The Last Call

1. The Body at the Railway Crossing

Makum, Assam — 2:17 AM

Rain hammered the deserted streets of Makum.

The railway crossing near the old market was empty, except for a white Bolero parked beside the tracks.

Its headlights were still on.

Inside, a man sat motionless behind the steering wheel.

A single bullet hole marked his forehead.

His name was Ranjit Dutta, a 46-year-old businessman who owned several tea warehouses around Makum.

At 2:34 AM, the police arrived.

Inspector Arjun Saikia, recently transferred from Dibrugarh, stepped out of his vehicle and examined the scene.

There were no signs of a struggle.

No broken windows.

No weapon.

But something immediately caught his attention.

The victim's phone was resting on the passenger seat.

Its screen displayed a missed call.

UNKNOWN NUMBER — 2:16 AM

Arjun turned to the constable beside him.

"Find out who called him."

The constable nodded.

Then Arjun noticed something else.

The driver's window was completely closed.

He leaned closer to the body.

And whispered:

"Then how did the bullet get inside?"

2. The Man Who Knew Too Much

By morning, news of the murder had spread throughout Makum.

Shops opened late. People gathered at tea stalls, discussing the killing.

Ranjit Dutta had enemies.

Many enemies.

His business partner, Prakash Agarwal, had recently accused him of stealing ₹40 lakh from their company.

His younger brother, Bikash Dutta, had been fighting him over ancestral property.

And his former accountant, Nirmal Bora, had been fired just three days earlier.

Three suspects.

Three possible motives.

But the post-mortem report revealed something unexpected.

Ranjit had died between 11:30 PM and midnight.

Almost two hours before his body was discovered.

Arjun stared at the report.

"Someone murdered him somewhere else."

The constable looked confused.

"Then why leave the body at the railway crossing?"

Arjun looked at the photograph of the Bolero.

"Because they wanted us to find it there."

That afternoon, the cybercrime unit traced the mysterious call.

It had come from a prepaid SIM registered under a dead man's identity.

The SIM had been activated only four days earlier.

But what disturbed Arjun most was the location.

The call had originated from inside Makum Police Station.

3. The Missing CCTV Footage

Arjun immediately ordered an investigation into everyone present at the station that night.

Only five officers had been on duty.

Among them was Sub-Inspector Debojit Hazarika, a respected officer with fifteen years of service.

Debojit had been the first policeman to reach the murder scene.

He had also personally informed Arjun about the abandoned Bolero.

"Sir, you don't seriously think someone from our station is involved?" Debojit asked.

Arjun didn't answer.

Instead, he requested CCTV footage from the station.

The recording was available.

Except for one missing section.

11:42 PM to 12:08 AM.

Twenty-six minutes had disappeared.

The technician claimed it was a system malfunction.

Arjun wasn't convinced.

That evening, he visited the railway crossing again.

An elderly tea seller approached him.

"Sir, I saw that white vehicle last night."

Arjun turned.

"What time?"

"Around two."

"Did you see the driver?"

The old man shook his head.

"But I saw something strange."

"What?"

"There were two people inside."

Arjun froze.

"The dead man and someone else?"

"No, sir."

The tea seller lowered his voice.

"Two people in police uniforms."

4. The Fourth Suspect

At 9:15 PM, Arjun summoned Debojit to his office.

On the table lay photographs of the crime scene, the missing CCTV timestamps, and the victim's call records.

"Where were you between eleven and midnight?" Arjun asked.

"At the station, sir."

"Can anyone confirm that?"

"The duty constable."

Arjun leaned forward.

"Then explain why the station CCTV stopped working."

Debojit remained silent.

"And why did someone call Ranjit from inside this station?"

Debojit's expression changed.

"Sir, there's something you need to know."

He reached into his pocket.

Arjun instinctively moved his hand toward his service pistol.

But Debojit pulled out a folded piece of paper.

It contained a photograph.

A young woman stood beside Ranjit Dutta.

"Her name was Mitali Sharma," Debojit said.

"She disappeared six months ago."

Arjun examined the photograph.

"What does she have to do with this murder?"

Debojit swallowed.

"She was going to expose Ranjit's illegal land deals."

"And?"

"Three days after she disappeared, her father filed a complaint."

Arjun looked up.

