It was late afternoon when Darsh reached his cottage. Plugging his phones to charge he sent a quick text to Sam, then rubbed his weary face. Three days gone, twenty-seven more to go. It wasn't a bad tally considering he was well ahead of his schedule. He had achieved a lot, much more than he'd anticipated or rather bargained for if he was being honest.

His eyes closed on their own accord as memories came unbidden. A golden girl laughing with a little boy in the sunset. A gentle kiss in the velvety night, a yearning hug in the moonlight. The soft touch, the bewitching smile. And then there was the night. His senses awakened with a surge, every ounce of his being focused on one vision. A vision filled with starlight and moonbeams, a jasmine scent in his lungs, and a weird sensation in his heart. The supple softness, the gentle curves, the aching innocence, and utter vulnerability. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off. He'd sat on the floor admiring her in the flickering yellow lamplight as she slept peacefully wrapped in his blanket. The night had passed in a wink. And in the morning, they had come to whisk her away.

Irritation filled his heart. He wished he'd spent some more time with her, gathering the missing pieces of the puzzle, knowing more about her. Everything had gone as per his plan apart from the events of this morning when the two ogres had arrived to take her away. The abrupt goodbye had left him feeling strangely dissatisfied. As if a drink had been snatched away before he quenched his thirst. As if a beautiful dream had been cut short cruelly.

Shaking his head he tried to gather his thoughts. What did he think? That their time together in the hills would last forever? That she would lead and he would follow, that he would sit on the Sarai floor gazing at her face and the night would never end? That was stupid, he shook his head. Good that she was gone before it was too late. Good, she was gone so he could focus on other important things.

He had made sure the afternoon was not wasted. The new guide had actually proved quite useful. He'd taken Darsh to see those caves and then to the mysterious Lover's Point. Darsh now knew the history and geography of those caves. He'd seen the underground water source that fed the streams and formed those pools. He'd also seen the place where Meera Sharma bled to death some eleven years ago.

The guide had looked rather uneasy, and couldn't wait to get out of there. Darsh couldn't blame him, he himself felt wretched.

Then they'd ridden to the Lover's Point. The boy had hesitated initially, but a promise of a few extra notes had settled his mind perfectly. Darsh had a look at the cliff from where Susheel Sharma had jumped to his unfortunate death. Then walked around trying to figure out the camping spot for the boys. He'd found it a few hundred meters into the forest, secluded, and alone. Charred remains of a long-ago campfire lay scattered around, but the place looked otherwise clean. There were no tents or leftover supplies littering the place. Which was a surprise considering the boys had had to scramble away in haste. Either the villagers had helped themselves, or the goons who attacked them had come back to clean it up.

His hand went to his pocket to fish something out. An intricate golden chain with a little heart-shaped pendant dangled from his fingers. It was mucky and tangled, having lain under those leaves for weeks, waiting for him. His fingers shook as he untangled it, and held it under the running tap to wash away the dirt. Patting it dry with a soft cloth he gently pried the heart open. The tiny halves of the heart contained two little pictures. A widely grinning man gazed at him from one half while the other showed a beautiful woman. He didn't need a guide to guess who they were or who the owner was. It was hers. These were Aditi's dead parents.

Wrapping it carefully he tucked it safely inside his pocket. It needed to be returned to its rightful owner, at the right time. He couldn't wait to see her again.

His mobile rang at that precise moment. It was Sam. "Hi Sam, thanks for the callback. How's your leg now?"

"I am ok, Bhai. Recovering slowly," the boy answered tensely.

"Are you still in the hospital? Is there anyone around you?"

A moment passed by, then Sam's voice came back. "No Bhai. I came home yesterday. The doctors said the fracture will take some time to heal."

Darsh nodded. "Good, so you have plenty of time. Tell me the story again. I want to hear everything, right from the beginning."

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"It's the same as we told you before, Bhai." Sam faltered.

"Again, Sam. I want to hear everything again. Right from the start." Darsh clarified calmly. The boys were all nice but Sam was the nicer one. Darsh trusted him to tell the truth. And anyway, they all knew lies didn't work with Darsh Rathore.

