Rear ( Incognito ) Window — Part 5 & 6
A Modern Day version of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window
Part 1 & 2 — https://medium.com/@filmantic/rear-incognito-window-part-1-2-fe5a3b8349eb
Part 3 & 4 — https://medium.com/@filmantic/rear-incognito-window-part-3-4-51cc9723f256
Part 5 — That rings a bell!
“So you have been to Leh?” asked Rajan “That’s amazing man. Heard it’s tough to breathe up there.”
JC wasn’t really interested in answering that but reluctantly said “Yeah. It is Breath-taking!” Rajan burst out laughing “Hahahahaha… breath-taking… Hahahaha… breath — taking…because it’s difficult to breathe. Get it Jini.. Hahahahaha…JC you are too jokey!” Sam rolled her eyes and gave JC a dirty look. JC took a sip of his drink.
Sam was showing Rajan and Sarojini pictures of their Leh trip on the big screen. JC really didn’t want any guests, but Sam knew this was the only way to take JC’s mind off conspiracy theories; force him to socialize. So she had invited the neighbours, famously known as #RaJini !
Sarojini “We were thinking of going next June. The entire family”
JC “Oh! You are taking the kids too. Now that’s called being adventurous. Good on you!”
Sam knew JC was being sarcastic, so she nervously cut in “ hahahaha… Stop Kidding JC… Jini, Rajan…Don’t listen to him. It’s not for the kids.”
Rajan “Ooo. Then we will just have to leave the kids with you!”
This time JC burst out laughing “hahahhaa.. leave them with us. Hahahahhaa… Rajan you are too jokey!”
The evening passed without further incident, but it was mostly because JC was distracted by Mira’s LIVE session. It wasn’t the ordinary dance or Pilates LIVE session, it was something else. Mira had gone LIVE and was talking about how life was so unfair. She had apparently been kicked out from a film project for unknown reasons. She said it was time women were treated fairly in the film industry and that it was also time for women to come together to start their own #MeToo campaign in India. She didn’t go into specifics, but it was clear that she was a little drunk right then. A lot of people came out in support by Liking, Sharing and Commenting on the Video.
JC was just sad about the whole thing. Mira was a hardworking girl and deserved better. But he knew she was too naïve to understand that to make it big in the industry it was important to have a godfather or some family member in it. He just wished she aimed a little lower. TV may be. Or some web series on those content portals. But she thought it was beneath her. “Theater and then Films. Nothing more, nothing less.” She had once said. Anyway, after ranting for 10 minutes she had gone offline. And as expected, the video was also deleted after a an hour or so. Maybe she had received a call from her agent.
After #RaJini left, JC had retreated back to his couch and was checking out the various feeds again. Madam Sodawala had put up pictures of a beautiful dinner table set for 2. It had a casserole full of what looked like Creamy potatoes and Chicken, and it also had 2 champagne glasses filled to the brim. In one of the pictures, she was laughing and sipping on some champagne. While the caption said ‘Thanks for the beautiful evening. XOXO’ — implying it was meant for someone — JC decided to investigate. He zoomed in on the Champagne glass and in the reflection, he could see that the picture was taken with the mobile on a stand.
“That’s so sad.” Sam had said, when JC showed her the picture. “JC, just let her be and stop poking your nose into other people’s business”. And before JC could react, she quickly took the tablet from his hand and sat on his lap. “Why don’t you mind my business tonight.” She said mischievously as she started to unbutton her shirt. JC felt a little bit of pain in his legs because of her weight, but this pain was worth it. Just as his hands stated to get busy, she noticed that he was a little uncomfortable. So she got up and quietly led him into the bedroom. He obeyed the goddess and hobbled into heaven…
Sam had a habit of smoking after sex. JC, totally spent, lay there on the bed as Sam stood in the balcony. “JC. Is there a future for us?” She said as she looked towards the moonlit sky. JC looked at her and replied “Why do you say that Sam? You know I love you and as long as we love each other, there is a future for us”. “As long as we love each other.” She repeated and continued “You know my parents keep asking me this question”. JC sat up on the bed and took some time to reply. “Sam, you know that I love you right. But for me, this institution called marriage means nothing. A document does not define our relationship. I have already declared to the world that I am yours. And I always will be.” He always got defensive as well as a little aggressive when she talk about their future.
She knew she had hit the nerve again. She decided to diffuse the situation. “Aah. Bahaane… You are just a cheapskate and don’t want to spend money. Atleast get me a nice diamond ring!” He laughed as she walked towards him and then he stopped. “Diamond ring. Engagement ring. Where is the engagement ring!!!” “Exactly… Arrey where are you going?”” she said as she watched him get up in a hurry and hobble out of the bedroom. He came in and sat next to her. He quickly logged into Kabir’s account and went back to the video of him asking Michelle to wave to the people in the train. He paused it right when she waved. “Where is the engagement ring?” he repeated. “Maybe she never…” Sam started but before she could complete the sentence, JC clicked on a photo album from a couple of years ago and showed her the ring. “See. Diamond ring. She always flaunted it. Where is it now?” She looked at him dumbfounded.
