Police interview room ka tube light zindagi se zyada sakht tha. Ceiling fan dheere-dheere ghoom raha tha, jaise room khud bhi kisi confession ka intezaar kar raha ho. Inspector Farhan, plain shirt mein, case file khol kar baitha tha. Uske saamne ek metal table, do chairs ek side, ek chair dusri side. Ek tape recorder, ek metal cup, aur ek evidence bag—bas itni si duniya. Aaj ka case simple lag raha tha: ek missing wallet. Kal raat ek private event ke baad Arjun Malhotra ka wallet gayab hua tha. Lekin simple cheezein aksar sabse dangerous hoti hain.
Zoya, hoodie mein, pehle aayi. Guarded, restless, aankhon mein woh smartness jo interrogation room ko insult kar de. Usne seedha kaha ki wallet usne nahi liya, aur agar Farhan ko lagta hai ki woh event staff ki “chhoti si witness” hai, to woh galat room mein aaya hai. Farhan ne calm voice mein uska statement note kiya. Zoya ne bataya ki woh event ke back corridor mein thi, jab usne Meenal ko dekha—formal wear mein, elegant, bilkul composed—Arjun ke office ke paas. Zoya ke hisaab se Meenal hi last person thi jo wallet ke aas-paas thi.
Phir Meenal aayi. Ek scar uske haath par chamak raha tha, jaise us raat ka sabse honest hissa wahi ho. Woh bilkul nahi tooti. Usne bina jhijhak kaha ki Zoya ne hi alibi stage kiya tha. Meenal ke mutabik Zoya ne event ke CCTV blind spot ka use karke Arjun ke wallet ko shift kiya, phir drama create kiya taaki suspicion kisi aur par jaaye. Farhan ne dono ki baatein compare kiं. Dono ek dusre ko liar bol rahi thi, aur dono ke paas itni detail thi ki jhoot aur sach ka difference aur dhundhla ho gaya.
Farhan ne tape recorder on kiya. “Phir se,” usne bola, “time line se.” Zoya ne gusse mein kaha ki 9:10 par lights flicker hui thi, aur usne Meenal ko office door ke paas dekha. Meenal ne turant counter kiya: “9:10? Nahi. Tab main basement corridor mein thi. Zoya ko main 9:25 par dekha, jab woh panic mein thi.” Yeh sun kar room mein ek weird silence aa gaya. Farhan ne pen rok diya. Same night, same event, same wallet—lekin do alag time stamps. Usne dono se aur sawal kiye, aur dheere-dheere samajh aaya ki dono sach bol rahi thi... bas alag timelines mein.
Zoya ne admit kiya ki 9:10 par usne Arjun ko phone par kisi se bahas karte suna tha. Meenal ne kaha ki 9:25 par woh Arjun ke office mein gayi thi, lekin Arjun wahan nahi tha; sirf table par khula drawer aur ek missing wallet ka empty slot tha. Farhan ka suspicion missing wallet se shift hokar murder ki taraf gaya. Arjun raat ke baad se missing tha. Kya wallet ke saath kuch aur bhi gayab hua tha? Ya wallet hi kisi aur cheez ka cover story tha?
Farhan ne evidence bag uthaya aur usme se Arjun ka watch, ek crumpled receipt, aur ek recording slip nikali. Zoya aur Meenal dono ne dekha—receipt par Farhan ke initials the. Dono ne ek saath uski taraf dekha. Farhan ne pehli baar thoda sharp hoke poocha, “Mujhe kyun dekh rahi ho?” Zoya ne turant kaha, “Kyuki yeh aapka handwriting hai.” Meenal ne coldly add kiya, “Aur yeh recording slip bhi aapki file se hai.”
Farhan ka face unreadable raha. Usne tape recorder ko rewind kiya. Speaker se uski hi awaaz aayi—calm, tired, official: “Case note. Time discrepancy observed. Witness statements unreliable. Body to be recovered later.” Room freeze ho gaya. Farhan ne ek aur button dabaya. Next line aayi: “Wallet recovered from evidence bag. Not entered in log.” Zoya ki saans ruk gayi. Meenal ne apne scar wale haath ko dheere se table par rakha, jaise yaad aa gaya ho ki us raat usne kis cheez ko pakda tha.
Twist palat gaya. Wallet missing nahi tha—Farhan ne use evidence bag mein chhupa diya tha, aur notes mein timeline ko deliberately manipulate kiya tha. Arjun Malhotra dead tha, aur Farhan ne “missing wallet” ko cover story banaya tha taaki murder ka asli angle delay ho. Zoya aur Meenal ne ek dusre ko galat samjha, kyunki Farhan ke recorded notes ne unki timelines ko jhoot mein badal diya tha. Jo “third person’s crime” tha, woh koi outsider nahi—unke saamne baitha inspector tha, jo evidence ko truth se pehle edit kar chuka tha.
Farhan ne chair push ki aur khada ho gaya. Fan ki awaaz suddenly loud lagne lagi. Zoya ne tape recorder ki taraf dekha, Meenal ne door ki taraf, aur dono ne ek hi waqt pe samajh liya ki ab interrogation unka nahi, Farhan ka tha. Room mein sirf tube light ka buzz aur recorder ki red light thi. Farhan ne thandi awaaz mein bola, “Ab jo bolna hai, soch samajh ke bolna.”
Lekin is baar, room ne jawab diya—tape recorder ne sab record kar liya tha.
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