At 10 p.m., Vijay finally found Sanam sitting at a small tea stall on the edge of town. The warm steam from Sanam's cup curled into the cold night air. Vijay pulled up a chair across from him, his face tense.
"Sanam," he said without preamble, "you were right. The killer is someone from here. The bodies we found this evening—they belonged to two different boys. Both killed the same way: the main neck vein slit open. And here's the strangest part—both boys were last seen with Ravi Singh."
Sanam looked up slowly. Vijay lowered his voice, almost as if doubting himself.
"But I don't think he's the killer. He's been a maths teacher for thirty years at the government high school. Retired just last year. Everyone in town respects him. They all say he's a good man. How could someone like him do this?"
---
On the other side of town
When Meera opened her eyes, her head throbbed. The rumble of an engine filled her ears. She realized, with a spike of terror, that she was lying in the backseat of a moving car. Her wrists were tied.
Behind the wheel sat Ravi Singh.
She struggled, jerking against the ropes. "Let me go!"
His voice was calm, almost fatherly, which only made it more chilling.
"You weren't supposed to see this, Meera. Curiosity has always been your flaw. You act like you want to know everything."
The words struck her harder than she expected. They echoed through her mind, becoming another voice—one from her childhood.
Curiosity will ruin you, girl!
Her chest tightened. She forced out a whisper. "Why are you doing this? Where is that boy?"
Ravi said nothing. His hands gripped the wheel tighter as the car sped between rows of dark trees. Meera turned her head toward the window, her breath trembling. She knew this forest. It was the same place where Ravi Singh had once found her as a child.
Her pulse quickened. I was blind back then. Now I see the truth.
---
Back at the tea stall
Vijay stared at Sanam. He knew that look—the one Sanam wore when he was connecting dots no one else could see.
"What is it?" Vijay asked.
Sanam tapped something on his phone and then met his superior's eyes. "You're right about one thing: Ravi Singh isn't the real killer. But he is involved. He's helping the killer… and he's been assaulting the victims himself."
Vijay's jaw tightened. "What the hell are you saying? How do you know that?"
Sanam leaned closer, his voice low and steady despite the nervous flicker in his eyes.
"I checked the background of all the victims. Every one of them was his student at some point. Their parents trust him completely, but there's a history. Years ago, Ravi was transferred here from another state—because he tried to assault a boy in his old school. That was covered up. And notice—he's never married. To hide suspicion, he made a young woman stay in his house, so people wouldn't question him. But all his victims here? Boys. Every single one."
Vijay frowned, but Sanam kept going, faster now, the words tumbling out as he pieced everything together.
"When I confronted him earlier, he was trembling. Pretending to be calm, but terrified. When I approached again, he rushed to feed the neighbor's dog—the same dog whose hairs we found buried with the first bodies. I ran a DNA match." Sanam showed him the results glowing on his phone screen. "It's the same dog."
Vijay leaned back, exhaling slowly. "So what did you do next?"
"I watched him. All day. He avoided people, panicked whenever groups of boys came near. Then about an hour ago…" Sanam's throat tightened. "I saw him dragging out the woman who works at his house. She was unconscious. He shoved her into his car and made a phone call. Nervous, desperate. If I'm right, he was calling the real killer—the boy those teenagers were searching for. The one who's still missing."
Vijay went silent. His eyes narrowed, scanning the direction of Ravi Singh's house in the distance.
"Damn it," he muttered. Then he turned sharply to Sanam. "That woman is in danger. You—go after her. Now."
Sanam blinked. "Wait… what? Me?"
"Yes, you. Don't act innocent. You should've told me all this earlier. Because you waited, she's in danger right now. You're the one who's going to fix it." Vijay's voice was hard, commanding.
Sanam swallowed, his throat dry. His hands trembled as he clutched his phone. "But… what if the killer is there? What if—"
"Then face him," Vijay cut in, his tone like steel. "That old man can't do much. But the killer? He'll be dangerous. Don't screw this up, Sanam. If anything happens to that woman, it's on you."
Sanam's chest tightened with fear. He wanted to protest, to say he wasn't built for this. But beneath Vijay's glare, the words died on his tongue. His legs felt heavy as stone, yet he knew there was no choice.
Sanam borrowed Vijay's car and sped down the road, the tracker blinking on his phone. He had already given Ravi Singh's number to the cyber unit for tracing, but time was slipping away.
On the other side, Meera was still in Ravi Singh's clutches. He stopped his car in the middle of the forest and dragged her out, ignoring her kicks and screams. In front of them stood an old, two–storied ruin, half–swallowed by weeds and silence.
"Let me go!" Meera shrieked, twisting her wrists.
Ravi tightened his grip. "Shut up! Walk!"
She tried breaking free, but he yanked her hair and forced her inside.
---
Sanam muttered to himself while driving, his hands trembling against the steering wheel.
"Why the hell do I always get dragged into these things? I already solved the case… and sir sends me after this old man too. Ahh! What if I die? Will he take responsibility? No, he won't!" He groaned like a child, frustrated.
He glanced at the map again. "Where the hell is this man going? Why so deep into the forest?"
The red dot blinked further and further away. Sanam pressed harder on the accelerator, then paused, realizing something, and quickly sent a message from his phone.