Inbox in-roads

Gokul opened the door and let Govind in. They headed straight to Gokul's den.
The sender's email ID was ryan74. And the subject line read 'Meet me'. He clicked the link. Obviously it was written in a hurry. No pleasantries. He started reading it. "Amit, your life's in danger. Meet me today near Yelahanka, old club road, 7.30pm. And for God's sake, don't go home today. Please."

Govind sat up. Gokul raised his eyebrows. Govind quickly checked the date of the email. It was sent on the night Amit died. It didn't require a genius to guess Amit had failed to read this email. But whoever had written this, knew Amit's life was in danger. But Amit had committed suicide. So, had he read this email, and ended his life AFTER meeting this person? Was it Prashanth? It could be...but, Prashanth could've warned him in person. Or called him. A death threat to his close friend, and email? Nah.

Govind looked at Gokul, who looked serious, but didn't want to comment. He knew better than that. Govind stared into space. ryan74? Who could be the sender? He turned to Gokul.

"Gokul, can you...?" He started but Gokul knew what Govind was arriving at. He wanted Gokul to hack this ryan guy's email ID.

"It's tough Govind. All I have is this address. I don't know shit about the ID other than that. It's too much of a task. I can try though. We do have a way around. It's called..."

Govind patted his shoulder. "..I'm sorry Gokul, but please don't waste your time trying to explain the tech stuff to me," he chuckled. Gokul smiled and nodded.

Govind browsed the inbox for past mails from Saurav, and Prashanth, but he didn't find any emails that made sense to the case. It was clear Amit had another ID which he'd not shared with Archana. He thanked Gokul and left with a printout of "ryan's" email.

*******

Later that night, he twitched and turned in bed, trying to make some sense of the email. He had his reading glasses on. The words in the email rang in his mind. Who was it that tried to warn Amit of his death? And why did this guy not mail to his other ID, which apparently must have all his confidential correspondence.

The funny thing was, all of Amit's official documents displayed this email ID, with no mention of the other one. But he was sure there was another. And there was only one other person who could tell him that. He rose and went to the living room. He'd plugged his cell to the power outlet. He pulled it aside and dialled the number.
The call was answered after a few rings.

"Hello..Govind." Sounded sleepy.

I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour, Megha. When did you return?"

"Wait..I"ll call you back, Govind," Megha said hurriedly and hung up. She called back a moment later. It was an unknown number.

"Yeah, tell me Govind."

"Where are you?"

"I still havn't returned to Bangalore, Govind."

"Listen Megha, I need to ask you something important. I..."

"Sorry Govind, I can't talk much over the phone. I..someone might be listening." Megha sounded distraught.

This puzzled Govind further. There was something amiss.

"Megha, if this is about Amit..." Govind started and stopped.

There was silence at the other end. She was still grieving.

"I'm sorry..about Amit, Megha." Govind said quietly.

"It's...it's ok, Govind." Megha said. He could almost feel her voice choke when talking about Amit."But why did you just disappear? I tried calling you so many times to no avail," Govind said.

"I know..and I'm sorry for that. It's just that..I'm in some kind of a personal emergency now, and I can't afford to talk to a lot of people."

Govind was at once alert and also concerned for her. "I need to meet you, Megha. It's really important."

Silence again.

Govind had to devise some way of meeting her. He began thinking hard. Almost on instinct, he said, "land ahoy."

This stunned Megha, almost took her a while to understand, but she did. It was a code the gang had adopted in college to communicate with each other. Govind had heard Rajani talk about it many times. Megha became nostalgic, as it obviously reminded her of Amit. It was he and Prashanth who'd come up with these silly little things back then. Land ahoy meant 'what's the venue'.

Her voice choking, she replied. "Not too far."

Govind thought hard. How'd it go from here, he wondered. And then he said,"Where eagles dare?" He shook his head at the cliched phrase. It must've been used in dozens of films. But then such were Amit and Prashanth. He suddenly felt bad about these guys.

Megha coughed once. That was great. It was a yes. That meant Megha was in a nearby town. He'd expected her to be somewhere further. But this was good.

He said, "Megha..farewell hall." Meaning, he wanted to meet her at the place they got the farewell from juniors. Then he continued. "Next milestone," meaning the next day.

Megha coughed again and hung up.

********

Govind wondered who'd be listening to Megha's conversation,and why? Now he was sure she was involved in all this. Directly or indirectly. He drank a glass of water, switched off the lights and headed to the bedroom. Smiling to himself, he muttered beneath his breath, 'good night Raju bhai," looking lovingly at Rajni sleeping peacefully.

