The Mystery of the closed shop - The Detective Boys - Short Story 6

 

Winter was just setting its foot within the precincts of the city of Kolkata. Dhakuria felt the chill more due to the presence of the famous lake within its confines. The early morning chill encouraged the fitness freaks of the area to take a jog and walk around the lake and the nearby lanes. Among them would also be Vimal Babu, along with his forty-year-old group of friends. The group often referred to as the “Happy old Group”, would be seen strolling around the foggy lanes of Dhakuria. That morning they were busy discussing something important that had occurred the previous night.

“Yes, I heard it right. There were some sounds coming in from that shop”, said an overly excited Vimal babu.

Last night, while Vimal babu had just finished reading his daily quota of research material, there were some sounds from the shop which was just opposite to his house. Initially he had ignored them, but as the sounds got repetitive, he couldn’t control the urge to take peak outside. The shop was closed and there were no lights coming from inside. The sounds had also stopped. Looking through his reading room window down the lane, there was no sign of any form of life on the lanes in and around his home. What baffled Vimal Babu more than anything was the fact that, the shop in question had been shut down from last few years, perhaps more than five years. So, was this a case of burglary or was it something else? A question which didn’t let Vimal Babu sleep that night.

Mukul General Stores was a daily provisional store which was located just opposite to Vimal Babu’s house. It had been one of the most frequented shops by the residents of the Babu Bagan Lane. However, the shop closed down some five years age. The owner, Debanta Roy, was last seen on a monsoon evening of the year 1989. After that day, neither did anyone hear about him nor did anyone saw the shop open.

Coming back to the present, Vimal Babu was disturbed with the events of the last night. He couldn’t be wrong. He knew that people would shrug off his doubts, but not his grandson, Ritwick.

Ritwick was overly excited to hear the happenings which his grandfather narrated him. Residing in the same house, he hardly ever cared about the shop that had been closed down for so many years. From the first-floor balcony of their house, Ritwick took a look at the shop. The dust laden shutter looked very old and untouched. In the evening, on the pretext of taking a walk down the lane, Ritwick took a close look of the shop and the nearby spots. There was nothing in front of the shop which could have hinted at someone entering it recently. He walked behind and took a close look at the back yard of the shop. The back yard had a small wall beyond which stood a two-storey house which belonged to some Avinash Ray and Family. The backside of the shop was also completely closed in the form a landscape mode door.

That night, Ritwick along with friend Deep Das, took refuge on one of branches of the nearby tree from where they could take a close look at the shop. Ritwick had imagined that if some sounds would come from within the shop, then surely someone would enter the shop. Sometime around one past mid-night, both Ritwick and Deep could hear some sounds coming from inside the shop. Both were shocked as they didn’t see anyone entering the shop. The sound seemed of some hitting on the floor, as if someone was digging the ground inside the shop. The sounds continued for some one hour and then stopped. Both were shaken initially, but after giving it some thought Ritwick thought of revisiting the spot again the next night.

Over the next three days, Ritwick and Deep Das, both observed the shop from the branch of the tree nearby. There was nothing during the day or in the evening. But every night in between one and two, those sounds would again appear. The Mystery interested Ritwick to the greatest of length. It was a challenge for him to solve the curious mystery about the sounds.

On the fifth night, Ritwick and Deep Das did what they always loved to do. They jumped the wall and entered the backyard of the shop. It was dark set in. The sounds had started at around one in the night. It was 1.15 AM when they had entered the back yard. With a stone in hand, Ritwick hit the door hard and ran near a pillar and watched if anyone responded. There was no response but the sounds had stopped. This time Deep took a stone and hit on the door. There was still no response. They continued to hide behind the medium heighted pillar which supported a water tank. After about some time, a drain shed which was located just near the back yard door opened up. It took the living daylights out of Ritwick and Deep Das when they saw a living figure emerging out of the Drain. The figure had a blanket wrapped around the body. The face was not visible. The drain shed was closed and the figure walked near the backyard wall and jumped it. Ritwick and Deep Das watched the figure disappear. They were not sure about their next step. Ritwick thought they couldn’t get back after coming through so much.

They proceeded towards the Drain shed and opened it. They drain was dry. Slowly, they got into it. A small lane could be seen ahead below. They walked through it and came to open point. They climbed it and entered a room. Ritwick couldn’t actually believe what he saw. They were actually standing inside the shop which was closed down for so many years.

But what shocked Ritwick was a dug-out hole on the floor of the shop and a small tunnel like lane in progress. Ritwick could understand that the figure who had got out was in the process of digging a tunnel through the shop towards the structure on the other side of the road and when he thought what was on the other side of road, The National Bank branch, he had his trademark smirk on his face.

Ritwick could now understand the whole plan. The tunnel was dug to make an underground lane for an entry into the bank, perhaps for a robbery. Ritwick immediately asked Deep to go out and intimate his grandfather and call the nearby residents.

One hour later, the local police along with nearby natives had arrived at the spot outside the shop. Ritwick made them understand what they had seen and also informed about the person in the blanket. Everyone was shocked to know about the events that had been taking place inside the closed shop.

Next morning, the Police took control over the shop. The tunnel was closed down and the drain line and drain shed were locked up. Vimal Babu was proud of Ritwick. He and Deep Das had indeed become a dare devil super hero for the residents around the Babu Bagan Lane.

“Who could be that figure in the blanket whom we saw that night?” asked Deep as he looked out from the balcony towards the shop.

“He could be someone who knew about the infrastructure of the shop very well.” Ritwick said as he sipped his favourite evening milk drink.

“What do you mean? Debanta Roy? The person who had disappeared five years ago”

“You never know, Deep.”

 There were no more sounds from the shop below and Vimal Babu and Ritwick slept a fine sleep.