“Please, see the folder,” Rhea said.
Sameer picked up the folder that had fallen from his hands and spilled its contents on the table.
He gasped out loud. They were all pictures of his sister. There were so many, some clearer than the others. Rhea in a restaurant; Rhea driving her car; talking on the cell; Rhea in traditional Indian attire. It went on and on. There were so many pictures. God! This guy had been stalking her for a long time. Sameer sifted through the pictures and found a note at the end – ‘You can run, but you can’t hide. I will always be there right behind you - K’
“I received this envelope today,” Rhea said, pointing at Sameer’s hand. “That’s when it dawned on me. The hotel incidents and Raashi’s accidents, I was there every time. He’s after me and Raashi just got caught in this miserable situation.”
“I’m calling Veejay right now,” Kabier said and immediately dialed a number on his phone.
Veejay Bellani was a close friend who worked with the crime branch. He had helped them in the past and Sameer was sure he would be able to help them again. He heard Kabier speak to him and understood that he was going to be here with them soon.
He turned back to Rhea. “What do the hotel incidents have to do with anything?”
Rhea started organizing the pictures in some sort of chronological order before speaking, “See this picture, this is the night of the car theft at the hotel.”
The picture showed Rhea driving her car.
“These are taken on the same night.” She pointed to few more of her, entering The Marquis Lobby, sitting in the cafe´ of The Marquis, talking to a friend.
“You told me that the car stolen from The Marquis was found a little distance away, unharmed?” Rhea queried.
Sameer nodded.
She continued, “Well, do you remember the make and model of the car that was stolen? I have a feeling it will match mine.”
Rishi immediately started scrolling through his emails, searching for the answer to her question. His eyes widened when he found the email he was looking for. “She’s right, Sameer,” he said. “The stolen car was a white Audi A4, same as hers.”
“I knew it. He tried to steal my car. But to my luck there was another white, Audi A4 that night at The Marquis and he stole that instead, thinking it was mine. Why do you think the car was found unharmed? Imagine, he was right there standing close by when I had handed my car tag to the valet and I didn’t see him.”
Sameer understood what his sister was getting at.
She pointed to other pictures, those of her wearing traditional Indian attire. “Look at these. This was the day someone gate-crashed that wedding I attended at the Sehgal Plaza. Looking at these, it’s obvious he was the one who was clicking pictures at the wedding. He was there for me.”
Sameer watched as she showed them some more pictures and explained where she was those days, including the days when she was with Raashi, the day he had proposed to Raashi and the day of the movie plan.
“That day outside AquaNox, Raashi and I were standing together on the pavement. She was waiting for you to bring yourcar around and I was waiting for Shauna to get the car. We were chatting. She saw your car and suddenly stepped down. But it could have been me. That guy on the bike was Krish, I am certain of it. And that car accident? Raashi was seated behind me. I was driving. He tried to crash his car into me, but he got the back door instead.”
Everyone was silent for a few minutes as they digested everything Rhea had told them. Fury blasted through Sameer. He could kill that guy with his bare hands.
“My God,” Raashi whispered.
“Show me a picture of this guy. I want to see who this loser is,” Sameer said angrily.
Rhea scrolled through her phone and handed it to him. Sameer took his time looking at the pictures and then handed the phone to Kabier and Rishi to take a look.
There was a knock on the door and Veejay Bellani walked in. The guys all shook hands with him.
He turned to Sameer. “Congratulations. I heard about your news.” Veejay inclined his head towards Raashi and gave her a quick smile as well. “I am happy for you both. But first things first, where’s your sister?”
Raashi had met Veejay briefly when he had helped them rescue Keya from a kidnapping earlier that year. She saw him take in the photographs on the table and Rhea’s red-rimmed eyes.
He sat down on the couch next to Rhea. “You must be Rhea. Can you fill me in on what’s happening?”
Raashi went up to Sameer and linked her hand in his, silently offering her support. She could see the pain and concern in his eyes. She listened to Rhea explain everything to Veejay who asked her several questions in return.
Finally, Veejay said, “OK, as I understand the situation, this ex-boyfriend of yours is obsessed with you and since you are notinterested anymore, he has decided to hurt you. Looks like he wants your attention and is willing to go to any lengths to get it.”
“I don’t understand one thing,” Kabier said. “I assume you are not in any sort of contact with this guy, Krish, right?”
