Soon the two of them were able
to collect enough pieces of chair; the square seat provided the evidence. The
chair was decidedly worked, one leg clearly was sawed and then fixed back with glue
and a weak wood fastener. The glue had characteristic of weakening with time,
additionally there was impression of a thin wire tied there. Clearly the chair
was rigged to tumble down the ravine, if the glue didn’t work, a thin wire would
have been pulled from a remote location. The discovery was electric. The stranger
meant business. The precision and clockwork efficiency to execute his plan sent
a wave of fear down their spine. The group gathered quickly, got into a huddle in the large room by the terrace.
The smugness with which they had dismissed the stranger was replaced with subsurface
terror. The apparent bravado was their reflex response of fear. E Babu spoke
first,
‘There is absolutely no doubt that
the chair was rigged. The purpose quite obviously is to eliminate the group one
by one. The man is not a psychopath killing for the sake of a mental urge to kill.
A psychopath is also ingenious but he does improvising on the spot. The victims
are not identified in advance and killings are spurs of moment urges. This man
is going about his agenda in a systematic manner. He is just not settling a
score; he is avenging something which a mere murder is not good enough to
satisfy. He wants to see the victims suffer in fear and then die.’
‘Who could be such a ruthless person?
We have done no one harm, well of any significance anyway that should invoke such
retaliation’, said Bhai Hari. Bhai Hari became de-facto head of the clan although
he ranked lower in relationship to Chahcha Reba. Chahca Reba was not a man of bloated
ego, so did not contest usurping of his rightful role. In any case this wasn’t
the time to covet that role. Manyawar Diwakar said,
‘Yes Bhai Hari, we may have
erred in being fair or unreasonable to some persons but never in any
significant way. Our family commands respect in the region for model behavior.
KD Saheb left a legacy valued so highly by the community. We are envied for
belonging to Kala clan but certainly not resented.’
E Babu said, ‘This is no time
for gloating over K D Saheb’s legacy. There is killer on the prowl, an
ingenious, a highly determined fellow out to carry out his vendetta to eventual
conclusion. We must take every care to protect us while search for the motive of
this person. Once we have the motive we can identify the killer. One thing is
certain though…..
He will follow through his
plan in copybook fashion. So look for the sketch carefully you were dealt. Your
safety lies in understanding that symbol. think every possible.....’
At that point the group was
rattled by a sharp thud, something striking the panel of window that opened to ‘Gaidi
ka gadan’. Bahi Girish shouted, ‘Stay very still, this could be a trap!’
So they remained still in
state of shock for a while then Bhai Hari motioned to Sir Prabhakar to check at
the window. Sir Prabhakar reluctantly went to the window, carefully looked down,
nothing unusual could be observed, then he saw the arrow stuck on the window
panel. A piece of folded paper tied to its stem. He brought back the letter and
read it alaud,
‘You will all die one by one. That’s’
a promise - Shashi Vader‘
to be contd...........
No comments:
Post a Comment