House of Tales… Episode 8

#Houseoftalesepisode8

#houseoftalesepisode8

Links of earlier episodes: #Houseoftalesepisode1

#houseoftalesepisode1, #Houseoftalesepisode2,

#houseoftalesepisode2, #Houseoftalesepisode3

#houseoftalesepisode3, #Houseoftalesepisode4

#houseoftalesepisode4, #Houseoftalesepisode5

#houseoftalesepisode5, #Houseoftalesepisode6

#houseoftalesepisode6, #Houseoftalesepisode7

#houseoftalesepisode7

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#rhituparnachakraborty

Author: Rhituparna Chakraborty

#Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction with no relation to any person/organism living or dead. Every episode, every character is a work of imagination. Any resemblance to any person, organism, place, character or situation is purely coincidental. There is no intention to hurt or rebuke anyone or any profession through this work. This story/episode cannot be copied, published or reproduced without the permission of the author RhituparnaChakraborty.

Mushtaque looked at Reshma. Shama looked sternly at Reshma. Reshma went quiet. Mushtaque said, ‘I did not understand….’. Shama said, ‘No no, she has this habit of talking unnecessarily. Ignore her. How was the food?’ Before Mushtaque could say anything, Samarth came there. Samarth patted Mushtaque and said, ‘Hope you are comfortable.’ Shama and Reshma stood up and went to the sink to wash the dishes. Mushtaque replied, ‘I am comfortable and absolutely fine.’

Samarth said, ‘Bahadur, Shama, Reshma, they are the ones who ensure all of us are comfortable in this house, otherwise,’ Saying that Samarth paused. He then continued, ‘Anyway…….if you are free today, I can take you around Ranjanpur. Mushtaque said, ‘Thank you so much, but I have to go to the police station for some office work. I will meet you all in the evening.’

Samarth said, ‘Evening? What about lunch? The police station is close by. You can come for lunch and then if needed, go back again.’ Mushtaque said, ‘Will try my best. Thank you!’

Mushtaque was skeptical about leaving Deepika all by herself. He could not believe her story of sleep walking. Ideally he should tell Ranvijay about it. However, before that, he need to know more regarding what was Reshma talking about? He had to find a way to talk to Shama and Reshma. But how? As of now, he had to ensure that Deepika was not left alone. He went to meet Sonal. Sonal was putting an ice pack on her foot. Mushtaque knocked at the door. Sonal said, ‘Hi, please come in.’ Mushtaque asked, ‘How is your foot now?’ Sonal replied, ‘Better, but some pain still there.’ Mushtaque then said, ‘I wanted to ask you something about Deepika….’ Sonal was somewhat surprised. Did Mushtaque also notice something about Deepika? Sonal asked, ‘What?’

Mushtaque said, ‘Umm… Deepika looks very tired and worn out. Is she always like this?’ Sonal said in a concerned tone, ‘No….not at all. She has changed in these few days…….’ Mushtaque asked pryingly, ‘Changed, as in?’ Sonal said, ‘She used to be a happy, bubbly girl, and then in just few days, she seemed to be upset with things which I have no idea about. She even cried and she never told me why.’ Mushtaque said, ‘How about her sleep cycle? Since you guys are room mates in hostel, you would know. Does she sleep well.’ Sonal said, ‘Her sleep cycle has also changed after coming here.’ Mushtaque asked, ‘What change?’ Sonal said, ‘Earlier, she would sleep only at night and it would be sound sleep. She would not wake up even if the light was on in the middle of the night. While I had to wake up once either to drink water or go to the bathroom. But Deepika would be fast asleep and she would wake up directly in the morning at 7 or so. However, here, all she wants to do is sleep and cry.’ Mushtaque was perplexed. He had to find out more. However, at this point, Deepika’s safety was his first priority. Mushtaque told Sonal, ‘There is something I need to tell you about Deepika….’ Sonal was petrified. What was it that Mushtaque wanted to tell her? Sonal stared at Mushtaque. Mushtaque said, ‘Well….I hope I am wrong…. and I hope Deepika is telling the truth………but….’ Sonal asked, ‘But? But what?’ Mushtaque said, ‘But I feel she was lying when she said she was sleep walking last night?’ Sonal gasped. ‘What? Sleepwalking? Deepika never walked in her sleep.’ Mushtaque said, ‘I felt so….’ Sonal asked, ‘What happened last night?’ Mushtaque paused and said, ‘Deepika had walked up to the huge tree in the garden in the middle of the night. She had a scarf in her hand and she had pulled a chair closer to the tree. I was talking to my wife over phone while walking in the garden. When I saw Deepika, I followed her. When I questioned her, she told me that she could be sleep walking. Well, I feel, she was trying to do something wrong with herself…….’ Sonal froze. Mushtaque said, ‘Sonal, this looks like a very serious issue. I would suggest not to leave Deepika alone at all. When you go for your check up, take her with you.’ Sonal nodded. Sonal was still in shock.

