Second Lives (26 page)

Roy sat down on an armchair and said, ‘It
is
an incredible story.’

66

Omar

‘Even in a country where life is cheap and the law is notoriously weak, Karan’s murderous career spanning nearly two decades is truly astonishing,’ Roy began.

‘I’m almost certain that his first victim was a ten-year old girl from one of the hamlets not very far from our school. Her name was Bholi and one day she never returned from school. The other children who were walking back with her spoke of an older boy on a motorcycle, who had passed them a few minutes before they saw Bholi for the last time. The police chose to ignore it.

‘Six years after her disappearance, the skeleton of a young girl was unearthed at a construction site near the spot. Though there was no conclusive proof, the police surmised that it was the unfortunate Bholi. There was clear evidence that she had been done to death violently. Her distraught parents, who had nurtured a faint hope that their daughter would return to them someday, performed the last rites on her pitiful remains.’

I asked, ‘How old was Karan at that time?’

‘No more than fifteen,’ Roy replied. ‘Most serial killers realise early in their lives that there’s something wrong with them, and usually satisfy their urges by killing animals or committing arson, for example. The first human kill is often accidental.’

‘Was it that way with Karan?’

‘I don’t know. He did suffer from an attention deficit disorder as a child, and also developed a violent temper.

‘I’m sure you guys remember that Karan was a very physical guy, strong and aggressive. Not necessarily indications of a psychopath but in his case, undoubtedly so. Over the years, he has matured and become far more cunning. His public persona demands a degree of self-control and gravitas, and he has cultivated that image very well.

‘Most importantly, he has honed the concealment of his murders to a fine art. In all the cases I am aware of, his name hasn’t come up as a suspect in a single one, even though he was acquainted with most of the victims. I don’t know how he does it but he’s an expert.’

Neel said, ‘Perhaps he uses his political influence to suppress his involvement?’

‘Definitely. Otherwise it would have been impossible. However, Karan has managed to keep things very, very clandestine. I don’t think even his bunch of cohorts know what he’s up to exactly, or its true extent anyway, even though they must be helping him cover up his crimes. That’s very unlike several of our infamous politicians whose misdeeds are an open secret, which people are well aware of but can’t act against.’

‘Things are changing, though. All this recent media activism has started to put the heat on these people.’

‘You’re right, Neel.’ Roy paused. ‘After killing Bholi, Karan must have realised that he enjoyed it immensely and would have to keep killing to satisfy his urges. In many ways though, he defies the archetype of a serial killer. He’s intelligent, comes from a very affluent family, has no history of being abused as a child, and leads a normal, successful life. Besides, his victims are not random people off the street but usually known to him and even high-profile individuals in a few cases.’

I interrupted. ‘Like Sasha?’

He looked at me, surprised. ‘That’s correct. How did you know about that?’

‘Rachel had found out. We deduced it from her scribblings.’ I sighed. ‘And by the way, I happened to know Sasha well too.’

‘Good for you, Omar.’ Roy smiled for the first time. ‘Always the ladies man.’

I didn’t smile back.

He continued. ‘Karan is what is technically described as a thrill killer. The primary motive of thrill killers is to induce pain or terror in their victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for them. They seek the adrenaline rush provided by hurting their victims. They can abstain from killing for long periods of time and become more successful at killing as they refine their methods. Thrill killers murder only for the kill; the attack is not prolonged, and in Karan’s case, while rape is rarely involved, he gets strong sexual gratification simply from the act of killing.’

Neel asked, ‘Why did he pick Jo?’

‘I think Jo was a test for him. Karan wanted to see if he could carry out the perfect murder, one that remains unsolved or where someone else gets blamed. He knew Jo through us, though I have no idea how he managed to get her out of campus that day. Whatever it was, she couldn’t have been the least bit suspicious of his real motive, of course.

‘He first tried to get me indicted for the crime. I was an obvious suspect anyway. However, that didn’t succeed even though the police gave me a working over which I’ll never forget. He was young and inexperienced in those days otherwise I’m sure he would have somehow managed to get the charge to stick to me, either through false evidence or by bribing the cops.’

