Twin murders in Wada. The bodies were sent to forensics but nothing came out of it. A strange sense of calm descends over the bureau that morning as everybody is trying to figure out ways to solve the case.

There is no new case. Just the twin murders one. Everybody is laid back but also tense at the same time.

Purvi pulls out the threatening letter Rajat got, the one she preserved the other day. She didn't have a chance to talk about it then but...

She glances at Rajat's desk next to her. His chair is empty and she finds he's in a corner, talking to Abhijeet sir.

Her mind made up, she approaches the duo.

"Rajat sir."

Rajat looks at her, one eyebrow raised but a small smile still plays on his lips.

Purvi clears her throat.

"I'm so sorry if this is forward of me sir, but I want to talk about the letter you received yesterday."

She produces the letter out of her pocket and he appears surprised.

"Yeh letter tumhare pas?"

"Sir, aapka is bare mein kya khayal hai?" Purvi ignores his question and asks one of her own.

"I don't know why you have it, Purvi," Rajat replies calmly as Abhijeet looks on. "But I threw it in the rubbish bin. It's just a joke, surely a prank..."

He laughs.

"Han, sir. I understand why you would say that but mujhe daal mein kuch kala lag raha. I mean it may be my intuition... aap ek baar soch lijiye, sir, aapko aisa kaun threatening letter bhej sakta hai..."

Purvi finishes her explanation. Rajat is calm. His expression doesn't change one bit. She is nervous inside but she keeps a straight face. It's okay... so far she's doing okay, she assures herself.

"Mujhe lagta hai ki aapko ek baar sochna chahiye aur Abhijeet Sir main aapki bhi rai lena chahti hun is bare mei..."

Before Rajat can stop Purvi places the crumpled letter that is now neatly folded Into the other senior inspector's hands.

"Threatening letter?" Abhijeet murmurs to himself and unfolds the paper he received from Purvi. "Okay... yeah, Rajat. This looks like a prank but Purvi may be right. Think about it once. Sochne mein kya jayega. Agar tumhe zara sa bhi shak hai toh I want you to inform me and I also want you to be on guard."

Rajat looks like he wants to say something but he swallows his words. "Yes, sir..." he smiles, thanking his senior.

Abhijeet gets called away by Daya and ACP sir. Purvi finds herself alone with Rajat.

She apologizes. "I know I overstepped my boundaries, sir. I am sorry. It's just that I had to follow my intuition and I definitely can't be okay when one of my seniors or colleagues or friends are in danger or when they receive a threatening letter like this..."

While she is nervous as hell, Rajat remains his calm self. He chuckles.

"I won't say you overstepped your boundary, but I do see that you care a whole lot about those around you. Honestly, Purvi, that is a very good trait. But overdoing it can be troublesome, don't you think? It may just be a burden..."

He pats her on the shoulder, smiles at her and walks away.

Purvi can't process what he said. What do his words mean? Is he annoyed with her?

She hopes he isn't.

***

The day passes uneventfully and Rajat is back at his home. He pushes open the door and is surprised to sense he's stepped over an envelope of some kind.

The door was locked, wasn't it? Here's a letter waiting for him. Why didn't the sender leave it in the mailbox? Why slip it from under the door?

"Who... Kaun ho sakta hai...?"

He rips open the envelope and reads the contents. As expected, this is another threatening letter.

In a flash, he remembers Purvi's words.

"Lagta hai Purvi ka intuition sahi nikla. Shayad this is not a prank. Then who's this? I just hope whatever this is, my work and my colleagues at CID don't get affected by this..."

Rajat sighs. He knows in this line of work hoping for his loved one's and friend's safety is like a joke but he can't help but be hopeful.

That murder case isn't solved, but he has to take out some extra time and work. Figure out who the sender of these mysterious letters is. He can do this by himself. He won't be a senior inspector in the CID otherwise.

Purvi or anybody in the bureau doesn't need to hear about this. Who knows, they may get tangled up in the trap that's meant for them and that's not what they deserve.

***

The same night, Purvi finishes dinner and curls up in her bed, ready to doze off when her little brother, aged about 13, walks into her room.

She locked her door that's soundproof to a great extent, but Ajay is always. Their parents moved away to look after their grandparents in the village in Thane District... She and Ajay have been living alone for a while now. She loves her little brother immensely no doubt, just.. he can be overbearing and a little too much for her to handle by herself.

Nonetheless, returning home to Ajay always makes her really happy. She hopes she can take more time off so they can spend some time together as siblings should.

"Dida!!!"

Ajay's voice gets louder. He unlocks the door. Purvi sits up on her bed and chuckles. Maybe she didn't lock the door fully. (usually on purpose because though she wants privacy she can't shut out her little brother)

"Ajay, kya baat hai tum soye nahi? Kya chahiye tumhe?"

