Killer in the Shadows! (16 page)

“But…but I didn’t,” Naina stammered.

“Then he started inviting you over, wanting us to get to know you. I knew the truth and I hated you.”

Tears streaked down Naina’s face. The situation was slipping out of control, but she knew that she had to distract Tara a little longer, to try to talk some sense into her. “So you shot Abhay.”

“That bullet was meant for you. Just like the knife.”

“And it was you who broke into my house and tried to kill me.”

“Of course. All it took was a little help from my friend Ria.”

She flashed an evil smirk and continued, “Do you remember the lovely tea that Ria always made for you? Well, she was drugging it all along.”

It dawned on Naina – how easy it had been for Tara. “So Ria was helping you? But why, for money?”

Tara laughed, “Obviously. Such people have no principles in life. They would sell their soul for pennies. I even hired a goon to assassinate you, but he failed, and
I had to get him killed. The bastard died in a pool of piss, which he rightly deserved.”

All made perfect sense now. “And she had my keys….”

Tara looked triumphant. “It was a great plan. I thought we’d succeed in making you go nuts before I had to kill you. But you’re stronger than I thought.”

Naina was too shocked to react, and Tara too indifferent to her fear. “When Ria drugged your tea at the office before our lunch, I was hoping you’d fall asleep in your car and have an accident.”

“But I showed up for our lunch meeting and got sick.”

“Right,” Tara pressed the knife into Naina’s neck, laughing.

“And the brooch?

“Oh, that was just to confuse Abhay. To make him believe that you were crazy.” Tara narrowed her eyes. “And now…you’re going to die just like your parents.”

Naina took a deep breath. Everyone had thought that she was the crazy one, when Tara had obviously been unstable all her life. She was not going to let Tara kill her. She was not going to die before seeing Tara rot in jail or a mental ward. Tara licked her lips like a predator coming in for the kill, and Naina knew the time had come to defend herself.

“Hurry!” Abhay bellowed as Uncle Chauhan sped down the road. The traffic lights glowed an angry red in the darkness but Pradeep Chauhan ignored them, speeding the car straight to Naina’s home.

“Are you sure she’ll be there?”

“No, but it’s my best guess. She would have gone there to try and regain her memory.”

When they turned the corner to Naina’s house, they spotted a black Mercedes parked in front of her house.

“Girish’s car?” Uncle chauhan said. “What the hell… Is he the one trying to kill Naina?”

Abhay didn’t think so, but he didn’t tell the old man that. As they got out of the car, Abhay called in for backup. They padded up to the door and Abhay put a finger to his lips. Just as they made the last step, Abhay heard a scream.

He bolted through the door, sending a fresh wave of pain jolting through his shoulder. He’d probably undone his stitches, but he didn’t care. He never did.

He raced through the living room toward Naina’s parents’ room. Uncle Chauhan hurried behind him.

Naina was struggling with Tara. Their heavy breathing and scuffling filled the air. Tara pushed Naina down to the floor with a kick to her stomach and climbed over her, lowering the knife to Naina’s neck.

“Tara, stop!” Uncle Chauhan shouted.

Tara turned to see her father and Abhay rushing towards her. Abhay took the opportunity to grab Tara’s arm. Tara struggled, clawing at him. Naina took her chance and slipped out from under Tara. Abhay managed to lock both of Tara’s hands behind her and pried the knife from her fingers. Tara glared at him with fury. She kicked and screamed. “She has to die! She has to!”

Abhay pulled her aside and gave her one tidy slap on her face.

“
Agar bachpan mein tumhare pita ney aisa jhaapad mara hota, toh aaj yeh din na dekhna padta
.”

Abhay turned towards Chauhan and continued. “Mr Chauhan, your daughter Tara murdered Naina’s parents and assaulted Naina,” he showed them the injury on Tara’s
arm that Naina had inflicted. “She’s going to be charged and she will rot in jail. Had you not been busy in your shit politics and been a bit more responsible towards your family, you could have saved two lives.”

“Tara, my God, what have you done…” Uncle Chauhan said, choking on his words, and falling to his knees.

Shuklaji peeped in from the main door with backup.

“
Badi jaldi aa gaye aap Shuklaji
,” Abhay said sarcastically.

“
Sirji, woh baat nahin hain na
. I actually tried my best, I promise, but still couldn’t reach sirji,” Shukla said as he motioned the team to take Tara into custody.

Tara was taken into custody. Her frantic, hysterical sobs had died, and she looked like a shattered, injured animal.

Uncle Chauhan went to Naina and wrapped his arms around her. “I know I made some terrible mistakes, Naina, but I hope you will forgive me one day. I didn’t know your mother was pregnant when I broke up with her. I was young and ambitious and foolish. I had no idea.”

“And you didn’t know your mother threatened her?”

“No. I was caught up in the campaign. Back then, I allowed my mother to run my life. But when I found out about you…” he paused and squeezed her hand, “I was so afraid you’d hate me.”

The sincerity in his voice tugged at Naina’s heart.

“Please don’t hate me. I’d like to see you again, Naina,” Uncle Chauhan said.

Naina hesitated. “So do I, but please give me some time.”

He bent down and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be waiting, my child.”

Naina ran to Abhay and pulled him to her. She ran her hands over his body to check for injuries. Naina clung to him, her breath erratic. She felt her heart pounding as she hugged him.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay,” Abhay whispered.

He spotted blood on her blouse and said, “But you’re bleeding.”

A soft nervous laugh escaped Naina. “It’s not me. It’s you. I think your stitches have come undone.”

Abhay looked down and realized blood was seeping through his bandage. His shoulder and arm throbbed.

Naina looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. She said, “Abhay, how can I ever thank you for all that you’ve done…”

Ek pappi dekar
, he thought.

She continued, “This has been the darkest hour of my life and now I’m going to make it worse… I’ve come to a decision; I’m going to move back to Mumbai. This town has too many ghosts from my past. I want a new life, a fresh start. As much as I want to stay here with you…I’ve realized that I can’t…’

Yeh toh hona hee tha
, he thought.

“We can decide the future later. What matters for now is that I have you safe in my arms.”

Shukla entered, “Sirji, actually today is a big victory, so I have asked the team to arrange a decent victory party. If you know what I mean sirji.” He giggled.

Inspector Abhay Pandey knew how decent their victory parties were. He smirked at Shukla’s honesty.

“
Kya baat kartey ho Shuklaji, let’s go! Rani Mera intezaar kar rahi hogi
.”