Maya looked at the crumbled piece of newspaper bearing the headline- “City Gripped with Fear as Serial Killer Claims Three More Victims”, with a shudder running down her spine she put it back in her chest pocket.

She was pulled back to the case. Her mind raced with questions like, “Why are all the victim women?” or “Why does the pattern of killing feel eerily familiar?”

The heat of Patratu swelled her eyes and sweat formed a shiny pearl necklace around the rings of her neck. Lose strands of hair sticks in the face like eclairs does in teeth.

Her head throbbed. She walked faster now. The inspector called her this morning. After weeks of futile investigation, they got a lead. What might be the lead? Maya’s thoughts went up and down like rollercoaster. Adrenaline rushed like the water of Dassam Falls, jostling her stomach muscles. She sensed this case might change the course of her life.

She stepped inside the police station, taking deep breaths to steady herself. Inspector Roy’s chilling voice greeted her. They exchanged weary looks and Maya gave him a weak smile.

“Detective Shah. You’re right on time.”  He said. There was something sinister in his look. His eyes were glistening. Maya felt the butterflies dying in her stomach.

“What is it about?” her eyes widened like a curious child, leaving all the fears behind.

“Umm…just come fast. I’ll explain in the car.”

They rushed into white SUV. Maya was tired but hope floated above the flood of exhaustion. As the SUV rolled in the road, Maya started the firework of questions.

“We got an informant” Roy explained in his deep husky voice. “He is a neighbour of the last victim, Rosanna. Just before he was going to sleep, at around 12.10 a.m. the same time the victim died, he heard a shrill cry from her house. He said he saw the serial killer after sometime coming out from her window.” Roy took a deep breath and concluded, “Our informant might have seen this serial killer’s face.”

Hope and excitement flowed in Maya’s arteries. She heard the story more intently.

“So, our team worked on the description of the person, searched the outskirts, all the dingy village lanes and finally getting hold of the guy behi-

“Ah! Ah! We got the man behind all these murders!” Maya said, jumping in the seat, the fear wearing off from her body like fever.

“Yes, yes but you might find a twist in the story-

“Dada, we’re here” the driver cut him off. He was a newly hired middle aged man and Maya absolutely hated his attire. He wore a mask which hid most of his face but his eyes were enough to showcase the filth accumulating in heaps. She never trusted that man but Roy did and Maya trusted Roy.

Maya’s hands were trembling for some unknown reason. Or was it because of the way the man smiled at her? She stared at the driver but Roy pulled her towards the questioning room. The room only had two chairs facing each other, a big table and a metal rimmed bulb hanging from the ceiling. Time seemed to slow down as the deafening silence filled the air, echoing off the cold, sterile walls.

Seeing the person in handcuffs, Maya’s thoughts formed a lump. As she approached the table her heart skipped a beat. She rubbed her disbelieving eyes. She glanced at Roy to see any sign of mistake.

“This is our so thought man, Maya, a.k.a. the twist!” He confirmed.

“Or woman” Maya corrected, her breath caught in her throat.

“She disguised herself pretty smartly as a man” Roy said, a tinge of sarcasm looming in his voice.

“But why have you guys covered her mouth?”

Roy hesitated and said, “She literally speaks like 80’s radio!”

Maya pulled out the covering from her mouth.

The prisoner’s long disheveled hair was put in a tight bun. Maya could see her eyes forming dark clouds. Maya took a deep breath, steeling herself for the interrogation. She felt a strange connection, a flicker of recognition that sent a chill down her spine. With each question Maya posed, the woman’s eyes darted around the room, her unease palpable.

“You are totally on the wrong path, Miss.” Her voice meek and shaky. “They’ll do the same thing with you. You’ll be the pawn of the game they are playing for decades. Everything will-

“That's enough!” Roy roared, replacing the cloth over her mouth.  Her words washed Maya in horror. The nerves on her forehead were beating, pulsing hard. Pain surged in her head. She stumbled outside, breathing shakily. Roy followed, trying to comfort her.

“Samir! What was all this?” She was running out of breath but still she continued. “That woman... whom she was referring? Samir… I am scared. In ten years of my career I never felt like this.” Pain was pulsating her neck, but she continued speaking “Samir, I don’t think if you got the right one! I am very positive she is not the killer…” Tears welled on her retina. With a shaky voice, she looked at Roy’s eyes, “She is weak…and faltering. How can she murder?!” Roy shook his head. “There is a missing puzzle piece here, Samir. We need to find it!”

Before the Inspector could reply, a sudden, ear-splitting gunshot reverberated through the room. Without wasting a second they went inside the room. The metal rimmed bulb above, shattered into a shower of sparks and an acrid scent of gunpowder hung in the air, mingling with the smell of fear. The woman she had been interrogating lay on the ground, a pool of crimson staining the cold, hard floor. For a split second, everything stood still, suspended in a moment of uncertainty.

Maya gasped in horror. She was unable to handle so many shocks. Her mind was racing faster now. She looked at Roy’s well composed eyes. He was neither shocked nor gripped with fright.

From a distance, the sound of whirring of car wheels reached their ears. Maya rushed outside once again suspecting danger. From the rear mirror, the driver’s eyes met Maya’s. She could feel her growing fear mix with betrayal and rising up from her stomach. Nausea seeped into her muscles like tea from a teabag.

When she turned around to call Roy, the inspector was standing just behind her, his gun pointing her soft temple.

“You were already carrying the missing piece with you, Madam.” The corner of his lips spreading, as if he learned smiling for the first time. “I am your missing piece.”