Then he said, "Thanks Megs," silently laughing at that name. All the college nicknames and code languages were coming back to him, and made him a bit nostalgic. He pulled the sheet over him and lay down.

Suddenly he sat up. Megs! He'd just remembered Megha's college nick. Megs. And the email ID he saw in Amit's inbox earlier in the evening was ryan74. He remembered they'd tease Megha in college about her resemblance to the hollywood actress. Though Govind wasn't too keen an observer of these things, he'd overheard this conversation many times.

That's it! ryan74 was Megha. It had to be...

********

Wanna know how it all began?

It's official - Class of 94 on a short sabbatical

It's been a long time since we made any head-way into Govind's case. And it's not over yet. Far from it. I'm developing it from scratch. Offline. But I also want to complete the story here, for all those who've been following it so closely the last year or so. It all started as a small germ of an idea and thanks to you guys, it ballooned into a full-fledged story. And it had become such a part of my life, that at one point, I couldn't think of anything but Govind and his case.

I know I've been gone too long. And I'm sorry for this unceremonious absence. A lot of things happened offline; work, other things..this and that. But I'll come back with Govind. I promise. Just thought you should know.

And starting today, I will continue handing out tequila shots as well. This one's just up.

Justified...?

Justice Dayanand was known for his persuasive ways and brutal sentencing. A strong preacher of women's rights in India, Dayanand was a nemesis for criminals. Nothing could bend him - money, power, influence. Nothing. Domestic violence perpetrators and rapists could take it as their end if Justice Dayanand were the judge in their trials. Even seasoned lawyers shuddered to take up cases that had him sitting below the blindfolded lady. He could see through false witnesses, cooked up evidences, or doctored documents. His eagle eyes rarely failed.

Govind knew that this was Bullet's work. The silver bullet told him that. He wondered what Dayanand's reaction would have been had he known that Bullet was a woman. It was ironic. A man who stood for woman power had been downed by the very subject of his championship. But more than that, he was eager to know what case Dayanand handled just before his murder. He sat in his car, waiting for the phone call. And it came precisely five minutes later.

"Hello Abdul bhai, yeah tell me."

He pursed his lips, concentrating on the information that flowed into his ear from the other end. The look of surprise as he heard the information soon gave way to deep thinking.

"Uh huh..ok, ok...hmm..ok. Thanks Abdul bhai. And Abdul bhai..are you sure of this information?"

He nodded again and hung up. He sat upright now and scratched his forehead. This was getting murkier. And for Govind, only compounding his fears. Something that he knew would happen. The pieces were beginning to fit the jig-saw, albeit slowly. There were a few more pieces that were scattered. He had to pick them up. He dialled Parthasarathy's number.

"Hello sir. Abdul called just now."

He told Parthasarathy about his conversation with Abdul and after speaking for a few more minutes, disconnected the line. He started his car and drove out of the alley. A series of coincidences couldn't be called coincidences after a while. He knew that from experience. He headed straight to Gokul's house. Apparently Amit's inbox had been cracked open."Am sure this will interest you," was all Gokul had told him. But now, after this piece of information, he knew for sure that a couple of surprises in store for him, would't remain surprises anymore. It was as if he knew what to expect in that mailbox.

Justice Dayanand was Archana's father, and she his daughter from a previous marriage.


******

Madame Bullet now...

Govind was in a bit of a fix, ever since he learned that Bullet was actually a woman. And it meant looking at the data afresh. And not only that, he had to revisit every case where Bullet was involved. Because there were certain basic differences in the way a woman functioned. He knew that in the last year or so, more than 15 people had bitten the Bullet's bullet, and most of them led to dead-ends. But this new piece of information would mean, he had to look into the motive of all those killings from a different angle. He wasn't sure what he really wanted to look for, but he had to. And now, with Prashanth's death, this whole thing had taken a funny little twist.

He needed to untie it. And quick.

Last jog...

When one stands in the dark, it is hard to see one's shadow. So it is said about one's dark side also. Everyone has it. It follows you, keeps ahead of you, sticks by your side...but you never seem to notice it. It's always there with you. But you never seem to acknowledge it. It is only when you stand in the light of life, its happy moments, that it decides to appear. Out of nowhere. Just on a lark. And then pushes you into darkness so you don't feel it anymore. Don't see it anymore.

*******

She'd wanted a normal life. Instead she'd got death. It was tough initially. And it all started as 'clean the scum of the earth', but over the years she'd got used to it. Even enjoyed it in some cases. But deep down she knew that if there was one place that she'd never make it to after her own death, it was Heaven. And she was ok with that.

