Mr. Llyod Dunne had his earpods well in place. Being the Inspector of Police surely had its perks but today was a day of immeasurable boredom. Election duty always took its toll on him. He had only taken his jeep on the main road when he received a call.
"Sir, this is Head Constable Nagpal. There has been a rape. You are required immediately. DSP madam is here." Nagpal's hurried voice came through the receiver.
"Give me ten minutes." Lloyd said and disconnected the phone.
Station looked unnaturally crowded when he entered. DSP Rajsi Mishra was sitting on his chair and a middle-aged man was directly in front of her. He greeted his senior with a salute.
"Sit Lloyd. This is Mr. Joshi. Her daughter was raped this morning." Rajsi said.
"Where is she?" Lloyd asked.
"She is at home. My sister is with her." Mr. Joshi said.
"Why your sister? Where is her mother?" Lloyd asked.
"Her mother died when she was two." Mr. Joshi replied.
"I will go right now and look into it." Lloyd said to Rajsi.
"Lloyd, I want you to make this a priority. Mr. Joshi here works for the Government. He is the labour contractor for the bridge they are building in the city." Rajsi said as Lloyd and Mr. Joshi got up from their chairs.
"Sure Madam." Lloyd said and the duo departed.
They reached Mr. Joshi's house. His daughter was sitting on the sofa beside her aunt. Her expressions were incomprehensible. Lloyd took the chair directly in front of her.
"Aarti, this is Inspector Lloyd. He is here to ask you some questions." Mr. Joshi said.
"If only you can answer them, of course." Lloyd said.
"Go ahead." Aarti said. Lloyd paused for a second. The girl was pretty. She had maintained her body well. For a raped girl, Aarti looked too composed.
"How old are you?" Lloyd asked.
"I am 27." She said.
"Do you work?"
"I am a developer with Kroop International."
"Now, tell me what happened today?"
"I had only woken up. It was around 7 in the morning. A man walked in. He had this weird costume. He took me by surprise."
"What costume?" Lloyd asked.
"Some sort of cartoon character. He even had a mask on his face."
"You will have to describe that cartoon character to my constable. He will be here shortly." Lloyd said, "For how much time was he here?"
"It went on for an hour." Aarti said.
"Did he say anything?"
"Many things. He started talking as soon as he entered. He came inside saying he isn’t home is he."
"Who?"
"My father. He told me he knew that he won't be here today. He said he had to take a day's leave to do this."
"Did you recognize his voice?"
"No. I heard his voice for the first time."
"His accent?"
"It seemed he was from another state, UP or Bihar or so."
"Can you guess his age?"
"I am not sure, but his voice sounded as if he might be the same age as me."
"Anything else you want to say?"
"He kept on talking. He said he had always wanted to do this. He said he was afraid of my father."
"And did you see any marks, a tattoo or a birth mark?"
"I didn’t see anything. He was entirely covered in the costume."
"Mr. Joshi, I need to talk to her alone for a moment." Lloyd said to her father. He and her sister complied immediately.
"Aarti, have you ever had any boyfriends, any affairs?" Lloyd asked.
"No Sir." She said. Her expressions were mysterious again.
"Aarti, I want you to know. If you lie, we won't be able to find your criminal."
"I never had any boyfriends. My father is strict." Aarti said again.
Lloyd exited the house. Mr. Joshi and his sister were standing beside his jeep. Lloyd motioned Mr. Joshi to send his sister inside. She took no time in leaving both the men alone.
"Mr. Joshi. What can you tell me? Is anything going on?" Lloyd asked.
"She was about to get married next month." Mr. Joshi said.
"Who is the boy?"
"He is an NRI, some relative of my sister's. She brought us together."
"Do her friends come to visit?"
"Often. Many of her friends come, mostly her colleagues."
"Any boys?"
"Never. It has been very clear for her. I do not allow such nonsense."
"I will be transparent with you. I think your daughter is lying."
"About what?"
"I asked this to her as well. Her answer was the same as yours but her body language told a different story."
"You think she has had a boyfriend."
"I am not sure but I am not convinced with her answer."
"I will talk to her."
"Better don’t. Where is her office located?"
"It is in Bandra."
"How does she generally go to the office?"
"Company provides transport."
"Alright. I will take your leave now but we will meet soon enough." Lloyd said and left.
Station was once again deserted. Only Nagpal was in view. He saluted as Lloyd entered.
"Where are the others?" Lloyd asked.
"Shinde sir and Digpal sir are on Election duty. All the constables as well. DSP madam asked me to stay here in case you needed me."
