Chapter 36

Ananya was stunned as she saw a cop in the uniform walking towards their entrance.

“Sabari!!! What is happening? Why do we have a cop in front of our house?”

Sabari tried to calm her down.

“Relax Ananya… I don’t think it is anything to be petrified about. He is Inspector Mahadev, who is investigating Prathap’s murder. If my assumption is correct, he is here to get more information about the death. I will handle him and while I do that, I want you to behave normal. Stop sweating. If you behave indifferent, it might get Mahadev’s attention.”

Ananya cleaned up her sweaty face with a hanky and at the same time, the calling bell rang. Sabari walked to the entrance and unlocked the door.

Inspector Mahadev stood there with a smile on his face.

“Sorry to bother you Mr. Sabari… “

“No problem at all.. Please come in.. “

Mahadev entered in and Sabari directed him to the couch. He sat on the couch and asked, “Looks like you left Prathap’s residence while the last rituals were still on”

“Oh ya... My wife was not keeping good. I did a blunder by keeping her medicine in a cupboard, locked it and took the key along with me. Therefore, I had to return home. My plan was to start to Prathap’s residence in another 30 minutes. Can I know the purpose of your visit here? Is it regarding any enquiry on Prathap’s murder?”

“Yes and No.. Yes because I wanted to check something, but it is not connected to Prathap’s murder. I just need ten minutes of your time”

“Oh ya.. sure.. Do you like to have something? Coffee or tea?”

“No.. Thanks for asking… I just took a coffee before visiting here.. “

“Ok.. You can ask whatever you want to”

Mahadev took a breath and leaned back to the couch.

“Mr. Sabari… There were two different incidents that happened last night. One was the brutal murder of Prathap in his residence. The second one was a mysterious one. It happened in one of the abandoned incomplete apartment in the Taramani area.”

The statement from Mahadev gave a jerk to Sabari. He skewed his brows and asked, “Mysterious?”

“Ya…Let me show you something.. “

Mahadev opened the bag that he carried with him and took out a transparent polythene bag. He placed it on the tiny table in front of him.

“Can you have a look at this?”               

Sabari took the cover in his hands. The polythene bag had a brownish sand and had bluish tiny particles mixed along with it.

Sabari asked, “What is this Inspector?”

“These particles were collected yesterday from a pit dug for raising pillars, in one of the apartments in the Taramani area. The tiny blue particles in it are cloth pieces. This seems to be abnormal to me Mr. Sabari”

For a brief time, Sabari and Ananya, who was standing in the opposite directions, looked at each other. Sabari with an innocent face, asked, “Hmm.. What do you think is abnormal here? I can see that the sand looks slightly different from the usual one. Someone might have dropped a waste dress material inside the pit and it might be decomposed along with the mud.”

Mahadev nodded his head in denial.

“hmm… I don’t think so..”

“Can I ask why?”

“Last night we got a call to the control room. An anonymous person called and said that he saw a man and woman came to the incomplete apartment and dropped a heavy object inside the pit. He couldn’t clearly say what the object was. The area Inspector Baskar reached the spot to check. They couldn’t find any substantiate object inside the pit. All they could find was the mud and the tiny cloth particles in it.”

“Sorry to ask this… How is this incident connected with me? Why is this enquiry?”

“Hold on… Let me complete… The forensic team that analyzed these particulars gave an astonishing report. As per the report, they said that the mud and the cloth were result of a chemical reaction by some microorganisms.”

Sabari was astounded that the truth was out. He became alert and decided to manage the situation carefully.

“What?? This is interesting… Are these a result of a Micro organismic reaction?”

“That’s right… The report also says that these microorganisms does not belong here. These microorganisms have not been reported or identified by any forensic team in our country.  They were suspected to be imported from a foreign country. The forensic team also deliberated that these might have been imported for an unapproved research. As the experiment failed, they might have dumped it in the abandoned location. As a Bio-Tech expert, I would like to hear from you, whether the assumption is valid?”

“Oh.. “

“Actually, Commissioner wanted to take this enquire from his office. But, I didn’t like the idea and wanted to do in your residence. And that is why I’m here”

Sabari was clueless and was searching for an answer. So there was a brief silence.

“Mr. Sabari… Are you all right? Did I bother you with too many questions?”

“No.. No Inspector… I’m good… I’m always available for any help of this kind. I was just… devastated… after the brutal murder of Mr. Prathap…. I’m not sure how I could help you in this situation… “

“That is ok Sabari… You need not get involved in this matter right away. Take your time to settle down. I will leave these samples with you… You can check these whenever you have time and provide us a report. That would be really helpful… I will meet you in another couple of days… Thanks for your help”

“Sure Inspector”

Mahadev shook hands and left Sabari’s residence. Sabari came back to Ananya who looked terrified.

Ananya said, “I don’t think we can escape anymore”