THE MYSTERY OF THE DISAPPEARING MEN ( PART 7)

A CRIME THRILLER SHORT STORY BY ME.

Hello Friends,

I was supposed to publish this story yesterday but due to time constraint and unavoidable circumstances, I am publishing it today. Hope you like it.

The Story:

Inspector Krishan received a text message on his mobile, while he was contemplating over how to convince Sohan to spare Ankit. He showed it to the CBI officer, Vishal, who raised his eyebrows after reading it. Sohan had posed a challenge to them. He had sent a picture of Ankit lying naked and unconscious in a dungeon like room with a text message :
” You have just two hours at your disposal. If you find the location, you can rescue him or else he will suffer such a miserable fate that he will be begging for death. Since you have helped me in my mission, I will send you only a single clue as to the location. But it’s better if you leave him to die, or else, he would continue human trafficking with his father. Another message with the clue will follow shortly in half an hour.”

Inspector Krishan cursed Sohan for letting go of an opportunity to punish SP Sundar Shrivastav and his son, Ankit. Vishal simply smiled and said, ” I like this guy. He’s a challenge, isn’t he? Let’s go and have tea while we wait for his message.”

It was exactly after half an hour that Inspector Krishan received a clue to the location. It said:
In this journey of life,
Tired tourists are taking rest.
Why are you looking towards the east?
Here, I am waiting for you in the West.
I call it my haven, a safe heaven and it simply is the best.
Let me hide while you try to seek me.
Let’s see if you are able to crack this test.

Inspector Krishan showed this clue to Vishal who immediately started racking his brain for answers. ” Well?” prompted Krishan, ” What do you make of it? “
Vishal replied, ” In this journey of life, tired tourists are taking rest. It means it could be a hotel, or an inn or a resort.
“Why are you looking towards the east?
Here, I am waiting for you in the West.” This means he is asking us to search for him in the West zone. Hmmm. It’s possible that he could be living in a hotel or a resort in Paschim Vihar. He won’t risk living in a luxury hotel. Ask your men to contact the cheap hotels or motels and show Sohan’s pic to see whether anyone saw him in the vicinity.” Inspector Krishan immediately went into action and sent the constables to make inquiries. They had an hour more at their disposal. But his men failed to trace the location of the elusive Sohan.

The minutes ticked by and Inspector Krishan looked crestfallen over his failure to locate and stop Sohan. CBI Vishal said, ” I think we are making a mistake.
” I call it my haven, a safe heaven and it simply is the best.” I am sorry to have overlooked this part of the clue. Can you guess what could be considered as a safe heaven? ” Inspector Krishan replied, ” A person’s residence. ” He suddenly became excited, ” How could I ever forget that Sohan used to live with his parents when he was a girl in Paschim Vihar? ” Both of them felt very excited and went to Sohan aka Sonia’s former residence. They knocked on the door expecting Sonia’s parents. They were shocked to see an aged woman opening the door and telling them that the previous owners had sold this house to the Singhania family and that she was their housekeeper, Sharda.

Inspector Krishan seemed agitated whereas CBI Officer Vishal seemed calm and composed. They thanked her and left shortly. They had just forty five minutes at their disposal. Krishan was desperate for a breakthrough in this search. Just as he was scratching his head, he suddenly remembered that Ankit ( SP Shrivastav’s criminal son) had a guest house in the same location. He became excited and told Vishal, ” Sir, Ankit owns a guesthouse here. He and his friends would bring lots of women here. Unfortunately, his father being my superior, abused his powers and threatened to humiliate and dismiss me if I didn’t overlook their atrocities.” Vishal replied, ” Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s take a look at the guest house as well.”

The guest house was just a few streets away. No sooner did they open the gate, than they heard a screaming. Both of them rushed towards the source of the sound. Ankit was lying naked and helpless on the ground in his backyard, with his hands and feet firmly tied.
There were plenty of Fire ants and scorpions crawling towards Ankit. He cried out, ” Please save me from the wrath of a lunatic.” Inspector Krishan said, ” We will help you only on one condition. You must confess to your crimes and hand over the evidence incriminating you and your father in the human trafficking case. Otherwise, we will leave you to your fate.” Ankit said, ” Agreed, sir. Please save me and I am willing to co-operate with you.” Vishal untied him and handed over his clothes that were lying nearby.

Krishan saw a paper fluttering near the place where Ankit was standing. He picked it up and read:
” Well done, Inspector! I admit that you are intelligent. I think the clues were relatively easy for you to decipher. Or maybe I wanted you to find and save him because you have already endangered your career on my account. I don’t want you to get into trouble.

Thanks for being so kind and understand.

Regards,
Sohan.”

Inspector Krishan wiped the tears from his eyes. Ankit was talking to Vishal when suddenly he dropped dead after being hit on the forehead. Vishal and Krishan were shocked to find the SP with a gun in his hand. He said, ” Well done, boys! I told the idiot of my son not to reveal our secrets to anyone. He couldn’t control his tongue, could he? He had to be punished for defying my orders. The same goes for you as well. I will kill you both and pin the blame on him and escape from the clutches of law , stating that I killed him in the line of duty as he had shot two police officers. Now, say your prayer.”

He raised his gun to shoot but before he could press the trigger, someone else shot him dead. Sohan came out with his gun and presented his hands to be handcuffed. ” Sorry, sir, ” he said, ” This man was rotten to the core. He had to be killed.” Vishal and Krishan thanked him for saving their lives.
Vishal helped Inspector Krishan close the file by shifting the blame for all the gruesome murders on the deceased disgraced SP, Sundar Shrivastav. The police retrieved Files, pictures, and documents in the laptops that showed the father-son involvement in human trafficking, sex racket, drug cartel and every illegal activity through which they earned money.

Sohan was released shortly. He started an NGO to help the victims of rape and sexual abuse, victims of domestic violence and acid attack. Inspector Krishan got promoted as Deputy Superintendent of Police while Vishal also got a promotion. But the crime against sexual offenders suddenly shot up. A couple of rapists were publicly lynched to death. DSP Krishan turned a blind eye because these predators had to be hunted down. Is it the beginning of a new crime wave or the end of the criminals?

( The End)

Thank you so much for taking your precious time to visit my website. Hope you enjoyed reading my blogs. 😊😊