On a normal day, Vikranth was an incessant chatterbox.

But he was silent that day and

exhibited uncharacteristic haste. His colleagues, most of whom reported to him, had no clue
about what had got his tongue. What they knew was that he had to leave by 6 O’clock - he
had told them that multiple times during the day.

He worked as a Manager in the Accounts department at an organisation which had multi-

brand retail showrooms across the country. The office floor was buzzing with activity. The
noise of keystrokes, printers and people gave a sense of seriousness to the business being
carried out there.

Amidst the activity, Nutan strolled into the accounts department. He was a man in his late
twenties, with a balding head, square chin and enormous nose which gave him a comical
appearance.
‘What happened to you, buddy?’ Nutan inquired, leaning over the shoulder of Vikranth.

‘I have to leave early, and this damned monthly closure is due today,’ Vikranth replied
without taking his eyes off the laptop screen.

‘Come on! You shouldn’t hide it from me.’

‘....’

‘In that case, I will ask her. Hey, Rebecca!’

‘Rebecca? She is here, already?’ Vikranth sprang to his feet.

‘So this is about her. Isn’t it?’ Nutan sported a mischievous grin.

‘Shh! People will hear you.’

‘Tell me then, why are you sweating in the air-conditioned office.’

‘Okay mate, we are going out for a snack. I’ve told you, we have been friends for a long
time..’

‘Where, for a snack?’ Nutan began teasing Vikranth.

Vikranth trying hard to hide his blush told Nutan the restaurant’s name, 'Special Seven,'
adding, ‘and stop observing me from the CC cameras.’

Nutan wanted to hang around but had to leave to replace a malfunctioning mouse of a
hopeless laptop user.

As he left, Rebecca walked in, this time for real, and the eyes in the room followed her.
Vikranth had sharp features; one could even say he was a handsome man. Rebecca relied
more on the way she carried herself rather than her looks. And she always charmed people
with her wit.
Thus, there were a few envious looks when she stopped for a moment at Vikranth’s table to
wish him. She then proceeded to the Finance Controller’s cabin. Rebecca was to pick up
something important and deliver it to one of the Directors of the company.

Rebecca returned from the Controller’s cabin within a few minutes and walked out of the
office. Five minutes later, Vikrant exited the building, following her at a distance till they
converged at the designated spot a few lanes down the road.

Special Seven was brimming with people, but Vikranth had chosen it for a reason. It had an
exclusive section which required prior reservation. And Rebecca preferred the tranquil
atmosphere.

‘You managed a table here, impressive,’ Rebecca remarked. She looked around. The place
was spacious, and the seating arrangements were such that one did not need to think of
being overheard by others. ‘This place still feels the same. After uncle sold it, I thought it
would become more commercial.’

‘Do you remember Dilip from college? He bought it from your uncle and made sure the good
remains good. They extended the seating in the unreserved section, but overall, it has the
same feel.’

‘Dilip....? Do you mean that short guy who used to sit at the last bench?

‘You moved out of the town to pursue CS four years back. Things, people, everything
changes, change is the only constant,’ Vikranth replied while pulling a chair for her to sit.

‘But you haven’t, still a good boy.’

‘Maybe, I’m just a hopeless romantic after the best girl in the town.’

‘Best girl in the town? Where did that come from?’

‘Ah! That is your unofficial title at the office. Forget it, what do you want to eat?’

Rebecca concentrated her eyes on Vikranth, made a gesture asking him to place the order.

While they were at it, ominous clouds gathered around the restaurant.

The vibrant atmosphere of the restaurant, the rich aroma of the dishes and company of the
dear one made them both unaware of the changes in the surroundings.

***

It was approximately 4 am. The door on the second floor of number 2451/1, Canara Layout,
was about to break due to the excessive force used by Inspector Srikar. Vikranth rushed to
open the front door and found his furious cousin waiting for him.

‘What? You would have broken the door!’

‘Put on a fucking shirt and come with me!’ Srikar roared.

Vikranth’s neighbours were peeping from their windows as he followed Srikar to the police
car. ‘The colony has got their dose of entertainment sorted today,’ he murmured, trying to be
in Srikar’s ears.

Srikar was a tall man, taller than Vikranth, and had a rather enormous face. He exuded
confidence and appeared like a bull, but that day his shoulder dropped, and spine bent
forward. Something was bothering him enough to have Srikar out there so early in the day.
Vikranth thought it was better to wait till Srikar spelt it out. They shared a complicated
relationship, even though they met regularly, there were aspects where Vikranth and Srikar
could not see eye to eye.

Srikar drove the car to an old Victorian house with a rather large lawn and backyard. It was
still windy and cold. Rainwater made puddles on the pavement.

‘Rebecca’s home? Why are we here?’ Vikranth thought aloud.

‘Please, shut your mouth and follow me,’ came a sharp reply from Srikar.
Vikranth was getting edgy with the run of events and followed Srikar hesitantly.

Srikar knocked on the door, and a maid opened it. She led them to the private library of Mr
Martin. The library reeked of the pungent cigar smoke. Food, which may have been
someone’s dinner, was on the table, untouched.

