Murder Mystery: The Silent Shadow

Episode 10: Scene 1 – The Confession Room

The dimly lit room buzzed with tension. Arvind Saxena sat stiffly on the metal chair, his expression unreadable. Rohan entered with a calm demeanor but sharp intent, his every step calculated.

Rohan: (placing a file on the table and sitting across from Arvind) “Morning, Saxena. How’s the coffee treating you? Hope it’s helping you think straight.”

Arvind: (coldly) “Cut the pleasantries, Inspector. Get to the point.”

Rohan: (leaning back casually) “Oh, I will. You see, I just had a little chat with Ritika. Quite an insightful young woman, wouldn’t you agree?”

Arvind: (staring) “Ritika? What does she tells you?”

Rohan: (smirking) “A lot, actually. She told us about your so-called ‘experiments.’ Dangerous stuff, Saxena. On children, no less. And let’s not forget… your own daughter.”

Arvind’s expression hardened, his fingers twitching slightly.

Arvind: (voice low) “She’s lying. you doesn’t know anything.”

Rohan: (leaning forward, his tone sharper) “Oh, really? So, she made up the part about you using your daughter as one of your experiments? That it was your mistake that cost her life? And now, you can’t even face the truth that you killed her?”

Arvind’s fists clenched, his breathing heavy. His jaw tightened as Rohan’s words pierced through his defenses.

Arvind: (growling) “I didn’t kill her. Don’t you dare twist this!”

Rohan: (pressing harder) “Then who did, Saxena? Who’s to blame? Ritika? Your team? Or maybe the chemicals you were so obsessed with? Come on, admit it—it’s easier to blame them than to face the fact that your own obsession killed your little girl.”

Arvind’s eyes blazed with anger as he slammed his fists on the table, the sound echoing in the small room.

Arvind: (shouting) “NO! It wasn’t me! It wasn’t my fault! They killed her! Those greedy fools, THEY are responsible!”

Rohan: (calm but intense) “Then why kill your team? Why target the women? What did they have to do with your daughter’s death?”

Arvind: (panting, his voice cracking) “They were part of it. They knew! They knew what would happen, and they let it. They turned a blind eye, and she… she paid the price. My angel, my only reason to live… gone because of their greed!”

Rohan’s eyes narrowed, sensing he was close to unraveling the full truth.

Rohan: (softly but firmly) “You’ve carried this burden for so long, Saxena. You turned your pain into vengeance. But what really happened that day? Tell me. The truth.”

Arvind leaned back, his rage subsiding into a defeated sigh. Tears welled in his eyes as he whispered.

Arvind: “Him. It was him. Ritika’s boyfriend. That coward! He’s the reason my daughter is dead.”

Rohan: (sensing he struck a nerve) “Ritika’s boyfriend? What’s his involvement in all this? And where is he now?”

Arvind: (his voice trembling with anger) “I don’t know where he is. He vanished after that night… the night everything was destroyed. But I’ll tell you what happened. You need to know the truth, Inspector. The truth about those experiments.”

Rohan leaned back, letting Arvind gather his thoughts. The older man took a deep breath before beginning his tale.

Arvind’s Story

Arvind: “I’m a scientist. I’ve dedicated my life to research. I also run a charity hub for underprivileged children—a place where they can feel safe, where they can have a chance at life. Ritika and six other women worked with me, helping to manage the hub.

One day, Ritika approached me with a request. Her boyfriend, a college student, needed a lab to work on his project. She assured me it was harmless—just some chemistry experiments. I rarely used my lab at the time, so I allowed it. What harm could it cause? Or so I thought.

Weeks later, I discovered something disturbing. One of the children at the hub fell gravely ill. At first, I thought it was a common sickness, but when I tested his blood, I found traces of a rare chemical. It wasn’t natural—it was injected.

I was horrified. I immediately worked to create an antidote and managed to save the child. But soon, another child fell ill, showing the same symptoms. That’s when I knew something was terribly wrong. Someone was targeting my children.

One afternoon, driven by suspicion, I visited my lab unannounced. To my shock, I found remnants of that same chemical in the lab. Someone had been using my space for these experiments. Furious, I decided to find out who.

I hid in the lab that evening, and it wasn’t long before Ritika’s boyfriend showed up. But he wasn’t alone—my team, the very people I trusted, were with him. They were discussing something dangerous, something horrifying. They were creating a substance that could manipulate the human body. A weapon. And they were testing it on my children.

I couldn’t stay silent. I stepped out of the shadows and confronted them. ‘So, you’re the ones behind this?’ I said. ‘I know everything. I’m going to the police.’

Ritika’s boyfriend panicked. He grabbed my collar, screaming that I didn’t understand their ‘work.’ A fight broke out. I wasn’t going to back down—I had to protect those children. He couldn’t overpower me, so he ran. I chased him, determined to stop him.