Mushtaque now had to know more about this family. He needed to talk to Shama and Reshma. But this seemed impossible in this house. He would have to go and meet them at their house. But before that, he needs to find out more about the family.

Mushtaque went to the police station. There was only one personnel at the police station at that point. Mushtaque asked him, ‘Where are the other officers?’ The man looked at Mushtaque top to toe, yawned and asked, ‘ Who are you? If you have to get an FIR written, wait for sometime.’ Mushtaque looked at the officer and asked, ‘Why should I wait? You can write it too. Can’t you?’ The officer said in rage, ‘Sit there, don’t teach me my duties.’ Mushtaque sat in one of the chairs adjacent to the desk of the officer. The officer stood up and said, ‘GET THE HELL UP FROM THAT CHAIR.’ Mushtaque smiled, took out his ID card and flashed at the officer. The officer snatched the ID card and said, ‘WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?’ Saying that, he read the ID card. The moment he read, he began shivering. He said trembling, ‘S..S…Sir, I am sorry…actually….actually many times people come here to lodge unnecessary FIR….so….’ Mushtaque sat comfortably in the chair and asked, ‘What do you mean by unnecessary FIR?’ The constable said, ‘Like….silly issues….you know the villagers….sometimes some women come to complain against their husbands beating them and all….’ Mushtaque looked at the officer and said, ‘How is that a silly complaint?’ The constable groped for words. Mushtaque said, ‘Where are the rest of the officers?’ The officer replied, ‘They will be here soon…’ Mushtaque said, ‘I need your full name and rest of the details including date of joining. I also need the names of the all the other officers here….’ The constable was petrified. He said, ‘Sir, I am sorry. This will never happen again…..’ Mushtaque said, ‘We will talk about it later. Now, I need some information about the Choudhary family.’ The officer said, ‘You mean Devi Choudhary?’ Mushtaque said, ‘Yes….’ The officer replied, ‘Devi Choudhary is a gem of a person. So are his sons.’ Mushtaque asked, ‘What about Devi Choudhary’s wife and daughters in law?’ The officer said, ‘Seems there is some curse in that house. All the women in that house committed suicide.’ Mushtaque asked, ‘Curse?’ The officer replied, ‘You can check with Ashish Sir, my boss. He will be here in some time. Right from Devi Choudhary’s wife to his elder son’s wife to his younger son’s wife, all of them were clear cases of suicide. They were all found hanged.’ Mushtaque asked, ‘I need the files.’ The officer said, ‘Right away Sir. By the way my name is Alok. Alok Sinha.’

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Sonal coaxed Deepika to come with her and Saahil to the hospital. Deepika did not want to get out of her room. Sonal pleaded and said, ‘Bhai will not be able to manage alone. Moreover, Rohan and Sohum are your friends. Please, if you come, the process will become easy.’ Reluctantly, Deepika agreed.

Mushtaque got the files of the Chowdhary family’s suicide cases. They were all open and shut cases. They were apparently clear cases of suicide. Mushtaque asked Alok, ‘Where are the post mortem reports?’ Alok replied, ‘I don’t think post mortem was done for any of these deaths.’ Mushtaque asked irked, ‘What! Why? Post Mortem is necessary for suicides!’ Alok replied, ‘Yes Sir! But this is a small village and at that point, for post mortem , the body had to be sent to another city. It was a whole lot long procedure. So for any death, if there was no suspicious activity, the family would also not agree for post mortem and the police would close the case after investigation.’ Mushtaque asked, ‘So the police did not find anything suspicious in any of these deaths?’ The constable said, ‘No Sir!’ Mushtaque said, ‘Wow! Three women died in a house and there was nothing suspicious!’ Alok was quiet.

Mushtaque said, ‘We may need to reopen these cases.’ Alok was shocked. He said, ‘But Sir…..’. Mushtaque said, ‘Tomorrow sharp at 8:00 a.m., I need the people who had investigated the cases. Also, if any of them has moved to some other place, I need the contact details.’ Alok had no clue what to do next. He would have to adhere to what Mushtaque said.

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Saahil, Sonal and Deepika were on their way to the hospital. Rohan was waiting eagerly for Sonal. However, there was no way he could show his eagerness. He would have to portray his image as a concerned doctor, whose whole idea was to check the patient’s injury. He could never let his beautiful patient, Sonal, know that he wanted to spend more and more time with her.

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Saahil could see Deepika from the rear view mirror. She looked so pleasant. No make up, not even lip color, disheveled hair, tired eyes, yet she looked so beautiful.

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Well, the suicides could be mere coincidences too. There was no evidence that they were murders. Mushtaque wanted to find out and he was determined to do so. But the catch is, he was here for some different work. He would not get the permission to reopen this case. If he fails to find any evidence, it will be considered a wild goose chase and there will be chances of him being transferred to another department where there will be only paper work. Should Mushtaque take this risk?

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To be continued…………………………..