CRIMES AT CORNERS - SEASON 2

  • 27 Oct - 02 Nov, 2018
  • Salaar Laghari
  • Fiction

Rehan answered Kevin Rollins’ call.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Rehan, I’m willing to do this,” Kevin spoke. “I am going to work on these investigations.”

Rehan got confused and didn’t know how to respond. Maria felt disappointed as she understood what was going on in his mind.

“Are you there Rehan?” Kevin asked as he didn’t get any response from him.

“Yes, I am,” Rehan answered instantly. “Well, thank you. I’m glad, I’m happy that you are willing to work on it.”

Rehan kept the phone on hold and asked Maria to excuse him for a moment. Maria expressed a little dismay but then she obliged to Rehan’s request.

Rehan continued speaking to Kevin. “So, Mr. Rollins, when I can meet you again?”

“Not at the moment. Give me a week’s time. I will conduct this investigation on my own and then I’ll call you myself.”

“Ok sure, so what should I do in the meantime?”

“Well, if you must then you should keep watching the episodes of Crimes at Corners. If you can’t watch the entire episode, then just stay in touch with someone who is following it.”

“Ok! But why am I supposed to do this.”

“You are going to tell me the progress of their investigation. You just need to note down the really important points from their investigations.”

“Oh I see! No problem, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you!”

“Anything else?”

“No… I’ll hang up now. Stay in touch.”

“Sure. Bye.”

The call got disconnected. Rehan looked at his cell phone and afterwards realised that his heart was beating quite fast. And at the same time he was feeling very relieved. As he left the room, he uttered, “I must talk to Maria now and tell her everything.”

He stepped outside the room and went straight towards the kitchen. He could see Maria’s shadow. He stood next to her and saw her disappointed face. He avoided direct eye contact but kept on talking.

“Look Maria, you need to understand now.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I know that your friend is helping you out so you are just back there again.”

“Listen to me first, please.”

“Ok, carry on.”

“I am not going to be personally involved in the investigation. Kevin Rollins is going to do it. All I need to do is watch the episodes of Crimes at Corners.”

“But Rehan,” she finally burst open, “we were planning to give up all this while you were just in the first stage of this obsession. And now that he has called you are willing to continue this again.”

“Oh come on, the guy has agreed himself. I couldn’t say no to him.”

“And you didn’t even wanted to, did you?”

“Oh sure,” he began mocking himself. “I’m the bad guy.”

“Look, I don’t want to argue here,” she said raising her hands. “It’s your life, do what you like. I won’t stop you.”

“Alright, stop. I don’t want to do this alone. I’ll do this only if you support me. If you are not supporting me or you don’t want me to get involved in this, then just say it. I will call Mr. Rollins and refuse him straight away.”

Maria was speechless for a while.

“I don’t know Rehan,” she spoke after a while. “I don’t want you to get into any trouble. If you think you’ll be safe then go on, I’m with you and I won’t let anyone stop you.”

“Thank you Maria.”

They both had nothing to say. So it was understood. Rehan was going to continue with the investigations.

*******

Next evening, Rehan was sitting close to the television. Come on Crimes at Corners, start now. He spoke to himself, impatiently.

As the episode began, he got delighted and changed his sitting position.

Zafar Mohsin started the show. “Ladies and gentlemen, today we are going to break a news. The unidentified guy in Maimoona Alam’s murder mystery has been found. Yes, we have identified him.”

The picture of a fair skinned adult with short hair and dark moustaches appeared on the screen.

“You can see his picture on your screens,” Zafar continued. “I was literally shocked so must be most of you. The guy was a model b profession and had appeared in some advertisements. For those who haven’t recognised his face, let us play his modelling work.”

A 30-minute advertisement of some soap played on screen that showed only one male model. As soon as the ad finished, Zafar Mohsin appeared spoke to the audience, looking at the camera.

“Yes, people of Pakistan, this was the murdered guy on the screen.”

He was standing outside the room.

“The team of Crimes at Corners…” he continued, “was the first one to figure out who the murdered guy was. The interesting part is that the murdered guy was also from showbiz like Maimoona Alam.”

Rehan was quite astonished as he watched all this.

“His name…” Zafar spoke, “is Abdul Moiz. His family background and lifestyle would be revealed shortly.”

He turned around and opened the door of the room. As he moved inside the room, two white chalks were shining. They were actually outlines of the dead bodies that were removed. The purpose was just to show the position of the dead bodies.

“Oh my God,” Rehan spoke as his eyes opened out wide.

“People of Pakistan you can see this, we are inside the room where the victims were murdered.”

“That’s quite sincere of him,” Rehan commented regarding Zafar’s hard work.

Maria passed by and Rehan looked at her. He thought of calling her but he stopped and turned his attention back to the show.

Zafar was giving more information about the murders.

