The Case of Known-Unknown

Rahul Arora

Five

15th March 2003, Tuesday

Detective Akash was in his uncle's room, scanning through a few documents, checking to see if he could find anything that seemed objectionable. He knew almost everything about his uncle, but he was also aware that every person had some secrets. Likewise, he also had some secrets in his life, which he never talked about.

His memories took him way back to his childhood, the day tragedy struck and he lost his parents and his younger brother in a car accident. Having been left alone at such an early age, he had nowhere to go, no desire to live and no path to walk on. He'd lost all hope of having a comfortable life and was mentally prepared for a life of hardships. But suddenly his uncle, Mr. Paul found him and was ready to pay for his education. He was then sent to a boarding school. Solitude helped him get acquainted with books of authors who had intriguing stories to tell.

Crime became his favourite genre and mystery became his love. He delved into the realm of challenging mysteries and started to picturize probable conclusions to all the mysteries he read. Unsolved criminal cases made him anxious. A year passed; his uncle's wealth helped him in bribing local cops and gaining information about cases.

They then shifted far away to Mysore colony, Summerhill, Shimla, against Akash's will. After a string of bad luck, he'd finally excelled in solving cases. He showed no interest in conversing with any of the colony residents. His uncle, however, maintained frequent contacts with those who were very rich. One of them being James Fernandes, making David his cousin.

As soon as he turned into an adult, he travelled to different places, met different people, eventually inspiring him to become a private Detective! He received many cases, some were related to thefts, chain snatchers, murders, kidnapping, and he was successful in solving all of them with his deductions and theories. That's how he had marked his existence and fame.

The sudden buzzing of his phone brought him back to reality, it was from an unknown number,

   'Paul.' He said firmly.

   'It's me.' Came a voice, it was almost a whisper.

   'I recognize that voice. What information do you have today?' he asked impatiently.

   'Syna has received the reports from the forensics, she intends to interrogate the two suspects by noon.' The caller said, now in a softer voice, Akash had his ear pressed tightly to his cell.

   'Very well. What are the reports? That's of crucial importance for me to solve the case and find any leads.'

   'I have no idea about that.' This time the voice had a harsh tone. 'I'm just a constable, I don't have access to all the information. Furthermore, if you want more information, it is going to take a few more bucks, you know.'

   'I appreciate your efforts, but careful with your tone or I can inform your senior about the bribery.' Akash replied in a serious tone.

   'Don't try to threaten me, you can be thrown behind the bars for what you're doing.'

   'What do you think would bother her more?' Akash chuckled over the phone. 'A private detective bribing cops to help her solve a case or a "trusted" junior who sells information, can be easily bribed?'

The call ended immediately, he chuckled more at the thought of winning. But there was something more important at hand, the interrogation. David, his cousin, would have a crucial role to play in it. But oh well, there was another suspect, Himanshu Savla, whom Akash barely knew. Frustration and annoyance gripped Akash's nerves. He wanted to find a way to join the investigation, but reality spoke otherwise.