A Web to catch a Spider

Chapter 4

The next few days were like pure hell for her. She was on tenterhooks. She was like the doe that is perpetually on look out for the vicious predator. She knew no peace. She knew he was deliberately torturing her slowly till she would give in to his demand. She expected to meet him at every turn. At last he called her up, in a sarcastically caressing tone he asked,

"Hello my Sweet, have you made up your mind? Who wins your hate for me or love for Aniruddha?"

Anjali pleaded again according to their plan, "Rajesh have mercy on me. Why can't you let me live in peace. I have never done you any harm. I can't tell this to Aniruddha, he will be livid. He has forgotten that Amruta is not his daughter. I can't rake it all up after so many years."

"Then why don't you pay me and buy my silence? You seem to realize its worth far better than me." he leered.

"When do you want it?" Anjali asked in a defeated voice.

"That's my girl. You will have to give it to me in denomination of 500. See to it that the notes are soiled and not in sequence. I want the money on Friday."

"No, I will give them to you on Thursday as Aniruddha is going to go out of town that day and I will come to your house. I do not want anybody to see us together." She told him.

"Great! The sooner the better I will surely be ready to welcome you at my house. 'Come to my parlour said the spider to the fly'." He laughed at his own cruel joke. He relished the fact that Anjali had so readily succumbed to his plan.

Requisite arrangements were made and Anjali left her house with trepidation on Thursday evening. She arrived at his house at the appointed time. He welcomed her with a suave smile and said effervescently, "Welcome dear, It's been a long time since we meet in such a clandestine manner. Do make yourself quite at home. What will you have?"

"My original letters and your promise to make yourself scarce from my life." She replied as she stepped in.

"All in good time my dear."

Suddenly the door was pushed open and Aniruddha stood on the doorstep. He had a gun in his hand. He closed the door quietly and said in an menacing tone,

"Anjali you have betrayed me. After loving you and caring for you and your daughter for so many years; you have the audacity to return to the arms of this vile man the moment my back is turned."

"No, Aniruddha it is not like that. Please do not misunderstand. I love you please listen to me." She pleaded but Aniruddha was in no mood to listen.

He said, "I thought that my love would be enough for you but it seems that it was not so. You thought that I was going out of town but I had known about your tryst."

All this while Rajesh was cowering in the corner; this turn of events was totally out of the blue. He had never expected to see the demure and docile doctor in the role of an avenging angel. He looked awe struck at the scene unfolding before him. Suddenly Aniruddha leveled his gun at Anjali and said, "You shall pay the price for your betrayal." He then coldly shot Anjali.

Anjali screamed in horror, "No" as the bullet hit her. She looked in disbelief at the slowly enlarging crimson stain before she collapsed in a heap.

Rajesh stared petrified, his plan had gone haywire. Though he had planned to fleece Anjali with his threats, he was not a hard core criminal.

He looked on in stupor as the doctor calmly looked at his dead wife and commented dryly, "I l knew that you were blackmailing her but I could never forgive her for having loved you before me. I thought my love for her would help me in overcoming my jealousy but instead it nurtured it. Every time I look at Amruta I cannot forget the fact that she is not mine."

Suddenly he threw the gun at Rajesh, who deftly caught it in a reflex action. Rajesh pointed the gun at Aniruddha and fired, only to hear an empty click. He stared at Aniruddha while the doctor smiled at him sardonically.

"Good! That is exactly what I wanted you to do. Now the gun has your finger prints and he gleefully displayed his own gloved hands.

Rajesh dropped the gun as if it was made of hot iron.

"Too late my friend." taunted the doctor. "Now you shall hear my plan for revenge." he continued drawing another gun from his pocket. "I am now going to shoot you with this gun at my leisure. This gun is registered in Anjali's name. So it will appear like a fatal duel between you. The police will find the money and I am sure they will also find the compromising letters wherever you have hidden them in your house. They will realize that it was a case of blackmail and that is the end of it from my point of view. I shall play the role of the aggrieved husband and enjoy the sympathy of all and sundry."

Rajesh stepped back sweating profusely. "No, No don't shoot me. You can take the letters and the money. Let me go. I don't want anything."

"But, I don't want the letters. You are missing the whole point. Those letters provide the motive for murder."

Suddenly Rajesh ran to his desk and pulled out the letters from a secret compartment and before the doctor could react, he tore them into tiny pieces and flung them out of the window where they were picked and blown off with a gust of wind. With this action he regained his equanimity. He grinned at Aniruddha while the later looked at him dumbfounded and said, "There goes your plan out of the window. Now there is no proof of blackmail, hence no motive. You can't kill me now."He crowed gleefully. Aniruddha was at a loss at this sudden turning of tables and Rajesh cashed on his momentary lapse of attention and pushed him roughly aside and escaped through the door.

For the next five minutes everything was silent and then slowly Anjali stirred and got up and ran into Aniruddha's arms.

"O Aniruddha! How can I ever thank you? You have really taught that fiend a good lesson. You are such a good actor; I almost truly squirmed in fear. But what if he comes back once he realizes that I am alive?"

"Don't worry my dear I know his type, he is a coward thru and thru he will not dare to come back and besides he no longer has any hold over you. He has destroyed those letters with his own hands and he is too yellow-bellied to try anything else after this nasty experience. No more tears my love. The night is over." He lovingly enfolded her in his arms, where she lay content. Once more her knight had slain the dragon.

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Hey guys!! This is the end of the story. Thanks for reading it till the end. Hope you all enjoyed it.

Do read my other works which include :

'Before I Let You Go'

'A Night to make a candle bright'

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Love,
Akku