Killer in the Shadows! Read Online Free Page B

would you rather go to a friend’s house?” Abhay questioned.
    “I don’t have any friends here,” Naina said as she walked towards the couch. She thought of Uncle Chauhan, her parents’ friend who lived only a few kilometres away. She hadn’t been around him much while she was growing up, but he’d always sent birthday cards and called regularly. And he was her last link to her parents. He had been their best friend. He was also a very rich man, probably one of the richest in Allahabad, and he cared for her deeply. She wouldn’t mind being with him at the moment because he had a wonderful way of cheering her up. But she didn’t want to bother him with her troubles. Instead, she thought she ought to tell the inspector a little bit about her past before he heard the distorted version from someone else.
    “Inspector, you’ve been so kind. It’ll help if you knew a bit about me. I was born here. My parents died when I was a child, so I moved to Mumbai with my grandmother.”
    “What brought you back to Allahabad?” Abhay asked.
    “After my grandmother died, I didn’t have any real ties to Mumbai. Also I was tired of the hustle bustle of city life. I am a divorce lawyer and I thought I could continue my practice here.”
    The truth was that she had to come back. Back in Mumbai, things with her boyfriend Ashish hadn’t gone too well. He had started getting obsessed about her. And she needed her space. Uncle Chauhan wanted to see her, and it seemed like everything had come together at once.
    After a few minutes, the curtains jerked open and a small doctor emerged, followed by a nurse. The nurse whispered something to the doctor and pointed to the two police officers. He examined them with tired eyes, and then walked over.
    “I don’t like people smoking in the hospital,” the doctor grunted.
    “That’s all right,” beamed Abhay, the cigarette waggling in his mouth. “I don’t like people jabbering away while I’m smoking, but I put up with it.” There was a burst of laughter by Shukla.
    Grinning broadly, Abhay puffed away at his cigarette, making as much smoke as possible. Something about Naina tugged at him. Maybe it was those enormous dark eyes. Or those high, sculpted cheekbones. Or the jet black hair that framed her lovely face like reams of silk.
    Abhay rose from the chair and left as the doctor took his place next to Naina. Outside, Shukla was waiting for him. Catching sight of the inspector bearing down on him, Shukla quickly whispered something to a nurse, making her blush, then in a loud voice, said, “Don’t forget to call me.” She hurried off, giving an apologetic smile to Abhay as she passed.
    “Stay away from him, love,” Abhay called after her. “He meets men in toilets after dark.”
    “Sirji,” Shukla said, “I don’t think anyone tried to kill this psycho.”
    Abhay gritted his teeth. “
Kya baat kartey ho Shuklaji
. You shouldn’t call her a psycho.
Kitni pyari ladki hai
.”
    “Sirji, don’t you know who she is?”
    Abhay bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from cursing Shukla. “Is she a famous model? Miss Allahabad or Miss India, because she really looks like one.”
    “
Sirji, woh baat nahin hain na
. We’ve gotten a couple of calls from her before.”
    “Yes, she told me that. So why didn’t someone follow up on it?”
    Shukla grumbled in noticeable disgust. “Two weeks ago, she said someone was prowling outside her house.”
    “And?”
    “It turned out to be a stray pussy. I told you, she’s a total nut case, sirji.”
    Abhay smiled.
    “Sirji C A T, cat. Not the kind of stray pussy you are thinking about.” Shukla grinned at his remark.
    “Shut up, Shukla. There could have been someone there,” Abhay frowned.
    “She called again last week, saying that someone had been in her office.”
    “Oh, and what did you find?” Abhay arched an eyebrow.
    “Nobody. Sirji, I have seen many such cases. My guess is, she made it all up.”
    “Shut up, you