"I'm sorry, sweetheart. But kya karu, it's your behavior that got me. And now tell me was I right? Or was I wrong? You see, I'm not delusional and I don't force my theory on someone's throat. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt and explore other options. Only then can we confidently say that this option is right, isn't it Mr. Ashish? Unlike you, of course," she raised her eyebrows smirking even though her lips hurt as she did so. Thanks to the slaps that rewarded her with a torn lip.

"Everyone, disperse, now!" A command from Ashish and everyone went out.

"Hmphh! Afraid your little secret will come out?" Khushi smirked.

"You Bitch!" Ashish raised his hand to hit.

***

"Hello, Inspector-hmm..Maithili, right?" Maithili frowned at the new voice.

"Yeah, I'm. And you're?" she looks at a man dressed in black and white.

"I'm Advocate Shyam Manohar Jha. Can I talk to your IP(Incharge of Police) here?" he mutters politely.

Maithili, who was checking him out, after a heartful interrogation nods with a sigh.

"Wait a minute here. I'll have to inform Sir," she gestures to him to sit on the visitor's lounge and Shyam Manohar Jha makes his way towards it.

He thought, without him, his team would be able to bail out his to-be-sister-in-law, Khushi, but turned out, he had to step in for the further process.

Shyam Manohar Jha, when he steps in, the process has to be moved forward without much delay, he's smart, and as smart as he was, he's cunning too in his own manipulative way, a lawyer's trait had to be developed inside him as soon he hit the cases after cases.

***

"Sir, Advocate Shyam Manohar Jha is here and insisted to meet you," she informs their IP, Abhishek Mehra.

"Sure. Send him in." Abhishek had his gaze on the case file as he mutters gesturing to her with one of his hands.

"Okay, Sir." Maithili salutes him and walks away sighing on the way, taking her phone out to check any messages.

***

"Here's the bail for Ms. Khushi Gupta." Shyam Manohar Jha hands over a file consisting of bail papers.

Abhishek checks them and verifies them with his officers in a few minutes.

"Anything you'd like to drink? Tea or Coffee?" Abhishek asks, for the sake of formality.

"No, thank you, Mr. Abhishek! I'm fine." Shyam Manohar Jha is here to bail out Khushi, and no Tea or Coffee can give him that satisfaction. So, he had to deny him simply, and he did just that.

"Everything is fine, and I've completed the formalities too," an Inspector comes into the room, handing over the Bail Papers to his Sir.

"Thanks, Inspector Hitesh. You may go." In Abhishek's language, it was clear get out, just that it's more... formal.

"Come with me," Abhishek after taking a copy of it, files it in case of a file, as he gets up to walk through the corridor to the jail Khushi was kept in.

Shyam follows closely behind Abhishek, observing some prisoners who were in the garden, following up on the tasks given by the police.

He hoped against hope Khushi was in better condition.

He knows how police treat the accused, irrespective of laws and truth.

Well, most of them...and that's why they're police.

***

Another slap landed on her face. Her cheeks were red, and so were her eyes, not with tears but with contemporary rage.

Khushi Gupta was known to be patient if not more and patient that is, she is the definition of it.

Patience in the Dictionary could just replace its definition with her name.

Khushi Gupta.

It shouldn't be a surprise if she still smiled at Ashish, totally opposite to what her hazels — a little of green and grey were saying at the moment.

"You realize you're talking with a policeman here?" Ashish grits his teeth in anger.

He was a short-tempered man who wouldn't mind raising his hand on women if they were at fault...or no fault.

His ego and pride were his manpower and when Khushi Gupta dared to question him, he saw nothing but red.

Someday his damned ego would eat away his job! And he is yet to realize that.

"You realize you're talking with an accused woman here?" Khushi Gupta was known for another skill.

Give them back as good as they give you!

"Of course, you're an accused, and that's why you're subjected to this treatment. Aren't you?" Ashish spats, what a fool! He had to utter in his mind.

The reality was never on par with his mind and Khushi Gupta knows just that.

She's smart, she had to come back with an equal retort, "I thought The code of Criminal Procedure number - 1973, 46 and 49 states No unnecessary restraint and especially on woman by a man police officer. I hope you're aware I can get you imprisoned for this," she smirks pointing to the imprinted hand marks on her cheeks and the blood dripping from the corner of her lips.

Ashish was stupified for a moment before he recovers, this woman more than smart! He had to admit and that didn't change anything. He was still a fool.

"Don't talk rules, lady. I know them better than you," he scowls.

"Yeah, I can see that," Khushi chuckles, a smile on her lips that didn't flicker in the little sparks of grey and green.

Someone said it right!

Smile and just smile, in front of them — who likes to hate you? Period.

Ashish burns more looking at the little curve she had on her lips.

And before he could pounce upon her, Abhishek walks in calling out for him, "Inspector Ashish?"

Abhishek looks at his teammate who had rage visible on his face, he hoped he didn't hit Khushi Gupta.

