BALI 100 KM (Book 1) ✔

Chapter 29

How did Bandu accepting the commissioner's help contribute in solving the case? Bandu did not understand but knew that he was soon to find it out.

"Help?" Bandu asked, "What help?"

"Someone to help you in your shop with your work,"

"But...but I don't need..." his protest went unheard.

"You need not pay him a rupee, other than to take care of his meal and bed,"

Medium height, lean and military cut hairstyle was the first expression of the man who stood in front of them.

"Meet constable Sunder Lal, and he will be your assistant from now on. He will be with you all the time at home and in the shop too.

"An assistant?" said Bandu surprised and confused at the sudden turn of events.

"Yes, an assistant. It will be just a disguise of course,"

"But why all of a sudden?"

"We need to nab any of the hooligans who are likely to approach you like yesterday,"

"In the shop, it's ok, sir, but at home too, is that necessary? He will be very uncomfortable there," said Bandu feeling sorry for Lal.

"We have to don many hats during our line of duty and have to face worse conditions to catch a culprit. Don't worry, Bandu, Lal will manage."

Comm. Seth dismissed constable Lal after passing on some instructions.

"We are leaving now. Constable Lal will come back in a couple of hours," said Comm. Seth, turning back to Bandu.

"Ok, sir."

"See that his identity remains a secret from everyone-even close friends and family and relatives, or else there may be unwarranted consequences. When he returns, he will explain everything in detail," with that last order Comm. Seth strode towards his men. They then disperse and get into their respective vehicles.

Accepting the new arrangement had him unsettled for some unknown reason. On top of that, he had to address everyone's questions on a sudden appointment of an assistant. How would he possibly present such a big lie about Lal, when, from no angle, he appeared like a poor tea vendor? Bandu went about his work, with these thoughts nudging him from time to time. Since he had no time to make lunch, so had some snacks with tea.

Not many days were smooth sailing for Bandu, and today was one such day. A group of boys who had stopped over to have tea rode away without paying, and to top it all, smashed two empty tea glasses on the road, littering glass everywhere. Bandu, on his part, was able to glimpse and memorize the number plate of one of the bikes.

"What a nuisance!" he mumbled loudly.

By 3.30 pm, there was still no sign of constable Lal, presuming a change of plans in waiting. But not only was he mistaken, but he underestimated the team and constable Lal too. He understood his folly when a dhoti kurta-clad fellow on a cycle appeared in front of his shop. He even had paan in his mouth and greeted Bandu with a slight change in accent. The look of surprise on Bandu's face had satisfied Lal's ego, as he had a smirk on his young but clever face.

"What happened here? Why are there glass pieces on the road?" he asked, noticing the glass collected at the edge of the road as he went to park his cycle.

Bandu narrated what happened and passed on the number he had noted to Lal. The number was then promptly passed on to the concerned authorities by Lal, who carried a mobile phone with him, to Bandu's surprise. He then kept the mobile in the suitcase he carried along with him and locked it, then hid it away from sight. Bandu had only heard about such instruments and was in awe of it whenever he saw one.

"May I have a glass of tea please before I start work?" a polite request put the fellow in Bandu's good book.

"Yes sir, one moment," he replied

"You are to call me Samar from now on, and I have come from Jonar to look for work. And I am a distant relative of Comm. Seth," he corrected Bandu.

"Ok, sir...sorry...Samar." Bandu said, correcting himself.

Samar got to work, helping Bandu just like his assistant, and when there were no customers, he would sit and watch the vehicles passing on the road or would get talking on his mobile phone out of Bandu's earshot.

After closing the shop around 7.30 pm, they both fetch their cycles. Bandu was carrying the bag with the broken frame, and Samar had tied his suitcase onto the back seat with a rope. They were riding in a single file, one behind the other, when Samar requested Bandu to stop. Bandu stopped and looked back at Samar.

"What is the matter, Samar?"

"I am going to relieve myself and will be back in a moment. Be alert."

The warning seemed strange to Bandu until he noticed the same car that had followed him yesterday parked a few meters ahead of him. He broke out into a sweat. His hands of its own will found the inner jacket pocket and fumbled for the dagger only to realize that it had served its purpose last night and was now resting in the police station. His heart began to thud, and he glanced back the way Samar had taken into the trees and contemplated calling him back. But he stopped as that would alert the occupants in the car. Fear had him glued to his bike.

Not knowing what to do, he looked forward at the car once more. Bandu's eyes went wide with surprise at the scene before him that he almost dropped his cycle on the ground.

Like a shadow, Samar had crept up from behind the trees towards the vehicle holding something in his hand, not visible to Bandu. He knelt on the ground keeping his ear on the door of the car as though trying to hear something. Then, just as he crept in, he crept back into the trees and emerged from the trees near Bandu.

"Ask nothing now. I will explain later, cycle on as though nothing happened," was all that Samar uttered in a whisper ignoring Bandu's stunned expression. Both of them rode forward and passed the vehicle without a glance. Although he was refrained from turning back, Bandu got desperately curious and spun around only to be confounded.