Next day Sucha woke up with anxiety. Today Neil was to be presented in front of the Magistrate. Sucha looked at her watch and called up Manoj. She wanted to be there when Neil was presented in front of the magistrate. Manoj reminded her that technically it won’t be possible as she was no longer representing Neil. Instead he offered to give her a call once they were through with it. She reluctantly agreed. She wanted to tell him that she had gathered some info but he seemed pretty busy. So decided to tell him later on when he called. Sucha anxiously waited for his call. Finally when Manoj called it was 1.00 PM. When his name flashed on her cell she jumped on her cell and answered it.

“What happened? He has been remanded to judicial custody?” she asked nervously.

“Yes.” Manoj said in a low voice.

“What is it Manoj?” Sucha sensed something odd.

“Sucha, Neil escaped.” Manoj blurted.

“What?” Sucha screamed.

“Yes. We were getting him back to custody in a police van. We were just about to reach & a smoke bomb exploded. Everything went haywire and Neil managed to escape. This is so strange.” Manoj said.

“Manoj there is a lot more than it meets the eye.” Sucha then updated him with Vishnu uncle and Mrs. Zala’s connection. She was about to finish her talks when she saw Don’s call on wait. She put Manoj on hold and took Don’s call. She listened and spoke to him briefly. She bid him good bye and switched back to Manoj.

“Manoj, it was Don. He was calling from Lonavala. We have to rush to Lonavala right away.” Sucha told him

“Why?” Manoj asked.

“Don had kept an eye on Vishnu Uncle. As I told you yesterday he was spotted in Lonavala. He seems to own a bungalow there. Mrs. Zala has also landed in Lonavala. She has not reached the bungalow though.” Sucha spoke rapidly.

“Sucha, just because they are there we also have to run to Lonavala?” Manoj asked pointedly.

“No. Not because of that. Don spoke to few people like watchman of the nearing bungalow,  maid who does cleaning there, they all confirm the fact that 2 days ago somebody was brought to the bungalow in an unconscious state. And the description of that person is matching with Neil’s. If Neil was in your custody, then how come people saw him in Lonavala and that too in unconscious state?” Sucha asked calmly.

“I am starting right away with 2 more men. I shall pick you up in another 15 min.” Manoj assured Sucha. Sucha called up Don and told him that she was reaching Lonavala in another 2 hours.

 

Sucha and Manoj reached Lonavala around 3.30 PM. Sucha called Don and he gave them directions to the bungalow. He also told them that Mrs. Zala had come and disappeared in the bungalow. Manoj chuckled when Sucha whispered “bitch!” Sucha was about to retort but didn’t as they were now nearing the bungalow. It was not on the main road. A small approach road led them to the bungalow. They decided to leave the police jeep behind and walk it down. All men were in civil dress so nobody would have come to know that they were police. Don jumped from nowhere and joined them in the middle of the walk. He smiled when he saw startling expression on Manoj’s face. “Join our force man.” Manoj patted on his back and said. “Don’t try to snatch him from me. I pay him well and most importantly I treat him well unlike your department.” Sucha quipped. Manoj made a face and continued to walk. Everybody went silent when the bungalow became visible. Manoj asked Sucha to hide behind one of the compound walls. She protested but finally relented. All four men took out there weapons and went ahead cautiously. With just gesturing at each other they decided the positions. One police officer stopped much behind. Manoj quickly moved and stood next to the door, pinned against the wall. Don disappeared in the bushes in the yard. And finally the fourth man hid his weapon ubder his belt and knocked on the door. For some time nothing happened. He knocked again and waited. Then they all heard somebody saying ‘Are baba ruko. Kholte hai’. The door opened. A short fellow who seemed to be domestic help stood there.

The officer asked him casually “Saab hai?”.

“Nahi. Koi nahi hai gharpe.” He answered rudely and started closing the door. Manoj pushed the door and entered the house. He held his weapon in full glare and showed his id. One look at the gun and the fellow started trembling.

“Sab log kidhar hai?” Manoj asked him calmly. He had so much of authority in his voice that even sans the gun anybody would have obeyed him.

“Sab log upper hai” short fellow pointed towards the stairs.

