The Other Side Read online

  They bid goodbye in the night at the airport and Kavya and Kabir left for Cambridge. Sam felt a sudden emptiness and left for home.

  Chapter 13

  After Kavya and Kabir left for Cambridge, Sam spent most of the time in office, with Harvey in tow, trying to manage the workload plus the stress of finding the blackmailer. Sam had received another email asking for money; this time the IP address was different.

  Rachel continued to behave oddly with Sam, and he didn’t bother her much as well.

  One day there was chaos in the office when Sam entered. People were talking about something in groups. Sam wondered if some information about the scam had leaked.

  ‘What is the fuss about? Why is not everyone at their desk?’ Sam asked his secretary.

  ‘Sir, there seems to be a case of robbery in the office. David claims someone took his new Apple earphones a few days back,’ said Christine.

  ‘That’s such a small matter, why are they creating havoc for that? Just call for CCTV footage of that area,’ Sam instructed.

  ‘Sure sir,’ Christine answered and disappeared from the cabin to get the video from the security.

  Moments later, Christine knocked Sam’s cabin with the video clip. Harvey was also present while she played the video on the laptop. Christine’s attention was entirely on who was flicking the latest earphones. But Sam’s focus was on something else. He saw Rachel walking by his office in that video. He tried recollecting where he was at that time, and why Rachel did not call out or meet.

  It wasn’t long before it struck him that he was in the office that moment with Kavya and Harvey. And Rachel did call him to meet; he had said he was busy in the meeting. Sam placed his head between his hands and sat on his chair, Harvey didn’t understand what he was reacting for. And Christine found out who had taken David’s latest earphones.

  ‘Hey, look, sir, its Darwin who took the earphones,’ shouted Christine as if she had solved a big mystery.

  ‘Go and see what you can do about it. I want to talk about something important with Harvey, so make sure no one disturbs us,’ Sam instructed. After seeing Rachel in the video clip, he was least interested in the earphone robbery case.

  ‘No wonder why Rach is behaving like this, Harvey!’ said Sam.

  ‘I don’t understand what you are talking about,’ asked Harvey.

  ‘Remember, when Kavya had visited the office and when even you were there, that day Rachel had called and asked to meet. And to hide the facts about Kavya and the scam and avoid further complications, I had told her that I was in a meeting. Rachel would have felt bad if I had told anything about Kavya at that moment. But she saw us. That is why she is behaving in such an odd fashion,’ said Sam. In the game of lies, one problem is not yet solved and another is ready to strike.

  ‘Thanks to David’s earphones, now I know why Rachel is in a grumpy mood,’ remarked Sam in a somewhat cynical tone.

  Harvey couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.

  ‘You are in a real soup, man!’ exclaimed Harvey. This is how best friends are; they laugh when you are in real trouble! Harvey was having a gala time while solving this case. The case, in which they were not even near to discovering any clue. The case with no hope. Harvey disappeared in some time from Sam’s office after consoling him for the trouble he was going to face with Rachel. Sam had a meeting with his business partner in a while. He tried concentrating on the work on hand until the time he arrived.

  ‘Hi, Josh. How you have been?’ Sam greeted his business associate as he arrived in his office. Josh, on the other side, didn’t give much of an appealing answer. He just nodded and gave a fake smile to Sam. Josh and Sam had invested in and were working on a big project in Los Angeles. Josh looked rather dull in a light blue shirt paired with steel grey trousers. His brown eyes didn’t shine as it did every day. His smile was lost somewhere. In normal days when he used to be in a tremendous lively spirit, he would set his curly hair nicely with some gel and wear a big smile – 24/7. He was Sam’s age, and with a better physique. But today the spark was lost. He didn’t even set his hair well, and his few strands of curly hair were out of place. Sam observed him keenly and knew something was not okay with Josh.

  ‘Have a seat, Josh, you seem tired and lost,’ remarked Sam.

  Josh sat for a while and didn’t speak for some time. Sam too gave him his space and time and let him be for a while. He ordered two cups of coffee, and then Josh broke his silence over the matter which was affecting him.

