Seyon takes the constable to a secluded abandoned house just around the band. No street lights. No electrical connection to the house. The area has plunged into darkness due to a power cut. He doesn't even light a candle, lets his eyes adjust to the darkness before grabbing a rope and binding the man to a chair.

The chair and rope. He has done this to suspects before. This is a good place to carry out a private impromptu interrogation. No one knows this spot. The minutes roll by and the man refuses to speak.

"It doesn't matter if you don't speak. I got your phone." Seyon flashes the device he seized earlier. "I will know everything sooner or later."

More time passes. He's tempted to get some shuteye. It's necessary if he wants to keep working on the case. He can't drag the constable to his home; that would make a spectacle. What does he do?

He lies on the cold, murky floor and closes his eyes. In the wee hours, the sky is dark when he stirs to consciousness. His wide-awake brain tells him roping in his team may be a waste of time. If this constable is a small fry, they may not get anything; if he's not... there's always time to come back.

His captive is snoring. How long will he keep him? He undoes the binds of the man and steps out of the house. Then drives in his car to get some decent shuteye this time in his bed. There are still a few hours left. He can reach the office by 9.

***

Mira looks around the Chennai CID. Although she hails from Chennai she has to work for a few years at a different location, in Pune. Homecoming has never been so sweet; she is also put on a prestigious team to solve a case that has yet to be solved in at least 5 years.

She's having a coffee in the cafeteria today. There is a mini cafeteria in hall 57 but she wants to have her coffee in the cafeteria today; wants to mingle with her peers. Chat, bond, gain experience and expertise. Most of all, just have a good time.

All the seats are taken. She sits with a bunch of young lady cops. They greet her with smiles and after brief introductions, begins a chat which is supposed to be heartfelt. Until they begin to talk about Seyon.

Talking behind someone's back isn't something Mira Thanvesh ever did. She shows the girls an awkward smile.

"You work with Seyon, don't you?"

"Everybody says how cool he is but his presence is bound to overshadow you."

"Overshadow?" Mira quirks an eyebrow.

"Yeah," says the first cop. "He is like this huge banyan tree, hogging all the sunlight. You can't grow under him."

Mira shakes her head. "That's not true."

"Well, you must have already seen Seyon at work. You know how he volunteers everything. He isn't officially named as his team leader, but acts as one."

"I think that's a good trait," says Mira. "I beg difference. I'm not comfortable talking about somebody behind their back."

She doesn't like how these girls are gossiping and bad-mouthing a sincere cop such as Seyon. She saw him at work. He is very sincere.

"Seyon works hard and pushes himself to work for others' sake. It takes courage to volunteer for something. I think he naturally has those leadership skills. Do you want him to keep it in his pocket? You girls should find something better than bad-mouthing him. Do it again and I will report you. Now excuse me."

The girls send her stink eyes. She pulls a sour face at each of them and finds another table that has just been emptied. Ignoring their stares, she browses the menu, deciding what coffee she must order when Soham arrives and flops down from across her.

"Hi," he says, "thanks. You defended my friend."

Mira smiles. "I had to. Seyon is our teammate. I like him."

"You are right. Seyon is always putting himself before others. It's mostly because he cares for those who work with them."

Mira nods. "The day I arrived here, I thought he was pretty popular. But now I hear this kind of trash talk."

"There are all kinds of talks around this place. It keeps them sign you know among all the crazy next and chaos."

"Yeah but this is not a good way to unwind."

"Nobody can convince them of that."

Mira nods again, a sad tilt to her pink lips. She checks her phone that pings with a new message. Soham asks her what it's about.

"Invitation to a party," she says, smiling, "my parents want to celebrate my birthday."

Soham leans forward towards her. "It's your..."

Mira laughs. "You must not ask a woman's age but I will tell you. I'm 33."

"You don't look it," says Soham. "Well, let's throw you a birthday bash so you stay forever young."

Mira laughs again. She used to be so nervous in Pune. She feels at ease here and she owes it to Soham. He's shy when she tells him this.

"Someone has to brighten things up. Sey can't do it! He's mostly super serious."

They fall into silence sipping their coffees. Mira observes her new friend from across her table. Soham has a smiling face. He's fairly tall, just a few inches short of Seyon, with black hair and deep-grey orbs. While Seyon mostly is never seen without a blazer, Soham keeps it casual, just his chequered shirt tucked into his jeans.

"So do you have a GF or a BF?"

Soham's sudden question catches her off-guard.

"No, what about you?"

"I don't. Never had. But Sey did. Unbelievable, isn't it?"