"What happened to the complaint?"

Debojit hesitated.

"It was never registered."

"Why?"

"Because someone ordered us to destroy it."

"Who?"

Debojit stared directly at him.

"Your predecessor."

Before Arjun could respond, his phone rang.

It was the forensic laboratory.

"Sir, we've found something inside the victim's vehicle."

"What?"

"A tiny bloodstain beneath the rear seat."

"Does it belong to Ranjit?"

"No, sir."

The technician paused.

"It belongs to a woman."

5. The House Behind the Tea Garden

The next morning, police discovered an abandoned house near a tea garden outside Makum.

A search of the property revealed bloodstained clothing, an old mattress, and several photographs of Ranjit Dutta.

One photograph had a message written across it.

YOU CANNOT BURY THE TRUTH FOREVER.

Inside a locked wooden cupboard, Arjun discovered a diary.

It belonged to Mitali Sharma.

The final entry was dated six months earlier.

If something happens to me, the truth is with the person everyone trusts.

Arjun read the sentence repeatedly.

The person everyone trusts.

A police officer?

A family member?

A friend?

Suddenly, his constable entered the room.

"Sir, we've found Mitali."

Arjun stood up.

"Where?"

"At a private hospital in Tinsukia."

"Is she alive?"

The constable nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Arjun felt a wave of relief.

Then the constable continued.

"But she hasn't spoken a single word in six months."

6. The Confession

At the hospital, Mitali sat beside a window, staring at the rain.

Arjun placed Ranjit's photograph in front of her.

She looked away.

Then he showed her Debojit's photograph.

Her hands began trembling.

"Do you know this man?" Arjun asked gently.

For several seconds, she remained silent.

Then she whispered:

"He saved me."

Arjun frowned.

"From whom?"

"Ranjit."

She explained that Ranjit had kidnapped her after discovering she possessed evidence of his illegal activities.

Debojit had secretly rescued her and hidden her in the hospital.

"Did Debojit kill Ranjit?" Arjun asked.

Mitali shook her head.

"No."

"Then who did?"

Tears filled her eyes.

"He came to see me yesterday."

"Who?"

"Ranjit."

Arjun leaned forward.

"What happened?"

"He said he was going to tell the police everything."

"Everything about what?"

Mitali stared at him.

"About the person who ordered my kidnapping."

Arjun felt his stomach tighten.

"Who ordered it?"

Before she could answer, Arjun's phone vibrated.

A message from the forensic team.

Arjun looked back at the woman.

She was still staring at the rain.

Then he noticed a small bandage around her left wrist.

"How did you injure your hand?" he asked.

Mitali slowly turned toward him.

For the first time, she smiled.

7. The Last Call

"You're looking at the wrong crime, Inspector," Mitali whispered.

Arjun remained still.

She reached beneath her pillow and handed him a phone.

On its screen was a video.

Ranjit Dutta sat inside his Bolero.

Alive.

Terrified.

A woman's voice spoke from behind the camera.

"Tell them what you did."

Ranjit began crying.

"I helped hide the land records. I paid the officers. I arranged everything."

"And who gave the orders?"

Ranjit looked directly into the camera.

"Prakash Agarwal."

Arjun's eyes widened.

Prakash.

The business partner.

The man everyone suspected from the beginning.

"Where is the rest of the recording?" Arjun demanded.

Mitali lowered her eyes.

"There isn't any."

"Did you kill him?"

"No."

"Then who fired the shot?"

Mitali whispered:

"Nobody."

Arjun stared at her.

"What do you mean?"

She pointed at the video.

"Look at the time."

11:47 PM.

Then she said something that made Arjun's blood run cold.

"Ranjit was already dying when I recorded that."

8. The Truth Beneath the Tracks

Arjun immediately contacted the forensic doctor.

"Recheck the bullet wound."

An hour later, the doctor called back.

"Inspector, the wound wasn't caused by a conventional firearm."

Arjun gripped his phone.

"Then what caused it?"

"A captive-bolt device. The kind used for stunning livestock."

Arjun closed his eyes.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

The closed car window.

The missing gun.

The strange wound.

The victim had been attacked at close range, somewhere else.

The body had been moved.

And the police uniforms?

A deliberate distraction.

Arjun returned to the hospital with an arrest team.