Manoj gestured him to lead. He shrugged his shoulders and started towards the stairs. Manoj was behind him followed by Don, Sucha and other 2 officers. As they ascended they could hear somebody talking. The stairs led them to a room. They entered the room at once.

“Everybody freeze.” Manoj ordered.

Vishnu uncle turned around & went silent. Mrs. Zala was sitting leisurely on a sofa. Now she sat upright and stared at the guests. Sucha looked at them and smiled. She moved ahead and stopped abruptly. “Oh my god!” she screamed looking at the bed. “What is it?” Manoj asked as he started towards Sucha. Even he went speechless when he saw it.

Two men who looked exactly like Neil were lying on the bed side by side. He went ahead and checked both of them. He tried to wake them up. “We need some medical help here.” Sucha got worried.

“They are perfectly okay. It’s just a mild dose of sedative.” Everybody looked at Mrs. Zala as she said this.

“She must be right. After all she has been trained as a nurse.” Don said this with a smile.

“Vishnu Uncle will you please tell about these 2 Neils?” Sucha asked restlessly. She was staring at both sleeping figures one by one. ‘They look so same… Who is the real Neil…’ she wondered.

“I will not speak a word unless I speak to my lawyer.” Vishnu Uncle spoke firmly.

“Gee… Never heard that” Sucha said sarcastically.

Manoj turned to Don and Sucha “I think I shall take over from here. I am taking these two in custody and arranging medical help for these two. I shall get in touch with you once I make some advances.”

Sucha and Don returned from Lonavala. Manoj kept his word and came to Sucha’s office the next day to update her and Don.

“Manoj just spill out!” Sucha could no longer hide her excitement.

Manoj smiled “First about Neil and his look alike. Neil is fit and fine. But Rishi is a bit critical. They were kept under sedation. Actually they are not look alike but half brothers. Mr. Mahale had another son Rishi, born out of wed lock. Rishi resembled Neil to a great extent. A small difference was taken care by a minor plastic surgery. Rishi’s mother died long back. Mr. Mahale was supporting him through a trust fund. This was known only to Vishnu. He had kind of black mailed Neil’s father and demanded share in the business. When Neil’s father died in a road accident, he swore to get full charge of the business. But Neil proved to be more than capable of handling everything efficiently. Neil was coming in his way from acquiring the business and Mr. Zala was coming in his way from acquiring object of his affection.”

“Yeah. We know Vishnu and Mrs. Zala were lovers in college days. But destiny made them part ways.” Don said.

Manoj nodded and continued “Vishnu and Mrs. Zala met after years when Neil bought this house 6 months back. They acknowledged the fact that they knew each other but hid the fact that they were lovers. Old romance got rekindled in no time. At first they thought that Mrs. Zala would demand divorce from Mr. Zala. But Mr. Zala had mass wealth so letting it go didn’t go down well with Vishnu and Mrs. Zala. So killing him was the only option left before these two greedy love birds. Vishnu came up with a master plan. He decided to murder Mr. Zala and put blame on Neil. He also got in touch with Neil’s half brother and told him the truth about his father. Rishi had this suppressed anger for his unknown father. His mother never revealed who his father was. Vishnu added fuel to this anger by telling that his father was a rich man but never cared to find how Rishi was doing. He told Rishi that he could replace Neil and become owner of this large empire. Rishi was then sent to Neil’s residence and was used to show proximity with Mrs. Zala in elevator. People who witnessed the whole incident thought it was Neil who was romancing Mrs. Zala.”

Manoj stopped to gulp down a glass of water.

“So it was Rishi! And I was grilling Neil for it.” Sucha felt pangs of guilt.

Manoj nodded and continued “Yes. It was Rishi. Vishnu knew the pub where Neil went regularly. He bribed the bar tender and got Neil’s drink spiked. That’s the reason Neil got completely slashed and slept like a dead man when Mr. Zala was being killed. Vishnu had flicked Neil’s gun and given it to Mrs. Zala. Neil had kept it in office drawer and Vishnu had spare keys to each and every cabinet. From Zala’s bedroom the approach road to the society is clearly visible. Mrs. Zala didn’t sleep a wink that night. Around 4.30 AM she heard a little commotion when Neil came drunk. She confirmed that the friend who had come to drop him had left. Then she waited for another half an hour and took the spare keys to Neil’s flat. She went and checked on him. He was sleeping like a baby. She came back took the gun and hid it in her night dress pocket. Then she woke up Mr. Zala and lied to him that she heard some screams from Neil’s flat. She suggested that they should go and check if Neil is fine. Mr. Zala being a helpful man immediately agreed. They rang the bell but got no response. Mrs. Zala had cleverly switched off the door bell. So they took the spare keys and opened the door. Mrs. Zala closed the door. She waited till Mr. Zala turned his back. And then she fried the gun from behind. The gun was on silencer. She then threw the gun over the water tank in bathroom and left.”

