The story continues....
Shekhar took Roohi in his arms and caressed her. Moving his palm on her head, he planted a kiss on her forehead and managed to persuade her to go back to sleep. As he stared at the wall, a flash of memories screened in front of him.
He was missing his little ones and had called them up at their grandpa’s place. Busy with their game of hopscotch outside the veranda, none of them cared about the phone ringing. Grandpa walked over to the room to pick up the call on his cell phone.
Sophia ran over to Grandpa stealing the phone and yelled,
“Daddy, we are playing hopscotch! You know I have won all 3 games! Roohi stepped on the line each time and lost.”
Her voice bought a smile on Shekhar’s face. He replied,
“Baby, I don’t know how to play hopscotch. Will you teach me when you come here?”
Hopping all around the house, she chuckled,
“Sure Daddy”
“Ok. I have bought a game for you and Roohi. So when you both come here you both can play more!”
On the background, Shekhar heard Grandma’s voice searching and calling for Sophia.
“Really Daddy? I love you! Oh wait, I’ll call Roohi. She will …..
Sophia could never call Roohi neither did Shekhar get the chance to hear Sophia’s voice again. Next, all he could hear was the sound of glass crashing and the thud of the table heavily dropping to the floor. The last and most heart piercing was that of Sophia’s shrill painful cry.
The phone got disconnected. And silence.
Shekhar went all numb. He wanted to dial the number and call back. But his fingers started quivering heavily unable to dial. Somehow after a few moments, he managed to call but this time instead of Sophia, it was Grandma crying “Shekhar…”
* * * * *
Cyrus mumbled on the phone
“The Actus has been committed, Mens rea is known. The person behind this will not be spared”.
JJ raising her eyebrows, “Huh?”
Cyrus ignored her reaction, “JJ, I’ll need your help. I would like to know more about Sophia’s parents, Tara and Shekhar. I believe you and Tara are connected. Could you come to Delhi?”
The photographs of the innocent child and intentions of the killer made JJ’s determination to hunt the killer even stronger. She made her decision to visit Cyrus right away, “I’ll take the morning flight to Delhi. Hope to see you at 1 in the afternoon”.
Cyrus agreed and the call ended.
Resting on his ergonomic chair, he stared at the ceiling. He wondered if he can give justice to the innocent girl. He wanted to take up this case as a part of his law internship. But in spite of several appeals his father didn’t let him do so because of the complicated nature of the case and incomplete police investigation. Cyrus was never given a choice, but this time he created one. He decided to take up the case surreptitiously. He told JJ to meet up at a café in Saket area. Although this idea of meeting up at a café planted a seed of doubt in JJ’s mind, but all she knew for now is that she needed an aid to crack the case and Cyrus is the one.
Ready to visit the lady for the first time, Cyrus waited at the café with his laptop placed on the table. Comfortably seated on the couch he scanned every woman sitting in the coffee shop to find out if she had already arrived. But she was yet to reach. He turned on the laptop which had pictures sent by JJ, necessary documents and information hunted by him on the number 666, Nero Caesar and Lucifer. As he peeped though the slightly open wooden door, a lady wearing a sleeveless blouse and denim skirt entered. Cyrus instantly recognized JJ. He couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful lady. He had seen her picture in the Forbes magazine where she was featured in 30 under 30. But she was all the more gorgeous. Her gladiator sandals didn’t go unnoticed neither did the tattoo on her arm, when seen by Cyrus, left him jaw dropping.
Read on the next chapter here Chapter 8: Survival of the Fittest by Aswin Madhu
