The pandemic had thrown a spanner into many businesses, both proposed and running. A gym, all ready to be inaugurated on the first floor of a brand new building in the layout, had gone into hibernation as the government had, among other things, banned running of gyms till further notice. The slumber had come to an end when the ban had been lifted, but prospective customers were wary. Every morning at 6, a couple of trainers used to open up the place and switched on all the lights. It gave a feeling of warmth to the minds of the pedestrians who walked in the chilly October mornings.
But, as any of them could easily see through the large glass "walls", not a foot stepped on to the treadmills, cross-trainers or other contraptions arranged facing the road.
It looked like people were as wary of empty gyms as they were of crowded ones. The Inspector himself had felt that it would have made better advertisement if the trainers themselves had used the machines. But the trainers had other ideas.
They put up a table on the footpath and started distributing pamphlets offering substantial discounts on their 'regular' charges. They also put up a huge flex banner which announced the opening of the gym on the first of October. The date was borne on a patch pasted on to the now covered up date of 1st March, the original scheduled date. They also ended up blocking a substantial part of the footpath causing inconvenience to the regular walkers. Late in the evening, the table was locked up, but the banner continued to be on the footpath.
**
That situation had changed this morning. Regulars were greeted by the burnt remains of the banner. While the synthetic parts of the banner had practically disappeared into thin air, the scorched and distorted metal tubes that had supported the banner adorned the footpath. A mangled metal sculpture greeted the trainers when they arrived. They called up the manager immediately and reported their findings.
The manager arrived on site at around 8 a.m. and examined the corpus in situ. Fancying his powers of observation and detection, he attempted to unravel the crime, He could have found out the perpetrator had the owner had not skimped on investing money for CCTV. To save money, he had covered only the insides of the gym and not the exterior. The scene of the crime yielded nothing to him. Not even the phone number of the owner which had been put on the now non-existent banner, though the manager did not really need it. But he had to wait a couple of hours before calling up the owner who had specifically forbidden him to call before 10.
**
As advised by the owner, the manager went to the local police station to lodge a complaint. After some delay, he was ushered into the large hall where the duty officer was seated at his desk. He narrated his findings and communicated his master's desire to lodge a complaint. The duty officer was a bit wary of such complaints. They only added to the list of unsolved complaints and spoilt his performance records. He was sure he would not find anything of value in the form of evidence. Even if he had found a matchstick or two, after the local walkers had stomped all over the scene of the crime, there was no way to link it to anyone. He knew that teachers from a nearby coaching centre usually had a smoke or two between classes in that very corner.
Attack is the best form of defense, the officer knew, so he questioned the manager.
"What does your CCTV show?" he enquired, knowing very well that such a thing did not exist in the gym.
The manager sheepishly admitted that the CCTV did not cover the footpath.
The officer pressed forth the advantage he had, saying, "I had clearly asked you to cover that area too. And why were you encroaching the footpath? "
The manager knew he was beaten and required reinforcements. He called up the owner of the gym and informed him of the officer's reluctance to file a report. The owner, who was a locally influential person, pulled some strings and the telephone on the officer's desk rang within five minutes.
The Assistant Commissioner, who was on the line, instructed the duty officer to take the complaint.
Cornered, the officer accepted the letter from the gym manager and registered a complaint against "unknown offenders".
In order to vent his frustration, he muttered rather loudly, "Be happy with the acknowledgement of your complaint! Nothing will be achieved in this case. Not a shred of evidence will be there to identify offender."
He continued his tirade, in a semi-humourous way, saying, "Everyone wears a mask these days. How shall I be able to unmask the real offender?"
There was a cackle from the corner of his room, where his ex-boss was sitting. Pushing his mask down from his mouth, Inspector Murthy, with a smile on his face, said, "I am sure the offender will be unmasked. Go and look. I am sure you will find some evidence. "
Then sub-consciously, the retired officer, touched his right pant pocket. He was reassured to find the lighter he had used to burn the banner nestling safely in it. He smiled inwardly, congratulating himself on his matchless performance. He told himself that the duty officer could play to any extent with any matchsticks he found.
He had made it a habit to visit the station every day after retirement and chat up his protégé, as it also afforded him a peek into the goings on in the neighbourhood. There was only so much a policeman in service could do. It was a different story after retirement...
***
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