Hidden & revealed - part x

HIDDEN & REVEALED - PART X​

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/218402-hidden-and-revealed-part-i.html

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/218933-hidden-and-revealed-part-ii.html

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/219214-hidden-and-revealed-part-iii.html

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/219908-hidden-and-revealed-part-iv.html

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/220400-hidden-and-revealed-part-v.html

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/221502-hidden-and-revealed-part-vi.html

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/222172-hidden-and-revealed-part-vii.html

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/222628-hidden-and-revealed-part-viii.html

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/223114-hidden-and-revealed-part-ix.html


I wanted to see who it was.

‘How did they know I was here too? Are they keeping guard so that they can kill me when I start tomorrow or are they someone else taking shelter for the rain?’ I thought.

‘You can’t do anything without my knowledge.’ The words flashed in my mind.

‘They know my movements, but how? They should have known that I am going in search of the boy, that’s why they would have poisoned him. But how do they know?’ I was pondering.

Another lightning flashed and the man who was standing there was gone. My heart beat was at its maximum. Suddenly I heard the cry of the old man. I went towards the door. I could hear opening of the latch in the next room. There was that cries of a woman in pain. The voice seemed to be very much like anu’s voice. I had to do something.

I went near the door and tried opening it. The door was locked from outside. ‘****... They know I am here. Everything is planned. But how? Why?’

I didn’t know what to do. After two minutes, I heard a car sound starting and it was trailing off. I was near the door and I banged it. “Sir... Sir... Open the door... open the door sir.” I was screaming at the top of my voice.

‘I have to do something.’ I suddenly remembered the hammer. I took the hammer from the cupboard and broke the door open. I ran outside. The rain had stopped, there were car tracks in the road. ‘These have to be those car tracks.’

I went inside. It was very dark. I took my cell. I had received four messages. One from Sudha, two from Shiva and one from Abhilash. I went walking towards the house. I opened sudha’s message. It read:

Hi raghav, How r u? You seemed much tensed that day. What happened? Tried calling you but your cell was switched off. Call me immediately when you see this message.

I didn’t reply. I had more important work to do. Next I opened Shiva’s message. It read:

Hi machi, I was trying hard to reach you. Your mom is really worried. She wants you back here. She doesn’t want you in trouble. She asked me to come there and take you back with me. I am starting now. Will reach day after tomorrow morning. See you da. Call me once u see this message.

The next message was from Abhilash Sharma alais Abhi, my manager. It read:

Hi raghav, I have resigned the company to start my own business. I have started a pharmaceutical company. Funny na, software engineer starting a pharma company? Well, it’s a partnership. I couldn’t inform you. By the way heard u have not been to office since you left to Noida. I guess you had called me the other day. Call me whenever you are free.

The next message from shiva read:

By the way where are you now? You haven’t updated me right from the young boy’s murder. Please update me.

I kept my cell in the pocket. I entered the house. I was searching for some clue. Just as I was going towards the door from which the cries came, something touched my leg. I bent down to see what it was. I took the cell phone and switched on the torch light. It was a hand. It had been chopped off.

‘Couple of hours back, I shook hands with him and now his hand is cut off. Cold blooded b****rds.’ I thought.I went forward and he lay there dead.

I immediately stood up and ran to the room where the man’s daughter was there. It was so dark and I stamped on some card. I bent down and took the card. It was some identity card like the one most software engineers wear. I couldn’t see the name or the photo in the card.

I came out of the room. I took out my cell phone to switch on the torch light. Battery was low to switch it on. “F**k.” I said.

I was trying hard to see the name. The current came and the name flashed “ANUSHKA .S PATEL”

‘Oh my god. She was here all this time and I couldn’t save her.’

I looked at the dead body of the old man. ‘Then, why did he say it was his daughter? Who killed him?’

