Protector and Professor - The Killing Jar

9. Not "The Proposal"

Day 8: Wednesday- 2:00 a.m.

Abir groaned as the ringing of the phone woke him. Gathering Mishti tight to his side and slightly under him, he quickly answered the phone before it woke her. It had taken forever for her to fall asleep, even after calming down during the movie. He sat through a total mushfest watching her cry her eyes out, and couldn’t believe he had missed the clue of her recent more emotional mood swings. Normally Mishti was a person who turned the channel when the damn Hallmark commercials came on.
“Yeah?” Abir blinked his eyes trying to focus his eyes on the bedside clock. Dammit, two in the morning. Abir became more alert as the dispatcher gave him information. “Tell units I’m rolling in ten. Code Eight Sharma to meet on site. Also, shake up Agarwal and Maheshwari to scene.”
Abir went to get dress. Before he left the loft he quickly wrote Mishti a note and put it where she would find it when she woke up. Kissing her quickly and resting his hand on her body, he left the loft.
It was chilly in the  early morning air. When Abir made the scene, the surrounding area was clean and dark. It was one of Raipur’s largest parks. Searching the dark tree lined areas, he quickly went under the police tape and flashed his badge. His belt was still missing, so he had hooked his badge to the chain around his neck holding dogtags.
Seeing only two units on site, and no support teams, he quickly radioed in for ETA for support teams. They were still ten minutes out. Finding a uniform officer, Abir asked who was the first on site.
“Pankaj, who’s my RP?” The man pointed at another officer talking into squawk.
“Harish. He was patrolling this section of the Park when he found the body.” Abir nodded and moved off towards the officer that called in the scene.
“Harish?” The man nodded. Abir recognized him as a generation cop with ten years experience. “You were first on scene?”
“Yes, sir.” Abir looked at the area. It was a small restroom area with garbage receptacles.
“How long ago?”
“Less than half an hour. I had patrolled through this section only an hour previous, but didn’t notice anything. The last time through I noticed dogs, about three of them, messing around the area.” Harish shined his light along the path to the parking area where his patrol car was parked. “I proceeded up the path, and the dogs ran when I approached. As soon as I saw the wrapped body I called into dispatch.”
Nodded, making notes in his book. “Then team responded?”
“About five minutes after I called. I requested a Code One backup to patrol the park and move in from the entrance.” Abir nodded.
“They pick up any movement when they responded and patrolled through?”
Harish shook his head no. “The park was empty, no entering or leaving vehicles. The team checked all standing vehicles and took information on park lurkers, mostly young couples parking. Pankaj's partner has the information and list.”
Abir looked over at the parking area when Kunal’s car drove up. He could see other vehicles moving through the dark park as their lights lit up the night sky.
“Anyone mess with the body?”
“No, sir.” Abir nodded. Harish was a professional. He would’ve kept the scene pristine once he knew what he was looking at.
“Copy me your report, and see if someone can call down to Power to turn on this grid.” Abir pointed to the baseball diamond that the bathrooms serviced. The restroom area had extra lights that were lit during night games. Harish nodded, understanding that Abir was assigning him to the team as first on the scene. Abir looked out at the dark woods and frowned. “Harish, also call in extra units. I want them to spread out into the woods and walk in. Look for watchers. They find anyone, have them bring them in. Can you cover?”
Harish nodded. He was officially in charge of the foot uniforms. On his way back to his unit, he started calling it in.
Kunal came up to Abir as Harish walked away. “What we got?” Abir inclined his head to the plastic wrapped body by the garbage. Swearing under his breath, Kunal looked around the area. It was too dark.
“Keep everyone off the scene until the lights come up. The body was probably rolled from a car again, but this time they would’ve driven on the dirt access that the disposal trucks use. We might get some clear tracks, and tire tread.” Abir looked at the closest parking space. “Have the boys start combing the parking area with lights.”
Kunal nodded as Kartik and Nishant arrived. Sameer and his men were close behind as the baseball diamond's lights suddenly came on. Good man, Harris.