"Great. I want you to go to Mr. Joshi's house. Call Gokhle, take him along. She will describe a costume. Once that is done, take her to the hospital and get her checked. I don’t think she has been raped at all."
"How can you say that sir?"
"First off, I thought she lying throughout and when I asked her about boyfriends, she acted like a proper teenager. Her body was tensed and she denied having any boyfriends."
"Why lie about a rape though?"
"She is getting married next month. Naturally the engagement will break now pertaining to what has happened. I think some boy will show up months later to accept a raped girl as a marriage. Do you understand what I mean?"
"You think she has a boyfriend and he will play the hero in front of her father?"
"Exactly."
"I will call Gokhle right away." Nagpal said and got to work. Within minutes, he was walking out of the station.
"Gokhle, do you know where that bridge is, the one Madam mentioned?"
"Bandra, sir."
"Great. This eases things. Alright keep it fast. I want you back as soon as you can." Lloyd said.
Lloyd made a few calls and left the station after Nagpal. Bandra was a tedious half an hour ride. He visited the bridge site first. Mr. Joshi was already there.
"I don’t know why you called me here. My daughter needs me." Mr. Joshi said shaking Lloyd's hand.
"She is not alone, is she?"
"No, my sister won't leave for a few days."
"Did you do what I asked?"
"Yes. Five of them were on a holiday. Two are actually out of state and the other three are here now."
"Call everyone, even those who were not on a holiday."
"Alright."
Mr. Joshi rang the bell on his table and nearly fifty men huddled around them.
"People, this is inspector Lloyd. He is here to investigate something."
"Alright, stand in a straight line so that I can see everyone." Lloyd said and the men immediately fell back in a line.
Lloyd started sorting them out. Twelve of them were too old to be Aarti's age. He motioned them to leave.
"I am told three of you were on a holiday. Step out" Lloyd said but only one of them stepped out.
"Two are from those you sent back." Mr. Joshi said.
"Well all of them are fifty plus. It cannot be them." Lloyd said, "Where were you today?" He asked the labourer.
"I was at the hospital saab, my wife is expecting." The man replied.
"Which hospital?"
"Civil hospital saab."
"Then you must go back."
"If you allow saab."
"Leave." Lloyd said. The labourer left.
"Is he telling the truth?" Lloyd asked Mr. Joshi.
"He is. His wife works for me as well. He is telling the truth."
"Were all of them here? Did you notice anyone leaving after they came here?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Everyone was assigned particular jobs. I was supervising them when my daughter called me. It cannot be anyone of those who are here."
"Well then it cannot be anyone of your labourers. If the two you told me are out of state, indeed are."
"They are. I checked it."
"Alright. I will take your leave again." Lloyd said and left for Kroop International.
It was only a few blocks away. The manager at Kroop greeted Lloyd with a warm smile. They went to his office.
"You are Mr. Deshpande, I believe. I am Lloyd Dunne. I am here to investigate Miss Aarti Joshi's rape." Lloyd said it on purpose. The manager didn’t even flinch a little.
"Alright, what do you want me to do?" Deshpande said. He was a heavy, elderly man. The glow of wisdom on his face surpassed his age.
"Mr. Deshpande, one of your staff member has been raped. This does not affect you?"
"She had it coming, if you ask me."
"What do you mean?"
"She is too friendly, irritatingly friendly. And her dresses! Have you seen her clothes? She literally invites prying eyes."
"I want to investigate everyone she is in contact with. Call her male friends here."
"I doubt that will help."
"Why do you say so?"
"Her team comprises of three boys. I think she is probably sleeping with all three."
"Call them anyway."
"Alright." Deshpande said and within few minutes, three men, exactly Aarti's age, were standing in front of Lloyd. He started with the ugliest looking one.
"Where were you in the morning?" Lloyd asked.
"Office sir. I am here since morning." The man replied. He was terrified.
"Before that, where were you at seven o' clock?"
"Temple. I go with my wife everyday sir. I was with her at the temple from 6:30 to 7:30."
"Write down your name here." Lloyd said, handing him a piece of paper. He obeyed. Lloyd moved to the next one.
"You?"
"I was at home sir. I had hardly woken up at seven o'clock." The second one replied. He seemed confident.
"Who else stays with you?"
"Nobody sir. My family is located in Rajasthan. I live alone in a flat."
"And you, where were you?" Lloyd asked.
"I was here sir, at the office. I was lagging back in my work so I came early."
