Police wanted to jolt the tough talking doctor. So Joshi said,”If you are not going to come clean about the use of vehicle, we will be compelled to charge you with careless Driving leading to death of two innocent pedestrians”
Dr; You can not do that to me.
Pol; ‘why not? You are the owner of the vehicle. The young men who were driving the vehicle have confessed to the fact that they were working for you.
Dr Joshi got up from his seat and signalled to the Inspector to arrest the erring doctor and slam him in the jail.
Inspector was only too happy to oblige him. Dr Reddy walked to the police van in a daze. He had tried to contact his lawyer, but was smartly slapped by the inspector, who snatched the cell phone from his hand.
Joshi reported that he could not talk about organs transfer because, even the first base of ownership of the vehicle could not be established.
Mouli had a mild head ache. So far three people have been taken in by the police and police could not extract any information about any sinister activity by the doctors. His investigation was going to grind to a halt before long. Unless some thing extra ordinary develops and things get stirred up. He thought about Dickey , the man best equipped to stir things up. Mouli thought how Dickey would react if he went to him now. He must turn up something on his own before asking Dickey to help.
There was another setback waiting for Mouli. His officers who were questioning Dr.Reddy found out that he was not a regular Medical Doctor .He had obtained his Phd in clinical Psychology .He got used to be addressed as Doctor because he was working as consultant to deal with trauma cases, pre surgery and post surgery rehabilitation ,mind conditioning exercises. Police had wrongly believed him to be the doctor involved in Organ transplantation and accordingly tried to build up a case against him. So the discovery that he was only a psychologist dashed all police surmises .It was very frustrating and Mouli was all set to junk the case.
He talked to Dickey. He had a nose for trouble. Dickey assured Mouli that whether their man was a doctor or not, that man was neck deep in shit. Dickey took the police driver with him to visit the good doctor’s house. The door was opened by a fat, dark woman who liked to speak very loudly. She looked very intelligent and was very articulate. She pinned Dickey down very easily. The conversation between them went like this;
Dick; I have come to talk about Dr.Reddy.
Woman; He is not here. What do you want?
Dick; Do you know where he is?
Wom; You know where he is. The police are holding him in custody because his old two wheeler was involved in an accident with your car.
Dick; Yes, yes. My car was very badly damaged .My boss is very much annoyed. He has threatened that if I dont get compensation, he would start adjusting my salary.
Woman; I can not help you. Till now you were behaving as though you were the owner of the car. Now you are telling me that you are only a highly paid driver.
Dick; I have to get compensation. Otherwise I will be ruined.
Woman; You think I am an idiot ? I know that you and that police commissioner are playing some deep game. You wont be able to extract anything from me. That vehicle was stolen long back. We had nothing to do with the accident. So don’t try to con me..
Dick; You are telling a lie. If it was stolen , why did you not report about the theft.
Wom’; We did not complain because police do not do any thing.It is waste of time. Further, we did not have any more use for it. So we never missed it.
Dick; So who was using it?
Woman ; It actually belongs to the hospital. My man used it to visit the patients at their homes to advise them on post surgery rehab and trauma management. Subsequently the hospital decided against home visits .So my man stopped using it. We do not know who used it after my man stopped using it. we don’t know who used it after that and we don’t care. we don’t know who stole it. We don’t know who rammed your car with that vehicle. So do not bother us talking about compensation.
Dick; You can’t dodge so easily. I have made a complaint. I will serve you also with a notice.
Woman; ’Nonsense. Police are holding my man with out reason. Today my lawyer will serve notice on police to get my man released. You just watch. My man will be out in no time.
Dick; Is that so ?. who is your lawyer. I will serve him also with a notice for compensation.
Woman; I do not know which lawyer will take up our assignment.The hospital has a battery of lawyers.
Dick; which hospital?
Woman; Get lost. I am not telling you anything.
Dickey realised that this straightforward questioning will not get him the information he wanted. The fat woman was still blocking his way, stopping him from getting into her living room. Dickey took out his smart cell phone and in the guise of talking into it, he took pictures of the woman and the room. He had recorded the entire conversation in his smart phone. He decided to change his approach. He stood up and flexed his powerful muscles and said loudly ’My dear madam ,I am not the type to give up so easily. I have just started. I will make your life so miserable by coming after you again and again, day after day . you have to pay me to stop me.’