They found where the car had backed in and rolled the body. Then it was dragged for about two feet to be set up next to the dumpster. Abir and the rest moved off the tape to mark the crime scene to include the tracks.
“Sameer.” Abir said pointing to an area.
“I see them.” Sameer called to one of his men to start recording a pair of footprints with clear edges and boot treads.
Abir finally moved towards the body, while pictures were shot and the body outline taped. Using an edge of a pencil, he lifted the plastic away. The dogs had been chewing though the plastic and had uncovered a foot. Abir stared for a moment, and then rubbed his hands over his face as he crouched beside the body.
“Have someone call Basu in.” Abir said quietly. Kunal just hung his head and closed his eyes. Too late, they were too late.
Abir quietly watched the autopsy. He and Sameer exchanged silent looks, much like they had done at the scene. This body was processed too, but not to the same extent Jennys had been. Hina’s body was coated in the clear shellac, but her blood and internal organs still remained in her body, untouched.
”What is it, Abir?” Kunal asked later as they hit the coffee, again. It was almost five a.m., and they were all feeling the tiredness. Nishant and Kartik were both doctoring their coffee with milk and sugar, when Sameer came in to join them.
“Mishti was right. The dumping is wrong. Even though this body isn't as processed as the other one, all this work implies that he's keeping them or has a purpose, but for some reason he dumps them.” Abir ran his coffee cup over his forehead enjoying the warm feeling. He could feel an early morning headache coming on and a slight rising nausea. Morning sickness. How long does this last?
“Abir.” Sameer handed Abir a list and some other papers. “Here’s the initial report. We’re running blood analysis, but she’s been dead about twenty-four hours.”
Abir nodded, and read down the initial report. Tattoo on right hip. “Sameer, the tattoo, what was it?”
“It was a tiny butterfly, very small. Technically it was on her right asscheek, but up high, more on the hip. I almost didn’t notice it at first, and then I thought it was a temporary.” Sameer watched that dark faraway look come into Abir’s eyes. “What is it?”
“Jenny had a barely noticeable birthmark on her inner thigh.”
“That’s correct.” Sameer shifted on his feet. “You said to let you know when Anurag Basu arrived to identify the body.”
“He’s here?”
“Yeah, about five minutes ago.” Sameer looked at Rajvansh and then away. He knew what Abir was going to do, and he didn’t envy him. “You want me to...”
“I’ll take care of it.” Abir put down his coffee cup on the table and headed for the door.
“Abir, you want me to come too?” Kunal asked quietly. Abir just shook his head no.
“I’ll be back.”
Abir found Anurag sitting in a chair in the hall outside Sameer’s office. He was unshaven and looked to not have slept in days. Mentally steeling himself against it Abir did what he always did, his duty.
“Anurag.” Abir felt the coldness in the eyes, the knowledge that was too far seeded inside not to be aware. Anurag knew why he was there, and nothing would ever change that. Anurag just stood up and with a slight gesture in Abir’s direction waiting for the man to take him to his cousin.
Anurag followed as Abir led the way. He stopped to talk to a technician and take a clipboard. Sameer had moved the body back into cold storage, and Abir went to open the door to pull out the cold slab.
Before he could pull back the sheet, Anurag beat him to it. Standing tall above his cousin, Anurag’s eyes surveyed every inch of her face. He nodded slightly. Abir silently handed him the papers and watched as Anurag quickly signed his name.
“Can I have a moment?” Anurag asked after he handed back the papers. Abir just moved away to stand against the wall and wait for Anurag to be through. Kartik was standing just inside the door. Abir hadn’t even realized that he had come in. Both men remained quiet and gave Anurag some privacy with his cousin.
Anurag looked at her, searched her face for a hint of life. The only thing about her that still looked alive was her red hair which was obscene against the paleness of death. Reaching over, he opened her eyes and stared into their empty orbs. Then leaning down he whispered into her ear and then kissed her lifeless cheek before straightening and covering the empty wasted shell of his cousin. She, who once was Hina and Squeak to him, had already gone.