Mr Martin had been sitting in a chair for the past few hours with the landline in his reach,
gazing out of the window overlooking his back yard. Mr Martin was about 75 years of age,
yet had very few wrinkles on his face or arms. Mr Martin was a mysterious figure who had
retired early to look after his granddaughter. His family owned that house for generations, yet
not much was known to the public about the old man.

‘Any progress?’ Mr Martin spoke without turning his head.

‘Nothing yet, Sir,’ replied Srikar, wiping sweat off his forehead.

‘In that case, leave the boy here and wait outside.’

The gruff voice of Mr Martin went silent as Srikar left. Vikranth was expecting Rebecca to
appear at any moment, but that did not come to pass. Observing Vikranth from the mirror, Mr
Martin exhaled loudly.

‘Srikar didn’t tell you anything, did he?’

‘Not a word,’ Vikranth’s eyes were on the door to the corridor, ‘If I am not wrong, Rebecca is
not at home, is she?’ Vikranth felt uneasy sensing something was not right.
‘She hasn’t returned home since yesterday,’ Mr Martin said with a hint of a tremor in his
voice.

Vikranth struggled to process what he had just heard, and Mr Martin dropped another
bombshell, ‘Money was siphoned out of your company’s accounts last night. She was
carrying some device which was used to do that transfer.’

Shell-shocked, Vikranth felt light-headed and did not see Mr Martin approach him and guide
him to a chair.

‘Just breathe. She will be fine. But we need to find her soon, and you were the last person to
meet her. Is there anything that you can recollect?’

‘I… I…’

‘Relax, kid. I know this is too much for you. I can't think, even a retired policeman like me
can’t think. Let’s put the pieces together, just place all information at one place, somewhere
to start the trail, like….’

‘Like a trial balance... where shall we start?’

‘At the restaurant.’

***

Rebecca and I have been keeping tabs on each other for the past four years. But when she
was sitting across the table, I could not talk. She sensed it and did the talking. We lost track
of the time and by the time we realised it, it was pouring outside.

‘Any waiter, or anyone else acting suspiciously around you?’

None, I observed none. It was at 7:20 pm; I suppose. We had come down into the waiting
area and were praying for the rain to stop. There were no taxis available. The waiting area
buzzed with a motley group waiting for their turn at the table. We stood in a corner and
Rebecca was feeling claustrophobic. I can not recollect any faces from that group. My
attention was towards Bec; I mean Rebecca.

‘It’s fine, continue. Did you leave your belongings anywhere?’

No. She excused herself for a moment and used the washroom. It was 7:30 pm; She got out
of the washroom and was worried that her phone was about to run out of charge, and called
you.

‘Yes, she did. She said she was with you and was stuck at a restaurant.’

At around 7:45 pm, the rain gave us a break….

I recollect it now, she left her bag at the counter for a few moments as we checked with the
staff for an iPhone charger. But we were out of luck. And when the drizzle died down, we left
the restaurant. I wanted to wait until her taxi arrived. She did not agree, and I left when my
taxi arrived.
I left, I was a fool to leave. Why did I not stay with her?

‘I understand your pain; I share the pain. But this is not the time to let emotions get the better
of us. What time did you say you left the place?’

Around 7:45 pm, I boarded my taxi at 8:05.

‘So, we need to see if anyone else accessed her bag between 7:30 and 7:45. I got the hotel
CC footage.’

But she was not taken -assuming someone had kidnapped her- from the restaurant.

‘I suspect their main motto was to get that device from her, rather than kidnapping her. If that
is the case, they should have attempted to take the bag, it would have attracted less
attention.’

If the bag went missing, I am sure Bec would have raised the alarm.

‘Absolutely. Look at this. A guy is leaning over the bag at the counter. Can’t get a proper look
at his face from any of the angles.’

If we think this through, there are only a handful of people who knew of that device. The
Controller, Directors, me and Company secretarial team, including Rebecca. Our company’s
distributors remit the monthly sale amount to us every month on the 2nd working day- which
was yesterday. This leaves us with 5 people. Three Directors, Controller, and me, who had
the knowledge of the device and the monthly fund flow.

‘How many knew the passwords?’

The Directors and Controller; I have my ID, but I did not have authorisation for transactions
above 2 lakhs.

‘Then, any other controls in place?’

One could authorise the high transactions only from Controller’s laptop or a Director’s. Shit!
The Controller was going on a vacation!

‘Relax, he left his laptop at the office. It crashed when he was about to leave. He had to wait
for the IT to fix it. Hence, Bec was entrusted with the device, and was to hand it over to the
concerned.’

Do we have the recordings from my office?

‘No, what’s on your mind?’

I need to go to the office, now.

‘Tell me a name, if you have any on your mind.’

No, Mr Martin. I know you well, that calmness in your face is just a mask. Let us not put an
innocent at risk.

‘30 minutes; if we do not find Bec within 30 minutes, you will be the person at risk. Srikar will
take you there, he is waiting outside.’

