Kabir ne ek photocopied event sheet ko light ki taraf hold kiya. “Haan, main yahi kar raha hoon. Yeh dekh—annual fest ke baad waale week mein hostel gate sign-out records mein do entries missing hain. Sirf missing nahi, jaise page se hi kaat di gayi ho.”
Arjun ne us sheet ko dhyan se dekha. “Sirf do?”
“Abhi ke liye.” Kabir ne doosra bundle khola. “Aur yeh campus map ka corner.”
Paper ka ek tukda, ragged edge ke saath, unke beech gira. Us par library annex ke paas ke corridor ka partial outline tha, aur ek hand-marked arrow jo basement side ki taraf ja raha tha. Arjun ki eyebrows thodi upar gayi.
“Yeh random nahi hai,” usne dheere se kaha. “Kisi ko building layout achchhe se pata tha.”
Kabir ne ek baar room ke around nazar ghumaayi, jaise walls bhi sun rahi हों. “Ya phir kisi ne jaan-bujh ke aise jagah choose ki jahan movement kam ho. Annex ke peeche wala passage, old archive stair, aur service corridor—teenon ka connection yahin se banta hai.”
Arjun ne agle pile se hostel circular nikala. “Kunal ke time ke aas-paas ka kuch hai?”
Kabir ne ek page par ungli rakhi. “Yeh. Hostel maintenance notice. Same week, same floor pe power check likha hai. Aur yeh event sheet—student union ka late-night screening. Log tab aasani se idhar-udhar move karte hain.”
Arjun ne notice board ke ek corner par pinned gossip printout dekha, jo kisi ne half-jokingly informally circulate kiya tha. “Aur yeh?”
Kabir ne nazar daali. “Campus thread?”
“Hmm.”
Kabir ne ek short whistle jaisa sound nikala. “Toh movement trail campus ke dusre side se yahan tak aa sakta hai. Koi bhi random night walk nahi.”
Arjun ne torn map ko notice sheet ke upar rakha. “Kunal ka last known route aur yeh path overlap kar rahe hain.”
Kabir ne chin lift ki. “Aur sign-out record ka gap bhi. Matlab kisi ne ya toh entry avoid ki, ya entry ko clean kiya.”.
Terrace par noon ki dhoop safed aur sakht thi, jaise kisi ne hostel ke upar ek bada sa exam paper bichha diya ho. Neeche canteen se aloo-pyaaz ki bhuni hui khushboo upar tak aa rahi thi, par Room 69 ke chaaron ladke lunch ke naam par yahan bas isliye jam gaye the kyunki ground floor ke shor se door sochna aasan tha.
Arjun railing ke paas khada tha, shirt ki sleeves aadhi मोड़ी hui, chehre par wohi casual confidence jo aam taur par logon ko confuse kar deta tha. Aaj uske jokes kam, nazar zyada tez thi. Rohan ek bench ke kone par baitha tha, tiffin khula hua tha par khaane se zyada uska dhyan us chhoti si notebook par tha jo usne pocket se nikali thi. Kabir ne ek plastic spoon ko ungliyon ke beech ghumaya, jaise usse bhi pata ho ki ab zyada bolne se silence aur bhaari ho jayega. Imran sabse alag, terrace ki shadow line ke paas khada tha, haath mein water bottle, aur aankhen seedhi.
“Lunch meeting,” Kabir ne finally bola. “Room 69 ka board meeting. Bas chai ki jagah rajma hai. Very premium.”
Arjun ne ek thaka hua sa smile diya. “Aaj teri comedy bhi maintenance mode mein hai.”
Kabir ne kandhe uchka diye. “Haan, kyunki campus ka mood bhi down hai. Waise, maintenance mode important hota hai. Dekh, agar kuch band pada ho na, toh wapas chalne se pehle usko do baar tap karo.”
Rohan ne pen ki cap band ki, bina upar dekhe. “Kabir, please.”
Imran ne bottle ko railing par rakha. “Mujhe ek useful cheez mili.”
Arjun turant seedha hua. “Bol.”
