Don’t Trust Linda – The Grave of Nobody’s Darling

Previously in 'Don't Trust Linda' :

Linda Winslet accidentally meets John at police station, when she came running for help. John decides to go alone with Linda to the crime scene and leaves Brad at police station. John finds dead bodies of Winslet family along with driver Robert's and gardener Bismil's in that A-frame old house. When he searches for Linda, he hears her singing mysteriously. While following the voice, he finds Linda's room and her blood spattered cloths on the bed. Out of no where suddenly Linda appears in front of John in that room and he accidentally falls on a grave and realises Linda was long dead. And then...




I closed my eyes out of an unbearable chest  pain. It was the very first time I experienced a nearly death moment. I don't remember anything afterwards and when I got my conscience, I found myself on the hospital bed. What a relief! Seeing Brad was sitting beside me. 

"Hey Mate! How you feel now?" Brad noticed my movements and quickly came closer and asked. I understood he must have saved me from that place. I tried to get up and thank him but so many cables connected to my chest and mild pain didn't allow me to. All the thing I could do was laying down and giving a look of gratitude. 

"What happened to me?" My question led his lips quivered yet he didn't reply to that. 

"You tell me, what is happening?" Brad's counter question left me unanswered as I had no clue how to explain the whole thing I had experienced in Winslet's home. All the thing I could say that probably Linda Winslet died. 

"And what you were doing there in that old house? We found dead bodies there. Department is waiting for your recovery so that you can recognise the bodies as you were recovered alive." Brad said. 

I was about to reply but he stopped me in between and added, "Who is Linda and how do you know her?" 

"I know her since a long. Butttt..." Something stopped me to tell her what and how I knew Linda. By the time doctor came in and I spent the next two days on the same bed. 

On the day of joining, I had to identify the bodies. The smell of the morgue room was quite disturbing. I finished as quick as possible and came out of that. Senior officer Mr. Rog countered me with several questions regarding how did I get the clue about the dead bodies, how did I know their names and what made me get hurt there. 

"I received a phone call and rushed to the crime spot. There I found the dead bodies and from the further investigation, I got to know their identities." My answers were failing to convince Brad as he was clearly sensing that there was something that I hid. 

"How would you explain the fall, Mr John!" Rog asked while keeping his eye on the paper, noting down the details.

"I slipped." He raised his head for a moment, looked at me and then noted the same. 

Rog further asked me to handover the case to Brad. I did so but decided to get into it secretly. There was something that I wasn't sharing and Brad sensed that. My suspenses made him more curious and he started suspecting on me. Brad was a good friend, in fact he was the only friend there, in the city. I didn't want to hide things from him yet, there were things that I decided to share only after I get cleared about. 

A week passed by. Brad's investigation was going slow and he constantly started studying my activities. So I decided to go out of the way. We learn a trick during the training period that, 'Think like him, to catch him.' Well! That helped me to cheat Brad and get into Winslet's home murder case. 

The whole media was flashing the news with the story I narrated. Winslet's home murder case was a hot topic on air. Still surprisingly nobody came to claim the dead bodies nor there was any evidence of Linda or her younger sister Maura. It was more than a week and the perfect day when Brad was off duty. There could be no other chance to get into Winslet's home. That night around 12.30, I reached by driving my car. I carried my gun and a torch in case in backyard there would be lack of illumination. I entered. 

The crime scene was sealed. I searched the desks and drawers in the master bedroom. Everything I was doing with a care by wearing surgical gloves so that no evidence should left misplaced. There were nothing that could have helped me except few cigarette cases, one ash trey, a wallet with an identity card of Mr. Winslet and a thick family photo album.

I quickly grabbed an armless chair from the corner and started turning the pages of the photo album. And many memories from the past started dancing in front of my eyes. One picture took me back into a particular day, 19-06-1994.

I remember it was Linda's 16th birthday and his father threw a grand party. As we were neighbours, I was invited. There were so many outfits of mine but nothing stood to the level for that night. For me, nothing was more auspicious than Linda's birthdays. I borrowed an over sized suit from my cousin and combed all my hair back, just like a gentleman. When I reached her home, there were so many people around and Linda was busy with her rich and good looking schoolmates. I could clearly notice her attraction towards a lemon haired boy from her class. But my attraction was innocent and completely one sided . 

"John! You reached. I'm glad to see you here. Please come." Maura caught me looking at Linda silently. Maura was 15 then. 

"Hi Maura!" I greeted back and within no time she held my hand and almost dragged me into the party. 

"Here is your drink!" She handed me a can of grapes juice and went to her friends as someone hinted her to be with them. After a while, Linda noticed that I was there. She excused herself from her group and came to me. 

"Happy Birthday, Linda!" 

"Thanks Jonny! Its good to see you here! Thanks for coming." 

"You invited. I had to come." My reply was stupid yet I was nervous to the atmosphere there. She said, "enjoy!" and walked away. I looked down. And there! she stooped -- turned back and said, "by the way Jonny! You look great." and with a smile like never before, she went to join her school friends. 

I forgot almost everything about my life at  that moment and didn't realise that I was stupidly blushing. While sweeping my eyes off her, I noticed, Maura was looking at me -- smiling. I was sure Maura had a hint of my feeling for her elder sister. That day we clicked the picture with Linda, Mr and Mrs Winslet, Maura, Linda's schoolmates and few relatives of her. 

There was an unusual noise that disturbed me and I got my senses back from memories. I quickly kept the album there, held the pistol alerted and walked out of that room. Someone was there. 

"Anybody here?" I called out for whoever entered, while stepping out of the living room. I saw nobody. Couple of minutes later, I went back into the room. But I had no clue that Brad was following me all the way and he was there all the time. He didn't let me know that he was there, keeping an eye on my moments. 

I got the album cover and wrapped and clipped it nicely before I take that with me. I decided to leave and while walking out of that house, I heard some noise in backyard. Suddenly I remembered, When I saw a something like Linda and fell down from the terrace, I hit my head on an old grave. I quickly unlocked my car, kept the photo album inside and walked towards the lawn. 

It was dark there so torch helped for illumination. Aah! There it was. An old grave with no care since quite a long. It was an abandoned one and even parts of the grave were broken. I removed the covered layer of dead leaves. I held the torch focused to read the name on the grave and it was written, 'A Grave of Nobody’s Darling — Linda Winslet, Born: 19-06-1978, Died: 13-09-2001' 

I had no clue about Brad then. He was observing every of my activities. Something was bothering me about the grave in the backyard. Why Winslet family would burry their elder daughter in their backyard? 

I quickly rushed towards the garage to get something to dig the tomb. I found a digger and came back to the grave and started digging. I don't remember how long it took for me to finish but when I was removing the coffin cover, I was getting a pain somewhere in my heart. It was not the pain due to last attack but a part of me was falling apart thinking that Linda was dead. 

Surprisingly, The coffin was empty. Wwwhhhhhatt! 

Why someone would make an empty grave? 

Or the dead body was removed later? Who would do that and why?

My heart started pumping faster and all the thing I was hoping and wanting that Linda wasn't dead. Something was yet to be revealed. 




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