The Jewellery Box - The Detective Boys: Short Story 7

 

The Monsoon of 1997 had arrived and Kolkata was receiving a good rainfall. The climate had become pleasant. Indeed, people were very happy and the overall mood of the city was good considering that the good monsoon had brought relief from the extreme heat. Dhakuria and in particular the Babu Bagan Lane was no different. Water was flowing down the lanes in and around the Babu Bagan Lane. It was water all around but the drains were working efficiently and there was no water logging on any side of the Babu Bagan Lane, except near the Dhakuria Girl’s High School.

The neighborhood was surprised to see some water getting accumulated on that side of the drain which generally worked well in draining the rain water. It seemed as if there was some obstruction in the drain line. By afternoon the problem escalated and water started to get accumulated on the corner of the road.

By the evening the rains had stopped but the water near the school remained still and the drain seemed to have been obstructed by some heavy items of garbage. The rains arrived by late evening again.

It was sometime around mid-night twelve thirty, when two men holding an umbrella walked towards the spot of dispute. It was drizzling so they didn’t find it difficult to walk towards the drain. At the same moment, an old man from the house nearby watched outside on the road in surprise. He didn’t raise any alarm but watched closely. He was unable to watch the face of two men but they seemed to be mid heighted around five feet five inches.  The old man observed that one of the two jumped into the drain and removed a rectangular box which seemed to be made of steel due to its shine. Once they collected the box, both left. The old man kept looking through the window until the men disappeared into oblivion.

To the surprise of the neighborhood, when it rained heavily next morning there was no more accumulation at the spot of dispute. The old man who had seen the events of last night understood that the blockage was due to the steel box which was removed last night, but the question remained what did the steel box contain.

The phone rang at Ritwick’s house and his grandfather picked it up. Upon hearing the call, he had only one thing to say, “Ritwick, it seems there is a new case for you.”

That evening the old man who was a witness to the removal of the steel box explained in detail what he had observed.

“Surprising, isn’t it?” commented Deep Das.

Ritwick could understand that the steel box surely would have contained something valuable. He and Deep Das inspected the spot of dispute. There was no obstruction at that time and the drain seemed to be clear of any heavy material.

It was only later he was informed about an event which had occurred on the night day before yesterday i.e. the day before one on which the heavy rainfall took place.  Ms. Banerjee who was coming from a late night movie had watched the event from her car which had just entered her house’s parking lot.

“Two men had been running furiously with a box of steel while three more had been chasing them. While on the run, it seemed as if they just threw the steel box inside the drain near the high school on the left side.” Said Ms. Banerjee.

“I was thinking for the last two days about the box but couldn’t gather the guts to go near the drain on that side to see it.” She continued.

Ritwick listened to her with utmost interest.

“Did you see their face?”

“No, I couldn’t as I was on one side and was just getting out of the garage area.”

“And what about the ones chasing them?”

“They seemed to be the ones who have a general store near the station.”

Next morning, Ritwick and Deep Das made a visit to all general stores located near the Dhakuria Railway station, both on west side and east side. It was the fourth shop, named Janata general stores, where they found what they wanted.

“Yes, we were chasing those two.” Replied the owner whose name was Naresh Kumar.

“Those two were working at our shop for the last two months. They had come to Kolkata from some distant suburb. That night as I was about to close the shop, I observed that my steel box in which I stored my family Jewellery was missing. When I started to look for it, my eyes went over the   duo who were about to run out of shop. I screamed but they ran and behind them I and two others from nearby shop ran. We couldn’t catch them and neither did we get the steel box back.”

“Did you file police complain?” asked Deep Das.

“No,”

Ritwick was surprised but didn’t show his reaction.

“Do you have any photographs of the two people?”

“Not actually. We trusted them so didn’t bother for the legal formalities.”

Ritwick and Deep Das inquired with the nearby shops about the two bandits who had run away. That evening Ritwick took Ms Banerjee to Janata General Stores and informed her about theft at the shop. Ms Banerjee seemed puzzled looking at the shop.

“What happened Ms. Banerjee?”

Ms Banerjee informed Ritwick about her concerns. Ritwick finally had a smile on his face.

Like always, Ritwick informed his grandfather about all the events and the likely outcome of the case. His grandfather was quick getting in touch with the local police head.

It was indeed a puzzle and would have remained if Ms Banerjee wouldn’t have made an important observation that night.

That night when she was coming out of the garage, she had seen Naresh Kumar standing at a corner of the lane where the two robbers were running towards. The three of them who were chasing had given up the chase and went back while the two thieves went straight to Naresh Kumar and informed him about the events. The time when the robbery had taken place, Naresh Kumar was not at the shop but was at the Babu Bagan Lane entrance. He had lied to Ritwick and Deep Das about his whereabouts on the day of the theft.

Ritwick figured out that the next day after the robbery, while it was raining all day, they couldn’t have collected the box so they returned that night and took it back and gave it to Naresh Kumar.

“Why would Naresh Kumar steal his own Jewellery?

“That way he wouldn’t have to share it with his brothers and that was the reason he didn’t make an official complaint.”

“How did you know that Naresh Kumar was involved?” asked an even more perplexed Deep Das.

“Firstly. Ms Banerjee had identified him of being near the spot of the dispute and it seemed too coincidental of him being there, other than being an active participant in the plan. Secondly, he didn’t give us much information about the two thieves and also the fact that when I inquired with the nearby shops, they had informed me that on the evening of robbery, Naresh Kumar and the two thieves were in deep discussion, perhaps discussing the plan.”

Deep Das could only compliment Ritwick’s sharpness and associating skills.

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