Chapter 7

Mahadev and Prathap continued their conversation.

“We managed to identify one of the guy’s in the van as James. He, along with his partner were planning to do something on the chimps? Do you have any wild guess on what they had intended to do?”

Prathap squeezed his lips and replied, “Hmm.. My guess is that their plan would have been to dispose those chimps safely in a remote location”

“Our guess is almost in-line with yours”

“By the way, were you able to trace him”

“Not yet... We are still on the hunt”

“You said that one guy is James… How about his partner?”

“His identity is not known yet. This is the first time I am involved in such a ‘Scientific Crime’ and there are a bunch of queries hanging around.  The case will not progress an inch until we nab James and his partner”

Prathap smiled gently and said, “Don’t worry Inspector. A criminal cannot be in hideout for a long time. You will be the one who will have the last laugh. By the way, can I have your file and the reports for a few more days? I would like to study this in detail to look for findings if any. Hopefully, if I find something, I can provide you with some clues. I will call you.”

“Definitely sir... I am done right now... Thanks for your help”

“Anytime inspector”

Mahadev and Prathap shook hands and Mahadev left the room. Prathap switched back to his laptop. He opened the app that had the CCTV streaming in the buildings. He was watching the movements of Mahadev until he left the premises. Once he was sure that he had left the campus, he pulled a drawer, took a mobile phone, and dialed a number.

The call was attended in the next few seconds.

“Hello Mr. Prathap… ”. It was the voice of Sidharth, who was also Prathap’s boss.

“Hi Sir”

“Is Mahadev done with his enquiry?”

“Hope so”

“Was there any signs of suspicion on us or our company?”

“No sir.. There are no specific clues to suspect us.. We are safe so far…”

“Let us not be lethargic on this. We shouldn’t be over confident. I have heard that Mahadev is one heck of a talented officer in the department. He had been transferred here from Coimbatore”

“Oh!!! But , why was he transferred?”

“Sometimes honest and talented officers have to pay the price for being so. His actions in a few cases angered a few local politicians and that is why he is here. However, he does not seem to be bothered. So, you got my message now.. Always be cautious when he is around.”

“Got it….And sir..”

“Yes?”

“I think James and Ramesh did a blunder while disposing the chimps. They could have waited until the gates were opened in the rail crossing. Their action to bribe the gatekeeper has created a ripple effect. Moreover, your friend Doctor Nageshwar has redirected the cops to us for help… We can expect them to visit us anytime without being informed”

“Oh ya.. Face him… At the same time, always be careful what you talk to him”

“Sure sir”

“Ok then.. You will get a message in your Whatsapp after this call... Delete it once you have seen it. We will meet today evening at 6 PM at our meeting place…Bye”

“Ok sir.. Bye”

The call was disconnected. After a couple of minutes, his phone beeped indicating a notification. He opened the WhatsApp. There was an image delivered from Sidharth.

Prathap downloaded the image and it became visible. Prathap was stunned once he saw that. It was the image of James and Ramesh and they were hanging. He looked at the image for few seconds and a knock on the door disturbed the silence.

Prathap put back the phone in the drawer and shouted, “Come in please”

The door opened and Sabari, a research scholar entered Prathap’s room. Sabari was in his early 30’s, fair, shiny thick black hair, stood at 5’11” and was athletic. Those features were good enough to drool over. He was dressed in formals and he walked to Prathap’s desk with a file in his hand.

Sabari said, “Good Morning sir”

Prathap signaled as if he accepted it and directed him to sit in the chair.  Both Prathap and Sabari occupied the chairs.

Prathap said, “Inspector Mahadev was here a while back”

“Yes.. I saw him on the way sir”

“Do you know why he was here?”

“Oh ya.. That’s an easy guess”

“I didn’t want this to happen.. But now…”

“This is very unfortunate”

“We cannot breathe easy by excusing ourselves. It is not a good sign for you and me. We should not have employed James and Ramesh to dispose those chimps. Recently, I had received lots of complaints on the duo. They were very lethargic and were caught drunk while inside our campus. They were warned by the security officers.”

“Hope cops didn’t have their suspicious eyes on our company”

“No.. Not yet.. But… We cant write off Inspector Mahadev. I heard that he is a talented officer”

“Does that mean, James are Ramesh are not safe?”

“We need not worry about them”

Sabari looked at Prathap as he didn’t quite get what he said. Prathap pulled the drawer once again, took his mobile, opened the image sent by Sidharth and placed it in front of Sabari.

Prathap looked straight into Sabari’s eyes and said, “James and Ramesh are not reachable anymore”