An Unfound Trail

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction.

Mr. Ambarish Khashnobish died peacefully in his sleep. Massive cardiac arrest. Interestingly,  the  night of his death his house was also broken in. Since nothing was found stolen it was deemed to be the work of a petty thief.

But the gossip mongers got very active. The rumour that the old man’s death was not natural caught the imagination of the public. However, the Police, due to lack of evidence, closed the case unceremoniously.

As is with the affluent, Mr. Khashnobish’s will was read out by his lawyers a fortnight later. His estates and liquid assets were equally divided between his two NRI sons – Amar and Aman, who had arrived from the US of A to perform their father’s last rites. The house in which the octogenarian breathed his last was sold off to Mr. Mohit Manchanda of Manchanda Builders a month later.

Two months after the Police  received an unsigned note which hinted that Mr. K did not die a natural death.

“We keep getting such anonymous useless tips.” Said Rakesh Singh, who had been dealing with the burglary at  Mr. K’s. “The Department has more important matters to handle than follow up such baseless insinuations.”

Rakesh was our family friend.

We were having dinner together. Most of what I knew about the Khashnobish Affair was through him.

***

The Khashnobish Mansion was about to be demolished when rumours again went wild that the premise was haunted. A shadowy figure had been seen in the dead of the night lurking around. A few odd accidents later the project was stalled indefinitely.

“You know how these labourers are. They refused to work at the site.” Supplied Rakesh.

***

One year had passed. Manchanda Builders were proposing to resume the demolition when another mishap struck. Mr Manchanda passed away the exact same way as Mr. K had. However , no foul play was detected. Since, he did not have any kith or kin his entire wealth came to be regulated by a Trust towards various philanthropic causes.

With one exception – it appeared that the Khashnobish Mansion had changed hands six months before Manchanda’s sudden demise.

***

It took two years for the Luxury Resort to come up where once Khashnobish Mansion stood. Soon it became a pet destination of worn out celebs’ relaxation and myriad recreations.

Rakesh remarked that it was strange the turn of events that the K Affair had taken. 

We were having an after dinner chat on a quiet Sunday.

“I have a theory. Of course, no proof”, I said.

Everyone present looked at me with interest.

“Like what ?” Asked Rakesh

“Well, it’s just a hunch. Suppose Mr. K did not die a natural death. Even if he had, I think, the burglary was for a purpose. Somebody was looking for something there. I’d say the property documents which the intruder thought would be inside K’s locker in his bedroom.”

“We looked up that angle.” Said Rakesh.” But it was with his lawyers.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Perhaps old K had suspected that someone was interested in those papers and thought it wise to keep them with his legal advisors.”

Rakesh shrugged.

“Then the property got sold to Manchanda’s who could not demolish the building because it was rumoured to be haunted. It’s so hard to pinpoint the source of the rumour. Maybe it was planted to purposely halt the construction. Then as Manchanda was about to start again he died the exact same way that K did. Of course, it’s not possible now to establish whether there was foul play in M’s death or not. But why would he sell off the property right before his death? He was not short of funds.”

“Perhaps he thought it was not a lucky acquisition. You know how these businessmen think.” Said Rakesh.

“Or could be the property never changed hands.  The Ownership Documents and Sale Deed could be obtained in liue of a handsome payment (or a lucrative deal) to Manchanda’s Solicitors who were in possession of those papers. Now ! Now ! Rakesh , you know, everyone is saleable.”

“But why would anybody do that?” The question was simultaneously asked by Rakesh and my family who were listening intently.

“If those who initially sold the property got greedy and wanted it back without repaying the huge sum they had pocketed earlier.”

“I know it would be difficult to locate the trail back to the sons. The Real Estate Group who built and ran the show could be a facade.” I continued hastily.

“Too far fetched,” said my father dismissively.

Rakesh was quiet.

Before bidding good night he turned to look at me piercingly from the door and said,” You do have a fertile imagination, don’t you?”

***

A few months after this conversation Rakesh’s visits to our place became very infrequent. I heard he was made a part of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Once when we bumped into each other at a gathering he was very tight lipped about the investigation he was into. I came to know that he often had to fly out of the country on his current assignment.

***

It was five years later that the Khashnobish Case made headlines again. Amar and Aman were arrested on charges surprisingly somewhat similar to the theory propounded by me in the presence of my dismissive family and Rakesh on that fateful Sunday evening. The Daily said the arrests were an outcome of  an undercover investigation by the SIT following a credible lead…

I was eager to know more but the person who could fill me in had now been promoted and become too busy to be easily contacted.

***

As days passed the K Affair became stale news.

It was a lazy summer afternoon when we received an unexpected guest – one Sharanjeet Monga.

Father brought him in to the living room,”He wants to see you.”

Sharanjeet carried a big fat folder under his arm. He respectfully folded his hands, “Namaste Ma’am! I work under Rakesh Singh Sir. He has asked me to see you.”

Sharanjeet took out his mobile, “He instructed to give him a call on his private number as soon as I reach here. You see ma’am,  he wants that I should unofficially brief you about a high profile case that we are currently looking into….”

PS 1 : Guys, if you find any loopholes in my theory please feel free to let me know.

PS 2 : Dear Friends, I have had a sudden attack of the Vertigo. So going slow on the reading and commenting. Please bear with me.