Who is Kiran? What is Shyam after by blackmailing her?
Who is Kiran? What is Shyam after by blackmailing her?
Wow they have so many rivals. I hope they find them soon.
welcome back đ loved the update
Wow.... Anjali is brave but where are te kids
I hope everyone is fine!! Kamlesh Khabri part was very funny!!
oh god... so many twists and turns..
that was a fantastic update... so many question and very little answers...
who is kiran...who is her son?
where are the girls? how is the iwatch going to help now?
where is this aman? havent got any info from him except he liked khsuhi and they are friends
From the author's desk: Hello peeps! surprise, another update within a week...
I had some time in hand and so here I am with another update... Thanks for your wonderful comments. hope you enjoy this one, Happy reading!
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Chapter 19: Games with no rules
Part 4: Split Chase
âYou are one of those kidnappersâ Khushi exclaimed.
âKidnap, what kidnap?â
âTell me the truth, were you not involved in the kidnap of 4 girls from ACPâs house?â
Rajesh phone beeped. He checked it and then turned to Abhi.
âSir, this guy was at your place, we found a match for the only other outsider finger-print at your house â it belongs to him- Kamlesh Kabiri.â Rajesh updated to Abhi and then turned to Kamlesh showing his SMS âYou left your fingerprints at ACP Sirâs house, we have your finger-prints in our records for your previous arrests for theft and you cannot lie any furtherâ
âJaanu, I went to the neighboring apartment to deliver some stuff, I saw this house bared open and some expensive stuff was kept at the front shelf, I got tempted, went in nicked some stuff and came out I didnât see any one there. I was not involved in any kidnapsâ
âSir, this guy will open his mouth only if we do it our styleâ Rajesh told Abhi
âTell me the truth, who are you working for these days?â Khushi asked Kamlesh again.
âWhy I operate alone⌠I donât work for anyone; I am a free bird Jaanuâ
Khushi crunched her eyebrows.
âWhat did you go and deliver in that apartment thenâ
âSome food parcel Jaanuâ
âSo, you donât know about the kidnap?â Abhi asked Kamlesh
âI donât know about any kidnap sirâ
âThen how come you were walking with the girls and other men â we saw it in CCTVâ Abhi said.
âSome other people may have taken the lift down when I was taking it as well. am not connected with themâ
âSo you donât know them?â
âNo Sir, I donât even remember their faces. I go to many apartments to deliver parcelsâ
âThen how come you were also wearing a mask just like them?â Abhi asked him.
Kamlesh looked on quietly.
âI was not wearing any maskâ
Rajesh showed him a clip of them.
âYou are wearing the same shirt and you were masked tooâ
âThis is not me Sirâ Kamlesh lied blatantly
âYou Rascalâ Rajesh went to hit Kamesh
âWe can pay you more than the other partyâ Arnav offered him
âI donât want money Sir, I can take what I wantâ Kamlesh said holding up a wallet
âHey thatâs mineâ Rajesh exclaimed searching his pocket âwhen did you manage to pick it?â
âBe careful with your property Sirâ Kamlesh said throwing back the wallet âKamlesh does not steal from a friendâs friend. I took it out of practice when you came near me, but I am giving this back for your sake only Jaanu!â he said looking at Khushi
âIf you co-operate this us in this, you will be rewarded.â
âhow is a reward going to help me Sir, you will arrest me after thatâ
âSir, we should not be talking to this idiot, we will drag him to the police station and use the cane, everything will come out automaticallyâ Rajesh said
Kamlesh looked on. Abhi raised his eyebrows at Khushi.
She knew that they were dealing with this man so patiently just for her sake.
She turned to Kamlesh
âKamlesh, Devimaiyya has given you this golden chance to come to the good side. 4 innocent girls have been kidnappedâ
âJaanu, I was not involved in any kidnapâ
âYou may not be involved directly, but you knew what happened after they left home. Imagine this could have been me or Preeto⌠You have little sisters at home. They could be next. You steal, but you are a caring friend and brother⌠You would be helping the kidnapper by not telling us what you knowâŚâ
âWhat do you want me to tell?â
âYou tell us all that you knowâ
âWhat will I get?â
âI wonât press any charges against youâ Abhi said
âLike you will let me walk free? No lockup?â
âThatâs right, No arrestâ
âNot even for stealing at your house?â
âFree of all chargesâ
âMother Promise?â
âyesâ
Kamlesh thought for a few seconds.
âNo, I donât want itâ Kamlesh said
âYou donât want to walk free?â
âThey will find out that I helped you and then hunt me down and kill meâ
âNobody will knowâ
âThey will come to know if you let me walk free and they get arrestedâ
âWe will protect youâ Rajesh said
âProtect me? You are not even able to protect your own walletâ
Khushi was thinking who else this guy would go with and shelter as well⌠then it hit her.