"Write down your names, both of you." Lloyd said and the two wrote their names on the same piece of paper.
"What are your relations with Aarti?" Lloyd threw the question in general. All three of them tensed. "This means something. Start speaking you." He motioned to the first one.
"I have a wife sir."
"And you are cheating on her?"
"I went with her only once. She wanted it sir. Please sir, I haven’t done anything."
"Leave." Lloyd said and the terrified man left.
"You lonely man. How many times?"
"She visits my flat frequently since I joined two months back. I don’t have a count."
"What type of a relationship do you have with her?"
"She is practical. She won't commit."
"That gives you a reason to break her engagement, doesn’t it?"
"I didn't know she was engaged. Sir, whatever it is, I can assure you I am not the culprit. I am already engaged. And sir, I didn’t know she was with these two as well. I don’t think they knew about her being a slut as well." He said and the other two nodded their heads.
"Alright. You can leave as well." Lloyd said and the second man left as well. "Well, there is no point in asking you anything seeing that you were here. Tell me though, does she sleep with you?"
"She used to. I was with her for six months before the new guy came." The third one said.
"Are you married?"
"No sir."
"Alright, you can leave too." Lloyd said and the third one exited Deshpande's office.
"I see, you have CCTV surveillance. Get it checked it the third one is telling the truth. "Lloyd told the manager.
He started fumbling with his keyboard and brought up the footage. Both of them looked at the fast forwarded video.
"He is not lying." Deshpande said.
"I can see that."
"What do you think? Who can be it?"
"I don’t think it's anyone from this office. My staff is genuine. "
"Yes, and Aarti along with them." Mocked Lloyd, "She comes to the office in company transport. What type of transport is this?"
"A bus. We have three buses. I will call the driver if you want to talk."
"Call the driver. Also call every boy that is with her on the bus."
"Her bus is all girls. Not a single boy on it."
"Alright call the driver." Lloyd said.
The driver came. The ancient man bowed twice at the two men.
"Greetings sir!" He said.
"Greetings. What is your name?"
"Ramprakash sir."
"Ramprakash, one of the girl on your bus, Miss Aarti, was raped today. Do you know anything about her?"
"Raped? That is disgusting. She is such a good girl."
"Tell me what you know about her."
"She is a great girl. Her house is a bit far from the rest. She walks up to her friend, Reena's house daily for my convenience. She brought me a gift once as well, it was an expensive chocolate."
"Does she talk with anyone while on the bus? Is she ever on phone?"
"She has two friends on the bus, Reena and Shewta. They sit together and talk a lot. I have never seen her talking with anyone on the phone."
"Alright Ramprakash, you can go." Lloyd said and the driver left with another bow.
Lloyd sat silently for a few minutes. The piece of paper had three names, he crossed out the third one.
"Rajat or Jeet. He mumbled.
"Excuse me." Deshpande, who was looking at Lloyd with rapt attention, asked.
"Nothing. I will leave you now. I will be coming back again. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Pleasure Inspector. I will tell you again though; none of my staff can be a rapist. I suggest you check in her neighbourhood. A girl like her will not rest with just these three."
"Tell me one thing Mr. Deshpande. Why didn’t you terminate her? You seem to detest her."
"I tried and yes I detest her character.But her father has a reach. The board of directors simply reject my proposal of terminate her."
"Did you tell them your reason?"
"They didn’t want to know."
"Alright. I will visit again."
"Anytime."
Lloyd left the office and after another dreary drive of half an hour, he was back at the station. Nagpal was already there.
"Sir, we did the sketch thing. It is some Dennis the menace. From what Gokhle and Miss Aarti discussed the costume was expensive. Here" Nagpal said handing Lloyd the sketch.
"Take this to every costume store in the city. Ask them, if someone recently bought such a costume."
"That would take time sir. We don’t have anyone." Nagpal reminded.
"Oh yes! We will have to narrow the search. It is difficult without any leads. We have a few but I have a feeling they are worthless. Here, check on these two. This one here, he stays alone. Visit his neighbours and this one here is married, make sure you meet his wife and drop a hint that his husband is cheating on her. Also, visit Mr. Joshi's and check Aarti's cupboard for her dresses." Lloyd said handing him the piece of paper from Kroop International.
"From Kroop, are they?" Nagpal asked.
"Yes."
"I will check right away." Nagpal said.
He was back in another hour. From what he had seen, there was nothing that could bring the two in harm's way. Rajat was indeed with his wife all the time and Jeet's milkman claimed to have woken him up at 7:30 am.