Just then I remembered something. ‘The car tracks.’ I thought.I ran outside the house. ‘These tyre tracks could lead me to them.’ The tyre tracks were so clear thanks to the rain. I ran inside, wore my shirt, kept anu’s id card inside my shirt pocket. Wore the beard and wig and ran out of the house. When I went out of the house past old man’s body I thought ‘I am sorry that I am not able to do anything.’ It was early morning

I ran towards my car. The whole road was mushy it took a while to reach my car. I opened the car door, inserted the keys, started the car. It didn’t start. I tried again it didn’t start.

I took out my cell phone. Shiva’s message was open.

By the way where are you now? You haven’t updated me right from the young boy’s murder. Please update me.

I sat for a while thinking. I opened his other message. It read:
Hi machi, I was trying hard to reach you. Your mom is really worried. She wants you back here. She doesn’t want you in trouble. She asked me to come there and take you back with me. I am starting now. I will reach day after tomorrow morning. See you da. Call me once u see this message.

I opened abhi’s message too. It read:
Hi raghav, I have resigned the company to start my own business. I have started a pharmaceutical company. Funny na, software engineer starting a pharma company? Well, it’s a partnership. I couldn’t inform you. By the way heard u have not been to office since you left to Noida. I guess you had called me the other day. Call me whenever you are free.

I opened sudha’s message too. It read:
Hi raghav, How r u? You seemed much tensed that day. What happened? Tried calling you but your cell was switched off. Call me immediately when you see this message.

I was thinking hard. There was a feeling of emergency to know where I am, what I am doing in all their messages.

I thought ‘Yes, all three of them wanted to know what was happening. As for sudha, she had asked me the other day itself. As for Abhi, I was no one to him. I had just joined his team couple of months back and the first time I went to ask about the outing that Anushka had arranged, he couldn’t even remember my name. And for shiva, I never updated the murder of the young guy. I never spoke to him after Mahavir’s death. Moreover, my mother trusts me. She would never send a friend to help me. She would have rather sent my brother. There is something fishy here. How did he come to know about the murder of the young boy? Who could have told him? Or is he involved?’

I tried calling my home. It said the phone service was barred.

Suddenly my cell phone rang. It was an unknown number. I attended.

“Hello.” I said.

“Hello Jillu, How are you? Why no call all these days?”

“Mom it’s you.” I sighed.

“Yes jillu. Why what happened? Is everything fine?”

‘Very fine mom, just five murders and I got myself stabbed once.’

“Yes mom. Listen I need to ask you a few things. Why is our landline not reachable?” I asked.

“Don’t know jillu, fishy things have been going on. Our landline bill has shooted up to Rs.19000 and no one knows why. They have barred the service. Even the mobile phone service has been barred for all three of us. It seems our address proof is not valid. Thank god your phone number is fine.”

“Oh my god. Ok mom, I will be there in a week. Don’t worry about me. Will call you tonight and explain everything. Okay?”

“Okay jillu.”

“Mom, one minute. Did u by any chance speak to Shiva?” I asked.

“No jillu, why is he alright? What about his dad?”

“Yes they are fine. I just asked.” I said. “Okay mom, take care. Bye” I said.

“Yeah okay jillu. Take care. Bye.” She said and hung up the phone.

‘Why did shiva lie to me? Why is he coming now when his dad is serious? Something is wrong.’ I thought.

My phone again rang. It was from an unknown number. I attended the call.

“Hello...” I said.

“Raghav...?” The voice said.

‘It was the same voice.’ I was trembling with fear.

“Ye... Yes...” I said.

“You don’t look good with that beard and wig. I told you that you can’t do anything without my knowledge. You think I will be fooled with your beard. If u think so I am sorry. I am not whom you think you are. You can’t find me nor can you find what you came for. You have come so far and every time I have left you alive. This is your last chance. Don’t follow the tyre tracks. The car will not start. The id card of the person you’re trying to find is the last clue I am giving you. You can only have the person’s id card. That’s why I gave it to you. Don’t probe in further. Remember even the walls around you have ears and you can’t do anything without my knowledge.”

The call ended.

