The Case of the Missing Machete

The rain is relentless. I hear it thrumming on the metal roof of the garage outside and running down the broken pipe into the mud. I moisten my cracked lips with my tongue. I wonder if they’ll bring me food. I wonder if they’re coming at all. What is taking them so long? They should have been here by now. I have to get out of here. Everything about this humid room was making me sick. The staunch smell of blood, like that of a slaughterhouse, is nauseating me.

And my stomach! It just won't stop lurching. With each passing moment, it aches all the more. The bile keeps rising through the chest. At present, I can even taste it at the back of my mouth. Suddenly thunder rolled overhead like the fury of the gods, startling me, and with a jerk, I threw up a warm, clouded, cream coloured liquid on the bloodied floor. 

I am hungry and also scared as hell. A mere one feet away from me, my brother is lying lifeless on the tiles in a pool of already congealing blood, his unseeing eyes wide with the shock of the final moment. It is so surprising that the same persons who may have meant the world to you, their cold, dead body become such a distant thing, so frightening. 

Looking at the blood-stained machete lying beside him, a sense of guilt overwhelms me. I know what I did is wrong. But, I had no other option. I was trying to save myself. It was an accident. Hope the police will understand. After all, I have, myself called them up to confess about murdering my brother. 

             ******

The rain was pouring incessantly on that day. The police station was relatively empty. A call came on the landline phone and Inspector Ayan himself answered the call.

“Hello, police station?” A meek voice asked from the other side. 

As soon as a yes was uttered, the caller recited in a flow,

“I am Victor. I killed my brother James last night. But, believe me, it was an accident. All in self-defence. I waited for a few hours to see if James regains his sense, but now I am sure he is dead.

As a dutiful citizen, I know I must inform the police. So I am calling you. Please come at the address, 52 Robin street. I am waiting with the corpse of my brother. 

Oh, and please bring some food and water. I am starved. Haven't eaten for many hours. I would have gone out to get the food. But, can't just leave behind my brother's body unattended. Please come soon. The address is 52 Robin street. I repeat 52, Robin street. It is easy to spot. Adjacent to the gigantic mahogany tree.” And disconnected the call. 

At first, Ayan thought it was a prank call. Even the sub-inspector, Bhonsle joked,

“Have you seen the weather outside, sir? The food deliveries have also stopped their service, citing weather hazard. Some kid must be trying to trick you to get some food delivered at his doorstep.”

The others also joined in the laugh. 

 But, there was something in the apparent incoherent words of the caller that alerted Ayan's police instinct. He took out the jeep and headed for the mentioned address. Bhonsle somewhat reluctantly tagged along.

The caller was right. The house, actually a mansion, was easy to spot. It did not take more than two rings for the front door to open. And Ayan and Bhonsle were greeted by a dishevelled young man with a heavily bandaged hand.

“Thank you for coming. I was worried that you are not coming at all.” 

The calm demeanour of the person was in stark contrast to what was waiting for the visitors inside.

“I am Victor. I only called you. I know I should have called you earlier. But I was terribly shaken by the turn of events. I'm sure you would understand.” 

He kept on talking while guiding the two policemen towards the basement. But, before entering he abruptly stopped and turned, “Did you bring any food?” 

As if that was the password to enter the den. Ayan had almost forgotten the food part. He was in a fix when Bhonsle came to rescue and handed him a packet of cake from his pocket. He must have saved it to fight his sudden midnight food craves which came handy now. 

Beaming with glee, Victor took the pack and immediately started eating. He seemed to forget about the murder thing completely. 

Bhonsle gave an impatient look at Ayan from the corner of his eyes.

Ayan cleared his throat and asked, “The dead body, Mr Victor?”

With a mouthful of cake, he just nodded and opened the door of the basement and the policemen immediately wrinkled their noses in disgust... the blood, the corpse and the vomit have intermingled into a deadly stench.

And there was lying not one, but two dead bodies in a pool of blood. 

               ********

I confessed everything to the police. I knew what James would have said if he was alive. 

“Families must protect each other’s secrets.”

But he was no more. And I had no family anymore. I never wanted to kill him. But, if he lived I would have to die. 

I shared all the details with the kind officers. How the girl was tricked into the basement, how she was murdered and how I chanced upon the whole incident which unsettled him and how he tried to attack me with a machete in a fit of rage. The girl was writhing in pain in another corner. I was split between tackling him and attending the dying girl. Taking advantage of my hesitancy he struck me with the sharp edge. And in the mayhem, I took a hammer which was lying on the floor and hit him. Only to save myself. My hand in the meantime was terribly injured and I soon fainted, unable to withstand the pain. When I regained my senses, both of them had died.

The officers noted down everything with patience. The police are actually nice people. Though I can not say the same for the dingy cell I am staying. But, they have assured me if I co-operate I would be freed soon. They are so kind to even hide my face and identity from the media to ascertain a safer future for me. 

They even brought some doctor to check me. A therapist actually. She is also a nice lady. Beautiful too. I told her about the other therapist, James used to visit. He had some anger issues. 

