Love and More

Chaper 10

Alone in the big ghostly bungalow with huge terrifyingly realistic portraits all around the living room walls, where most of the rooms are locked, and the room she used smelled of cologne, she would kill the person who owned it.

Haseena was once again left by herself to figure out who could be framing her. Luckily, she had asked Amar to get a laptop and so he did. She could at least check on the criminal records with whose arrest she was involved. The only thing bothering her was the intolerable smell of Amar's cologne.

She was fully occupied figuring out who wanted to frame her. After continuously thinking she concluded, it is someone to take revenge on her. Maybe for sending them to jail or destroying their illegal businesses. It has happened before. But the same people wouldn't repeat the same mistake after the lesson she had taught them. Moreover, those allegations weren't this fatal.

And then suddenly, Haseena was startled by a small clicking noise of unlocking the door. Someone opened the lock to the main entrance. Haseena panicked at the thought.

Could it be Amar? Thought she. But why would Amar return at this time of the day? But if it's not him then who else could it be? Who else could have the keys? Have someone found the key I dropped? But how would they know which door the key belonged to?

And then she could hear someone's footsteps approaching upstairs.

Haseena tried to hear carefully and noticed, it wasn't one person entering the bungalow as Haseena could hear more than one person stepping up the stairs. That assured her, it wasn't Amar. Haseena had locked the door of her room. She prayed, whoever it was they must not come this way, towards this room.

To her utter dismay, the door got opened. Haseena had hidden herself in a corner behind the bed before the door had opened. She didn't see who had entered. Nor did the person realize her presence in the room. Haseena thought, no one would know she was there if she managed to smartly hide herself. Until she was reminded of the food she kept in the oven to heat up, downstairs in the kitchen.

And then she heard someone call out from downstairs as the oven dinged when the food was done heating.

...

Amar and Karishma went to the DSP's office. Amar decided to silently show the footage he have found to DSP Mahesh Singh, a foodie middle-aged man, who's a little lazy and a big food lover along with a very diligent police officer, and a jolly good fellow.

"I know everything, but I had never thought, the official interrogation team would lack such an important clue." Said the DSP shoving a spoonful of Rajma-Chawal in his mouth.

"Sir, I have a humble request, I think, someone from the investigation team has been corrupt. Otherwise, how did the surveillance footage of Haseena Mallik's shooting at Karishma Singh leak, if someone from the interrogation team didn't leak it? So, if we could keep the interrogation team out of it...?" Amar hesitated but thankfully he came prepared with Rajma-Chawal.

"Hmm... To be honest, even I had my suspicions about the interrogation team. I know everything and I know it, Haseena Mallik could never be involved in as antisocial of a task as the smuggling of weapons. But in this case, my acknowledgement does not matter we need to prove it. And I know we will prove it–" He took a pause then started after gulping another spoonful of the food, "–But what do you have to say about, for what she shot at Karishma? It's a sensitive matter, now that it is revealed to the public. Haseena Mallik's image has fallen into a bad light because of the way the media had presented it to the public." He eyed them. The look in his eyes could not be deciphered if it was curiosity or annoyance. Or maybe both.

"Sir..."

"Sir, I'll give a statement publicly that it was a misunderstanding. That it was all pre-planned for we needed to buy some time to get Haseena away as her life was endangered at that moment." Before Amar Vidrohi could say anything, Karishma spoke cutting him off.