Once outside the lab, as the ladies walked back to the
parking, Natasha’s mind still hovered over the final words of Windy. Christi, why
does the killer dump the body in the woods when he/she had other better option?
Well, to answer that question a plethora of reasons can be brought in Natz. Yes
Christi but the killer might be aware of the fact that cops would start
searching the victim’s body once she is reported missing, but placing the body
in the vicinity of the murder irks me every time I think of it. As she heard
Natz say it out, Christina’s face flushed with elation. Natasha, it clearly
narrows down to the point that the killer was well aware of the fact that
someone will report her missing and he/she could make a clean chit out of the
city before the pieces are put into place. If that is the case then it should
be someone close to the victim or someone from her close circle who had known
knowledge to her routine. You are right, so our killer could be someone who
knew Leena very well. If that is the case then we know who it might be, Greg
(cried both the ladies in unison). It is better we head back to the precinct
and you ring Jade to give him a heads up on the find and to set up a high alert
tracker on Greg’s movement. We need to track him down very soon before he gets
under the blanket and vanishes. But wait, there is something that we missed it
out here. Or actually I had missed it out with you. What is it Christi (Natz
gave a puzzled look)? Actually when I was out at the Manhattan College
enquiring about the victim, I was informed that very lately Leena had rented
out an apartment, very close to the college, with a girl named Adara, also from
the same college though into a different major. And here she is someone who
also knew Leena, in and out. Hmm!! it’s very strange that we never laid an eye
upon her roommate so far. So why don’t we surprise her roommate and find our
luck with any possible trace. Running through the streets of upper Manhattan to
reach the neighborhood of Riverdale, the car finally parked outside a grand
apartment in a posh village. Christi heads out to the security to know where
the girls stayed while Natasha was observing the apartment and the society
around it. Right from the lawn to the attic it was sparkling, giving an upper
middle class touch. Minutes later Christi walks towards Natasha. Natz, they
live on the second floor and the guard claims that Adara has not left her house
right from morning. Well let’s hear it out from her. Hey Christi would you ever
rent such an apartment if you were still pursuing your degree? I mean look at
this place. Everything gives you an elegant feel and how do these girls manage
their rent and bills. We even found a clean sheet of Leena’s financials but
what about Adara? Well may be Leena would have covered upon Adara too as they
were roommates. As a matter of fact Leena’s father is a real estate baron and
that should answer to her clean financials and renting such a place. Christina
(in a furious tone)!!! Why do you surprise me every time? You never mentioned
anything about her family back at the precinct. Well to answer that Natz, I was
actually checking on her background and her family’s business. As I was probing
into any potential threat that the family ever had or so, I was summoned by you
to join in for a fun ride down to the lab (having an awkward face while saying
out the last word). So in the rush I would have missed it up.
Chill out
Christi (Giving a sarcastic smile) come on let’s find out from Adara as to what
kept her all day at home and not even coming forward to report her friend’s
missing? The house was loaded with antiques and which matched the richness of
the society. It gave a clear impression that Leena’s father was silk-stocking.
Right from the moment she opened the door, there was not much that Adara spoke
off. She remained silent and was staring at a picture of Leena in the wall
opposite to her. Natasha approached to solace her and brought her to the living
room. Adara, I understand the pain that you encounter and the fact that it is
hard to digest such a sudden loss. However unless you speak up, we will not be
able to catch the person who was responsible for her death. So tell me, did
Leena had any trouble with anyone. Like was she into any relationship or did
she ever receive any kind of threats, anything that you recollect off? No
detective, during her first year she was all alone and had a close circle of
friends. However later in the second year she met this guy called Greg and was
very happy being in a relationship with him. She was a lot happier only after
he came into her life. And she had never complained of any threats so far. She
used to be a silent person at the college and mostly sticks to her work. She
hardly had a social life apart from meeting Greg. Ok, so in the last few days
did Leena show signs of abnormal behavior? No, nothing like that. Apart from
the incident that happened two weeks ago, she never had a monotonous face. Can
you elaborate on the incident? (In a puzzled tone) Well, there was this guy,
Naobi, who kept approaching her most of the time at the college. At first he
just hung up everywhere Leena went but later he even started showing up at the
apartment, couple of times. I just figured out that she was having a tough time
handling this guy and so she confronted him from disturbing her by filing
Restraining Order couple of times, which aggravated him heavily. In fury he
mentioned of going any extreme just to get her, just as how psychopaths act. I
ignored the incident thinking that he was just speaking out of fury then, but
today she is really gone far away from me (Tears start rolling down Adara’s
face). Calm down Adara and can you tell me where you were yesterday between 9
and 11 pm? Uh!! (Struggling to find words), I was up to the Central park to
meet my friend over there. Oh that’s Ok and why did not you lodge a complaint
with the cops since Leena had not turned up all the day? Well, it is routine
with her. What do you mean routine? Every time Leena heads up meeting Greg, she
spends the night with him at his place and turns up very late to the college.
