Chapter 27

Ananya was shocked as Abilash conveyed his wish to wed Vasudharini the next day. She looked at Sabari for an answer. Silence prevailed over a few seconds. Abilash broke the silence.

“Ananya!!! Are you there?”

“Ya.. Yes.. Abilash.. I’m just wondering how this can happen.. That too in couple of days.”

“Why not? All I had was just a mild heart attack and I have recovered completely. For me personally, I will be relieved only if I marry her officially. A relaxed mindset is essential at this point of time. This is the only way”

“But…. We don’t have much time to get prepared for such a rare and important occasion of our life.”

“We are going to have a simple marriage. No wedding invitations, no marriage halls and no visitors. The plan is to visit Thiruneermalai temple with a pair of garlands, a mangal sutra and with the usual puja items.”

Ananya closed her eyes to come up for a reason and replied, “I get you. But I will check with Vasu once she is up in the morning.”

“Oh ya.. You can… Actually this idea came from Vasudharini two days back..Still, you can check with her”

“Ok.. I will call you back”

“Sure.. Where is your hubby Sabari?”

“He is in his research unit”

“What time will he be home?”

“Hm…Not sure.. Usually he calls me before he is ready to leave from work”

“Ok.. Make sure you wake Vasu before he returns home. We don’t want to bother you and take your personal time. And we always are grateful for your help in this tough time. Sorry for bothering you in the late nights”

The call was disconnected. Ananya turned to Sabari with tears running down.

“Hope you were listening”

“Ya… I did”

“What are we gonna do?”

“Need some time to think”

“We don’t have much time. It will be dawn in couple of hours”

“Hmm.. Let us execute whatever we had planned earlier.”

“You need to repeat the plan for me now”

“Ok…This is what you need to do. Call Abilash at 6 AM and tell him that Vasudharini is on her way to the hospital. Convey him that you have already discussed about the wedding with her.”

“And?”

“And… From then on, you need to throw a series of lies in your conversations. I will communicate it whenever needed. There is solution for all problems”

“Problem is an under-rated statement. We are experiencing a tragedy right now. Abilash is showering lots of love on Vasu. If at all he comes to know that she isn’t alive, he may end his life once for all”

“Listen Ananya!! We didn’t kill Vasudharini.. Someone who couldn’t tolerate Abilash and Vasudharini’s would have waited for a chance, followed her and might have killed her. We cannot be held responsible for the murder “

Ananya was not too comfortable to accept Sabari’s statement, but thoughts kept on swamping her mind. The car was still on the way.

After couple of minutes, Ananya began the conversation again.

“Sabari!!!”

“hmm??”

“You said that the bacteria would destroy Vasu’s body in less than two hours..Right?”

“Ya”

“What if, it didn’t happen like we expected?”

Sabari slowed down the speed of the car slightly and stared at Ananya.

“Ananya!!! You need to understand this. I’m Bio Technologist and not a butcher. And I have the knowledge and talent to classify the bacteria based on its nature. The ‘Yersinia pestis’ bacteria along with water, would have already started to eat and destroy Vasudharini’s dead body. If at all anyone come across the pit, all they might see is just the slush. If you still doubt it, I can take you there tomorrow morning to confirm.”

“No please… I’m fine if you are confident”

Ananya decided herself to stay silent for the rest of the journey and the car picked up speed.

4 AM – Taramani Police Control Room

The walkie-talkie in the control room was letting out noise and alerts at frequent intervals. The landline phone rang and it alerted the officer Rasheed, who was busy browsing through his WhatsApp.

Rasheed picked the receiver and began to speak with the usual welcome message.

“This is police control room…”

A tense voice on the other side said, “Sir… I need to report something important. Sometime back I was sleeping inside one of the under-construction apartments in Taramani. I heard some noise and that woke me up. When I came out, I saw a car entering the construction area.”

Rasheed queried, “Are you the security of the construction site?”

“Hm.. No sir”

“If not a security, who are you?”

“Sir.. I’m a migrant worker from another city. After my daily work, I used to sleep in this building as it is abandoned. I have been doing this for the past ten days.”

“Ok… Now.. tell me what happened.. Whose car was it?”

“I don’t know sir.. Initially, I was under the impression that it was the builder of the site. So, I hid myself behind a pillar and peeped to check what was happening. Two people got down from the car. I couldn’t see their faces. They pulled something from the car trunk”

“What was that ‘Something’ ?”

“No idea sir. They sprayed some liquid on that and dropped it inside a pit”

“And??”

“They were chatting for couple of minutes. Just then, I coughed. I think they heard that and got alerted. Immediately they got into the car and left the place”

“Did you note down the car registration number?”

“I couldn’t see anything in the dark sir”

“Once they left, did you happen to check what was dropped into the pit”

“No sir.. I didn’t do that as I was scared. Also, I evacuated the place”

“Are they two men?”

“I think one was a female”