âYou went with Bento again! Didnât you?â
âDonât talk to me about that ungrateful fellow Jaanu. He unceremoniously kicked me out after his work got over. Didnât even give me a drop to Lakshmi Nagar, I had toâŚâ
âSo, it was Bento who executed this kidnap!â
âI didnât say thatâ
âKamlesh, why are you protecting that scoundrel?â
âbecause he will kill me Jaanu- why are you asking me even if you knew the answer?â
âBentoâ Arnav exclaimed âDidnât Sameer say Bento was involved with Roy?â
âYes, the same man- he is a local donâ Khushi told him and she turned to Kamlesh
âWhere did they take the girls?â
âHow will I know?â
âKamlesh, atleast now show some repentance, the girls are in danger and are you not ashamed to have helped them kidnap girls?â
âHow will I know they were going to kidnap girls? They just said they need my help some help with some operation and promised to pay me well and I wentâ
âWhen did you last see them?â
âIn front of that booth bungalow in greater Kailashâ
âThat haunted house?â
âYes the same. they separated the girls to different vehicles thereâ
âwhat?â
âBento took two girls somewhere else and Mota Raju took the eldest and youngest to some house. They used a code word- I donât know. They dumped me unceremoniously in the middle of the road. I didnât even get paymentâ
âDo you remember the vehicles?â
âMota Raju went in a Maruti van. Bento drove his own car.â
âHow do we find where they went?â
âWe are back to square oneâ Geethu summed it in one sentence.
âSir, arrest me and keep me in lockup only, That way, I will be safe atleast â donât put me in the same lockup as themâ Kamlesh requested.
Rajesh gestured to the other cop to take Kamlesh away.
âRetain him in the jeepâ Abhi instructed the other cop âWe need him to show the place where the split up happenedâ
âOh, this is so frustratingâ Khushi said as a sob escaped her lips
âKhushi, we are going to find themâ Arnav consoled her
âThe girls are going to be Ok, we will get to themâ Geethu seconded him.
âArnav, I am heading to that place with my men, you take Geethu and Khushi back home. I will let you know if I find any clueâ
âNothing like an additional 3 pairs of eyes to searchâ Khushi said. âWe will come with youâ
âI am not going home Abhiâ Arnav told his friend determinedly.
âArnav, we donât have any leads, if you go back home, you may crack some lead but by following me, it is not going to really helpâ
âWhy will it not help?
âArnav is right, I am not going home either. Not until I see Riyaâ Geethuâs voice cracked with angst.
âGeethu, please trust me in this. I am concerned about Riyaâs safety too and I will bring her back to you. Please go home- work on this and find something that will help us lead to any of the girlsâ
Abhi caught Arnavâs eyes, âI will call youâ he said and then left.
***
Khushi saw that neither Arnav nor Geethu were speaking anything, clearly lost and dwindling in hope. Otherwise, there was no reason why Arnav didnât start his car even 10 mins after Abhi left in his jeep with his team.
âWe may find something if we go homeâ she said âsomething that may lead us to themâ
Geethu burst into tears.
As Arnav side hugged her from the driverâs seat, Geethu said âI want her back Arnav, I cannot lose her tooâ
âShe will be alright. Remember Anjali is there with her, she will look after herâ Arnav said consoling his friend. âNothing is going to happen to Riya. You are going to raise her and fight with her during her teenage and then cry bitterly like this when she moves out of home for her higher studies⌠Ok?â
Khushi watched Arnav as she realized that his voice was strained and sounded downhearted but she also felt he was putting up a brave façade in front of others. She realized that he was feeling devastated too, but still was holding everything together for his friends.
Anjali and NK had told her how he was holding everyoneâs hope together when everything was in shambles after their fatherâs death. She was now seeing that persona of his in action, someone who would easily hide his doubts and fears to stand strong for someone else and her heart went out for him. She strangely felt this urge to protect him and wanted to be for him what he wanted to be for others.
âYeah, Riya is going to be Ok and others tooâŚâ Khushi said.
âSorry, I was so selfish to think of only Riyaâ Geethu said, wiping her tears. âI want the other girls â Anjali, Tara and Tanu to be safe tooâ
âNo Geethu ji, donât feel bad for that, as a humanitarian you want all of them to be safe, but a mother will always come firstâ
âI canât feel more grateful to have you both here with me, thanksâ
âWhat next?â
âthere should be something that we are missingâ
âOr places that are left to checkâ Arnav said thinking hard.
âWere you thinking of hunting for them on our own?â Geethu asked Arnav
âDid you expect me to sit at home and wait for news?â asked her with a hint of frustration as he started the car
âWhere are we going now?â Khushi asked
He caught Khushiâs eyes on the rear view mirror.
