Free Killer in the Shadows! by Amit Nangia

seconds, he’d ordered a search on Devender Singh. Maybe he’d been wrong to suspect Naina. Both her prior boyfriend and Singh had possible motives to harm her.

    Abhay summoned courage to knock the door of his police service quarter. He knocked and waited.
    He could hear footsteps and then he heard the door unlock. The door opened and his mother stood in front of him. An old lady, with grey hair, sincere eyes, wearing a cotton sari. Before Abhay could say anything, she welcomed him with a light slap on his left cheek.
    “
Time milgaya ghar aaney ka? Hotel bana ke rakha hai ghar ko
.” She chided. “Why didn’t you come home yesterday? I was waiting for you.”
    “
Woh Maa kya hua ki…
”
    She cut him off saying, “Don’t start any of your stories and come inside.”
    Abhay came and sat on one of the chairs along the table.
    “I have made your favourite Paneer Pasanda
aur namkeen paranthey
. Quickly wash your hands and come.” His mother said, as she entered the kitchen.
    Abhay smiled. “
Kya baat karti ho maa tum bhi, gussa bhi aur pyaar bhi
.”

    Ria had left for the day and Naina was packing her stuff to leave for home.
    “Naina?”
    She recognized Abhay’s deep husky voice immediately. It sounded so different from Ashish’s wimpy voice, and it was much sexier and more masculine than Girish’s fake polished speech. She closed her eyes, trying to tamp her emotions.
    He came in and walked towards her. “I went to see Devender Singh today.”
    “You did?”
    “Yes. Apparently he’s skipped town.” Abhay pulled the scrap of newspaper from his pocket. “And I found this on his desk.”
    Naina took the paper and saw her name and home address. She saw the article about her and gasped. “He knew about my past!”
    “That’s right. About your parents…and your amnesia.”
    “Do you think he’s the one who’s been taunting me?”
    Abhay shrugged. “It’s possible.”
    The telephone rang, interrupting the strained silence.
    “Naina Sinha speaking.” She heard deep breathing, then a fuzzy, unrecognizable voice.
    Abhay must have read the distress on her face, because he punched the speakerphone button immediately.
    “Leave the past alone,” the voice said.
    “Who is this?” Naina asked. Her hands began to tremble.
    “Someone who knows all about you. Someone who wants you out of Allahabad.” The phone clicked into silence.
    Abhay had to believe her now; he’d heard the man’s voice himself. “We’ll find out who the caller was,” Abhay said, pressing the button to show the caller’s number.
    As the phone number blinked before her, Naina covered her mouth and gasped.
    “What happened? Do you recognize this number?”
    Her voice came out in a choked whisper. “It’s…it’s my residence number!”
    She raised her fear-stricken face to his. “Someone made the call from my house!”
    Abhay put his hands around her arms. “Even if we rush now, the person would have left. We are dealing with a very smart mastermind here.
Bahot chalak hai sala
.”
    Naina nodded. Her face was pale as a sheet. “I don’t understand why this is happening.”
    “Someone is certainly using your past to hurt you,” Abhay said, thinking of the range of possibilities that existed.
    “My past has always controlled my life. I have to face it and bury it so I can go on,” Naina said exasperated.
    “What are you talking about?” Abhay asked.
    “You know, I can understand why I blanked out that night,” Naina said in frustration. “But why the rest of my childhood? I don’t even remember living here.”
    “Maybe there’s a reason you can’t remember. Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.
    She looked into his eyes, its dark rich colour drawing her in with its tenderness. “I had these nightmares as a child,” she finally said. “I still have them sometimes.”
    “What happens in them?
Batao mujhe
.”
    “I see a shadow suffocating me to death. I try to escape from the clutches of the shadow but