"It's the same what Ajay told you, Bhai." Sam started hesitantly. "The four of us reached Palampur on Friday night and attended the races on Saturday morning. We put bets on some horses but mostly lost. The only two races we won were with Aron, Aditi's horse. That's when we met her for the first time. We went to congratulate her. She was nice to us; to everyone really, as you must know now. Vicki was besotted. He asked her for riding lessons. She was reluctant at first, but he insisted. Then she agreed for a hefty charge. Said it was for a good cause, for a charity hospital she was going to set up in Palampur. Vicki of course didn't mind, he just wanted to be with her."

Sam paused for a breath as Darsh listened attentively. He had heard this all before, there was nothing new. The only difference was that he could now picture it clearly. A beautiful girl, supple and lithe, warm and bright like the morning sun. Anyone would lose their head. Anyone would lose their heart.

"Then?" He asked, reminiscing her in his head.

"Then it all started. The lessons were going well, and even the rest of us joined in. We became good friends. She even invited us to her home a couple of times, and introduced us to some of her friends."

Darsh nodded. That was the bit that interested him now. Her home, the palace of his princess. That would be his next destination, he couldn't wait to see her again.

"So when did it start going awry?"

"When Vivaan Raisingh came into the picture. We had been there for a couple of weeks by then. She invited us for dinner one evening when Vivaan arrived unexpectedly. He didn't look very happy to see us. It made everyone uncomfortable and we left soon after. The next day she didn't come to the lesson. Said she was busy and couldn't make time anymore. She returned our money and avoided talking to any of us. Vicki tried to get her alone but couldn't. "

"Did Vivaan Raisingh interact with you guys?" Darsh asked, recalling this morning's incident.

"No. He didn't talk directly to us. But it was clear he was behind her sudden change of attitude." Sam sounded edgy.

So far, so good, Darsh had to admit Sam's version matched that of Ajay's and Paddy's. But the story hadn't finished yet.

"Tell me what happened that night."

Sam licked his lips. "It was the last day of our stay. We decided to go camping, we thought it would cheer Vicki up. We reached there by mid-day and set up our tents near Lover's Point. Later in the afternoon, we decided to see the sunset. She was already there with some of her friends."

"Go on."

"We kept to ourselves as much as possible, but Vicki became increasingly agitated. It was the last day and he wanted to talk to her before leaving. He somehow managed to get her alone but they had an argument. She became furious and left with her friends. He became upset and went back to the campsite. We left him alone, we thought it would be better to give him some space."

"So Vicki was alone at the campsite while you guys were still at Sunset Point??"

"Yes. We roamed a bit more. It was a lovely night. We sat on the hill, stargazing and chatting. Ate some food we'd carried with us. It was quite dark by the time we returned. Vicki was already asleep."

"How long were you away for?"

"About three-four hours."

There was a pause as Darsh tried to piece the information together. So Vicki was alone for that time. That was when he must have Darshised his plan. Darsh had checked Vicki's satphone earlier. The last call was to a person called Aalok. The date and time matched too.

"Do you know Aalok? Was he there with her that night?" Darsh asked abruptly.

Sam sounded surprised. "How do you know?"

"Just answer the question, Sam."

"Aalok is Aditi's college friend. He was there with her along with the others. But they all left together after her altercation with Vicki."

Darsh closed his eyes. Missing pieces of the puzzle, he was looking for desperately. Now that they were falling in place, it was hard to look at the whole picture. It was an ugly one, one that broke his heart. His brother had done the unthinkable. Thwarted in love, dejected, and angered, he had thought of this vicious way to take revenge. Darsh still couldn't believe it, yet he couldn't deny it either. It all made sense now. A compelling motive, a sudden opportunity, and the necessary means to commit the heinous crime. His brother had all three. He had called on Aalok's satphone asking Aditi for help. And Aditi being Aditi had rushed back to help. Her only mistake was that she came alone. None of her friends accompanied her.

A sudden weariness overcame him as weird images flashed into his mind. Of broken glass bottles, of desperate cries for help. And a girl sinking slowly in a deep dark pool.

"The goons attacked sometime after midnight," Sam continued without prompting this time. "We were taken by surprise and scrambled to get away. Somehow we reached the fork and got in our car, but there were more waiting for us. They chased us in their Jeep. Vicki drove as fast as he could but lost control in the dark." His voice caught as he finally reached the end.

Closing his eyes, Darsh rubbed his tired face. The tables had turned. The victim and perpetrator had changed places. His brother deserved his punishment. Coma or worse, he didn't care anymore. His brother deserved death, but a coma was not bad either.

***** *****