But in our struggle, one of the chemicals spilled, mixing with another. It caused a massive explosion. The lab was engulfed in flames within seconds. I ran out, but then I saw her…”

Arvind’s voice broke, tears streaming down his face. Rohan remained silent, letting him continue.

Arvind: “My daughter… she came looking for me. She must’ve been worried because I hadn’t come home. She was inside the lab when it exploded. I didn’t know… I didn’t know she was there.”

Rohan Pushes for More

Rohan: (softly) “Your daughter’s death was a tragedy, Saxena. But what about Ritika’s boyfriend and your team? Why were they doing this? What was their endgame?”

Arvind: (bitterly) “Money. Power. They were developing a chemical that could control human behavior—turning people into mindless puppets. It was supposed to be sold to the highest bidder. My children were their test subjects because they thought no one would notice if a few poor kids got sick.”

Rohan: (leaning forward) “Ritika? Was she part of all this? Did she know what was happening in your lab?”

Arvind: (bitterly) “Yes. She was part of it—all of it. She and her team betrayed me. She brought her boyfriend into my lab, convinced my team to join their sinister plans, and even lured the children to him for his experiments. She’s the one who made it all possible.”

Rohan: (angrily) “So Ritika is your first culprit. Then why didn’t you kill her first? Why target the other women first?”

Arvind: (calm but seething) “You’re right—she is the first culprit. But her boyfriend… he’s the real mastermind. He’s the one pulling all the strings, and she knows where he is. I can’t kill her until I find him. She’s the key, which is why I’ve been keeping an eye on her.”

Rohan: (probing) “What about the others? Were all six women involved in this? Did they all play a part?”

Arvind: (nodding) “That night, I saw five of them with him in the lab. But I’m certain all six were involved. They were helping her—assisting in the experiments and keeping everything hidden from me. That’s why I killed them. They were as guilty as she is.”

Rohan leaned back in his chair, absorbing the magnitude of the betrayal. The picture was becoming clearer, but it was more horrifying than he had anticipated. Arvind, once a brilliant scientist and philanthropist, had been driven to the edge by the very people he trusted.

Rohan: (determined) “Ritika and her boyfriend won’t escape justice, Saxena. But your hands are stained with blood too. You took lives, and you’ll have to answer for that.”

Arvind: (coldly) “Justice? You talk of justice? I’ve done what the law would never do—eliminated those who destroyed innocent lives. Do you think they deserved mercy?”

Rohan: (firmly) “That’s not for you to decide. Your rage blinded you, Saxena, and now you’re in a cage of your own making. But don’t worry—I’ll finish what you started. The real culprits will pay.”

As Rohan left the room, his mind churned with the dark revelations. Ritika and her boyfriend were now at the center of his investigation, and he knew the truth was far from over. Justice would be served, but not before uncovering every secret hidden in this tangled web of lies.

Scene 2 – The Plan to Trap Ritika

Karan, Kavita, and Rohan sat in the briefing room, the atmosphere heavy with tension. A whiteboard in the corner displayed connections between Ritika, her boyfriend, and Arvind. Kavita tapped her pen on the table, her mind racing for a breakthrough.

Karan: (leaning back in his chair) “This Ritika is slippery. She’s playing the victim card too well, and she knows how to keep her secrets buried. We need a way to force her hand.”

Kavita: (frustrated) “We’ve interrogated her for hours, and she’s given us nothing useful. She knows we can’t hold her without concrete evidence.”

Rohan: (calm but focused) “Then we change our approach. Kavita, here’s what we’ll do—we let her go.”

Kavita: (stunned) “What? Let her go? Rohan, have you lost your mind? She’ll disappear the moment she’s out of our sight!”

Rohan: (smirking) “Not if we play this right. Here’s the plan: We’ll thank her for her ‘help’ and tell her that her information led us to Arvind, the ‘real culprit.’ Make her believe we’ve bought her lies. Then, we assure her she’s free and safe to leave.”

Karan: (catching on) “And once she’s out, we tail her. She’s bound to go straight to her boyfriend or someone in her network. Smart.”

Kavita: (nodding slowly) “You’re betting on her need to confirm her safety with him. It’s risky, but it could work. She’s cautious, though. What if she senses we’re watching her?”

Rohan: (leaning forward) “That’s where we get creative. Karan, you and I will set up a surveillance team, but we’ll keep our distance. No obvious tails. We’ll use traffic cameras, drones, and plainclothes officers. Kavita, you’ll handle the release and play the good cop. Make her feel like we’re on her side.”

Karan: (grinning) “You want me to run the tech? I love it when a plan needs gadgets.”

Kavita: (sighing) “Fine, but we’ll need to make it convincing. If she’s as smart as we think, she’ll test us before making her move.”

Rohan: (confidently) “Let her. We’ll pass every test she throws at us. The key is patience. If she’s desperate to reach her boyfriend, she’ll slip up eventually.”