Vivek gagged as soon as he entered whatever remained of the living room. The fire had spared the top floors, but the ground floor was charred beyond recognition. Not that he had ever been in this palatial mansion ever before. But he had checked out the photos of all the wild parties that kept on happening here. No page 3 story was complete without some mention of the lives & happenings of the famous Ambani siblings. They were not only notorious for the said wild parties, but also quite infamous as heirs of the richest don of the country. Ever since their father was caught red-handed in a sting operation and put behind bars, the siblings had been on a single minded mission of depleting their fortune.
Vivek had never met the siblings, but had once been on bandobast duty during the heydays of Ambani Senior. He was the guest of honour for some award function where innovative farms were being lauded. Thousands of people had turned up at this open ceremony and crowd control was a pain. But there had been no untoward incidents and all the officers had been handed over baskets of fresh strawberries as compensation. The sickly sweet smell of ripe strawberries had stuck to his uniform for a week. His wife had made jam, ice lollies, milkshakes and even some kind of bread with it.
It was the same sickly sweet smell of ripe strawberries mixed with burning plastic, weed, and something else that was making him gag. Some of the furniture in this mansion was made of strange metal which had melted a bit but was mostly intact. Vivek kicked a half burned metal chair and it just crumpled into ash. As he moved from room to room, the weird smell got strong and Vivek had to take out his handkerchief and hold it in front of his nose. He reached what he thought was the music room as there were half burnt musical instruments piled up in one corner. Why were they piled up in one corner? It looked as if someone had tried to move them after the fire had started. He asked his constable to move the half burnt instruments. The boy gagged twice before he could even manage to move them an inch. And then let out a yelp. Vivek, almost gagging himself, walked to the back of the pile and saw a basket lined with fresh strawberries in all their pink glory, lying untouched.
Vivek bent down and picked up a strawberry. It was cool to the touch, as if it had just been brought out from the fridge. The heat from the now diffused fire hadn't seem to have affected it. That's when Vivek noticed something pink peaking out from under the basket. He lifted the basket to find a small piece of paper stuck to the bottom, with a piece of pink tape. Turning it over, Vivek read the simple 'Follow the berries' message which was made out with alphabets cut out from a magazine, all of which were again in pink.
The constable pointed toward a lone strawberry lying a few metres from the basket. Vivek then noticed the trail of strawberries, leading towards the main door of the room, each lying almost stuck to the wall and at a short distance from the other. Distracted with the smell, he'd seemed to have missed noticing these when he'd entered the room. His constable walked behind him, as Vivek followed the strawberries.
The trail lead him to the servant quarters, the only area that had not been inspected. There he found a small spiral staircase, leading upwards to the main corridor which was connected to the bedrooms. A strawberry lay on each stair, it's colour standing out against the blackened walls. Vivek climbed the staircase, being careful not to squish any of the berries under his heavy boot.
As Vivek opened the door leading to the corridor, he saw something black and charred right outside. On a closer inspection, he realized it looked like a human arm, charred beyond recognition. Looking grim, Vivek continued his path, which finally ended outside a dark wooden door. The constable removed his handkerchief and being careful to not touch anything, turned the doorknob. Vivek walked inside, his adjusting to the sunlight pouring in. The first thing they saw was a massive bed with a strawberry pink sheet. The trail of strawberries continued inside the room, leading up to the bed which had something that suspiciously looked like a human body, lying on it. It was blackened, and Vivek could see that it wasn't whole. Both of them walked up to the bed only to realize that though it was a body, it was that of a human-size doll!
This case was getting curiouser and curiouser. It seemed to Vivek like they were in a crime scene but they were yet to find a body or any incriminating evidence in this palatial maze. "What's with the strawberries? Why would someone take so much effort to make a trail that leads to fucking doll?", he thinks to himself. He sparked a cigarette, and he suddenly heard a woman laughing. He ran towards the window to see if he could see anyone downstairs but there was not a soul there. The laughing gets louder and seems to be coming from the staircase.'Sir, I found this on the staircase', the constable reports, handing Vivek a pink phone with the voice loop playing.
