Precaution: Violence ahead***
It's very dark. There was barely any light; a group of people was chasing a woman. She was running to save her life. Her face wasn't visible. Suddenly, a van stopped in front of her. Two people dragged her inside, the people running after her get inside the van. She screamed for help but, there is no one to help her. As the cold froze the surroundings, only the woman's screaming echoed throughout the dark, chilling night. Someone threw out her body from the moving van and, it disappeared into the dark. As the wind swept through her hair, the face covered in blood was visible. It was Sharmishtha! Her body in the blood and torn cloth. Still alive, she shivered in the cold and pain. Rey woke up screaming. The horrific dream had stirred up his sleep. The horrifying sight, the terrible state of his wife, had scared him to death. He was sweating heavily; as chills went down his spine. Tears had filled his eyes and drew a clear line rolling down his cheeks. He let out a loud cry, " No, no, not my love. Not her. What have they done to her! What have I done! My Shyra, my life. Not her, she hasn't done anything..."
As he kept crying, the alarm rang. He looked at the clock; it was 5 a.m. The light of the rising sun entered through the window and shined on his face. Still sobbing, he picked up his phone and dialed her number. The call got disconnected without any reply; he called, again and again, no answer. After two more tries, he called Rubina, the household caretaker he employed for his wife. A little while later, she picked up, "Hello?"
" Where are you?"
"In my room in the house in Alipore," replied Rubina.
" Where is Shyra? I mean, Sharmishtha?" asked Rey desperately.
"She is in her room, Sir. Returned from office a while ago, she was exhausted, so she dozed off."
"Can you send me a picture?" asked Rey softly.
" Excuse me?"
" Send me a picture of her sleeping."
"But, Sir, Ma'am might get angry if she catches me clicking her photo while she sleeps."
"Please, I only want to make sure that she is alright. Please do it", says Rey. Although the request was weirdly inappropriate yet, Ruby agreed. She detected desperation in his voice and heard him sob continuously throughout the conversation.
So Ruby went to Sharmishtha's room. The door was already open. She clicked a photo of her sleeping peacefully and sent it to Rey.
As Rey watched his wife sleeping peacefully and Ruby reassured him that she was safe, his mind came to ease. He kept looking at her picture for quite a while with a smile on his lips. He thought, "Look at her, sleeping with her long dark hair loose on the side of the pillow. Isn't she just mesmerizing? She's worth it, isn't she? You love her, don't you? Why did you have to scream at her over that stupid meeting? Now, because of your asperity, she doesn't return your calls. I promise you, my love, I will always keep you safe. They wouldn't be able to lay a finger on you. I will finish it up. Then, I will truly come home to you. We would be together forever. It's a promise."
After pulling himself back together, he called Ruby one more time and instructed her not to leave Sharmishtha's side until he returned from Canada. No matter how much she insisted or, resisted she couldn't be left alone for obvious security reasons. Ruby agreed to accompany her everywhere at once.
_________
Sharmishtha was sleeping peacefully when her phone rang. It was Rajiv. Still sleepy, Sharmishtha picked it up, "Hello?"
"Sorry to disturb you again but, we need you in Siliguri," said Rajib.
"Well, we have sent Arjun on the project as my driver isn't here, and I can't leave right now. No, wait a minute, Manohar should have been back by now."
" Yes, I know. I offered Arjun the project on your instructions. He is in Siliguri right now. But, he will need a team."
" Yes, I understand. I will give Manohar a call. He hasn't called since morning."
"Maybe, he came back while you were resting. Ask Ruby; she might know."
" You are right. I should talk to Ruby. Anything else?"
"Yes, there is one other thing."
"Yes?"
"Charles had a terrible accident yesterday."
"What? Why didn't you inform me earlier? Is it serious?"
"He is in hospital. The doctor said that he would be fine. He is lucky that he didn't get a fatal injury considering that he got run over by a car. I had Irene stay with him. Also, Inspector Grant has arranged security for him regarding our concerns. He is also running an investigation against the driver."
"Gosh! I hope he'll be alright. Let me talk to him when he wakes up."
"Alright and one other thing, Grant said they found four black roses at the sight of the accident."
Sharmishtha went silent for a while, and then in a deep lower voice, she said, "It is just the beginning. If anyone on the team wants to back off, they should do it in this instance. Cause from here on, I might not be able to provide anyone a safe exit."
"Alright, understood," said Rajib.
"Anything else?"
"There is something but, it's rather personal. So I don't exactly know if it's the right time to tell you this."
"Is it about Rey again? I assume you two had an interesting chat last night."
"Well, he said it was all his fault. He overreacted. Although he was distressed, still, that can't be an excuse to be rude towards his lovely wife."
"Really? He said that?" asked Sharmishtha in a sarcastic tone.
" Yes. Don't you trust me?"
"On this? Not. I assume you told him to say this but, Mr. Feisty Pants didn't have enough guts to say this to me himself. So you are doing this instead."
