A Bet To The Death (Vishnu Bhosale #1)

Pune, Vishnu Bhosale’s Apartment

7.30A.M

For as long as he could remember, Vishnu had always been a morning person. So, this day was no different for him. He liked everything about the mornings, the fresh smell before everything and everyone grew tired and wary of the day. He never had any problem with Monday, in fact he liked it. Because, he wasn’t really good at anything but his job. His job, being an Inspector for the Pune Police Crime Branch. The calm city of Pune didn’t really bring along any twisted cases along his way, but in the seldom case of when he’d come upon such a case; he would solve it with utmost precision. He adored the mellow nature of his cases and actually wished all of his cases to be easy. Maybe that was the reason; he never bore a thought about even trying to apply for the CID or the CBI. He was not rich in complexion, but had a tall height and even after being where he had been for more than ten years, had a perfect built and fitness. His seniors respected him and his colleagues envied him.

But the only one who loved him was his sister, Sangeeta. For the last couple of months, she had been living with him. He still remembered the day she had been sent off into marriage, his tears and hers both. But, he also remembered the day she had telephoned him, sobbing and weeping about the way her husband had laid his hands on her for a mistake so small that she couldn’t even remember it. He didn’t wait for one more day to do what was to be done, to bring her back immediately and send him off to rot for the biggest mistake of his life.

Now, with the divorce being completed and him being in jail, Sangeeta was staying with him, till she could get her life back on its wheels. After all his morning chores were completed, Vishnu put on his clean and pressed uniform. Then, he took a look into the neighbouring room where Sangeeta was asleep, and without making any further sounds, left home for work.

The only stop that he took before reaching his police station was that of the Chaiwaala across the street from his apartment. Vishnu entered the crime scene, and was accompanied by Sub-Inspector Pradeep Madiwale, his associate for more than five years. They shared a bond of what could be called friendship, and that was just as far as Vishnu had gone in his social life. “What do we have here?” asked Vishnu, in a dry and plain tone.

“Well,” said Tanya the forensics expert,” There are multiple stab wounds to the stomach, and I can say with assurance that the victim didn’t fight back. It just seems as if the attack came to him as a surprise and so, before he could do anything, he was already stabbed once. I guess that the murder weapon is a knife, not too big or too small, just the average size. This looks like a crime of passion. And I will have to take him down to the lab, for the estimation of the time of death.” She let out a proud smile, after she was finished, and then just went away to help with paperwork.

Vishnu, stood next to the body, as it lied there undisturbed. The boy appeared to be in his late-teens. The upper, half of his body hanged from the Pune Municipal Corporation garbage disposal bin, where it was found. His hands were hanging weightlessly, and even so moved as the brisk winter breeze blew past them. Vishnu tilted his neck so as to get a nice look at his left hand.

Then, pointing it to Madiwale, he said,” Look here, the watch stopped working as the hands suffered the blow from the metal walls of the container. This must have happened when he was dumped here. The time says 3.00 AM.”

Madiwale listened closely; he respected Bhosale and knew that he had a lot of things he could learn from him.

                                                                                                                           Khadki Police Station,

                                                                                                                                         11.30 AM

Vishnu sat in his chair, as he worked his way through the case report, when he was interrupted by Madiwale, who came in flapping a file on his hand. “The Forensics Evaluation of the victim is here.” He said.

“Good,” Vishnu said,” Read it aloud.” His eyes still focused on the report he was working on.

Madiwale let out an irritated gaze at him, for not being any enthusiastic about it, but still carried on,” The victim’s name is Akshay Shelar; they found it using his dental records. He has a mother and a brother, father died in an accident over 10 years ago. He’s family hasn’t been notified till now.”

Interrupting his report, Vishnu asked,” And the time of Death?”

Madiwale lifted his head up from the report and then rapidly turning pages, finally landed on the correct page. Then he said, with a strange smile on his face,” It says, here that the estimated time of death is between 1.45 and 2.00 AM.”