  ‘Dude do you know about a website scam which took place a few day’s back?’ asked Josh.

  Sam was taken aback. He was wondering what Josh actually wanted to talk about. Was this about him that he wanted to discuss or himself? Sam hesitated at first to reveal the facts to his partner. He wondered what Josh would think if he acknowledged anything about the website.

  ‘Which website are you talking about?’ Sam acted as if he didn’t know about it.

  ‘That Ashton Martinson website, the one for extramarital affairs. How can you not know about it? It’s everywhere in the news. A whole host of people have been affected, if you know. I know you are a family-loving type of man, so you might not be aware. But some millionaires and billionaires have been its victims; so many famous personalities, no one is spared,’ said Josh in a shallow tone.

  ‘Yes, I think I had read about this in the news a few days back, but then forgot about it. So what about it, Josh? Has it affected any dear ones of yours?’ asked Sam.

  Sam didn’t know how to react. He himself was in this jam. He didn’t want anyone to know about it.

  ‘It’s me, this website has ruined my life, and I don’t know what to do about it,’ Josh continued. ‘The blackmailer took a huge amount of money from me assuring that my name or no other information will come out, but somehow my wife came to know about the whole thing. My wife is not even talking to me since she came to know about it. She is furious at me, and I don’t know what do I tell her in my justification. She is not going to trust at all. She is not even staying with me anymore,’ Josh spoke in a sombre tone.

  Sam imagined himself in Josh’s state. This could happen to him anytime. He was feeling bad for Josh’s situation; he could feel the same pinch. He showed his support to Josh and somehow encouraged him to solve his problem. Josh was in no mood to do any other work that day. Sam understood his state and looked into the work himself. Sam assured Josh any help that he could extend. He himself could need it in the near future.

  Chapter 14

  Sam informed Harvey about Josh’s situation. Talking about him had comforted Sam to a certain context as he was also sailing on the same boat. Harvey thanked God for having kept him single or even he would have landed in chaos! He was very thankful for his Casanova character. He did not have to bother hunting for a date on social media or anywhere else. Harvey possessed an attractive personality and a fling here and there with the opposite sex came by easily. He had a great height, which combined with his light brown complexion, dark brown eyes set perfectly on his face and a mane of jet black hair was well received by the ladies. Most of the ladies Harvey had a fling were his clients. As he was a detective, he was often hired by wives who wanted to spy on their cheating husbands, and after proving the affair of their husbands to them, he would give his shoulder to them and a fling thrown in. He was charismatic at work and never had a dearth of fling relationships. That was Harvey’s charm. Sam would often ask him if he wanted to get married, but he never showed any interest in that kind of setting for his life. He was scared of commitments is what he used to say all the time though Sam was sure that one day a girl suitable to his liking would show up and he would eventually settle in life.

  Harvey had his work cut out after the scam broke. Apart from his other work, he had to find Sam’s blackmailer, and now after Sam’s persuasion, he also had to help Josh. Since Josh had already become a victim in the real sense, as he had lost money plus got exposed in front of his wife as well, Harvey thought o
f working on his case first as it would give him leads to the blackmailer. He decided to visit Josh at his office. Sam accompanied him. Josh’s secretary knew Sam, but Harvey was new to her. Unaware of their arrival, Josh’s secretary stopped Harvey from entering his cabin. On stopping, Sam asked why she was stopping him from meeting Josh.

  ‘Boss has cancelled all the meetings for the day, and he said he would not like to meet anyone today,’ said the secretary firmly.

  ‘Inform him that Sam Geller and Harvey Derrick would like to meet him urgently,’ Sam told her with some seriousness and urgency. Reluctantly, the secretary went ahead and knocked on Josh’s cabin.

  ‘What’s the matter, Julie? I said I don’t want to talk to anyone, I want to be alone,’ said Josh in a grumpy tone.

  ‘Sir, Sam Geller and some person named Harvey Derrick have come to meet you, shall I send them in?’ asked his secretary in an apologetic tone.

