Fixing the Puzzle

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Shutting the book with a heavy heart, Vihaan hustled.

"Vihaan, relax. It's OK."

Consolemy was pretty much useless, but Janani opted to stand by him.

"I don't even know if that's my real name. I don't know anything! Everything is a lie! My life is an illusion!" he vented shaking his head.

"Vihaan, please. I can't even imagine the thoughts running on your mind. But get a hang of them. First we must find Harini. Th--"

"Sandhya!! It's Sandhya for heaven's sake, not Harini!"

"All right, but focus. You know what this means? Sandhya is still alive, so we're going to find her!" she held his shoulder and pulled a file out of her bag.

"I never said I'm giving up. Harini, Sandhya or whatever it is, she's my wife and I love her! Donno where we're headed to, but I'm not resting until I get my wife and baby back in my arms!"

"Look. Anasuya Bhatt was the prime victim and her husband, T. R. Bhatt, had filed a complaint."
- - - - -

"Bad luck. 2001, Anasuya Bhatt's number is invalid. 2005, check, 2007, check. I've spoke to almost everyone related to the people on this list. But, here there's one woman named Rashmi Alva. Her husband, Manohar Alva is not picking up. This case was filed in 2002 and guess what, she too disappeared from the same place your jeep broke down."

"You mean when Sandhya was with me?"

"Mhmm. The same place."

Frowning, he lit the fourth cigarette in a row.
"Do I remember you saying that he still lives in the villa around the corner of the village?"

"Yeah but--"

"Hop in!" he ordered juggling with the jeep keys.
- -

Thunder and lightning struck the village in addition to the heavy showers that poured mercilessly, while the man shook hands and adjusted his frames, taking a seat opposite to Vihaan.

"Mr.Manohar, the first day we came to this village, my jeep got stuck in the same place your wife disappeared"

The man swiveled the wineglass in his hand looking down.

"Can you please tell us what happened? How did you search for your wife?"

Gulping down the drink in one go, Manohar heaved a deep breath and nodded.
"It was a very late night accompanied by a power cut when Rashmi was driving home from town. These rains are unpredictable, you see. I had called her and suddenly.. she screamed! Before I could speak, the signal cut off," he paused to remove his glasses, "and exactly after eleven days, there was a loud noise that echoed from those wrecked hills. T-The guddada bhūtha had... Never mind. I didn't think that my wife and child would be gone for good."

"Was your child also with her?"

"Rashmi was pregnant. It was her eighth month."

"Pregnant??"
Vihaan couldn't believe his ears.
- - - - -

"I talked to everyone again and out of the eight members I could reach, all the cases were pregnant! The pattern is clear! Each year, the same day, a pregnant woman vanishes!"

Vihaan groaned palming his face and a thought struck him.
"The doctor!"

"Doctor?"

"He's the only person who would know about all of them apart from their families. He was nowhere to be seen on the day Sandhya disappeared too! Dang!"
He banged the mirror of the jeep.

"Vihaan, you can't act against him without any proof."

"So should I wait until he tells what the truth is in my ear?" he fumed unlocking the vehicle's door.
"Get in."
- - - - -

"You filthy animal! Tell me, tell me where Sandhya is!"
Vihaan barged into the empty clinic latching the door behind with Janani tagging him. He pulled him out of his chair clutching the collar.

"What? Who--Who's Sandhya? I don't know what you're talking about." the doctor raised his hands in defense.

"You don't? A punch on this face of yours will make you speak!"

"Vihaan. No!"
Janani gripped onto his arm tightly. She didn't want another chaos in the hospital in a situation like this, especially with the police tracing them.
"What do you know about pregnant ladies disappearing from this village?"

"I--If you're referring to Anasuya, I have no involvement. Trust me." he shivered fixing his glasses on his nose.

"Anasuya?"

"Anasuya Bhatt. The first missing case, on the day Angaara was hung."

"What do you have to say about her?" Vihaan growled grabbing the man's shirt again.

"I'll tell you!
Me and Anasuya were studying together in Mysore. We fell in love but unfortunately she married someone else. I began practicing in Kamarottu and coincidencially she too settled here. Our relationship bloomed again and one day, when we were sitting in her room, a person knocked the door. I ran away but I returned only to find out that she disappeared. Ten days later, I heard a shrill, a sharp one, from those wrecked hills. It was surely Anasuya's, but I dared not to check out. I never told this to--"

Vihaan and Janani had fled away hearing the police's van haul by.
- - - - -

"This is unbelievable!"
Shankar master flipped through the papers filed in the document.
"I hardly knew a few cases, but there are so many! I'll make sure these are safe. Do you really think the doctor's a part of all this?"

"He was suspicious. If it wasn't for the policemen, I wouldn't have stepped outta there until he barked the--"

"Hot tea everyone!" Kalinga sung holding a tray of teacups.
"Athithi devo bhava!"

"Sir, who's this?"
Janani pointed at a black and grey picture of a young lady fixed on the wall.

"My wife. She passed away."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Isn't your name Kalinga Bhatt? That certificate says Thenkabail Ravindra Bhatt." she sipped the aromatic drink, eyeing another portrait on the opposite wall.

"Yes, Ravindra Bhatt was what my parents named me. But people, impressed with my bhagavathas, started comparing me to the great artist Kalinga and that's how my name changed." he chuckled.
- - - - -

Janani waved her hand in front of Vihaan who placed his cold tumbler of tea on the kitchen's blackstone slab.

"Vihaan, did you hear me? I don't think the doctor has fault in this. Who else would get to see pregnancy reports?"

"Anasuya Bhatt. Complaint filed by T. R. Bhatt. Thenkabail Ravindra Bhatt. So that--that's Kalinga." Vihaan murmured.

"But his wife passed away during labour in her native. That's what he's made everyone believe, in this village." Shankar master gasped. "How is he connected to--"

"The lab reports reach the post office first. So that means, Kalinga sees it before any doctor does! That's how he gets to know which woman in the village is pregnant!"
......................................................................

Drum rolls.
The real culprit is 😶
NOW WHERE IS SANDHYA?
Are you guys asking the same question?
~Sri😊

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