*****
THE CONVICT
The sub-inspector was sleeping at his desk. His head was lolling in mid air as he snored. His enormous belly sagged beyond his chair. The chair creaked under the pressure. The pile of files lay abandoned at the edge. The clock struck 10 AM. The assistant sub-inspector looked around idly. "It is going to be a dull day." He could smell the monotony in the air.
It had been a fortnight since they completed their last investigation. Their jurisdiction was a peaceful one. For that reason everyone wanted to be posted there. The phone was ringing in the other room. He ignored it; someone else would attend it soon. He yawned. The ringing stopped.
The constable rushed in from the other room. His face had gone was a deep scarlet. He had just been inducted into the force. It was his first week. He still was eager to serve the law and still teeming with the desire to prove himself.
"Sir...Sir..." He addressed the sub-inspector. The sub-inspector woke with a start. "Sir, we have a murder on our hands.” The constable almost screamed. "A local found a body in an alley." "What?” The sub-inspector looked around numbly. "Oh! Stop yelling. We are the police; dealing with such crimes is our mandate.” The ASI frowned. The constable blushed as the two rose.
The weather was hot and humid. The sweltering heat added to the reluctance the ASI felt to visit the crime scene. "This is not going to be pretty. Bodies decay faster in such conditions.” The ASI said as he wiped his sweat off.
The scene was indeed, gruesome. The victim had been butchered mercilessly. The corpse was already half-buried in mud. Multiple wounds had completely disfigured the thorax and spine. Purulent material had oozed from the perforations; it had dried up leaving marks all over the victim. The head had been bludgeoned; only half of the face had been spared by the blow. Maggots were squirming around the natural orifices. The jaw had been dislocated and fractured; the ASI surmised from its askew placement. Shreds of white cloth bathed in blood were hanging from the torso. One of the arms was missing.
The horrid smells of decomposing flesh emanated from the body; the constable covered his nose.
The forensic photographer was taking the photos quickly. He wanted his job to end as quickly as possible. "Is that a man or a woman?” The constable thought to himself. He could not decide. "Fingerprints will not benefit us without the assault weapon; look for the weapon. Sometimes it is disposed off in nearby locations.” The ASI ordered the constable. "Look in the mud, it may have been buried." "Time of death?” The SI asked.
"It's impossible to say; it must have been around 24 hours, though. Why didn't anybody see this before?” The ASI shook his head as he studied the body. The constable searched the periphery. The earth seemed to be loose in one corner. Something was protruding out through the mud. He inched closer to look. He realized what it was. The humerus was visible through the torn muscle tissue.
He turned blue and took a step back. He felt a solid mass against his boot; it was the corpses' hand...or whatever remained of the hand. He looked around and retched. The sound made the two seniors turn. The constable had found the missing arm.
"The body was dragged from there to the alley.” The ASI pointed to the site where the constable had found the arm. "Call the inspector, he should see this…" the SI said to the ASI. He nodded and left. The inspector was ushered. He arrived in half an hour. "Have there been any missing person reports in the past weeks?” The Inspector asked. "No, Sir..." the SI said.
The inspector inched closer and looked at the body. "This was a local. Ask the people in town. Identify the body. Send it for an autopsy. Make sure nobody sees this." he ordered in one breath and left. The ASI was wrong; the day was not going to be dull after all.
Two days later, the constable grabbed a man and put him in the locker. The SI beamed. "Thank God. The case was not as complicated as I expected. Our team was very efficient. I am very pleased." The ASI smiled contently. "Complete the paper work. I want to grab a wink or two. Wake me up when you are done. We need to get a confession out of him." The SI put his feet on the desk and rested his back on the chair. "Yes Sir." The ASI saluted.
"Keep an eye on the prisoner.” The ASI ordered the constable. "I have to complete this file." He grabbed a few papers and laid them on the table. The constable strutted to the room with the locker. As he passed the locker, he looked at the murderer from the corner of his eye. He still was lying where he had been thrown. He had not spoken when he arrested him. He had been silent all the way to the station.
The constable remembered the scene of the crime all too well. He stopped and regarded him for a moment. "What could possibly have made you murder somebody so brutally?” He asked the man. The man did not look up, he did not move. The constable shrugged and left, he knew the man had heard him.
Two hours later, the ASI finished the documentation and handed the papers to the SI. The SI stirred. "Is it time?" "Yes, Sir… "Take the constable along; you know what to do..." The ASI nodded and left the SI’s office. The Constable was studying the prisoner. He had not moved an inch. "Sir, this man is strange." The constable whispered to his superior. “We can deal with that. Take your belt off.”, the ASI said impatiently.
The constable looked flustered. "Hurry up!" He realized what purpose the belt was to serve. He reluctantly removed it. They made their way into the cell. “That is odd.” the Constable thought. The ASI inched closer to the man and kicked him roughly.