  Josh wondered why Sam had got Harvey along; he knew Harvey was a detective. It must be something regarding the scam he thought. After a pause of a few seconds, Josh told Julie to let them in.

  ‘Hey Josh, all okay? Why have you cancelled all your meetings for the day? Anything serious?’ asked Sam.

  ‘Nothing, I just don’t feel like working after this,’ said Josh and handed a file to him. Sam opened the file to check what it was about. He was in disbelief when he read the word ‘divorce’. Sam had never imagined this could happen because of the scam. Monica, Josh’s wife, wanted a divorce. He passed the file to Harvey.

  ‘Can I talk to Monica? I am sure she has taken this decision hastily,’ asked Sam.

  ‘It’s of no use, my friend. She has made her decision. As it is, she claims that she was not happy in the marriage. She is very stern with what she wants to do,’ said Josh.

  ‘Josh, did you do something nasty through that Ashton Martinson website? Went on that forbidden date through the website? Don’t you love Monica? Were you not happy in your marriage to have signed up on the website?’ Sam asked out of curiosity. He didn’t want to believe that a couple like Josh and Monica would end their marriage on these grounds.

  ‘It is not that I am not happy or don’t love Monica. I do love her. I don’t think I will be able to survive without her. You know, she is not answering my calls or replying to my messages. I miss her so much that I keep checking my phone every five minutes to check if she has messaged. It’s a terrible feeling. Trust me. I don’t feel like eating or doing any sort of work. She feels I have cheated her and that I don’t love her. It’s not true. Yes, I made a mistake by opening the account on that website. At first, it was only out of curiosity,’ said Josh.

  Sam didn’t bother him further with his questions. Even he had opened an account out of curiosity and now landed in trouble. After seeing Josh’s state and the divorce notice lying on the table, Sam felt like confronting Rachel and clearing all the misunderstandings with her. He was wary of the future after seeing the way things were going for Josh.

  ‘Josh, if you don’t mind, can we try talking to Monica. Maybe it can change her mind. Maybe she can tell us what she is bothered about that she is taking this step. She might not tell you as she is annoyed with you, but she can talk to us open-heartedly about it. Can I please try, once?’ asked Sam.

  ‘No, Sam, just leave it. It’s of no use,’ said Josh in a very stern voice. Something was amiss, why would Josh refuse this offer of friends meeting Monica and give things a try.

  ‘If you say so, but in future anytime if you need me to talk to her then let me know. Anyways, meet Harvey, he is here to study your case, to nail the blackmailer. Am sure you would want to get hold of the blackmailer, right?’ asked Sam.

  ‘I would like to see the email you have received and other details through which the blackmailer contacted you,’ said Harvey.

  ‘Yes, sure, give me a minute, I will get you all the details I have. But make sure the blackmailer doesn’t screw me more and expose me publicly. As of now, apart from my wife and you guys, no one else knows about it. People only know that I have some problem with my marriage. Nothing about the scam,’ said Josh to both of them.

  Harvey checked all the emails and noted the IP address. Apart from the first email, the pattern of other emails was quite different from that of Sam. Even the IP address was not the same. There was no typical pattern in the scheme of blackmailing at all. Harvey wondered how many blackmailers there were in the whole of the US who were just after the users of the website. And there was no email which had revealed any information about him after the blackmail amount had been paid. So, how had his wife come to know of it?

  ‘Apart from this, is there any other email id where you got any mail from the blackmailer?’ Harvey asked curiously.

  ‘No, nothing,’ said Josh.

  ‘Then how did your wife came to know about it, does she check your emails or the blackmailer sent her the mail directly?’ asked Harvey.

  Josh was reluctant to answer his question. But hesitantly, he responded to his question.

  ‘My wife came to know about it a few days before the scam hit the headlines. But she didn’t tell me that she knew about it until I got the email from the blackmailer. After the email, when I went to confront her, she didn’t want to hear me out and walked out,’ said Josh in a sad tone.