The police said this was not the first murder of James. They got evidence from the basement and his bedroom about his other victims. I only told them about James's bedroom which was under lock and key always. After some investigation the police ascertained, he was the missing machete killer they were searching for a long time. He used to befriend young girls, take them to some secluded place or the building basement and kill them. Then he would dispose of the bodies after collecting some souvenir from each victim. Some hair, some nails, some fingers. He used to preserve them like trophies in our storeroom which I never frequented. Now I understand why he used to get so angry whenever I tried to trespass into his room. It was connected to the storeroom and was otherwise locked when James was not around.

As I listened to all these I knew I had failed as an elder brother, to protect him, to take care of him and to keep him sane. And a sense of remorse was engulfing me. 

            ******

Three months have gone since the arrest of Victor. With his cooperation, the investigation of the serial killing of young girls with a machete was completed successfully. The police were ready with all their findings to be presented at the court. The two brothers were almost similar looking. But, nature wise opposite to each other. Victor stood apart with his good behaviour and a brown birthmark on his face.

All the statements of the neighbours and the office colleagues confirmed the fact that James had been a troubled soul for a long time. He was even referred to some therapist to cope up with his anger management. Victor, on the other hand, was usually the quiet one, who kept to himself. He never had many friends nor he was much social. A freelancer by profession, he was James's only family after the sudden death of their parents, a few years ago. 

The trial went smoothly and Victor was pardoned for the accidental murder of his brother.

The missing machete case was also closed simultaneously to the much relief of the police department.

               *******

It was a few months after the much-hyped case and he was at a party hosted by a friend, Krish. But, he never liked the crowd. So he was standing alone in the balcony. Lost in recalling the recent incident he lit a cigarette. The benignant smoke eddied coolly down his throat as he inhaled; he puffed it out in rings which breasted the air for a moment; blue, circular at first, then began to wobble into hour-glass shapes and tapered away; odd shapes they take, he thought, just like the odd events of that fateful evening.  

The weird phone call, which was almost discarded as a practical joke, helped him to solve the biggest case of his life. But, something still felt amiss. 

“Hi, you are Inspector Ayan, right?”

The sudden voice broke his reverie. 

Turning around, Ayan faced an unfamiliar face. 

“You won't know me. My name is Jaya. I am Krish's college friend. He only told me about you. I wanted to thank you personally.”

“Thank me?” Ayan looked puzzled.

“Yes, thank you for helping the murderer of the machete killer to get justice. He has done a great service to society by getting rid of that devil. My best friend, my bestie, Rita, she was one of the victims...” Jaya's voice was choked with emotion.

“Oh, I am so sorry. Yes, I do remember the name, Rita. She was murdered beside a lake. One of his first victims.”

“Yes, Rita told me about him, when she started dating. I was away from the country when she met this guy and she won't stop praising the beguiler over the phone. But, I was apprehensive about the guy from the very beginning. Tell me who these days would not have any presence in social media or refuse to click any picture together! I immediately knew something was off. But, as they say, love is blind and he seemed to be a real charmer.”

“ So apart from being a social media avert, your friend never felt anything else was awry about her boyfriend?” Ayan couldn’t help asking.

“ You bet, she was swayed by his charisma. She had no clue. Only recently I found a picture of him, taken slyly and saved on her laptop. I know she must've retained it to share with me, but, never got a chance.”

“You had the killer's photo and yet never shared with police?” Ayan was furious at this carelessness.

“Oh no! Only a few days back when I returned to India, I went to visit her parents. Going through her laptop, I discovered the picture. The photo was there in a hidden folder.” Then with a wink added, “You know those folders with some explicit videos and those. It was just between us.” 

As an afterthought, she added, “On returning when I heard that the culprit was finished, my joy knew no bound. Yet I downloaded the bustard’s picture on my mobile. Just in case.”

Out of curiosity, Ayan took the phone. How this dreaded assassin presented himself in front of his victims aroused his interest. He took the phone in and zoomed on the face and his world came shattering down. The picture was shabbily clicked and the side face did look like that of James, except for the brown birthmark glaring at the observer's face.

Victor! Was all Ayan could manage to pronounce.

            ********

It was so easy. James had been always the foolish one. A naive one. And blind in his affection for me. I would not have killed him, but, he was hell-bent on handing me over to the police. Why should I go to jail? These girls asked for it. I made no mistake. I would never go to a secluded place if someone professes her love for me. I had always been the intelligent one. Mummy, Papa never believed that. They were always favouring James, coaxing me to visit therapists. I never visited them and sent James on my behalf. He listened to all my commands. I felt really bad while striking him. But, he left me no choice. And plotting the evidence against him was easy-peasy. He was already known in the neighbourhood for his bad temper as he lost his cool trying to shield my wrongdoings from society, since our teen days. And the police also believed all my words! Once freed, selling off the mansion was only a matter of time. Now, here I am enjoying my peaceful life in the countryside of Europe. I have a date tonight. Girls are fools all over the world, I guess.  

              ----x---