STRANGER OF MIDNIGHT- PART 3(LAST PART)

The Story so far: The narrator of this story takes a shortcut dirt road on his back home journey by a mistake. Just near the narrow culvert of this road, he had to stop his vehicle as a VW car was partly blocking the approach. As he tried to locate the driver, some hidden Goons beat him up and made unconscious. Regaining his sense, he was driving back and  he found  a black spaniel dog inside his car. On reaching home, he saw the TV News and came to know the kidnapping of one of his bad client, Monty Singh, near the culvert on the dirt road. There are certain circumstantial evidences from which it  appears that   as if he is involved in this kidnapping. Brushing aside this apprehension, he was inside his bath room keeping on  the News Channel.  He heard the voice of Monty and baking of the excited Pluto.

The music channel, owned by a cousin brother of Monty, suspending its own programme is  making appeals to viewers to inform the Police or the channel if they happen to see Monti ji in their locality with a promise to keep the identity undisclosed.

In between the announcements, they were also showing a video clipping of his latest speech just a month before ended   municipality election. Pluto was barking as and when this clipping was shown but why? This is something strange.

This means so far there is no ransom call and Monty’s friends are yet  to locate the den, where by now Monty is kept as hostage.

I clicked to local News channel; there was no latest development like ransom call. Now I really felt a train of cold wave  was flowing through my spine.

 Things are going to be tough for me. Possibly my interrogation may start any time for now.

I called up my lawyer’s office but his office replied that he is out of town and might return only late night or tomorrow morning.

I had no wish to go back to bathtub but I preferred to occupy the divan and leaning on the long Pillow. Keeping the News Channel on, I once again started rolling back the incidents.

For the first time in my life I realized how a person who had nothing to do in an incident but appeared just opposite.

Goons made me unconscious, just near the culvert. They thought that, I saw or guessed something wrong was going on under the culvert. Later on, Police found the remaining Kolhapuri Chappal, top lid of briefcase and some footprints under the culvert. This confirmed  my theory that something was going on below the culvert, possibly just at the time of my arrival.  

The Bolero of same color of mine was nowhere there and surely, Monty was taken in that Bolero before my arrival. The remaining miscreants were busy in breaking open the briefcase under the culvert when I stopped my vehicle near the culvert.  When they made me unconscious, they had a different brainwave.

My Bolero was of same color. They sprayed ether to make the dog unconscious and kept in my Bolero.  They were sure that as soon as I would regain my sense,  I would  drive away fast without looking into anything. By the time, this dog might become comfortable with me,   I would reach highway.

Everybody would see a Sky-blue Bolero with a black spaniel at the front seat. Police would be after the wrong Bolero and the miscreants would be able to buy sometime to keep Monty in a distant hide out.  However, few things remain unexplained.

Monty never carries briefcase, but backpack type things. I saw the broken handle of a briefcase and Police later on found a top lid of a briefcase under the culvert. Possibly other party carried this briefcase and they certainly would not break open their own briefcase.

Like today, Monty always wears snickers and Jeans, never Kurta Pajama and Chappal.

He never moves alone. As soon as he moves out of his residence, his musclemen wait for him at crossings to accompany him.

If I assume a different theory, these anomalies are explained.

Apart from construction, Monty has a bigger business in drug trafficking. Today upon receiving a call from a supplier, he went at this culvert place accompanied by his goons.

This supplier, along with his pet dog (whom I named as Pluto),carrying  the drugs in a briefcase, came in a  Sky blue color Bolero at the Culvert site much before Monty arrived.

There was a scuffle between him and Monty’s Gang. Either the person could not supply the promised amount against the advance of huge sum paid by Monty or he was a repeated defaulter of supplies.

Goons of Monty tried to snatch the brief case but only the handle of the briefcase came out. Either this fellow tried to escape through the culvert or the goons caught him before and pulled him under the culvert to complete their job without any disturbance.

They sprayed ether on him and barking Pluto. Some members of Monty’s gang carried him in his Bolero and fled off quickly. All these happened moments before I arrived.

They did a mistake in parking the Monty’s car, which made me to get down from my Bolero. To silence me also, they made me unconscious Correcting their early mistake of parking, they put me and Pluto in my Bolero and parked it  on the opposite side of the culvert so that no passer by  be inquisitive about me or Pluto and I buzz off as soon I get up.

This way   confusion might be created seeing a  Bolero of sky blue color with a dog in the front seat.

So Monty was not kidnapped, rather he and his gang did the thing and smartly put the blame on others shoulder to confuse the Police.

This is the reason why until now nobody made a single ransom call.  Further, his friends are telecasting to others to locate him to create a further confusion.

Whichever theory be correct, for me the result is the same. Soon I am bound to heart a siren wailing Police jeep screeching to halt just at the entrance of our residential complex.

Remembering the consequences, I broke into sobs. I switched off all the lights and the TV except the dim light and started thinking my plans ahead to come out of this worst kind of Jam in my life.

I did not know when I fall into sleep but a series of siren like sound pulled me up. Oh! They have come, I felt as if my heart would come out in my hand.

Oh No! It is the loud wail of Pluto. I got up to my feet and looked in the corner.  Pluto was  not there.

I shouted “ Pluto ! Pluto!” There was no response. I got up and was about to put on the light switches and then I heard distinctly.

 A baritone voice was saying “ Don’t cry Raja, Don’t cry, just come to me, Don’t cry Raja, Don’t cry ” Incidentally Raja is also my nickname, only very few people know it.

This voice was coming from the Balcony. I put on all the lights of my flat including the Balcony. There was nobody in the Balcony except Pluto. I called “ Pluto” There was no response. Now I called “ Raja”.

 Pluto pulled up for a spilt second but ignored me. I said “ Come here Raja, come”. He refused and sat there only. It was just midnight. I finished searching every nook and corner of my flat.  

I crawled several times to the balcony and looked through the grill. The entire complex was floodlit and I could see none except security persons making repeated quick rounds. Finally, I gave up and went back to divan.

At 5.45 A.M, the dawn has just begun.  Pluto is missing from my flat. Vainly searching for him, I came back to Balcony.

There are enough gaps in the grill for a small animal like him to pass through.

 The North- South—western horizons are pale dark and as if covered with a soft silky bed sheet of light fog. The eastern sky has just started becoming fade pinkish red with cool morning breeze from that side.

The wide drain of that dirt road and under that culvert passes here also and just half a kilometer away from here.   It is much wider here with thick cover of forest. The cool breeze is coming from this side.  Sometime cool bridge flows throughout the Night.

The eastern sky, along with the cool morning breeze, is pale red now. A group of black vultures is circling in this part on the top of the forest cover and appearing as sharp contrast in the background of the sky, caught my sight.

The dogs have a much powerful smelling power and if the bridge flowed in the night, he might have smelt something. Some very sad thing happened to him in the last midnight to wail loudly. 

 I now know in which direction Pluto alias Raja has gone. The complex main gate is in this side only. A police Jeep screeched to halt at the main gate of our complex.

A wail like loud sob came in my throat but failed to exit. I just heard the same baritone voice. 
Someone, invisible but very near to me, was calling me by my nick name “ Don’t cry Raja, Don’t cry, things will be all right,  Just don’t cry.”

FOr Part 1

http://pradipwritenow.blogspot.in/2013/03/strangers-of-midnight-dont-cry-raja.html

 For Part 2 Pls click the link below

http://pradipwritenow.blogspot.in/2013/03/strangers-of-midnight-dont-cry-raja_8.html

 For Part 3 Pls click the link below

http://pradipwritenow.blogspot.in/2013/03/stranger-of-midnight-part-3last-part.html