She sighed and rose from the bench. This was no time for retrospection. There was a job at hand. She pulled the mask over her face and quickly walked over to the tree. The jogging figure approached in her direction. She looked around. It was still dark. She knew he was normally the first to arrive. Her homework had paid off. There was no other soul in sight. She turned the silencer, tightening it one last time. Just as the jogger was near the tree, she sprung from behind it. He didnt' have the time to react, as she quickly buried two bullets in his forehead. As he lay on the jogging path, smoke slowly coming out of the two holes in his head, she pumped in a third, for good measure. She took out the silver bullet from her track pocket and casually dropped it on his chest. Then she disappeared from the scene,quickly making her way across the park, out of it and ran across to the adjacent street. Once there, she slipped the magazine in her jerkin and pulled the mask off, clutching it in her hand. She stood for a second, took a deep breath and continued jogging.

The judicial system lost a good judge that morning.

********

No smoke without fire...

Archana was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. It was confusing because the neighbors had a similar doorbell and it always took a while to figure out whose bell had actually rung. She wiped her hands and rushed to the door.

"Oh, hello Govind," She smiled.

Govind smiled back, like he always did... a bit hesitantly.

"Uh..hello Archana. Can I disturb you for a minute?" He waited for her to invite him in.

"Oh of course..please come in." She said and stepped aside as he walked in.

They sat in the living room.

"I'm sorry, I was in the kitchen..and.."

"That's ok."

Govind didn't hear the kids.

As if reading his mind, Archana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "The kids are at their grannys. I had this important US call today, so..."

Archana had got a freelance job of head-hunting people for software companies and needed to be on the phone for hours on end.

Govind nodded.

"Uh, actually...did you read the papers?"

"Prashanth?"

Govind nodded again.

Archana's face became serious. "Was Amit involved in...?"

"Oh no no..that has not be established yet. In fact, the cops are not even..I mean, they haven't yet come to that. We don't know."

"So he might have been involved."

"Yes, that's my guess."

She seemed to be getting better at reading his mind, he noticed when she asked him again. "You want to check out his room again?"

"If you don't mind..yes."

"Sure," Archana rose and he followed her to the closed door.

She pushed it open and waved him to it. He didn't know if she did that out of sarcasm, but he didn't have time to think about that now. He just nodded and stepped in.

*******

He emerged from the room an hour later, with some files and other things. She had some snacks ready for him on the dining table.

"Oh, no..I'd better be going. And you have your call also.." He started but she waved him away.

"Rubbish. There's still time for it. Please. I"m sorry I'm not offering anything more."

He shook his head as if to say 'don't bother," and sat at the table.


"I might..uh, require these files, and books to.."

"Please. Feel free," She said. It struck him odd that she sounded very relaxed. In fact a bit more than usual. He just smiled back.

A few minutes later, Govind rose to leave.

"Just one more thing. Could I please have Amit's email ID?"

"Sure," Archana scribbled the ID down on a post-it and handed it over.

"Thanks."

She didn't ask him what good would Amit's email ID do to him. He figured she already knew about hackers and such. She smiled, again as if reading his mind.

"Please say hi to Raju bhai," Archana chuckled as he was at the door. Govind chuckled as well. "Yeah..ok."

He waved and walked out the door.

He got into his car and drove out of the apartment building.

A few minutes later, the black Lancer parked a couple of cars behind his, came to life.


********


Back home, Govind pored over the files and books that he'd gotten from Amit's house. After 2 hours, he stretched and arched back. There didn't seem to be anything in them. He then picked up the post-it and dialled a number on his cell phone.

"Gokul? Hi...Govind. Hey, listen. I have Amit's email ID with me. Think you can crack it open for me? Yeah..his wife's name's Archana. Date of birth? No idea yaar..wait." He called out to Rajni and got the information.

He picked up one of the brown diaries from Amit's place and placed it on the table, still talking to Gokul. "Yeah..he also has two kids - uh..Nandini and Aniket I think. No, don't have their birthdays. But I'll get them for you in a while."

He hung up and flicked open the brown diary. There was all kinds of stuff in it - grocery reminders, office meeting reminders, some other kiddy stuff obviously written by the kids. He sighed and shut it.

