under this tank, and I suddenly saw a lot of blood on Karan. He said he wasn’t hurt, so we…looked up and saw the body tied to the base of the tank…up there – ’ she pointed at the overhead tank.
Rathod looked at the tank and said, ‘What did you do then?’
‘We immediately went downstairs and spoke to our team lead, who informed office security.’
‘Correction, Mrs Sharma,’ the CSO said. ‘You spoke to your team lead a good hour after you reached your desk. Other members of your team have said that you seemed most distressed and even tried to leave the building in the middle of the night, which they repeatedly advised you against. Your team lead was then called to your cubicle and you…broke down and reported the body to him.’
The girl gripped her umbrella tightly and hung her head. Rathod exchanged glances with the CSO, then walked up to the tank and examined its base carefully. The forensics team had told him there had been a pool of blood below the tank, and its outline was visible even now.
‘Did you see the body?’
‘Only briefly…and it was quite dark…’ Reena whimpered.
‘Describe it for me.’
Reena swallowed hard and remained silent for a few seconds. Then she said, ‘It was ghastly…ghastly…one of his legs was missing…’
‘The right one,’ Karan chimed in.
‘And an arm too…’
‘The left arm,’ Karan said, ‘just below the elbow.’
‘Will you shut up for one second?’ Reena screamed at Karan.
‘What? I just want to help, okay?’ Karan yelled back.
‘All right, everybody calm down,’ Rathod said. ‘Please continue,’ he said to Reena.
‘…and…and there were chunks of…f-f-flesh…that had been…t-taken off…’ Reena whimpered.
‘Was it hanging from a rope, the body?’ Rathod asked Karan, sparing the trembling woman any more trouble.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘there were two parallel ropes tied from one end of the base to the other, and he was…sort of…caught in them.’ Then, as an afterthought, he murmured to himself, ‘Just like a kite!’
Rathod’s sharp ears caught the words and he swivelled around to look at the young man. He had hung his head and was fidgeting with the button of his umbrella. The CSO watched Rathod stare at the young man for a long time with a deep frown on his forehead. Finally, Karan looked up and stared blankly at everyone’s faces in turn. ‘Wh-what?’ He fumbled, sounding confused. ‘What did I say now?’
Rathod said nothing. Instead, he watched the kid closely for tell-tale signs, but didn’t seem to find any. The CSO waited patiently and, after sometime, Rathod finally broke eye contact with the young man. He asked both of them to not leave the city without informing the police and then dismissed them. He turned to the CSO and asked, ‘How long has the boy been working for you?’
‘Mr Grover? I’ll need to check for the exact tenure. We can share his records with you, if required.’
‘Hmm…is there any way an outsider could have come up to the terrace unnoticed?’
The colonel thought for a few moments and said, ‘There’s only one way. There’s a service elevator towards the back of the building that isn’t under surveillance. If someone were to gain access to it somehow, he would be able to ride it all the way up to the twelfth floor, from where it’s just one flight up the stairs to the terrace.’
‘And the access door had a glitch?’ Rathod asked.
‘Yes,’ the colonel admitted calmly.
‘Hmm…I’m going to need the security cam feeds from all around the premises.’
‘We have already made copies and handed them over to the police.’
‘Good.’
‘But, Mr Rathod, what I don’t understand is, how did the killer bypass security at the main gate, go to the back of the building and get into the elevator? There are several security guards patrolling the campus, especially at night. Plus, the service elevator needs an access card to work. How did the killer operate the
Rathod looked at the tank and said, ‘What did you do then?’
‘We immediately went downstairs and spoke to our team lead, who informed office security.’
‘Correction, Mrs Sharma,’ the CSO said. ‘You spoke to your team lead a good hour after you reached your desk. Other members of your team have said that you seemed most distressed and even tried to leave the building in the middle of the night, which they repeatedly advised you against. Your team lead was then called to your cubicle and you…broke down and reported the body to him.’
The girl gripped her umbrella tightly and hung her head. Rathod exchanged glances with the CSO, then walked up to the tank and examined its base carefully. The forensics team had told him there had been a pool of blood below the tank, and its outline was visible even now.
‘Did you see the body?’
‘Only briefly…and it was quite dark…’ Reena whimpered.
‘Describe it for me.’
Reena swallowed hard and remained silent for a few seconds. Then she said, ‘It was ghastly…ghastly…one of his legs was missing…’
‘The right one,’ Karan chimed in.
‘And an arm too…’
‘The left arm,’ Karan said, ‘just below the elbow.’
‘Will you shut up for one second?’ Reena screamed at Karan.
‘What? I just want to help, okay?’ Karan yelled back.
‘All right, everybody calm down,’ Rathod said. ‘Please continue,’ he said to Reena.
‘…and…and there were chunks of…f-f-flesh…that had been…t-taken off…’ Reena whimpered.
‘Was it hanging from a rope, the body?’ Rathod asked Karan, sparing the trembling woman any more trouble.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘there were two parallel ropes tied from one end of the base to the other, and he was…sort of…caught in them.’ Then, as an afterthought, he murmured to himself, ‘Just like a kite!’
Rathod’s sharp ears caught the words and he swivelled around to look at the young man. He had hung his head and was fidgeting with the button of his umbrella. The CSO watched Rathod stare at the young man for a long time with a deep frown on his forehead. Finally, Karan looked up and stared blankly at everyone’s faces in turn. ‘Wh-what?’ He fumbled, sounding confused. ‘What did I say now?’
Rathod said nothing. Instead, he watched the kid closely for tell-tale signs, but didn’t seem to find any. The CSO waited patiently and, after sometime, Rathod finally broke eye contact with the young man. He asked both of them to not leave the city without informing the police and then dismissed them. He turned to the CSO and asked, ‘How long has the boy been working for you?’
‘Mr Grover? I’ll need to check for the exact tenure. We can share his records with you, if required.’
‘Hmm…is there any way an outsider could have come up to the terrace unnoticed?’
The colonel thought for a few moments and said, ‘There’s only one way. There’s a service elevator towards the back of the building that isn’t under surveillance. If someone were to gain access to it somehow, he would be able to ride it all the way up to the twelfth floor, from where it’s just one flight up the stairs to the terrace.’
‘And the access door had a glitch?’ Rathod asked.
‘Yes,’ the colonel admitted calmly.
‘Hmm…I’m going to need the security cam feeds from all around the premises.’
‘We have already made copies and handed them over to the police.’
‘Good.’
‘But, Mr Rathod, what I don’t understand is, how did the killer bypass security at the main gate, go to the back of the building and get into the elevator? There are several security guards patrolling the campus, especially at night. Plus, the service elevator needs an access card to work. How did the killer operate the
Similar Books