“Abdul Moiz was in this room. Now the question is why he was in this room. What was he doing here with Miss Maimoona Alam? The answer to this cannot be found unless we know this guy’s background in the film industry. Is it possible that he was here because he was a part of the film? Probably!”

“I don’t agree,” Rehan spoke.

“This guy Abdul Moiz…” Zafar spoke, “was not so famous that a celebrity like Maimoona Alam with huge fan following would like to spend time with. What I think is that he was not her friend that she let him in. In fact, he was in that room for some other purpose. Maybe he was there to steal something or maybe he…was here… to… murder her.”

Rehan felt a bit confused hearing this but realised that Zafar was speaking in a dramatic way which might be to intrigue the audience and get greater number of rating.

The show went off as it was a short break now. Rehan muted the TV and thought about what he just heard calmly. Maria came by and looked at the TV. She finally spoke as she looked at Rehan.

“So, are you enjoying the show now?”

“I don’t know what to say. But yes, I would enjoy if you come and join me.”

“This wasn’t the case few days back. I was the one at your position”

“I agree” he chuckled. “And I was at your current position. I don’t know how this has changed but it has changed.”

“Yes, I’m surprised the way you are.”

“I’m not surprised. I just want you to forgo your anger and join me. We can watch it like before. Enjoying and sharing our thoughts while watching.”

Maria had nothing to say which was why she gave an expression of confusion. And then she walked away.

I’m sure you’ll watch it with me some day. Rehan spoke in a low voice.

Later that night, Rehan was sitting alone on his bed. He was typing a text message on his cell phone.

“Crimes at Corners have finally identified the other guy in the room. His name is Abdul Moiz, he was a model who worked in TV commercials.”

He added Kevin Rollins cell number at the recipients section and finally sent the text message.

For five minutes he kept on waiting for the reply. He was quite anxious and those five minutes proved to be too long as he couldn’t wait for the reply. He was too desperate for Mr. Rollins’ response.

Finally as the five minutes passed and he received the text message from Kevin Rollins, his heart began to beat faster than before. He read the text message helplessly. It stated:

“Alright thank you, it was quite helpful information.”

Rehan smiled as he read this. He felt as if Rollins was quite serious and honest about the investigations.

He then received another text message from him. It read, “Keep watching the episodes and give me every important information.”

He replied, “Sure, I will.”

He kept his cell phone after texting back. He held his forehead and tried to calm himself realising that getting so anxious was not quite healthy for him.

He then stood up and talked to himself.

This mystery should be solved quickly. Or else I won’t be able to concentrate on anything.

He started to walk but his mind was on the text message that he was expecting from Kevin Rollins.

*******

Next morning while Rehan was sleeping, he heard Maria’s voice.

“Rehan, get up. You have to go for work.”

He opened his eyes and saw her. He felt that she didn’t seem upset today. He sat up anyway and rubbed his face trying to get a clear vision. As usual, the first thing that came to his mind was Maimoona Alam’s murder and the investigations. Followed by this, he remembered the name ‘Abdul Moiz’ the guy who was finally identified by the team of Crimes at Corners.

“Rehan!” Maria called out his name loudly. “Get up!”

Rehan looked up at her and said, “I am… please don’t raise your voice.”

“Sorry, it’s getting late.”

Rehan got up and went to get a bath.

Next hour, he was riding towards his office on his bike but his mind was completely occupied with murder of Maimoona Alam.

He stopped his bike on the middle of the road. He gave no attention to the honking cars and kept on thinking about his obsession and about how to get rid of it.

“Oh dear Lord,” he spoke while thinking of it, “how can I get through this phase of my life.”

*******

That evening, Maria was at home all alone. As she was getting bored, she turned on the TV and switched to the news channels. There she could see channels telling about Abdul Moiz, the murdered guy.

They are telling now? She wondered. This means Crimes at Corners’ are way ahead of them.

She then directly switched to the channel where Crimes at Corners was about to begin. She then thought to watch these episodes with Rehan and stop making it an issue. She looked up at the wall clock and realised that there were still fifteen minutes left for the show to begin.

In the meantime, the door opened and Rehan entered, much sooner than he was expected. Maria looked at him, puzzled.

“You’re home early.”

“No, I’m right on time,” he tried to hide the fact.

“Are you sure? You’re usually home at…”

“There was no traffic,” he interrupted her.

He then turned to look at the TV and saw that the right channel was on. He said to her before going to his room.

“Don’t change the channel please, I’ll be right back”

“Ok.”

After several minutes, as he returned after changing his clothes, he saw that the show was about to begin. He sat on the couch next to Maria and asked, “So, you’re watching the episode today as well?”

She just nodded.

He then happily looked at the TV. The show began. A little bit of recap ran in the beginning and then Zafar Mohsin finally appeared.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Today we’re going to reveal some shocking truths.”

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