Author's note

Hello makkaleyy, hope you all are doing good. I hope you enjoyed reading the first part of the TS. Thank you for your responses. Please do stream Adipoli whenever you can and keep them both in your prayers.

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Ashaangi TS Mayakuriye

Part Two

"Dei macchann"

Ashwin looked up from his file when he heard a familiar voice. His lips curled into a smile on seeing his friend Inspector Rakshan. He quickly got up and hugged Rakshan.

"Macchan, vaa da. Unaku dhan wait panitu irundhen" Ashwin pulled a chair next to him for Rakshan to sit. They were at the briefing room.

"Victim body post mortem mudinchu report vandhruchu da. Adha file paniyachu. Murder spot la CCTV cameras check pananum. Idhu unplanned murder. So, CCTV pathi avanga yosichu paniruka matanga. Namaku recording kedaikum aana avanga alert agura kulla edukanum" Ashwin filled in.

"Seri kelambalam machan. Constable ellarum media ah public ah samalika kastam pattutu irupanga. Ipove ettu mani achu. Vaa" Rakshan said.

Ashwin nodded and they left to KPSG College which is nearby. They both were dressed in mufti to be cautious. Managing the crowd, they somehow got inside the campus.

It was around eight thirty at night but because of the murder the office staffs were there. They met the principal and requested for the access to CCTV footage. The principal assigned a staff to help Ashwin and Rakshan with the footage. The staff Selvam took them to the ESRM room, briefed the system in charge Ramesh who took over.

"IT block la dhan sir suthi suthi verati vettirukanga. Athoda footage ellam indha files la iruku"

"Machan, Dinesh kupduran. Veliya media vandhu prachana pannitu irukangalam. Na

Ashwin decided to go through the footages from the start of the day. This is an unplanned murder, yes, but he just wanted to be sure. As he was randomly going through the footages, he paused on one particular footage. There was a woman in yellow saree tiptoeing out of the English department room, hiding something in her pallu.

Pulling his chair closer to the desk, Ashwin focussed on the screen. The woman was short; may be 5'3. Her face wasn't clear. His eyes followed her in the screen and he selected those footages that follows her.

Ashwin's eyes curled into a smile when the woman's face got clear to him. She was rolling her eyes like how a suspect would behave when get caught. She was young and cute. But why is she tiptoeing around?

A frown adorned his forehead when Ashwin watched that woman climbing stairs, whatever she's hiding in her pillow still in her grasp. The woman let a sigh of relief when she reached the third floor and sat on the stairs that led to the upper balcony of the building.

"Yedhuku ipdi maranju okandhrukanga?" Ashwin knows this is completely unrelated to the case but he was plainly curious.

The woman looked around once before opening what's inside her saree pallu. A broad smile appeared on her face while Ashwin frowned.

"Cake ah?"

The woman grinned at the brownie she had in her hand before closing her eyes and taking a bite. Ashwin chuckled when the woman whined and moaned to the taste of the brownie, her face dancing with expressions which he found cute.

Shamelessly Ashwin watched as the woman ate her brownie. He has no clue of why watching her eat fascinated him. Just when the woman was left with a bite of brownie left, she got alarmed and stuffed the brownie in her mouth.

Ashwin obviously can't hear anything but he could make out that someone came. Just as he thought two women came there with broomsticks and the woman stood up hurriedly, with the brownie still in her mouth.

A hearty chuckle left Ashwin's lips as he saw the woman giving a caught look. Giving them a sheepish smile, the woman walked from there and then hurriedly chewed and swallowed the brownie in her mouth.

With focused eyes and smiling lips, Ashwin ended up watching all the footages of that particular bite sized woman. He deduced that she was a professor from English department. She remained silent in front of the HOD but a complete chatter box with her fellow colleagues. Her students loved her. It was evident from how wherever she walks, random students' wave at her.

