The sea stretched endlessly, calm and indifferent to the storm brewing among the passengers. Birds danced over the waves, their carefree flight a stark contrast to the heavy silence that had settled over the ship since Samar's death.
Inspector Deshmukh stood near the captain's cabin, reviewing his notes one final time before the day's interviews. The passengers moved about like ghosts of their former selves-the laughter and excitement of the first day now replaced by whispered conversations and suspicious glances.
"Today we will find our answers," he murmured to himself, closing the file with determination.
Tanya had barely slept the night before. Her mind kept replaying every conversa- tion, every strange look, every moment that seemed out of place. She needed fresh air, needed to clear her head before facing whatever revelations the day might bring.
Walking briskly across the upper deck toward the lounge, she was lost in thought when a tall figure suddenly bumped into her shoulder, hard enough to make her stumble.
"Oye! Watch where you're going," the man snapped in a gruff voice, not even bothering to look back properly.
Tanya steadied herself, frowning. "Excuse me? You bumped into me!"
But the man was already walking away, his shoulders hunched, dark sunglasses covering half his face despite the early morning hour. A thick, bushy mustache dominated his features, and he wore a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead.
Something about him made Tanya's skin crawl. The way he moved-there was something familiar yet wrong about his gait. She watched him disappear around the corner, her journalist instincts screaming that something was off.
"That was strange," she muttered, then made a beeline for Inspector Deshmukh.
She found him near the restaurant, speaking quietly with one of the crew mem- bers.
"Sir," Tanya approached, slightly breathless. "I need to tell you something."
Deshmukh looked up, his experienced eyes immediately noting her agitation. "What is it, Tanya?"
"There's a man on this ship-tall, with sunglasses and a thick mustache. He just bumped into me very rudely, but that's not the strange part." She paused, organiz- ing her thoughts. "His walk, the way he carries himself... something about him seems familiar, but also wrong. Like he's trying too hard to be someone else."
Deshmukh's eyebrows rose slightly. "Can you describe him more?"
"Dark clothes, baseball cap, avoiding eye contact. But, Inspector, I've been watching people my whole career as a journalist. This man... he's hiding something big."
"Where did you see him last?"
"Heading toward the lower deck cabins."
Without another word, Deshmukh stood up. "Show me."
They found the mysterious man standing near the ship's railing, pretending to look out at the ocean. But his posture was tense, his head slightly turned as if listening for approaching footsteps.
Deshmukh approached slowly, his hand instinctively moving to his badge. "Excuse me, sir."
The man stiffened but didn't turn around immediately.
"Sir, I need to speak with you," Deshmukh said more firmly.
Slowly, the man turned. Behind the sunglasses and mustache, Deshmukh could see beads of sweat on his forehead despite the cool morning breeze.
"Yes?" the man replied, his voice artificially deepened.
"I'm Inspector Deshmukh, investigating the incident on board. May I see some identification?"
The man's hands trembled slightly as he reached into his pocket.
"I... I don't have it on me right now."
"That's interesting," Deshmukh stepped closer. "Because every passenger was asked to carry their ID at all times during this investigation."
"Look, I just forgot-" "What's your cabin number?" "I... uh.... 247."
Deshmukh pulled out his passenger manifest. "247 is registered to Mrs. Joshi, an elderly lady traveling with her daughter." His voice became steel. "So I'll ask again-who are you?"
The man took a step back, panic flickering in his eyes. "There must be some mistake-"
"The only mistake," Deshmukh said, moving swiftly, "is you thinking you could fool me."
In one quick motion, he reached up and yanked the fake mustache from the man's face. The man yelped in pain and surprise.
"And these," Deshmukh pulled off the sunglasses, revealing familiar eyes wide with terror.
Gasps echoed from the small crowd that had gathered, drawn by the commotion.
"Aditya?" Riya's voice came out as barely a whisper from somewhere behind them.
The man-now revealed as Aditya-stood frozen, his disguise literally in Deshmukh's hands. His real face was partially hidden by a newly grown beard, and his hair was styled completely differently, but there was no mistaking his identity now.
"Aditya Meher," Deshmukh's voice carried across the deck. "So this is why your name wasn't on the passenger manifest. You boarded under a false identity."
Aditya's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "Inspector, I can explain-"
"Oh, you'll explain everything," Deshmukh cut him off sharply. "But first, tell me-how did you get on this ship?"
"I... I bought a ticket-" "Under what name?"
Aditya's eyes darted around desperately. "Rohit... Rohit Kumar."
