The Eighth Night [Now published on Amazon]

Part 4

June 13, 2022

"Swadha! Look who's here!" Lekha nudged her. "And in your favourite combination of a black shirt and cream trousers! Hayye, I don't know about you, but I am going to fall for this guy!" She eyed Vikrant walking over to their station, neglecting Swadha's attempts to stop her from gawking. Her friend had been determined to set her up with any prudent, decent guy since Swadha had resigned herself to rejecting and damning every proposal that came her way.

Vikrant, who had heard every bit of Lekha's remarks, smirked and chuckled internally as he walked up to Swadha. Ever since she swayed him with her sincerity, he found he was more and more impressed with her.

"Hello, Dr. Khanna. Hello, Swadha." He gave an affable smile to the ladies as the duo stood up from their seats to greet him.

"Hayye! He calls you by your name. I wish he called me by my name instead of 'Dr. Khanna'." whispered a dreamy Lekha before Swadha nudged a stealthy elbow in her ribs. She glowered at Lekha through the corner of her eye in warning.

"Good morning, officer!" Swadha greeted, with a polite smile on her lips.

"Vikrant. I told you to address me by my name, Swadha." He gave her a lopsided grin, trying to stifle his laughter when Lekha's eyes widened and almost popped out of their sockets. Lekha's ears perked up, and she shook her head with an uncomfortable grin. "Ah! You didn't tell about this, Swadha."

"Lekha," interrupted Swadha before her friend could embarrass her any further. "Don't you think that the patient on bed number ten needs your attention?"

"Aye aye, captain!" Lekha winked at her before she went to attend to the patient.

"Looks like she is really interested in setting you up with me." Vikrant smirked at Swadha, noting the way she rolled her eyes at his remark and exhaled a sigh of disappointment. But even as she did so, a hint of blush appeared on her heated cheeks.

"She is more desperate than my parents to settle me down! She is tired of seeing me reject a new guy every week. But forget her."

"Ouch! It reminds me of the time when my Maa roped in Abhimanyu to help find the girl and failed! Who knows, your parents might have done the same?" said Vikrant, adding more points about her in his mind. His intent was to acquire more knowledge about the batch of interns, and it surely helped that he was subconsciously interested in knowing more about her.

"Could be. What brought you here?" questioned Swadha, desperate to change the topic about her love life or the lack thereof.

His grin faded into a stern expression, and the corners of his eyes tightened. "Yeah. We got the security clearance from the magistrate to involve you in the investigation again. The DM knew you by name."

"Oh, that! There was a case I worked on that had a Magistrate Inquest. That's how we know each other. He has excellent memory. Not surprised that our DM cleared UPSC in the first attempt. I can only dream of doing that." She sighed.

Her words piqued his interest. "Wait, are you aiming for Civil Service?"

"I don't know," she said, with a shrug of her shoulders. "Not that I could crack it, but it would mean leaving medicine behind. It's the wish of everyone at home that I join the Services. Honestly, even I am not against the prospect, but I am confused. You must have given the exam as well, right?" she asked, offering him the seat left by Lekha as she took the one beside it.

"Oh, yeah, I did. I always wanted to be an IPS Officer. Solving crimes gives me an adrenaline rush and I guess that makes me a junkie!" he said with an earnest chuckle. "Maybe after this case ends and if you want to take up the exam, I can guide you since it has been just a few years since I prepared."

He was aware of her immaculate academic record and he knew that with the proper guidance, she could be the future DM of some district. Her level of intelligence startled him as much as it impressed him. While her intentions and actions seemed pristine, so far, he did not want to place his trust in her completely. Her previous records had made her the prime candidate to be their insider, but he was aware it could be a trap as well.

"Thanks a lot." A line of worry marred her forehead and her smile faded into a frown. "I can't wait for this to end. Any new leads?"

"We did not find any suspicious fingerprints from the hostel or the nearby area. We did not find any note in our latest victim's bag or her room. No suspicious calls, messages, or activities. We still don't know if the kidnapper actually came into the hostel or the victim went out, but I guess we can assume she left by her will as it would be impossible to carry her dead weight over the wall," he answered, a bleak expression taking over his face.

Longitudinal furrows marred the gap between her angled eyebrows. "Does the lack of suspicious fingerprints show we are dealing with someone from the hostel? The staff?"

"Or it could be a resident of the hostel," pointed Vikrant, carefully, trying to gauge her reaction at the insinuation.

She nodded with a morose contortion of worn out features. "I don't know if that is possible or not. I don't recall anyone having a motive to carry out such an elaborate plan. I mean, if you just want to kidnap someone, why provoke the law enforcement agencies and give such a gap between two kidnappings? There's some reason which is beyond our reasoning and some motive that we are missing," she replied. In her head, she reminisced about every mishap involving the victims and anyone who had enmity with them.

"I'll go now. Abhimanyu is speaking to the hostel staff, and we have deployed more people to cover everyone who has been in contact with our victims. If you feel suspicious or feel you have found a lead, call me. Any time." He stood as she nodded at him in assurance.

There was something about her which had captured his attention and he just hoped that it was not for the wrong reasons.