“But her fingerprints were not there on the gun!” Sucha exclaimed.

“I knew you would ask this like a true lawyer! She had worn gloves while going to bed the previous night saying she was feeling cold.” Manoj said with a smile. “The only thing that was not planned was Neil’s feat with Mr. Zala in the AGM last week. That was a big bonus for Vishnu. It actually strengthened his plot.”

“What a plot!” Sucha shook her head.

Manoj continued “Vishnu never expected Sucha to get involved in all this. He had purposely gone on a foreign trip and planned to come the same morning and release Neil on bail and then replace him with Rishi. But Sucha protected Neil like a mother hen and made things difficult for Vishnu.”

“But why did Neil disappear from my office?” Sucha looked confused.

“He didn’t disappear, Sucha. He had gone to your office loo when you were speaking to me. You never checked where he had gone and left at once. And then your cell was switched off when he tried it. So he walked out of your office. He had decided to go to your place but Vishnu had sent men on his trail who abducted him in between. At this juncture Rishi entered the scene, gave confession, got himself presented in front of the magistrate and escaped. After Rishi escaped, Vishnu had planned to kill Neil by poisoning him. Then he had planned to throw Neil’s body somewhere and show as if he committed suicide. Vishnu had asked Rishi to go under knife again, appear with different looks so that he could be declared as Neil’s half brother. He could then be owner of the entire empire. Of course Vishnu had fooled Rishi by these false promises. He had in-fact planned to kill both of them. He just wanted to use Rishi.”

“Sucha, this has to be the first case in your 4 years of practice that never reached the courtroom and got solved!” Don exclaimed.

“Yes true! And credit goes to you and Manoj. You gathered info in a quiet short time and. Manoj had faith in me.” Sucha smiled at them.

“But Sucha it was your instinct that pushed us in right direction.” Manoj said decisively.

“You are absolutely right!” Don seconded Manoj.

“Hmm… So now Vishnu uncle and Mrs. Zala will be charged with murder. Poor Neil so much he went through. Now he must be feeling shattered after knowing about his half brother.” Sucha said.

“I spoke to Neil before coming here. At first he had mixed feelings. He was angry at his father for this. But then he mellowed down when he saw Rishi. He said ‘it is actually pacifying to know that he still has somebody whom he can call his family’. And Sucha I think this is such a matured way of looking at things. Hats off to that fellow!” Manoj was full of praises.

“He is quiet balanced you know.” Sucha said in a soft voice.

Then Manoj took Sucha and Don to meet Neil in a private hospital. He was all fine but felt a bit drowsy. “The sedative will take some more time to wear off” Doctor Priya who was treating him and Rishi told them.

“Oh so you are Sucha!” Priya smiled at Sucha.

“You know me?” Sucha asked her puzzled.

“Neil has uttered your name for so many times in his daze that I was actually looking forward to meet you.” Doctor Priya giggled as she said this.

“I hope I havn’t said much” Neil was looking jejunely concerned.

“So there is in fact more on your mind!” Manoj winked at him and said.

“Yes… Nooo… Err… I mean.. I just was wondering…” Neil stammered and looked at Sucha who was blushing profusely.

 

They all laughed when Manoj turned to Don and said “Don, now you better start investigating this case.”

 

The End.

 

Hey guys! I don’t know if I have lived up-to the expectations while concluding the story. Hope those few people who have been reading this story don’t find the final suspense boring/predictable…. If you feel that I have wasted your time then I am genuinely sorry.

I have altered it as rightly pointed out by Ben. Hope there are no more technical mistakes. Otherwise some lawyer will get irritated and sue me for ignorance of law

- Prutha.