The Mafia's Collateral

Part 32

Deep's P.O.V.

I called the peon and ordered two cups of coffee. Patrick took out his phone and showed me a picture of Arohi. "I'm sure that you must know her, right?" he asked. I stretched my hand out and asked, "Can I?" "Sure," he said and gave me the phone. I looked at Arohi's picture and pretended to look closely at it. Giving back the phone to him, I said, "I have never seen this girl before." He turned the phone to me and said, "Look closely Mr. Raichand, I'm sure that you'll recognise her." "If I had ever seen her before, I would have remembered. Who can forget such a beautiful face?" I said. He leaned back on his chair and said, "So you don't know her?" I shook my head. He showed me a picture with Ananya and Mr. Kashyap next. "Do you know them?" he asked. "Yes, he's my debtor, Mr. Kashyap and that's his daughter," I said. "So, you admit that you know Arohi Kashyap," he said. "I don't know any Arohi Kashyap," I said firmly. He smiled and said, "Well, let me refresh your memory. Arohi Kashyap is the younger daughter of Navin Kashyap and the sister of Ananya Kashyap." I raised my eyebrows and said, "Is that so? How nice! I would like to meet her one day, if possible." He looked at me with some annoyance on his face at how adamant I was being. "Then, will you care to explain this picture to me?" he asked showing me another picture with Arohi and me together. I stared at the picture and then said, "Hmm....not every picture tell a truth, Mr. Policeman, some pictures can lie." "What do you mean?" he asked gritting his teeth. I stood up and walked around my table. I stood behind him and said, "It's 2020 Mr. Policeman. Have you not learnt of cropping pictures?" He turned the chair and looked at me. Standing up, he came closer to me and said, "Do you think that this is the only proof I brought?" He smirked and said, "I know you mafia people very well. You have already destroyed all the evidence that this girl was ever with you or even here in London. But you don't know me Mr. Raichand. I am not the same person that used to be your roommate. I am on a whole different level of being screwed up." "I like your confidence," I said. 

He took up an envelope from the desk and gave it to me saying, "Read it, it might help you remember Arohi Kashyap." I took it and looked through the papers. There where a copy of Arohi's admission form for this campus, a copy of her job application for the delivery company she worked for and all the records of her pay details at the construction site. "Remembered anything?" he asked. I looked at him silently. Before I could speak, the bell rang he looked at me with a smirk. "Come, lead me to her class. I would personally like to meet her now," he said. "You are the police officer, you have come to search. Go and search," I said. "Very well then. But you are the principal so you have to co-operate with me. Please, you have to come with me," he said. "With pleasure," I said. He left the office and I followed him with my two bodyguards. He began walking through the corridors and looking at everyone's faces. I followed him behind as he entered every single classroom and looked around. After searching the entire campus, he turned to me and said, "Call an assembly with every student present." "I'm sorry. I can't do that without every staff member's permission and you see, exams are around the corner and the teachers want the maximum time with their classes so I can't call an assembly because...." I said and the bell rang and I continued, "Classes are going to resume." He stood and looked at me annoyed. I stretched my hand out and said, "Well, thanks for wasting my time my old buddy. If you have any other inquiries about your case, please feel free to not contact me." He didn't shake my hand and glared at me. I shook my head and walked away. "The day I get one evidence against you Mr. Deep Raichand, you will see what I will do with you," he said and I stopped. I turned and looked at him with a smile and said, "Dreaming is fitted for the night Mr. Patrick. Dream then. Daydreaming is bad for health." I turned around and left and went back to my office. I sat down on my chair and leaned back comfortably. There was a knock on my door and when I looked, my blood began to boil immediately. 

Martin came inside with a smile and asked, "Do you have a minute?" "Come," I said. He sat down and remained silent. I knew that it was him who gave Patrick the copy of Arohi's admission form. Who else could have done it! "What is it?" I asked. "Sir....there is this one student....a very brilliant student," he said. "Come to the point," I said. "Sir....Arohi Kashyap....she....she wasn't in class today," he said. Under my desk, I clenched my fists, hearing Arohi's name from him. "So?" I said. "Sir, do you know why she is absent?" he asked. "Why do you think I would know?" I said. "Sir because, she is your driver....or so I heard," he said. "She quitted the job. The position is temporarily empty. Do you want it?" I asked sarcastically. He looked at me just as how I expected, shocked. "Why?!" he exclaimed. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I don't know." "Do you know where she is right now?" he asked. I leaned forward on my desk and asked with narrowed eyes, "Why?" He began to sweat and get nervous. "Do you want to go to her?" I asked. "No sir, there's nothing like that, I am only asking because, she was a good student," he said. I nodded and said, "Yes she was but what can we do? She had some important and personal work to do so she left." "To where sir?" he asked. "Africa," I said. He looked confused and whispered, "Africa?" This man is so stupid. "Yeah. Now if it's East, West, North, South, Central, I don't know. She just said Africa," I said. He frowned. "Thank you sir," he said and got up. As he was walking to the door, I stopped him saying, "Martin! Do you want to have lunch with me?" "Why sir?" he asked. "Are you scared?" I asked staring at him. I laughed and said, "It's just lunch. I have some things to discuss about the syllabus with you." He nodded and left. I leaned back on my chair and shook my head. "What kind of fools have you hired Rajiv! But what else can a fool do?" I said, "You have played enough. Now, it's my turn!" I took out my phone and looked at Arohi's pictures. "I'm sorry Arohi. No matter how much I want, I can't keep any sign of you," I said and began deleting all of her pictures.