Graves Beneath the Feet (Complete)

Chapter 10

Sidharth reaches the turn near the studio where the team was waiting for him. The officers wishes him and  Gaikward says," Sir the location abhi bhi studio ka dikha raha hai." Sidharth says," Ok let's move..quick." and they leave soon. They reach the studio and Sidharth move on the front with few people while others go to the back. Sidharth signals the security people to move. They enter the place and all start searching. But they find no one.

Sidharth moves around pointing his gun and comes across a cloth covering something. He signals Ranne to open it and they find the phone lying on a broken chair. Sidharth picks it up with his handkerchief. He presses the button, and the call list shows just one number. Gaikward comes and says," Sir, there is no one inside or around the building." Ranne looked at the phone and says," Atul Damle ka number hai sir." Bhonsale comes huffing and puffing and says," Sir..kuch nahi mila. Security wale bhi kuch nahi jante."

Sidharth is lost in the thought. Why the phone is left here? The killer knew they will come here in the studio or he lured them here. What is the plan? Why the killer wanted them to come here? Why? And suddenly he gets the answer. He says," Gadi nikalo jaldi. We need to move now." Every one leaves immediately and follows Sidharth.

Sidharth asks,"Gaikward, call the surveillance team and ask where is Damle?" Gaikward does that as asked, while Sidharth drives the Jeep at a high speed. After a call, he says,"Sir,Damle ghar se nikla hi nahi. Uss ka phone location bhi wahin ka hai. He is alone in the house, as his family is still at Varanasi." Sidharth drives as fast as he could and soon reach Atul Damle's house.

Sidharth get down and others follow him. The house is locked from inside and no body opens even after repeating calling. Sidharth signals and the police break opens the door. They rush inside which is dark. They keep looking till they find Atul Damle in his bedroom floor. There is a rope tied in his neck and his is unconscious. Sidharth says," Check his pulse, quick." An officer puts his finger at his neck to check. He says," Sir, zinda hai." Ranne says," Get an ambulance quick and take him to the hospital."

Sidharth hits the wall and says," How stupid of me? How could I miss this?" He goes to the hospital and they wait outside. After sometime, the doctor comes out and says,"Well, he is alive but in coma. We can't really say what will happen to him right now." Sidharth runs his fingers through his hair. His face clearly shows he is angry on himself. He missed the trick played by the killer. He is one step ahead to him. Taking a deep breathe, Sidharth says,"Put security outside the room. Make sure no one gets inside without permission. No one. And nothing goes to the media."

Sidharth returns home in the early morning. He lies down on the bed and closes his eyes. He is tired but sleep does not come. So much things are going on in his mind. The killer is smart. He or she changed the location. So the aim of murder is not to satisfy the interest like in most cases of serial killing. This is definitely not a serial killing but probably a revenge murder. But what is the cause of the revenge? The book that is the key to the whole case now. And in the midst of all these, is Sana.

Sidharth had felt something for Sana from the day he had laid his eyes on her. Something in her her had attracted him. All these years, he couldn't get her out of his system. He had always felt the same power on him, whenever he had seen her pictures or hoardings on the road. His feelings for Sana came out when he found her vulnerable. But the case and her involvement in it is another thing he is worried about.

Sidharth reaches office and Kambli comes into his room and says," Sir, Kalu khabri aap se baat karna chahata hai. He has got some information to tell you about the studio and Damle." Sidharth asks," Hmm..send him in. What's the condition of Damle? Uski family ayi?" Kambli replies," Same sir. His family has left, they will reach Mumbai in the afternoon today sir."

Kalu khabri enters the room and salutes Sidharth and says," Sir, tadgi khabar layahun. Kuch acha milega na.."
Sidharth signals him to sit and says," Tere khabar ke upar depend karta hai, tujhe kya milega. Bol." Kalu says," Yeh Atul Damle, ek number ka tarki aadmi hai sir. Drinks, jua, ladki sab chalta hai. Six months ago, he had made a theft in his own studio to get insurance money as he was in debt from gambling. That's why he had fired his entire staff from the fear of getting caught. Ussi bajah se there is no cctv cameras in the studio." Sidharth leans back on his chair and says," Hmm..aur kuch." Kali smiles and says,"Ek uska hi employee usse marne gaya tha. He was fired as he wanted to reveal his truth. Woh abhi bhi jail nain shad raha hai." Sidharth pulls few notes and puts it in Kalu's front pocket and says," Nazar rakh studio pe and tell me if you find something."

Ranne and Gaikward comes in and Sidharth asks them to sit. He then asks,"Did you get any information on the writer?" Ranne replies,"No Sir, nothing yet. He no longer lives at the address which we got from the publisher. However now we have his photograph." Sidharth says,"Forward the photographer to all the police stations. I want him anyhow, fast." Gaikward says,"Sir, the producer will come today." Sidharth says,"Hmm.. we need to find out, from where did he get this book for making a movie."

Gaikward then forwards few files and says,"Sir, yeh sab files studio se related hai. There are too many cases related to it sir." Ranne then speaks,"Studio was a warehouse where Damle's family used to keep smuggled items. There are over twenty cases registered against Atul Damle's father. He later converted the place into a studio." Gaikward says,"There was a fire in 2010 where three people had died. The case was closed saying fire got caught by short circuit but my sources say it was intentional. And a girl committed suicide here last year. The case was closed too. Kulkarni was handling it Sir." Ranne says," There is the FIR copy too on the robbery at the studio that Damle was telling sir."

Sidharth looks at the files and says," Yes famous Kulkarni..Hmm.. Yeh Atul Damle eka changala manus asalyace disate( Atul appears to be a good man)." He smiles and then says," But his life is at risk. Ensure he is guarded 24/7. And find the writer soon." They leave and Sidharth starts looking into the files. After sometime, he comes across the suicide case. He opens the file and finds the photograph of the girl who committed suicide. And Sidharth gets another big shock. It's the same face which Sana had tried to draw in her sketch book. How can Sana see a girl who is already dead?

Hi friends,
Dead girls and murder attempts..hope it is spooky enough for you.
Keep reading, liking, voting and commenting.
Let the suspense continue..