Good olden days................

Location: Sharma house, Bareilly

"Shivaay, you have to learn to forgive and forget. I know that your father wronged you and your mother but now he is repenting for his mistakes beta, try to at least talk to him" pleaded Radha.

"Radha maa I don't have a dad. I only have you and Gauri now and my mother in my memories. When I needed a father he was not there for me and now I don't need a father. Let's not talk about it more. You take care of your health maa. Mr. Jagdish Tiwari se mujhe koi lena dena nahi hai."

"What is the use of taking care of health Shivaay, you know I won't live for long. I'm just playing hide and seek with Shankarji. Bas ek baar 'Unhe' dekh luun, baat kar luun, phir I can happily rest"

"No maa, I need you, Gauri needs you ... She should know about your condition maa, we can't keep her ignorant forever"

"No Shivaay, I hate to see her smile falter. Jo hona hai vo hoke rahega at least let her be happy. She is happy that after so many years I allowed her to go away from Bareilly to complete her junior college in Hyderabad. It will be easier for me to go and come from hospital visits without raising her suspicion."

"But Maa...."

"Please Shivaay..... promise me that you will look after her, never leave her unprotected, never let her miss me more...Promise me that you will get her married to Omkara"

"I promise maa" said Shivaay sobbing "I promise to fulfill all your wishes. She was, is and will be my everything and I will do anything to keep her happy and protected. Trust me"

"I trust you Shivaay. You are the only one I can trust her with."

"Abhi apne aakhe ponch lo Gauri ke aane ka vaqt hogaya hai. Tere aankho mein paani dekh li to saara ghar sar pe uthalegi" joked Radha making Shivaay chuckle weakly.

As expected a few moments later......

"Shiv bhaiyya aap kaha ho....." yelled Gauri from the living room making Shivaay hurriedly wipe his eyes clean.

"I'm with Radha maa Gauri" called Shivaay in response.

Gauri entered her mother's room with a huge grin "Shiv Bhaiyya apko pata hai mein bhi aapke saath aa rahi huun is baar Hyderabad. Maa gave me permission. Hum khoob masti karenge."

"Gauri, I just told Shivaay about it and don't disturb him, you are not going for vacation. Shivaay will be busy in his training and you need to study for your twelfth grade" making Gauri pout.

"I will study well maa I promise. Thank you so much for letting me go. You can ask me anything in return"

"Just know that both your baba and maa loves you Gauri. Never say no to anything Shivaay asks you to do, take good care of the orphanage and lastly always believe in Shankarji... whatever happens in life, it happens for a reason" finished Radha making Gauri frown.

"Maa, aap bhi na... I'm just going for a year not forever that you give such pathos messages. Chill, you know I never say no to bhaiyya." Said Gauri hugging her mother with all her might thanking her again.

Shivaay left the place making an excuse not able to control his tears which threatened to fall anytime soon. He will make things right. His Radha maa has suffered enough and it was time for redemption.

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February 2017

Location: TIWARI House, Bareilly.

Omkara looked at the beauty before him trying to form words and phrase sentences. What the hell? Did his vocabulary go on a vacation? He has been a charmer for heaven's sake. He imagined Dandi and Abhishek rolling on the floor and laughing at him if they saw him now.

The lunch had been a quite event with occasional chit chat between the elders and Gauri serving everybody her special delicacies making everyone specially Rudra OOO and AAA at the taste.

He was shown to his room for a period of rest when he decided to nap for a while to clear his mind. Perhaps the exhaustion is getting onto him that he failed to speak a word after seeing her but now even after two hours of sleep, one nice cup of tea and half an hour of walking around the home garden, he still didn't know how to start a conversation with her.

"Omkaraji, aapko kuch baat karna tha?" Asked Gauri.

"Uhh yes.... What do you expect from this marriage?" He asked her but seeing her looking at him in confusion he clarified "I mean to say do you have any special requirements?"