‘So he decided to pay off that poor sweeper to become the scapegoat?’

‘Precisely. That shows his inexperience, I think. He really needn’t have done anything, because Jo’s death would have eventually become just another statistic.’

‘Exactly how many women has he killed, Roy?’

‘I know of thirty-one victims but I suspect the actual number could be over fifty.’

There was silence for several seconds. We were horrified at the scale of Karan’s felonies.

I finally said, ‘We knew we were dealing with a multiple murderer but…not that it was anything of this magnitude.’

‘You better believe it.’ Roy shook his head. ‘Karan could go down in history as one of the most prolific and successful serial killers ever. An interesting parallel is that of Gary Ridgway or the Green River Killer from Washington USA, who was caught in 2001 for murders he had committed almost twenty years earlier. He was convicted of killing forty-nine people, all women, but it was widely believed that the actual number was close to a hundred.

‘What really sets Karan apart in this terrible league is his background. In modern times, there is no known case anywhere in the world of someone of his social and political standing living the secret life of a vicious psychopath. You know as well as I do that most of our politicians are not saints, with many of them having committed serious crimes several times over. But none of them, as far as I know, is an organised killer like Karan.

‘History has several examples of famous or powerful people who have committed mass murders outside the battlefield. Over two thousand years ago, a cousin of the Chinese emperor Jing went on murderous expeditions in different parts of the land, killing people for sport, until he was found out and banished. In the 15th century, one of the wealthiest men in Europe and a former companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc, Gilles de Rais, sexually assaulted and killed hundreds of peasant children, mainly boys. Suspects for the most famous of them all, Jack the Ripper, whose identity has never been discovered, included Lewis Carroll and Prince Albert.’

‘Where are you going with this, Roy?’ Neel said impatiently. ‘Are you suggesting that Karan can’t be stopped? If what you’re saying is true, we have to expose him immediately!’

Before he could respond, Sara began to cry. She hadn’t said a word since Roy started his story about Karan. Now she wept in heaving sobs. Neel put his arm around her and said, ‘Don’t worry, Sara. We’ll finish that bastard yet.’

‘I…I’ve been such a fool,’ she replied in a choked voice.

67

Sara

I came to the sickening conclusion that Roy was telling the truth.

Karan had detested Roy from the moment he had learnt about my old crush on him. I had tried hard to convince him that it was all in the past but it hadn’t mattered to his insanely jealous and possessive mind. And then I made the mistake of telling him about that incident with Roy on campus. It was just to goad him, I guess.

Except that, by then the truth of what had really happened that evening had been perfectly twisted around inside my warped mind. Unable to deal with Roy’s rejection of my carefully planned effort to seduce him, I had subconsciously created this paranoid delusion that it was he who had actually made advances on me and ended up taking me by force.
For all these years, that false memory has gnawed away at me like a rat on a piece of cheese.
The trauma of a rape victim felt all too real, and my thirst for revenge eventually became an obsession!

But as I listened to Roy, I knew that I had lived a lie about him all along. In that moment, the sane part of my mind finally won a long-fought battle.

After hearing what Roy had supposedly done to me, Karan had wanted to immediately go and beat the life out of him. I had stopped him. Some deep instinct warned me that any overt action would result in my lie getting exposed. Karan had then stated calmly that the only way to avenge me was to kill Roy.
The cold, calculating look in his eyes should have cautioned me that I was dealing with a psychopath.

I was horrified at the suggestion! Karan brushed aside all my protests and said, quite logically, that since the incident had happened a while ago and I hadn’t reported it back then, it would be practically impossible to prove Roy’s guilt. There were no witnesses, and it would be his word against mine, which is what I was afraid of as well.

Karan assured me that he would plan out everything, and no suspicion would fall on either of us. The crazy, delusional part of me fell for it, ignoring all principles of right and wrong. I became convinced that murdering Roy was necessary and justified. In hindsight, I believe it was another of Karan’s experiments, testing his budding skills as a killer par excellence.

The camping trip and the plot to push a drunk Roy into the river had been Karan’s brainchild. I was no more than a misguided but willing accomplice. My main task was to persuade the others to let Karan go along with us. As it turned out though, I ended up playing a much bigger role in the whole thing.

