And yes...thank you for the reviews...looooovvvvvveeee hearing from you.
Speaker: toh ab waqt hai round 2 ka. Aur isme hum test karenge aap logon ke beech ki chemistry. Saare couples please enjoy kariye...hamare judges apna kaam start karenge.
With this the spotlight is switched off and the music starts.
Abhijeet: Apne toh kamaal kar diya Meenakshi ji...mujhe nahi pata tha ki aap itna jaanti hai mere baare mein.
Tarika, smiling: Tumne bhi toh saare answers ka sahi jawab diya.
Abhijeet: haan woh toh hai...magar tumhe saare jawab kaise pata chale? kuch cheeze toh maine tumhe kabhi batayi hi nahi.
Tarika: Bilkul waise hi jaise tumhe mere baare mein pata chala.
Abhijeet was about to speak when a waiter pushed Tarika. He held her arm so as to prevent her from falling.
Abhijeet: tum theek toh ho na?
Tarika: haan...mein theek hu.
Abhijeet, to the waiter in anger: ye kya baat hui?
Waiter: sorry sir, sorry mam.
Abhijeet: sorry ke bache...ab bhaag yahan se.
Tarika, placing her palm on his shoulder: ab gussa chod do Abhijeet. Mujhe kuch nahi hua hai.
Abhijeet in a very caring tone: lagi toh nahi na?
Tarika: nahi Abhijeet...mein bilkul theek hu.
Saying this her eyes widened.
Abhijeet: kya hua?...kya hua Tarika?
Tarika did not say anything in reply. She only went closed Abhijeet and brushed something off his shoulder. The next moment she collapsed into his arms.
Abhijeet, hugging her tight and in a caring tone: kya hua?
Tarika, shivering: woh...woh tumhare shoulder pe cockroach tha...mujhe cockroaches se bahut dar lagta hai.
Abhijeet, caressing her hair and making her stand straight: Arey Tarika...mujhe bol deti mein hata deta.
Tarika, blushing: mein...mein dar gayi thi.
Abhijeet: koi baat nahi...mein hu na.
Tarika stopped shivering and nodde. Before she could say anything, the spotlight was on them.
Speaker: A huge round of applause for the perfect couple ladies and gentlemen. They have won round 2 and that too with a perfect score again.
Let me explain how we judged everyone. The check points were as follows:
1. A waiter was asked to push all the women and the reaction of the husbands was noted. Most of the wives had to balance themselves. And most of the husbands shouted at the waiter before asking their wives if they were okay.
But Mr. Wadhera helped his wife first and then ensured that she was okay. They scored perfectly on this point.
2. All the women were asked 6 questions in the beginning while the men were asked only 5 questions. The 6th question was about the insect they hated the most - all women have one, you see. Mrs. Wadhera didn't think about herself at all when she brushed a cockroach off her husband's shoulder. Therefore, they scored perfectly on this one too.
Last but not the least...our cute couple here got extra points for giving compliments to each other.
Abhijeet and Tarika smiled and blushed as everyone congratulated them.
IN THEIR HOUSE, IN TARIKA'S BEDROOM:
Abhijeet handed a bag labelled "evidence". She opened it to find around 10 different things - 8 of them were different coloured pieces of clothes. There was also a black mass and a CD.
Tarika: ye sab tumne kab collect kiya?
Abhijeet: Tumhe kya laga...ki mein senior inspector aise hi bana hu?
Tarika: Maanna padhega Abhijeet...good work.
Abhijeet smiled while Tarika left the room.
Abhijeet: kaha jaa rhi ho?
Tarika: evidence analyse karne...aur kaha?
Abhijeet: iss waqt...12 baj rahe hai Tarika!
Tarika: Bas thoda sa kar leti hu...nahi toh time pe khatam nahi hoga.
Abhijeet: Tarika tum so jao please.
Tarika: Tum chinta math karo Abhijeet...mein thodi der baad so jaungi...jao tum so jao.
Abhijeet, giving in: theek hai...Good night.
Tarika: Good night.
Abhijeet went to his room and set the alarm at 2 a.m.
