The U.S.A trip did him no good. Nights were the same, random noises and voices getting into his mind along with movements in specific parts of his body. He had stopped trying to sleep. Occasionally he did get an hour or two but that was it.

Till now he had not consulted anyone regarding this problem. He understood well that anyone who hears about it would advise him to consult a psychiatrist. Rohan had an American friend by the name of John Kaspersky whom he could trust. John had a great advantage in that he was a patient listener and completely disconnected to anybody of Rohan’s acquaintances. When John heard Rohan, he suggested conducting X-ray and MRI scans of the brain to check if there was anything wrong. Maybe stress or strong external radiation had affected his mental state. Nothing came out of these scans and Rohan had to return back to India in a state of distress and very worried.

Fortunately for him, the classes after the mid-term exams had still some time to start. The problem was that he was able to do all his work properly so there was nothing wrong with his brain functioning. He was convinced he did not need psychiatric help. But he had no idea why he couldn’t sleep or kept hearing those undecipherable sounds.

There was no progress in the murder investigation as well. He hadn’t heard from Lavie for quite some time. He tried calling at her office only to find out that she was on leave since a month. He called her on mobile which she did not pick. There was a message saying that she was busy but no progress had been made in the investigations of the murder. Rohan sensed something was wrong with her.

He received a postal letter from Mala inquiring if he would keep paying for his mother’s trust to educate the children of the area. Mala had also mentioned about the MLA’s visit to her house and his remorse for not being able to give an interview. She said the MLA agreed to give an interview and had asked her to relay the information to Lavie.

The major part of the letter was the surprising news that Bansi had been arrested on charges of keeping illegal money. She had written that the police had found a bag full of cash in his office and arrested him when he could not explain the source of his income. This happened a week after the news report had come out. He has been in police custody since then and his paper’s circulation has stopped.

This time Rohan messaged Lavie to talk about something important. Lavie called back, her voice was subdued. He told her about the letter from Mala. She tried showing interest, but Rohan knew that she sounded tired. He inquired.

‘Is everything right Lavie?’

‘No, not really.’ She confided in him. She wished to talk to somebody. Psychiatric consultation was not helping her. She told him in brief detail about the noises in her head and the involuntary movements. Rohan heard her out with astonishment and relief, something which a hunted animal feels when she sees another of its species in similar trouble. It’s the feeling of hope presented by a company in a similar situation of distress. He spoke to her about his experiences as well in great detail. She started crying on listening to him. Probably her tears were because of similar reasons and also because it signalled to a hope that the solution to it did not lay in psychiatry, something which threatened to destroy her life and career. Who wants to be under a psychiatric care! Most importantly who wants to work with people who have shown abnormal tendencies like she had been showing recently!

‘Do you understand what is spoken?’ He asked her.

‘Most of the times it is bullshit. Only sometimes I can get few words in English.’

‘I think they speak in a mix of a foreign language and English. I get a sense I have heard their language, maybe in a movie somewhere. Just that I cannot pinpoint which one is it.’

‘I don’t know what to do here. It’s really strange. The doctor says I have schizophrenia. And I have been taking these tons of medicine, all making me sleepy. Still I hardly get 2-3 hours of sleep a day. My boyfriend has left me. I cannot go to work. It is just that I am so happy to hear that there is someone else with similar issue. Do you have any idea about it?’ Lavie had tears in her eyes while she looked at her hands.

‘No idea of what it is. But whatever it is, it’s related to the murders,’ said Rohan, ‘I will find it out.’

‘But what do we do of Bansidhar Murmu?’ she asked him.

‘Could you ask someone from your office to help him?’

‘I can, but I do not think it will matter. He was only a contractual employee being paid on news basis.’

‘I am sure something can be done.’

Two days later, Rohan received a mail from Lavie. She had written that the newspaper had contacted Bansi and has accepted to provide him legal assistance. She would keep him updated about the developments. It also had a web link to a news article about a top scientist working at DEAL, Dehradun, who went missing. As per the news report, the scientist, Rakesh Singh Ahluwalia was suffering from Schizophrenia and DEAL feared that he would leak sensitive information. Dr. Ahluwalia was having problems like inability to sleep and listening to external sounds. He had been working there for the last twenty years but had developed these issues recently. DEAL had sent him on an indefinite leave. After a few days he was found missing from his home.

The news was around three years old. Rohan checked if there were any updates on Mr Ahluwalia. Nothing was there. Lavie had written just one line below the link: ‘Did he have the same problem like us?’

Rohan called her and asked if she wanted to come to Dehradun with him to probe further. She immediately replied with a yes.