The Case Book of Rajiv Ray
By Vijay K Kerji
Copyright 2014 by Vijay K Kerji
Table of Contents
Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Chapter 06
Chapter 07
Adventure of Missing Woman
Chapter 1
Rajiv Ray stepped inside his private detective office, Candour Detective Agency. He breathed heavily after climbing the stairs in haste. He was already late. Rajiv found it difficult these days to reach his workplace in-time owing to the heavy traffic near the Koti Street of Hyderabad City. His assistant Simi was already seated. Rajiv opened the door of his glass room and entered inside.
Rajiv’s private office was housed in an eight thousand square feet area with glass partitions. His spacious chamber was situated on the left side of the main entrance and the chamber faced the remaining sections, enabling him to monitor the activity. His secretary’s section was to the right side corner. The remaining sections housed a receptionist and a data processing unit.
Rajiv started his own private detective venture two years ago. He worked for CID for seven years before. He thought that he can take up the cases on his own. His peculiar method of deductive inference made him the most sought private detective by the aspiring clients. Rajiv solved much difficult cases with ease and accuracy. The Hyderabad Police Department amazed at his special skills in crime detection. He was committed to his profession.
Since childhood, Rajiv was interested in reading mystery stories and novels. When he passed the intermediate, he opted to study the barrister course, as opposed to his parents and siblings desire to pursue engineering studies.
Rajiv’s interest in crime mystery cases made his mentors and colleagues to raise their eyebrows in surprise as he took the cases head on to solve when he was undergoing training with a leading advocate in Hyderabad City. His dedication toward the case in hand was immense and he put much energy and effort to navigate the case successfully within a short time period.
Rajiv took out his personal laptop from his bag and switched it on after setting it on his table. His personal secretary Simi, wearing pale purple sari approached toward him with a file in her hand. She pushed open the door and smiled at Rajiv affectionately. “Good morning, Sir. I wanted to hand over the papers pertaining to the Jewel Thief case which we could solve successfully last month. All the details related to the case have been backed up in the system and the hard copies are filed in here.” Simi kept the pink coloured file on the table and settled on a chair in front of him.
Simi was a beautiful lady in her mid-twenties and worked as a personal secretary to Rajiv ever since he floated his detective agency in Koti Street of Hyderabad City. Rajiv selected her in the interview he conducted for the personal secretary post, during early days of his detective venture, among many applicants because of her straight forwardness with which she answered his interview questions. Simi’s more than average height, round shaped face with long nose, raven black hair and twinkle in her black eyes made Rajiv to decide and appoint her as his personal secretary.
Rajiv took the file which Simi kept in front of him and flipped over the pages in it. “I don’t see any paper containing the statement of the owner pertaining to this case; did you not receive it from the Data Processing unit?” Rajiv looked at Simi and handed over the file back to her.
“Yes, sir, it’ll be filed as soon as I receive it from the Data Processing section.” Simi took the file from Rajiv.
Rajiv sat in a laid back posture on his cushion chair and twirled around once. “Simi, I appreciate your co-operation in solving the Jewel Thief case which took lot of efforts from our side to nail down the culprits. You showed your true work-ethics till we reached the final stage of the case.” Rajiv looked into her eyes with a smile of appreciation.
Simi smiled back at Rajiv. “Thank you, Sir. It’s all because of your motivation and you tapped the talent hidden in me to successfully navigate through it. I appreciate your kind words toward me.”
Rajiv and Simi worked hard for three months to successfully solve the mystery of the case, code named as the Jewel Thief. It was overnight work for most of the days for both of them to achieve the success before Hyderabad Police could catch the actual culprits involved in the case.
Rajiv undertakes any case with much interest and gathers information related to the case in detail, not leaving any iota of doubt in the final conclusion and case closure. Rajiv’s deductive inferences has helped him to solve many cases in his career successfully, leaving his cynics dumfounded.
Simi had accompanied him to the crime site to gather the needed information and they together had discussed the case to arrive at certain useful conclusions. In a Spouse Murder mystery which Rajiv and Simi solved successfully, it was Simi who gave many useful suggestions to Rajiv to nail down the culprit and it was Rajiv who had trained her on his deductive inference principles.
“Sir, to-morrow, I would like to take a break from work and I’ll be back only on next Tuesday.” Simi looked into Rajiv’s eyes.
Rajiv took a pen from the holder and twirled around for a while. “If it’s unavoidable for you, you can go ahead but I suggest you attend the work otherwise.”
Simi winked at him. “Um… I need to attend one of my important personal works. I prefer taking the time off and will be back next week.”
“Okay, I wish you happy weekend and see you next week.” Rajiv kept the pen back in the stand and smiled at her.
“Thank you, Sir. I wish you the same.” Simi rose and walked back to her seat.
Rajiv scanned his laptop for an old case history which he handled few months ago and picked a file which contained the details of the Crooked Man case. He remembered how an acquaintance of a colonel’s daughter deceived them for an important confidential paper which the colonel had kept in his house. If it was not Rajiv who nabbed the culprit with his deductive inferences capability, the national pride was at stake. Rajiv remembered how he tracked the footprints of the culprit outside the room where the vault in which paper was kept. Rajiv closed the file with a sigh of relief and confidence brimmed in him of his detective profession to take up the cases further.
