Whisper to Me Your Lies , livre ebook

NOVONEEL CHAKRABORTY

WHISPER TO ME YOUR LIES
PENGUIN BOOKS

PENGUIN BOOKS
Contents
Prologue
BOOK 1: LOVE AND SOME CRIME
BOOK 2: CRIME AND SOME LOVE
BOOK 3: OF LOVE AND CRIME
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Follow Penguin
Copyright
PENGUIN METRO READS
WHISPER TO ME YOUR LIES
Novoneel Chakraborty is the prolific author of fifteen bestselling thriller novels, two e-novellas and one bestselling short-story collection, with his works being translated into multiple Indian languages. Almost all his novels have debuted in the top three Nielsen listings across India and have continued to be in the top positions on various bestseller lists for several months after release.
His Forever series made it to the Times of India s Most Stunning Books of 2017 list, while the Stranger trilogy became a phenomenal hit among young adults, with Amazon tagging it, along with his erotic thriller Black Suits You , as their memorable reads of the year. He has sold over 1 million copies and is India s most popular thriller novelist.
His latest releases, Cross Your Heart, Take My Name and Roses Are Blood Red , are still on the top ten lists across India. His twists, dark plots and strong female protagonists have earned him the moniker Sidney Sheldon of India .
The Stranger trilogy, his immensely popular thriller series, has been translated into six Indian languages. The trilogy has also been adapted into a successful web series by Applause Entertainment on MX Player, amassing a whopping 450 million-plus views. His erotic thriller novel Black Suits You has been adapted into a hit web series by ALTBalaji, along with the digital exclusive novella Red Suits You , which is all set to be adapted soon.
Apart from novels, Novoneel has written and developed several hit TV and original web shows for premier channels like MX Player, Sony, Star Plus, Zee and Zee5. He lives and works in Mumbai.
To man s greatest blessing and curse-family
Prologue
Victim Number 27
Gurugram Police Station
Present, 8.45 a.m.
I don t think I ll ever forget what happened.
Ekantika said, still unable to control her shuddering. She had drunk two 750 ml bottles of Bisleri water in the last half an hour and yet her throat felt dry. She d thrown up twice. Her mind was processing everything slowly, zoning in and out of her emotional trance. In fact, the police officer sitting in front of her had to repeat his questions a few times for her to answer.
Ekantika noticed the interrogating officer, Inspector Gagan Babbar, sip his coffee for the first time and then keep it on the table separating them. He folded his arms and looked arrow-straight at her. It was her cue to continue. She glanced at him, then at the lady officer, assistant sub-inspector Preeti Jangra, standing beside him with a register, and continued.
We came out of the movie hall around 11.15 at night.
You mean your live-in partner, Faizaan Ahmad, and you came out of Ambience Mall, Gurugram? Inspector Gagan asked. A crime had happened. Thus, everything had to be specific. The movie tickets were already taken from the deceased s wallet. The information on them and what Ekantika had told them were correct, Preeti noted.
Ekantika only nodded as a response to Gagan. It wasn t difficult to gauge her emotions. For both Gagan and Preeti, everything they noticed in her at that point in time was normal, obvious.
No nods. You have to speak up, Gagan said.
Yes. We came out of Ambience Mall around 11.15. He was feeling a little emotional because of how the film ended. He is . . . She checked herself and then, swallowing a lump, said, He was an emotional person. That s one of the things I liked about him. Something which is so rare in men.
Ekantika went into a thoughtful trance. Gagan lifted his cup and took another sip. He put it on the table with a thud so her trance broke.
I m sorry, She said and continued, He wanted to let off some steam so first we walked till the car park, then drove out of the mall premises only to park right outside. We smoked there. He felt better. We got a little intimate as well.
How little?
We kissed. Smooched actually. Not a horny smooch. Simple, emotional. Then we were on our way. I put on some music and we enjoyed the drive till we reached our society complex.
Preeti made a note to ask the forensics team if they had found Ekantika s saliva match in Faizaan s mouth.
Did you see any car or bike following you? Gagan asked.
None that I m aware of. There were hardly any vehicles on the road at that time.
Even the CCTVs on the road have captured the same. Hardly any vehicles, Gagan thought.
We reached our society within twenty minutes or so. In between my mother had called to check if I was home.
Your mother s name, please? Preeti asked.
Charulata Pakrashi.
She calls you every night at the same time or was it only tonight . . .
Generally, she calls me around ten at night, but I had told her I would be at the movies till 11.15.
