365 DAYS 365 TALES

DETECTIVE DIARY

"Happy vacation detective," their doorman greeted as Rakesh left the office. 

Let's hope, he thought to himself. Rakesh and vacation didn't have a great history. Every time he left for a vacation, he left with a high spirit. And every time he returned, he came back remembering the first day of his training. The day they taught him the golden rule of his career, 'A detective is never off duty.' Let's hope.

**

The diesel engine left a trail of smoke as it came to a screeching halt. Rampur. Most of his childhood had passed there before his parents moved on to Mumbai. His grandparents still lived here. This was the first time Rakesh was visiting since relocation.

"The town had changed a lot since you left," he remembered his grandfather's words.

Nothing much had changed though. A number of bullock-carts still lined outside the station.

"Belapur chaloge?" he asked one.

An affirmative nod followed as Rakesh threw himself and his bag in the back of that cart. The man made a whimpering noise giving a yank to his ropes. Both the bullocks mooed in unison; and the cart started with the sound of dangling bells making up the background. Just like old times, Rakesh braced himself for a long bumpy ride.

**

Rakesh was woken up next morning by a ruckus outside his grandparent's house. Last evening had passed peacefully amidst a wonderful dinner with the old folks. He was himself surprised by that. Maybe the village had really changed. But no, its real colors have started to show.

Rakesh rushed outside. A fairly large crowd was huddled in a circle. What are this crazy people unto now? He battled his way a bit before staring over some shoulders at the centre of attraction. Holy shit! A body of a young boy lay there.

His detective instincts took over. He hurried to the side of the dead body.

"Get back everyone, give some space," he ordered, "I'm a detective."

Crowd didn't budge much, but just enough for him to do his work. Their village didn't have a police station and it would take some time before the news reached the town police. This was his case now. Get to duty, detective.

The body lay face down. Rakesh turned it over to reveal the face. There were some murmurs around him. Boy had been stabbed to death. There were three stab marks near his stomach, but no sign of struggle. No scratch mark anywhere. The thought of suicide crossed his mind.

"Anyone knows him?" he asked.

There was no reply for several seconds, before a young lady spoke up.

"He is a boy from next village. Kailash. He was...he was..." she collapsed on her knees with her face buried in her palm.

She was still speaking something in between the sobs, but the words weren't reaching Rakesh anymore. Her beauty had raced forward. Her bright red saree shone under the sun. It complimented her light figure. That straight black hair clung to her shoulders as she sat. The lady got her palms off her face to respond some villagers, giving a glimpse of her eyes to Rakesh. The brown diamonds were round like her face.

"Rakesh...beta..." he was shaken to present by his grandfather, "What shall we do now?"

It took him a moment to process the sudden info, but he replied quickly making it look normal.

"Call the town police dada. They will take custody of this body and investigate further. Till then, I'll have a talk with Miss..." he probed looking at the lady.