A suitable Man

Chapter 27

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Chapter 27

Inspector Prabhakar knew Sheena was lying, he could implicate Sheena on the basis of the evidence at the site and also if Smriti identified as her captor. But where was Smriti!!! . He couldn't let Sheena go now, else he would find an alibi and get away with the whole deal.
He sternly asked, " If you are the corporator here and you have not done anything, then why are you here at this time of night, also your appearance seems like you have either assaulted some one or you have been engaged in a scuffle. And as for the lady here, I know she is Vasundhara Shetty, mother of Mr. Mahendra Shetty. Mr. Shetty has lodged a missing complaint for his wife and as per the confessions of her father Mr. Padmakar Bhat, you seem to be involved. Do you deny it?"

Sheena's temper shot up as the inspector mentioned Padmakar, " Bloody coward" thought Sheena. " You cant incriminate me, just because some village gambler told you so", " I don't even know who this man is, May be I might have met him socially, but what proof does he have?" He made a mental note of how he would handle Padmakar.

Inspector Prabhakar said, " Prima facie, I need to arrest you now, you can have your lawyer talk about it in the court". Saying thus, he moved towards Sheena. Sheena had evaded getting arrested all his life, and today too he was not going to relent. Vasundhara's gun was still pointed towards him, he slowly started moving backwards near the highway,  as Prabhakar and his force closed in on him.
Sheena suddenly bent down and threw up a cloud of mud and dust, the visibility was less as there was no source of light around, gaining that chance he hiked himself on  Mahendra's bike and drove away as fast as he could. Gun shots filled the area as Prabhakar and his men opened fire on Sheena. A bullet grazed his left shoulder and he was fast losing control, but he still drove the bike away from the police. The police quickly got in to their vehicles and a chase ensued.

Beyond Honavar, the highway connected the National highway going towards Udupi; and there was a forested area between Honavar and Bhatkal(a town near Kumta). Sheena was very well acquainted with the region as he used to carry out his smuggling from the shady areas of the towns. He quickly took the narrow service road, the police were close at heal. He switched off the back and front lights of the bike and sped. His arm was bleeding profusely now, and he knew he would not last long before falling unconscious. He had to reach Bhatkal some how, he had his men there too. If he could just give a slip to the police before his strength waned off, he would go underground for few months.
It was pitch dark on the other side of the highway now, Sheena couldn't see properly, the police were a lagging behind as they lost sight of Sheena's bike. Sheena drove slowly now, his breath becoming heavier. He had to stop now, else he would fall of the bike. But with great strength, he drove slowly and he reached a bamboo thicket. He rolled off from the bike and in to the thicket, trying to hide himself. He hid, deathly still. The police came with torches and started scouting the area. The bike was on one side and Sheena had managed to reach the other side. Prabhakar tried locating him, but in vain. He commanded his men to stay there till dawn break, so that they could see clearly. Even if Sheena was hiding in the darkness, they would find him in the morning.

Sheena carefully crawled through a ditch and slowly and steadily reached the other side of the highway, going back to Kumta. He knew , at dawn break the police would search for him going towards Udupi, and not back to Kumta. He stood up near the road, and started walking clutching at his arm. His clothes were drenched in blood. He managed to reach a roadside shop which was closed. He rested for a while there. It was pitch dark now, nothing in view except a few vehicles passing by on the highway. Sheena took of his bloodied shirt and hid it in the bushes. He wanted to get to his house somehow, but Honavar was still a few kms away. He started walking as much as his strength could allow him to. He thought till dawn he would reach Honavar. Once he reached his house, he would plan out his further moves. He needed to be underground for a few months now.