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Chapter 52
Sam was sat opposite Anthony in the prison cell.
"Since I arrested you, I have been in a dilemma. Why did Nancy chose me to tell all those things to? Sam asked, not sure how to begin.
" Nancy? What are you talking about...she is dead" Anthony said, puzzled.
"Yes. She is dead, but her soul is still alive" Sam said.
"Detective?... Are you kidding me?"
"No. Whatever I am talking about is true. I thought I was hallucinating at first, that my mind was playing tricks on me, that after all these years of working with the dead, I had finally cracked" Sam said.
Anthony looked at the detective trying to read his expressions.
"Then I realized, I knew what she wanted me to know, And why she chose me to tell all these things to" Sam continued.
"What has she told you?" Anthony asked, still not believing.
"That it was you who gave Nancy’s hotel address to those four culprits" Sam said.
"No, I did not" Anthony said in surprise.
"Don’t lie! Now there is no use even if you do lie" Sam said, raising his voice.
Anthony lowered his head.
"But how do you know ?" Anthony asked, trying to control his emotions.
"Nancy told me" Sam said.
"Detective, she is dead" Anthony said in irritation.
" Her soul,her ghost told me " Sam said firmly.
Anthony looked at Sam for a long moment with fear and disbelief.
"She told it to me because she wanted you to know that the four murders you have executed are in fact executed by her...by her ghost. She executed those in such a way that, for the world, it looked like those murders were executed by you and you are getting punished by the court for that. She is having her revenge this way." Sam explained.
"I don't believe you. I built the electronics to control those cats. I planned it all! It was all my work" Anthony said in disbelief.
"When I checked your Electronics and wireless transmission gear, the signals were not even reaching outside the warehouse. So how did it reach the victim’s houses?" Sam talked about his experience.
Sam paused to check Anthony’s reaction.
"Not only that she shared some secrets, which you never shared with anybody."
"Like?" Anthony asked curiously.
"Like they phoned you when they were trapped in a drainage pipe and those culprits were following them. Then you asked them to flag a taxi and go to the Hilton Hotel. She also told me about your betrayal by giving them her address for 2000 dollars from each of them and when you went to collect the money they threatened to disclose your involvement." Sam had now exposed him completely.
Anthony kept looking at Sam in disbelief. He was getting big blows of surprise one after the other. He started thinking.
The information Sam told was not known to anybody other than he himself...
Then how come he got this information...
The other most important thing. How did he know about the call he made to Christopher to tell him about Nancy's whereabouts.
Anthony was deeply absorbed in thoughts. He was becoming convinced.
But how could it be possible...
He never believed in ghosts.
He realized that his limbs were trembling.
"If I believe whatever you are saying the why didn’t she kill those four culprits and me directly without creating all of the framing?" A part of Anthony still was not ready to believe.
"That I can’t comment upon but it’s true that she killed those four and framed you for their murders" Sam said.
Anthony became serious. He was going through each and every occasion of the murders like a flashback and in each and every scene he was feeling the presence of Nancy.
"But still I don’t understand. In court, why did you lie that you had killed those four culprits to have Nancy's revenge?" Sam asked the real question.
Anthony’s eyes started welling up. He took Sam’s hand in his and broke up into tears.
"I never wanted her to be killed. But those bastards had killed her. I had proposed to her and she had refused. Therefore I wanted to break her ego and that day John rang me and I got the chance. I just wanted her to be raped so that her ego could be shattered. But then subsequently ... things turned differently. She got murdered. Those bastards decided to involve me too. Therefore I decided to finish them off" Anthony confessed.
He started weeping, hiding his head between his knees.
Sam waited for him to calm down and asked, "You haven't answered my questions."
Anthony looked at Sam quizzically.
"In court, why did you lie and say that you had killed those culprits to have Nancy's revenge?"
Anthony’s face faded again.
"I said... please keep it between us-you and me only" Anthony pleaded.
"Yes, I promise" Sam assured.
"Whatever I had done to Nancy, if my parents and the world come to know, what image would they have about me? Now, at least, they are under the impression that I killed them to have revenge of the one I loved. Even now, my image is quite high in their hearts. Please don’t ruin it at least not until I die. I would not be able to face my parents hating me..." Anthony pleaded ,holding his feet.
Anthony started weeping again.
Sam looked at him with sympathy. He did not know how to react.
But- No ... The crime committed by Anthony can't be forgiven...
Sam released forcefully his hand from Anthony’s, got up and walked to the door.
At the door, he turned back, took one last look at Anthony and said "She wants you to know one thing."
"What?" Anthony asked in heavy tone.
"She will never forgive you" Sam said and turned sharply.
Sam left and Anthony kept on looking at him leave. There were menacing expressions of fear and frustration creeping over Anthony's face.
... continued ...
Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Adam Hughes
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