Mumbai Noir

9

The sterile scent of chemicals and the rhythmic gurgle of unseen liquids hung heavy in the air as we entered the school science lab. Mr. Verma, a lanky man with a nervous twitch that seemed to have become a permanent fixture, looked up from a cluttered desk, startled by our arrival.

"Mr. Verma," I began, my voice steely. "We need to talk about Ayushi Kapoor."

His face drained of colour for a fleeting moment before a mask of feigned concern settled in. "Ayushi? I… I haven't seen her. This is all quite terrible, isn't it?" he stammered, his voice a high-pitched squeak.

The man's entire demeanour screamed 'guilty,' but pinning something concrete on him would be a challenge. We pressed him about his meetings with Mrs. Kapoor, but he dismissed them as casual chats about school matters, his twitch escalating with every question."Mrs. Kapoor," he claimed, his voice gaining a hint of defiance, "was a very concerned parent. Ayushi was a bright student, but a bit… headstrong at times. Mrs. Kapoor simply wanted to ensure she was on the right track academically."

His explanation, while plausible, felt hollow.  "And these meetings," I countered, leaning forward. "Were they always at school, or did they happen elsewhere?"Mr. Verma hesitated, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. "Mostly at school," he mumbled, his gaze darting around the room. "Sometimes, we might have bumped into each other outside, during school functions or parent-teacher meetings…"

His rambling lacked conviction.  Patil, his gruff voice cutting through the tension, interjected.  "And these meetings, Mr. Verma, were they strictly about Ayushi's academics?  Because Mrs. Rao, a member of your esteemed faculty, mentioned they seemed… secretive."

Mr. Verma's face flushed a deep crimson.  "Secretive?  That's absurd!  Mrs. Rao must be mistaken.  We were simply discussing… school matters, as I said."

The man was digging himself deeper with every answer. However, proving his involvement beyond his nervous demeanour and contradictory statements was like trying to catch smoke.

Frustrated and lacking a confession, we decided to shift tactics.  Changing the subject, I asked, "Mr. Verma, you mentioned Mrs. Kapoor was a concerned parent.  Were there any other instances where you had to intervene regarding Ayushi's behaviour?"

His twitch subsided for a moment, replaced by a fleeting smile. "Well, as a matter of fact, there was one incident.  A new teacher, Ranjan, I believe his name was, seemed to have taken an… inappropriate interest in Mrs. Kapoor."

My eyebrows shot up, surprised by the shift in the conversation. "Inappropriate interest? How so?"

Mr. Verma's smile widened, a hint of pride lacing his voice. "He was a bit of a troublemaker, that Ranjan.  Always trying to impress the ladies, you see.  And Mrs. Kapoor, well, she was a beautiful woman, always impeccably dressed.  Ranjan…" he trailed off, shaking his head in disapproval.

"So what happened?" Patil rumbled, his voice laced with a hint of skepticism.

"Nothing major," Mr. Verma assured us, puffing out his chest in what could only be described as a display of misplaced self-importance. "I simply observed his behaviour, his lingering glances, the way he tried to brush shoulders with her during meetings.  Needless to say, I had him expelled the very next day."

His story raised more questions than answers. Was Mr. Verma genuinely concerned about Mrs. Kapoor's well-being, or was there something more to his protectiveness?  And how did this expulsion tie into the larger mystery of Ayushi's disappearance?

Leaving the lab, a heavy silence settled between Patil and me. The man's nervous demeanor was suspicious, but his explanation for meeting with Mrs. Kapoor, while lacking candor, wasn't blatantly false.  However, his pride in expelling the student named Ranjan for "inappropriate interest" in Mrs. Kapoor felt out of place in this already convoluted investigation.