Murder in Motel Mount

Chapter 22 - "Still shrouded in mystery..."

Nandini waits for some minutes to get an answer from the person in disguise but the biker remains silent, still pinning her to the ground. However, Nandini could feel his intense gaze on her face behind his helmet's glass shield. Suddenly, a fleeting thought peeks in her mind. She mouths sternly,

"Look, if you think that by scaring me like this, you will be successful in pulling me back from investigating the case then you are highly mistaken. I have already submitted all proofs to the police and if you try to harm me by any means then the police won't spare you."

It looks like her words put the person in a dilemma for a while. His concentration on her gets shifted for a nanosecond. And that is what Nandini wanted. She hits him on his lower abdomen with her knee and again tries to slide up the glass shield of his helmet. The biker shrieks in pain and rolls down from Nandini's body. Nandini immediately gets up and looks here and there in search of anything which she can use as a weapon. But to her surprise, the man rushes towards his bike and within a second, vanishes from there riding on it. For a minute, Nandini keeps looking at his dwindling frame and then dusts off her hands and clothes. She doesn't know if this incident was really connected to threatening her or not but she is sure of one thing today she shouldn't have taken this deserted path all alone. Though she knows a little bit of self-defence and is quite capable of protecting herself she can't deny that two murders have already been committed. She should be more alert and cautious from now. Nandini checks her belongings in her pockets and heads towards the guest house.

.................................................

Cabir and Navya are sitting in the toto. The vehicle is running to the destination. Since they got in, Navya has been blabbering without caring that her companion is not listening to her at all instead, is absorbed in his own thoughts. If truth be told, Cabir is thinking about the picture that Navya showed him.

"Aliya is going upstairs to their two-storied house. No doubt it was shot on that day when Aliya came to meet Manik and proposed to him. But who clicked her? Someone who was keeping an eye on Aliya? Someone who wants to frame Manik? Or someone who wants to shift the focus from the actual killer?"

Cabir's train of thought gets interrupted as he feels a nudge on his forearm. He turns at Navya who is looking at him with raised brows.

"What? Where are you lost? Driver has been calling you for the last one hour. Maybe we have reached the Tibetan Chowk."

Saying this Navya peeps outside and roams her eyes all around. Cabir purses his lips at her. This girl has a habit of exaggerating all things. One hour! Seriously? Cabir exhales an annoyance and concentrates on the driver.

"Can you wait for some time? Madam will return."

Cabir asks. However, Navya answers instead of the driver.

"No...It will take time. You may go. Here is your fare."

Navya pays the fare and the toto leaves. Till now, Cabir has been waiting for further questions putting his hands inside his pockets. He has already decided what he is going to tell Navya. Navya raises her brows at Cabir and Cabir mirrors her action. Navya furrows her brows and Cabir does the same. Now, she loses her patience and chides at him,

"Where is the house? You came here to guide me nor to stand like a statue."

In reply, Cabir chuckles. It's fun to see this lady provoked. He shrugs and beckons Navya to follow him. With a perplexed mind, Navya goes after him. After a 5-7 minute walk, they reach a place where Navya sees the same house that is captured in the image. To her surprise, Cabir nears the house and starts going upstairs. She thinks that he may know the owner. With a hopeful heart Navya follows him and eventually, both land up at the doorstep. The door is closed as anticipated by her. However, instead of knocking at the door, Cabir fishes out a key from his pocket and inserts it into the keyhole. Navya gapes in confusion. Before she reacts, Cabir announces in a virile voice,