Vivek pulls out his gun. He was absolutely sure that the phone wasn't there when he was coming up the staircase. Which could only mean there was someone else in the house. The constable and him decided to split up. Vivek made his way to the main dining room stealthily. It was eerily silent. He examined the furniture. There was wooden flooring and while walking he felt an uneven portion on the floor which was hidden by the rug. He found a latch, which when he yanked and managed to open he found a makeshift staircase to an underground cellar of sorts. He was about to open it when he suddenly heard gunshots coming from outside. He ran out as fast as he could, but he was too late. His constable had been shot multiple times. 'Whoever the fuck you are, show yourself this instant, bloody coward.' He waits for a response. He takes his phone, but there is no reception. He sends a message to his team, calling for back up, hoping the message gets delivered.
He returns to the underground cellar he found. He starts walking in. With each step, the air got heavier and murkier and then came the stench filled with the same sickly sweet strawberry stench. He could hardly breathe. Something or someone definitely died here. It was really dark and he couldn't see anything. He finally found a switch, and when he lit up the place.
It seemed like an underground kitchen. There were big industrial grade knives on the walls, an oven, a sink and a gas stove. There were also a lot of surgical instruments on the ledge of the kitchen counter. There was a long table in the centre of the cellar. It was laid out for dinner for two with table cloth, beautiful silver cutlery, and a plate with a big silver cover on it.
He lifted the cover and found the severed head of the Ambani girl. He put the cover back and took a moment to himself. He goes to the other end, this time knowing what he expects, finds the other sibling's head. Both the severed heads were served with strawberry coulis. He checks to see if the cellar had any other openings beside the one he came in. creeeeeeeaaaaak, he saw the staircase opening closing. He points his gun and starts shooting at the opening but he reacts too late. The staircase was shut and he was trapped.
'Hahahahahahahaahah', he heard the same laugh. The lights go off. He quickly turns on his phone light and starts waving it around armed with a gun. 'Who is there? I am the goddamn police. Show yourself and you may still get a chance to redeem yourself', he yells. There is silence for about thirty seconds and the light comes back on and he sees a woman dressed in pink satin gown sitting on the table. She was extremely attractive and seemed to be in her mid 30s. Vivek quickly points his gun at her. He tried to remember if he had seen her face in the tabloids, but he couldn't place her
'And what makes you think I want to redeem myself. I thought I did that by killing my utterly useless but scrumptious step-children. Care for a bite?', said the woman while pouring the strawberry coulis on the girl's severed head.
'YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR THE MURDER OF ISHAN AND NAVYA AMBANI. PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! NOW!', screamed Vivek. He had never encountered anything this sinister.
'Oh darling, you have had a rough night, let me fix you a drink. So worked up. So did my husband ever tell you how we met?, she casually went to the kitchen counter fixing him a drink. 'He was friends with my dad, the owner of the strawberry farms. My father was not a very nice man, and I wanted to get away from that house of horrors. My husband saw that. He knew what my sick dad did to me. So, he took me in. He built me this beautiful kitchen, where I could be my true self. I had always been curious about the human flesh and when he was around, he let me dissect his enemies. But then you assholes had to go and lock him in. He was the only one who understood me, and never judged me', she takes a sip of the drink she made. 'If he meant so much to you then why did you kill his kids?', asked Vivek buying time till he figured his next step.
'These ungrateful wretches were blowing up all his hard earned money. And noone fucks with my husband. I tried telling them. The sick boy couldn't get his dick up for a real person and kept fucking that doll, and the girl just couldn't keep her nose clean. And then the parties, so many parties. I kept telling them, but they just wouldn't listen. And since you locked my husband, I hadnt fed myself properly in months. So I killed two birds with one stone. Hahahahahahah, could that be more apt?'
