SHORT STORIES FRIDAYS (28)

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN 3: A CRIME THRILLER BY ME

Inspector Vishwas received an anonymous tip citing the last seen location of Monica Aggarwal. He gathered a handful of officers and went to a deserted guest house in Lajpat Nagar area. It must be midnight when Vishwas asked his men to spread around and search the culprit in every nook and corner of the guest house. He entered the reception area and found Monica in a transparent nightie. She eyed him lasciviously. Vishwas found his jaw dropping in surprise as she swayed her sexy hips and licking the corners of her mouth. Despite being already married, Vishwas found himself hardening. He tried to exercise great self-control to avert being seduced by a murderer. In the end, lust won. He took her in his arms and kissed those delicious lips as their tongues intertwined in passion. He removed his clothes and fell on top of her now naked body. Suddenly, he was taken aback by a sharp pain and screamed in horror as Monica severed his private parts with fury in her eyes. She said, ” You are a cheat and a scoundrel! How dare you defile the sacred institution of marriage? You are going to die now. ” She forced him to take the pistol and shoot himself. He was about to press the trigger and then thud!

He fell off the bed. Thank goodness! It was just a nightmare. The bitch had scared the shit out of him. He was so frustrated that he got up from his bed and watched his wife snoring away peacefully while he was getting restless. The entire police force was under tremendous pressure to catch her dead or alive. He glanced at the clock. It was 3.30 AM. He had a glass of water and went back to bed.

The next day, he dropped his son, Harish, at the school and resumed his duty at the police station. He tried going through the files for a clue that could point towards Monica. The woman was getting bolder day by day. Fortunately, there were no murders reported for the week. He couldn’t understand why Monica was specifically targeting him.

The IT technicians rectified his computer problem and installed a special software that could prevent any suspicious hacking. Vishwas also made it clear with his colleagues that they weren’t supposed to entertain anyone in his absence. He asked SI Gautam to dig for information on Monica Aggarwal’s past. While they were clutching for straws to put an end to this reign of terror, Vishwas received a call from his wife, Shalini.
She was sounding terrified. She said, ” Vishwas, our son Harish, hasn’t come home yet. It’s been more than an hour since the school ended. I searched for him everywhere but he’s gone. Someone has kidnapped our son.” Vishwas felt his mobile slipping from his hand. Gautam was alarmed on seeing his senior’s reaction. He offered him a glass of water and asked what the matter was!

Vishwas said, ” Monica has kidnapped my only son. I don’t know what I did to offend her but she seems to be targeting me. I will hack her to pieces if she dared to harm Harish.” Vishwas and Gautam went to Harish’s school, The Holy Angel. They met with the school principal and Harish’s teachers. None of them had any idea on how Harish miraculously disappeared from right under their noses. They wanted to check the CCTV footage but it revealed nothing out of the ordinary.

Vishwas dreaded going home. How was he going to face his wife? He lost the only apple of his eye. He prayed for the kidnapper to make a ransom call. He would do anything to get back his son alive. He also decided that if he managed to rescue Harish, he would give up his job as he no longer considered himself fit for donning the noble uniform.

Gautam tried to divert his attention. He said, ” Sir, isn’t it possible that Monica deliberately kidnapped your son to stop you from investigating the serial killing in the form of accidents and suicides? Are you going to give her the pleasure of gloating over her victory? Please don’t give up your hope. If she wins, then other criminals will follow in her footsteps. It’s our responsibility to protect the citizens from all the criminals.” Vishwas groaned, ” You are right, Gautam. But I failed to protect my own son. I have no rights to don this uniform. If I can’t protect my own family, how can I defend others? “

Gautam was shocked at his boss’s attitude. He said, ” Sir, I have always regarded you as my idol. You have successfully put so many gangsters behind the bar. Did it ever occur to you at any point of time that your family was always under the risk of getting hurt by criminals? No. Because you were focused on your duty. Why are you deviating from the path of performing your duty? Don’t get distracted by your fatherly love taking precedence over a responsible officer. Even if you do resign, do you think it would be honorable discharge from duties? You have been a perfect police officer with no black mark in his entire career. Don’t make your family feel ashamed of you.”

Vishwas was stunned to hear these words of wisdom from Gautam. He felt ashamed of himself for his momentary weakness as a father. He decided to be brave and face the music rather than hiding like a coward. He thanked Gautam and went home. No sooner did he enter the home, he was in for a pleasant surprise. Harish came running towards him and gave him a tight hug.
” Shalini, ” he said, ” How did this miracle happen and why didn’t you inform me earlier? “
He turned to face a middle aged woman smiling at him. Shalini said, ” This is Mrs. Laxmi. She saved our son from getting in the harm’s way. She saw some goons approaching Harish. She walked towards him and led him towards her house until the danger passed away. Had it not been for her, God only knows what would have happened?”

Inspector Vishwas thanked Laxmi and wanted to offer her some cash reward but she refused to take it. She said, ” Sir, I don’t want this money. I only did my duty to protect your child. I am currently in need of a job. If you could help me, I would remain indebted to you forever.” Vishwas hired her as a cook.

Watch out for the next episode of Catch me if you can for more twists and turns.

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