Ravi sat on his bed. He was sobbing. He was holding a blade, placing it upon his left wrist. A photo frame was kept on the side table having the photos of Ravi, his father, his mother and his sister, Niara. He heard door knock.
A female voice came from outside.
"Ravi, open the door. Listen to me."
"I won't, you just leave."
"Ravi, just give me one minute."
He yelled, "I told you, leave!"
One year later, Meenal stood inside a moving elevator of a multi storey residential building, carrying her handbag. The elevator stopped at the seventh floor. Meenal walked out of the elevator. She headed towards her flat. She rang the doorbell. The door was opened by her husband, Avik. She entered. He shut the door. She kept her handbag on the table and turned to him. They came closer to each other. He held her waist and she held his shoulder. They kissed each other on lips.
He said, "Get dressed honey. We will spend our tonight in the hotel."
Meenal had a bath under the shower in the bathroom. She stood before the dressing table, wearing a black designer saree. She sprayed a fragrance over her dress. Avik walled into the bedroom wearing a black folded sleeves shirt and grey trouser, and a wrist watch around his left wrist. She smiled after seeing his reflection in the mirror.
The car arrived near a restaurant. Avik and Meenal opened the door and stepped off the car. He pressed the car key button and unlocked the door. They walked into the restaurant. The manager, Sahil came to them.
"Happy Anniversary Sir, and Ma'am."
"Thank you."
"This way."
A man stopped his scooty at a distance away from the car. He got off the scooty. He carried a toolbox and headed towards the car.
Sahil directed the couple to the table. Meenal and Avik sat before each other at the table. A waiter came to them carrying a tray in his hand having two glasses filled with welcome drink. He kept each one before them and left. While the couple was having the welcome drink, Sahil came to the table and kept a menu card before them.
"For your order, sir, ma'am."
Avik drove his car through the lane. Meenal sat beside her. His phone rang. Meenal picked up the phone from the dashboard.
She said, "It's Anish."
"Answer him."
She picked the call and put the phone on loudspeaker.
"Hello."
"Oh, bhabhi, greetings. Where is bhaiya?"
"He is driving."
Avik said, "I am listening. What are you doing, brother?"
Anish sat on a stool, removing his socks. He used to reside in a rental apartment of a building.
He said, "I have just returned from office. Well, I called you to wish you for your anniversary."
"Thanks brother."
Meenal said, "You too should get married Anish. Then we'll together visit Rishikesh."
"Yeah, I am thinking about the same."
Avik pressed the brake pad but the car didn't slow down. He tried again but it didn't work.
Anish said, "Did you go out for dinner?"
She said, "We are just returning from the restaurant."
Avik said, "Meenal."
"What?"
"Brakes."
"What?"
He yelled, "Brakes are not working."
Anish said, "Hey, is everything all right?"
Meenal said, "Brakes are not working."
Avik tried to turn his car when he lost the balance and the car crashed into the divider. The car caught fire in no time. Avik groaned as he tried to crawl out of the car. A bike stopped near the crash site. The biker stepped off the bike and stepped towards Avik. The biker removed the helmet but Avik could hardly see the face as his vision had gone blurry.
Avik lay on the hospital bed. Bandages were wrapped around his neck, forehead and hands. Anish walked in. He placed his palm over Avik's shoulder. Avik opened his eyes slowly.
He spoke, "Meenal, how is she?" His voice cracked as he talked.
Anish shook his head. Avik closed his eyes. Tears dropped from his eyes. Inspector Saloni Mathur entered the room followed by her colleague Sub Inspector Pramod.
She said, "Mr. Anish."
He glanced at her. He nodded and walked out of the room. Saloni came near to Avik.
"Mr. Avik, can you talk?"
He hummed.
She said, "We are sorry for the loss. My condolences are with you. Your brother told me that your car's brakes failed when he was on call with you. Can you tell me where were you before the accident?"
Saloni sat beside Pramod while he was driving the car. The car arrived near the restaurant. Saloni and Pramod stepped off the car. She glanced at the CCTV camera mounted outside covering the outer area of the restaurant. She walked into the restaurant followed by Pramod. She asked the receptionist.
"Where is the manager?"
Sahil showed up.
"How can I help you?"
"We have to watch the CCTV footage of your parking lot for the last night."
Saloni and Pramod faced the monitor screen displaying the CCTV footage of last night. They saw a man in the footage approaching towards Avik's car carrying a tool box. He lay under car's bonnet carrying a spanner.
Vinod sat before Constable Anil inside the police station.