Now, Vishnu lifted his head from his report and then closing his eyes, as his head rested on the chair, said,” This proves one thing for sure. The place where we found the body isn’t the crime scene. The crime scene is unknown. And the only way to find it is…”

“By asking the person who was the last person to see the victim alive.” Madiwale said, interrupting Vishnu, with a proud smile on his face. The student was finally applying what he had learnt from his master.

“Good,” Bhosale said,” Dying at 2.00 AM, this kid was surely not the all-rounder, bright future of India kind. Call in his relatives, find out who his friends are, because whoever they are, they’ll know who his enemies are.” That being said, he proceeded out of his chair and made his way out of the station. It was time for another cup of tea, and it wasn’t like he was paying or anything.

Vishnu returned to the police station at around 12.00 PM, when he saw, an old woman wearing a crumpled, faded sari and a young man, in his late 20s sitting across Madiwale, who was waiting for Vishnu to come back. He took a seat in the chair to the right of Madiwale and faced the mother and brother of the victim. Vishnu had always been a face reader, and there were some occasions when he had put this ability to good use. He looked at the mother. Wrinkles covered her tired and worried face. Her sari was old, faded in colour and crumpled. The young man sitting next to her wasn’t in any different condition than his mother.

“So,” Madiwale said, breaking the silence,” Did your son had anyone who might have done something like this to him?”

Mrs. Shelar let out a cynical sigh as she heard the words coming out of him. This changed the looks on Vishnu’s face, as he stared at her suspiciously. Giving his mother an angry look, his brother said,” Actually, sir. He was the kind of kid who makes too much enemies. The one who would do some things that would draw him some unwanted attention, from the wrong people.”

Vishnu was now staring at him, with close attention. He continued,” He was just seven years old. Me, I was over 15 and given the area where we lived, I was mature enough to cope with it. But, Akshay grew up without a father. He started going around with the wrong kind of people, the kind of people who are available in plenty where we live. I even heard that he would be betting on cricket matches at the nearby bars. Soon, things had gotten way out of hand. He would come home late at night, demand money from Aai, and when she would refuse, he would just loan it from someone from the bar. These people, they would go out to any limit just to make sure that they got their money back.” Then, his voice started to choke, as tears filled his eyes.

Vishnu still was staring at him, coldly with absolutely no expressions on his face. Mrs. Shelar was now staring at the ground with no word uttered, right from the time she had arrived.

“Who were these friends of Akshay, anyways?” asked Madiwale, ignoring the sorrow of the victim’s family,” Can you name them?”

Slowly controlling his tears and wiping them off, the brother said,” Yes. Sahil Sonawne and Ketan Sabhale.”

“And the bar where he used to go for betting?”

“Shanti Bar. It’s right across the street from where we live.”

“Thank you. That will be all. We’ll notify you of the further developments in the case.” Vishnu said, as Madiwale escorted them out of the station.

“So,” Vishnu asked,” What do you think?”

“About what?” came the confused response from Madiwale.

“About the friends. You think they were with him when he got stabbed to death?”

“Well, if they were, that would make them the last persons to see him alive.”

“Or, the first ones to see him dead.”

 

                                                                                                                        Pimplesaudagar village

                                                                                                                        Shelar’s Neighbourhood

                                                                                                                             2.30 PM

The place where Akshay had lived reminded Vishnu of a very similar place from his childhood, but then he immediately removed himself from his mind and concentrated on what his eyes were seeing. The place looked like no Municipal Corporation Sanitation truck had ever made its way there in the last fifty years. Filth was crowded on the sides of the narrow street and was surrounded by swarms of mosquitoes and house-flies. The fresh product from the morning lied on both the sides of the streets and the lone public urinal was overflowing with urine and dirty water. Huts and houses were built, and the small children running around were buck-nude. Men sat in circles playing poker and drinking beer. To save any extra attention, Vishnu and Madiwale had come there wearing civilian outfits. Standing by a group of men playing cards, Madiwale asked,” Where do Sahil Sonawne and Ketan Sabhale live?”

