Murder Mystery Short Story – The Crimson Diaries (Part VI)
Photo credit: chelle from morguefile.com
**The chase continues**
Rajesh is searching for her spouse’s cold blooded killer so that he might avenge her, one night while searching Rajesh saw someone and started following. Rajesh was in the Shyambazar area and the chase was taking place in the narrow lanes. Rajesh raddled along clearly he had walked enough and it was beginning to show, but just as Rajesh was about to blink his eye, his eye caught something and the moment he saw him, he knew he was a murderer as days of roaming and killing two serial killers himself had taught him things he even could not imagine on doing. It was tacit to Rajesh that, the shadowy figure needed following and he carefully did so hopefully without the knowledge of the man. Once or twice Rajesh had to run almost at full speed to follow the figure which seemed to be looking for someone, someone worth killing maybe? Rajesh held in his hand an expensive Swiss army knife gifted to him by Anjali herself for his passion of knives. The night was cold and Kolkata was freezing- but two men were engaged in a fight and of them would win.
Rajesh followed the figure for an exact of about half an hour when suddenly the figure took a sharp turn to one of the streets and when Rajesh ran and took the left turn the figure vanished. This made Rajesh uncomfortable as he thought the person was ubiquitous and he felt his pulse rise and he could now hear his own heartbeat. Grapping the knife tightly, Rajesh relaxed his pulse as he knew he had to be cool to face this deadly snake of an assassin.
**The confrontation**
For a full seven minutes Rajesh was not attacked by anyone and remained in the anticipation that he would be soon. Soon a blow lands on his head from the dark and out emerges Imtiaz smiling slyly. Rajesh is determined to kill him but cannot do so as he is completely overtaken by the appearance of Imtiaz. He looks like the same exact copy of Rajesh, as if they were clones or identical twins. Rajesh almost withered as Imtiaz looked at him with contempt. Though Imtiaz had unruly hair, soiled clothes and a dirty looking grin matching with soiled shoes and nails…
Rajesh: Wh… Who are you?
Imtiaz: Oh, you do not recognize me? ME? ME? ME?
Rajesh’s ears seemed to ring with the last words of Imtiaz as he felt he was head over heels and felt his knees clattering, almost making a mechanical sound.
Rajesh (still spellbound): I… I still do not understand anything…
Imtiaz: Smiling devilishly… Oh you can’t? Look basically it’s all simple, I am you and you’re me…
Rajesh: Again the words “I am you and you’re me…” resonated within Rajesh’s ears long enough to make him mad.
Imtiaz: I killed Anjali, yes I killed her, no wait, better still you killed her, you see you’re my alter ego, my better half which lives in a good flat with two good lovers and a good job, but I, look at me; I live to kill, to murder…
Rajesh now looked at his own hands and saw them smeared in blood, Anjali’s blood; he felt like killing himself. Completely broken and utterly confused he sat on both his knees sobbing like the time when he saw Anjali’s dead body. Imtiaz again laughed his blood curling laughter and stood there waiting for Rajesh to take his first step.
Suddenly as if in a flashback, Rajesh remembered everything. He dressed as Imtiaz the ice-cream seller and also killed people with icicles crafted carefully and then wrapped by the Pepsi packets (Re.1 ones) for better grip and insulation. Result- people were killed but no murder weapon, no evidence.
Rajesh: I killed her, I killed her, I killed her and the same thoughts circulated within Rajesh’s head again and again, that he is a murderer and a stealer of happiness from people.
Saddened, devastated and disillusioned Rajesh decided the hard way for himself. He decided to die and readied the sharp Swiss knife but in a moments swift action it was kicked out by his evil half.
Imtiaz: Are you mad? You trying to die? But why?
Imtiaz looked visibly perplexed and very much confused because for him, killing people was an art, which only some people in the world can perform- “sooner or later they all get caught for killing, but how long they can run is the main skill”, Imtiaz always used to think.
Rajesh now had no other option than the frosted icicles, “What better way to die than this”, he thought but again this time Imtiaz jumped at Rajesh to prevent himself from dying. Almost an hours’ fight continued between ensuring local people nearby to inform the police about the whole ongoing incident.
**Sometime Later**
Bhardwaj: I am not shocked, frankly, I sensed something wrong with him the moment I saw him.
Constable: Local people saw him fighting with himself, said they thought he was loony.
Bhardwaj (in a whisper, to himself): You were not fighting with yourself were you Rajesh? You were fighting with the devil inside you, were you not?
**Present Time**
The psychiatrist (Dr. Hembrem): *Slapping Imtiaz* wake up, wake up someone is here to see you.
Imtiaz (Salivating profusely): Wh… Who?
Nilanjana (Sobbing): What have you done Raj? What have you done? *muffled cries*
**Rajesh a.k.a Imtiaz had a severe personality disorder and though this was kept in check but growing tension and stressful life may be the reason behind its eruption, but whatever the cause be, he is now under treatment and after he is cured, he will serve his sentence which may either be lifetime imprisonment or death by hanging. Why Imtiaz as his second name? No one knows, Imtiaz was so convinced of the existence of himself that he even made his own ration card, voter card and other stuff like that. Police have raided the chawl and found them. Nilanjana left Rajesh and married a businessman. Inspector Bhardwaj still takes money under the table but he is till date the best detective ever (or so everybody says). Life has moved for everyone but for Rajesh/Imtiaz it stands still. **
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