The man did not react. "Get up and talk." The ASI barked. The Constable brought in a chair for the interrogation and tied the suspect to it. He left to bring a table and set it down in front of the prisoner. The ASI punched him squarely on his jaws. "Okay now that we have established who's Boss around here. Why don't you start with telling me what happened..."
The man stared into space. The SI grabbed his hair and said something again. The man was completely silent. The SI punched him twice. "Say it!’ He hissed. The man looked down but did not say anything. "Help me out, won’t you? The belt..." The ASI said to the Constable.
The Constable took the belt and approached him from the back. He hit the man on his spine. The man did not scream, he did not groan. The constable looked at the SI. The man's demeanor was slightly disturbing. "Give me that, Hit him harder." The ASI took the belt and hit him again.
The sound made the Constable’s own intestines churn painfully. "Speak..." The ASI slapped the suspect's face and then whipped him again. The impact tore his shirt but the man remained motionless. Red imprints were visible on his skin. The Constable winced. The ASI whipped him with all his might. The suspect did not even whimper.
Both police men exchanged a look; they were equally astounded. "Sir? What if he can't speak?" The ASI threw the belt aside and inched towards their suspect menacingly. "Dumb people can produce sound. They can bloody well open their mouths! He toppled the interrogation desk. “His employer told me he can talk. This one here, he is just being stubborn. I hate such people." He punched the man several times.
The man remained expressionless. His eyes were vacant. The ASI looked at him with disdain. "You are not going to speak, are you? Well, we will see about that..."
He spat at the man and moved out of the cell. The constable followed him. "No food and make sure he does not sleep." The ASI said to the constable; loud enough so the man could hear. They walked away, the ASI made sure the man was out of ear-shot, then added," We need a confession or our case will begin to look weak. There were two witnesses; but they spotted the two together long before the TOD and we have not found the murder weapon yet." "Sir, he has no alibi." "He can make something up, there's always somebody to vouch for them. The town people hate us." He wiped the sweat off his face. "It has always been easy to extort a confession. This one looks tough, though. He may be thinking he can plead innocent on grounds of insanity. Tell the other constable to pay him another visit at night." "Yes, Sir…"
The constable's shift was over in another hour; much to his relief. He relayed the orders to his
replacement and left. He checked on the suspect again; all of them had been certain that they had arrested the right man. "Why doesn't the he say anything?"
The trial lasted a month. The man could not afford a lawyer. “According to the Pakistan Penal code under the section 302 for “Qatal e Amd”; the Pakistan High court finds the defendant guilty of first degree manslaughter. The date of his hanging will be decided in the next session. The Court is adjourned.”
The phone was ringing. The constable took the call. “This is Inspector Malik from Rawalpindi. We just arrested a man for murder. He has confessed to another homicide in your area.” The constable frowned “We don’t have any unsolved murders.”
The Inspector hesitated. “I don’t know. The victim’s name is Akram Sethi.” The constable stopped short. He remembered the man they had caught. “Are you sure?” “Yes.” The Inspector answered.
The constable hung up without another word. The man they had accused of the murder had been hanged at the gallows two months ago. “If only he had spoken…” The constable slumped into his chair. “Nobody would have believed him.” He stood up and went to the Inspector’s office to tell him about the call.
*****
PREDESTINATION
He knew it annoyed her greatly but he considered defiance an obligation. As the 8 year old rode his bike to school, he would let go of the pedals and yell, “Look mommy, no legs!”
She worried about his safety but he was adamant. He would not let her drive him to school. She always lost the argument.
As she bade him farewell today, he pulled his ritual prank; not realizing that a car was speeding past. He was caught off guard and lost his balance. The bike swerved as he grasped the brakes. He hit the asphalt, missing the car by inches.
Witness to the incidence, his mother shrieked as she rushed towards him and frantically helped him back on his feet. “That is it! I will drive you to school from now on.” Too bewildered to react, he followed her numbly.
She hurriedly seated him in the car, started the engine and drove away. They were late. She had to hurry. She pushed the accelerator, oblivious of the presence of a cat on the road. She hit the animal who gave a mighty whine. Startled by the sound, she steered acutely to the right. The car spun out of control and crashed into a tree on the road side.
The ethereal smell stung her nostrils. She opened her eyes and looked around. People were huddled around her. Their white coats told her she was in a hospital. “Where is my son?” She inquired impatiently. “Lay still Ma’am; you must rest.” “I need to see my son now, please!” She pleaded hoarsely. A nurse injected a sedative before she could object. “Your son is alright. He underwent a surgery. You will have to wait a little”. The drowsiness overwhelmed her and she passed out again.
The guilt and anxiety were intolerable as she entered her son’s room. She had been too rushed to listen to the doctor as he tried to explain her son’s condition. She raised her head fearfully. He sat up in bed; looking unhurt except for a few bruises. “Oh, Thank God!” She cried out jubilantly as relief washed over her. She peered into his eyes and realized her joy was not reflected there. The boy’s eyes glistened. She felt the dread creep back. Something was terribly wrong. He mustered his courage and smiled through the tears. “Look mommy, no legs…”
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