Imran ne words ko carefully nikala. “Hostel ke old service wing mein night duty wale maintenance worker ne ek detail batayi. Us raat, jab Kunal missing hua, wahan lights baar-baar flicker kar rahi thi. Sirf ek baar nahi. Multiple times.”
Kabir ka spoon ruk gaya. “Service wing? Woh section toh almost dead hai.”
“Exactly,” Imran bola. “Wahan kam log jaate hain. Aur agar lights flicker kar rahi thi, toh ya wiring issue tha… ya kisi ne power supply se kuch kiya.”
Rohan ne finally nazar uthayi. “Night of disappearance ke around?”
Imran ne haan mein sar hilaya. “Usne bola timing weird thi. Pehle corridor bright tha, phir ekdum dim, phir wapas. Aur uske hisaab se us waqt old wing ke paas koi movement bhi thi. Clear nahi dekha, but enough to notice.”
Arjun ne railing par fingers tap kiye. Ab uski charm wali easy energy gayab thi. “Old service wing kis-kis ke access mein hai?”
“Warden, maintenance staff, aur jo log bina permission ghus jaate hain,” Kabir ne kaha, phir ek half-smirk diya. “Campus mein third category kaafi popular hai.”
Rohan ne notebook kholkar ek line underline ki..
Faculty block ke side passage mein afternoon light seedhi aur sookhi thi, jaise campus ki deewar bhi kuch bolna nahi chahti ho. Arjun sabse aage chal raha tha, haath mein file nahi, bas woh aadat ki tarah confident walk. Rohan uske piche, phone ki screen ko dekhte hue bhi aas-paas ki details note kar raha tha. Kabir ne corridor ke end par ek baar mudkar CCTV dome ko dekha, phir nazar hata li. Imran chup tha, lekin uski aankhen har corner ko measure kar rahi thi.
“Tum log phir se yahan?” Dr. Meera Kapoor ki awaaz unke kadam se pehle aa gayi.
Woh side door ke paas khadi thi, ek hand mein thin folder, doosre mein coffee cup. Uska expression soft nahi tha, par harsh bhi nahi. Bas bilkul controlled. Aisa lag raha tha jaise woh already jaanti ho ki ye meeting accidental nahi hai. Arjun ne ek polite smile rakhi.
“Ma’am, class ke baad thoda—”
“Thoda nahi,” Dr. Meera ne calmly cut kiya. “Tum log same corridor ke cameras ke around teen din se ghoom rahe ho. Aur ek of you has been seen near the records room. Ab mujhe batao, campus tour chal raha hai ya koi pattern dhundh rahe ho?”
Rohan ne turant bola, “Ma’am, we’re just checking inconsistencies. Nothing illegal.”
“Illegal ka word bahut jaldi use kar liya, Rohan.” Unki nazar us par ek second zyada ruki, phir Kabir par shift ho gayi. “Kabir, tumhara naam bhi ek incident log mein aaya tha. Same wing, same time window. Coincidence campus mein hota hai, but repeated coincidence becomes a question.”
Kabir ka jaw tight hua. “Main bas wahan se guzra tha.”
“Guzarna bhi kabhi kabhi enough hota hai,” Dr. Meera ne kaha. “Aur kabhi kabhi koi aur tumhare naam se guzarta hai.”
Passage mein ek moment ke liye silence gir gaya. Door se lecture hall ka noise muffled aata raha, lekin yahan hawa bhi careful lag rahi thi. Imran ne pehli baar bolne ki zarurat mehsoos ki.
“Ma’am, aapko kya lagta hai?”
Dr. Meera ne coffee cup side mein shift kiya. “Mujhe lagta hai koi campus ke andar traces clean kar raha hai. Sirf evidence nahi, rhythm bhi. Logon ke timings, entry logs, camera blind spots—sabko kisi ne samjha hua hai. Aur jo bhi yeh kar raha hai, woh student nahi lagta. Ya agar student hai, toh akela nahi hai.”
Arjun ki smile gayab ho gayi. “Kisi staff member ka role?”