Chapter 2
Rajiv was engrossed in a discussion with his personal secretary, Simi, over a cup of tea just before the afternoon during the first day of the following workweek. Simi looked beautiful on her dark yellow embroidered sari with a large red bindi on her forehead and spoke to Rajiv in a rather unusual jovial mood.
Rajiv straightened his back in the middle of the discussion. “You had been to an astrologer last week and are assured of good future ahead for you. You were asked to offer special prayers to the God to ward-off any evils acting upon your destiny and to make the way ahead clear.”
Simi shot a surprise look at Rajiv. “Yes, I did visit the astrologer and offered special prayers to Lord Ganesh but how on earth do you know all these details, Rajiv?”
Rajiv rested his back on his cushioned chair and twirled around. “Well, the new rings you wore with pearls in it clearly indicate that you had been to astrologer, and your jovial mood today tells me that you are informed of a better future ahead. The unusual bindi size and a slight sandalwood paste applied to your lower neck shows that you offered special prayers this morning.”
“Excellent, Rajiv, I appreciate your keen observations and correct inferences. I was advised by my grandmother to meet an astrologer since I had faced few difficulties in my personal life recently.”
“Did you make a wish to God for me as well?” Rajiv smiled.
“Oh, yes, I wished for speedy resolution of cases you
undertake and let our agency name be popularised throughout the country with fame!”
Rajiv looked into her eyes. “I see! Thank you for your prayers on behalf of me!” They both chuckled.
A moment later, Rajiv’s phone on the table rang and a call from front desk lit on the screen. Rajiv picked the receiver. “Yes, Rajiv speaking.”
“Rajiv Sir, a lady would like to meet you on an urgent personal matter. Can I send her to you inside?”
Rajiv waited for a moment. “Please do send her to my chamber.”
Moments later, a slim lady wearing pale blue sari with an average height was escorted by the receptionist near Rajiv’s chamber. She wore a worried look on her face with her cheeks down and looked at Rajiv earnestly. Rajiv waved her to get inside his chamber and he saw a faint smile lit on the lady’s face upon his gesture to enter inside. She walked inside and Simi waved her to a seat adjacent to her toward the right.
Silence prevailed for few seconds. The lady straightened her back and looked into Rajiv’s eyes. “Good afternoon, Sir. I’m Gita from Secunderabad, and I’ve heard of you and your detective agency by my colleague and thought of availing your valuable services.”
Rajiv leaned front. “Pray go ahead with your details.”
Gita opened the zip of her hand bag and picked a piece of paper. “You might have noticed the following news article last week about a missing lady, in Deccan Chronicle news daily, and here is the clipping of the same.” She handed over the news clipping to Rajiv.
Rajiv read the news content carefully:
A lady by name Sita is missing since three days and she hailed from Tarnaka area of Secunderabad. She was last seen at her home by her husband in the morning of 8th of April. Her husband works as a General Manager for a local automobile manufacturing unit in the outskirts of Hyderabad. Anyone found the whereabouts of the lady can inform at Tarnaka Police station, Secunderabad.
Rajiv handed the news article to Simi. “Sita is your sister, I guess.”
“Yes, and she is elder to me by two years. We are from the Vijayawada district of Andhra Pradesh and settled in Secunderabad after marriage. Sita got married to Varun five years ago and she worked at home as a house wife. We are the only daughters to our parents and our parents stay back in Vijayawada. I got married a year ago and work as an IT professional.
“Sita had a good relation with her husband, and I visited her home on weekends and saw her in a jovial mood. The only thing they lacked was that of offspring and they are not blessed with a child as yet. Sita was consulting Gynaecologist regarding the matter and was hopeful that one day she would conceive.
“Sita maintained a good relationship with her neighbours and was attending the get together parties whenever she was invited. I remember going with her to her neighbour’s house on a birthday party and Sita was active in socializing.
“Her husband, Varun, took her outside on weekends and I’ve seen both of them watching movies and dining out at restaurants together. Varun always cared for her needs, and always interested and believed in leading a happy married life.
“As you read from the news article, she is not traceable since last week and the Tarnaka Police Department is searching for her whereabouts without any success as yet. I met her on the weekend just before her disappearance on Thursday, 8th of April and I did not see any unusual in her conduct.
Rajiv clutched his hands and leaned forward. “Just a question, did she inform you in private anything confidential about her personal life recently?”
Gita waited for a moment. “Um… No such revelation was made by her, and she was always found busy in her house keeping work whenever I visited her home.”
Rajiv unclenched his hands. “Pray please proceed.”
“I enquired with my parents back in Vijayawada if Sita has reached there but she hasn’t. My parents have lodged a missing complaint in a local police, and I don’t see any reason for her to go to my parents without informing me. I enquired with Varun if he had any spat with her on the day of her missing and he said he never argued with his wife at all throughout his marital life.
“Mr Rajiv, since it’s more than a week since my beloved sister is gone missing, I need your help in finding what actually has happened to her. I can’t wait any longer since my aged parents are worried too.”