Anurag left the room, hardly nodding to Abir, but did pause long enough to thank him for finding her. Abir rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He didn’t bother to watch Anurag walk away, and Kartik just stood silently, staring at the back wall of stainless steel morgue drawers.
“Why did he open her eyes and look at them?” Kartik finally asked.
Abir sighed and moved out of the room with Kartik following him. Handing the papers over to Sameer’s assistant, Abir went to the elevators.
“He had to look. When my nanu died in my arms, I watched the light of life disappear from sight, be snuffed out. I knew he was dead. Anurag would’ve never walked away if he hadn’t checked to make sure that not an ounce of life wasn’t still there. He had to know.”
“It was obvious, Abir.”
“The mind knows, but the heart refuses to accept until the eyes can see. Now he knows, and now he knows what he has to do.”
Abir went back into the breakroom to retrieve his coffee. Anurag was going to be a problem. He was closer to the streets, to the hunting ground than the cops. He would use all his resources to hunt and kill the person who drew blood from his veins, and from his club.
“I’ll call us in to Cap. All of you, go take some personal downtime until this afternoon. I’m calling off poker, so plan to work into the evening.” Kartik and Nishant left together. It would be hours before their labs and results started trickling in. All the initial legwork had already been done while Hina Basu was just a "missing person".
“Anurag...is he okay?”
“No, would you be?” Kunal just shook his head. They had all stood there before. Abir with nanu, and he with his parents. He had identified their remains and sometimes years later, he still woke up to the memory of them laid out on a cold slab. “Go home and sleep, Kunal. It’s breaking dawn, and we’ll have hours of time to work the facts.”
“Was Mishti still asleep when you left?” Abir nodded and looked at the time. That was over three hours ago, almost half a workday and a lifetime ago. He needed to go home. He needed Mishti.
“Did you talk to her?”
“Yeah.”
Kunal waited but Abir seemed distracted. “And?”
“Positive. I’m going with her to the doctor’s office this morning. So if I’m late just page me, otherwise I’ll be in after that.” Kunal looked down into his empty cup.
“How’d she take it?”
“Freaked. Pretty much as I expected.” Abir swallowed the last of his coffee. “Actually, that’s not true, or not completely. I expected her to freak, since that’s usually Mishti’s initial reaction to most things. But then she calms down and lets reason and reality work its magic on her. Last night she totally lost it. It was beyond freaking, it was cold icy fear.”
Kunal didn’t understand that. “Fear?”
“She’s seeing this huge responsibility and she's afraid she’s not going to be equal to the task, that she’s going to be a terrible mother. Mishti is afraid that she’ll fail and the baby will suffer for it.” Abir didn’t know how else to describe Mishti’s reaction.
Kunal couldn’t even wrap his mind around the idea of Mishti not being the greatest of parents. The woman fixed everyone’s life around her, but the problem was she seemed unaware that she did that, that she was a nurturer.
“So why don’t you tell her that she’s not alone, that you’re there to help too?”
That was a thought, a concept that had slipped under his radar. He just assumed she would know that, but remembering her fear over raising the baby alone, and forgetting everything essential, Abir frowned. How could she not know he would be there too?
“I didn’t think about that.”
“Well it’s not like you two are married, or that you even said the ‘I love you’ words yet.” Abir scowled at Kunal. That was privileged information, information he told Kunal about months ago. Kunal couldn’t understand why the couple remained silent after a year when every touch and look literally shouted the words.
Abir thought about it for a second. Of course she was feeling uncertain. It was an earth shattering event, a life altering one. How can she know that this will last since they had only made a commitment to live together? Poor Mishti, who had spent years chasing after her flaky mother, bailing her out of jail or being arrested with her. She was afraid that she’ll be the same kind of mother, and all the baby will have to depend on.
Mishti needed to be married, married to him so she could feel better about the baby.
“Kunal, I need to go.” Kunal watched a look of pure determination cross Abir’s face, and he felt a rush of trepidation run up his body in the form of a cold sweat.
“Abir what are you up to? Maybe you should...”
Abir headed out. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.”
Kunal stood in the room after he left and shook his head. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”