"Sir, I have been trying to call him since the morning. I have no idea where did he go."
"Relax, I told you, the enquiry will be carried on only after ma'am comes."
Saloni walked into the police station. Anil stood up and saluted her.
She asked, "Who is he?"
"Ma'am, he a garage owner. He has filed a complaint against his mechanic staff."
Vinod said, "Ma'am, he stayed at the garage for late night yesterday, that's why I told him to lock the garage once he was done. When I arrived in the morning, I found the garage locked. My toolbox was missing too."
"Wait."
She took out her phone and showed him the CCTV image.
He said, "Yes ma'am, he is Hemant and that's my toolbox."
"Do you have his phone number?"
"Yes."
"Anil, write down the phone number and track the number. Keep me posted about its real time location."
"Yes ma'am."
A passenger bus was going through the highway. The police car showed up. Saloni sat on the driver's seat. She overtook the bus. The bus driver applied the brake and stopped the bus. Saloni stepped off the car. She boarded the bus.
She called, "Hemant!"
Hemant sat on a window seat, trying to hide. She spotted him. She went to him, grabbed his collar and pulled him.
"Get off the bus now."
"I didn't do anything."
She took out her gun and levelled at him.
"Are you coming or not?"
He lifted up his hands. Hemant stepped off the bus carrying a luggage bag followed by Saloni. The bus left. She unzipped the bag. The bag was filled with cash bundles.
She said, "Now, will you open your mouth or not? Who paid you?"
"She offered me the money when she walked into the garage."
"She?"
"She had taken her car to the garage for servicing. She was there to pick her car from there that day."
"Is she a regular customer?"
"Kind of."
The police car arrived at the garage. Vinod stood before the car with its bonnet opened, repairing. He closed the bonnet and saw Saloni and Hemant walking in. Hemant came to him.
Vinod asked, "Where did you go?"
Saloni said, "He was running away after committing a murder."
"What?"
"One of your customers paid him ten lakhs to sabotage brake."
"Who?"
Hemant said, "Niara Ma'am."
Saloni said, "Do you know where she lives?"
Vinod said, "No, but as fas as I know she works in ICICI Bank. My wife's savings account is maintained at her branch."
"Give me the address of the branch."
Pramod was riding his bike when his phone rang. He stopped his bike. He took out his phone and attended the call.
"Yes ma'am."
Saloni said, "Pramod, I have messaged you an address of an ICICI branch. You have to arrest an employee from there. Her name is Niara."
Pramod walked into the bank. The bank manager came to him.
"How may I help you sir?"
"I looking for Niara."
"Niara? She left just ten minutes ago."
"Where to?"
"She said she had to go to hospital as her mother is admitted there."
Pramod came out of the bank while making a call.
He said, "Ma'am, she is heading towards the hospital."
Saloni was driving the car.
"Oh no. Avik. She is definitely going to kill him."
Saloni pressed the clutch pad and geared up the car. She accelerated the car.
A nurse walked into the ladies washroom of the hospital. Her nose was clamped by a handkerchief from her behind. She fainted and fell on the ground. Niara walked out of the washroom wearing the nurse's uniform. She headed towards the ICU. She opened the door and walked in. She shut the door and latched it. She turned to Avik who was lying on the bed. Niara took out a knife and stepped towards Avik. Saloni arrived near the ICU. She held the door and tried to open but couldn't. She kicked the door, breaking it and took out her gun. Niara was about to stab Avik when she was shot on her waist by Saloni. She dropped the knife and groaned. She grabbed her waist with her palm. Saloni walked in.
"Niara."
Niara glanced at her. Saloni grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the ICU.
"Sit here."
Niara sat there. A nurse treated her wound.
She cried, "Just on the day of the marriage Meenal eloped with her boyfriend. The incident left my brother in pain. He locked himself in his room. I tried to persuade him. I kept knocking at his door but he didn't want to live anymore."
It was Niara who was knocking Ravi's door.
She resumed, "I tried to break in, but by the time the door broke Ravi had already committed suicide."
Saloni said, "And then you vowed to kill Meenal and Avik."
"I was there when the accident took place."
It was Niara who stood there before Avik after he crashed his car.
She said, "I thought he would die on his own. When I came to know that he has been admitted in hospital I decided to kill him on my own. None of them deserves to live. They had to pay what they did to my brother."
Saloni walked out the hospital along with Niara who was wearing handcuffs. She took her to the car. She opened the door. Niara sat in. Saloni sat on the driver's seat and drove the car away from the hospital.