Woman; I said get lost. Did you not hear me? I know how to deal with pests like you.
She reached for the broom stick that was standing in the corner behind the door.
Dickey smiled.
Normally Dickey kept a severe face that would not display any emotion. when he smiled, the ladies seemed to melt. Kaddu always said that smile was Dickey’s most powerful weapon. Right from the childhood he used this smile to get favours from elderly matrons. When he smiled, his whole face lit up making it very attractive and irresistible. That charm still worked. The woman got distracted. she said
Why are you grinning?
Dick; I was wondering how long you are going to maintain your tough stance. I am just getting into mood to do some thing very nice to you , so I am not leaving now.
He walked towards her and put his arm around her shoulder and turned her towards the living room. The weight of his arm on her shoulder and warm contact of his hard hand on her waistline did some thing to her and she walked towards the room as if she was in a trance. He touched her cheek and patted it gently. All her fight evaporated.
The living room was large and tastefully furnished Every item in that room spoke about money , lot of money. The large screen LED TV, Turkish carpet, teakwood highly polished furniture, the playboy sofa set were all luxurious.
He walked to the sofa and made her sit and he sat next to her keeping his hand on her thigh.
The woman was breathing , her excitement mounting out of control.
My dear girl, you seem to be so rich. Denying a poor Gurkha out of his genuine need is not so becoming a rich person like you.
His tone changed. He looked totally a different person. She felt like putting her head on his broad chest and keep on talking. He kept his questions short and he spoke softly.
Dick;Now relax and tell me about your husband. tell me how did he make up so much money to buy all these fancy things?
The woman was getting worried. She realised that the man was arousing strange emotions in her mind towards him and talking too freely was going to put her husband into difficult situation. But she could not help talking.
She said, ”My husband earned it. He was so good in his work that hospital paid him handsome amounts. Dr Praful Reddy admires my husband and rewards him.
Dick; what type of work does your husband do? I never knew one could make so much of money doing psychological counselling.
Woman; He does not work any more.He has earned sufficiently to take up life easy.
Dick; My dear Girl, do you realise that the type of work your husband has done, has landed him in jail?
Woman; What? .He is in custody because of stupid accident involving that vehicle and not because of his work.
Dick; That is what you think. I know exactly why he is jail. If you are not careful, you are going to join him very soon.
Woman; I don’t understand what you are telling. My husband has told me we don’t have to worry. The police have nothing to hold him for long. He should be out very soon. The lawyers will get him out.
Dick; You are dreaming. Police have proof that he was involved in sinister activities.
Woman; Sinister, what do you mean?
Dick; The police know that his vehicle was used to transfer some delicate things.
Woman; what things?
Dick; Things that impressed Dr.Praful Reddy. Things for which the good doctor paid so much money. The money that got you this lovely bed, grand TV, and all other precious things that you have hidden in your godrej safe. This is what landed him in jail and if you don’t cooperate with me , you will also go to jail. There are bedbugs in jail and you may have to sleep on the floor. Won’t you miss this splendid bed and soft sheets there?
Woman; what are you saying?
Dick; I am saying that you should come out with the truth. Just now only two things can save you ;one is the truth you are going to tell me and second , I am here to save you.
Woman; I think you are tricking me to tell you things I do not want to say really. now please leave my hand and go away.
Dick; I will go away the moment you tell me the truth about what your husband did for the hospital. .Come on, tell me the truth
Woman; ’I really do not know.
She started crying loudly that broke the spell cast by Dickey. He hastened to comfort her. He said ’now, now do not cry. Do as per what I tell you. You go to Doctor Praful Reddy and put pressure on him to get your husband out. You tell him that I know every thing and that I am putting pressure on you to pay my compensation. Ask for a big amount .
I will come again to claim my compensation. Do what I am telling you and I will help you and your husband.
Dickey left the scene after making sure that she would do as per his advice.
He rang up Mouli to brief him on his talks with Dr.’s wife and how she is going to tackle Dr.Praful Reddy. He also suggested Mouli to plant recording devices in the residence and the hospital. With in next hour a team of AC engineers were deputed to the residence and hospital on the pretext of rectifying some defects and in the process plant at strategic locations camouflaged recording devices. Mouli and Inspector Kamath settled down in their chairs in front of Tv monitor to watch the live streaming of pictures from Paful reddy’s hospital and residence.