Gauri thought for a minute before replying "I intend to complete my MBA after marriage... do you have any problem with that?"

"No, absolutely not Gauri. You are free to pursue anything you want." He answered sincerely "So, are you interested in business?"

"Yes, I like to take control, implement whatever ideas I fell like implementing and importantly create job oppurtunities and careers" she said with a happy smile and Omkara noted the 'taking control' part. Does she like to take control at all times? Urrghh what are you thinking Omkara. What is the topic of discussion and what in the path you are taking. He scolded his mind.

"I run an orphanage here Omkaraji which may need my attention now and then. I know Abhay will look after it after marriage but still I might have to come here at least once in a few months. I like to spend time with those kids. Shoni will definitely ask me to come once in a while"

"Shoni?"

"I mean Roshni.... You met her right? I call her Shoni, as a nickname" she explained.

"Yeah, she is an adorable kid, sad that she does not have parents. What exactly happened?"

"We took her in two years ago when her parents met with an accident. I thought she will breakdown but she is a fighter. She never cries much saying her parents wouldn't want her to be sad. Even if she wanted something, she never asks for it but she earns it herself. That's what I always admire in her."

"Such a mature kid" said Omkara in wonder.

After a moment of silence, Omkara started "I have a past Gauri which I am not ready to talk about yet. I cannot promise to love you at the moment but I will put my efforts into making this marriage work. My profession demands a lot of my personal time and currently I'm busy in a case for which I might not even be coming home for days together. Are you okay with that?"

Gauri nodded with a smile and Omkara returned it. "Can I have your number?" he asked and Gauri gave him her phone to feed his number as well. They were about to return to the house when Roshni came running to inform them that Jagdish was calling them.

Omkara and Gauri returned together to the living hall which had Jhanvi, Shakti, Rudy on one side and Jagdish, Gayatri with a pandit on the other end. Omkara noted the presence of a tall guy, who was talking to Ishana, Gauri's sister and another lady of his mother's age. Ishana informed the guy of Gauri's return when he turned around with a huge smile.

"Gauri!!" He called her and moved towards them. A minute later, Omkara felt like someone has punched him in the gut when the guy hugged Gauri and kissed her temple muttering a formal Hi to him.

It took a mountain of strength on his part to not to pick the guy, throw him out and roar at him to not touch her again. He wasn't sure if Gauri would appreciate the act taking that the guy seems to be Abhay, her best friend according to Roshni.

He looked at Rudra and Jhanvi who were already looking at him with a sly grin.

Jagdish made the introductions of Omkara and his family to Prerna and Abhay. Omkara muttered a Hi and gave a formal handshake holding Abhay's both hands which seemed to not leave Gauri's until he pulled him away from her on the pretext of getting to know each other.

Jhanvi was ready to jump from her chair and clap her hands in glee, looking at her son's reaction to the "hug". Taking it as a best opportunity she asked, "Have you both talked to each other Om?" "Should we ask the pandit to give a date for the wedding?" to which Omkara looked at Gauri and nodded making everyone present there smile in happiness.

After fifteen minutes of calculations and troubleshooting, the pandit informed them "There are two good dates for the marriage, one is after two months and the other after two years. Which one would be good for you Jhanvi ji?"

Jhanvi looked at Shakti who in turn looked at Omkara and asked "What do you say Omkara? Should we wait for two years?"

"No!!" said Omkara which came out a bit loud than intended. "I mean Gauri said that she wants to continue her MBA. So, she can do it in Mumbai which has the best institutions for it and also colleges start in April right? If she doesn't have a problem then let it be after two months uncle" explained Omkara looking at Gauri who only smiled and nodded a yes.

"Great then, Tiwari ji hum akhir rishtedaar ban hi gaye" said Shakti hugging Jagdish who returned the hug while Jhanvi walked towards Gayathri and Prerna.

Rudra hugged his brother and Ishana hugged Gauri. Abhay was about to turn to Gauri when Omkara pulled him into a hug himself.