"Mostly Punjabi dresses. A few gowns." Nagpal said.
"Nothing too bold?"
"No sir."
"Call Reena from Kroop International. I am too tired to visit those wretched roads again. Ask Deshpande to send her as soon as he can." Lloyd said.
Nagpal called Kroop. Deshpande promised Reena to be at the station within half an hour. Reena proved to be punctual. Reena's attire raised Lloyd's brows. Her outfit had to be expensive.
"Good afternoon sir. I heard about Aarti." Reena said in a confident voice.
"Then you might know why you are here?" Lloyd said.
"Actually no sir."
"Miss Reena, I believe Miss is right?"
"Yes sir."
"Tell me, why does Aarti come to your house in the morning daily?"
"To change sir. She keeps her dresses at my house. She comes daily to change."
"Is this one of hers?"
"Yes sir. She has given me many dresses to keep my mouth shut."
"What do you know about her affairs?"
"What affairs sir?"
"Do you know anything about her relations with the three men in the office?"
"No sir. I have been in this office for three years with her. She has never mentioned her relationships. I had my doubts though."
"Reena, I will talk clearly. The three men in question are cleared. We have nothing to move ahead with the case. Can you think of anyone who could have done this?"
"No sir. I cannot."
"Alright Miss Reena. You can leave now. I am sorry, you will miss a wedding."
"I don’t envy it. I hate wedding food." Reena said and started to leave. It only clicked suddenly in Lloyd's brain.
"Hey, you knew about her wedding?"
"Yes."
"Have you been talking to anyone about it?"
"Tarun. He knows. He is my best friend."
"Who is this Tarun?"
"He used to work at Kroop in Aarti's team. He left six months earlier."
"Where does he work now?"
"At Friday Apps. It is in Bandra as well. Ten minutes from my office."
"Tell me Reena, was he ever interested in acing?"
"Oh! He is a great actor. He is amusing."
"Alright Miss Reena. You may leave now." Lloyd said.
Reena left. There was something on Lloyd's face that excited Nagpal as well.
"So, I was actually right. It is about breaking a marriage."
"You think Tarun –"
"Obviously. She is pretty. Anyone working with her might fall for her. Why not Tarun? He got it from Reena that she was getting married. He might have staged all this to break the engagement."
"What do we do now?"
"We got to Friday Apps. We corner him on his ground." Lloyd said.
Friday Apps was not far from Kroop. As soon as Lloyd entered the gates, he spotted a man moving uneasily on his seat. Lloyd addressed him directly.
"Mr. Tarun?"
"Yes." Tarun said getting up from his seat.
"Where were you this morning?"
"I was at home sir."
"Do your office timings start in the afternoon?"
"No sir." Tarun stammered.
"So you were at home instead of being at office."
"Office starts at 10:00 am sir. I was talking about before coming to office."
"Why would I want to know where were you before office?"
"Sir –"
"I'll tell you Tarun. You are wanted at the station right now. You have raped a girl, haven’t you?"
"Sir – I have done no such thing." Tarun said.
Slap. Lloyd slapped Tarun hard. He started crying. Nagpal took care of Tarun while Lloyd explained the situation to his boss.
Back at the station, both Mr. Joshi and Aarti were waiting for the culprit. Nagpal had only told them that the rapist was caught. Aarti was taken aback to see Tarun under restraints.
"Tarun?" Aarti said.
"What could I have done Aarti?" Tarun said, still crying.
"Why Tarun? You could have told her you wanted to have sex with her. She wouldn’t have said no." Lloyd said.
"Inspector. What rubbish is this?" Mr. Joshi bellowed.
"Ask your daughter Mr. Joshi. Ask her once I am done. "Lloyd said, "Why Tarun?" Lloyd shouted at Tarun
"I didn’t want to have sex. I wanted to teach her a lesson." Tarun sobbed, "I loved her. I had started loving her since the first day of my job. I told her. We went to so many lunches and dinners. I brought her whatever she asked for. When I asked her to get married, she denied saying her father was strict. I have never even touched her before today."
Lloyd looked at Aarti. Her head was hung low.
"Then I found out about her affairs. I found out she was sleeping with simultaneous men. She was using them all. I left the office. I wanted to be far from her but then Reena mentioned her marriage and I was angry. All of it came back. I already knew everything about her, her father's profession, her mother, everything. I just had to plan." Tarun said again.
Mr. Joshi looked at Aarti who in turn was looking at her own feet. Rajat kept on sobbing and saying that he had loved her. Lloyd was however thinking who was to be blamed.