AT 2 A.M :
Abhijeet jumped out of his bed at the sound of the alarm and went to check on Tarika. As expected, she was sitting on the couch and sleeping. Abhijeet took the file from his hands and took a look at it...exactly one fourth of the work was done.
He gently touched her hands while softly calling her name.
Tarika, shocked: h-haan!
Abhijeet: Tarika, ghabrao math. Mein hu.
Tarika: Abhijeet tum...tum soye nahi abhi tak?
After asking the question, she saw his mobile in his hand and smiled as she realized that he had set an alarm to check on her.
Tarika, still smiling: chalo hum log ab so jaate hai.
Abhijeet: chalo.
Early next morning Abhijeet left Tarika in the house to complete the analysis and he went to block A for investigation.
MR. AND MRS. SHARMA'S HOUSE.
Abhijeet, entering the house: namaste uncle ji, namaste aunty ji.
Mrs. Sharma: Arey beta...ao, andar ao. Kya baat hai, tumhari patni nazar nahi aa rhi?
Abhijeet: wo usse kuch kaam tha...isliye wo ghar par hi ruki hai.
Mr. Sharma, teasing: jhagda wagda toh nahi ho gaya?
Mrs. Sharma: ye aap kaisi baat kar rahein hai? In logo ka jhagda hua bhi toh ye log ek dusre ko chutki mein mana letein honge...kyu beta?
Abhijeet: woh toh hai.
Mr. Sharma: Arey yaar mein toh mazaak kar tha. Aur beta...tumhe mein apna ghar dikhata hu.
Abhijeet went with him and saw all the rooms. Mr. Sharma told him how his son and daughter in law were abroad and how they would come twice every year and stay with him.
After Abhijeet gained all the information he could, he proceeded to the next house.
ANANYA'S HOUSE:
Abhijeet had disguised as a plumber to go inside her house and he found a gun there.
Abhijeet: ma'am aapke pas gun?
Ananya: Mein ek cid officer hu.
Abhijeet: waah madam ye toh bahut hi achi baat hai...aap apna id zara dikhayengi?
Ananya: Tum apne kaam mein kaam rakho...nahi toh andar kar dungi.
After fixing her pipe, Abhijeet went out. This girl was certainly not a cid officer. He texted Daya and asked him to interrogate her as he could not reveal his identity in this colony.
MR. AND MRS. SINGH'S HOUSE:
Mr. Singh: Welcome Mr. Wadhera...kal raat ko toh aapne kamal kar diya.
Mrs. Singh: Arey aapki wife nazar nahi aa rahi.
Abhijeet: ji usse kuch kaam tha.
Mr. Singh: please baithiye na.
Abhijeet, sitting: Thank you...waise ghar bahut sundar hai aapka.
Mrs. Singh: Andar aayi na...mein aapko ghar dikhati hu.
With this he went inside their house and came to know that their only daughter aalya had committed suicide at the age of 25. There were many books on plastic, cosmetics, cooking, painting etc in the house. All those books belonged to their daughter. The poor husband and wife were left with nothing but painful memories. Expressing his empathy, he moved to the next house.
NIKHIL'S HOUSE:
The front door was left open and no one was opening the door. So Abhijeet quietly went inside the house and examined it. He found lots of weird letters which said things like "NO ONE WILL SURVIVE" and "NO ONE HAS RIGHTS". As he left the house, Abhijeet told Daya to keep an eye on this man too.
MR AND MRS JOSHI'S HOUSE:
Mrs. Joshi: aap ko Mr. Joshi se milna hoga na? wo abhi ghar pe nahi hain.
Abhijeet: mujhe unse bahut important documents leni thi...kya mai unke kamre mein jaa sakta hu?
Mrs. Joshi: ji zaroor...aayiye main dikhati hu.
Abhijeet followed her while checking for anything odd.
Abhijeet, pointing at the photo of a young girl: ye...aapki beti hai kya?
Mrs. Joshi, with a trembling voice: ji...aapne toh newspaper mein padha hi hoga...iska khoon ho gaya hai.
Abhijeet: kisnd kiya hoga?
Mrs. Joshi, softly: Abhi cid case pe lagi hui hai...lekin ek baat hai...
Abhijeet: aur wo kya?
