"The key to solving every puzzle is finding the missing piece. And to find the missing piece is what the challenge is all about."

-Elegiac_Damsel
__________
4th November

Indrayan's pov:

I sent in the samples of medicines that we recovered from the pharmacy for testing just as Anya had said, with the help of the police. The samples were sent in yesterday, I am expecting the reports tonight.
Meanwhile, I mailed Sampurnaa the details of the blackmailer. She tallied it with the details of the political rallies and campaigns held and then narrowed the list down to three people, the Health Minister, Mr. Ramlal Tripathi, the Colonel who helped Anya and Ibrahim and the Prime Minister.

It can't be the Prime Minister in any way because he doesn't even have his personal mobile phone taking into consideration the fact that he has meetings abroad. The media also reported this months ago that the Prime Minister calls only from the secure line at home when it comes to talking to family.
The presence of the colonel there is justified since he is already involved in this... But does he have a secure line even at home?
I guess the two of us would have to continue scrounging for more proof.

....

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
Mr. Md. Ibrahim Siddiqui is not going to be here again today because he is still in the hospital.
I reached the court at 9.30. Sampurnaa had reached before me and the two of us were the only ones there apart from a few media representatives.

"Good morning!" I greeted her.
She wished me back and then we both began walking towards the courtroom.

"I need to talk to you." she told me.
I nodded and the two of us walked inside the empty courtroom.

"Tell me. You came to know anything?" I asked her.

"Before that... I would just ask you to call upon that woman from Palghar today. Mrs. Arpita Karune. You remember Anya said that she knew the Minister too. I think we... I mean you need to ask her about that once." she told me

"I will. Tell me what you wanted to say now!"

She took a deep breath.
"I told you right that I had bought a strip of contraceptive pills that night because I couldn't think of any other medicine. I checked the contents of the medicine yesterday. It contained,  Acetaminophen that causes liver damage and even cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, busulphan, and methotrexate which causes infertility in females. What surprised me even more was the fact that the composition was written openly and not hidden."

"You did not take a single pill right?" I asked her anxiously

She shook her head and then asked me skeptically, "Why would I take contraceptives anyways?"

I looked at her and I knew that she was suspecting that I was accusing her of infedility.
"I have a sister you know. I know that contraceptives are taken by women for several reasons like cycle regulation and not just birth control. I am neither suspecting you nor am I accusing you. I was simply asking you because I was concerned." I told her annoyed at her stupid query and equally stupid assumption.
I walked away and neither of us tried to reconcile.
...

The hearing began and I called upon Mrs. Arpita Karune to the witness box.
She had again requested to be questioned in Marathi. Fortunately, I knew how to converse in the language and it wasn't much of a challenge to me. There was an interpreter though, who would translate her statement for the benefit of the justice and the others present at the court.

Once she was sworn in, I asked her the first question,
"Ms. Siddiqui gave a statement in the court that she met the Minister through you. I would like to ask you how you knew him and why did you hide the fact that you knew him?"

She looked a bit like a deer caught in headlights but then answered the question asked. The interpreter translated her statement.
"The minister was also from the same village as me. I knew him since he was young. When Anya had come to visit me once, he was at my home for some work, that is how the two of them met."

The next question I asked her was what I needed desperately to be answered, "Since you knew the Minister personally, you may be able to help us with his family tree. The blackmailer who knew the Minister's secret about Vijay must have been someone close enough to him to know. Please tell the court anything that you can about him and his family!"

She stiffened standing there in the witness box. I repeated the question.
"He was married to Sanchi. His father was the village postman and his mother was a housewife. That is all I can say." she replied after long.

Unlike the other questions that she had answered, she did not look into my eyes or at the justice while answering this. Instead her gaze was fixated on the ground. I chose to ignore that action and decided to stop with the questioning.
The justice asked the defendant if she wanted to ask anything and she refused. The judge then announced a half an hour long break.

...