'Vivek, Vivek answer if you can hear us?', he heard voices from the top. His message had been delivered. His back up team was here 'I am down here, lift the latch, the latch', he screamed. BANG! BANG!
The backup team finally found the cellar. Vivek had been shot on his shoulder and was semi conscious. The woman, whom he shot in the head in self defense, was lying still, dead but with a smile on her face.
Vivek had never met the siblings, but had once been on bandobast duty during the heydays of Ambani Senior. He was the guest of honour for some award function where innovative farms were being lauded. Thousands of people had turned up at this open ceremony and crowd control was a pain. But there had been no untoward incidents and all the officers had been handed over baskets of fresh strawberries as compensation. The sickly sweet smell of ripe strawberries had stuck to his uniform for a week. His wife had made jam, ice lollies, milkshakes and even some kind of bread with it.
It was the same sickly sweet smell of ripe strawberries mixed with burning plastic, weed, and something else that was making him gag. Some of the furniture in this mansion was made of strange metal which had melted a bit but was mostly intact. Vivek kicked a half burned metal chair and it just crumpled into ash. As he moved from room to room, the weird smell got strong and Vivek had to take out his handkerchief and hold it in front of his nose. He reached what he thought was the music room as there were half burnt musical instruments piled up in one corner. Why were they piled up in one corner? It looked as if someone had tried to move them after the fire had started. He asked his constable to move the half burnt instruments. The boy gagged twice before he could even manage to move them an inch. And then let out a yelp. Vivek, almost gagging himself, walked to the back of the pile and saw a basket lined with fresh strawberries in all their pink glory, lying untouched.
Vivek bent down and picked up a strawberry. It was cool to the touch, as if it had just been brought out from the fridge. The heat from the now diffused fire hadn't seem to have affected it. That's when Vivek noticed something pink peaking out from under the basket. He lifted the basket to find a small piece of paper stuck to the bottom, with a piece of pink tape. Turning it over, Vivek read the simple 'Follow the berries' message which was made out with alphabets cut out from a magazine, all of which were again in pink.
The constable pointed toward a lone strawberry lying a few metres from the basket. Vivek then noticed the trail of strawberries, leading towards the main door of the room, each lying almost stuck to the wall and at a short distance from the other. Distracted with the smell, he'd seemed to have missed noticing these when he'd entered the room. His constable walked behind him, as Vivek followed the strawberries.
The trail lead him to the servant quarters, the only area that had not been inspected. There he found a small spiral staircase, leading upwards to the main corridor which was connected to the bedrooms. A strawberry lay on each stair, it's colour standing out against the blackened walls. Vivek climbed the staircase, being careful not to squish any of the berries under his heavy boot.
As Vivek opened the door leading to the corridor, he saw something black and charred right outside. On a closer inspection, he realized it looked like a human arm, charred beyond recognition. Looking grim, Vivek continued his path, which finally ended outside a dark wooden door. The constable removed his handkerchief and being careful to not touch anything, turned the doorknob. Vivek walked inside, his adjusting to the sunlight pouring in. The first thing they saw was a massive bed with a strawberry pink sheet. The trail of strawberries continued inside the room, leading up to the bed which had something that suspiciously looked like a human body, lying on it. It was blackened, and Vivek could see that it wasn't whole. Both of them walked up to the bed only to realize that though it was a body, it was that of a human-size doll!
This case was getting curiouser and curiouser. It seemed to Vivek like they were in a crime scene but they were yet to find a body or any incriminating evidence in this palatial maze. "What's with the strawberries? Why would someone take so much effort to make a trail that leads to fucking doll?", he thinks to himself. He sparked a cigarette, and he suddenly heard a woman laughing. He ran towards the window to see if he could see anyone downstairs but there was not a soul there. The laughing gets louder and seems to be coming from the staircase.'Sir, I found this on the staircase', the constable reports, handing Vivek a pink phone with the voice loop playing.
