CRIMES AT CORNERS

  • 03 Nov - 09 Nov, 2018
  • Salaar Laghari
  • Fiction

Zafar Mohsin narrated in the episode:

“Ladies and gentlemen today we’re going to tell you something that will shock the entire nation…”

Rehan and Maria got quite anxious that their eyes opened wide.

“Miss Maimoona Alam…” Zafar continued, “had kept a secret from everyone. Nobody knew about this but our team of Crimes at Corners has finally discovered it. Maimoona Alam was recently married. It was her life secret. She had kept it hidden from everyone including the team of her movie. But the shocking news here is that her husband was no one other than…”

He took a long pause. Rehan and Maria got anxious to such an extent that they started biting their nails.

“The dead guy…” Zafar finally declared, “Mr. Abdul Moiz. Yes, this guy found dead in her room was actually her husband. We have acquired the marriage certificate, as you can see it on the screen.”

A document similar to a marriage certificate appeared on the screen. Maria and Rehan tried to look closely as it wasn’t clear.

“Ladies and gentlemen…” Zafar spoke, “now the question is, why a high profile actress like Maimoona Alam married a model like Abdul Moiz. Was she blind in love? Was it a forceful marriage? Or were they married deceitfully? There are several possibilities.”

“Why do they always assume the worst?” Maria showed her discomfort to the questions.

“I know, right,” Rehan replied.

“Their marriage…” Zafar narrated while Maimoona Alam’s pictures displayed on the screen, “took place three months earlier. This secret could not have revealed unless they both were alive. But now the circumstances are changed and anyone could get across this information.”

Some edited images of Maimoona Alam and Abdul Moiz appeared on screen in the frames of hearts.

“Oh God!” Rehan commented annoyingly.

“How disgusting!” Maria commented. “Are they trying to make fun of dead people?”

“Yes they are. At least that’s what it looks like.”

“They should be ashamed of themselves. I mean just look at that. A married couple passed away, and they are making it look like a movie or something.”

“The worst part is that they are trying to prove us that they are sincere in investigating the murders. But in reality they are just attracting their viewers.”

“Yes, exactly. That’s the stupidity they are doing.”

“Anyways, let’s see.”

The show continued with those edited pictures. However, Zafar appeared after a while and spoke to the audience, “This secret marriage between Maimoona and Abdul Moiz has given us a new angle to investigate further. There was someone who must be seriously jealous and upset about their marriage and wanted to ruin their happiness.”

“Ok, now he is making some sense,” Rehan commented.

“Now our job…” Zafar continued speaking, “is to find out the culprit. There is a possibility that the killer had a different motive to kill them. But one thing is sure that they both were married.

“Oh please” Maria uttered.

“What?” Rehan asked her looking at her.

“He is talking as if he witnessed their marriage ceremony.”

“But he has the marriage certificate. Isn’t that a strong proof?”

“Not enough to be so sure. It can be fake.”

Rehan didn’t answer and looked back at the TV.

“It was a double murder and the punishment of this heinous crime in our country is only a death sentence,” said Zafar.

This made Rehan and Maria looked at each other with some seriousness. The episode continued for few more minutes and nothing new was revealed.

Later that night, Rehan was sitting in the guest room alone, thinking about the latest episode. He was wondering about the interesting turn of events in the murder case. The dead victims were not at all related to him and yet he was thinking about them as they were a part of his life. He typed a text message on his phone and sent it.

Meanwhile, at Kevin Rollins’ home, Kevin was sitting on a rocking chair. He heard his cell phone’s beep. He picked his cell phone and read the text message. It was from Rehan.

Abdul Moiz was actually Maimoona Alam’s husband. If you need more details, let me know and I’ll tell you on phone..

Kevin Rollins wasn’t too surprised after reading this. He spoke to himself: It’s not the case. The answer would be found in Sialkot. I’m just waiting for the right time to go there.

But he replied otherwise:

Alright thanks, I’ll let you know if I need more details.

He kept his cell phone aside and started to walk, making up questions that came to his mind:

If Abdul Moiz was really Maimoona Alam’s husband, and they were murdered at the same time in the same room, then it is definite that the murderer was only one person. But the question is that why was Mr. Moiz’s face smashed? And no equipment such as a glass bottle or anything was found in the room. Not even a single piece. This brings me to the conclusion that he was murdered earlier outside the room, and probably by some other killer. It’s quite possible.

He asked himself further:

Should I go and find the person in Sialkot? Nobody really knows that Maimoona Alam’s husband had a link to Sialkot. And the truth can only be found there.

He kept on making those assumptions until he made his final decision of going to Sialkot.

**********

Next afternoon, Rehan was having lunch at his office with his colleague. His colleague asked, “Rehan do you know what the news channels are showing?”

“No, I don’t,” Rehan replied assuming he knew what his colleague was about to tell him.

“The unidentified guy Abdul Moiz was actually Maimoona Alam’s husband. They were secretly married.”

