The Mechanic Strikes Again: Chapter 4 - The First Clue
'Did you notice the TV Mrs. Ghosh ? Shivangi looked at the broken LED screen in horror. The screen was sunk inwards giving rise to a vent which went deep into the wall behind, yet it didn't bore a hole through it . It looked as if someone had dug a tunnel inside the TV to pull something in. 'Could be a chemical reaction which caused the explosion', Arunava Sarkar murmured to himself. 'Can a TV explode by itself ? Is there some major electrical dysfunctioning in the circuits in this flat ?' He called the constable to collect samples of the wreckage. The forensics would take care of the rest.
'Your sister had placed requisition for a mechanic .. a TV mechanic. The apartment owners' association informed us. She had complained that a particular channel was always showing up whenever she pressed the remote. And then videos would keep playing all by themselves with the remote failing to pause/ stop them. Reporting the cable operator had not helped - there are many users of that network here and they weren't facing the issue. A TV mechanic had visited the flat today, we checked from the registers. We've called his number but found it switched off. I've send my boys to the shop's address and they'd round him up soon for questioning'. Arunava apprised of the situation to Shivangi in a single breath.
Suddenly something fell from a rack of the TV unit on his shoes. He shone his torch below and found it to be a small wooden box. Alarmed, Arunava took out the revolver from his waist holster in a jiff and pointed it at an invisible enemy.. 'Anyone here ? F**k. Why don't you show your face .. you .. Don't you even think of escaping or else I'll shoot you '. The light from his torch only displaced the layers of darkness for an instant. His voice reverberated across every nook and corner of the flat as if in mockery of his situation. Then scaring the hell out of them a mouse ran across the room. There was a pendrive in the box. Both of them shot questioning glances at each other.
Arunava checked the washroom window till he was convinced that there was no possibility of any exit through it. Suddenly Shivangi found herself left all alone . There was a strange feeling of someone standing close to her. She could feel an unknown presence. Shivangi strained her eyes in the dark. It seemed a figure had taken shape in black and white and was staring at her. A white mask .. a pair of blood-shot eyes .. a strange symbol drawn in red on the cheeks. The chin was moving up and down.
It was mumbling something. But Shivangi was not feeling frightened anymore. Rather it was weariness which was descending into her eyes. She was feeling sleepy .. too sleepy to keep her eyelids open. The water in the bathtub appeared so refreshing now. She found herself climbing inside and slowly immersing her body into the cool waters. As peace and tranquility filled her mind she felt herself carried to another world. It was like a dream.
There was serenity all around. The air smelt of incence. She saw her mother offering worship in their house. Her father looked up from under the newspaper - relaxing in his armchair. Suparna called her to watch a new bird which had perched itself on the guava tree outside their house. All the conversations continued in faded tones. The two sisters sat chatting and giggling for sometime in the balcony before being rebuked by Mom. 'Its aready 12:30. When shall you two go for a shower ? Shivangi saw Suparna close the washroom door with a bang and climb into the bathtub. She was never punctual in her daily activities yet never tired herself from receiving scoldings from Mom.
The water was gushing out of the tap as she closed her eyes. Soon the tub began to overflow. Before Shivangi could drag her sister out of the water a pair of hands grabbed her neck and drowned her head inside. Shivangi looked at the gloved hands .. slender fingers . Her sister was flailing her feet helplessly in the water while her arms made futile attempts to release herself from the vice like grip. She was watching her sister die before her own eyes. But she wasn't feeling any concern, sorrow or responsibility towards her. It seemed like the furnitures, bath tub, taps, shower, basin and other fixtures, she too had turned into an inanimate object. She tried hard to scream her lungs out but only a long, grudging groan came out.
