Nitish was walking towards the Tingle Coffee Shop. Officer Rani was waiting for him. He approached her, and they ordered lattes with doughnuts.
Officer Rani started, "I gave you all the information related to Shringar's case because you promised me that you would meet me anytime and anywhere I wanted you to. Then why did you hesitate?"
Nitish let out a sigh and said, "Well, the reason is that Shringar's school is starting tomorrow, and I have an operation to perform as well, so I am reviewing his status thoroughly. That is why I hesitated, but look, I am here now. Happy?"
Rani almost pouted in embarrassment and apologized for being moody. The coffee and doughnuts were served on the table, and they started taking sips from their respective cups. Nitish thanked Officer Rani for telling him about the case and asked her to tell him about the members of her force. Unbelievably, she agreed to tell him anything he wanted to know.
Officer Rani joined her work first in Farakka. There, she worked for three years. Other colleagues used to make fun of them saying, "Officer Rani looks like a man, and Officer Prakash looks like a woman." Though it was a baseless joke, they used to laugh. Rani's face was a little rough, sharper than what people usually expected from a woman, even though her physique was completely normal. Prakash, on the other hand, had a softer face, almost delicate, but his build and posture were undeniably masculine. Both Officer Rani and Officer Prakash were really good at their jobs, that is why others were jealous. But Officer Rani does not have many feminine facial features. She knew from childhood that her face was less feminine and her voice was rather harsh, that is why no one ever saw her in a romantic way. But Dr. Nitish did, so she does not want to lose him.
Dr. Nitish asked, "Tell me about Chief Varnika."
Rani answered, "Chief Varnika is in the position of Superintendent (SP). She is usually very secretive. She only orders us with no explanation and also hates further questions. But we eventually get to understand what her orders mean when we put them into action. However, she has not given any orders in this new case yet. It has been a month…"
Dr. Nitish asked, "So tell me about Deputy Superintendent Rathod."
Rani smiled "Well, he is a very masculine guy, honestly, but when it comes to work, he does not have much vision. He only listens to ours or Chief's opinions and puts them into action. Basically, he is not a good leader but an amazing follower. There is not much action in this case yet, so he is not working much right now."
Nitish picked up a doughnut and asked, "Tell me something about Officer Prakash. As per my knowledge, both of you are Senior Inspectors, right?"
Suddenly, Officer Rani's face grew dark with anger and jealousy.
On the other hand, in the asylum, Psychiatrist Vanessa asked Raghuvendra Sinha about the case. Deputy Superintendent Rathod was watching the conversation with two Assistant Inspectors from the team and Sub-Inspector Chanakya through the surveillance camera.
Dr. Vanessa asked him gently, as if she were his mother, "Tell me all about your pain. Tell me about your experience."
While the interrogation was taking place, Sub- Inspector Chanakya asked, "Sir, what do you think?"
DSP replied while looking at the live footage, "Well, Chief has not said anything from above about our investigation, so I think we are on the right path. And Rani and Prakash seem to be silent at the moment. So perhaps they are watching the progress."
The Sub- Inspector looked at him while thinking, I asked about his opinion, but I guess, as usual, he does not have any. But he is an intelligent man with high physical strength, that is why everyone respects him a lot.
While taking a bite of his doughnut, Dr. Nitish was listening to Officer Rani.
"Well, I absolutely hate Officer Prakash, because I am jealous of him. He is always so calm when he talks but has that frustrated look on his face, as if he is looking down on others all the time. He is smarter and stronger than me. He joined in Farakka a year later than I did, and he reached my level quicker. He is much more educated as well. He is currently pursuing a detective course through which he will obtain a detective license in a few months, though he has no intention of accepting it since he is already in the police force and is only doing the course to acquire specialized skills. He knows 20 languages fluently. The public even finds him more reliable…. I JUST FREAKING HATE HIM!!"
[In Farakka, some constables made fun of our looks, to which I almost killed one of those guys. I was already insecure about my face, but that ugly constable made me sick to my stomach. Everyone stopped me. I saw Officer Prakash standing behind me calmly with his same static expression on his face. When I explained the situation to him, he maturely stated that those constables were just jealous of our success, that is why they said that. His maturity made me even more jealous, and I confessed to him that I hated him because I was also jealous. For the first time, I saw him getting concerned. He tried to explain that I was a talented officer with whom he liked to work, but I just did not listen. Each and every word of his made me feel as though he was looking down on me.]