"And you thought you could just spy on your girlfriend and her friends without anyone noticing?" Deshmukh's tone was ice-cold. "Did it occur to you that there's been a murder on this ship? That your secret presence makes you our prime suspect?"
"I didn't kill anyone!" Aditya's voice cracked. "I would never-"
"Take him to the interview lounge," Deshmukh ordered the security personnel who had arrived. "And bring Nisha there too. It's time for some real answers."
Riya stood frozen near the railing, her world crumbling around her. The man she had loved, trusted, and planned a future with had been secretly following her, disguised like some criminal. The betrayal cut deeper than any physical wound.
Her phone buzzed. Without thinking, she glanced at it and saw a notification from the messaging app. Her heart sank further as she remembered the messages she had discovered between Nisha and Aditya. Messages that weren't just friend-
ly-they were intimate, romantic, filled with secrets she was never meant to see.
"Can't wait to see you tonight. Riya will never know." - Aditya "This is so wrong, but I can't stop thinking about you." - Nisha "She's so busy with Tanya, she won't even notice." - Aditya
The messages blurred as tears filled her eyes. She had read them the night before, unable to sleep, unable to process the depth of their deception.
"Riya," Meera appeared beside her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Riya laughed bitterly, wiping her tears. "Okay? My fiancé is secretly on this cruise in disguise, probably having an affair with my best friend, and now he might be a murderer. Should I be okay?"
"Do you want to talk to them?" Meera asked softly.
Riya stared at the interview room where Aditya and Nisha were being taken. "No, Meera. I'm done talking. Let the truth come out in front of everyone. I want to hear their lies with my own ears, just like everyone else will."
Her voice was steady, but inside, her heart was shattering into a thousand pieces.
Inside the interview lounge, Aditya sat across from Inspector Deshmukh, his false bravado completely gone. His hands shook as he waited for the questioning to begin.
"Let's start simple," Deshmukh said, his pen poised over his notepad. "Why are you on this cruise?"
"I... Riya had been acting strange for weeks. Not taking my calls, making excuses, being distant. I got worried."
"So you decided to spy on her?"
Aditya flinched. "It wasn't spying! I just wanted to know what was wrong. "So you obtained false documents and boarded illegally?"
"I... I know someone who could arrange the ticket under a different name. I just wanted to protect the women I care about."
Deshmukh leaned forward. "The women? Plural?" Aditya's face reddened. "I meant Riya and her friends." "Including Nisha specifically?"
The silence stretched uncomfortably long.
"Aditya," Deshmukh's voice was dangerously quiet. "Where were you the night Samar Malhotra was murdered?"
"In my cabin. Room 156. I stayed in most of the evening." "Alone?"
Another pause. "Yes... no... I mean..." "Which is it?"
"I went out for a while. Just to get some air." "Where exactly?"
"The lower deck. I wanted to see if I could spot Riya or the others without being seen."
"And did you encounter Samar that night?"
Aditya's face went pale. "I... yes. He was drunk, stumbling around near the engine room area."
"What happened?"
"He was saying horrible things about Nisha, about her dress, making lewd comments. I couldn't just ignore it."
"So you confronted him?"
"I told him to shut up and stay away from her. He laughed and said he knew all about Nisha and me, that he'd tell Riya everything if I didn't back off."
Deshmukh made notes carefully. "And then?"
"Then nothing! I left him there and went back to my room. I swear on my mother's life, Inspector, I didn't hurt him."
"Can anyone verify your whereabouts after this encounter?" Aditya hesitated. "Ask Nisha."
Nisha entered the room like a woman walking to her execution. Her usual confi- dence was gone, replaced by nervous energy that made her hands shake.
"Nisha," Deshmukh began gently, "how long have you been in contact with Aditya?"
She took a shuddering breath. "Five hours before Samar was murdered. "Did you know he was coming on this cruise?"
"Not until he texted me from the ship. I was shocked, but also... I was happy to see him."
"You spent time together while he was in disguise?"
"Yes," she whispered. "We met in secret. We talked, we... we kissed. I felt so guilty, but I couldn't stop myself."
"Tell me about Samar."
Nisha shuddered. "He was disgusting. That first night at the dance, he made crude
comments about my dress, about my body. I walked away, but he kept staring at me, following me with his eyes."
"Did he know about you and Aditya?"
"Somehow, yes. He approached me the second night and said he knew I was cheating on my best friend. He said he'd tell Riya unless..." She couldn't finish the sentence.
"Unless what, Nisha?"
"Unless I spent time with him. He was drunk and disgusting, and I ran away." "Where were you when Samar died?"