Mrs. Joshi: aap apne tak hi rakhiyega...humne abhi tak ye baat cid to nahi batayi hai.
Abhijeet: ji...ji bilkul.
Mrs. Joshi: iss colony mein jis ladke ka khoon hua tha...vo iska boyfriend tha.
Abhijeet: aapne ye baat cid ko kyu nahi batayi?
Mrs. Joshi: arey bhaisahab hum khandani log hain...badnami ho jaati. aur iss cheez ka bhala khoon ss kya lena dena? Ab agar siraf do bacho ka khoon hua hota toh baat alag hai...khoon toh uss Neeraj ke bete ka bhi hua tha. Ye dono toh usse jaante tak nahi.
Abhijeet only nodded in response and after a little chit chat he left for the last house in block A.
MR. AND MRS. NEERAJ'S HOUSE:
Abhijeet was greeted by mourning parents. Their son had been murdered a week ago. After talking with Mr. Neeraj, he went to his house in the colony. It was afternoon by the time he reached. He found Tarika in the kitchen.
Abhijeet: Arey Tarika ji...aap kitchen main?
Tarika: kyu? Tumhare liye khaana nahi bana sakti?
Abhijeet: Bilkul bana sakti hain...mein toh bas.
Tarika: tum toh aisa baat kar rahe ho jaise maine tumhare liye kabhi khana banaya hi nahi ho.
Abhijeet: Arey nahi Tarika ji...maine aisa kab kaha. Mujhe laga ki aaj aap bahut busy hai...toh isliye thoda unexpected tha...waise aapne saari analysis kar li kya?
Tarika: haan...abhi khaana ready ho jayega...uske baad mein tumhe batati hu.
Abhijeet: toh theek main aap ko apni findings ke baare mein batata hu.
Abhijeet told her about his investigation in detail and she finished cooking by the time he finished his story.
Tarika, while having lunch: Abhijeet wo jo alag alag rang ke kapde miley the na...wo sab ke sab usi plastic ke bane hue the.
Abhijeet: Mujhe issi baat ka dar tha...Tarika, mujrim ne apni agli planning ke liye Parin's point hi chuna hai.
Tarika: ye tumhe kaise maloom?
Abhijeet: iss plastic ke balloons lage hue the...aur in sabhi balloons par ek ek letter likha hua tha. Aur agar inhe burst hone ke order mein dekha jaye to hume "parins pt" milta hai.
Tarika: Baat mein dum hai...kyuki CD mein balloons ke burst hone ki awaaz thi.
Abhijeet: Matlab kisi ne ye sab badi hoshiyari se plan kiya tha.
Tarika: Aur wo black mass...woh burnt plastic hai.
Abhijeet: chalo Tarika...khana khane ke baad parins point par chalte hain...aaj woh khooni pakda jayega. Mein team ko positions lene ke liye bol deta hu.
AT PARIN'S POINT:
Abhijeet, pointing at 2 people wearing black outfits: fir se woh dono...tum yahi ruku mein dekh kar aata hu.
Tarika: Abhijeet mein bhi chalti hu.
Abhijeet: wahan khatra ho sakta hai.
Abhijeet, responding to her glare: theek hai...tum bhi aa jao.
With this they move to the roof top. While they are 10 ft away from the 2 people, those 2 people explode.
Abhijeet, running towards them: ye kya?
Tarika: arey ye toh...plastic ke putle the.
Abhijeet: bahut chaalak samajhta hai ye khooni apne aap ko.
Daya, brining Mr. and Mrs. Singh: lekin bachke kahan jaayega...Abhijeet tumhara shak bilkul sahi nikla...ye log watchman ke saath apne ghar mein khoon ki planning kar rahe the.
Abhijeet, to the watchman: zara batana...kiske ghar mein ajeeb mehman aaye the? Lekin ek baat samajh nahi aayi...tumne block A ki baat karke apne hi pair par kulhadi kyu maari?
Watchman: woh sahab mujhe laga ki ye budha budhi fas jaayenge lekin mein bach jaaunga aur paise bhi mil jaayenge.
