Killer in the Shadows! (3 page)

The man on the phone sounded out of breath and was barely whispering into the phone. “
Sirji, meri bhains…
. someone stole my buffalo.”

As Mishra was writing down the important complaints coming in from the people of the town, he saw Inspector Abhay Pandey and Billo Rani walking downstairs. The inspector and Rani went away in his jeep, and Mishra sneaked upstairs to enjoy the party. He had been eagerly waiting for Abhay’s departure. He went upstairs and
grabbed a Patiala peg and raised it to the team. “
Abhay ji
gone,
toh hamari
party on.”

As they entered a motel room, Abhay locked the room and sat on one of the chairs in the room.

"Strip for me."

The way he said it sounded more like a command than a request. Rani was more than willing to obey as she wanted to earn some good money.

Being with Abhay alone was worse than being in the middle of a group; it was too intimate. His eyes followed her every movement, touching every bare inch of her body. She slowly unbuttoned her costume, feeling the heat of her body rise. She shimmied out of the
ghagra choli
seductively, because Abhay’s senior was waiting impatiently.

Abhay slipped an arm around her waist. He kissed her shoulder as he fiddled with the clasp of her bra. Rani sighed and leaned back against his chest. “Oh, yes," she felt him relax, as if he’d been waiting for her. His thumbs brushed her nipples, causing bolts of desire to shoot through her.

"I need to touch you all over, Rani.” He turned to face her and slid the bra from her body and dropped it on the floor. She lay down on the mattress, her gaze never leaving Abhay, who slowly began to strip for her. He bared his body without hesitation. His hard muscles and the sexy smile he directed at her made Rani ache. When he loomed naked before her, she quivered in anticipation.

Abhay kissed the sensitive inside of her knee, then grazed his tongue up her thigh. His hot breath caressed
her intimate core as he moved up towards her belly. He dropped a soft kiss just below her belly button, while his hands massaged her stomach and thighs. Her hips rose in response; she grabbed Abhay by the arm and made him lie down.

She said hello to senior. Her lips stretched around it, her eyes closed, her expression dazed as she was about to give him the best blowjob he had known in his life. His hands clenched around the strands of hair he held captive, holding her in place, watching her glistening mouth take him. Her lips came down on him in a kiss that sizzled Abhay from his head to his toes.

“You do too many things right.” He tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a strained groan. Abhay’s breathing turned rapid as his body responded to her mouth. His desire, hot and primitive, grew to a fevered pitch, pulling cries of pure pleasure from deep inside him.

He pulled her back on the bed and slowly climbed on top of her.

She stretched beneath him, flashing a sexy smile. "Hope you enjoyed the moment." Her legs circled his waist.

But Abhay was in no mood to answer. He wasn’t answerable to anyone. He wanted more.

He settled between her thighs, pushing himself inside her. He began to move inside her, slowly.

"Too slow. You’re torturing me," Rani moaned after a few moments. She clutched his butt, trying to keep him deep inside her.

Abhay groaned. “It’ll be my way and it is better this way." He continued his slow movements, all the while repeatedly flickering the tip of his tongue against each of her nipples.

The leisurely pace was driving Rani insane. She pushed up against him, begging him to put out the fire raging inside her body. "I can’t take it anymore, Abhay."

His hands tightened on her hips, his muscles tightening as she watched through eyes half closed. His control was strong; dominating her. She tightened her muscles on him again, straining to force him deeper as everything inside her wanted him. His lips were at her neck, caressing her flesh, hard male growls of pleasure echoing in her ears as he shuddered over her. He pressed kisses to her shoulder, his tongue stroking her flesh. She was gasping, begging, distantly amazed that the cries and pleas were coming from her own throat.

He grabbed her wrists and held them captive on either side of her. Tightening his grip, and with a gleam in his eye, he thrust into her – hard and fast, over and over, until their bodies exploded in a mind-blowing climax.

A
bhay woke with a jolt and opened his eyes to blazing sunlight. He sat up in bed and snatched up the alarm clock, staring in disbelief – 11.30 a.m.
Oh teri, lag gayi!
The alarm was supposed to ring at eight. He had to see Naina at nine-thirty. He cursed the alarm clock, looked at Rani lying next to him. Junior looked tempted to get senior and go for another round, but he really needed to go.

He broke all speed records dragging on his clothes, which were in a heap on the floor. Then he stopped, sat on the bed, and lit up one of his cigarettes.
What the hell!
There was no point hurrying. If he skipped a shave, skipped breakfast, and roared nonstop to the hospital, he would still be nearly three hours late.

So why not be four hours late? He had a leisurely wash and shave, followed by breakfast. Another hour later, whistling happily, he bounced some cash from the
chhamiya
fund on the side table for Rani who was still asleep, and slipped out. He zipped through the empty roads with his sirens roaring as if he had to reach some crime scene.

He phoned Shukla on the way to the City Hospital and asked him to reach there immediately. Once there, he walked past the hospital hallway enquiring about Naina’s room. He smiled to a tall nurse on the way. He loved long-legged women and this nurse had been giving him hints for too long.

Perhaps that was all she needed, because she called out to the handsome
daroga
, “Inspector Sahab, I want to report a crime that happened in our hostel last night.”

