THE GALIANT TRIO!

Charu was informed her grandmother was seriously ill. It has been six months since Charu started her studies at NYU Law School, which she had joined amidst many refusals and objections.

She took the immediate next flight from New York to her native place Fort Kochi and landed at Cochin International Airport.

Charu never liked her life at Fort Kochi. The old home, the ancient traditions, and the old lifestyle. She lost her mother when she was 12 and it was her grandmother who raised her. Her father, Mr. Mani Oomen, was a carpet exporter. He has two stores at Fort Kochi and one at Ernakulam. When Charu disclosed her interest to study law, he refused her decision outright. And now she is going back to the same place. Her mind was full of thoughts and she was in no mood to think about anything else except her return date from India.

From the airport, she took a self-driven taxi and drove to Fort Kochi, 20 k.m. away from the airport. It was 7 p.m. and the lights were all lit. She directly went to her grandmother's room and saw her, there were many machines attached to her. There was a nurse beside grandmother's bed. Charu went to her room and slept soon, as she was exhausted.

The next morning, she took a stroll to David Hall Road. The weather was breezy and the birds were chirping good. On David Hall Road, she saw the library open. There was a bookstore attached to the library.

'Old books for sale. Rs. 250 per KG,’ a board declared before the gate. She grinned. An avid reader that she was and since had nothing to do, she went inside the store. She picked seven books, paid for them at the counter, and headed home.

The maid gave her a cup of coffee. Sipping her coffee, she started checking the books. The fifth book's cover intrigued her. It was a beautiful abstract painting of a woman with no eyes but had tears, nose, and lips.

She skimmed through the pages. On page 67 there was a polaroid photograph of an old villa. She took out the photo and examined it. On its backside, there was an alpha-numeric code written with a small map that showed directions to the villa. The code read: MV02FK09. The map had a starting point at 'Hotel AB*** and extended till the villa. The endpoint was a drawing of the villa that read ‘Home.’

Charu finally found a reason to stay at Fort Kochi. She was a keen reader of Sherlock Holmes and got an adrenaline rush. She thought about what the code could mean and what the map could possibly indicate and what she should do to unravel the mystery. Questions started booming but she could espy that something thrilling and exciting was in store for her. She thought she should head back to the library where she got the book from to possibly gather more clues.

"Be right back, Granny! Take care, will be home soon," said Charu as she scuttled for the library with a wry smile but she could also sense peril but that didn't provide a reason for her to cease and step back from what seemed to be a thriller of an itinerary to the dauntless lady.

Charu reached the library and started walking swiftly across the aisle to find shelf 7 from where she got her hands on the mysterious book. She was about to enter the aisle when suddenly she was taken aback and trodded back. She had seen a tall and sturdy man wearing a cloak but his face wasn't visible. He seemed to be searching for something and he seemed restless. Charu had made out that he was searching for the book she had borrowed an hour prior. "I guess you are searching for this," she said holding the book and mustering up the courage. 

She tried acting astutely but inside she was petrified. The man turned back and both let out, "You? Here? How?" The peculiar man was Anil Singh, Head of the Police in Fort Kochi, and was a companion of Charu's father. Both were astonished to see each other in such an odd manner. Charu now breathed easy.

Anil began asking the questions.

"Charu? What are you doing here? You were in New York, right? Leave that, how did you find this book? Who told you?"

"Anil uncle, granny has fallen ill and dad called me over. I arrived yesterday. This morning I came to the library in search of something good to read. That is when my eyes fell upon this and I took it home to read. You won't believe what's in it!"

"Oh! Well, I will come to that later. Will you first tell me where the hell is Mani? I am worried for your father."

"Is everything ok? Speaking of dad, I haven't actually haven't seen him since I arrived. I have lost contact with him since he refused and condemned me from going to New York and pursue my studies in Law."

"This is absolutely not done, Charu! He is your dad after all. Well, Mani sent me a voice message which said that he had left a book for me in this library at shelf 7. He sounded perturbed and was short of breath. He also mentioned that he was in peril."

"What? He's in trouble?"

"Mind your voice little girl. Let's head out, this isn't the place where we should stay any longer."

Anil and flustered Charu reached the Bonatic Heaven Garden which was a few minutes distance from the library and was desolated. Anil was now assured that something is definitely erroneous. "Mani, your father, since the past 7 to 8 months has seemed so unlike him. He once mentioned that he will always allow you to study wherever you want but when he denied I sensed distress in him but ignored the fact," Anil recollected and Charu had completely broken from inside after hearing this. "Let's get over this now and cogitate how the map and the code can help us," said Anil.

