The dream of Sameer was intruded by a ringing phone somewhere. Coming back to senses, he realized his mobile was ringing with the “Californication” tone, the song he was mad about. He tried to look at the watch in the dim light coming from outside. It was 2.45 am. Quite uncanny for someone to call. He looked at the mobile screen. In his dreamy eyes, he could see that the number was unknown to him. He quickly applied some permutation combinations in his mind of the probable caller. His girlfriend won’t call from a different number. He did all the work of the office and his boss is on leave to France, so he won’t be calling at this time. Getting to nowhere, he picked up the call. It was a male voice that answered.
“Hello.”
“Hello. Hello, is it Sameer?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Hello Sameer, hi. I am Aman. Sorry to call at this hour of the day, but I am a little troubled and only you can help me in this matter.”
“Dude, I don’t know you and I am not a psychiatrist to help you in your troubles. Stop bothering me.”
“Sameer, wait wait. Just listen to me. I am Snigdha’s friend. We were in the same class in the training period. You may know me by face but we never talked. Please I am in a big trouble, can you help me?”
“Dude, can we talk in the morning? I am not in a state to have a nice talk with you.”
“Sorry Sameer, but we need to talk now. I am already outside your door. Please can you spare some time for me?”
“What the? Where did you get the address anyway?”
“From Snigdha, of course. Please let me in.”
“Okay wait.”
Sameer got up from the bed and went to open the door. His legs were still wobbly and his eyes swollen from the deep sleep. Now he was in senses due to the talk with the so called intruder. He took his steps gently and went to open the door. Aman was standing waiting to get in. Sameer invited him inside and asked him to sit. Then, he went to the bathroom just to freshen up his eyes, so that he could look and reason better.
“You want a drink?”
“No thanks. I am in no mood now.”
“Do you mind if I have some?”
“Not at all.”
Sameer goes and picks up a bottle of scotch inside his freezer. Then he realizes, he shouldn’t drink so late at night, so he picks up the bottle of coke and makes a drink for himself. Then he settles on the sofa confronting Aman.
“Yes, tell me what the problem is?”
“Actually, I am sorry, that I came so late in the night. I am having sleepless nights since few days, so Snigdha told me that you can help me.”
“She might not have told you to come so late at night to take some philosophy classes from me?”
“No she didn’t. I first decided not to come, because I thought I will recover from it. But it grew worse. The problem is, actually, I have lost my job.”
“Hmmm…. So, how can I help you?”
“I don’t know what to do. I have my parents in Ranchi, who think that their son is doing well in the city and will pull them out of poverty. My sister is getting married and I have given all my savings for the function. I recently took a car loan too. In short, I am screwed.”
“Which company do you work in?”
“Metasystems Limited. I was the senior manager there.”
“Hmmm. Sorry to say but I don’t have any links in the company. To be more precise, I am not aware of any such company. Maybe some new company is set up.
“No, it is an old company with a history of almost 30 years in the electronics department. Deals with all types of electronic products and has recently stepped into the software market too.”
“Strange. I am working for five years and I never came across this company. Where is it based?”
“It is a multinational company, based at Geneva. It has clients all over the world, and is the leader of electronic items. It is also listed in the Fortune 500 Company.
“Very well, I must have missed it then. Anyway, how much were you paid there?”
“No no. Don’t get me wrong. I am not here to ask for money from you. Actually, there is something else I wanted you to know.”
Sameer sees Aman has started perspiring and a bit unsettled. He shifts a bit uneasily. Sameer asks.
“Are you okay?”
“Actually, do you mind making me a drink?”
“Sure. I should have given you anyway. Sorry. Let me bring it for you.”
“Thank you.”
Sameer gets up and again goes to the refrigerator to make the drink. He makes two of it, as he realizes it will take some more time and he needs to keep himself awake. Maybe he won’t be allowed to sleep today. He takes the drinks and goes into the room.
“Here, have it.”
Sameer gives one glass to Aman and settles down on his sofa. He takes a sip and watches Aman gulping the whole drink. The person is damn tensed, Sameer thought. He smiles and again takes a sip of his drink and keeps it on the table.
All of a sudden, without any talk, Aman lunges toward him with a knife in his hand and stabs Sameer’s stomach. The blood oozes out and Sameer squeals. He tries to kick Aman out, but Aman has already made the second stab in his chest. Sameer could no longer move and his senses were burning out fast. All he could listen was Aman’s shouts.
“She was mine. I loved her since my school. Who are you to come in between? You destroyed my life, you destroyed my dream. She is m…..i…….n………”
……………………….
“Any proofs?”
“We found the knife the victim was stabbed with. The knife was stuck in his chest. Six to seven blows were made. We found a mobile too, in the bedroom. It had an unread message of Snigdha, probably warning Sameer about the killer.”
“Did she name the killer?”
“Yes sir. Some, Aman Malhotra.”
“Okay. You checked the call records?”
“Yes, the last call was made by Snigdha at 12.10 am. We called her and interrogating her, but she is not in a state to talk. All she could say was that she and Sameer were going to marry in the coming two months.”
“What is the time of message?”
“Sir, it is 01.05 am. Looks like Sameer was sleeping, when the message was received.”
“Time of death?”
“03.10 am.”
“Hmmm…. Find this Aman. I will try to talk with Snigdha.”
After two hours, the inspector’s mobile rings.
“Yes?”
“Sir, we found Aman Malhotra. It is bizarre sir. Aman committed suicide last night, shooting himself.”
“Strange. What the doctor says?”
“He says the time of death is 01.10 am.”
