Murder in Bollywood by Shadaab Amjad Khan Read Free Book Online

with all of this, she would also find time to surf the Net for the latest gossip on her favourite Bollywood stars, which she would excitedly share with Minoo over the telephone, and even dance to the most happening Kareena Kapoor songs which she would put on full volume in the privacy of her bedroom, mimicking all of Bebo’s dance moves to a T. In fact, last year in December, Rumi begum got a chance to perform to Kareena’s ‘Fevicol’ number from
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, at her younger brother’s sangeet, which was the highlight of a week of celebrations, culminating in the young man’s wedding, in preparation for which both she and Hoshiyar spent more than a month in Lucknow. And so well received was her performance that she had been requested to do an encore at her cousin’s wedding in the capital, which the whole family was gearing up to attend for the next one week, minus Hoshiyar Khan, who, having just returned from his brother-in-law’s wedding, found himself saddled with a backlog of cases that had piled up in his more than thirty-day-long absence. But even as the good inspector put his wife on the plane to Delhi and bid her farewell, little did he know that all his plans of settling into an expected routine were about to go to seed, as sinister forces were at work once more, and blood that had been shed a month before, but carefully washed away, refused to remain invisible any longer.

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    ‘Good evening. This is All India Radio bringing you a breaking news bulletin. Unexpected showers and heavy snowfall have led to a major landslide, two miles north of Sunset Hill. The incident occurred along the Shimla–Delhi National Highway 22 at around 8.30 tonight. Even as rescue work continues, sources claim there are no casualties. Meanwhile, the National Highway 22 between Shimla and Dharamshala has been shut down until further notice.’
    The date was 14 January. The time, 11.45 p.m. Chandrakant ‘Chandu’ Mule, private investigator and proprietor of Mumbai’s Eagle Detective Agency, turned off the radio looking visibly annoyed, then stepped on the accelerator of his banged-up old jeep and continued to speed along the seldom-travelled forest path aptly known as Kaala Raasta, his only way out of Shimla with the main highway being closed. He drove like a man being pursued by the hounds of hell, seemingly disinterested in the ever-rising speedometer and unperturbed by the snow and water that surrounded him. The discovery that he had made in Padiabeda, an obscure village in Haryana, a few days before had startled him, but the secret he unearthed in Shimla had absolutely terrified him, which was no mean feat, considering he was a former policeman with more than twenty-five years on the job, making him impervious to most evils that men indulge in. And yet, there he was that night, driving along that forest road without another car in sight, turning his gaze from time to time towards the rear-view mirror to see if he was being followed, then heaving a sigh of relief as he realized he was very much alone on that strange, cold night. Then suddenly, he was forced to bring his car to a screeching halt, very nearly losing control along that wet and slushy road, because of a fallen tree, lying smack in the middle of his path a short distance away. For the next few seconds, Chandu sat motionless in his seat, trying to regain his composure from what could have been a fatal accident, then chided himself for noticing the fallen tree when it was almost too late. He looked around cautiously, reaching for his gun lying in the glove compartment, then zipped his windcheater right till the top, putting its hood over his head, after which he slipped his gun into its pocket, straightened his gloves, and stepped out of the car to try and move the obstacle out of his way, since there was no turning back. As Chandu pushed with both hands against the swollen piece of wood with all his might, a shadowy figure crept up from behind and called out to him in