âI donât know- May be if you can show me Bentoâs house?â
***
Kamlesh took the team of cops to the place where the actual switchover of the girls to different vehicles took place.
Kamlesh said that the vehicle that he got into had Bento and the girls Tara and Tanu with a few other gang members. He was dumped at the main road and the car sped by.
âWe cannot guess where it went after thatâ one of the cops said, âonly if we had any license plate number, we could do somethingâ
âThe other carâ Kamlesh said âThe guys were taking about paying tollâ
Figuring out that the vehicle would have crossed the toll gate, they checked if the area had a toll gate nearby. There was one within 5 km from the place, the CCTV cameras of the toll gate for the approximate time that Kamlesh said was tracked.
The footage was run through with Kamlesh who identified the vehicle. Then the other end of the toll was checked to see if the vehicle passed via that- it didnât.
âThe vehicle could have taken a turn at any lane between those two toll gatesâ Rajesh said.
âThere is a possibility that it took a U Turn and went out of the first toll gateâ Abhi said as he asked to check the outgoing vehicles in the first toll gate.
A quick search later, they got only a handful of vehicles that had gone in and then out of the same toll gate within a very short duration, indicating that they have taken a U-Turn. Only 2 vehicles had matched the time period that they were looking for and one of them got identified as Bentoâs vehicle.
Soon they identified from the CCTV in toll gate that Bentoâs car had indeed taken a Uturn and had gone out of the first toll gate.
Getting the vehicle number from the tollgate records, the police immediately sent out request to all the other jurisdictions asking for any information about the vehicle.
***
âWouldnât it be too easy to guess that any of the girls be kept in Bentoâs house?â Khushi asked
âThatâs what anyone would think and thatâs why it is a good place to searchâ
âThe police would have sent people there by nowâ Geethu said.
âThatâs the only lead I have gotâ Arnav argued.
âWe can also go ask anyone else who is in his inner circleâ Geethu said turning to Khushi âI was thinking of someone like Kamleshâ
âTo tell you the truth, I was surprised myself that Kamlesh was involved in this. He is a con man, a pickpocket who helps me with some information once in a while. He is not in the inner circle of Bento. He is pretty harmlessâ
âOh reallyâ A sarcastic comment ensued from Arnav; she could see him on the rear view mirror shaking his head in amusement.
âAnybody else?â Geethu asked.
âI donât know anyone- unlessâ Khushi paused looking at Arnav again through the center mirror.
âyes?â Geethu prompted Khushi
âYou want to go a guy called Vikrantâ
âHave you lost your mind?â she heard Arnav say from the wheels. This time she got an angry glare from him.
âWhy? Who is he?â Geethu asked turning to Khushi
âKhushiâs exâ Arnav said
âNo, he is notâ she angrily retorted.
âWhy in the world would you want to go see him then?â he asked.
âI was just thinking⌠why Anjali wrote Leapfrog on that slateâ Khushi asked changing the topic
âI am thinking of that tooâ Geethu said. âNo idea if it was part of the clueâ
âIt is part of the clue, because when I picked the slate, the leapfrog side was up. If she had written the password alone to leave us a clue, then that side should have been up right?â Khushi asked
âShe could have turned it facing down to protect it from the gangâ Geethu told her.
âWhat is the significance of a leapfrogâ Khushi asked not buying Geethuâs explanation.
âItâs just a toyâ Geethu said
âWhy would Anjali write about a toy. Is there anything significant about that toy and Anjali?â
âNo Ideaâ Geethu said and looked at Arnav
Arnav was still grumpy with Khushi for suggesting that they go to Vikrant.
âArnav?â Geethu prompted him.
âShe used to have one when she was youngerâ he muttered.
âWhat was special about it?â Khushi asked
âNothingâ he said still feeling irritated âItâs a well-known toy brand. Usually with a recorded voice teaching rhymes and it was known for itsâŚâ he screeched the car to stop and turned the ladies âIts known for its tracking abilitiesâ
âWhat?â Geethu exclaimed
âOh how did I miss this. It has a GPS on it!â he said but his voice was drowned with horn sounds of the vehicles behind them
âDammit!â Arnav started the car again
âBut they should have this toy with them for us to track themâ Geethu said but Khushi caught what Arnav was trying to say
âDidnât you say she got one for Riya this morning?â she asked
âYes! she was trying to see if the tracking system was working- she configured it in her phone at the shopâŚâ
âAnd they carried the toy with them?â
âhopefully!â Khushi said
âWe can find it out once it shows the location. Wonât we?â he said
âWhere is Anjaliâs phone?â Geethu asked as Arnav took out Anjaliâs phone from his pocket with his left hand.