Abhay was all ears to her story; he loved the attention. “
Bolo, bolo!
”

“It was horrible. I was changing clothes in the nurses’ hostel and a trespasser saw me naked last night,” said the tall nurse. “He had these awful red, staring eyes … and his mouth was all drooling.”

Who would not
, thought Abhay.

The little nurse was all excited with the attention and started off again. “I’d taken everything off… everything… when I realized I hadn’t drawn the curtains. I went to the window, and there he was.”

Abhay had seen very few nurses who were attractive and she was one of them. He made a mental note to spend some more time with her, sometime soon.

A couple of other nurses and ward boys had gathered around, and a thrill of excitement ran through her audience. “I screamed,” she went on. “I thought he was trying to get in, and I was terrified. But hearing my scream, he ran away.”

Abhay leaned forward and patted her warm, quivering young arm. “Don’t worry, dear. We’ll get him.”

A pointed cough of disapproval from a doctor passing by made the nurse snatch her hand away hurriedly. Abhay glared at the doctor as he walked past. Then he remembered what he had come in for. He enquired about the way to Naina’s ward and reached there thinking about the nurse.

Lying on the bed, she was understandably nervous, and of course worried. But there was something else, something almost secretive about her.

“Hope you are feeling better now and can tell me exactly what happened,” the inspector said as he walked towards Naina and propped a pillow behind her.

Naina stared at the handsome man with kind eyes who was asking her these questions. Even in his crumpled uniform, he was looking really handsome.

“You said on the police helpline that you’d killed somebody.” Inspector Abhay Pandey stretched one long leg out in front of him. Last night’s hangover and exhaustion was kicking in.

“What?” Naina swallowed. She didn’t remember making the phone call. She especially didn’t remember admitting to murder.

“Was someone in your house?” Abhay stretched his arms and controlled a yawn as he asked.

“I don’t understand. He…he had fallen by my bed. Did you not find him? He tried to choke me with a pillow. I couldn’t breathe. I fought him, knocked the knife out of his hand. But the room was dark and I tried to call for help, but then everything went dark…”

“Well, we didn’t find anybody in your house but we did find a guy in a public convenience near your house. He was found dead and he had your photograph with him. Whatever that may be, you’re safe now, Naina,” the deep voice said gently. “Try to relax.”

Panic crawled through her. “He attacked me. He was going to kill me. What happened to him?” Her breathing was ragged. “W…where is he?”

Abhay was so tired he couldn’t even raise a scowl in protest.
Bas kar meri maa!
he thought.
Oh teri, maa sey yaad aaya
! Last night, he had forgotten to inform his mother that he wouldn’t come home in the night.
Lag gayi
.

He made a mental note to buy something nice for his mother on his way home. After all, she was all he had. After his father’s death in an accident, his mother had raised him up. He had seen his mother live in misery, cleaning other people’s utensils and houses and had promised himself that he would give her all the comforts of the world.

He tried to concentrate on the task at hand. His mind was running slow, thanks to the
narangi
hangover and the crime fighting he did all night in the motel room. As he turned back, he heard the door to the hospital room open and close. Shukla was trying to sneak in unseen.

“So kind of you to grace us with your presence,” Abhay said, sarcastically.

Constable Shukla entered the room and rattled off, “So sorry, sirji.
Woh kal raat thodi zyaada ho gayi thi
.”

“This hung-over bearded guy is Constable Shukla and he will tell you the details of the investigation,” Abhay said to Naina.

The man rubbed his hand over his beard. “Sirji, the team didn’t find any clues of an intruder in Naina’s house. There seems to be no sign of a break-in. Even the postmortem report of the man who died before peeing in the public toilet has come in and it states that he died due to a knockout wound on the head, not by a knife.” He stared at Naina.

This bearded ugly man didn’t believe her. She had dealt with skepticism all her life. His glowering look said everything. Coming back to her hometown had been a mistake. Her grandmother had always told her to stay away, but then she had died and Naina had unfinished business here. She glanced at the constable; he must have recognized her name from when she had called in before.
He probably thought she was a psycho. Naina forced back a sob and tried to think of an explanation, aware that the inspector was studying her. “There has to be a body. He fell right in front of me.” But then she’d collapsed, too. Her head still ached and her mind was engulfed in a pall of fog.

“I’ll ask you some questions and the naughty man with the nasty beard will write it all down.” Abhay had added this for Shukla’s benefit as the constable’s notebook looked suspiciously devoid of any notes.
With a quick glance to make sure Shukla was recording the details, Abhay then asked, “This knife…is it yours?” He took out the knife from a plastic bag.

Naina nodded. “It…it looks like the one from my kitchen.”

“Can you give me a description of the intruder?” Abhay’s steady and husky voice mellowed Naina’s nervousness slightly.

“I didn’t see his face. He was just…strong,” she said tugging the sheet tighter around herself. She suddenly realized she was wearing just a skimpy hospital gown and felt a little embarrassed.

“Think, Naina. You might have seen something that could help us. Did he say anything?”

Naina shook her head, realizing how little she had really seen. Instead, she noticed the inspector’s strong, carved jaw and the red scarf around his neck. She forced herself to try to remember details about the other man. “He had a mask or something on his face. And he wasn’t quite as tall as you.”

Shukla scribbled in his small notepad.

Abhay smiled at her. “If you remember anything else, just let me know.” He dug around in his pocket until he found a dog-eared card, which he handed to Naina.