The Convention (Ab)Use

Connecting Case

Edward was getting anxious. He looked at his watch, it was already 7.30am. Vinod had not yet come. Vinod would normally have been there a few minutes after 7. Edward had called him twice but he was not answering his phone calls. He tried one more time, this time the call was answered.

"Hello," said a strange voice.

"Hello, Vinod?"

"Sorry, I heard this phone ringing in my rickshaw. I think one of my passengers forgot it but I'm not sure who."

"It is my friends phone," said Edwards. "Hmmm, where can I find you?"

"I ply the Patel Kendriya road."

"Can I meet you at the pedestrian bridge along the road?"

"Okay, just call when you are there."

Edward wondered why Vinod would have been going in that direction. It didn't make sense to him that Vinod would have been on that route. It was a Monday. Edward had to leave for work soon to avoid getting caught in the early morning traffic. He had not driven himself to work in at least two months. He got in the car and set off for work.

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Neha walked along the corridor back to her office after her lunch break. She thought she saw someone who looked familiar. The man was walking towards the payments department. She however carried on into her office. She greeted one of the senior nurses who was walking past. Neha worked at the Patel Kendriya Hospital. It was the largest hospital in Sarpari. She was however not a medical doctor. Neha was an accountant. She worked at one of the banks at the hospital. As she sat down, she busied herself with some of the work that she had suspended during her break. At this moment she heard a voice which she recognised.

"Can I pay the rest of this later?," said the voice. "I need that for doctor to start treatment, please."

"You can't split the payment for this one," said the lady at the desk.

"What's he doing here at this time?" Neha thought to herself. She moved towards the front desk and took a look through the wall opening.

"Vinod, what happened? Are you ill?" said Neha. She tilted her head as she observed Vinod from head to toe.

Vinod recognising Neha, greeted her. "Good Afternoon aunty, no, it's my daughter. Doctor says she is unconscious."

Neha widened her eyes. She placed her hand on her mouth as if to stop herself from speaking aloud.

"What err, how, why, what happened?"

"Yesterday, a car hit her around Tali junction." Vinod looked distraught as he tried to compose himself.

"No no no, let's go," said Neha.

She hurried away from the desk. She turned back and said, "Bindi, give me the receipts, take the money from my purse." She collected three pieces of paper from the lady and dashed out of the office. The lady returned all of Vinod's money back to him through the opening. Vinod thanked Neha as she came towards him. The medical fees were now going to be paid by Neha.

Vinod and Neha rushed away from the office. They walked towards the Accident & Emergency ward which was close by. The ward was already crowded. Many persons straddled the corridor. Some were sitting on the black metallic chairs. Many of them could be mistaken for elderly patients though they were still relatively young. Some were reclining against the wall. The walls which were originally painted white were now of a dusty brown shade. As Vinod and Neha made their way towards the larger waiting area, Neha spotted a lady crying. It was Vinod's wife.

Vinod asked to use Neha's phone to call Edward. Neha left them for a while and went to make some enquiries. Vinod called Edward. He explained what had happened. He also had misplaced his phone while rushing to the hospital after seeing the text messages. Edward then revealed to him that his phone was already with him.

Neha found that there were more medical fees to be paid. Their medical bills were going to run up to almost 30,000 rupees. She returned to them but did not mention the amount. Instead, she asked Vinod about the motorist who had caused this.

"We don't know," said Vinod. "My wife didn't see his face."

"I'm sorry. I was too confused to think," said Vinod's wife as she sobbed. "It was a big black car."

"We must find the driver," said Neha. She placed her hands on her hip as she began pacing around the waiting area. "Hmm, maybe the taxi drivers around Tali junction can give us more information."

"Some policemen were at the junction yesterday," said Vinod's wife.

"Yes, there is usually a police booth quite close to the junction," said Vinod.

Just then, Neha's phone rang. It was Edward calling. Vinod handed the phone back to Neha. She walked to a corner as she spoke to Edward. She told him about the medical fees that she had found out. She explained why she did not want to mention it to them yet. They were already very distressed and she wanted to make sure their daughter was stable before they found out.

Neha noticed a man walking towards Vinod and his wife. She walked back to meet them as the man began speaking with Vinod's wife.

"Yes, I forgot to ask you yesterday." said the man. "I took some pictures of the car. Let me see..."

"Please send it to my phone," interrupted Vinod as he took his wife's phone from her. Vinod explained to Neha that this was the taxi driver who had brought his wife to the hospital.

"Ok, I've sent them," said the taxi driver looking at the phone.

"Ok," said Vinod. He tapped at the phone. A discerning expression grew on his face as he looked at the phone. "Erm, hmm, it is, it is," said Vinod as he looked at those around him. He became visibly uneasy as he paced around the area. "It is, it is, it's the car, it's that, that..."

"What is it?" asked Neha.

"You know the car?" asked the taxi driver.

"That man, that man," said Vinod. He rushed to Neha's side and showed her the photo. "See, see, it's the car from Friday. The diplomat's car. I saw this car with this big, big dent at the repair shop." He fierily gestured with his hands as he spoke. Neha took the phone and observed the photo. Vinod walked to his wife. "It's the people I told you about."

"Oh, you may be right," said Neha. "It does look like that SUV".

"It is, it is, scroll to the next photo," said Vinod as he pointed at the phone. "You'll see the number plate." He dug his right fist into his left palm repeatedly as he paced around the waiting area.

"I must send this to my phone," said Neha. "I must tell the  guys about this."