It seemed stupid, but he rebuked himself for getting all this stuff over. Amit wasn't an idiot. He couldn't have possibly written down anything on these. Govind smiled to himself, feeling like an idiot himself. What was he looking for anyway? Prashanth was dead. And a day after Amit's death, he'd learned that Megha was out of town; so he hadn't been able to talk to her either. Apparently she had gone visiting her brother in the US.

Questions now started springing in his head like mushrooms. Did Amit also talk to her that evening? Amit committed suicide that same night. Was there a connection to this entire thing? Did she know something about Prashanth as well? Was that what she wanted to talk to him about?

He feared for her life now, as he dialled her number again in the hope she'd returned. The recorded message told him that her number wasn't active anymore. That didn't quite sound right to him. Why did she deactivate it?

Then something else crossed his mind, but he rejected the thought. He was getting way ahead of himself. But there was something that was eating him. And he needed to set that right before actually confirming that thought.

It seemed absurd, and no evidence actually pointed to it, but he saw a pattern now he hadn't thought of earlier. All the three deaths - Saurabh's, Amit's, and Prashanth's; could they have been related? But how to establish a connection? They were all dead.

He dialled Shivanand's number now. The call went through after the fourth ring.

"Shivanand...needed to know something."

"Tell me Govind."

"Can I have a look at the stuff you guys collected from Saurabh's house?"

"Yeah, sure..it's over at the station. What did you want to see? The case is closed as you know.." Shivanand started explaining.

"Yeah, yeah..I know. But..I just needed to see the list of bankers Saurabh's company banked with? And also the company that he'd insured with."

"Uh..ok. I'll ask somebody to pick it up for you tomorrow, ok?"

"Thanks Shivanand."

He hung up and called Abdul.

"Abdul bhai?"

"Govind sir. What news? Could you find out..?"

"No..I needed to know something else first."

"Just name it, sir."

"I remember you telling me Rana had his fingers in all kinds of pies, right? Gambling, movies...even real estate?"

"That's right."

"Just find out if Rana and Bullet had anything to do with a company called 'Falcon Developers'. F A L C O N..Yeah, that's right. Anything you can get your hands on."

"Sure sir. Will let you know in a couple of days."

"Thanks, Abdul bhai."

Govind kept his cell phone back on the table and pursed his lips. Now he was all the more eager to take a look at Amit's inbox.


*********

Wanna know how it all began?

Cat out of the bag..?

The crowded bar was..just that - crowded. But Govind wasn't in it. In fact, he was waiting for his man in the car, outside the bar. It was a quarter to midnight. He yawned and checked his wrist-watch once again. A few minutes later, two guys stepped out the bar. Staggered out rather. The taller of the two hailed an autorickshaw and pushed the shorter guy in it, barking a couple of quick instructions to the auto driver. As he watched the 3-wheeler turn the corner, he suddenly straightened up and looked at the car. Govind straightened up too. The tall guy checked both sides of the road and crossed over quickly.

*******

"Who'd the Bullet taken the contract from, Abdul?" Govind questioned the moment he sat beside him.

"Rana."

Abdul was a trusted informer. The cops didn't know, but there were times when Govind had asked Abdul to cross-check even police informers. Abdul had a great network of people and had on earlier occasions helped Govind with crucial information on Bullet's whereabouts. But he too had been clueless about his real identity.

He cleared his throat and pointed in the direction of the autorickshaw that had just left. "This guy murali, used to work with Rana a long time back. In fact Murali claims that he had overheard Rana talk to Bullet many times. I know it. Because when this guy's drunk, he seldom lies." He chuckled.

Govind pursed his lips. "Are you sure?"

"Govind sir, Murali doesn't lie when drunk."

The car was now reeking of alcohol, but it was clear that the Abdul himself hadn't drunk. His breath didn't stink. He adjusted himself so he could face Govind better and looked him in the eye.

"So, that means it was one of Rana's rivals who tipped the cops off."

"looks like it." Abdul lit a cigarette and continued. "And Murali says, Bullet wasn't assigned to any job that night. In fact she was supposed to be out of the country..."

"Wait a minute. What did you say? She?"

"Yeah. Murali told me that Bullet's a woman. He has even heard her talk to Rana." Soon as he said it, Abdul realized that the cops had done in a guy.

"Oh, shit..but the cops have..." He didn't complete the sentence. Govind kept looking at him.

"This can only mean one thing," Govind said. "That Prashanth was the copycat. And the real bullet did him in."

So why was Prashanth framed? Who did Prashanth work for? Why did he copy the Bullet? Was he actually the copycat, or just an accomplice?

And most disturbing of all - Who in hell was the real Bullet?


*********

Wanna know how it all began?