***

Srikar was unsure about how to break it to Vikranth but observing the turmoil on Vikranth’s
face, Srikar spoke, ‘You can trust me, you know it right?’

‘Trust you? Bec was missing, and you did not have the courtesy to tell me! You are just a
craven! Afraid of that old man!’ Vikranth vented his pent-up frustration with a tear rolling
down his face.

‘Mr. Martin had called me at midnight to ask if I knew where you were. I told him you and I
met that night on the road while you were returning from work. He asked if you were alone
and my answer was affirmative, he cut the call.’

‘Then?’

‘Then? Then I couldn’t sleep. I rolled around for two hours, then decided to keep vigil for you.
I put on my uniform and hit the road. As my friend was on duty, I requested him, and we
parked the patrol van in your street.’

‘So, you were out there all night?’ Vikranth was feeling awkward hearing all this.

‘Yes, the craven was even more terrified when he heard, over the radio, that a car carrying 3
people crashed after a chase involving unidentified vehicles.’

‘Fuck! So Martin’s men killed these thugs?’

'Maybe or may not be; it could have been a chase gone wrong. What I do know is, Mr Martin
does not know where Rebecca is, and if we do not find this girl soon, you will be in a lot of
trouble.’

‘Honestly, I can not for certain say how many knew the sensitive information. I am hoping
something on the CC Cameras will give us a clue. You think she is alive?’

‘Let's not second guess ourselves. First, we will go to your office and then follow the trail.’

***

The Sunlight was getting brighter by the moment. They were both worried men.
As soon as the vehicle stopped at his office, Vikranth rushed in. He did not wait for the lift to
arrive and raced to the third floor and barged into the unlocked cabin of his superior. The
laptop was in the room. Vikranth was expecting it to be there. Panting, he sat in the visitors’
chair and looked up.

Srikar entered the room and found Vikranth staring at the CC camera in the room.

‘Srikar, one can have the transaction authentication device with them but they cannot do
anything without the login password.’

‘What?’

‘One can always see our passwords if the camera positioning is right, just like how it is here.’

‘You need to be specific Vikranth, what is going on in your mind?’

‘What if someone was observing the Controller and stole the login passwords for the banking
website?’ Vikranth continued to ignore Srikar and dialled the security, ‘Could you tell me who
was the last to leave yesterday? So he came back, then left again? What time? Thank you.’

Then Vikranth pulled his phone out and called Sukumar, the assistant IT administrator.
‘I need to see the CC cam recording of last night. What the fuck do you mean cams went
down last evening? Where is your manager? Where the fuck does he live? Send it, send his
address now!’

Vikranth slammed his fist into the table. He was shaking in rage, going berserk like a mad
bull, screaming and hurling abuses at himself. The empty office echoed his words,
‘THAT FIEND! HE ASKED ME! HE ASKED ME WHERE WE WERE GOING! AND I TOLD
HIM! I TOLD HIM WHERE WE WERE GOING, LIKE AN ASS!’

Srikar who was seeing his cousin in a fresh light that day was in a fix. Time was running out.

‘Vikranth, please. We need a name.’

‘NUTAN!’

***

At half-past five in the morning, Nutan was found hanging in his house and Rebecca was
found sedated in the bedroom. Police admitted Rebecca to the nearest hospital.

Vikranth was sitting in the waiting area. The earlier emotional outburst had taken a toll on his
right hand. But he did not care to have it bandaged. He was relieved when doctors at the
hospital assured him that Rebecca was unharmed. His breath became lighter.
Though he wanted to be with Rebecca, his thoughts were still running wild. Vikranth started
reconstructing the sequence in his head. Something was not right, his instincts were
screaming out loud-how did Nutan die?

A recollection of events had put the kidnapping of Rebecca at around 8:10. If the motive of
the kidnapper was to gain the authentication device, the transactions should have happened
much later. But they executed the transfers at 8:20. Security said Nutan had returned to
office at around 8. This led Vikranth to a conclusion. Nutan was acting alone in this plan. He
must be the man who leaned over the bag at the counter.

‘Are you still thinking about something?’ Srikar startled Vikranth.

‘Ah. I was just thinking, maybe Nutan….’

‘You know Mr Martin isn’t someone, one messes with, right?’

‘Not the details why. But, yes. I know. You have told me many times, advising me to stay
away from Bec.’

‘Yes, and you never paid heed to my advice.’

‘Let’s not go there now. What do you know that you are not telling me?’

‘My theory-your friend made a plan with the thugs but double-crossed them. The thugs
ended up kidnapping the girl, not knowing who she was. When they realised their mistake,
they killed Nutan and left the girl at his house. I guess they hoped that this would save their
lives,’ Srikar summarised his theory to a visibly overwhelmed Vikranth.

Vikranth grabbed some water and gulped it down.

‘So, that old man would have come after me if we did not find Bec in time,’ Vikranth had a
weary smile on his face.

‘Yeah, lucky you did not get hurt. I am relieved that both of you are safe,’ Srikar laughed as
he pulled Vikranth into a bear hug.