Chapter 5: Red against White - a Mukt & Jia scoop

Mukt could only appreciate the professionalism with which the emergency services call was handled, not even daring to imagine what a mess it would have been, had something like this taken place in his hometown of New Delhi. While Mukt was not one of those who took sadistic pleasure in denigrating their country, but he was also realistic enough to understand the basic differences in how law enforcement acted in a developed country, as against a developing country like India.

It had turned quite dark by now and the snowfall had taken a retreat, perhaps breaking before coming back. As Mukt carefully stepped out of the booth, he silently thanked the cold that had forced him to wear a pair of gloves, hopefully preventing any evidence contamination. He could already hear the police siren in the distance and as he tried to estimate how long it would take for the police to arrive, he saw some movement ahead in the distance. Mukt had been eyeing the Maison de l’Inde, the building that was going to be home for the next three months. Someone was stepping out of the building, and was in quite a hurry.

Mukt’s first instinct was to shout out and warn the person. Something about the way in which this person was moving stopped him though. For some reason, the street lamp next to the phone booth wasn’t functional and thanks to it, Mukt was relatively hidden from sight of the person coming out of India House even though Mukt could clearly see right through. Mukt squinted his eyes to be able to see even better but he still couldn’t make out if the person coming out of India House was a man or a woman.

Mukt already knew that most of the India House residents were away for the evening, attending a party at the Maison du Mexique, and in all likelihood, were currently relishing the spicy Mexican food they had been looking forward to ever since the invites came in. Mr. Atul Mehta, Director of the India House, had already communicated to Mukt that almost all residents including him, were going to be out at this party around the time Mukt was expected to reach.

Dressed in tights and tee of a dark color, most likely black, there was something definitely off about the person Mukt was now looking at, the least being the fact that they were coming out of what should have been an empty building. The intruder, that is, if this person was an intruder, was looking all around, was moving quickly and yet cautiously, a curious combination in itself. What was the most noticeable was the extreme care with which this person was avoiding the blood trail leading up to the building. They looked either like someone scared of disturbing the evidence of crime or someone worried about adding further evidence.

Mukt tried to step out of the shadows and move a little closer to get a better look. He was careful to not step on anything he thought could retain the signs of what had happened there. Just as Mukt made the slightest of movements, the stranger looked up in his direction. Perhaps it was some inadvertent sound that Mukt had made despite all the care he tried to exercise. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. Whatever it was, Mukt had been made out and the stranger, whoever they were, knew that someone else was already aware of the trail of blood, apart from them.

Mukt was still trying to discern the physical features of his companion on this lonely night, knowing fully well that he will be asked to describe them to the best of his abilities when the police finally arrive. Mukt knew that the stranger would have also heard the police sirens in the distance and by now, Mukt was fairly certain that they had something not-so-innocent to do with the crime scene that was before them.

“Hey, who are you? What are you doing here?” Mukt thought of taking a chance and shouted out just to see if the stranger would react and give away anything about their identity. In any case, it was just a matter of moments, Mukt guessed, before the stranger was likely to make a dash for the small exit gate next to India House that could take them out of Cité Universitaire, on to the street, and with easy access to a potential getaway vehicle.

What followed his verbal challenge was something Mukt had not anticipated though. The stranger did make a dash for the exit gate because the police sirens were getting closer and if they did have anything to do with the blood trail all over the ground, they wouldn’t want to hang around and chat with the police at all. What Mukt had not expected however, was the blood-curdling laugh that emanated from the stranger before they made their move. Even at the distance, the laugh was loud, sinister, crazy, and so uncharacteristic of anything normal that Mukt had ever heard, that it was impossible to make out if it came out of a man, woman, or an animal.

Mukt could slightly make out the physical frame of the person now, looking at them running towards him first and then taking off on an arc towards the exit gate. Athletic and strong for sure, the stranger was of average height, a slim build, and extremely fit given the sprint they just ran. The tee that Mukt had thought the stranger was wearing was actually a black hoodie with nothing on it, no prints or patterns or anything else that was even close to a mark of identity. If Mukt had to describe the stranger in one word, it would have been ‘unremarkable’ and he knew that this was not what the police would be looking for.

