19
Hameed sat in front of his superior officer expecting what he is going to say. He was younger than him but has topped the police training and here he is sitting as the Commissioner of Police. He knew he wants to know about the recent murders which were making headlines in the newspapers. As usual pressure mounts up from the top towards the bottom. Everyone wants answers. Low level cops has to try everything, no matter whether they sleep or not, eat or not, to find clues leading to the murderer. He has nothing yet. He missed Adam. In these situations he would have answered better. Abel called him to inform that he had an extraordinary encounter with a ghost and he is now hospitalized.
“Do you believe in ghosts, Hameed?” His eyes were affixed on Hameed which made him nervous. He supported his head in his right palm and slowly circled on his perfectly cut jaw.
But for his surprise the question was entirely different. Was it a joke or a serious enquiry, he couldn’t understand.
That wasn’t what I expected. Are you mocking me sir? He tapped his fingers on his lap, his irises constantly moving around in its sockets. He stared at him with puckered eyebrows. No disrespect, he considered his senior is dead serious from his tone. “You mean Djinn? No sir.” I only believe in Allah.
“Same here.” His voice was calm, with no emotions in it. “What do you think has happened to Adam?” His eyes pierced into Hameed expecting a perfect reply.
How do I know? I myself want to know. We only know what Abel has told us. I haven’t even seen Adam to ask him.
He decided to keep quiet trying to keep up his stare with the higher ranked officer. But he failed. He lowered his eyes and looked at the name plate. Mahadevan I.P.S., Commissioner of Police.
“I think something has gone wrong between the brothers.” Mahadevan decided to reveal what he thought seeing that his subordinate is out of answers. “Only Adam is injured severely while his brother has few scratches only.”
“Yes sir.” Hameed listened carefully.
“I think they were under the influence of drugs and I strongly believe Abel attacked him and he created such an atmosphere to make it a ghost attack.”
Never. Abel is a priest. Adam never takes drugs and is stronger than Abel. Abel, as long as I know, hasn’t used drugs.
“That’s hard to believe sir. Adam don’t even smoke, drugs is out of question.”
“What if Abel is behind those killings?” Mahadevan’s sharp gaze was unavoidable.
“He is a respectable person sir, a priest. How can he do such atrocities?” Hameed found it hard to digest.
“Just because he is a priest, we can’t leave him out of this. What if a criminal is hiding under the cape? And Adam is also supporting his brother with that demonic story which further increases my suspicion. Is he trying to save his brother? Or are they both involved?”
What happened to you sir?
“I know I sound crazy but I found all this ghost story made up.”
Yes sir, you really sound like you are out of your mind.
“But my gut says they are involved in it directly or indirectly, especially the priest. I checked his past and it doesn’t seem convincing.
“Are you suggesting we should arrest Abel?” This is not happening.
“Yes. We need a thorough investigation. Try to find any connections or links between Abel and these people or with Adam. And arrest him before he could do any harm to the others.”
It is not easy as you say.
“I just want to hear from you Hameed, you knew them from childhood. Did you ever felt weird about Fr. Abel?”
Quite a few moments rushed into his mind but he never thought that were weird. He was a womanizer in his college days. He was addicted to alchohol. But he left everything and embraced a new lifestyle, holy and disciplined. Now he started doubting Abel.
“I will send a team to find Abel, sir.” Hameed said ignoring his question.
“Keep that arrest a secret. We don’t need communal issues.”
“Understood sir.” Let me meet Adam first. I need to know whether he has a story to tell.
“Any details about the girl in the hospital. Her family, work, local guardians, friends, do we have anything.”
“No sir.”
“You guys are such a bunch of idiots.”
Hameed felt ashamed of the insult but kept silent.
“By evening I want every detail I have asked for.”
“Yes sir, you will.” Hameed stood up and saluted his senior.
*-*
“What do you have in mind?” Shah looked at his friend’s face. There was only the rage of a bloodhound. Alex looked ferocious. His fists were balled.
“We will find him and kill him like we did earlier. The same way at the same place. We shouldn’t allow that dog to taste our blood.” His words were firm and stubborn. Shah heard his teeth stroking against each other.
.”Where do we find him? We don’t know where he lives.” Shah asked helplessly. Alex is in rage and wants revenge but they didn’t know their enemy’s den. If they knew they could strike easily.
Shah found the similarities in the killings. His friends were tortured and killed the same way they did to her. He now knew how he would die.
“I think I know.” Alex muttered.
“Are you thinking what I am thinking?”
“I guess so.”
“But if we are going there we need to go through that abandoned highway and I am not going there.”
“We have to, Shah. He killed our friends. His next target is us. We have to strike before he could. Let us go in a single car. He can’t defeat us if we stick together. I am sure he will be at the ground. I want to know who he is and whose revenge he is carrying out.”
Shah nods his head.
A dark voice resonated above the ground. “Come on. I am waiting.”
******-------******