"Lets do the Roka tomorrow itself, let it be short and sweet" said Prerna and Jhanvi agreed happily.

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Location: Bharadwaj Pharmaceuticals, CEO chamber, Mumbai.

Abhishek looked at the man before him with scrutiny.

"Ms. Nisha had worked under you for the past two years sir, do you have any idea about her personal life? According to our enquiry, you seemed to be the only one in close contact with her. She hardly talked to her colleagues." He enquired.

Vikram Bharadhwaj son of Nikhil Bharadwaj was the CEO of pharmaceuticals named after their surname. For the business world, he was a wizard who managed to mark his place at a relatively young age of twenty nine, as ruthless as his father was in compelling many of their opponent companies to bankruptcy and later acquiring the same to convert them into leading business ventures.

The father and son duo was the first to receive individual medals of honor for their business acumen. There were rumors that this duo lead a double life, one shining to the world as two business experts while the other lurking in the dark as two powerful underworld leaders involved in illegal activities.

There was no evidence to prove the later but as they say there is no smoke without fire and in his career, Abhishek saw many such rumors which proved to be useful accomplices. If chance came by, he would definitely make use of it now as well.

While putting aside the professional life, Vikram Bharadwaj had a colorful personal life as well. He dated numerous models and was a certified playboy. There were one or two complaints against him of sexual harassment that dated long back but there was no evidence to prove any of it either.

"No officer Abhishek, she was just an employee and we only shared a professional relationship."

"She worked as an intern in the company two years back and rejoined here after a break of 10 months because of your recommendation. Taking that you were a CEO, how is that you came into touch with an intern?"

"Nisha was one of our company's best scientists. She was a good student as well and was bright enough to have caught my attention through various innovative ideas on drug formulae that can be used as potential disease curing medicines. Moreover, it was just recently that I took over the CEO responsibilities. Two years back I worked as a team leader looking over projects coming up with new drug formulations. Nitya was recruited in my team then."

"I see. Still, working with someone for two years one would know the nature of the other person. What do you think about the case?"

"I was shocked when I initially heard the news. The culprits were rightfully punished and I appreciate your department's good work. Nisha was a very focused girl always had this incense of doing good to people. She was about to crack a formulation which would have set a milestone if it had been successful. Alas, she didn't get to complete it. I handed over the project to her senior colleague who is still trying to figure out the basics of the said formula. She will definitely be missed."

"Do you have any idea about any internal conflicts in the company? Anybody who might be jealous of her? Who might think of harming her seeing that she managed to grab a good position at such a young age?"

"I do not think so. Our company never tolerates such behaviour from our employees. Still, you can talk to the counselors who we assign to each floor to take care of the employee's mental health considering the amount of stress they take." After thinking for a while, Vikram asked "If I may ask, why is this enquiry now after the justice has been served already?"

"I assure you, it is not of much importance. We intend to finish the enquiry to a completeness since the human rights commission apparently was not satisfied with the investigation part. I thank you for your co-operation Mr. Vikram. I will leave with one last question. Where were you on twenty fourth of January when Ms. Nisha went missing? You were absent from your duties I gather."

Vikram looked at Abhishek for a moment and with a cold look answered "I was attending a conference in New York on a new drug named remimazole. My PA will give you the details of my stay and flight bookings for that day and the next three days"

Abhishek was taken aback by the coldness "Ya... thank you once again. I will take my leave now" thus saying Abhishek left the cabin towards the PA to collect the details mentioned.

Something wasn't right. He could feel it. Saala!!kuch to chupa raha hai. Pata karna padega kya hai... he thought. He made a call to inform the same to Omkara.