She knows you lived-in? Gagan interjected.
No.
Why not?
My mother does not understand the concept. You can say she is old-fashioned, and a little too concerned about me all the time. Especially because this is an alien city. Ekantika gulped some water.
Please continue, Gagan said.
It was a short call. As we drove in, the guards opened the main gate of the society. The usual drill, whenever we came from outside, was that Faizaan dropped me by our wing while he went to park the car. The same happened last night. He dropped me right outside our wing. I told him to be quick as I wanted to answer nature s call. He gave me the flat keys and asked me to go right ahead. That he would park and come. I took the keys from him and rushed into the wing. I went up in the elevator to our fourteenth-floor flat.
The elevator CCTV capture had her getting inside the elevator. She was in it till the fourteenth floor and then got out , Gagan thought.
Once I was in the flat, I rushed to the washroom. I relieved myself in two-three minutes and came out, changed and was waiting for Faizaan. He didn t come. I called him twice on his phone but he didn t answer.
Her phone log showed the two calls as well as the one with her mother , Preeti made a mental note.
There was a momentary eye lock between Gagan and Preeti after which Ekantika continued, Then I immediately WhatsApped him. The message was delivered but wasn t read. Obviously I sensed something wasn t right. On a hunch, I picked up the flat keys and went down. I was heading to the parking when I saw a person moving out from the other side. I didn t care much and continued to head towards our car which, I found, was neatly parked where it s always parked. But Faizaan was nowhere to be seen. I called him on his phone again. Though the call was ringing at his end, I heard nothing. As I went closer, I noticed a flash of light from within the car. I inched closer, and realized his phone was ringing inside. In its dim light, I saw Faizaan sitting on the driver s seat like a dead duck.
There was silence. Inspector Gagan Babbar could see she had choked on the last words. Ekantika gulped a little more water from the Bisleri bottle beside her. A quiet minute later, she said, I tried to open the car s door in panic but it was locked from the inside. That s exactly when I dialed 100.
Gagan finished his coffee by the time she was done talking.
We are awaiting the viscera report but the initial post-mortem report says . . . Gagan paused and said, . . . that it is death by asphyxiation. The deceased, Faizaan Ahmad, had been made to inhale chloroform first. And then a 3.3-inch-long piece of cello-tape was neatly stuck to block his nostrils and 6 inches of cello-tape was used to block his mouth in a way that he couldn t breathe.
He stood up, adjusted his trousers a bit so they went atop his bulging belly line and said, With what we have got right now, we can say it resembles the work of the cello-tape serial killer of the nineties to a T.
Ekantika looked up at him in anticipation.
The cello-tape serial killer? She sounded as if she couldn t connect the two.
The most baffling and neat serial killings that India has ever seen but could never solve. Our own Zodiac killer kind.
Ekantika swallowed a lump, trying to understand the gravity of the situation. Her boyfriend was murdered by a serial killer ? They could see the fear scribbled on her face.
Not that I want to scare you, Gagan continued, but we found out something which tells me that the target of the cello-tape killer wasn t your boyfriend. A pause later, he added, It was probably you.
For a moment, everything went black for Ekantika.
BOOK 1: LOVE AND SOME CRIME
1
Ekantika s audio statement to the Haryana Police
I t started with his need for sexorcism . Honestly, I didn t know what that word meant when I heard it for the first time from Faizaan. He told me later that sexorcism means having sex with random people to exorcise their ex from their system. I never understood how an emotionally embossed ex could be removed with sexual promiscuity. It s like changing the interiors of a place in an attempt to forget the memories you had of that place. And why remove anyone? I would rather keep everyone-good, bad and ugly-within me. As much as their leaving me made me, my keeping them within me will also shape my personality in perhaps a stronger way. Anyway, I never had any ex, so forget that. I don t know why I said it. When I close my eyes to think where I should begin, this moment came to me first so I just blurted it out. Let me now begin from the beginning.
2019. It had been a year since I had come to New Delhi after my graduation in Economics (Hons) from Baruipur College in West Bengal. Shifting here was more scary for my mother than me. This was the first time I had to move out of Baruipur because of my UPSC aspirations. A little personal research told me that enrolling at a coaching institute in New Delhi would help me