But I wasn’t ready to talk about all that just yet.

Wiping my tears, I said, ‘I’ve been unbelievably stupid.’ I couldn’t help giving Roy a guilty look, knowing he wouldn’t understand.

‘Sara, don’t be so hard on yourself,’ said Omar gently. ‘We were all taken in by Karan.’

‘You don’t understand, Omar.’ My voice was stronger now. ‘I approached him to
help us
.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I had invited Karan over to the villa the day before I left Goa…’

Neel cut in heatedly. ‘You wanted to fuck him again after all these years, was that it?’

‘Shut up, Neel!’ I glared at him. He could be so stupid at times. ‘You should know better.’

He scowled. ‘So it’s just a merry coincidence that you happened to hook up with him right after Omar and I left?’

I controlled the urge to slap him. ‘Neel, you’re really being an asshole! If you must know, I read about Karan holidaying in Goa in the papers, and decided to call him on an impulse. I don’t care if you believe me or not but I hadn’t spoken to him for ages before that!’

He didn’t say anything but continued to look like a jilted lover.

Omar piped up. ‘She’s right, Neel. I read that as well. If I remember correctly, there was also a photo of Karan coming out of a nightclub, accompanied by his bodyguards.’

I nodded.

Roy asked, ‘What happened then, Sara?’

‘Well, I thought that with all his political clout, Karan could help us find out who had killed Rachel. I told him about our adventures in Goa. Our suspicion that Rachel’s death was not suicide but murder, the indifference of the police, our discovery of the link to Anna Grishin.’ I stared at him helplessly. ‘Now do you understand why I said that I’ve been a prize idiot?’

At that time though, it hadn’t seemed like a bad idea at all, because Karan really was an influential guy.

‘And what was his reaction?’

‘He didn’t say much. Now that I think of it, he seemed quite unmoved. A natural reaction should have been shock or anger.’

‘I’m guessing he was both shocked and angry but for completely different reasons.’

‘Thankfully, I didn’t tell him that we thought there were multiple murders involved. The discussion was focused around Rachel, and I appealed to him to put pressure on the police to solve the case quickly.’

Roy grimaced at the irony.

Omar said, ‘It’s a good thing you didn’t otherwise he would have come after us long back.’

I buried my face in my hands. ‘How could I have ever dated that monster?’

‘Sara, forget the past,’ Roy said. ‘Karan’s always been a master of deception. It’s his secret to survival.’

‘He was one of the most aggressive guys I’ve ever known. One day, when a drunk lurched into me, he began to beat him up so brutally that I got scared. I tried to stop him but he only relented when the man lay bleeding and senseless on the road.’ I shook my head. ‘But I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined that Karan was a closet serial killer.’

‘Guys, I hope you now believe that I had nothing to do with the deaths of Rachel or the others.’ Roy sounded tired.

There was a brief silence. Then Neel said, ‘Wait a minute. Roy, how the hell do you know so much about Karan?’

68

Roy

My first memory after that hole in my life, which I call the Blackout, is of a woman.

She had long hair, a weather-burnt complexion and slanted, brown eyes. She was wearing the traditional, hand-woven attire of northern hill-folk—a colourful woollen jacket over a salwar kameez, a scarf covering her head and a heavy silver necklace. She was sitting on the floor next to me, her legs tucked underneath her.

I woke up to the cool touch of her hand on my face. When I suddenly opened my eyes, she shrank back in surprise. Then she smiled. It was a beautiful smile.

I said, ‘What…what happened?’ I felt a thick bandage on my head but there was no pain. My whole body felt numb and my mind was a blank.

She didn’t reply. I didn’t know yet that she couldn’t understand me.

I looked around. The room was small, with minimum furniture. There wasn’t even a bed, and I was lying on just a thin mattress. I assumed it was some kind of a rustic dwelling but the flagstone floor and the pitched ceiling supported by wooden beams suggested that this wasn’t the home of any villager. There was an open window, through which I could see a lot of green. A steady roar came to my ears and I took a few seconds to realise that it was the sound of a river flowing nearby.