"Yes, Sir?" Abhishek was good enough to know how each of his teammates work and so, when he turns his gaze toward Khushi Gupta, he wasn't much surprised.

They're police and inside the four walls, anything could happen, he's just not sure if Ashish could get saved this time.

Better he doesn't!

Abhishek is tired of the ego and pride they keep showing the prisoners.

Shyam sighs closing his eyes a little, he knew the police and their ways, doesn't he? He reminds himself, he's here to save Khushi and a little thing, if could save Khushi, he doesn't mind pointing it out.

"I see no female here. Is that how you interrogate a woman here?" On Shyam's question, Ashish rolls his eyes while Abhishek tries to save their teammates.

"Inspector Maithili was here till a few minutes ago, Mr. Shyam Manohar Jha."

"I'd like to see CCTV before buying that," the lawyer inside him was sharp.

"Yes, sure! You'd see that before trials anyway," Abhishek agrees, lost in the moment.

"Great!" Shyam nods.

"Ms. Khushi Gupta, you're out on bail! We just need your signatures before we let you go," Abhishek lets out the fact, without a hunch!

Ashish widens his eyes a little at what just he heard. After all, his means of ego-humiliator was getting released..on bail.

"Thank you, Mr. Abhishek!" she stands, with a little twitching in her legs.

She's been sitting for a long time, beaten up by the police, without any particular reason—justifiable if one could define it. It was obvious that she'd tremble a little.

Shyam comes forward to help her, but Khushi denies it. So what if she was beaten? She wasn't a best-selling author just like that, she was strong and strong enough to withstand more like this.

Although the pain was a little distant now, it wasn't distant much that she would just....forget it! Na!

Arnav Singh Raizada had surely introduced her to happiness, it just doesn't mean she forgot the pain.

Never!

Arnav Singh Raizada, her boyfriend made sure of that.

***

"Khushi?" Anjali heard Arnav murmuring the name, inconsistently.

"Arnav?" Anjali gulped, unable to believe her brother woke up.

Doctors declared he was in Coma!

And when she heard him murmur just after four days, she cried in happiness. Her brother is back and ...alive!

"It may take years, months, days, or never, Mrs. Raizada. We're not sure. Human Brains react differently and so was your son's, his brain might react differently to our medicines and the poison didn't help much!"

Ratna remembered the doctor's words four days ago. Words that broke their hearts. Words that broke their dreams...her dreams! So when she heard her Son's mumbling, she wasn't less in being on par with her daughter, she burst into tears of happiness as soon as she heard her son whisper into nothingness after a whole ....four days?

They went near him, holding his hands as they cried together, except Arnav who had his eyes a little open, and murmuring Khushi.

"Arnav Beta!" Ratna caressed his son's forehead a little, smoothening the frown and Arnav blinked his eyes a couple of times, his vision blurry, and noncoherent words were being heard from the oxygen mask that was put on his nose and mouth.

All they could hear it, Khushi...Khushi...and just Khushi!

"I'll call Lavanya and Shyam and tell them this," Anjali takes her phone out to inform her to-be-fiance and Lavanya who was their family friend.

Ratna, on the hand, has already called out for Doctors, and now as she stood out, doctors were checking on his vitals as Anjali started roaming in worry.

Shyam wasn't lifting his call.

Lavanya's network was busy!

Anjali wasn't able to connect to ...any of them.

***

"What is it?" Lavanya screamed into the phone.

"...."

"Just do what I said when this didn't work! Can't you understand a simple thing?" she was beyond furious.

"...."

"Kill him! I don't care," she snaps into the phone. Rage was so palpable and her deep black eyes screamed nothing different.

***

"Oh god! This medicine is... sort of poisonous!" A voice was heard in the lab.

"So, should we report to the police? Someone tried to kill him!" The same voice of a woman, who was about to catch the man in the morning but could only slip her hands into the medicine whispered.

"No, Sister Mary! It's about our hospital's reputation. I know what to do. You just keep silent. Do you get me? If people know there's no safety for our patients here, we'll lose our reputation." The man in a white coat, who's unfortunately called Doctor whispered furiously.

"I'm Sorry, Doctor!" Mary was none but a regular nurse in the hospital and she had to follow what they say, even if she didn't kinda..like it!

She had a family to feed!

***

"He missed the medicine, Boss!"

"...."

"Are you sure we should kill him?"

"...."

"Sure, Boss!"

He turns towards the other men in the group and whispers something in one of the man's ears, and soon a body was lying on the ground.

And the group fell into their regular activities, trees around them giving them fresh air to practice the skills they're already expert at as they talk in a language unknown to the woman who had her hawk-like eyes on them!

Until a man in minimal clothes caught her staring at them...and she gulps!

To be continued..,

Hey! After a long time. 

I was concentrating on another story but got the time out for this as well today. 

So here it is! 

Some more clues for you to find out the Murderer! 

Let me know what you think of the update! 

Regards,

21/11/2022

polymath_land