under the wraps

Pink Nail

"No crime is ever isolated."

— Agatha Christie

One day, out of nowhere, I received a call from Mansi. She sounded tense—urgent.

She told us she had gotten her hands on something.

"What's the matter?" I asked immediately as Rudra and I reached her cabin.
"Is everything alright?"

"I searched Sushant," she said without wasting a second.
"And you won't believe what I found."

"What?" Rudra interrupted.

"As you know, Sushant is a professor of crime and justice—"

"Wait," Rudra cut in. "Isn't he the owner of New Morning?"

"He is," she clarified. "More precisely, he handles only the important affairs of the firm. But his main profession is teaching."

She took a breath and continued.

"One month ago, one of his students went missing. When I asked around, I found out there were rumors about them—something going on between the two. He used to give her special treatment. At first, I thought it was just gossip, but—"

"But?" Rudra and I asked in unison.

"One of her classmates sent me this."

She showed us her phone.

The photo showed two people smiling ear to ear, walking hand in hand.

"So the rumors weren't false," Rudra murmured, almost to himself.

"No," Mansi said. "And after the girl went missing, he didn't file a complaint. Nothing. He continued his lectures like usual. He was absent for one week—but after that, it was as if nothing had happened."

"And what happened to the girl?" I asked. Curiosity clawed its way out of me.

"Her body was found after fifteen days," Mansi said quietly.
"And her pinky nail was missing. The entire nail—separated from the nail bed."

"I remember that case," Rudra said slowly.

"Do you think this is enough to get a warrant?" I asked, shifting my gaze between them.

"Yes," Rudra replied. "It is."

"You'll be even more certain after I tell you one more thing," Mansi added.

"And that is?"

"One of his students from another class told me that after the girl went missing, she accidentally bumped into him at the university. She believes she saw something in his wallet."

Rudra and I froze.

"A woman's nail."

"What?" The word slipped out of me.

"How did she know it was a woman's nail?" Rudra asked.

"It was painted pink."

"Oh my God," I whispered. "So it's clear. He killed her."

"Or maybe... more than just her," Rudra added.

Mansi raised her eyebrows.
"You know how it is. We meet people like this more often than we realize."

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Dark circles framed her eyes, a deep frown carved into her forehead. She hadn't slept in days.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

It was the spy.

He told us Sushant hadn't gone home after work. After meeting a strange man—possibly a private detective—he was heading somewhere else. He shared the location with us.