The press meet was very short but was highly publicized. It reached Sashi at the right time.
He had been pondering on what Mitra had told him the night before about luring him into a planned trap.
Sure, no one had intervened when he crept up on Mitra and subdued her the night of her kidnap. If it was indeed a trap, someone should have caught him when he walked in on the bait. At least when he was hurting her, someone should have stopped him.
That wasn't all. If it was really a trap, why would the police and Mitra's boyfriend run around in panic, inquiring the neighbourhood people about the incident and try to find her? Shouldn't they have followed him or tracked his location somehow?
Maybe, they had been late on the night of the incident; held up somewhere or obstructed on their way to aid Mitra during their stake-out. They would have lost contact with her in the process and Sashi had gotten the upper hand due to their delay.
Or maybe, they were waiting to catch him in the act: when he is about to fatally harm her, after he has admitted all of his crimes to her. Maybe they were all just feigning ignorance of Mitra's location and putting on a show to mislead him. Maybe that's why Mitra was so fixated on knowing about the woman she had witnessed being abducted; to get his confession and all other relevant details.
Maybe... maybe it is all really a trap like Mitra said.
Intense paranoia sneaked in on him, the darkness of doubts engulfing his mind like a wildfire and all the thoughts it processed.
Every action and word of Mitra so far started pointing towards a foul play to nab him.
It started happening to him again: the lines between reality and his suspicions, between the truth and his fear, all getting blurred.
What if Mitra is just bluffing?
No, she had attacked him, as if she was fully aware that he was following her. She had tried to catch him with all her might. She had been waiting for him to show up.
What if the others are actually not aware of our location or my identity and it is just Mitra's delusion that someone would come to catch him and save her?
Who or what would guarantee it? He doesn't have any intel on what is happening in the circles of the SIT and the people who are investigating the case. They could very well be displaying a perfectly crafted show to fool him.
The tomatoes and spinach he was cooking for dinner burnt to an inedible condition as he stood in a trance in the kitchen with all the conflicting thoughts and uneasiness running through his brain. As the smoke from the burnt vessel and the toxic smell of the charred food filled the kitchen, he inhaled it in his absent minded state. A fit of cough brought him back to his senses and he hurriedly turned the stove off.
Mitra's food is burnt. Wonder if she is hungry. Maybe she is inwardly elated to have cornered me. Should I teach her a lesson? No. It is Mitra. I can't hurt her. I shouldn't hurt her.
She shouldn't be hurt. She just doesn't know me yet. If she knows who I am, she would regret trying to trap me.
Thoughts kept running wild in his dishevelled mind.
The press meet video replayed in his head.
Amidst the snaps of shuttering cameras, the police had declared, "We have set up a Special Investigation Team to catch the criminal behind the abduction. We cannot say yet if he is a serial offender. Please do not spread any baseless rumours or speculations. Kindly give the victim's family some privacy and do not interfere with the proceedings. We will keep updating you on the progress of the case. We are sure the criminal is monitoring the situation as well. This message is for him. Surrender yourself while you still havethe chance. We are putting out a manhunt for you and if you get caught, it would be a very unfavourable situation for you. Surrendering would be for your own good."
The DSP had given the case briefing. Mitra's boyfriend was also visible in the video frame, standing to the side, looking at the cameras with a stern gaze, as if he was looking at the criminal they were talking about. As if he was looking directly at Sashi to warn him.
They were either searching for her or putting up a show.
Sashi ran to his bedroom and looked at the computer screen at his study table. The CCTV coverage of Mitra's room was running just as he had set it up.
Mitra was sitting on her bed, staring blankly at the wall ahead of her. She wasn't doing anything. She wasn't smiling.
Well, she had been anxious ever since she had been brought to his shack. What was she anxious about? Her safety due to the unexpected abduction or the anticipation of success of her and her team's well laid out plan to catch him?
He needed to get an answer as soon as possible.