The man gave him a strange look and then pointed out to two adjoining houses in the narrow lane. Shaking his head, he started walking in that direction as Vishnu followed him.

Their houses were what could be referred to as huts, in miserable condition with plaster dripping from the walls and the paint which was initially white was now looking pale yellow. Madiwale flashed his ID to the middle-aged person sitting outside the house, and said,” I am Sub-Inspector Madiwale and this is Inspector Bhosale. Is this where Sahil Sonawne lives? We’re here to question him regarding the death of Akshay Shelar.”

His last four words grabbed the attention of the woman sitting inside the house, who came rushing through the door, a mixed look of surprise, sadness and horror on her face.

“Akshay is dead?” She screamed, loud enough for the other four surrounding houses to hear.

“Yes. It happened last night, and Sahil and Ketan are the last ones to see him alive.”

“Well,” She said, with a puzzled expression on her face,” Sahil and Ketan haven’t returned since last night.”

This changed the cold, expressionless look on Vishnu’s face into a worried one. Madiwale turned around as his eyes met Vishnu’s. They knew this one was not a case that would be closed soon.

Madiwale brought two cups of tea as Vishnu sat one of the chairs outside the Chaiwaala’s shop. He took a hot sip of the tea and then closed his eyes, as the warm wave ran through his nerves. “What now?” asked Madiwale, his tired face still ridden with worries.

“We can ask a few questions around the bar but we don’t know the people whom he owed money to. We don’t have a crime scene. And the last persons to have seen our victim alive are missing. So, what I say we do is go home now. It’ll take us two hours to get back to the station, given the traffic of these hours. We’ll see what comes up tomorrow.”

Madiwale nodded obediently as he heard what he was saying. The idea of going home was never the one he would want to question.

 

                                                                                                                       Bhosale’s Apartment

                                                                                                                                            6.00 PM

It had taken another half an hour before Bhosale could leave so as to see how his beloved sister was doing. He opened the door with a key and saw Sangeeta sitting on the sofa, switching through TV channels. Her fair face looked frustrated but, then her expressions showed a transition towards happiness as she looked at her brother. He had noticed her frustrated expressions even in the short time, and asked her,” So, how did the interviews go?”

She shook her head in disappointment,” Nobody wants an inexperienced girl, who got her degree two years ago to be working for them.”

He gave her his trademark side-smile of assurance and said,” Don’t worry. It’ll be just fine. There will be someone, you know. Someone who’ll know that you need commitment not experience to be good at a job.”

“Well, yeah. It’s not like I have to pay you any rent.” Came the reply, then she gave him a sly smile, and went into the kitchen, the TV still on. Now, he would see the news as she would cook and then, as per the house-customs went, they would eat dinner together.

 

  The next day,                                                                                                                                    

 Khadki police station

 

Madiwale stood at the door with a broad smile on his face as Vishnu entered the door.

“What happened?” Vishnu asked, his neck tilted, trying to figure out what had made Madiwale so happy.

“Miracle. I got a call from the police station in Yerwada, that they had a person matching the description of Sahil Sonawne. I had him brought here. It happened just minutes before you came, so I didn’t call you.”

“Where is he?”

“In the hospital. When he was taken in, he was covered in bruises. Some looked deep, like he had tried to escape and had gotten himself cut by pieces of glass or something. But, we’ll be able to talk to him by afternoon.”

“Okay. And what about the other one?”

“No news about him. But, I’m sure Sahil will tell us.”

 

Civil Hospital, Khadki

11.30 AM

 

Sahil lied on his bed, with his mother cutting small pieces of apple by his side. The doctor directed Vishnu and Madiwale to his bed. Madiwale introduced himself as well as himself and asked Sahil’s mother if she could leave them as they needed to ask some questions to him in person. Sahil looked a little older than Akshay. His hands were covered in bandages, the doctors told him that there were many injuries but most of them were inflicted by accidents and he was not a subject to torture. Vishnu and Madiwale pulled chairs by the sides of his table. He had been told by the doctors and his mother that the police had come to ask him some questions, so his face didn’t look any surprised but was really calm.

