"I am known as DOT" said the person on the other side.

"DOT? as in a full stop? " asked Chezhiyan playfully.

"Funny isn't it? But I don't think you should be playing right now. You remember the police station you went  earlier today? " asked DOT.

"Yep " replied Chezhiyan.

"That's great. Then you must've seen two cops handling the twin murder case? " asked DOT.

"Yeah I did and what does it have to do with you? DOT? " asked Chezhiyan.

"Okay so I guess you still don't get the seriousness of this call. Let me try to enlighten you up a bit. I think you know that James is also dead. But what is more important now is the fact that one of the current prime suspects is also dead. He was murdered to be specific. " DOT waited for Chezhiyan to reply but when that didn't come he continued.

"If you don't know who that is, I'll help you. It's none other than Sathya. Does the name ring any bell? " asked DOT.

"Yes it sure does. So I guess the other prime suspect will be the culprit? " replied Chezhiyan.

"You are very honest! I like that! " complimented DOT.

"But you still haven't answered my question! " Chezhiyan raised the tempo of the conversation.

"If you plan to grade me by my answer then I'm afraid you will be wrong. But still to answer your question, the murder of Sathya makes the other prime suspect the convict. Be warned though, this assessment won't give away my identity. " said DOT.

"I have to say that I planned to weigh the possibility of you being Kumaresan, the other prime suspect, but I admit my failure to do so. Still,  on the other hand that doesn't leave you clean either. You could still be him. I'm not sure of that yet. " assured Chezhiyan.

"Try your best to identify me before I reveal myself at the very end of all this. Wait.. so from that statement, you must have concluded that I'm the main architect of all this murders, right? I'm impressed. Okay let me tell you the reason for my call. You and your friend Ameer are under serious threat this very moment. But don't panic yet. The next murder is going to take place in the police station and it'll happen anytime soon. I just thought of letting you in on this little secret. Do whatever you can to prevent it. Good night my friend! " said DOT.

"Whatever man! Good night to you too! I have to say this though, it was a very pathetic attempt to scare me! Better luck next time. " said Chezhiyan.

"Oh yeah? Maybe. You don't know my power yet. But it's alright for you to not believe me. Especially after your meeting with Suriya and he probably told you to not pay attention to such phone calls or such usual dose of precaution. But I'm darn serious. You'll get to know. Soon. Till then bye!" and DOT disconnected the call.

In spite of maintaining his cool for the whole call, Chezhiyan got alarmed by the reference to his meeting with Suriya.

He was sure that no one other than himself and Suriya were present at the spot when they talked.
He pondered his head in all possible ways to find out who this person might be. Only thing he knew was that this person, DOT, needs some serious attention. He then thought of sharing the detail with Suriya and got up out of his bed to text him.

Only then like a bolt, a terrible thought struck him. His whole body began to shiver. He then reeled back into his bed.
He thought :
what if the murder to happen next in the police station is that of Suriya?

That must not happen at any cost. At the same time I should warn Ameer about this DOT.

He cursed his inability to quickly find a way to verify both of their whereabouts. He had always relied on his unmatched skill of finding a foolproof solution to a problem but unfortunately that usually took a huge time.

He then decided called Ameer to warn him first of the threat in the form of DOT.

He tried calling Ameer at once but he didn't bother to answer.

Again he tried, same result.

Fear began to grip him. He swore hard. He couldn't call Ameer no matter what! Again and again he tried only to end up losing.

He thought of leaving the house to warn him in person but refrained from doing so as that would cause unnecessary trouble to both their families.

Out of nowhere, he received a call from Suriya himself. He picked it up immediately without any hesitation.

"Hey Chezhiyan, I've got something to say to you. " said Suriya with a raw tone.

"Oh sir! First let me say something to you! " continued Chezhiyan.

"What? "

Chezhiyan told everything he heard from DOT. He also mentioned that the next murder will happen in the police station.

On hearing that, Suriya felt a mix of emotions. He feared for his own life but at the same time, he wanted to nab the culprit responsible for all those madness.
He began sketching ways to nab the culprit inside his mind ignoring the call with Chezhiyan.

"Sir? Are you there? " asked Chezhiyan with a slight sense of hope.

"Yes I'm all ears. I'll look into the problem myself and ensure that the culprit is caught. Did you contact Ameer? What about him? " asked Suriya.

"He is not picking up! I think he is asleep " said Chezhiyan.

"Hmm. I'll see that too. Don't worry and if anything worth sharing with me happens don't think twice to call me. Stay safe. " warned Suriya.

"I will sir. At the same time don't be careless on your side sir! Stay alert. " Chezhiyan said in a friendly tone.

"Thanks for your concern! I got to go now! Bye" the call ended abruptly after that sentence.

Chezhiyan's sense of hope after talking to the sub-inspector increased a little. Still he felt something was wrong.

His felt bad for some reason, some bad reason.
He again tried to call Ameer, it wasn't fruitful.

He lay down in his bed facing the ceiling fan. Sleep was the last thing in his mind at that moment.

He wanted some sort of response from Ameer.

Slowly he felt his eyelids drooping and before he knew it, he fell asleep.

-------

In the long Mannady street, in that lonely night stood Arul, all booted up for his next mission. This one was no different from his earlier missions but it was uncharacteristic of Arul to do touch up jobs. He agreed to do this just because he could get closer to that DOT. He wanted to know the reason for the suicide of his friend Subbu.

Not only was it uncharacteristic of him to accept the mission, it was also out of character from DOT.
He didn't give any instruction to carry out the kill. Full freedom was provided to Arul to do this one. Only restraint was that he had to complete one more kill within an hour of finishing this one.

Arul had made up his mind to do this. He took long strides down the Mannady street towards the Prakasam salai.

He then turned left to enter the Nainiappan Street.

His target's house was a few blocks further away.
With the agile of a carnivore stalking its prey, he walked down the road.

He was armed with two pistols. Both silenced.

He stood facing the facade of the building that housed his soon to be victim, Ameer.

He picked the main door with his hand tool and entered the house.
He climbed the stairs and reached the first floor.

He was less than a feet away from Ameer's house.
He loaded both his pistols and tucked one in his sock. With his pistol pointed in the direction of the entrance, he knocked the door.

Someone moved on the inside. Then after a few seconds, the lights flickered on and footsteps were heard towards the door.

Inside the house, Ameer's father hurried towards the door and unlatched it.
The slight creaking of the door began.

The door opened to reveal a stone faced guy armed with a pistol aimed at his chest.

Ameer's father stood in shock when, through a swift movement Arul raised his pistol and knocked him out with the magazine of the gun.
He fell down with a soft thud on the floor.

Arul then entered the house.

To be continued!