Dr. Nitish said with a concerned smile, "Do not feel that way. You are a strong independent woman, which makes you attractive. And I did mean to ask what Officer Prakash's stance regarding this case is."
Officer Rani smiled upon hearing the compliment given by Dr. Nitish. She picked a doughnut from the plate and started eating it. While eating, she said, "He did uncover a few things, like the connection between Laksh Adhikari's case and Isha Roy's case. But I brought up the connection between Dorothy's and Shringar's cases. We are on an equal line right now. Our department was searching for Ragini Tandon's whereabouts when we found a guy called Raghuvendra Sinha near this shop yesterday. Though it was the new, clumsy, stupid Sub-Inspector Puja who actually got him. But Officer Prakash happened to be here, that is why I came to check how good this place is that a homebody like him visited it. The investigation on Raghuvendra Sinha is going on right now."
"Wait," Dr. Nitish interjected and continued, "What was Officer Prakash doing here? As per your description, and from when I saw him during Shringar's interrogation, he does not seem like a guy who would visit a coffee shop without a reason, especially when a case is ongoing."
Officer Rani answered after finishing her doughnut, "Well, he just said that it was his personal matter, so I did not care. But he said that he got the idea of adding 'Swara' as an important element in this case. For that, he started investigating every victim's background with me and found out that 'Swara' was an important issue in all of their cases. So the murders might have a connection to it."
Dr. Nitish was shocked to hear this crucial information.
Officer Rani continued, "Though I really do not find it much of a factor, since 'Swara' is something that is really an issue for almost everyone in the world. This is something that we all talk about and try to research in our everyday lives, since it is so enigmatic."
Dr. Nitish asked in desperation, "Did you all actually start investigating in that aspect?"
Officer Rani nodded in a no sign and said, "I disagreed, DSP Rathod disagreed too. He agreed with my context. But as per my knowledge, Prakash will probably mail Chief. He has the habit of talking to the higher-ups whenever there is a dispute. Not even to the ASP, directly to the Chief. Honestly, just because he got this absurd idea while drinking plain coffee in this shop does not mean we have to follow it. Even though it turned out that they do have a connection with 'Swara', that does not mean anything. I already sent the Chief my explanation stating that it would be a complete waste of time, and it might lead to the next murder as well. So it would be better for us to just stick to our initial plan. She also agreed with me, but since she is not biased, she would like to see what Officer Prakash has to say."
Dr. Nitish still grew suspicious about the fact that Officer Prakash was here all alone and suddenly got this idea. Even though it was not impossible, it did not seem fitting to him. He suddenly remembered that Shringar went outside yesterday.
But she told me that she went out to meet Elina. Also, she got the appointment fixed with Dorothy to meet up today…. Nitish thought.
Officer Rani warned Dr. Nitish, "Dr. Nitish… be a bit careful though. Our department has a bit of suspicion about you because of your extreme curiosity towards this case and because you always try to keep Shringar away from us. You are a distant relative who never really had much connection with Shringar and her family, and even after that you are so hung up on keeping Shringar with you. But I know that you are a caring brother and a good human being. That is why I like talking to you."
Both of them smiled at each other and continued their chit-chat.
Dr. Vanessa looked intently upon Raghuvendra Sinha. He usually was silent or kept telling the same thing over and over again, "VeilTus betrayed me. VeilTus betrayed me…" But sometimes he changed his sentences and said, "Blessed children…. brainwashed... Also my child… VeilTus betrayed me." Sometimes he spoke even more different things, "Synthesized- demons..."
Dr. Vanessa went to DSP Rathod and gave these new words and sentences to the police and asked them to give him time.
"Well instead of interrogation, he needs regular counseling, which is provided by the asylum."
Rathod agreed and said, "Actually, there are not many clues in this case, so we are trying to go as deep as possible. But it is okay. Thank you ma'am."
Sub-Inspector Puja called Dep. Superintendent and said, "Sir we found out Mr. Sinha's whereabouts."
Dr. Nitish came back home and rang the calling bell. When Shringar opened the door he saw the other kids greeting him with smiles except for Dorothy. Dorothy seemed really anxious about something. Dr. Nitish gave her a wide smile, which made her really scared. Shringar noticed this sudden change in the atmosphere around Dorothy.
Lalit seemed very hungry, and Gaurav teased him, telling him that this was due to his bodybuilding regime.
Shringar said, "Let me bring some snacks from inside. And does anyone want to have coffee?"