Sampurnaa's pov:

I am such an idiot!
Why did I have to think like that when all that he asked me was for my own good? God, if I start pushing him away and misunderstanding things even before our marriage, then I truly wonder what will happen later!
I decided to apologise to him during the break. However, destiny had different plans for me!
My senior called and asked me to mail him certain documents that I had typed. I took out my laptop which was in my bag and the first thing I noticed was that there was no charge! I had to rush to the nearby café and request the waiter to help me get it charged. By the time I was done with my work, 25 minutes had already passed! And by the time I walked back to the courtroom, the bailiff had announced the judge's arrival.

Sighing I took my seat as did the others. I'll apologise later; after the hearing.
...

The hearing resumed.

The next witness was Anya. She was asked about her last encounter with the Colonel and whether she knew where he was hiding. She denied. Indrayan did not ask about the Health Minister or the Prime Minister even once. Even after we have the evidence!

Anya was asked,
"Did your business partner know about your son?"

She thought for awhile and replied skeptically, "I am positive that I did not leak anything about Vijay or the Minister to him. He could have received the news from someone else who knew."

Who else could know?
I took out my notepad and pen and made notes of her statement.

Indrayan's next question was,
"Did you ever meet the Minister's wife or any of his family members? Can you think of anyone else who could know that Vijay was your son?"

I stopped writing at that question. We had recently come to know that the late minister's wife was Sanchi, a homemaker from his village. We also knew from external sources that Sanchi had a sibling. However, no one has been able to say or give much details about her or her sibling.
If Anya has met her before... There is still a chance for us to find out who the blackmailer might be.

Anya racked her brains and then answered, "I have met Sanchi. She was a simple girl who had never seen life outside the four walls. She was dutiful and very quiet and extremely traditional. I met her when Vijay's father wanted to reveal the truth about our relationship and my pregnancy to her. She was in shock for a while. When she regained her senses, she started crying. I was sent away then because she was not in her right mind and was throwing around things. Minister Desai told me that he would call her sister once so she can calm down."

So she had a sister! She can definitely be a blackmailer.

"Can you provide me with any details about her sister or what happened afterwards?" Indrayan asked Anya

"I don't know about the minister's sister in-law, but yes, hours later when the minister came to meet me, he said that Sanchi had committed suicide by setting herself on fire in her room. Her sister had survived with a few burn injuries. He was just climbing the steps of the political ladder back then... Revealing the actual cause of his wife's death would be highly degrading for his character and obviously a disadvantage for his political career. This is the reason why the entire world thinks that Sanchi died of a heart attack. It was a lie that was written on her death certificate."

I jotted down the details that Anya gave and decided to check the citizen's list in Palghar once with the help of the Police records.

The rest of the hearing was all about the drug racket and the forced prostitution thing. Anya finally admitted in the court that she was involved in human trafficking and that she also used and forced women at her brothel.

The case is gradually picking up its pace... Hopefully all will be out upfront in no time! At the moment it is just a puzzle... A conundrum to be honest... Complicated name for puzzle and this is well... Complicated!

...

The trial got over at 3 p.m.
The judge gave the next date as 14th November, at 10 a.m.

Now for my apology!

"Wait! I need to speak to you!" I shouted like a maniac with no sense as I followed Indrayan out of the courtroom and into the parking lot.
"Ekti baar amaar kotha shono!" (Listen to me this once!) ,  I kept saying but he did not turn even once.

Good lord! Why do things like this always happen? I thought to myself when a file fell down from my hand, on the ground. .

I picked the things up haphazardly and resumed walking behind him.

He got into the driver's seat of his car and drove away just as the files fell down again! 
God!!!! What do I do now?
.....

Indrayan's pov:

I knew that she was following me like an idiot and that I ignored her like a fool... But honestly I had work to do! The inspector at the Juhu police station had asked me to meet him at 4 p.m. so I could get a copy of Colonel Abraham Collins' records for reference. He has been missing for the last 2 weeks and at this stage of the case; it is absolutely essential to find him and present him at the court.
I was already running late today because the trial dragged on for a long time. Had I stopped to speak to Sampurnaa about a stupid apology that I would have accepted anyways; then I would have been delayed further. I'll call her later and then speak to her.
...