But Mitali's room was empty.

On her bed lay a single envelope.

Inside was a handwritten letter.

Inspector Saikia,

You were right about one thing.

Someone wanted the police to find Ranjit.

But you never asked why.

Six months ago, Ranjit tried to kill me. Debojit saved my life, but he couldn't bring the people responsible to justice.

So I made a plan.

I told Ranjit I had evidence against Prakash. He came to the old cattle shed to buy my silence.

I confronted him. He attacked me. During the struggle, I used the device lying nearby.

He collapsed.

I thought he was dead.

But he wasn't.

I recorded his confession while he was still conscious.

Then I called the one person I knew would help me.

Debojit.

He arrived, saw what I had done, and moved Ranjit into his vehicle. He told me he would take him to the hospital.

But he didn't.

Arjun stopped reading.

His hands went cold.

He turned the page.

Debojit was never protecting me, Inspector.

He was protecting himself.

He was the officer who destroyed my original complaint.

And he was the one who arranged my kidnapping for Prakash.

Ranjit knew.

That's why Debojit made sure he never reached the hospital.

The call at 2:16 AM was Debojit calling Ranjit's phone from the police station, creating a false timeline.

I knew you would eventually discover the truth.

That's why I left you the diary.

And one final thing.

Check the railway crossing CCTV from 2:12 AM.

Not the police station footage.

The railway crossing.

The Final Evidence

At 11:38 PM, Arjun received the recovered railway CCTV footage.

The video showed the white Bolero approaching the crossing.

Two men in police uniforms sat in the front.

Debojit was driving.

The second officer wore a cap pulled low over his face.

For several seconds, the passenger remained hidden.

Then he turned toward the camera.

Arjun stopped the video.

Zoomed in.

And felt his breath disappear.

The second officer was Constable Rakesh, the very man who had accompanied Arjun throughout the investigation.

The same constable who had collected the CCTV footage.

The same constable who had discovered Mitali's location.

And the same constable who was standing behind Arjun.

Right now.

A metallic click echoed through the silent room.

"Don't turn around, sir," Rakesh whispered.

Arjun slowly raised his hands.

"Where's Debojit?"

Rakesh smiled.

"Dead."

"Who killed him?"

"You already know too much."

Arjun glanced at the dark computer monitor.

In its reflection, he could see Rakesh holding a pistol.

But Rakesh couldn't see what was happening behind him.

The office door opened silently.

A woman's voice broke the silence.

"Drop the gun."

Rakesh turned.

Mitali stood in the doorway.

Beside her were four armed police officers.

Arjun exhaled.

He had anticipated that whoever appeared in the footage might come after him. Before playing it, he had quietly requested backup.

Rakesh dropped his weapon.

Within minutes, he was handcuffed.

Under interrogation, he confessed that he and Debojit had been working for Prakash. After Ranjit's injury, Debojit had killed him during the drive and staged the scene. Rakesh later murdered Debojit to prevent him from confessing.

Prakash was arrested the following morning.

Mitali was taken into custody for the attack on Ranjit, pending investigation into her claim of self-defence.

For the first time in six months, the truth had finally surfaced.

Or so Arjun believed.

EPILOGUE — 3:07 AM

The investigation was almost complete.

Arjun sat alone in his office, reviewing the recovered footage one last time.

Then something caught his attention.

At 2:14 AM, two minutes before the mysterious phone call, a third person appeared briefly near the railway crossing.

The figure stood beneath an umbrella, watching the Bolero.

Arjun zoomed in.

The person's face was hidden.

But the umbrella carried a distinctive white logo.

MAKUM TEA ESTATE.

Arjun opened the evidence photographs from the abandoned house.

In one photograph, Mitali stood beside Ranjit.

Behind them was another man.

He was holding the exact same umbrella.

Arjun turned the photograph over.

A name was written on the back.

Inspector Arjun Saikia.

His phone rang.

Unknown number.

He answered.

A familiar voice whispered:

"Welcome back to Makum, Inspector. Did you really think your transfer was a coincidence?"

The call ended.

And for the first time since arriving in Makum, Arjun understood something terrifying.

He hadn't been sent there to solve a murder.

He had been sent there to become part of one.

THE END

Some towns bury their secrets. Makum was only beginning to uncover its own.