Likewise even yesterday she was off to meet Greg at a restaurant somewhere
downtown and that is why I did not bother much to make a complain since she did
not turn up by morning. I was in my lab, when the news hit my ears finally. I
could not stay there anymore and so returned home early. Fine, don’t worry, we
shall nab the suspect very soon. And I believe someone would alibi on your
visit to the park too. Meanwhile stay in the city until the case is closed. Hey
Christina, it’s time to leave. Christi comes out of Leena’s room and gives a
small nod beckoning nothing found which Natz understood and they head out.
As dusk was fast
approaching, the streets of Riverdale pose a calm yet alluring look. The
detectives were now out of the apartment and onto the streets. Wow!!! A new
face of New York to be cherished for the next couple of month’s right
(Exclaimed Christi)? Natz, if you can spare some time now, shall we take a walk
before we hit the precinct? Yeah sure we can and they both headed in the
pavement as it took them across the beautifully lined villas and apartments.
Natasha, do you believe in Adara’s statement? If you ask me, seriously I had a
bad feeling right from the moment I stepped into that house. Well unless her
alibi turns up against her, we cannot lay hands upon her charging for a murder.
So until then we do not have any clue as to who killed her roommate. And
Christi, I could hardly frame a motive for her to kill Leena. How about digging
into her records Natz? We might hit a hole, if we are lucky. Ha ha!!! Your
suspicion turns deadly these days Christi, chill out buddy (Giving a small
smile at her) we shall soon grab the suspect. How couldn’t I Natasha!!! As you
know I am a tough detective with a sturdy look and therefore I should suspect
anyone who cross the line, am not I? (In a rugged tone). Natasha gave out a
hefty laugh, well enough to shiver the birds in their nests, onto Christi’s
statement. I assure you that we shall nab the suspect very soon, Christina. So
now just shift your mind off the case and enjoy the beauty around you. And to
answer your doltish question, yes you are a tough cop. No one messes with you
my darling (Laughing out loudly once more). Natz, you are crazy. An hour later,
the ladies were busy jotting down the points from Adara’s statement on to the murder
board at the precinct and Jade turns up there. Any hits from Adara’s statement,
Natasha? Yes, she claims Leena having trouble with a kid from the college. I
want you to track him down and produce him here ASAP before he frisks out from
our radar. So once he turns up, we can proceed based on his report. And not to
forget is the statement from Greg, who is also under suspicion, is very
important to move the pieces to the next block. Therefore unless these two guys
doesn’t show up, we might not know the motive behind this poor girl’s death
(Pointing a finger at Leena photo) or our killer, which leaves us back to
square 1. Well if that is the point Natz, then I believe there is nothing much
to work upon now and which means we can head home straight. Yes Jade, we shall
wrap up and hey you guys joining me for a drink? Actually Natz, we have other
plans, well you know what we mean (said Jade & Christi in unison). Oh yes!!
Not a problem, just carry on. I can manage on my own. Meet you tomorrow people.
She bid good bye, went to her desk, picked her coat and headed towards the
elevator. Though Natasha was successful in her profession, she was not quite
fortunate with her personal life. Over the time, off the college, she hardly
ran into any serious relationship for the sole reason that it might drift her
off the work. Also she had to admit that she was not too good at romance, which
once had a serious effect on her once at the college. So she never bothered
staying single after that. However this day, she felt odd since both her best
friends were out on their date while she had nothing to do.
Next morning the Precinct was slowly filling up with
officials and uniforms. However one corner of it witnessed a vigorous activity,
well ahead of the schedule. It was Natasha, instructing her colleagues on the
task that she had entrusted upon them with while she was busy going through the
system trying to narrow down the motive for the murder. As Christina entered
the office, she was startled a little to see her friend in a serious mood.
Taking a cup of coffee from the coffee maker, she headed straight towards Natasha’s
desk. Hey Natz, Good Morning!!! Is there something that I, but before she could
complete the sentence she was bombarded with activities for the day. Sensing the
situation, she just placed the coffee on her desk and moved to her desk to work
on the items listed for the day. As hours flew by, the precinct was bustling
with activities, when Jade brought in a guy of African nationality straight
into the interrogation room while signaling Natasha on the way. Natz senses who
it might be and so she pulls the file from her desk and heads to the room. Mr.