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The day after Omkara and Rudy left for Bareilly

Location: Department of Forensic sciences -Central Investigation Department, Mumbai

Bhavya stared at the DNA and chemical analysis report she received an hour ago comparing it with the one which was made previously at the time of the accused conviction. How did she miss such a detail? It was in plain sight, looking straight at her and she was successful in turning her head to the otherside. The chemical report clearly showed the presence of sulphuric acid in slightly higher amounts than normal in both the occasions.

Sulphuric acid was commonly used as a bone dissolving chemical. Apparently the murderer was a chemistry expert and knew the detail. He used the chemical to remove the finger and toe bones of the victim and mixed them with the remains found by the police in the first occasion. As on any occasion, the bones and the burnt clothes on the victim were used for the DNA and chemical analysis which showed a match with the victim misleading them.

She sent for the anthropology report which was surprisingly not asked for previously and was not disappointed when she found that the hip and skull bones which were the hardest and last to burn were characteristically missing in the burnt remains.

She at once called Omkara to inform the same.

"Om bhaiyya I'm so sorry that I missed such a big detail. We should have got the clue sooner." She apologized.

"Bhavya!!stop apologizing" rebuked Omkara. "Sulphuric acid is a common chemical found in a burnt remanant analysis. Even if we had noted its presence in slightly higher than normal, we wouldn't have known that it was not the victims body in whole. That's a pretty bleak chance to solve it at that point of time.

"I agree but maybe we would have asked the anthropology report earlier" she still cursed herself for the clear blunder.

"Let's stop thinking about what could have been done earlier and focus on the present. Shall we?" "Tell me about the autopsy report too, anything of importance?"

"The senior doctor was not present yesterday Bhaiyya so the report is currently being made. Do you want to know anything specific? I will ask for it immediately"

"We don't know the murderer's motive yet Bhavya. Why did he take so much pain in shifting the body to bury it 100kms away from mumbai when he can clearly burn it there itself. We anyways would not have found any evidence he was trying to mask even then" questioned Omkara.

Both of them thought on the same point for a few minutes and exclaimed at the same time "Nisha was found to be missing on 24th of January!!!"

"Great it was the bloody republic-day time when the security is tightened in the city. He cleverly shifted her the day prior to avoid the security check, probably alive to extract some information from her. That might be the reason why he took such pains." finished Bhavya.

"He might have assigned some people to finish his task of disposing the body away from the city but to our luck, they did not burn it but choose to bury it" concluded Omkara.

Just then Rudy entered Omkara's room to call him for the Roka ceremony.

"O, come down this instant relatives are waiting downstairs. You can continue with the talk later" Rudy urged.

"Om bhaiyya, go down before he throws a fit. He is already angry at me for not attending the function. We have to humor him once in a while to make him feel he is in control" joked Bhavya making Omkara laugh.

"Right!!" He said. "I'm going to humor him now. Call me if you find any development" instructed Omkara.

"Sure bhaiyya... once again congratulations. I'm very eager to meet Bhabhi. Rudra was blabbering nonstop of how he had her in his team already. Send me the function pictures" asked Bhavya.

"If I'm not wrong, Rudy will be face timing you once the ceremony starts" said Omkara making Bhavya smile wider.

After some last minute orders from Omkara to be careful, Bhavya finished the call and turned to the landline to make a call asking for the autopsy report.

Bhavya went through the details of the report and found what she wanted. The endometrial lining of the uterus showed changes which indicates that Nisha Jotwani underwent an abortion before she was murdered.

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I'm happy I could find time to update today..... HAPPY SUNDAY.

Next chapter will have Gauri's POV.

Give me your thoughts on the case.......

I fear if the science detail is going above the head... you can always ask me the doubts and I will be happy to clear them if at all they are not cleared already.

I want to clear, every character in the story has a role in leading the story forward. It's not my style to introduce characters just for the sake of comedy or jealousy especially in a crime story were one would try to minimize the names to avoid confusion.

Keep a note of their names and characteristics to not get confused.

Aur haa try to solve the case with Omkara... he needs your support... ha ha ha...

Signing off until the next update........................ yours Soujanya.