“Your friend Akshay, he’s dead. Do you know that?” Madiwale initiated the interrogation.

“Yes. My mother told me.”

“When was the last time you saw him?” This question brought a puzzled look on Sahil’s face as he was quite surprised to see that they had no questions about what had happened to him.

“The night before yesterday. We were returning from Shanti bar.”

“Was Ketan with you?”

“Yes.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s still there.”

“Where?”

“The place that I escaped from.”

Vishnu kneeled over closely to him with a look of concern on his face, as he said,” Tell us exactly what happened the night when you saw Akshay for the last time.”

“We were returning from the bar, as I told you earlier. We were just in the colony where we live, when I felt a strong blow on the back of my head. Everything just blacked out after that. Then, when my eyes opened, I was in this dark room, and Ketan was lying there too. We tried everything but the door of the room was locked from outside. Ketan was still faint and even though he was awake, he remained a little dizzy. Maybe, he was hit too, but only stronger. I didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t see Akshay anywhere. Then, there was this window on the wall. Somehow, we managed to reach there, but knew that only one person could escape, so Ketan had to remain there. The glass of the window made these marks, and also I felt pretty hard on the ground from the window. But I didn’t stop till I reached the nearest police station.”

Vishnu listened carefully and then, shaking his head continued,” So, what was the time, when you felt that blow on the head?”

“Around 2 AM.”

Vishnu and Madiwale smiled at each other on listening that. “That’s around the time of death” was what the smile signified.

“So,” Madiwale said,” Can you tell the police where Ketan is?”

‘Of course.”

“Well, then we’ll have some cops pick him up from there. Also, tell us where this happened exactly.”

“Near our colony, there is this highway. On that highway, beneath the flyover. That’s where it happened.”

Vishnu looked at Madiwale, “That’s our crime scene.”

 

Khadki Police Station

It had already been two hours since the crime scene was investigated. Nothing significant was found. It would take another half an hour before the forensics report would come. There was nothing to be done till then. Now, it was just a couple of hours before this day would be over too. Vishnu never let a case haunt him for any longer than a week. He sat on his table, staring at a file and Madiwale on his. Vishnu looked at Madiwale, who was filling out a report, but still deep in thought. Something struck him as he was reading, so he got up from his chair and went over to Madiwale, “Bring in Ashutosh.’

“Akshay’s Brother?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“You’ll know soon enough.”

Madiwale flashed another confused look at Vishnu before he went over to the telephone. Luckily Ashutosh was at his workplace. So, it would only take him 15 minutes to come over at the station.

 

Ashutosh was seated on one of those wooden chairs from the police station. He looked scared and sweat beads rolled over his neck and drenched the collar of the shirt which he was wearing. Vishnu sat on a chair in front of him as Madiwale stood behind him. Then letting out a long sigh, he began,” So, Ashutosh. We found the crime scene this afternoon. Also, we found something there. Looks like our killers missed a mark. Now I figured it will be most appropriate for me to tell this to you before I tell it to anyone else.”

Ashutosh moved uneasily in the uncomfortable chair he was sitting on, as he managed to get words out of his mouth, and finally, he mumbled, “What is the matter Inspector? What did you find?”

As his eyes fixated on him, he continued, “I was just looking at the reports that came in from the forensics sweep done on the crime scene. They found a partial finger-print on the lamp-post where Akshay was killed. So, somehow I managed to get the finger-prints of you and your mother from your work-place and the glass of water she had at the station the other day, and your mother’s are a perfect match. The crime scene is at a walking distance from your house. Akshay had gotten out of hand. He would recklessly spend your hard-earned money. That gives her motive. Maybe, she just wanted to scold him or something and she accidentally killed him. Maybe, she just wanted to threaten him with that knife. The murder weapon was just confirmed to be a kitchen knife. Everything leads to just one thing. I’m sorry to say this, but your brother was killed by your mother.”

“No!” Ashutosh screamed as he got up from his chair, “That’s not possible. It’s just not possible. This doesn’t make any sense.”