‘How did he know that I am in disguise? Is everything planned? Maybe they are pulling me into a trap. I must be careful here on. But how do they track me down? Even the words I speak. There is someone or something around me.

I was thinking in the car as to what I should do or in other words I was thinking what would happen next. Right from the day I entered Noida, things started going haywire. Events were happening in immediate succession. Nothing seemed easy as they were when I was in Chennai. In a normal life scenario it’s just like an IT employee taking a week leave. Suddenly her family i.e. parents die of heart attack. But in my view it was different. It was a long-time planned brutal series of murders and kidnapping of the girl.

The car had a mobile charger. I put my mobile in charge as the battery was low.

‘Starting the car will never be a problem for me.’ Yes, I was one of the many students who entered software after studying automobile engineering. I knew in and out of any automobile. For me starting a Maruti Alto was nothing. I removed my shirt and open the bonette. The wire to the battery of the car which is responsible for the starting of the car was cut.

In five minutes I fixed it up and started the car. I didn’t wear my shirt. I switched on the A/C and started following the tyre tracks. In another five minutes I reached a tar road and it was in a V-shape. The tyre tracks were on the left side of the V-shaped road. I thought for sometime ‘Did they go on the left or is it a mislead?’ I thought.

Just as I was thinking, I got a call from “Private Number”.

“Hello.” I said sternly.

“Even after so much of chances you wish to risk your life I guess. You have started the car and I appreciate your good thinking and perseverance. Let’s have a challenge. In exactly one week from now, I bet you can’t find your target. If you find her, you can take her with you. Else she will also be murdered like her parents and would be. Anyways we have finished our job with her. Ha Ha, she was delicious indeed. If you can’t find your target, you should never ever interfere with us. You ready for the challenge?” The voice said.

‘I didn’t have a choice but to accept the challenge. I knew the challenge was going to be deadly. But to what extent?’ I thought.

“Okay, I will face the challenge.” I said.

“Yes, you don’t have a choice. Do you? From now on everything is going to get tougher for you. Everything you do will give you a clue and it will also get deeper. All the best. I will keep in touch regularly. May Jesus be with you.”

The call ended.

CHALLENGE DAY 1​

‘May Jesus be with you? Is he a Christian? Or is it for misleading me?’ I thought.

‘ In exactly one week from now, I bet you can’t find your target. If you find her, you can take her with you. Else she will also be murdered like her parents and would be.’

‘So they have murdered them.’ I thought.

‘Anyways we have finished our job with her. Ha Ha, she was delicious indeed. If you can’t find your target, you should never ever interfere with us. You ready for the challenge?’
‘What have they finished with her? Hope it’s nothing wrong and hope my Anu is fine.’ I thought.

‘Why this challenge for me? Anu has never spoken to me. How did these guys come to know I was in search of Anu. Even her parents didn’t know. The only people who know it are my family, Shiva, Lavanya, Sudha, Mansoor, Srikkanth.’ I thought.

‘From now on everything is going to get tougher for you. Everything you do will give you a clue and it will also get deeper. All the best. I will keep in touch regularly. May Jesus be with you.’

‘Everything is already tough and now what does he mean by tougher? He knew my motive of coming to Noida, he knew my actions, movements, plans, he knew my where abouts, my attempt to disguise myself, etc. But how?’

‘And Jesus? Is he a Christian? The only Christian in this whole event is Joseph Bharani. Is he giving me a clue? Or what is he trying?’ I thought.

There were many questions unanswered. But one thing was strong in my mind. “JUST ONE WEEK TO SAVE MY ANUSHKA.” I said to myself.

To Be Continued . . .

 

Hi Archana,

Thanks for your feedback.
You have lots more to find out.
Keep waiting yaar.

 

Hi Chad,

Thanks a lot for your feedback.
Sure, will be posting the next part soon.
Keep reading to investigate more!!

 

Hi Vijayalakshmi,

Thanks a lot for your feedback.
Sure, will be posting the next part soon.
Keep reading to investigate more!!