Since there wasn't CCTV placed inside the department and classrooms, Ashwin could only watch her walking in the corridors. Something about her fascinated him and warmed his heart. She was inside the classroom and he was fast forwarding the footage, waiting for her to step out of the classroom.

"Police kaaran mathiri ah da nadandhukura, chee" Ashwin mutter under his breath yet continue fast forwarding the footage to watch her again.

Ashwin got alarmed when the goons entered the floor chasing Rathnam. They all had scarf tied on their face. The commotion drew the woman out of the classroom. Just as she stepped out, she stood rooted to the ground on watching the scene in front of her.

One among the goons has already slashed Rathnam's arm and he was bleeding. His screams echoed the corridor as he ran for his life but the goons surrounded him and started slashing him. One of the woman's students pulled her inside the classroom.

Ashwin watched the whole clip of the murder and followed them as they made their way out of the college. Clenching his jaw, he saved all those murder clips in his mobile and emailed it to the Department.

He was about to get up but then the bit size woman's face came before Ashwin's eyes. He went through the footage post the murder. Once police arrived and the body was cleared, the woman walked out of the classroom with the students still inside the classroom. The professors in the other classroom also came out.

The woman walked to a particular woman dressed in an orange saree, her colleague. His lips thinned when he saw the woman's body tremble as she hugged her colleague. The colleague patted the woman's back and as they pulled back from the hug, the colleague wiped the woman's tears.

A heaviness settled in his heart as Ashwin watched her trembling form. It isn't easy to watch someone getting killed in person. Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair. That's when Ramesh came back.

"Sir, neenga keta footages ellam kedachurucha?" Ramesh enquired.

"Yes, na enaku send panikiten. Thank you" Ashwin said standing up.

"Paavam sir ivanga" Ramesh said eyeing at the screen, "Sivaangi Ma'am dha romba disturbed agitanga indha murder ah nerla pathu"

"Sivaangi?" Ashwin asked, trying to mask his curiosity.

"Idho, andha yellow saree, adhu dhan Sivaangi Ma'am. Avanunga vetta aarambicha apo correct ah classroom la irundhu veliya vantanga. Adhirchi la apdiye ninrukanga. Oru student dha ula iluthrukanga. Thuru thuru nu irukavanga aluguradha paaka sangatama pochu"

"Seri, Ramesh. Na kelamburen. Thank you for your cooperation"

As Ashwin left from there, his eyes smiled and his lips tasted her name, "Sivaangi"

When Ashwin reached downstairs, he saw Rakshan speaking with the principal and walked to them. He learned that staffs who were present in the floor of the murder were held back in the college.

Again, the trembling form of Sivaangi came before his eyes. Ashwin excused Rakshan from the principal.

"Rakshan, they must have had a long and traumatizing day. Investigation lam eye witness ta nalaiku pathukalam. Avangala veetuku anupa solliru" Ashwin said and Rakshan agreed.

While Ashwin and Rakshan were instructing the night shift constables, a group of women professors walked out from the conference room. Ashwin's eyes searched for the yellow saree and his eyes landed on the woman he longed to see in person.

Ashwin saw Sivaangi walking with her colleague; her face tired and eyes slightly puffy. The principal spoke to them for couple of minutes and then the professors started walking out.

Sivaangi was about to walk past Ashwin when he didn't know what overcame him that he said, "Sivaangi?"

Sivaangi and her colleague paused and looked back at Ashwin. He blinked for a couple of seconds before regaining composure and said, "I know it was traumatizing to witness what you did. Help yourself with some soothing music and sleep. Things are fine; you are fine"

Sivaangi stared at Ashwin for a couple of seconds before she slowly nodded her head and said, "I'll be fine. Thank you, Ashwin" and then walked away with her friend leaving a clueless Ashwin behind,

'Did she just call me Ashwin?'

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Hope you guys enjoyed reading the chapter. Do let me know.

Thank you for reading,

Nan ~