The Last Second

Sabari was taken aback after he heard the sarcastic comment from Prasanna over the phone. He moved the phone away from him, turned to Inspector Mahadev and whispered, “Sir… It’s Prasanna” Mahadev signaled him to switch on the speaker of the phone and Sabari obliged. Sabari continued the conversation. “I need to talk to Ananya right now” “Sure… After answering my question… “ “What was your question again?” “I asked why the hell are you roaming around with Inspector Mahadev without any concerns about your wife” “I’m actually concerned. Whatever I did so far are for her. You demanded me to quit from the Bionic Project. I accepted your demand and went to meet SIdharth to convey my decision to quit. When I went to meet him, I got the tragic news of his murder. I was shocked and depressed wondering what was happening around me. With multiple questions in my mind, I returned to the place where Ananya and myself met you. And then came to know that you vacated the temporary place al...

Inspector Mahadev asked, “Oh!!! We have just 5 more minutes for Vasudharini to call.. correct?” “Yes inspector.. She will call anytime from now” “But….”, Abilash dragged as he spoke. “What??” “I do have my own doubts” “About what?” “Vasu used to call twice or thrice in a day. Whenever she does, she always called me from anonymous landline numbers. I asked her for the reason and she replied that she lost her mobile. And that she had to call from one of the public phone”   “So.. What is your doubt here? Do you mean she is lying?” “Her mobile might have been lost or stolen... It can happen for anyone…I didn’t mean that” “What else?” “It is about the way she speaks…” “Is that not the voice of Vasudharini?” “No doubts about her voice… But the modulation and the tone… Something is not right” “OK… “ “I couldn’t come to a conclusion yet.. I’m confused and doubtful” “OK… Anyways.. she is going to call you anytime from now… When you speak, switch on the phone sp...

While Inspector Mahadev and Sabari were ready to leave the hall, security Rangaraj entered in along with a carry bag. He handed the carry bag to Mahadev. “Inspector… Here is the bottle from which I had the drink. “ “Ok.. I will get this checked by the forensic team. This will provide the sanity of the drink that you had” “Sir…. I didn’t do anything wrong…. All I had was just a drink and that made me intoxicated. Someone used this situation and barged into the residence. I don’t want this news to reach my owner. If it does, I may lose this job for sure” “You are worried about your job. But, I have my concerns on the incidents that happened behind the scenes. In this situation, all I would advise is not to get drunk for the next few days. “ Rangaraj nodded his head in acceptance for the advice. Mahadev and Sabari walked out of Shantilal’s Residence. Mahadev said, “Sabari…. Do you have your car?” “Yah..” “You can go straight to the hospital. I will follow you there… What i...

Sabari’s heart skipped a beat once he saw Inspector Mahadev outside Shantilal’s residence. His brain struggled and almost exhausted to find a reason to get over the situation. By holding the phone in his hand, he stood silent without uttering a word. Inspector Mahadev broke the silence. “Sabari!!! Let us start everything afresh. Let us sit together and can have an open interview once again. I’m gonna ask you a bunch of questions, may be, some might be repeated. I expect you to answer truly and I need ONE AND ONLY THE TRUTH. If you think that is not possible, we might have to sit in a different atmosphere, as a special guest, in the police station. Choose whichever will work for you..” “Sir… Please… Give me another chance to prove myself. I’m in troubled waters already. I will tell you all…” “That’s a wise decision. Let us do some talking. I will come over” Inspector Mahadev disconnected the call. He opened the front gate and walked through the portico. As the door was already...

The Security while climbing on the stairs asked, “Sir!!! Can you tell me the exact time when you were here?” “Between 5 and 5:15 PM” There was slight change on security face and his Adam’s apple swayed as he swallowed the saliva. Once they reached the first floor, the security turned to Sabari. “Sir!!! There could be a mishap. I suspect something might have happened during that time interval you mentioned. I’m… a bit… alcoholic…At any cost, I have to shower my liver with a nominal quantity of whiskey, to become normal. If I don’t, it would cause me nervousness and shivers. Like any day, today too, I had a whiskey at 4:30 PM. But, I believe it got me too intoxicated than the usual. I fell unconscious and when I woke up, it was 7 PM. Someone might have used the opportunity and entered the residence in that time interval. You and your wife might have visited at the same time. Sabari was shocked hearing the security revelations.   He understood that he underestimated Prasanna a...

Sabari wondered what to answer Prasanna. Inspector Mahadev was standing a foot away from him, but he wasn’t watching Sabari. Mahadev was giving some instruction to one of the constables in the room. He walked away from the scene towards a window. Sabari whispered, “Tell me Prasanna.. “ “I asked you whether you happened to talk to Sidharth” “The situation is not favourable right now to talk about that” “What do you mean?” “I didn’t get you… If you are planning to goof up something, just think about your lovely wife for a moment” “I’m conscious about that and don’t have any idea of cheating you. “ “Good boy” “I will be there in an hour and will explain” “Ok” “I need to talk to Ananya” “Sure… You can talk to her in person when you are at my residence”   The call was disconnected abruptly. Sabari looked around and saw that Inspector Mahadev was still in a discussion with the constable. Sabari walked to Mahadev and interrupted the conversation. “Excuse me Inspe...

Sabari had one more shock of his life as he heard that MD Sidharth has been killed. His body reacted instantaneously. His heart beat sky rocketed and he began to sweat. “Sir…. How.. How and when did this happen?” “Not sure yet… The scene-of-crime investigation is on right now” “You might have to inform Inspector Mahadev regarding this..”’ “He is here in the crime scene already” “Oh.. I need to talk to him now… Can I? ” “I think.. Yes… He is in the hall.. “ Sabari walked towards the wide hall and wiped the dripping sweat with his hanky. Inspector Mahadev was enquiring two servants. Mahadev saw Sabari standing in the hall and signaled the servants to leave. He walked towards Sabari and asked, “Hey Sabari… Did someone inform you about the incident here? ” “No sir.. I came to meet Sidharth casually without informing him. I wanted to meet him and discus something important about the Bionic Project. And the officer outside informed me the tragic news. I couldn’t digest the ...

Sabari was surprised by Inspector Mahadev’s claim that there is a link between the report that he was going to prepare and Prathap’s murder. “I hope you were there in Prathap’s residence after he was killed… “ “Hmm.. yes” “And there was a refrigerator that we located in his room…” “Ya?” “Did you notice anything abnormal?” “Ab..normal.. like what?” “You might not have.. I can explain… The refrigerators that we use at home is maintained in a Zero degree temperature.. “ “Ya.. “ “The one that was found in Prathap’s residence was maintained in minus twenty-degree temperature. You have to maintain such a subzero temperature for ONE reason. To protect endangered microorganisms that can be dangerous to human beings. In other words, he had been using his refrigerator as a Farm for maintaining Microorganisms. Our forensic team examined and gave a report that Mr. Prathap might have been doing so, to use it against human. At the same time, we got the sand particles that we receiv...