"Seyon did?" Mira raises a brow.

"Yeah, he and Thiya... Oops! Shouldn't have said that." Soham lets out a huge sigh. "Well, we're teammates. Probably you'll find out anyway now that Sey and Thi are working together. Even the gossip mill will tell you this. You see, Seyon is as steadfast as he can be. There was a time when he was head over heels for this girl. Everything was good and then one day he said: we're over. That came as a shocker. I have known him from academy days but..."

Mira puts her cup down as he trails off.

"So it wasn't my feeling. I sensed some awkward energy between them."

Soham shakes his head, features taught with mild despair. "Nope, your intuition was spot on. Seyon says he's over her, but I doubt it. He doesn't fake his emotions. Maybe he pushed it so deep down, they have become inaccessible."

Mira raises a brow though she feels sympathetic. "You never asked?"

"I never tried. I was out of state when this happened and when I came back, he told me this cheerfully. He looked okay. I didn't want to pry and reopen any old wounds. Well, I couldn't ask Thiya either. We were barely friends — she was Seyon's, you know... She too had relocated, and too much time passed. And we're here."

Something the way Soham says this, his sullen expression and the concern in his voice hit Mira square in the chest. Before she knows, she's showering praises on the guy.

"You're an amazing friend, Soham."

"Oh, Mira... I don't know. I wish I can be of some help to Sey. And my other friends... Okay, what other friends do I have that I'm still in touch with every day?"

"Haha, that's why you're amazing."

Soham is once again bashful hearing the praise. He wonders how easy it is to talk to Meera. It wasn't like that with other girls. With one and all but this kind of dynamic is rare. It's been only a few days but it feels like she's a close friend.

***

Seyon didn't know what a grave mistake he committed. At 9, dressed in a new set of clothing — formal off-white shirt, pants and a melange grey blazer, his 'S' lapel pin pinned in place, he's chatting up his colleagues, regaling his adventures inside hall 57 when there is an uproar. The PA systems ask him to come to the lobby asap.

Soham, Mira and Thiya follow him out. Navi colony police have stormed the lobby. The same inspector he talked to yesterday accuses Seyon of murdering the constable.

"Murder?" While Seyon is boggled, the inspector speaks in a cool tone. "You are the prime suspect. My other constable says you nabbed the deceased. What did you do, inspector? Torture him to death?"

Seyon slaps on a quick smile. He's not pleased with the events, of course. A man died for no reason. It's pathetic but there is nothing he can do about it. His fists tighten despite his cool facade. "Tortured? Maybe yes, sir. Killed? No."

"Are you saying you torture your suspects for information?"

"Are you in agreement that the constable is a suspect?"

Seyon's flippant attitude irks the other inspector. He clicks his tongue. "State your alibi. Else you would be arrested right now."

Thiya has had enough. A considerable group has now gathered in the lobby. It looks like a circus here. Before she can think about her actions, she is stepping forward in Seyon's defence. "He was with me last night."

What did I blurt out? she thinks as every eye focuses on her. She feels like a deer in headlights but stamps down her nerves.

"The entire night?" the cheeky inspector asks, "until this morning?"

Thiya swallows and summons a small smile to her face. Seyon watches in mute horror as she nods. "Yes."

Murmurs ring in the air that was quiet until then.

"After hours? Is this old love rekindling?"

"What does this mean?"

"They were together last night? All night?"

"What were they doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? They had a thing going on between them. It's back now."

"Shameful. That's what they do when they are just put on a case."

Thiya wants to bury her head in her hands hearing the not-so-soft whisperings. Seyon feels a surge of anger. Why did things have to turn this way?

The civil inspector asks a few more questions to which she cooks up answers

"Where were you two at?"

"My place."

"What were you doing?"

"Just... hanging out?"

"Do you have any proof on you to back up what you said?"

"You want another proof?"

The inspector backs off under Thiya's stern glare. The gossip mongers resume whispering. I wish I had a midnight partner I can chill with...

"Well, you're saved, Seyon... for now." The inspector stares at Seyon who's a foot and a few inches taller than him. "But we'll find out who's the murderer."

Seyon turns his sharp gaze on Thiya after he's gone. "Thiya!" He glowers, then takes a few deep breaths to stay in control. The lobby is empty. The audience has left them alone. There's just Mira and Soham wearing frowns, so it's okay.

"Why did you do it? You have no idea what they're gonna talk about you! Awful rumours will follow you everywhere you go."

