Taken

Chapter 7

Still reeling with several possibilities, Amyra opened the door. It was Dhruv, as expected. He looked at her with the slightest hint of impatience and the first thing he spoke confused her.

"Amyra, you're still in your bathrobe."

"What?" At first, it was confusion, and then the realisation that hit her. "Oh! I'm sorry, just give me a minute." Dhruv sighed and nodded as Amyra ran inside with a tinge of embarrassment which finally brought her back to the present.

As she entered the room, she spared a single glance at the thing lying on her bed and she narrowed her eyes in a set determination. She needed to think through this well. She was definitely in some trouble and in need of help, but right now, her main concern was her friend Riya. Amyra knew very well that Riya didn't go to meet her aunt. Who was it, then? She couldn't tell, she had no idea at all. She did have her suspicions about some secret person in Riya's life, maybe a boyfriend, but she still didn't know that for sure.

As she put her clothes on and took out her purse, she struggled with the decision whether to take the doll with her or not. It was most likely a piece of important evidence if this was anywhere related to Riya, but there could be repercussions of this situation. She didn't want those things back in her life, and definitely couldn't afford the involvement of Police into something like that. She could already imagine what kind of gruelling session it would be every day. She stood there for a minute when Dhruv called in from the hall. Pursing her lips, she took her decision. It was time to toughen up. She couldn't the important facts from the Police.

She went into the living room and Dhruv looked up at her and then frowned looking at the box she carried in her bare hands and stood up.

"What is it?" He asked.

Amyra didn't look down at the box again when she replied. "Found this in my closet. Just lying there among million other things." She paused for a minute and then added with a deep breath, "And this isn't mine. I think someone left it there."

Dhruv was dumbfounded for a minute and then spoke with slight apprehension. "What exactly are you trying to say Amyra?"

From the way he looked again at the box, it seemed as if he knew exactly what she was saying but didn't want to acknowledge it. He looked like he was almost daring her to say it.

"Dhruv neither am I trying to say anything nor am I assuming anything. But I don't think we can afford to ignore even slightest out-of-place things at the moment, no matter how insignificant they may seem."

He sighed as if unwillingly accepting the obvious possibility. He seemed extremely concerned.

"No, you're right. We really can't afford that. Okay then," he said looking at the box first and then at her, "let's go. The sooner we get this done, the better."

Amyra nodded, completely agreeing with him. "Let's go."

***

Varun received the call, still half asleep and totally frustrated. He should take extra money for receiving calls every now and then. Everything, every single thing with this particular assignment was going as per the plans of someone else, and not his. He might lose his mind if he kept dancing to the rhythm of someone else. He has never faced such a situation before. Being cool-minded was something he had always been proud of, but he was slipping now.

"What now?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"Amyra went to the police." He barked.

"Yeah so? Should I go and help her lodge the complaint? It was inevitable anyway. What were you even expecting her to do?" He heard a sigh of frustration on the other side and his own irritation skyrocketed but he kept quiet.