Everyone raised their hands except for Dorothy. But she wanted to lend her hand to Shringar since she has a habit of helping her mother in such cases. Lalit told Dr. Nitish that he found him very inspirational and wanted to become a doctor in the future.
In the kitchen, Shringar asked, "Well, Dorothy…. you seem kind of upset. Have you met my cousin before?"
Dorothy nodded her head, depicting no. She said, "It was just that I felt a bit uncomfortable. Maybe because I only live with my mother and do not talk to many men around."
Shringar knew something was wrong, and then Dr. Nitish entered the kitchen, which sent shivers down Dorothy's spine. Dr. Nitish asked Shringar to go back to the dining table because he does not like seeing her work. He even asked Dorothy to go back with Shringar since he is the older one among them all and she is the guest, so it is his responsibility to do the deed.
Shringar went first, and when Dorothy started to leave, Dr. Nitish stopped her and asked about her behavior earlier. She felt really uncomfortable, but the fear from his cold glare made it clear that he would not let her go until she answered his question. Or at least that is what she thought, because Dr. Nitish was just casually asking without holding her back.
She answered while her voice was breaking in between, "Your… aura is similar… to that man… the man who killed… killed Miss Rashmika Sen… I am sorry, I really did not mean to be suspicious of you…"
Dr. Nitish gave a comforting smile to her and said, "No worries, dear. I know that you are under the counseling of India's most famous psychiatrist Dr. Vanessa. I hope your PTSD gets cured soon."
Dorothy realized from his sweet behavior that he is a good man and her intuition is wrong. Definitely, she is not completely cured yet, that is why these strange feelings are flickering around her.
After a bit more casual talk between the teens, they all left. Shringar was very tired, but Dorothy's behavior was still questionable to her. But Dr. Nitish gave her a glass of water while reminding her about her medication schedule.
"All the best. Since tomorrow you will have to join school," said Dr. Nitish with a lively smile on his face. And Shringar felt good.
On the other hand, Dep. Superintendent reached Raghuvendra Sinha's house, where Sub-Inspector Puja called him. She saluted him and said, "This is Raghuvendra Sinha's house, and this place is pretty much empty. The condition of this place suggests that he lives alone here with minimum things in life. And…"
"Enough Sub-Inspector. You talk too much." Dep. Superintendent Rathod said.
Sub-Inspector Puja became very much conscious about what to say. While searching the place, they found a family picture where Raghuvendra Sinha was standing with his wife and little son. The son was wearing his school uniform so DSP asked Sub-Inspector Chanakya to check the school out.
Puja asked, "Sir, where is Officer Rani?"
"She took a holiday early today." he answered.
She asked, "And Officer Prakash?"
Rathod looked at her with a frustrated expression and said, "You talk a lot for no reason, idiot. Officer Prakash is at the station with Rita and Aditya to hack Ragini Tandon's social media accounts with the court's order."
Puja thought for a second and asked "I know Aditya Kriplani, a young Cyber unit analyst who works in our department, came from an extremely middle-class family. But who is Rita?"
Rathod said with a smirk, "You really know nothing right? Rita joined the Cyber Unit recently, just like you. But unlike you, she is very reliable. She is Reema's daughter. Reema is a former spy. Reema was an extremely skilled spy who once exposed a terrorist network operating in the Middle East that was connected to oil trading. Because of them, oil trading all around the world became difficult at that time, but now it is alright, thanks to Reema, and our country is proud of her. But she recently died and now Rita, her daughter is here working in the Cyber Unit. But well, Puja, you should learn something from her. She is younger than you, and she is far better than you."
Puja became very upset. She remembered her childhood when everyone used to bully her since she was very honest and naïve. She thought that maybe after getting job and becoming independent, she would be fine. But people like Rathod exist. Since her childhood, she never really heard any compliments from anyone.
At night, Raghuvendra Sinha was sleeping in his cell when a male nurse approached the guards in front of the cell and said, "Vanessa madam told me to check his blood pressure often."
One of the two guards asked, "Is it necessary for you to do this at this hour?
The male nurse said, "Yes, I was supposed to do it a bit earlier, but I could not. I am sorry, I have to submit the report by tomorrow morning."
The other guard said, "It is okay. What bad can happen? He is just here to check the blood pressure. It will take a few minutes, that's it."
The male nurse entered his cell. But at that time no one was supposed to enter. The male nurse took out a pocket knife from his pocket and completed his deed. After that, he ran off through the window, and the two guards kept waiting for the man to come out. But when there was no sound coming from inside, they entered and realized that there were only two heartbeats in that room.