  ‘Josh, am really sorry to ask you so many personal questions at this moment. But it’s all to find out who the blackmailer is, at least you may get back your money,’ said Harvey.

  ‘When I opened my account with this website, a chat window suddenly popped out. And, I started chatting. It felt nice. We shared email addresses to chat privately, and I ensured that every chat gets deleted soon after chatting. I used to chat through my phone and deleted all data from there. Once when I came home, my wife asked for my laptop. Her laptop was not working properly. I gave my laptop to her and went for a shower. My phone was on charge. I simply forgot the fact that my phone was synced with my laptop. Since I used to delete the chats and the mails, there was nothing to worry about. But it was my bad luck that certain chats which I had deleted from my phone were not deleted from the laptop. And that blunder cost me my marriage. It’s after a few days that the scam happened and she got angrier and decided to leave me,’ said Josh.

  Sam and Harvey listened to him out carefully. Harvey got the details of the account number to which Josh had to send money. He noted down, all the while thinking how that could help. He would have to use great sources to crack the details from the bank. As to Sam he was a little in disbelief at whatever he had heard. While talking to Josh, Sam felt that something was not quite right.

  Chapter 15

  After a few days of meeting Josh, Sam was quite sure he needed to tell Rachel everything, without any delay. He planned a surprise for Rachel by taking her out for a dinner date. It had been many days that they had not spoken properly. And after that incident, Sam knew Rachel would be mad at him. And thus before she got any wrong notions and their relationship went the way like Josh and Monica he knew he had to act. Or else, he would always regret it. He was sure that Rachel would forgive him after hearing him out. After all, it was only an account he had opened in that freaky website. He had actually never cheated on her.

  Sam made all the arrangements. He reserved a special table at Rachel’s favourite restaurant in Los Angeles. He wanted to gift Rachel a solitaire ring and thus visited the jeweller from whom she bought her jewellery. He selected a beautiful four-carat solitaire ring with small diamonds all over on the band of the ring; the gold polished in rose gold. The ring was every girl’s desire. It was so beautiful, Sam bought that ring and gift-packed it beautifully. He was exiting the jeweller’s shop when he saw Monica entering the shop.

  ‘Hey, Monica! How are you doing? Long time!’ Sam shouted as he waved at her from a distance.

  ‘Hey Sam, I am good. How are you guys doing? What are you doing alone outside a jewellery store? Where is Rachel?’ asked Monica in a very excited tone. She was happy to see
Sam even after all the ups and downs happening in her life.

  ‘I am alone today. Buying a ring for Rachel to surprise her,’ Sam smiled sheepishly. He was blushing too.

  ‘That’s so sweet of you. So romantic, Sam, even after all these years. Nowadays, where do husbands have thoughts like you? They all are busy only in building their empire and making money,’ remarked Monica, in a tone that indicated that she was quite upset.

  Sam knew he had played a wrong chord. He felt like talking to her about the matters with Josh but was reluctant as Josh had clearly asked him not to. But something within him triggered and he decided to engage Monica in a conversation.

  ‘Am sorry Monica, I know life is being hard on you. Josh told me,’ said Sam.

  Monica was shocked. She had never expected that Josh would talk about this sensitive matter to anyone. She was furious. It was awkward being confronted by Sam.

  ‘Yes, you heard it right Sam, I am taking a divorce,’ answered Monica, trying to sound cool and normal about it.

  ‘Monica, it was I who wanted to talk to you about it, Josh had forbidden me. You and Josh were so happy with each other when you guys got married. How come a couple like you had to take this step? I hope you are not taking any decisions hastily ... is there anything I can do to help you guys to sort out the matter?’ asked Sam.

  Monica was clearly keen on taking the divorce. She didn’t show any reluctance in taking this huge step, her voice was strong and confident as she spoke.

  ‘No, Sam, there is nothing left for you to do now. You have no idea what has happened. I am sure Josh has told you only half the story,’ said Monica.

  ‘What do you mean by “half”, is there anything more to it?’ asked Sam curiously. He told Monica how Harvey was helping Josh to nail down the blackmailer.