The Trail to Spring

Chapter 35

"You seem to have given Gumpu quite the beating," Mr. Barui said.

I could now picture what must have happened. Rakesh must have sneaked into the house and the man with the scar had seen him. Rakesh had hit him unconscious and entered this room, most probably searching for me. At the meantime, Mr. Barui was waiting in this very room for him to arrive.

"What have you done with her?," Rakesh repeated, his voice louder. He must have been scared standing at the wrong end of the revolver but his face didn't betray any emotions.

"You have my pen drive?," Mr. Barui asked.

Rakesh delved his left hand into his pocket and took out the grey pen drive. He threw it across to Mr. Barui.

"You got what you needed, Pops," Rakesh said, "Now let her go as you had promised."

"Don't you want to know what's inside this?," Mr . Barui asked, holding it up.

"I don't care. You lied and cheated. You murdered your own friend," Rakesh shouted.

"There is a reason," Mr. Barui said, "You know there is a reason."

Rakesh slowly shook his head.

"No reason can justify murder," he said.

"He was blackmailing me!," Mr. Barui suddenly shouted back.

"Sunil had been my friend since my college days. But the one thing I despised about him from the very start was that he was vain. He never let pass any opportunity that would enable him to gain power over others. About a month ago, I had visited him in his place and we drank till late at night. At one point, our conversation shifted to you. He asked me about your past, your interests, your hobbies. I had believed it to be just his curiosity and told him about your erstwhile family and how you had run away from there. I had thought it was just light conversation. The next day, he showed me this pen drive. He told me that he had recorded our conversation of the previous night and stored it there. He threatened to reveal the fact about how I had kept a child illegally away from his parents all these years if I didn't sponsor one of his campaigns that he would soon undertake. I gave him the money but I knew that it couldn't go on like this. He would keep on utilising me using the recording as leverage. So I used a housemaid in the hotel where he was staying to kill him and retrieve the pen drive with the recorded audio. The housemaid, however, had other plans and flew away to Darjeeling. I couldn't tell the police about this and then I remembered you, Rakesh. You were the only one on whom I could believe. I knew you would be able to retrieve the pen drive and you proved me right as always. I am proud of you, son."

"You bribed the police," Rakesh said.

"I had to. I knew the house maid would try to confuse you, so I had to take precautions. You didn't have to worry. They would have released you even if they had managed to capture you."

"All this for a pen drive...."

Mr. Barui shrugged his shoulders.

"I love you."

"Do you really?," Rakesh asked, raising his eyebrows, "I knew that my family was out there somewhere and you knew where they were. You always had your people keep a watch over me so that I didn't try to find them. Don't think for once I didn't realise that. You did everything to keep me away from my family. But there was one thing that you didn't reckon, Pops. My family doesn't lose hope on people so easily. My sister never lost hope of seeing me all these years. Isn't that what love is about Pops? The love that you showed me was built upon deceit and fear. And look where it has finally ended, with you holding a gun on your son's face."

Rakesh's eyes travelled away from Mr. Barui for a second and he noticed me peeping from the side of the door ledge. He immediately turned towards Mr. Barui and slowly shook his head.

"What do you mean no?," Mr. Barui asked.

I knew that he meant it for me, to tell me not to interfere. He was right. Mr. Barui may not shoot him but he had no reason to show mercy on me. I nodded my head to let him know that I understood.

"You ran away from your place because your folks didn't understand you!," Mr. Barui said, "On the other hand, I was there for you when you needed me. I gave you everything that you could ever ask for. I humoured your every request, I humoured your every impractical whim. I did all these so that you could be happy with me. Tell me, what did I do wrong?"

Rakesh put down his hands.

"Pops, we both know you aren't going to fire that revolver. Please keep that aside," he said, slowly advancing towards him. Mr. Barui started lowering his weapon. Rakesh held Mr. Barui's right hand in which he held the revolver.

"You know all this is of no use anymore. My own sister has finally come to take me home," he said, "I will no longer run away. You are still stuck in the past, Pops. But I am no longer stuck there with you. Let me help you to move forward."

"No!"

Mr. Barui whisked away his hand from Rakesh's and suddenly a deafening noise rang through the entire house. I watched in horror as Rakesh slowly collapsed down on the ground, clutching his left shoulder. The part of the shirt around his shoulder had already started reddening. Rakesh moaned in a low voice.

"Oh my God," Mr. Barui threw away the revolver and kneeled beside the detective. "I am so sorry, Rakesh. I didn't mean to do this. I have to call the ambulance immediately."

Mr. Barui got up and turned in my direction. I removed my head at the nick of time.

"I am going back. You can't stop that, Pops," Rakesh groaned.

Mr. Barui turned towards Rakesh again.

"Don't say that, son. We'll go away from here. I have planned everything. I even got rid of all the servants. We will go to a new country and start afresh. Together. Please son," Mr. Barui said, his voice cracking.

Rakesh groaned in reply.

Mr. Barui stood there watching Rakesh writhe in pain for a while. He seemed to be in extreme dilemma. Finally, to my extreme horror, he picked up his revolver again.

"All I wanted is a family," he said, "I can't bear to lose my son again. I'll never be able to live alone. I won't be able to see the bloody face of my wife and son every time I close my eyes. Not again."

"Don't...do...it...Pops," Rakesh whispered clutching his left shoulder.

Mr. Barui turned the revolver towards his face. And then I understood what he was planning to do.

"Love," Mr. Barui closed his eyes, "Is blind."

The deafening noise from the revolver rang through the empty house for the second time that night. Mr. Barui's lifeless body collapsed on the ground beside his injured foster son. I turned away. I couldn't look. I fumbled for my phone from the unconscious scarred man's pocket who was lying in front of me and dialled an ambulance.

I turned to look back at Rakesh. He had edged closer and was now holding Mr. Barui's lifeless hand tightly.

"I am sorry," I said, coming inside the room.

But I got no reply. Rakesh had lost consciousness.