Vishnu got up from his chair too, “Of course it does.  You just don’t want to see it. But, all of it makes perfect sense. I understand that it must be hard.” Then, he gently placed his hand on his shoulder and said, “That’s why I wanted you to listen this before I told anyone else.”

Ashutosh pushed his hand from his shoulder and moved away. “I still don’t get it? How did they get her prints on the lamp-post.”

“Maybe, Akshay resisted and pushed her away. She didn’t exactly plan everything. She made a mistake.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Why?”

“Because,” he screamed as he threw his arms in the air, “I killed him!”

“What?” Vishnu asked, with a shocked expression on his face.

“Yes. I killed him. I went there that night, with a knife with me in case any of his drunken friends tried to protect him and hurt me. But, I saw him from a distance. He was drunk, partying with his friends as they danced on the road, and on the dividers. I picked up the pipe. Then, I hit his friends from behind and as he looked at me, he froze. I told him that I needed to talk to him for what he had done. Till then he had gone all crazy. He came at me, his arms flinging around rapidly. I took out my knife to just scare him away. But, I don’t know. It was an accident. Once I stabbed him, it felt like he deserved it. I just did it again and again.”

“And” Vishnu said, interrupting him, “Then, you came to your senses. But yet, you took it calmly. You cleaned up all evidence and then dumped his body far away in a dumpster. You abducted them too, so that no one will find the crime scene. No one watches anything at night, when you’re in Pune. You knew it and you used it to your own advantage.”

Ashutosh had his head knelt down. He knew that in one rush of adrenaline, he had blown everything away. “And yet I don’t understand. How did my mother’s prints end up on the lamp-post?”

Vishnu moved towards the table at a far distance from where Ashutosh was standing, and then switching off the recorder which sat nicely on the table said, “I didn’t.”

Madiwale shook his head in appreciation as he walked over to a shocked Ashutosh and hand-cuffed him. “You are under-arrest for the murder of Akshay Shelar.”

He gave one look towards Vishnu as Madiwale escorted him towards the lock-up. All the constables and sub-inspectors present in the station looked at Vishnu with appreciation in their eyes. It wasn’t the first time they had seen Vishnu do something like this and yet every time, he managed to charm them like they saw it for the first time.

 

Vishnu stood at the door of the police station as he looked at the setting sun, and visualized all the cases to come. It was after every case that he closed when he would stand there, assuring himself that he had made his parents proud. Madiwale came and stood by his side, as he asked curiously, “So, how did you know that Ashutosh was the killer?”

“Well,” He said, his eyes still fixated on the sun, “I was reading a file, about the financials of the Shelars. There was a major change, about three days ago. I dug a little deeper and noticed that the Shelar family house was put on mortgage. And, I knew that Akshay had something major to contribute to it. There had to be a way of paying off his debts and gaining new money for gambling. Of course, I could have been wrong. But it was a chance that I had to take. I told him that his mother was the murderer. If she had truly been the murderer, there was no way that she would drag him to the dumpster for one hour alone. He had to have helped her. And, if that would be the case, he wouldn’t act the way he did. The crime scene was at a close proximity from their residence. So, there was a chance of either one of them to be the culprits. If the interrogation would have ended sideways, the people from Shanti bar would be the persons of interest. The house mortgage lead was the most important one.”

Madiwale still couldn’t hide the storming appreciation for Vishnu. Still shaking his head, he said, “A straight confession. No doubt the Public Prosecutor loves you.”

 

Bhosale’s Apartment 

Vishnu got home and to his surprise, the TV was off. He tried to find where Sangeeta was and noticed that she was sitting in the balcony, sipping Pepsi from a can as she looked at the sun which had now become orange and reddish, probably for the same reason Vishnu did it. And then, he knew that something good had happened today, something worth celebrating with Pepsi.

“What’s the occasion?” He asked, as he removed another can from the fridge which she had brought for him.

“I got a job.”

He smiled and put his hand around her neck, “I told you.”

The day had ended on a joyous note, and how badly he hoped for all the rest of his days to end this way.

__END__