The Adventures of a Dumb Detective and his Wily Mate.

Untitled Part 30

Chapter 30

Rudra's thoughts.

Another month has passed by. I have plugged on. Dada's cases are now effectively mine. More and more cases came piling on, and they are keeping me busy. But Ani hasn't left my mind for a second.

I've maintained a network of connections spread all over the state looking for a young teacher suffering recent bereavement. If a new lead comes up, I drop everything and rush to check for myself. In the past two months I've failed to come up against any solid clues.

Multiple visits to morgues to stare at mutilated bodies, running to mental asylums to check on men kept in chains soiled in their own filth, checking every brothel, dingy bar and opium den, my thoughts, shot at every possible dire outcome. I admit, I'm a complete wreck.

I've run aground. I've failed in my search. None of my successes make me feel any less wretched. I'm back to square one.

Every morning, I receive a call from Animesh da. 'Any news?' He asks me in a defeated voice and listens to my admittance of failure.

But last night's call was different. He said, 'Rudra, can you please visit us. I'm sorry, I know you are busy but we need your help with Ma.' I stood with the receiver in my hand, trying to gather my strength to meet the eyes of the architect of this monumental mess.

There was an unnatural hush inside when they ushered me in.

Animesh-da said without preamble, 'Ma has stopped eating. For the last week or so, we've had to force her to eat and since yesterday, she's been clenching her jaws so hard that it's become impossible to feed her. We tried feeding through a nasal tube but she makes herself gag and throws up. We have had to put her on saline drip. She's not talking to any of us, not even Baba. I thought, maybe, she'd talk to you.'

I nodded in silence and walked across to her room. Internally, I wondered what possible difference I could make. She wants her son back, not me.

She was reclining with a saline drip stuck into her left wrist. Both her hands were tied to the bed. She looked up at me and turned away. I controlled the shock I felt. It seemed as if she didn't recognize me at all. As I stood looking down at her, I felt strangely moved. She was a thoroughly reduced form of her former self. A mere shadow.

I turned to Animesh-da and asked, 'how could this happen?'

He shook his head but didn't answer me. He bent over his mother and said, 'Ma, look who's come to visit you? Ani's friend, Rudra is here to see you. Ma?'

She continued her apathetic scrutiny of the ceiling. Animesh-da sighed. 'She has been like this since yesterday. The only time she shows any signs of consciousness is when we offer her food. She violently shakes her head and clenches her jaw. It's quite frightful. The doc said we need to somehow reach her and persuade her to eat or else she'll simply die of malnourishment.'

I turned to her and took her hand. It felt paper thin. Gently, I stroked her hand and spoke to her softly, 'Ma, please eat something and get better. Ani wouldn't want you to do this. Please Ma!'

She gave me no response. It felt as if she was on a different planet altogether.

I spent a fruitless hour talking to her and finally gave up.

Animesh-da invited me to stay for dinner. I agreed. Going back to Sen's little hovel in Haripada lane was quite a punishment. On most days, I stayed out as late as I could.

**

I've decided to pursue the case of the missing teen further. This case had somehow come to dominate my thoughts. It makes me feel anxious. So, it's given me a new sense of purpose, a new thought to focus on, something other than my fruitless search for Ani.