
Me — ‘I know that. But the consequences will be on your side. If you really think you’re smartass why would you cover your identity behind a fake voice-changing device?’
The man chuckled.
The low static noise from the device ended indicating that he has taken the device off his phone and is ready to reveal himself. But before he continued, I said.
Me — ‘You have a lot of explaining to do, Aravindhaa!’
Aravindhan from the other end — “We’ll see about that Mr. Sameer!” and the call disconnected.
~to be continued~