Vivek pulls out his gun. He was absolutely sure that the phone wasn't there when he was coming up the staircase. Which could only mean there was someone else in the house. The constable and him decided to split up. Vivek made his way to the main dining room stealthily. It was eerily silent. He examined the furniture. There was wooden flooring and while walking he felt an uneven portion on the floor which was hidden by the rug. He found a latch, which when he yanked and managed to open he found a makeshift staircase to an underground cellar of sorts. He was about to open it when he suddenly heard gunshots coming from outside. He ran out as fast as he could, but he was too late. His constable had been shot multiple times. 'Whoever the fuck you are, show yourself this instant, bloody coward.' He waits for a response. He takes his phone, but there is no reception. He sends a message to his team, calling for back up, hoping the message gets delivered.
He returns to the underground cellar he found. He starts walking in. With each step, the air got heavier and murkier and then came the stench filled with the same sickly sweet strawberry stench. He could hardly breathe. Something or someone definitely died here. It was really dark and he couldn't see anything. He finally found a switch, and when he lit up the place.
It seemed like an underground kitchen. There were big industrial grade knives on the walls, an oven, a sink and a gas stove. There were also a lot of surgical instruments on the ledge of the kitchen counter. There was a long table in the centre of the cellar. It was laid out for dinner for two with table cloth, beautiful silver cutlery, and a plate with a big silver cover on it.
He lifted the cover and found the severed head of the Ambani girl. He put the cover back and took a moment to himself. He goes to the other end, this time knowing what he expects, finds the other sibling's head. Both the severed heads were served with strawberry coulis. He checks to see if the cellar had any other openings beside the one he came in. creeeeeeeaaaaak, he saw the staircase opening closing. He points his gun and starts shooting at the opening but he reacts too late. The staircase was shut and he was trapped.
'Hahahahahahahaahah', he heard the same laugh. The lights go off. He quickly turns on his phone light and starts waving it around armed with a gun. 'Who is there? I am the goddamn police. Show yourself and you may still get a chance to redeem yourself', he yells. There is silence for about thirty seconds and the light comes back on and he sees a woman dressed in pink satin gown sitting on the table. She was extremely attractive and seemed to be in her mid 30s. Vivek quickly points his gun at her. He tried to remember if he had seen her face in the tabloids, but he couldn't place her
'And what makes you think I want to redeem myself. I thought I did that by killing my utterly useless but scrumptious step-children. Care for a bite?', said the woman while pouring the strawberry coulis on the girl's severed head.
'YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR THE MURDER OF ISHAN AND NAVYA AMBANI. PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! NOW!', screamed Vivek. He had never encountered anything this sinister.
'Oh darling, you have had a rough night, let me fix you a drink. So worked up. So did my husband ever tell you how we met?, she casually went to the kitchen counter fixing him a drink. 'He was friends with my dad, the owner of the strawberry farms. My father was not a very nice man, and I wanted to get away from that house of horrors. My husband saw that. He knew what my sick dad did to me. So, he took me in. He built me this beautiful kitchen, where I could be my true self. I had always been curious about the human flesh and when he was around, he let me dissect his enemies. But then you assholes had to go and lock him in. He was the only one who understood me, and never judged me', she takes a sip of the drink she made. 'If he meant so much to you then why did you kill his kids?', asked Vivek buying time till he figured his next step.
'These ungrateful wretches were blowing up all his hard earned money. And noone fucks with my husband. I tried telling them. The sick boy couldn't get his dick up for a real person and kept fucking that doll, and the girl just couldn't keep her nose clean. And then the parties, so many parties. I kept telling them, but they just wouldn't listen. And since you locked my husband, I hadnt fed myself properly in months. So I killed two birds with one stone. Hahahahahahah, could that be more apt?'
'Vivek, Vivek answer if you can hear us?', he heard voices from the top. His message had been delivered. His back up team was here 'I am down here, lift the latch, the latch', he screamed. BANG! BANG!
The backup team finally found the cellar. Vivek had been shot on his shoulder and was semi conscious. The woman, whom he shot in the head in self defense, was lying still, dead but with a smile on her face.
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