Something – Chapter 8 : Ira had a secret

Till now you have read that Zara starts her investigation in Ira’s house. What she finds is rather mysterious. What does it implies?

Happy reading…

The cell phone was switched off. Zara didn’t had any clue that what was that tiny phone for? Ira had a mobile, she had already checked it. What was this for? Unsure of what to do, she kept the phone in her bag too, along with the trigonometry book. There was nothing left in Ira’s room to check. By the time Zara came down, the house was thoroughly investigated.

Morgan was looking at Zara. For once, she had stopped her sobbing and was giving an anticipating look.

Zara sat beside her,  “nothing particular Mrs. Morgan… everything seems normal…”, She said. There was something which was stopping her to mention about the cell phone.
“I know… everything was normal…my heart…” Morgan said in a quiet voice.

“If you don’t mind, can I ask some questions for the investigation purpose?” Zara asked.
“Yes…sure.” Morgan sniffed back a tear.
“How was Ira in school?”
“Oh, she was brilliant! An ideal student. Always thorough with her lessons. Mathematics was her major, and I…I used to tease her…that mathematics was her love…” Morgan smiled faintly at the memory.

“Apart from studies? I mean, social circle? Friends?”
“That was the main problem. Ira had always been an introvert child. She didn’t mingle with people easily. I used to be tensed about this… especially after her father’s death…she became more quite. Although she used to share things with me, she simply stopped talking to her two or three friends which were there in school. I tried a lot, to make her mingle with other boys and girls of her age, but she simply avoided that…”

“Why so? Ever asked her?”
“Yes… many a times…and her answer was that she found it as complete waste of time. However, what I think…she missed her father, and seeing others having a complete family…I know it pinched her…my poor baby…”

“How old was Ira? When your husband died?”
“Ten. Joe was in the air force. He died in a crash.”
“Crash?”
“Yes…the government had sent the army to Iraq, seven years ago…to rescue some britishers stuck there amidst terrorists. His plane crashed mid way.”
“Which plane it was? Any idea?”
“Nothing much I fear…”
“It’s okay…thank you so much. I’ll get to know in case there’s any progress. Our team will be helping you to move out of here, safely.” Zara said while getting up. Morgan smiled back.

Before heading out, Zara turned back and asked, “Am sorry Mrs. Morgan, but can you tell what Ira was doing in the central park that day?”
“I was off to work and some times I used to get late in returning. Ira preferred to stroll in the park while waiting for me. That day, she was doing the same…”

Zara hesitated, then asked again,
“Apart from her mobile phone…did she had any other gadget? Big or small?”
“No, nothing else.”

Zara had both the trigonometry book and the cell phone on the table. There was the note too, ‘four times three’. It was a secret, the cell phone. Morgan knew nothing about it, and Zara didn’t want to disclose things soon. She already had her suspects that there was some one in the investigation department who was involved in all this. She was hoping to come to a conclusion, and she didn’t wanted to spoil this.

Siddharth came with their coffee mugs. Zara took her mug and sipped from it.
“I understand about the cell phone… what’s with the book?” He asked.
Zara looked at Siddharth and said, “you are being interrogated tomorrow…your life can be under threat, you have never faced the police before and it’s all happening so suddenly. Would you really read a book on trigonometry?”

Siddharth went thoughtful. “No… I’ll either lock myself in a closet or the hyperactivity of my brain will make me drink tons of coffee…”
Zara smiled. Siddharth always managed to bring that smile on her face.

Zara’s phone rang. It was Tara, her friend from the department.
“Hi Tara, any information?” Zara asked.
“Yes, the plane which Joe was flying at the time of crash was ‘STAR-3333‘ “