The Mechanic Strikes Again: Chapter 1 - The Disappearance

'Since when has your sister gone missing, did you say ?’

Last night Sir.

What brought you to her apartment ? You told she stayed alone’. She had called me.’

'You mean she called you to say she was leaving ?’

I got a ring from her mobile number, but couldn’t make out anything other than her groans and laboured breaths at the other end. What ?

She was trying to spell out something amidst her gasps. I tried to call back but without result. I even tried to reach her landline. I thought maybe her health had deteriorated . She has asthmatic problems you see.

Hmmm .. I see. At what time did you receive her call ?

8:30 PM

You too stay alone or .. ? My husband is out of the city .. business tour

What business ? Building promoting

And you ? Are you working ?

No. Housewife.

Hmmm .. From Chandannagar to Saltlec .. takes two hours to reach by car Yes. Around two and half hours. That means you reached at 11:00 PM and found your sister missing from her flat. At what time did the security guard see her going out ?

Her flat was locked from inside. How could the security have possibly seen her ? Do you have a duplicate key to your sister’s flat ? No Sir.

’You mean to say the room was locked from inside and you broke-in to find her having vanished into thin air ? Please talk some sense Ma’am. Do you understand what you are saying ? The officer on duty shot an irritated glance at Shivangi before resuming in sifting pages of a worn-out register before him.

'The security guard and Mr. Sen of the opposite flat had accompanied me. Actually they had broken the lock.’

Was the door bolted from inside ?

There was something in Shivangi’s expression which reconciled the man. Was it helplessness, anxiety, fear or her charm ? 'Okay. Give me the details of the witnesses. We’ll have a word with them first.’ Now which floor is your sister’s flat in ? Eighth floor So did you find anything unusual upon entering the flat ?

'The TV was shattered’. Shivangi fixed her gaze on him and tried to read his mind.

'You mean the screen was broken to pieces ?’ But why would she do that ?’ 'She didn’t do it’. 'And there was no sign of an intruder having broken in ?’

No Have you checked the washroom ? Was there no way by which she could’ve climbed out through the window ? No Sir. The window is too small for someone to try that even if ignoring the risk of falling down from such a height and killing oneself . The balcony ? Isn’t there any emergency exit ? There is Sir. Fireman’s exit. But the door hasn’t been opened since years. The old, rusted lock hasn’t been broken .. we saw. 'Did you check if any thing was missing ? Valuables, cash .. any important documents ? As I said before officer .. there wasn’t any burglary.

Well .. please don’t mind but was your sister suffering from any psychological problem ? Depression ? We all suffer from depressions these days Sir. But nothing that would drive her to run away from life. A very happy-go-lucky girl she is .. never breaks down before adversities .. I know her from childhood. We grew up together.

Any other illness ? As I said officer. She took medications for asthma and was on inhaler. Your sister’s mobile number ? Is it missing too ?

Okay. But I found her mobile on the charger

Any enemies you know of ? She’s a favourite with everyone. Why would anyone want to harm her ? 'Okay I’ll need some personal info to fill in here. Shivangi doubted whether the man was buying her statements at all. She also knew she had to convince him somehow, if the police had to be taken for a visit to Suparna’s flat. Sometimes places and situations spoke more than conversations.

Why to blame the police ? Well.. anybody would’ve taken her to be a mad woman.