Black Clouds

15. Eight Days To Go

(Annnd we're back to normal chapter names!)

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I didn't even realize how time flew by, and next I know, we spent almost three hours sitting by the balcony, revelling in the fresh as few morning cool air of pollution free Shimla, looking at the still snow-covered mountains in awe and sipping on our tea. Life had never been better, and I could feel that for the first time as I stood there without any worries of the future whatsoever. Even though I knew about the impending crisis, I chose to be blind and not see it at the moment because as Huma said, I should live in the moment and enjoy my present as much as I can.

After that extremely rejuvenating session early in the morning, I felt so invigorated and the world seemed to be under my feet today. The positive vibes I was getting from the nature was definitely boosting my mood, not to mention that yesterday's last encounter with a certain brown eyed officer was still imprinted perfectly in my mind, bringing heat to my cheeks since even if I blush, it won't be visible due to my wheatish complexion.

Right now, life felt like a balance to me - how we need something heavy to equal the weights sitting on one side of the balance, the darkness that I was engulfed in recently, had been successfully chased away by the occasional light moments and the scale was finally right in the centre of it all.

As I freshened up for the day, and prepared a new set of excuses to present to my best friend which would hopefully make up for my absence, I also thought some more about the case at hand. During my psychological studies and throughout my career as a professor, it was mentioned everywhere possible that there are always reasons for murdering someone. Even if it was accidental, the killer will still have some sort of motive which drove him/her to perform such a ghastly act.

And so, in this case too, we need to find people who would have a reason to kill the manager. His wife was one the strongest suspects, because she was the one who had suffered from his hands the most. It is the most plausible situation and it will be very easy for us to arrest her, but something about her wild eyes tells me that she wouldn't have the brains to do what happened to us after the murder. She wasn't the kind to be so patient about something as huge as murder. I also thought about her other calm and collected side, but that too doesn't add much. That wasn't actually calmness that she exuded, but it was numbness. She just didn't know how to react to all that had conspired.

It was still an instinct of mine, but I was going to hold onto it until I find proper evidence proving that she's the actual killer. Today, we will be checking the CCTV cameras again to find more footage about the people Ashish Sharma was close with, including staff members, guests and others. Maybe that will help us gain a lead in this case. Anyhow, there has to be someone in this sketchy as hell hotel who held a grudge against the dear manager, and no matter how long it takes, the truth will come to light.

By the time I was done organizing the raging thoughts in my mind, the once hot water had come down to an almost freezing temperature, turning my skin  to a prune. I hurriedly got out of the shower while simultaneously wrapping the huge fluffy white towel around me, scampering my way over to the closet to warm myself up in clothes as quickly as I can.

I donned my usual black denims and a light blue woolen cardigan along with black boots. It was a simple attire, fit for the cold weather of Shimla, and looked stylish on my 5 feet 6 inches frame. Tying up my hair in a high ponytail, and carrying an extra coat in case things get super windy outside and we have to take another surprise trip, I waved goodbye to Huma and left for the hotel lobby where I was supposed to meet Akshay again. Where we would head to from there, I was still oblivious about it.

He was punctual, as usual, as I saw him the moment I entered the lobby. Now, whether that is a good thing or a bad one, I do not know. He too, was dressed in casual jeans and a hoodie, and towered over my tall frame as I approached him. Although, it was hard to decipher his expression since he invariably donned that poker face and exuded the 'don't touch me' vibes.

"I see that you look refreshed and are ready for your next adventure."

He said as soon as I came nearer. One more thing out of the myriad of things I noticed about him was that, he never greeted me formally with a Hi or Hello. It was always some random sentence which made no sense or was way ahead in a usual, mannered conversation.

"I did have a good rest so yeah, I am ready for the next eight days of adventure. That's all I have here before I go back to Mumbai."

I replied.

"True. Before we proceed to lock our next suspect, we need to watch the recent footage of the hotel, as I told you yesterday. Even though I think we have our next suspect right under our noses."

Again, he was going around dropping bombs on me so effortlessly. How he was always a step ahead of me, I still had no idea, but I wasn't complaining. The mentioning of another suspect had me fully under his spell.

"How do you find these suspects?"

"By gossiping. Now come on, we have an appointment with one of them now."

Without telling me anything further, he gripped the back of my elbow to usher me towards a strange hallway, cutting off all of my questions.

Suspect #2 it is then.

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