" Well, maybe, Mr. Feisty Pants would if you pick up his bloody calls! "
" Well, maybe, next time, Mr. Feisty Pants would know better than to yell at his wife."
" Sharmishtha, he is sorry for what he did. Please pick up his calls. He has been worrying sick."
" Well, don't you worry about that. Rey has his special secret service for that."
" You mean Rubina and those other people he employed for you?" asks Rajiv while trying to control his laugh.
" Don't you laugh; it annoys the hell out of me."
" Oh, come on, he is just trying to take care of you" teased Rajiv.
"Yes. But don't you think he's being too controlling?"
"I can't say. I am not married to a woman who likes endangering her life."
" Okay," says Sharmishtha giggling. After talking with Rajiv, Sharmishtha called Ruby and asked whether Manohar had returned. Ruby replied that he hadn't. Furthermore, she added, " Ma'am, Sir called to check up on you. He wanted you to call him as soon as possible."
" Alright, I will call him once I have spoken with Manohar and Arjun. "
" As you wish, Ma'am. But do call him. He seemed stressed and upset", said Rubina and left the room.
Sharmishtha dialed Manohar's number but, the call kept disconnecting. " He must be in a bad network zone," thought Sharmishtha.
She then called Arjun.
"Hello?"
"This is Sharmishtha Singh."
"Oh! Good evening Ms. Singh. What can I do for you?"
" How is Siliguri?"
" Siliguri seems fine. Of course, I just arrived today. "
" Are you in the hotel now?"
" Yes."
" Tomorrow, go out exploring, get to know the paths. Of course, you know the basics. I will send you the details of the team tomorrow."
" Alright, Ma'am."
" You don't have to call me Ma'am. After all, we are former colleagues."
" Yes."
" Very well, take care."
Sharmishtha hung up and got out of bed to freshen up. At the same time, her phone started ringing. She looked at the screen. It was Rey. After glancing at it a while, she finally picked up the call recalling both Ruby and Rajib's words.
"Hello?" says Rey from the other side of the phone. Sharmishtha doesn't answer. " Hello? Sharmishtha? Are you there?" asks Rey again. He was very calm. Sharmishtha didn't seem to answer. Rey knew this was how she behaved when she got upset.
"I know you are there, Shyra. I can hear you breathing. Please talk to me. Are you still upset?" asked Rey. " Darling, I am sorry that I screamed at you the other day. I should not have behaved that way. I will never do that again, I promise. I promise Shyra; I won't ever talk like that. I didn't mean to hurt you, Love. Now, please talk, scold me all you want, but please talk. It's distressing for me. Please!"
Rey's voice started to break. Sharmishtha calmly responded, "It's fine. I am sorry too. I should not have interrupted your important meeting. I hope it went well."
" Don't worry about that stupid meeting. You don't have to apologize..."
Suddenly the line got interrupted. Someone was calling Sharmishtha from an unknown number. "I have someone else on the line. I think it's important. I'll call you later," said Sharmishtha quickly and hung up. Rey got a bit upset after being hung up while talking. Still, he was happy to hear her voice.
Sharmishtha picked up the call.
"Hello?" said someone from the other side of the phone.
"Hello? Who is this?"
" This is Inspector Tiwary speaking from Rampurhat Police Station, Birbhum. Are you Ms. Sharmishtha Singh?"
" Yes, What happened?" asked Sharmishtha eagerly.
" Your driver Manohar met with an accident today at 10 o'clock on the Panagarh - Morgram Highway."
" What?! How is he now? " screamed Sharmishtha as all kinds of negative conclusions filled her mind.
" He has been admitted to the Birbhum District Hospital. His condition is stable. He came to his senses this afternoon, so we talked to him and contacted you."
" Alright, I will come as soon as possible. I have just one request, could you keep a constable with him till I reach there?" requested Sharmishtha humbly. The Inspector agreed.
Sharmishtha quickly called Rubina and instructs her to bring the car. " Are you going somewhere, Ma'am?" asked Rubina. " Yes, now get the car quickly. We don't have time", said
Sharmishtha. "May I come with you too? I mean, you seem to be very tensed. Perhaps I can be of assistance."
Sharmishtha thought for a minute and agreed to take her along. While Rubina gets the car, Sharmishtha quickly dials Roy.
"Hello?"
"Sharmishtha speaking, are you free?"
"Well, I was just getting off at work."
" It's important. Do you have any plans for the evening?"
"Well, I had movie plans, but I suppose I have to skip it now."
" Please do, and tell your wife that you will be out for a couple of days. Also, take Rohan along too."
" Why? Are we going somewhere?"
" I will tell you in the car. Get ready. I will pick you up from your home in two hours."
" Understood."
"Very well," said Sharmishtha and hung up.
She then called Rajiv.
"Hello?"
" Where are you?"
"Still in office. Why?"
"Send me the details of Charles' accident as soon as possible."
" Alright, I will send the details in an hour. Did you talk to Rey?"
