Next Day – 11:35 AM – CID Bureau
The bureau was buzzing. Phones rang, officers moved quickly, and the clock ticked closer to noon. The latest radio message had everyone on edge.
"Tomorrow. Noon. The museum of forgotten people. Come find her... or she dies."
Purvi: "There's no registered place in Mumbai with that name."
Swami (focused): "That's because it's not official. It's poetic. 'Museum of forgotten people'—a place that holds stories of the neglected, the ignored. Look for abandoned government properties related to the poor, the unrecorded."
Daya cross-checked archived files and old city plans.
Daya: "There's an abandoned museum building in Byculla. It was supposed to become a memorial for homeless freedom fighters and unclaimed war veterans. Funding dried up. It's been closed since 2006."
Swami's eyes sharpened. "That's it. He chose a place full of invisible lives… to make one death visible."
ACP Pradyuman: "Move now! He said noon. You have twenty-five minutes!"
---
Byculla – The Forgotten Museum – 11:50 AM
The CID jeep screeched to a halt in front of a neglected, crumbling stone building surrounded by iron fencing and dust-covered signboards. Moss clung to the walls. Vines snaked over broken statues of soldiers and nameless figures.
Abhijeet: "Let's split up. Daya, check the east wing. Purvi, stay at the entrance and monitor comms. Swami, with me."
Inside, cobwebs clung to the ceilings. Decaying wood creaked under every step. Sunlight barely touched the corners of the dusty halls.
Suddenly, Swami stopped. He pointed to a trail of white chalk powder on the ground.
Swami: "He marked a path."
They followed it through an exhibit hall filled with broken mannequins and tattered flags. The chalk stopped at a locked iron door.
Swami knelt. "Recently used. Slight scratch marks. Lock was broken clean—done with precision."
Abhijeet kicked the door open.
Inside, bound to a rusted chair, was a young woman. Gagged, blindfolded, but alive. Her wrists bled slightly from the ropes.
Swami rushed forward, carefully removing the gag and blindfold.
Woman (panicked): "He said… he said to keep smiling… that pain means people listen…"
Daya entered from the other side.
Daya: "She's alive. No signs of major trauma. Just fear and minor injuries."
On the floor beneath her feet, a message written in red chalk:
> "They forgot her. You didn't. One more left."
Swami stared at the message for a long moment.
Abhijeet: "He let her live?"
Swami: "No. He needed her story. Alive, she becomes his statement. He's playing a different game now."
---
CID Bureau – 3:30 PM
The rescued woman, identified as Ritika Malhotra, was a social worker. She'd been investigating old housing scams related to war veteran pensions.
Purvi: "Three weeks ago, Ritika filed a case against a shell trust that funneled pension money meant for unclaimed veteran families. The trustee died last year under strange circumstances."
Swami (thinking aloud): "The killer is selecting people tied to forgotten truths. Komal, silenced by a predator. Neeti, scapegoated by an insider. Ritika, almost erased by systemic theft."
He wrote on the board:
> Victim 1 – Komal Desai – Symbol of Innocence
Victim 2 – Neeti Kamat – Truth Covered in Prestige
Victim 3 – Ritika Malhotra – Living Martyr
Swami: "He's not just selecting targets. He's building a moral arc. One death. One forgotten. One survivor. The final piece is coming."
Just then, Freddy rushed in, pale-faced.
Freddy: "Sir… a USB just arrived at the reception. No note. Just this."
They plugged it in. A video began.
---
Video Recording – Dated Today, 2:30 PM
The killer's face remained hidden by shadows. His voice—calm, confident, theatrical.
Killer:
"Three chapters written. One remains. The finale will not be sent. You must find it. For the last time, the clock will strike justice. I'm done talking. The fourth truth lies buried… under the home that was never finished. Where children were promised safety… and got silence."
The screen cut to black.
Swami (instantly): "He's referring to the Dharmachakra Shelter Project. An orphanage construction site from 2010 that was shut down midway. The funds vanished. So did a few children."
ACP Pradyuman (grave): "I remember that. No one was ever held accountable."
Swami (quietly): "He's going to kill someone there. And this time… it may be someone he believes deserves to die."
---
Abandoned Orphanage Site – 6:00 PM
The sun was setting as CID reached the unfinished structure—bricks half-laid, iron rods sticking out like rusted bones. A faint sound echoed—a ticking clock.
Swami entered first, focused like a hound. He followed the sound to the basement level, where they found a digital timer strapped to a chair.
A man was tied to it—gagged, bruised.
Daya: "It's Vikrant Mehra. Former land commissioner. He vanished five years ago."
Swami: "He didn't vanish. The killer took him. And he's been waiting for the final act."
The timer read 00:03:46 and counting down.
Abhijeet and Daya began disarming it while Swami knelt beside Vikrant.
Swami: "You knew what happened to those missing children. And you sold the land anyway. Didn't you?"
Vikrant's terrified eyes were enough answer.
The bomb was defused just in time.
---
CID Bureau – That Night – 10:15 PM
Vikrant Mehra was taken into custody. He confessed everything—land corruption, bribes, falsifying deaths of three orphans to make the case disappear.
The board was now complete:
> Victim 1: Komal – Silenced.
Victim 2: Neeti – Framed.
Victim 3: Ritika – Spared.
Target 4: Vikrant – Judge and Executioner Awaited.
But one square remained… the killer's identity.
Swami (to himself): "You want us to see truth as a story… but you forgot something."
He stared at the final photo—Komal Desai—then at the signature pattern of the letters.
Swami (slowly): "Your rhythm. Your structure. Your language. You're not just a storyteller… you're a former academic."
ACP Pradyuman: "You know who he is?"
Swami turned to him. "I have a name."
To be continued…