In the fog

COVER STORY

Episode 2

"We should make dua for Rauf,’ Sadiq Chacha said, lifting his hands. Amir did the same. Sadiq Chacha made a brief but beautiful dua.

‘Ameen,’ Sadiq Chacha finished, pressing his hands over his face.

‘Ameen,’ Amir muttered.

‘His children must be devastated,’ Sadiq Chacha commented after a pause.

‘They don’t know yet. The connections are still down. This snow has blocked us from everyone.’ Sadiq Chacha stomped his cane angrily on the ground. ‘It couldn’t have been at a worse time. A murderer roaming in the neighbourhood, killing people left and right, and here we are stuck without electricity and connections.’

The heavy snowfall and blizzard the past month had cut off the telephone and electricity connections; the wiring was down and it still hadn’t been fixed. The snowfall and landslides had blocked access to roads and the nearest town. Harsh weather had made it impossible and dangerous to travel or seek help. They were isolated totally. Trapped. Trapped with a deranged serial killer on the loose.

It was like being caught in a deadly snare. Amir could clearly imagine the gravity of their current situation. They were helpless like a fly caught in a spider’s web, the predator slowly crawling towards them, killing them off one by one. Nothing like this had ever happened in their peaceful neighbourhood before. They had been quiet and happy people living their lives till the murders started. It was like a stone had been dropped in clear, calm water and ripples were spreading. A drop of ink, spreading like poison, in a glass of water.

Sadiq Chacha leaned forward and patted Amir on the wrist, he jerked his hand away.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled. ‘I was thinking.’

The sudden sensation of being pulled away from his dark thoughts sent a shiver down his spine.

‘It’s all right, son.’ Sadiq Chacha said sympathetically, his eyes understanding. ‘You should go back. I am sure your wife and sister must be worrying about you.’ He sighed ‘I can’t believe times like this have now come upon us.’

‘No, Chacha, we shouldn’t lose hope or become frightened. This is exactly what the killer wants. He wants us to feel vulnerable and exposed. Small and weak. But we must stay together and remain clear headed.’

‘You are right of course, Amir. But why and who is doing this?’

‘That’s what I would like to know. Don’t worry

Chacha, inshaAllah I will find whoever is behind all this, and he will face the dire consequences of his actions.’

Sadiq Chacha looked nervously around as if afraid someone might be listening. ‘Beta, just be careful. He wouldn’t want you to find him. I wish the snow would stop and someone can come up here to clear the roads, and fix the power lines,’ he looked around his hut solemnly. ‘We won’t survive if the weather remains like this. And, you need to be more alert, Amir.’

Sadiq Chacha stopped to catch his breath. ‘I wish I could ask you to stop hunting the killer and risking your family’s safety, but it’s futile. You won’t listen, will you? Even to your elders?’ his tone held a bitter edge that Amir ignored.

‘Chacha jee,’ he said earnestly, ‘someone has to do this. Someone has to step up and take control. The police and the town’s people can’t help us right now. I have firm belief and faith in Allah that He will protect my family and make this easy for me.’ He changed the subject. ‘Speaking of safety, you should come and stay at our house for a while till all this clears up. We have a spare room ready for you. You should grab whatever you need and we can-’

Sadiq Chacha cut him off by raising a hand. ‘No, Amir Beta. I am fine here. I don’t want to be a burden on you. What would a killer want with an old man like me, anyway?’

Amir frowned. He thought Sadiq Chacha would readily accept his offer, especially given the circumstances. ‘No, no, Chacha. It would be no trouble at all.’ But despite Amir’s insistence, Sadiq Chacha refused. Amir didn’t know what else he could do to persuade him, so finally he relented.

‘Fine, Chacha jee, it’s your choice but my offer still stands.’ Amir huffed in annoyance and defeat. It was strange that the old man was not willing to leave his cabin and stay at Amir’s house. Each time he had refused he had avoided looking at Amir in the eye.

Remembering a snippet of their conversation, Amir took out a notebook from his coat’s pocket. It was a small leather-bound book, half of the pages filled with Amir’s elegant handwriting and his sister’s sketches slotted in between the pages.

‘You mentioned talking to Rauf a few days ago. When was the last time you saw him and spoke to him?’ Amir had his pen poised over the blank page.

‘He came over here three days ago,’ Sadiq Chacha said, pointing a finger to encompass the room.

‘His purpose?’ Amir asked swiftly.

‘He dropped by to check on me, said it had been a while since he visited me. Also, he wanted cough medicine which I think was the real reason for his visit.’

‘Hmm … was Raju with him?’

‘Oh yes, Raju comes to drop off firewood once every week ever since my back pains and spasms started; otherwise, I would have done it myself.’ Sadiq Chacha scowled. ‘The joint pain has lessened a bit, but still makes it hard to get up and walk around and I think my eyesight is also getting bad.’