"With Aditya. In his cabin. We were... we were together all night." "And you're sure about the timing?"
"Yes. We were scared about Samar's threat, so we stayed together to figure out what to do."
After the interviews, Deshmukh decided it was time for the three of them to face each other. He had Riya brought to the lounge where Aditya and Nisha sat in separate chairs, unable to look at each other or anywhere else.
When Riya walked in, the tension in the room became suffocating.
She looked at Aditya first, taking in his changed appearance-the beard, the different hairstyle, the defeated posture. Then her eyes moved to Nisha, who was crying silently.
"So," Riya's voice was surprisingly steady. "six months." Neither of them responded.
"Six months you've been lying to me. six months of secret messages, secret meetings, secret feelings." Her voice began to shake. "Did you laugh at me? About how stupid I was, planning our future while you were planning your betrayal?"
"Riya, please-" Aditya started.
"Don't." The word came out like a whip. "Don't say my name. You lost that right when I got to know about you and Nisha
Nisha sobbed harder. "Riya, I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I love you like a sister-"
"Sisters don't sleep with each other's Fiancé," Riya said coldly. "Sisters don't lie and scheme and betray trust."
"It just happened," Nisha pleaded. "The feelings just grew-"
"Feelings don't just grow, Nisha. You make choices. Every text, every meeting, every lie-those were choices." Riya's composure finally cracked, tears streaming down her face. "You chose him over me. Both of you chose betrayal over honesty."
Aditya finally found his voice. "Riya, I love you. I've always loved you. This thing with Nisha-it was confusion, it was stupid, but it doesn't change how I feel about you."
Riya stared at him for a long moment. "You know what hurts the most? It's not that you fell for someone else. It's that you lied about it. If you had told me you were having doubts, if you had been honest about your feelings, I could have handled it. But this? This is unforgivable."
She stood up, dignity intact despite her tears. "I hope you're both very happy together. But stay away from me."
As she reached the door, she turned back one last time. "And Aditya? If you killed Samar to keep your secret safe, I hope they lock you up forever."
After Riya left, Deshmukh sat quietly for a moment, observing the two devastated people in front of him. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small evidence bag.
"We found this near the engine room," he said, holding up a scrap of torn fabric. "It matches the material from your fake mustache, Aditya."
Aditya's eyes widened. "That doesn't prove anything! I told you I was there, I told you I argued with him!"
"Yes, you did. But you also lied about everything else. Your identity, your pres- ence on the ship, your relationship with Nisha." Deshmukh leaned back. "Why should I believe you're telling the truth about not killing him?"
"Because I'm not a murderer!" Aditya shouted. "I may be a cheater, I may be a liar, but I would never kill anyone!"
"The evidence suggests otherwise. You had motive-Samar was threatening to expose your affair. You had the opportunity-you were there at the right time. And now we have physical evidence placing you at the scene."
Deshmukh stood up. "You'll both remain in custody while we continue the inves- tigation. The ship docks tomorrow, and you'll be held there for further investigation."
As security led them away, Aditya called out desperately, "Inspector, please! I didn't kill him! Someone else did this!"
But his protests fell on deaf ears.
Later that evening, Deshmukh stood on the deck, watching the sunset paint the sky in brilliant oranges and purples. The case seemed to be falling into place, but something still nagged at him.
Tanya approached him quietly. "Do you really think Aditya killed Samar?"
Deshmukh considered the question carefully. "He had all the classic elements-mo- tive, opportunity, means. The physical evidence places him at the scene. His behavior has been suspicious from the start."
"But?"
"But murder is a big step from cheating and lying. And something about his reactions seems genuine to me." He shook his head. "We'll know more when we reach Goa and can do proper forensic analysis."
As they talked, neither of them noticed a figure watching from the shadows, someone who had heard every word of their conversation-someone who knew the real truth about what happened in the engine room that night.
The net was tightening, but around the wrong person.
And the real killer was still walking free among them, planning their next move.
....
Chapter 5 is here, and whoa… what a ride! 😮💨Aditya in disguise? Nisha's betrayal? Riya's heartbreak? The tension is real, and I want to know everything you're thinking right now!
Do you think Aditya is guilty? Or is he just the perfect scapegoat?And did you spot that twist at the end? 👀 Someone's watching... and it might not be over yet.
Tell me:🩶 Whose side are you on?🕵️♀️ Who do you trust now?💬 What was your biggest gasp moment?
Can't wait to hear your theories—let the sleuthing begin! 🧩✨