"Dida, Mujhe neend nahin aa rahi thi..." Ajay responds pouting.

Purvi signals him to sit next to her on her bed. He does.

"Arey aise kaise. Tum School jana hai na kal?"

"Han, dida. Jana toh hai lekin aap batao aap bhi soye nahin... Neend ki parchai toh bhi aapke chehre par nahin Hai..."

Purvi laughs. "Need ki parchai... Aha! Tu poetry books bahut zyada padh raha hai kya. So jaa..."

"Are, batao, di... kya soch rahe hain? Kyu soye nahi?"

"Ohoo... ulta sawal mujhse kar raha ye ladka!" Purvi chuckles again and shakes her head. "Twin murders in Wada and Rajat sir..."

What's on her mind just slips out of her mouth. Oops, she shouldn't have blurted out about murders to a kid! Not when they must sleep—

"Rajat sir?" A cheeky grin on his face, Ajay seems deeply interested in the second part of what she said. "Arey wah, Dida! Maine to kabhi aapko aapke kaam ya kisi senior inspector ke bare mein, ghar mein baat karte hue nahi suna. Yeh Rajat sir kafi special honge, hai na, Dida?"

Ajay enjoys leg pulling. This is a universally known thing. Ah, he's only teasing his elder sis and trying to have a good laugh, no doubt. Part of this might be Vineet's fault. Vineet and Ajay get along so well, and the former dotes on the young boy as if he's his own brother. Thank god Vineet isn't around now at this hour. She can't handle them when they both team up against her ugh! Hey... now she has Rajat sir on her side right? Thanks to Rajat sir's punishment, Vineet couldn't bother her all day long... How wonderful!

She sighs, glancing at Ajay whos grinning at her expectantly.

"Wha.... Why is everybody teasing me? Maine unka naam liya kyunki buro mein kuchh hua tha. He received a threatening letter. Oops, tum Kafi chhote ho to mujhe yeh sab tumko nahi batana chahiye tha. Main bhi na..."

Ajay shakes his head.

"Arey, didi I am not a baby... Mujhe Crime fiction bahut achcha lagta hai. Bade hoke na mujhe bhi inspector banna hai CID mei!"

Purvi looks at Ajay's innocent face and she can't help but smile. Her brother is mischievous, but he's also brave and studious.

"You really are very brave, Ajay, lekin promise me, you will be careful. My work as a CID officer is... dangerous... mujhe har din dar rehta kahin tumhe kuch...Main sara din beauro mein hi rehti hu. Even on holidays sometimes. Be careful, okay? Aur Mujhe yah Dida Kahana band kar!"

"Are kaise band kar sakta hu, Dida? You stop worrying too much. I'm 13 now. I can take care of myself. Aap bas mujhe aapke uss special someone ke baare mein batayiye na!"

"Special someone jaisa koi nahi hai. Abhi teri umar kafi kam hai toh aisi baatei mat kar samjhe? Warna tujhe wo amusement park leke nai jaungi next week!"

"Kya, Dida! Maine koi galat shabd use nahin kiya jo aap mujhe bhashan de rahe ho. Aur blackmail bhi kar rahe!"

"Arey main kya bataun yaar, seriously." Purvi shrugs. She can't help but be candid with her brother again. They are everything to each other as their parents mostly ignore them.

"Yeh pyar vyar ki baatein koi mujhse na kare toh achcha hai.

She sighs. She sometimes daydreams of having someone by her side, someone who treasures her but... that idea is no more than a fairytale. When her own parents don't care about her then... Who will? Well, that doesn't mean she doesn't believe in the concept of love but... she just can't think she's that lucky.

"Aur mujhe lagta ki Rajat sir ko bhi in sab cheezon mein interest nahi hai. He seems to dislike the idea of love totally. Which is sad. Khair, mujhe sirf apne kaam par dhyan dena hai."

Ajay yawns, covering his mouth with his hand and shakes his head.

"Achcha, Dida! Koi aapse jeet nahin sakta... Chalo maan gaya main!"

"Haha! Good boy! Jakar apne room mein so jao!"

"Good night, Dida!"

Purvi waves him off and lies in her bed. She rests for a while before checking on her younger brother. Finding him fast asleep in his bed relieves her. She returns to her bed and dozes off.

Tomorrow another day will begin.... What will it bring?

***

AN: Finally an update! I kept falling sick and I was out of ideas as well, are the reasons why I couldn't update soon.

 I hope everyone liked this chapter! I will try to update the next one soon. Please vote and comment

Thank you for reading! <3