They are gonna talk about me too. I don't mind the trash they dump on me, but you... A woman like you doesn't deserve this. You're my ex — but I can't stand by and watch people pass nasty comments at you.

"I have an idea!" Thiya swallows the shame that's come with her actions. She's aware of what she blurred out and how it looks on paper. "What was I supposed to do? We've just begun on the case. Things would be messier if you got arrested. People would believe me if I said I was your alibi. We had... a history. Mira can't say what I said."

"But Soham can!" Seyon runs a hand through his dark bangs and whirls on Soham. "Soham!!"

"Sorry I wasn't quick enough." Soham apologizes. "I should have said something." He looks guilty.

Seyon doesn't know what he's worked up about— Thiya getting caught in the rumour mill or the constable dying. He heaves a sigh. "Well I guess I owe you one," he tells Thiya.

"You do." She grits out the words and climbs the stairs to hall 57. Seyon mutters one word repeatedly under his breath — damn it.

***

The day passes slowly. The Navi Colony inspector refuses cooperation. The SIT including Seyon aren't given access to any of the murder details or the evidence as he requested.

As Thiya rushes out of the office lobby late that evening, she thinks of how the buzz from the morning got around. She's not left hall 57 all day but she knows. Ramya informed her — weird comments are circulating in the gossip circle of the CID. Why must there be a gossip circle?

By the end of the evening, her character is thrown under the bus. She pretends she didn't hear a word as she passes by others.

She rides her scooty, getting away fast, relieved by the feel of stale evening air on her face.

Her home is a modest flat on the second floor of Asha Heights. Her uncle Jayesh Ravichandran registered it in her name at least 10 years ago. Though she's been living alone for ages it's a place she calls home.

The place is neat. Uncle arranged tenants who took care of the place while she was gone for eight years. She moved here two weeks ago. Unpacked boxes like in the living room which she stumbles against now.

She rolls her sleeves up, flinging her handbag across the foyer after turning on the lights. Time to unpack!

The living room furniture is sparse, there's nothing to move in much, the open kitchen adjoining it has already been adjusted. There's only one bedroom where she already arranged her bed.

Now she arranges her desk, unloads her junk into the wall-mounted cabinet behind the curtains in the right corner. Her secret shelf!

Like from years ago, this time too, the items that fill the space inside are relics from the past. More precisely her and Seyon's memories. she couldn't discard them when she moved out 8 years ago. They went with her wherever she went and now returned home with her.

She sighs, wiping the sweat from her brow and glancing at the collection. The book they tore into half when they first met, the plush toy he gifted her, their photographs together... Why does looking at them make her feel miserable?

That book. She remembers it clear as the day when she ran into a lanky youth with tousled raven hair in a bookstore, his skin a deep shade of alluring almond frost. His ink-black eyes were serious, his grip firm as he snatched the very book she reached for. She snatched it back.

It was their favourite crime fiction novel. Their tug of war tore the book. They had to split the payment and later share the book. They discovered they had a lot in common, including the zeal to become CID officers. One thing led to another and they fell in love. They were doing well even after they got their jobs. Posted at the same workplace though worked under different bosses. Marriage was on the table, she thought, until one day he left her for another woman!

Cheater! That cool cop Seyon Harith is a cheater. He must have looked at the framed quote on her desk. She doesn't need to say— cheaters never prosper. That quote's for him. This is all she can do now. She can't go into vengeance mode. She isn't a psychopath like that serial killer.

She still can't throw these things away either. She will lock them up. Ugh, the lock doesn't work. She shuts the cabinet door and leans her back against it.

A sigh leaks from her lips. Why didn't she burn those things? Why can't she? Why did she help Seyon today? These nasty rumours won't leave her alone now. That cheater isn't worth it.

"I did it for the case." She thinks out loud. "Now I will vacuum the house."

If only she can vacuum her brain. Maybe then working with Seyon won't bring forth complicated emotions.

Maybe this is for good. She had been running for eight years, thwarting the closure and a final confrontation. Now is the time to overcome her heartbreak. Maybe the heavens will grant the salvation she seeks. 

AN: I finally finished this chapter! Wanted to post it by Monday! This may have about 15-20 chapters or max 25. So... I will aim for WEEKLY UPDATES on MONDAY. Coz I'm really in the mood to write my fav mystery/romance genre, that too set in my fav Chennai suburbs <3

Thank you so much RuVineet and Sunz11 for voting and/or commenting :) And encouraging my works <3 I hope this story will prove worthwhile to your time :)

Anyone who read - please vote and comment, thanks!

PS let me know should I or should I not add pics to the update. I will go with the majority opinion