Chandrakant called up one last time in his life. This time I decided to meet him and finish the unfinished business. I was now fighting to stay calm; Minal was beginning to see the stress taking its toll on me. My finances were stretched and many questions were being asked by the police about my finances. I had forked into my savings to pay Chandrakant, hoping that the gamble would pay off eventually.
However, he had gradually become a menace with his unbridled greed and avarice. It was time to get rid of him for good. I agreed to meet Chandrakant and told him that I would make a final payment to him.
The pay-off would be the last and in return, he was to leave Mumbai forever since he was the only link to this. We agreed to meet at the outskirts of Pune. It was 12 a.m. that day and we decided to meet at the roadside dhaba of national highway 142. I didn’t want to get out and wanted food served inside the car. I didn’t want too many people to see my face.
I drove my SUV and waited for nearly 20 minutes before a helmeted driver on new blue Kawasaki bike parked next to my vehicle. It was Chandrakant and his motorcycle was his new sign of new-found opulence. This was dangerous as it would attract unwelcome attention. It was now becoming imperative for me to act.
He sat in the front seat and began to drink the imported whiskey bottle that he had demanded from me. As he began to drink, his tongue began to loosen up. He began laughing loudly and cracking filthy jokes. He turned around to face the waiter to order another round of chicken tikka. This was my chance and I interchanged the bottle with similar whiskey bottle mixed with four spoons of anti-freeze.
He was too drunk to see the change in the colour or taste of the whiskey. The anti-freeze was green and tasted sweet. I had mixed aerated drink in his glass cup. He gulped it all up. I had parked in the dark corner of the shop so there would be very little chance of anyone noticing my face. Money exchanged hands. I gave him an airline ticket for Delhi that had been booked through an agent.
Three hours later, I am told that the poison began to take effect. He appeared drunk as he staggered towards his one-room shack, where he began to vomit. Neighbours took no notice, since this was usual condition of Chandrakant, after a heavy round of booze.
Three days later, neighbours broke open the door after a foul smell started emanating from his room. They found him slumped on the floor. His body had begun to decompose. The police were called in and they began to investigate.
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