“Oh…Well, I’m way ahead of you.”

“Sorry?”

“I mean to say that I heard this yesterday.”

“Yesterday? But I thought that it’s a breaking news that is trending right now.”

“It was revealed in Crimes at Corners last night.”

“Oh…” the colleague uttered in disappointment. “I thought it was a breaking news. Anyways I’ve been told that Crimes at Corners team is doing a thorough investigation on this case.”

“Thorough and slightly disgraceful.”

“I beg your pardon.”

“I said disgraceful because they are hiring cheap tactics to increase the ratings of their show that does not look ethical at all,” said Rehan referring to the edited images in hearty frames.

“Really? Such as?”

“Well I don’t want to go in details but one thing is for sure that the sole purpose of their show is not to find the killer and bring justice to the victims. Instead, their objective seems to be more of getting viewership.”

“If you think what they are doing is wrong then why are you watching the episodes? Please don’t take me wrong.”

Rehan was left speechless.

The colleague didn’t push him any further realising the awkward situation he had created. Rehan looked up at him and said, “I am watching these episodes because if there is a negative side there is also a positive side.”

The colleague wanted to ask about what positive side he referred to but opted to remain silent. Rehan spoke anyway:

“If you want to know what that positive side is then I must tell you that the investigations of Crimes at Corners are far better than what the others are doing.”

“Others, such as?”

“I mean to say the cops or any other investigation agency.”

“I see.”

There was a moment of silence. Rehan looked at him and thought of making a conversation but then stopped and continued eating.

v v v

The same evening, while Rehan was at his home, he heard his cell phone ringing. It was Kevin. He desperately answered the call.

“Hello Mr. Rollins?”

“Oh Rehan, I saw last episode. But anyways I am calling to tell you that I am leaving for Sialkot.”

“Sialkot? Why?”

“Don’t worry. It’s a part of investigation.”

“Oh, ok. Is it related to Maimoona Alam’s murder?”

“It’s not related to her murder.”

“It’s not?”

“It is actually related to her husband’s death. I need to go there and find a clue.”

“Oh, I had no idea.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted. This visit won’t be long. It will hardly take two or three days.”

“Oh, ok! Alright.”

“Bye.”

“Good bye.”

The call got disconnected. Rehan kept on looking at his cell phone. Then noticing his anxiousness, he realised that got more tensed every time Kevin called and this was not something natural. He then calmed himself down and took a deep breath.

Ok Rehan, you’re embarrassing yourself in front of everybody.

Maria came to him and asked, “Are we watching the episode today?”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”

He stood up and rushed towards the TV room. Maria followed him and asked, “What were you doing in that room?”

“I was talking to Mr. Rollins. He is leaving for Sialkot.”

“Why?” she asked curiously.

“To investigate the murder. It’s Maimoona Alam’s husband Abdul Moiz.”

“Really? How come?”

“I don’t know either, but it seems that he knows something that even team of Crimes at Cornersdon’t.”

“Or probably they know and they’re just hiding.”

“Hiding?” Rehan asked in a bewildered tone.

“Yes, or they might reveal it in today’s episode.”

Rehan agreed and looked at the television. He was now waiting for the episode to begin. After few minutes as the episode began, Maria sat on the couch next to Rehan.

“Good evening, people of Pakistan, I am Zafar Mohsin and you’re watching the show Crimes at Corners: Season 2. So today our guest is none one other than the TV actor Nasir Ghias,” announced Zafar Mohsin while giving the starting pitch.

Nasir Ghias appeared on the screen. He was wearing a black suit with red tie and white shirt. He seemed to be confident and calm. Rehan and Maria looked at each other as they were a bit surprised and excited about the interview.

“So Mr. Nasir Ghias,” Zafar began the interview, “How are you today?”

“I’m good,” he replied with a smile on his face.

“That’s good to know. So, Mr. Nasir! Would you like to tell us about your relationship with Miss Maimoona Alam.”

“Well, she was a good lady. As long as we were in a relationship, she was an honest woman with strong values and commitment. But after the broke up with me, I never got any chance to contact her.”

“Wait, so you’re saying that you wanted to talk to her once more?”

“Yes, I wanted to apologise for what happened. Apologise for how it ended. But I couldn’t so I postponed it for a while. Then I got to know that she was murdered.”

“I see… So Mr. Nasir can you please tell us about why you two broke up?,” Zafar Mohisn posed him with another questions urging him to speak up about the relationship between the two.

“Everyone knows that I was the one who ended this relationship but it was me who ended this relationship. I abandoned her for a while. But my intentions were not of keeping it that way forever.”

“I see,” Zafar moved to the next question. “So, about her death Mr. Nasir, would you like to tell us that when you heard about Maimoona Alam’s murder, how did you react?”

“…I don’t remember exactly,” he replied after trying to recall. “But I was upset though. However, there is one thing I would like to tell you that no other person close to Maria would tell you.”

“And what is that?”

to be continued...

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