Naobi, uniforms came in searching for you yesterday night at your apartment.
Where were you and why did you try to buck up today with one of our detectives?
Naobi spoke in a swift that Natasha could hardly catch a word. Excuse me Mr.
Naobi, I cannot understand what you just told. Slow down and reduce the rate of
your speech so that I can get your statement. Ok, I feared that uniforms will
come looking up for me and i will be locked up for our act. And as expected
this guy of yours turned up morning at my doorstep. I panicked on seeing him
and that is why I resisted his arrest. So you feared that you would be arrested
for the murder of Leena, am I right? What!!! Did I hear it wrong? Murder of
who? Natasha, brings out a photo of Leena and places it in front of him. This
girl Leena, whom you murdered. Whoa. Whoa, I did not do anything and who could
commit such a horrible act to her. I mean I never intend to hurt her anytime in
my life. How could you frame me for killing her detective? I am innocent and
only after you showed me this pic, I did know about her death. Calm down Naobi,
you confessed of committing a crime and now you act as if you are innocent. Do
you expect me to believe it? Detective you got me wrong. Yes, I did say I
committed a crime but it was never a murdered. So what does that mean by “I
committed”? Ok, here it is detective. A week back, I along with few of my
country men, put up graffiti (anti government slogans) on the Yankee Stadium
wall, the venue for the presidential election campaign, which really irked the
cops and the congressmen. We were sure of not getting caught but one of our men
was cornered two days ago by NYPD and since then we knew they will on our toes anytime.
So we went hiding uptown and only this morning I came home just to pick up few
of my stuffs, when the detective cuffed me up. Oh!!! So you say these 2 days
you were out of the city. Well if your alibi turns out true then maybe there
are chances of me believing to your well framed story. However until then I don’t
have any idea of letting you out as I have strong evidence against you for having
the motive to kill the victim. Detective please you have to believe me. I did
not kill her and I would never commit such a sin, especially to her. If you
claim to not hurt her then why did you menace her of killing, couple of times,
outside her apartment? Look detective I shall tell you everything but you have
got to believe me first. Fine, let us hear what you have now. I was on a
student exchange program with the college pursuing my studies in Psychology. As
you can see I am a Jamaican nationality, the initial days at the campus were
confronting especially because of my race. Though anti-racism law was in force
at the college, we still faced the discrimination at most places. And that is
when Leena, who was into peace studies came into my help as she was lending her
help to most of my kind (Hope you get what I mean). Eventually we became good
friends, which later blossomed into a kind of infatuation towards her. So I
thought of expressing my feeling towards her, only to find her in a
relationship already with a guy. I just backed off and distanced myself from
her, wishing her a happy life every time that we met. And during one of the
weekends, when I was out at one of restaurants in the downtown, I saw the same
guy with few other girls, who were mostly hookers, only to find out later that
he was a pimp. I confronted and threatened him to stay away from Leena but he
hardly listened to me. So I thought it would be best to warn Leena and so I went
to meet her at the apartment. But only after I reached there I came to know
that the guy had already rang her and turned the story up on me. Since Leena was
so blind in her relationship, she refused to speak a word to me and she slammed
the door right over my face. Frustrated, I yelled at her “I would rather kill
you than letting you live with him”. But it was just out of love and not
vengeance, as I could not see her life getting ruined. After that incident I
tried meeting her couple of times at the college, but she would just turn me
down. She blocked my number and even went ahead filling a Restraining Order
against me. So I decided it would be the best to stay away from her. Since then
I had no clue about her whereabouts. Trust me detective please (pleading on his
knee). Control your emotions Mr. Naobi, I cannot guarantee anything until your
alibi turns true. Meanwhile can you help us identify her boyfriend? You can sit
with a sketch artist. Yes sure I can detective. How will I forget this son of a
b****!!! I can identify him anywhere. And Naobi tell me if you have seen this
guy before or does he look familiar (Picking out Greg’s photo from the file)?
Bingo. Detective, I believe there is no need for sketching the man. You have
him right under your eyes already (pointing his finger towards Greg’s photo).
Catch this bastard before he lays his hand upon other innocent girls. Natasha
gives a stern look at Greg’s photo and signals Jade to take Naobi out as she
heads out of the room with the file.
...to be continued
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