It is 5 p.m. now. I just exited the police station with the information. The inspector also gave me some additional details regarding two of the medicines that had already been tested at the lab. They were adulterated and had the wrong composition. Great! Now there are scams with medicines too?

The inspector also gave me updates about the hospitalised youth. He had apparently overdosed on cocaine and had been totally intoxicated that night. He has been sent for rehabilitation while the girl who he had sedated and trapped in a hotel room was rescued with lots of injuries and signs of physical assault. The police said that the boy would be tried at the court once he returned from Rehab.

What is the world coming to? Contraceptives now contain drugs that cause endometriosis and liver damage?

That reminds me... Sampurnaa! I need to speak to her and clarify that I did not walk away because I did not want to speak to her.... But because I had work to do.

When I took out my phone to put a call through, I realised that the battery was dead!
(Sometimes destiny does bring forth adversities... Right?)

Sighing I got into my car and drove home.
...

I just got home at 6.00 and went to take a shower.
Just as I was changing into fresh clothes, the doorbell rang. I did not bother to go as I knew Mom would have already answered the door.
Anyways I have some personal jobs to do!

I was ironing my clothes when Maa called out to me.
"Deb! Ekhaane aaye!" (Deb! Come here {Deb is Indrayan's nickname like Sampurnaa's is Shona})

I switched off the iron and walked out to the living room.
"Maa? What is that you..." my voice trailed off as my mother wasn't standing alone; Sampurnaa was standing there too!

I looked at her questioningly, confused as to what she was doing here. She shrugged in reply.

Maa decided to break the awkward exchange of vague silence between us.
"She wanted to meet you. You both sit down and talk. I'll get some coffee."

"Aunty! I have to be back at the office by 7.30. I'll leave in half an hour! Please don't trouble yourself." Sampurnaa said

Maa turned to her and said with a smile, "Trouble? Not at all! Instead I am really happy that you are here. And Aunty? Seriously! That would have to change soon enough."

Sampurnaa smiled.
"That will change the day I enter your house as your daughter in-law. Not today! And please... I really don't need anything. Moreover Maa asked me to steer clear of Pali Hill before marriage, but I had to come today because it is important. Please don't tell her."

I just observed the keen exchange of words between the two women and decided to intervene after 5 minutes.

"Maa! Just allow Sampurnaa to say what she has to instead of chit chatting now! She needs to go to her office by 7.30. And yes, before either of you assume things, let me tell you that it is not because I want to throw her out of the house... But because she has a job... At 8 and that is to read the news." I finished and clarified myself too

Sampurnaa looked guilty because it was quite apparent to her that the morning's incidence was still on my mind.

Maa decided to give us some privacy and walked away.
I folded my arms and asked her to speak.

She looked straight at me, took a deep breath and spoke in one go, "I am sorry for being an idiot! I promise I'll never do something like this ever again! I don't know why I suspected you of suspecting me! I know there's no excuse that justifies..." and I held up my hand

She stopped immediately and looked down.
I held her hand and asked her to look up. Once she did, I told her what I had to,
"I would have spoken to you right after the trial, but I seriously had work to do. The inspector asked me to....." and I proceeded to tell her everything.

She listened and then spoke, "What you did is justified and excusable.... So I totally don't mind you ignoring me and leaving without an explanation... What however interests me is that, am I forgiven?"

I smiled at her question. Seriously!
"Of course you are! I know that the past few months have been rough for you when it comes to dealing with men. I know that the ongoing case is somewhat to be blamed for your disbelief and lack of trust when it comes to men... But seriously, I am not like that! For once, Sampurnaa... For the sake of our future... Could you obliterate what has happened and trust me?"

She looked at me and nodded.

For a woman who has lost faith once, or undergone trauma, regaining composure and restoring trust is easier said than done. We barely know one another personally... There is a long way to go... And a lot to do... This isn't Sampurnaa's battle anymore... It is ours!

................

To be continued...