‘I will get you a pair of glasses when the roads open up, but describe that day to me in detail.’ Amir said, glancing at the small clock placed on the mantle. It was 11:45 AM.

‘Yes, yes, I am getting there.’ Sadiq Chacha grumbled. ‘That day was no different. I woke up, made breakfast.’ Amir noted down the exact details and time for each one. ‘So, by 9:00 AM I was cutting up roots, crushing berries and boiling leaves to make paste. I was just letting the flower petals dry in the basket when I heard Raju calling my name and knocking at the door.’

‘I opened the door, and was surprised to see Rauf standing behind him. He greeted me. Raju had a bundle of branches under one arm and a pile of logs on a sled. I asked the boy to put the firewood where he usually did and bring the branches inside. In the meantime, I offered chai to Rauf, which he refused. He said he had only stopped by for a quick visit, and he asked Raju to wait outside for him.’

Raju was Rauf’s servant. The boy had been around 16 or 17 years old and he was tasked with delivering firewood around the neighbourhood in winters. As it happened, Rauf owned a large furniture company and had a successful wood business. He provided firewood to the people living in the neighbourhood of Shadbad as well as the nearest town, Perbai. Of course, for a price, but this winter he had decided to provide it free of cost to the trapped residents of Shadbad. Rauf earned quite a good profit from his woodworks which was clear from the lavish design of his large house and his fine clothes.

‘What was he wearing?’ Amir asked.

Sadiq Chacha frowned, trying to recall. ‘He was dressed in a long brown overcoat with matching boots. Grey wool cap, gloves and a muffler. All good quality.’

‘What did you talk about?’

‘I asked him how his family was and if everything was fine at home. He said it was as fine as anything could be in this weather.

‘We discussed the weather, the blockade and our sorry conditions. He complained that all this snowfall was causing his business to suffer. He gave a sarcastic laugh ‘It seems while everyone is complaining and shivering about the cold. Zain Sahab is actually enjoying it’. I was a bit confused, Rauf always had a strange sense of humour so I asked ‘Enjoying, how?’ He said he had seen Zain walking around the neighbourhood.’

Sadiq Chacha paused to catch his breath. ‘Further said ‘I suppose since Zain mian is from Islamabad and before that he was in Africa, so he really is amazed at so much snow. Poor boy, I told him he would freeze to death if he didn’t get inside but he only smiled. I think he didn’t understand me-’

‘Zain understands Urdu fine, he even speaks it well,’ Amir interjected.

Sadiq Chacha nodded absently. ‘I suppose he is regretting coming to Shadbad for his winter vacation. Now he’s stuck here and there is a killer running around.’

‘Is that all Rauf said about Zain?’ Amir inquired, flicking the notebook’s pages.

‘Yes, I think so. He said he saw Zain wandering around in the streets. He and I both laughed saying it was probably the first time the city boy saw real snow. Sadiq Chacha’s tone was weary, his eyes seemed tired as if the sudden news had aged him a decade and recalling a dead man’s memories wasn’t helping.

‘Rauf didn’t act in any unusual manner or acted strange? He was behaving and speaking as he normally did?’

Sadiq Chacha nodded ‘Yes it was the same old Rauf all right. Healthy and alive at that time and a few days later you get the news he’s dead. Killed.’

‘Nothing else?’

‘Well, that’s all I remember about the conversation. It was idle chatter, nothing important or meaningful. Rauf mentioned his wife’s cough and his own allergies getting worse and asked for some herbal tea or powder. I gave it to him and he didn’t stay long after that.’

Amir noted Sadiq Chacha’s sour mood and decided to wrap up his questions. ‘Thanks, Chacha.’ He tucked the notebook and the pen in his pocket and got up. ‘I will visit again soon. Let me know if you remember anything else, even a small detail which may seem unimportant.’ He was just about to leave when he turned around, ‘It will be safer for you to stay with us.’

The old man gave an irritated grunt. ‘Beta, I am fine here. I keep the door and window locked at all times. I don’t have the strength to walk in the cold snow all the way down to your house.’ He slowly got up using his cane and tapped over to his work table. ‘Besides, I am a hakeem - or used to be - till this snow buried everything. But I still have stored and dried items to work with.’ He took a clean glass jar unscrewed its top and poured thick oily substance into it from a black tinted bottle. He then grabbed a small plastic container and started filling it with dry leaves and herbs. ‘Here, Beta, some herbal tea, to soothe sour throat and help with fever. And this oil is for stuffy nose.’

‘Thank you, Chacha. Sara has recovered a lot but still has flu and cough.’

Sadiq Chacha gave Amir a few more items and instructions. Amir picked up the small glass jar with a rose design. It smelled strongly of tree tea oil. He placed it in a basket with rest of the items. This time when Amir turned to leave, he didn’t press Sadiq Chacha to change his mind; instead, he bid him farewell and left.

He didn’t hear Sadiq Chacha’s hollow laugh when the door shut behind him.