"Is that important right now?" asks Sharmishtha in a low deep voice. Rajiv realizes she wasn't in a mood. Judging by her voice, it's clear that something wrong has happened in the last thirty minutes.
"Sorry. I will send you the details quickly."
"Very well," said Sharmishtha and disconnected the call.
Sharmishtha then walked to the wardrobe and packed some clothes for a week's journey. After getting her clothes, Sharmishtha pulled out her emergency backpack.
Three minutes later, Rubina entered the room to inform her that the car was ready. As Sharmishtha got her bags, Rubina asked, "Is it a long trip, Ma'am?"
"Just a couple of days, don't worry, you will be back by tomorrow morning," replied Sharmishtha calmly. " But Ma'am, Sir asked me to accompany you," said Rubina.
" I told you before, and I am telling you again, Rey is not to interfere in my professional works, and neither can you take orders from him on these matters. Keep this in mind. I shall not tolerate this again, understood?"
"Alright, Ma'am, understood," said a disheartened Rubina.
"Alright, now get in the car. Also, we will have to pick up Mr. Roy and Rohan on the way." They both got in the car and set out.
As the journey began, Sharmishtha got lost in her thoughts. She started to analyze the situation. " Two accidents back to back. Are they related to each other? Or is this just a coincidence? Although no one can completely deny the possibility that it was a mere coincidence. But, that is a rare possibility. Inspector Grant found four black roses on the site of Charles' accident. Ever since they have started these investigations, something bad was happening almost every day. Before she came to India, she almost survived a fatal accident on her way to the airport. She didn't inform anyone as she didn't want to create a panic. She was either fortunate that day or her cab driver was very skillful, else that clash with a bus would have killed her on the spot. Her visit to Siliguri seems to have worsened the situation - that also means someone knows about her Siliguri trip and is aware of her investigation. It isn't good. But, she has to accept that whoever is trying to threaten her; knows her works beforehand. Otherwise, she has never been in danger so early. The investigations began just a few months ago. Unless it links to someone in the past, this shouldn't happen. So, could this be..."
"Ma'am? Ma'am?" calls Ruby interrupting Sharmishtha's deep thoughts. Alarmed by Ruby's sudden interruption, she replied in excitement, " What? What is it?"
"Is everything alright? You seem very tensed," asked Ruby looking concerned and worried. Sharmishtha quickly calmed down as she didn't want to give any concerning replies. If she did, Ruby would surely call Rey. Then he would start pestering her to leave the case. Collecting her thoughts, she responded, "Just got an interesting project to work on; as you know, I am in charge of reforming The Sight here. So, I am just thinking about stuff as in how to upgrade everything in here."
"I see. Don't worry yourself much, Ma'am. Everyone knows you will handle the job magnificently," replied Ruby with a smile.
"You think so? Well, that is great to hear, Dear."
"I believe so, Ma'am. I have watched you for a long time. I know that nothing is impossible for you."
Sharmishtha smiled brightly upon hearing Ruby's compliments. "Nothing is impossible?! Well, people say a lot of things, I am not so sure. It's all good to say and hear though," thought Sharmishtha. Suddenly she remembered something and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Hello? Is this Rohan?"
"Yes."
"Ms. Singh speaking, has Mr. Roy informed you anything yet?"
" Yes, Ma'am. I am just getting ready", says Rohan excitedly.
"Alright, call me on this number once you are ready."
"Okay, Ma'am."
"Very well then."
Sharmishtha disconnected the call.
Half an hour later, they reached Mr. Roy's house. His house had the ethics of old Bengal with a nice touch of British architecture. Those large pillars on the front and the Hari Mancho* on the east garden described the mixture of traditional modernism. While the front balcony added up to the aesthetics, the dome of the Hari Mancho* highlighted the traditional and cultural importance. Mr. Roy seemed to be standing at the front door along with his wife, Urmila. As Sharmishtha got out of the car, Mrs. Roy greeted her, " Namaskar Madam, welcome to our house. Come inside. Have some tea."
"Namaskar Mrs. Roy. Though I am delighted with your warm invitation. I am afraid that we don't have much time. Next time I come, I promise I shall sit down and have some tea with you", replies Sharmishtha humbly.
"It will take just five minutes Madam..." as Mrs. Roy started to insist on her, Mr. Roy interrupted his wife. He spoke, " Uh Urmila, you know very well that timing is very crucial for journalists besides she lives in Kolkata** now, these visits will continue, and you will have a chance to show your hospitality; now bid us goodbye."
" Alright, alright, goodbye. Just five years of marriage and you seem to be fed up with your wife already", teased Mrs. Roy.
Hearing this, Sharmishtha laughed and said, " You haven't changed a bit. "
After having some hearty chat, Mr. Roy and Sharmishtha bid goodbye. They got into the car and set out on their journey. After a few minutes, Mr. Roy asked," So, what is this all about?"
"Do you remember the human trafficking investigation we ran a few years ago?" asked Sharmishtha lowering her voice.
Mr. Roy's eyes widened as he recalled the incidents of the past.