As he was trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation that he had found himself in, Mukt finally saw the lights of the police car coming towards him from the direction of the main administrative building of Cité Universitaire. Mukt had expected a shorter wait time for the campus police to turn up but when he saw the official letters of the French National Police on the van, he realized what must have happened. The campus police, correctly surmising that the matter in question was way above their skillset or level of competence, must have waited for their senior colleagues before coming in.

“Monsieur, êtes-vous l'appelant?” The officer, who looked to be in charge, asked Mukt as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle. Mukt was standing next to the phone booth with an incredulous look on his face, thanks mostly to the insane laugh he had just heard and the subsequent escape of a definite ‘person of interest’ that he had just witnessed.

“Yes Sir, I am the one who called. Please pardon me as I don’t understand French very well. Is it ok if I speak in English?” Mukt could understand enough French to know what the officer was asking him but not enough to tell him all that he wanted to, without the risk of losing important meanings in translation.

“Oui bien sûr! I can perfectly understand your English, Monsieur. My name is Captain Sebastian Dubois and I am with the French National Police. The emergency services call that you made was directed both to me and to the campus police. I had asked the campus police to wait for me before coming to you as I understood that you were not at an immediate peril. Hope I was correct in understanding that,” Captain Dubois said with a bit of an accent that was getting stronger the more he spoke.

“Well, I wasn’t at first but then I thought I was,” said a still disturbed Mukt. “Actually, when I had called, I thought that there was no one else on the scene here but after I had finished, I noticed someone coming out from La Maison l’Inde who seemed really shady and when I challenged them, they just laughed and ran.”

“There was someone else here who looked eh…what do you call it, shady? Was it a man, a woman? Where is that person now?” Captain Dubois looked ready to leap and run after a suspect, not having expected one so early in the investigation.

“I don’t know if it was a man or a woman. They were too far from me to be really sure and the way they were dressed and looked, I can’t really say,” Mukt said with a bit of a helpless shrug. “Like I said, when I heard the police sirens, I challenged them with the hope that if they say something, I could figure out something more about them. Unfortunately, they didn’t take the bait, just laughed and ran as they heard you come in.” Mukt was not sure if he wanted to mention the diabolical nature of the stranger’s laugh that had disturbed him so, at least just not yet.

The shoulders of Captain Dubois visibly sagged hearing this as he realized that the suspect that was so tantalizingly in his grasp just a moment ago, had to wait for now. His posture changed from a taut, cheetah readiness to a more relaxed and wilier, fox contemplation. Even his tone was more polite and the smile on his face had reappeared as he asked, “Allez Monsieur, now that we are not in a rush to catch someone, why don’t you start your story for me once more, right from the beginning? Please try not to miss anything and I must remind you that, as they say in detective novels, even something that you think is useless can be very important. I know that it’s late and cold but you are the first to witness a serious crime and maybe the only one to have even seen the criminal. I need you to tell me all that happened…patiemment, s'il vous plait.”

Listening to the Captain mention the cold and the fact that it was late made Mukt realize how late it really was. Jia must have gone crazy by now, especially considering that Mukt was the responsible one, always keeping her updated with his whereabouts whenever he was traveling, even if it was to his office, which was less than a stone’s through from Jia’s.

“I will tell you all, but before any of that, you need to let me make a phone call back home in India. I have landed in Paris only today and I need to inform my family that I am fine and safe. They must be waiting for me to call and would be really worried by now,” Mukt said as he made a move to go inside the telephone booth again.

Captain Dubois literally jumped, trying to stop Mukt. “Please stay away from the scene of crime, Monsieur. I can’t allow you to make any telephone calls before you have given us your statement. It is against protocol, as I am sure you can understand. Please give me your family member’s number and I will call them and convey your safety.”

“Good luck with that!” Mukt smiled despite everything as he blurted out Jia’s number, imagining the conversation that was going to follow. Jia was going to eat Captain Dubois alive, even over the telephone, especially if she was not satisfied with his message…and knowing Jia, she wasn’t going to be satisfied till she had heard directly from Mukt.