The Shadow

Chapter 14 - The Psychiatrist

"What are you talking about, Isha? Are you out of your goddamn mind?" asked an infuriated Ren.

"No, sir, I'm telling you what's in the forensic reports. There were Donny's fingerprints all over the dead bodies and his hair follicles. I confirmed it twice; there is no mistake," replied Isha.Ren tried to comprehend what he was hearing; he tried to remember the conversation he just had with Donny. He was confused as to how Donny could have done all this alone.

Ren considered the possibility of Donny lying. He thought maybe, because of the manipulation of The Shadow, Donny might have gone rogue due to his past overwhelming him. Just then, Ren remembered the bruised knuckles he saw when he held Donny's hand, and that's when it struck him that those were not injuries from being hurt, but injuries from inflicting heavy punches on others.

"Sir, are you there?" asked Isha. "Yes, yes, Isha, I am here. Does anyone know about this yet?" asked Ren.

"Yes, sir, the reports have also been mailed to Commissioner Azhar. He has officially declared to arrest Donny until we know what exactly happened and why Donny killed all those men," replied Isha.

Ren strode around, holding his head with one hand, unable to decide what to do, and he said, "Okay, Isha, keep me posted. I will try to talk to Donny until we make things serious. Keep this under wraps until I tell you the next course of action," replied Ren.

Ren then sped towards the ward to talk to Donny, but as soon as he entered, he saw the room empty. Donny was gone, no trace left behind. Ren searched the entire room and saw an open window. He rushed to the reception and asked for the security footage of all the floors while mumbling to himself. "Come on, Don! Don't do this to me."

Ren then looked into his mobile, where he saw a message in the group that read, "Officer Donny Shaw has gone rogue. Send backup to apprehend him," from Commissioner Azhar. Ren dropped into a seat in complete dubiety.

After a while, he got up and rushed to his car and drove off to Donny's apartment. He sped up to the parking lot and rushed up the stairs to the fifth floor where Donny lived. The door was locked, and Ren took the key under the flowerpot beside the entrance, which he and Donny used in case of emergencies. He opened the door and found an empty flat. Rain started to pour with thunderous clouds looming over the city.

He looked around the dark flat and saw a neat and tidy room with no abnormalities. He found a series of photographs on the table. It had photo frames of Don with Riddhi and Ren, which were taken two years back, along with a photo frame of him and Charles. He picked up the frames and stared at them. Just then, he received a call from Riddhi. Ren picked up the call while still looking at the frame of them together.

"Hey! How dare you hang up the call on me when you put me on hold? I am already scared to death, and this is how you behave at a time like these?" asked Riddhi, enraged."I am sorry, Riddhi!" said Ren with a broken voice. As slowly tears welled up in Ren's eyes."What's the matter, Ren? Is everything alright? You are scaring me even more now. Is everything okay with Donny?" asked Riddhi, concerned.

"I messed up, Riddhi. Donny has disappeared. I couldn't save him. Over the decade with all the time I spent with him, I never understood him. I never considered the amount of pain he was going through these few months. I never checked on him. He was having insomnia because he was having nightmares about the kid he lost. I never asked him enough if he was doing okay. He was carrying around a lot of guilt and grief which I failed to notice. I failed as a friend," said Ren.

"What happened, Ren? Where is Donny?" asked Riddhi, confused.

"He is on the run, Riddhi. He has murdered six people brutally, and he is a wanted man now, and there is a hunt going on for him. None of this would have happened if I was there for him when he needed me the most," said Ren.

There was silence for a while, and then Riddhi responded, "Don't take the blame, Ren. You can still save him before he does anything more. I am sure you tried the best. Don't lose heart, calm down, and think about where you could find him and what you have missed out on."

"Alright, but I wish he had told me everything before. I should have asked him how he was feeling, but all I said to him was to visit a psychiatrist so that he can get help with the trauma," replied Ren. Just then he remembered, a psychiatrist! He remembered that Donny started visiting a psychiatrist for his insomnia and headaches.

"I'll call you back, Riddhi; I guess I found something," says Ren while hanging up the call. Ren rushes to the table and starts looking through its contents. In a tray, there were multiple business cards, and he finds a card of a psychiatrist. He takes it and rushes to his car immediately and drives off to the address.

The rain starts pouring heavily; Ren speeds off even though he couldn't see anything on the road. He reaches the destination, and it was already late at night. The clinic still seemed to be open, and he rushes in. The receptionist tries to stop Ren, who was half wet getting drenched in rain. Ren slams his police ID on the table and storms into the patient room.

The psychiatrist was packing his things and noticed Ren entering the room. The psychiatrist says, "It's closing time, young man; take an appointment for tomorrow."

Ren says, "I am Ren Agatsuma, Homicide and Narcotics Division. I am here for an inquiry regarding Donny Shaw, one of your patients."

"Oh, so you are finally here, Ren. Donny said I should be expecting you very soon. Alright! Come, take a seat," replied the Psychiatrist. Ren was taken aback; he says, "You knew I'd come?""Of course, Donny told me to tell you all the details when you come here. He said that when he finally accepts himself, you will have questions which he can't answer yet. So I am supposed to fill in," replied the Psychiatrist.

"Alright, how was Donny feeling all these days? From the past few months since he's been coming to you, did he say anything about the incident with Charles and his insomnia?" asked Ren.

"Yeah, he talked a lot about that kid and also about you," replied the psychiatrist. "But let me be clear, Donny is not my patient only for the past few months. I've known Donny Shaw for the past 13 years."

"What? He is your patient for that long? Why has he been coming to you all these years?" asked a confused Ren.

"No, Ren, you've got it wrong," the psychiatrist corrected. "I didn't tell you that he has been here regularly for 13 years; he only started coming back after the incident with that kid. But I have known DOnny SHAW for 13 years, or should I say, THE SHADOW."