Anil scrutinized the code and raised his eyebrows curiously. Charu on the other handheld the map, turned it upside down, right and left in desperation. After a few mins, Charu all of a sudden sprang in delight and let out a loud cheer. Anil questioned what happened abruptly. Charu answered, " I have cracked the code, uncle. MV stands for Maheshwari Vatika. 02F means the second floor. K09 must probably be the room number on the second floor. Moreover, Maheshwari Vatika is a venture of Hotels 'ABC Hotels' as mentioned on the map. From there we can navigate the villa as shown in the map."

Anil looked delighted and lauded Charu by patting her on the back. They made their way to Anil's car and left for Hotel Maheshwari Vatika.

Anil and Charu drove to the hotel and were getting closer to elucidate the conundrum and find Charu's father. They reached the hotel in twenty-five mins, Anil asked Charu to stay in the car and let him maneuver the situation. Anil reached the hotel reception and enquired the receptionist, " I am planning to book a suite for my family this weekend. Could you help me?"

"The suites are on the 3rd floor, have brilliant service accompanied by delicious food, and have varied pricing," replied the receptionist.

Ok! I will check it out. The hotel is magnificent by the way," acknowledged Anil.

"Yes sir, we have a 4 floor hotel with floor 2 being the staff property, floor 3 for suites and has a brilliant restaurant and floor 4 has an auditorium and a swimming pool," added the receptionist.

"Ok! I will check in on Saturday. Thanks!" said Anil as he left for the car.

Anil through his clever and sagacious ways got the information he needed and returned to the car and told Charu about what was there on the 2nd floor. He suggested that instead of exploring the hotel they should head to the villa shown on the map so as to gather proofs and then raid the hotel which is a public place.

They followed the map to navigate the villa. They after a laborious search of half an hour found the villa which appeared old and inhabited by the looks. It was a formidable villa and by no looks seemed to be wanted and to be lived in. There was nothing in the vicinity. Outside the villa, there was a nameplate which read 'Home'. Anil audaciously marched forward and Charu stayed outside. Anil took out his gun and entered the villa. The entire vicinity witnessed tranquility. Charu started feeling obnoxious. Anil came outside after five minutes and summoned Charu inside and asked her to fetch water from the car. Charu took short steps and reached the doorstep and hugged Anil who understood what the destitute girl was going through.

They went inside, there were spider webs all over the ceiling. Boxes lying in a mess on the floor. Dust was everywhere which made Charu pull out her handkerchief. Charu followed Anil who stopped beside Mani who was lying unconscious. Drops of helplessness rolled down Charu's cheeks as she saw her father lying in a harrowing state. Charu sprinkled water and Mani came to his senses after a couple of minutes. "Charu, my love, you came? How's granny? Anil, I knew you would come," said Mani in despair as he tried to sit upright on the adjacent chair. Anil and Charu explained to him that everything was ok. They both enquired that what was going on. 

"It all commenced eight months prior when I received a letter from an unknown entity which said that I will have to help them in transporting drugs, illegal possessions, and money via my trade and carpet business from Fort Kochi to Ernakulam. Darling, will you pass me some water? " asked Mani who recited his story and the grief he had been going through the past months.

Charu passed him water and helped him drink it. "They found this an unsuspecting and unchallenging way to carry their illicit activities. I initially ignored it. That is what I regret. A week later they sent pictures of you and granny in the school and garden and intimidated me that they would torment you if I denied. Charu, remember you faced an accident some time back, they were behind this and told me that this is just a warning. They are the ones responsible for granny's fatal condition now. The time you also desired to go to New York to pursue studies in law. That time I didn't wanna lose you after I lost your mom too earlier. I wanted you to be before my eyes," continued Mani with tears in his eyes. Charu hugged him and apologized for the misunderstanding and sought his forgiveness. "Sorry Anil, I couldn't tell you, I had now come too far and couldn't risk losing my family. But last week, I got to know confidential information about their fundings, whereabouts, and who all were involved in that. I also got to know that they were conducting meetings and hid illegal possessions in the hotel in room K09. They got to know this and I was on the run and called you to see the condition worsening and to take care of granny. Thank you, Anil for safeguarding Charu, the apple of my eye. Yesterday before they could get to me I hid all the information in that book in the library so that you can unravel the scandal if something happened to me," Mani said.

The scandal was exposed with the help of Anil, Mani, and Charu. Anil headed the team that conducted an investigation that involved many influential leaders and landlords. They were put behind the bars. The rift between Mani and Charu cleared away and Granny too recovered. The trio was awarded medals for bravery for helping the government get hold of such evils in the society. Charu completed her studies in New York and returned to India and fought cases for the Government and put such barbarous acts to cease and help the nation progress.