Veiled Motives

Inspector Khalid picked up the phone receiver in a hurry.

"This is Khalid speaking!" he said into the mouthpiece. "Can you see me right away? Oh, thank you. I'll be there shortly!"

He swiftly placed the receiver back and left the room. The orderly at the D.S.'s office lifted the curtain for him, and he walked inside.

The D.S. nodded for him to take a seat and leaned forward, removing the pipe from his teeth.

"The matter with Colonel Zargham has become quite complicated," Khalid began.

"Why?"

"Something new."

"Yes, and very significant! I tried questioning the Colonel's servants, and finally, one of them spilled the beans. The Colonel didn't go anywhere; he suddenly disappeared."

"Excellent!" the D.S. said, exhaling smoke into the ashtray and looking intently at Khalid.

"He went to the station alone to welcome his guests and never returned."

"Wow!" The D.S. tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought. "His family must be very worried."

"Not at all! That's the surprising part."

"Ahem!" The D.S. stretched his legs, took a long yawn, and leaned back in his chair.

"What do you think?" the D.S. asked after a brief pause.

"I'm still unable to reach a conclusion."

"Wow, is this such a difficult issue?" The D.S. smiled. "Colonel Zargham might not have escaped Shifton's threats... but he disappeared... he didn't report to the police! Others informed the police, and they are all present. Try thinking along those lines."

"I have thought about it!"

"And yet, you haven't reached any concrete conclusion."

"No, I haven't."

"Remarkable! This is a very clear indication."

"You guide me then! I am still a novice, after all. I need to learn from you," Khalid said.

"Look! Write threatening letters to two people: one who knows you and one who doesn't. Suppose you, in your current position, write to both, warning them that they are in danger and could be arrested at any time. The person who doesn't know you will take it as a joke, thinking someone is fooling him. But what effect will it have on the person who knows you and your position well?"

"He'll become frantic," Khalid said.

"Exactly! Now, take the case of Shifton... the name is new to us, let alone to those who received the letters! The Colonel didn't come to us with a complaint. This means he is familiar with Shifton, and his sudden disappearance indicates that Shifton is extremely dangerous! So dangerous that even the police can't handle him!"

"I was wondering if Colonel Zargham might actually be Shifton!" Khalid suggested.

"If he is Shifton, there's no doubt he's a fool!" the D.S. remarked.

"If he is Shifton, he should have come to us! No, Khalid, he isn't Shifton. Otherwise, he wouldn't have vanished like this!"

"Then what should I do now?"

"Find Colonel Zargham."

There was a brief silence before the D.S. asked, "What about Imran?"

"Nothing! His persona is also quite mysterious."

The D.S. began to laugh. "Captain Fayyaz replied to my telegram! He wrote about Imran, saying he's a complete idiot, a friend of Fayyaz, who came here for fun. He often lands himself in trouble due to his foolishness, so Fayyaz wrote to me to help him out if needed!"

"But sir! How did he become Colonel Zargham's private secretary?"

"I don't believe Fayyaz's story either," the D.S. admitted. "The Federal guys never tell us everything openly!"

A deep silence then descended over the room.

Due to the guests, Arif and Anwar had to share a room. This room was adjacent to Sophia's, with only a single door separating them.

Imran presented a proposal to Arif. He was confident that Arif would agree immediately. The suggestion was for Arif to move into Imran's room, while Imran would take Arif's place with Anwar. Arif lit up at the idea, as Imran's room was next to Martha's. Anwar was both surprised and dismayed by this change, wishing that Imran had sent him instead.

"Why did you leave that room?" Anwar asked.

"Oh, well... what can I say! I started having terrible nightmares," Imran replied seriously.

"Nightmares?" Anwar echoed in surprise.

"Absolutely! I'm terribly afraid of English girls."

Anwar began to laugh, but Imran's expression remained serious.

A short while later, Anwar said, "But it wasn't right to send Arif there."

"Well, then you go."

"That's not what I meant," Anwar stammered.

"Then what do you mean?"

"Arif never thinks before he acts."

"Oh? Do you think I sent him there to do something?"

"That's not what I mean. The thing is..."

"Then just say it—say it already."

"I'm worried he might do something."

"Like what?" Imran's eyes widened even more.

"Oh, you just don't get it or you're pretending! I mean, he might start flirting with her."

"Oh, I see!" Imran nodded seriously. "But what's the harm in flirting? The real concern would be if he started tying ropes around her."

"Flirting is just an expression, Mr. Imran!" Anwar said in frustration, slapping his thigh.

"I don't understand," Imran said, feigning stupidity.

"Oh, for goodness' sake! I mean he might try to seduce her!"

"Good heavens! Why didn't you say so earlier?" Imran said, standing up.

"Where are you going?"

"Just need to warn Martha!" Imran said, getting up.

"You're unbelievable!" Anwar also stood up. "This is ridiculous!"

"Then what do you want?"

"Nothing at all!" Anwar said, slapping his forehead.

"Man, you need to get your brain checked!" Imran retorted angrily as he sat back down. "Why did you waste so much of my time if it was nothing?"

"Let's just go to sleep!" Anwar said, collapsing onto his bed. "God help you."

"No, may God help you and then explain it to me in Urdu. I never understand your nonsense."

Anwar pulled the blanket over his head. Imran remained sprawled on the armchair. Anwar tried to fall asleep, but sleep was elusive. The thought of Arif entertaining Martha with jokes gnawed at him. Martha herself was quite talkative and liked people who could chatter on. Anwar's biggest weakness was that he could never converse freely with the girl he was thinking about the most.

These days, Martha was always on his mind, making him stutter whenever he tried to talk to her. He turned over and pulled the blanket down from his face.

"Where do you think Colonel went?" he asked Imran.

"Ah... finally, you're awake!" Imran said with a smile. "I think he met with an accident."

"What?" Anwar sat up with a start.

"Oh, don't worry! It can't be the kind of accident that should concern you."

"Look, Imran, this situation is becoming intolerable! Tomorrow morning, I'm going to file a missing person's report for the Colonel, no matter what."

Imran didn't reply; he seemed lost in deep thought. Anwar continued to grumble.

"The Colonel is getting old! I'm starting to doubt his sanity."

"Yes, so what will the report say?" Imran asked.

"That the Colonel was afraid of some unknown person or group and suddenly disappeared."

"Hmm! And what will you say is the reason for the delay in reporting?" Imran asked.

"That's no big deal! I'll say the delay was due to the Colonel's fear and indecision. He was against reporting to the police."

"Alright," Imran said, thinking for a moment before adding, "Go ahead and file the report."

Anwar stared at him in astonishment.

"But!" Imran continued, "You won't mention anything about me! Understood? I'm just the Colonel's private secretary."

"Are you serious right now?"

"When am I ever not serious?"

"Why have you suddenly agreed to filing the report?"

"Necessity! Circumstances always change."

"I don't understand what you're trying to do."

"Ha!" Imran sighed deeply. "I want to build a small bungalow, have a beautiful wife, and a dozen and a half children!"

Anwar, exasperated, lay back down and pulled the blanket over himself.