Abhijeet: Arey mujhe toh tum pe tabhi shak ho gaya tha jab mujhe pata chala ki kisi ke ghar pe mehman aaye hi nahi the...Aur Mr. Singh...uss din aapke haath mein woh burnt plastic lag gaya tha aur jab aapne mere saath haath milaya tab mere haath par bhi woh lag gaya. Tabhi mujhe aap dono pe shak hua.
Aur mera shak yakeen mein badal gaya jab meine aaj aapke ghar mein alag alag kisam ke plastic ki books dekhi. Batao! kyu kiya ye sab.
Mr. Singh, sobbing: Meri bachi ke maut ka zimmedar ye colony hai...woh toh bechari sirf pyaar karti thi ek ladke se.
Mrs. Singh: iss colony ke log usse taane maarte gaye aur ek din wo pareshan ho gayi...aur usne apni jaan le li.
Mr. Singh: toh hum logo ne bhi thaan li...ki hum sab ko dikhayenge ki apne bacho ko khone ka dard kya hota hai. Sabse pehle humne uss misha ko maara...arey woh bhi pyaar karti thi lekin colony waale kuch kehte hi nahi the.
Daya: teen teen khoon kiye hai tum logo ne...tumhe toh kadi se kadi saza hogi.
With this the case was solved.
THE NEXT DAY, IN FRONT OF FORENSIC DEPARTMENT.
Tarika: Thanks Abhijeet, mujhe drop karne ke liye.
Abhijeet: Arey koi baat nahi Tarika ji.
Tarika, looking at her phone: tumhara phone phir se silent pe hai na?
Abhijeet: Daya ka phone hai kya?
Tarika: nahi ACP sir ka!
Abhijeet walked away from her while she smiled.
Tarika: haan Daya...Abhijeet?
Abhijeet signalled her not to tell him but she pretended not to understand.
Tarika, smirking: woh toh yahi hai...mujhe chodne aaya tha...lo tum baat kar lo.
Abhijeet: arey Daya yaar...wo wo...wo mein bureau aa hi raha tha...toh meine dekha ki Tarika ji pareshan ho rahi hain akeli toh unhe drop...haan haan, jaanta hu ki unhe driving aati hai...magar wo unki gaadi start nahi ho rahi thi na...haan haan aa raha hu...acha ek naya case hai? Mein bas abhi aaya.
Tarika controlled her laughter with supreme effort and took her phone back.
Abhijeet, genuinely angry: Bye Tarika ji.
Tarika: arey naraz kyu hote ho?
Abhijeet: Mein jaa raha hu.
Tarika: lekin wajah toh batao.
Abhijeet: tumne mujhe fasa diya na...aur upar se has rahi ho?
Tarika: I'm sorry...please maaf kar doh.
Abhijeet: Mujhe aap se koi baat nahi karni hai.
He was about to leave when Tarika came close to him and gave a peck on his cheek.
Abhijeet couldn't help but smile at this. He kept smiling at her till she was out of sight. She sure knew how to handle her boyfriend.
"ye Tarika bhi na," he told himself while driving to the bureau.
A LITTLE LATER, IN THE FORENSIC LAB:
Abhijeet, smiling broadly: Hello Tarika ji.
Tarika: hello Abhijeet!
Abhijeet: kya aapne iss admi ka age pata laga liya?
Tarika: haan...iss aadmi ki umar thi 38 saal.
Abhijeet: mujhe pata tha...ki aap pata laga hi lengi.
Tarika blushed first and then both of them smiled at each other when Dr. Salunkhe coughed. They continued smiling while walking over to him. All Dr. Salunkhe's teasing, quick flirts and talking in the forensic lab was back in their relationship. And of course, unconditional love and concern can never disappear...
THE END
A big thank you to all those who reviewed my story, especially those who reviewed regularly. And thanks to those who favorited and followed the story.
Thanks to my silent readers to...I would be glad if you could take 5 minutes and post a review. pls?
It really means a lot to me. Hope I did not disappoint you.
To those of you who were expecting a confession:
I did not want to alter their relationship. I wanted to show it just as it is...I do not want to imagine and take their relationship to another level because I want to keep it very realistic. Thank you once again. I thought that this would be the second last chapter when I started writing it...but well...it turned out to be the last one.
Love all of you.
And pls review!