Chapter 40

Sabari fumed as Prasanna demanded to leave back Ananya at his residence.

“You scoundrel… “

Sabari walked to Prasanna and gripped his t-shirt at the collarbones, crushed it and squeezed it tightly. In the force, a part of the t-shirt slightly tore apart.

Prasanna, who didn’t expect the sudden attack on him tried to stop him.

“Hey Sabari…. Chill man… “

“Bastard… Why should I?”

“Wait.. Listen to me for a moment… “

Sabari’s grip loosened and took his hands from the t-shirt. Prasanna shrugged his shoulders, adjusted his t-shirt and looked at Ananya.

“This is not the right time to behave as you want to…  You will have to think twice before you do anything of this sort. I’m saying this as you are in deep trouble already.”

“You are not the apt person to advise me… How dare you demand me to leave my wife here?”

“For sure you have mistook what I said. I wanted you to do that for my safety..”

“What BS is that??”

“There is no assurance that you will go to the cops once you leave this place.. “

“Huh… Come on… Let me tell you this. The last couple of days have been the worst days of my lifetime. Troubles and distress keep following me wherever I go. When I try to fix something, it creates one more. You are the latest. I.. I cannot understand what is going around me. After all these, I have decided to move out of my ambitious Bionic Project that I have been working so far. No research.. No Sidharth…  All I need is a peace of mind… A peaceful life with my wife. I am not related to the project from this second. I can assure you that I won’t go to the cops for any help.”

“Sabari… Words can build castles. My lifetime experience has taught me not to believe in words. You don’t have any other option than leave your wife here, until you get me an acknowledgement of your resignation from Sidharth”

Sabari lost his patience and with a rage tried to reach Prasanna. Ananya came forward and stopped Sabari.

“Sabari!!! Don’t…. I will be here until you return. He cannot do anything to me.”

Prasanna chuckled and said, “it is not too late to learn how to be bold from your wife Sabari… You can leave now…. She will be safe here”

Sabari could not stop staring at Prasanna. He took a deep breath and his eyes wandered around the room. Prasanna asked, “Are you searching for someone?”

“Where is your sister?  The one who spoke to me over the phone”

“She left a couple of minutes before you reached and will be back in couple of hours. You can meet her when you return after meeting Sidharth.. “

Just when Prasanna completed his sentence, Sabari’s phone rang. Sabari looked at the phone display and was surprised to see Mahadev’s name displayed.

Prasanna read Sabari’s reaction to the phone call and asked, “Who is calling?”

“Inspector Mahadev”

Prasanna was annoyed and asked, “Why is he calling you?”

“I don’t know… “

“Ok.. Take the call.. But listen… Just answer for only the questions he asks.. Not even a word more… Okay?”

“Ok”

Sabari attended the call.

“Hello?”

“Hello Mr. Sabari… Actually, I’m calling from your entrance gate. I came to meet you in person and noticed that it is locked. Are you outside?”

“Oh yes Inspector… I came to meet a family friend in Thiruvanmiyur. Anything important?”

“Kind of… Today morning when I visited your home, I wanted a report on the samples that I left…correct?”

“Yaaa??”

“I need that report as soon as possible”

“But.. Inspector… I remember you said that it can wait for a couple of days..”

“Yes I said that… However, we needed that urgently for another purpose. We have to expedite our investigation once we receive your report and cannot delay”

“Any particular reason for your urgency?”

“Hmm.. Ok.. Will tell you… Before that.. What is your opinion on your MD Mr. Sidharth?”

“Why this question now?”

“Can you answer my question please?”

“He is an entrepreneur who likes to reach new peaks in the field of Bio Technology.”

“And?”

“What else do you expect from me?”

“We heard that he is not the kind of person that the outside world knew… “

“I don’t understand your riddle Inspector”

“You may be shocked to hear this… We are suspecting that Sidharth might have killed Prathap”

That statement from Inspector Mahadev made Sabari dumb.  He stayed silent without speaking a word.

Inspector Mahadev interrupted the silence.

“Sabari… Are you still holding the line?”

“hmm.. Ya.. yes.. “

“Any specific reason to suspect him?”

“Yes… We heard a news from one of your colleagues in your organization. A month back, there has been a strong verbal fight between Sidharth and Prathap in the lab.”

“Who said that?”

“Can’t reveal their name at this point of time… Are you aware of that incident?”

“No.. Sorry”

“Come on Sabari… I did not expect this answer from you. You were close to both Sidharth and Prathap and this incident wouldn’t have slipped through...”

“I’m sorry Inspector… All I know is that they had a very cordial friendship between then at work”

“That’s ok… I want to investigate this case in a different angle. To move forward, I need the report that I have requested you... Can you get it asap?”

“How is my report linked to Prathap’s murder?”

“There is”