Chapter 3: The Shadows of Friendship
A few hours later, five young men arrived at the crime scene. All of them were friends of the victim. They looked shaken, confused, some even hiding tears. But Ram noticed every twitch, every glance.
He climbed onto a low tree branch nearby and sat there, observing them quietly.
Two of the friends – both in plain black and grey – looked genuinely devastated. They sat silently on a rock, heads bowed. But the other three – one in a yellow t-shirt, one in blue, and one in white – looked nervous. Too nervous.
Ram pulled out his phone and typed: "Pull yellow, blue, and white shirts aside."
His team acted quickly. The three were separated gently from the others. Ram jumped down and approached them.
He stood silent for a moment, letting the tension rise.
"Where were you all last night?" he asked casually.
"We... we were home, sir," the boy in the white shirt replied nervously.
Ram didn't respond. Instead, he tapped his phone and held the screen out toward them. It showed a CCTV image, slightly grainy but clear enough. All three boys, along with the victim, were seen entering the forest late at night. Beer bottles in hand. Snacks. Laughing.
The blood drained from their faces.
Ram's eyes didn't blink.
One of the boys – the one in white – broke down.
"He did it! Sir, I swear! He killed him!" he cried, pointing at the boy in yellow.
The boy in yellow turned in shock. "What the hell are you saying?!"
Ram raised his hand. "Let him talk."
"He... the guy who's dead... he slept with his wife. He mocked him. Made jokes while they were drinking. He lost it. Broke a bottle on his head and stabbed him in the neck."
Ram looked at the boy in yellow. His eyes trembled.
"I didn't mean to... I was drunk... I don't even remember it clearly... he was laughing about it... I just... snapped..."
Ram took a slow drag of his cigarette. No reaction on his face.
"Case closed," he said quietly. "Book him. The other two – witnesses. Get them under surveillance."
He turned, flicking his cigarette to the ground.
As he walked away, his team moved into action. The forest was no longer silent. It was alive with justice.