Part 6: The inquest
He wasn’t able to sleep the entire night. His mind was thinking of all the possibilities. Maybe Kabir had killed her and taken another lady to Goa with him. And that’s why he didn’t show her face. But why would he do that? A post-mortem would easily determine the time of death and could tie him to the murder. Or maybe it was like that episode of the detective show named Monk, in which the husband sets her wife up in such a way that she dies 2 days after he leaves for a business meeting and it appears like a suicide. But that didn’t make any sense. Kabir didn’t go on a business trip. He went on a trip with someone that appeared to be his wife! JC kept thinking of many other ways Kabir could kill his wife, but every time it just didn’t feel logical. Finally, around 5 a.m. he dozed off.
“Oye, sleeping beauty. Get up. It’s 1 p.m. and I have a meeting to attend.” Sam said as she threw her towel on JC’s face. “Get up, have a bath and have the food I have kept on the stove. Ok? I will be back by 7 p.m. and then we can discuss about this Kabir stuff”. JC nodded as he yawned. “Chal cya. Have a good day” she said and left for the day. JC buried his face in the pillow and dozed off once again. He woke up after some time when his phone started buzzing continuously. It was Sam. She had sent him some 20 Whatsapp images. He yawned again and clicked on the photos. “Photos put up by Michelle on her FB wall some time back!” Sam said in her audio note.
JC looked at them and couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Michelle. She stood there near Aguada fort and on Calangute Beach. Yes, she was a little far away from the camera, but it was undeniably her. And then there were a lot of photos of her in front of various other landmarks in the trademark #FollowMeTo style. Yes, you couldn’t see her face in the #FollowMeTo photos, but then her tattoo showed. Plus, JC had noticed a couple of those dresses on Michelle before. So now he was really confused. He thought about it for a while and then replied to Sam “Could be Photoshopped!”. She appeared to be typing something for a long time. And then she replied with a Smiley that had a Zip on the mouth. She had given up on JC!
JC looked at the photos for a long time. He could not see whether the girl in the photos was wearing an engagement ring. But the more he looked at it, the more it seemed suspicious. Kabir had also put up some photos. But it was only of the locations. Calangute, Aguada, their hotel, the beach, Margao etc etc. Why wasn’t he putting photos of them together? Not a single selfie. Why? And the photos put up by Michelle were either of her standing too far away from the camera or looking away from the camera. He was sure that these photos had been photoshopped. So he did the next best thing he knew. He called up Pushpak.
Pushpak was an old friend from college. He was a tech geek who had sold off 2 apps to Google and had made an insane amount of money. Now, he simply assessed apps of other start-ups and invested in the ones with potential. Ofcourse his intent was to sell them off and make more money. Anyway, he and JC went back a long time. Infact he owed JC one. When they were in college, Pushpak had hacked into a professor’s machine to gain access to an exam paper and was red handed. Just when he was about to get expelled, his charges were mysteriously dropped. He later found out that JC had clicked a photo of this professor in an embarrassing position with one of the other teachers. JC traded those pictures for Pushpak’s immunity. They were the best of friends ever since. So when JC called Pushpak this afternoon to his place, Pushpak could not refuse.
“Dude. I guess that car may have hit you on your head. You have gone absolutely bonkers.” Pushpak said after listening to JC’s story about Michelle and Kabir. “You want me to hack into their phones and find out whether there is anything fishy! Dude, seriously. Please get yourself checked.” JC simply looked at him and said “I know I am crazy. Ok. You don’t have to tell me that. But I am sure there is something wrong here. These photos. Look at them. Don’t you feel they could be photoshopped? Plus what about the ring?” “What about it?” Pushpak reacted, “Dude, people forget their rings. She might have lost it. She might have become too thin and they could have given it for a resizing. You can’t just shout Murder when you don’t see it. You can’t just accuse a person with no criminal background of murder without any evidence”.
JC had had enough “Ey, bhashan dena band kar. You owe me. Take these phone numbers/email accounts and tell me if you find anything suspicious”. “If you have the numbers, why don’t you just call Kabir and ask him if you could speak to Michelle instead. Wouldn’t that be easier?” suggested Pushpak. “What? And make him suspicious? What if he is a murderer! He could come after me or Sam. I can’t do that dude. See, you owe me. I have asked for one favour and it’s extremely easy for you. Please, do it for me. Consider yourself to be a doctor and confirm your diagnosis of me being mad.” Pushpak gave up. He quietly wrote down the numbers and email ids, and said he will call back in a few hours. “Chal, I have a meeting. Got to go.” And with that, Pushpak left. JC lit up a cigarette and thought to himself “Tu Kabir zaroor hai. Par Sant nahi…”
Will release Parts 7 and 8very soon. Do leave your comments and let me know your views.