âCheck thisâ
Geethu scrolled through Anjaliâs mobile and located the app
âMust be this. Oh⌠show up fastâŚâ she muttered as the app took time to open up and then hooted seconds later âWe got the locationâ she shouted in excitement âand thankfully it is not my houseâ.
âOff we go!â Arnav said as he picked up speed.
Khushi sent a silent prayer up to Devimaiyya.
***
Anjali observed that the men had finished their game. There was a general energy as they abruptly got up as if they were receiving someone else amidst them.
A few of them ran down the stairs. Only one man stayed back at the table, watching them.
âWhich place is this?â she asked him. He didnât answer. She wished the talkative thief was with them. If not for information, she would have atleast had some time pass.
A few minutes later, the big fat man who had kidnapped her came back into the room along with one of his mates.
As the other person removed the rope wrapped around her hands, the Big fat man spoke
âyou want to leave from here?â he said placing some sheets of paper along with a pen in front of her.
âSign it up and you shall be on your way homeâ The big fat man told her
Anjali stared at the document in front of her before she picked up the paper and browsed through it. It was a bond asking her to sell her shares of Raizada Properties
âWhat made you think that I will sign this?â she asked coolly.
âWhat made you think that I will not hurt you if you donât?â the man asked her back.
âDidi, I want to peeâ Riya murmured.
âWe want to use the bathroom.â Anjali asked Raju.
âNothing doing until you sign thisâ
âDo you have any sense? she wants to use the toiletâ
âRaju!â
Anjali heard another voice. This one sounded younger, crisp and commanding. She couldnât see the source of the voice. The only view that she can have of the table showed that the man was sitting on the cards table with his back to her.
Raju, the big fat man signaled his man in the room to untie Riyaâs ropes and take her to the bathroom in the adjoining room where the man was seated.
âI want to go tooâ
âYou can go one by oneâ
âNo, either we go together, or we donât. I donât trust her with any of youâ
âThen stay here onlyâ
âDo you want me to sign this or not?â
âRaju!â the mysterious man outside called again.
Raju turned to face the man, whose back was the only thing Anjali could see. She saw that the man was signaling Raju to come to him. Raju went outside the room. She could hear something being discussed in undertones before Raju looked up and signaled the other man to untie Anjaliâs ropes.
***
Abhi looked at the data in hand. The van was registered in the name of some Kanchan Agarwal. The van was reported to be stolen almost 2 years back.
âWe got one lead and that too is wasted Sirâ Rajesh said next to him.
âYou are right Rajesh, this is not going to helpâ Abhi said, hitting the printout.
âif only we get their locationâ Rajesh was saying
âRightâ Abhi said, hitting Rajesh shoulder jovially, âPhone number- that can be used to trackâ
He went over to the rear side of the jeep where Kamlesh was handcuffed and singing to himself
âDo you have Bentoâs phone number?â
âNo, his number is only with his very close circleâ
âDo you have any of their number?â
âNopeâ
âHow do they contact you?â
âThey come over to my placeâ
Abhi sighed loudly.
âBut I know someone who knowsâ Kamlesh said grinning at the ACP.
***
When Anjali came out of the bathroom along with Riya, she saw that the chairs around the table was empty. She saw around, the other men were downstairs.
She heard some voices coming from the room next to the one where she was tied up. She could see shadows of Raju and the mysterious man talking there.
Anjali contemplated if she could try escaping. But it would be a miracle for both her and Riya to escape from these men. She noticed that the mysterious man had left his laptop unattended in the table.
Figuring out that the man was busy in the next room, she signaled to Riya to stay quiet and took a step towards the laptop. At the least, she can quickly browse through the laptop to find who he was.
Hoping that the man had autosaved his passwords for his accounts in his laptop, she opened a browser, and then the manâs gmail account and quickly sent an empty mail to herself. The mail didnât go as she noticed that there was no network. Thinking quickly, she typed face book on the browser, a cached page opened up showing the username as Sampkpr but it was asking for password.
When she was thinking what else to check, Riya tugged her hand. She turned to Riya, gesturing with her finger on her lips, but Riya pointed her to the other side. That was when she noticed that the third man who had removed her ropes before was standing in front of them.
He raised his eyebrows at her asking what she was doing
A sweat broke out as she stood straight.
âWhat are you doing?â he asked
âNothingâ
âGet in thereâ he said indicating the room where they were tied up as he closed the laptop
To be continued
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And the search continues... Tried a new genre with three different threads. Hopefully it was not confusing to read. Do let me know your thoughts
I sincerely hope all of you are safe and sound. Please do take care
Thanks for your comments and likes, I am elated to see each one of you who took time to give me comments.
Thanks so much! see you all soon with another brand new chapter, Until then, stay happy and healthy!
Finally they understood the clue and got the location. Are they going by themselves?
Anjali got caught. So someone is after the shares. Must be connected to them somehow.
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