A Hundred Flukes

Chapter 32: Crosswords

Chapter 32 - Crosswords

Aging is slow but certain and yet it shocks most to see sprouting lines of silvery grey making conspicuous appearances in once youthful hair. A few have the ability to accept this natural change and carry it with grace, and fewer are able to use it to their advantage, suggesting the epithet of 'the more experienced'. B. Roy belonged to the third category. He was regarded as handsome in his late thirties but in the past decade as the glint in his eyes had dimmed, his jaw had hardened further and he carried with him an air of increased wisdom, experience and charm. The greying behind his ears made the seriousness he exuded seem further pronounced. As he walked with an ease in AR's head office towards his client's cabin, he was greeted with eyes holding multifarious expressions from reverence and awe to disgust. None of which bothered the middle-aged lawyer.

He saw a ghost of a smile appear on his client's lips, certainly not directed at him but at the red leather covered folder tucked beneath his arm. He knew Arnav Singh Raizada could not read the label from where he was seated, but he had certainly guessed that it read Confidential. ASR gestured with his hand for the lawyer to take the swivel chair opposite him.

"What brings you Roy?" he said dryly.

"I bring with me something that might interest you." the older man replied with a sly smile, placing the red leather covered folder in front of him on the glass topped table. Roy eyed the younger man curiously to not miss the slightest shift in his stoic expression as he read the contents of the folder.  

Twelve years ago…

B. Roy was among men who fiercely adhere to their principles. His number one being, to never look for the right and wrong in a client and his/her motives for doubting the one you are defending would mean doubting yourself. And Byomkesh Roy was too proud to indulge, apart from that winning was his only motive, really. Number two, if the evidence isn't so real, one can always make it seem real and last being, following one and two is a part of his profession. His present client was charged under IPC section 376 and 302 on count of rape and murder, it was evident to the social circles and media that the high profile businessman was guilty of the crime, there was even a "rumor" that Tejendra Tejpal had gushed about it himself to a few friends in a party under a heavy influence of alcohol. But any of it had not deterred B. Roy from pleading his innocence in the court, nor much of the general opinion mattered to the blind lady with scales. To his credit, Roy and his client were running a high chance. If all went as planned the following week, Tejpal would be out of prison, squeaky clean. Roy came out of the court room and walked towards his chamber sharp at five in the evening after a tiring day. As had been the custom for years, his evening cup of tea and a neatly folded copy of the New Delhi Times awaited him on his desk. He'd take small sips from his tea, scan the headlines and jump to his favorite section to solve the daily crossword. He unfolded the paper, a yellow advertisement pamphlet fell at his feet which he didn't care to pick and walked to his chair. Four sips later he turned to the page bearing the crossword puzzle and was chagrined to find it already and fully solved. To confirm his doubts of it being a bad prank he read through all the questions top-down and across and was surprised to see the boxes filled with zilch error, he had to admit some of the answers he couldn't have guessed. And then Roy was very annoyed, he called the dispatch office, questioned a clueless delivery boy and a fresh copy was sent his way immediately. But his daily indulgence had been ruined, the puzzle now seemed like reading a murder mystery when the killer is previously known.

Roy realized how much he craved for the thrill the daily crossword offered him when the same happened for the fourth consecutive day. He was baffled, angry, confused. It had become the norm, he'd feel his heart heavy while turning to the page and find his hope thwarted to find the crossword solved. It peeved him further to realize that somebody knew about his silly addiction and he was made a target for some reason. He was informed that the evening edition prints came out at 4:30 pm. From there several separate decks were made at the dispatch office pertaining to distribution in different localities the process taking ten minutes, from here it took about fifteen minutes for the paper to reach his doorstep. If the culprit was present in the newspaper office, what was the probability of  Roy being the victim every time? At risk of letting his little secret obsession out, he asked all his colleagues who were also subscribers and was disappointed to find nothing amiss in their copies. He fired the boy who brought  his tea and paper, called the newspaper office and threatened to discontinue his subscription, asked them to change the delivery boy. What bemused Roy most was in the twenty five minutes from printing, dispatching and delivery, how the hell did the culprit manage to solve?