A few metres away in the Vijayawada railway station sat two men facing each other. Both were flabbergasted at the turn of events. While one felt it was just fate that made him visit the coach, the other was thinking how mad his co-passenger had been. But this was not the first time he had acted so.
They knew very well they cannot talk with each other with the RPF personnel surrounding them in the room. Technically, they both were in custody because they had witnessed a suicide.
All they could do was to sit in silence, only thinking what to do next. But neither of them was interested in the future. No wonder that both were thinking about the same thing — the conversation they had had in the train.
“What did he end up doing?” Puneet Mishra asked to the now remaining only passenger of the coach. He could see the terrified, horror filled eyes of the passenger.
“He is … well, I mean, was .... a mad man”, K2 stammered. Saying, he slumped into the arms of Puneet Mishra.
The TTE, petrified himself, had somehow supported K2 through the cabin door and helped him sit on the berth. He had allowed him to rest a few minutes and had given him water. Once K2 came close to his normal self, the TTE continued speaking, “Are you sure you were unaware of his move, sir?”
K2 merely shook his head. He had then told Puneet everything they both had discussed sitting alone in the coach. There was no point hiding it now. Once he completed his monologue, the
TTE’s face looked grave.
“The pen drive holds the key, then, isn’t it?” Puneet commented, more to himself than to K2.
“And are you sure, you don’t know the contents of the pen drive sir?” he asked to K2 “ because you were the one who had the pen drive in the first place.”
“Yes.” K2 spoke solidly “I had the pen drive. I intended to know what he had spoken to her. I was not there when he spoke with her. When I was indeed there, she was dead. That’s why I took out the pen drive to insert it in my laptop and play the file. But the moment he saw his face, he had pulled it out. It may be the only thing that could explain her sudden, unplanned death”.
“Now do as I say. Let’s get down at Vijayawada and wait for the body to be found. If you continue your journey beyond Vijayawada, you will be branded a fugitive” Puneet said, with finality.
K2 could see the world spin around him.
K1 was the supposed fugitive. Now he had gifted that position to him.
Worse still, now it may well be impossible to trace the pen drive.
And coming out of the reverie, they again found themselves sitting in front of each other.
****
A few rooms away, Dubey was saying:
“Press the play button. We will see the rest of it.”
Ravi complied.
But both were afraid to see the remaining part of the video, for they had inkling, it may not just contain a confession of a murderer, but something more than that.