Rajiv pondered for a moment. “I have few questions to you about your sister. Since how many years she is staying in Secunderabad?”
“She got married to Varun five years ago and before that she stayed in a hostel at Hyderabad City to complete her masters’ degree. In total she had stayed here for seven years and before that she stayed with my parents and spent her childhood in Vijayawada,” Gita said with an anxious voice.
Rajiv leaned forward. “How Varun and Sita got to know each other for the first time before they married each other?”
Gita pondered for a moment. “Um… I remember my aunt who stay in Vijayawada brought the alliance for Sita when she was studying her masters in Hyderabad City. Varun’s parents are distant relatives to my aunt and they are the ones who proposed the alliance for their son.”
“I’m sorry to ask, did Sita was ever in love with any other person during her stay in Hyderabad while she studied her post graduate?” Rajiv asked.
“Um… I don’t think she had any love affair before the marriage, and I know her since childhood that she is very shy and solitary in nature. She hardly mixed with anyone other than her family members and close relatives.”
Rajiv paused for a moment. “All right, who else stay with Sita apart from her husband in her house at Secunderabad?”
“Well, for first few months of her marriage with Varun, she stayed with her in-laws and later Varun decided to stay separately with his wife. Varun employs a watchman to guard the house.”
Rajiv looked at Simi who heard the conversation between the two with attention. “I think we need to contact the Tarnaka Police personnel to get the permission to see the house at Secunderabad and take evidence of Varun and the security guard.”
Simi leaned forward. “Okay, I’ll call them and arrange for the visit as early as possible.”
Rajiv turned toward Sita. “You can leave your contact details and relevant address information at front desk and we’ll call you when need arises. You can contact either me or Simi if you desire to convey any information pertaining to the case.”
Gita looked into Rajiv’s eyes with a ray of hope. “Do you think you can find my sister’s whereabouts? We are very much concerned as it’s almost more than a week since she disappeared.”
Rajiv looked into her eyes. “Well, we can come to a final conclusion only after thorough enquiry with the concerned individuals of the case and let’s hope for the best outcome.”
Gita rose from her seat and shook her hand with Rajiv. “It was nice meeting you, sir, and I hope I’ll have some positive news from you as early as possible.” She looked at Simi with a closed mouth smile on her face.
Simi looked into her eyes. “Let’s hope for the best and we’ll work on your case immediately.”
Gita pulled open the door and walked outside toward the front desk to leave her contact information and home address of her sister.
Simi’s gaze shifted to Rajiv after Gita left the chamber. “The case is very interesting and we may need to act swiftly since already more than a week has passed since her sister’s disappearance.”
Rajiv clutched his both hands together. “Yes, and you can contact the police inspector at Tarnaka Police Department mentioning my name. Let’s take the inspector with us to Sita’s home at Secunderabad where she stayed and I would like to have a look at it and ask few questions to the security guard of the residence.”
“All right, I’ll call them immediately. I think I have their number with me, else let me call the directory services. By the way, Rajiv, what do you think of this case? You got any clue as to the reason for Sita’s disappearance?”
“Well, there are few clues pointing to
different people involved in this case. I strongly believed in Sita’s past affair with anyone at the beginning which is now ruled out since she is solitary in nature as told by her sister. I can only come to the final conclusion based on the outcome of the discussion we are going to have with Sita’s husband, the watchman and of course if possible, her parents and aunt.”
Simi leaned forward. “Yes, and I think since she was very social with her neighbours, we need to contact some of the neighbours if possible.”
Rajiv smiled at her. “Definitely, it is of utmost important and will help us in the investigation, I believe.”
“Okay, let’s get into action. Let me call Tarnaka Police Station, and get the inspector’s appointment”. Simi grabbed her phone and punched the keypad. She switched the mode to speaker phone to enable Rajiv to listen the conversation.
Someone picked the phone at the other end and said, “Hi, Tarnaka Police Station.”
Simi straightened her posture and looked at Rajiv. “Can I speak to inspector Prakash please?”
“May I know who is on the line?”
“I’m Simi calling from Candour Detective Agency.” Simi shifted her gaze from Rajiv to outside the chamber.
“Please hold on, Madam, I’ll call Inspector Prakash.”
Silence prevailed for few moments. “Inspector Prakash here.”
“Hi, Inspector Prakash, Good afternoon. I’m Simi from Candour, and I hope you remember me, we worked together with Rajiv Ray in Juvenile Kidnap Case.”
Silence prevailed for few seconds. “Hi, Simi, it is nice to hear from you again. How is Rajiv? It’s been a long time since we have met last time, and yes, I do remember the case you mentioned. It was interesting enough to work with you and Rajiv and nab the culprits.”
Simi looked back to Rajiv. “Yes, and we are interested to meet you today as early as possible regarding a yet another case of missing woman from Secunderabad. Hope your department is already working on it and we need your help and permission to make few enquiries with the concerned individuals.”
“Are you referring to a missing woman by name Sita?” Inspector Prakash asked.
“Yes, you are correct and we got to know about the case from her sister, Gita, who met us at our office a while ago,” Simi said.