ClaIrVoYAncE

 

 

‘Calling 2121, suspect is on the run. He is in a blue car. Number is 6289. He is heading towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Over and out’.

 

‘Roger that’.

 

This was the message I got. I switched on the siren and waited near the Brooklyn Bridge. The blue car screeched and was being chased by two more police cars. I started the engine and tried to come in front of him blocking his way. He was driving at a very high speed. He rammed his car into mine. My car’s bumper was crumpled like a tin can in a tin-crusher. Despite of the crash, he continued with his driving and cops with their chase. My car was not in a condition to be driven. I got into a fellow officer; ronin’s car and we too started the chase.

 

New York streets were echoed with the sound of siren. We were right behind the suspect’s car. I climbed out of the window and tried to make a shot at the car tyres. With two tyres flat, he lost the balance. He crashed into the glass window of a shop. Three more police cars joined me. They pointed their guns towards him and waited for him to come out. He came out with a gun in his hand and deep bruise on his cheek.

 

“Put down the gun, Kramer. Put down the gun,” shouted one of the officers.

 

Just as we thought he is putting the gun down, he surprised us all by shooting at an officer. One of the officers immediately shot him on his shoulder and an incredible scene followed that. Kramer fell down and a protruding rod got into his head puncturing his skull. Every body feared the worst.

 

Miraculously, there was no drop of blood. He was asked not to move. The rod was cut without it being removed from his skull. Only god knows how he survived that. He along with the officer who was shot was rushed to a nearby hospital.

 

5 hours of operation and still no word from the doctors whether he will make it or not. The officer was out of danger now. One of the doctors came out,

“He may make it. But we had to remove a part of the brain. The part of memory. He might not remember anything. Nothing at all.”

 

“When can we see him”, I asked.

 

“Tomorrow, I suppose. He needs at least a 24 hours’ rest”.

 

“Fine, we’ll see him tomorrow.”

 

We all went back to the office. Ronin drove me back to my house. I invited him for dinner. He without any hesitation agreed.

 

While having dinner ronin spoke, “Kramer, after what he did to his family, has survived such a horrible accident. I sometimes wonder whether there is any god or not. God hasn’t punished him for brutally killing his family for property.”

 

“Well, I think that it’s the other way around. God has kept him alive to suffer more than what he would have if he had been dead”, said I.

 

“I think you are right. It was disgusting to hear that a part of the brain has been removed. God knows how he is gonna live with that.”

 

Discussions went on till mid night. Ronin slept at my place as it was very late. Moreover there wasn’t any need of going early, as we were both bachelors.

 

Next day at seven in the evening, Ronin and I went to the hospital to check upon Kramer. We were told that now Kramer was conscious and we were even told that he remembered nothing.

 

339 was his ward number. We went inside the room and were dumbstruck by the sight. His head was like a punctured football, only half his head was there and the rest half wasn’t present at all. His head had several stitches.

 

“How are you?” I asked.

 

“Fine. Who are you guys?”

 

“We are your well wishers. Don’t you remember anything?”

 

“No…No…NOooo.” he answered in a way as if he was frustrated by that question.

 

I went to meet the doctor. I asked him whether I could tell him about the crime he had committed but I was refused, as he may not be able to take it. But I told the doctor that he would be moved to the cell as soon as he gets discharged, as he was a criminal though he is not aware of it now. The doctor had no problem. I assured him that he would be taken care over there and he won’t be given a jail kind of environment.

 

Ronin and I went back to the headquarters were we met the chief to discuss about the place he must be kept in after discharge. It was decided to rent a house with full police security and a care-assistant to take care of his diet and help him in case of some mental illness.

 

Ten days in the hospital and then he was moved to a rented house. The care assistant was a lady in her late sixties. She had that motherly look in her face. Her name was Mrs.Price.

 

I met her. She had that warmth of a mother.

 

“I know that you will definitely take care of him. But still if you have any problem call the doctor or me”, saying this I gave her the doctor’s phone number as well as mine.

 

“No need to worry” she consoled me.

 

“Sorry. I forgot to mention my name. Its Johnny…Johnny Depp.”

 

I used to visit him almost daily and I had become a good friend of his’ within a span of just a month or so.

 

One month went by without any sign of mental illness.

 

But suddenly one day he fainted and Mrs.Price called me at once. I rushed to his place and I had called for the ambulance. At the hospital the doctor told me that there was no problem and that there was no danger.

 

He was brought back to his place. Mrs.Price was happy to see him back.

 

The next day I dropped by at his place on the way to the headquarters. I was surprised to learn one thing. He was a gifted artist. He had sketched a woman’s face, which looked so lively, like life itself, that one would hardly call it a sketch.

 

I asked him whether it was his hobby. He replied, “I don’t know”.

 

I was surprised with the answer. What does he mean by I don’t know? I thought to myself.

 

“Who have you drawn, Kramer?”

 

Again the same reply “I don’t know.”

 

“Did you draw just with mere imagination?” I asked.

 

“No…” he hesitated and then spoke, “she came in my dreams.”

 

I thought he might just have had a dream. I appreciated his talent and started off for the headquarters.

 

Two days after:

 

I went out to get the newspaper. I prepared a cup of tea for myself. The headlines read:

 

29^th JANUARY, MIAMI

FAMOUS JEWELLER Ms. JOANNA FOUND MURDERED IN HER HOUSE. COPS SUSPECT ROBBERY MIGHT BE THE CAUSE OF THE MURDER.

 

The report had a photograph beside it, which looked somewhat familiar to me. Have I seen her somewhere, was the question that raised in my mind.

But where…where have I seen her?

 

I headed straight for the headquarters. I talked to Ronin about this news.

 

“Why are you taking interest in this? This case is with the Miami police department.” Ronin said.

 

“I know. But still I am feeling uneasy about it. I have definitely seen her somewhere but I am not able to recall it.”

 

“Never mind. Don’t strain yourself.”

 

After a whole day’s work, I felt exhausted. I went to Kramer’s place and I told Mrs.Price that I’d have dinner there itself. She was happy to make dinner for me.

“You’d be surprised to see his next sketch, Mr. Depp.” Said Mrs.Price.

 

After having the supper, Kramer showed me the sketch. This time it was of an old man. Another spectacular sketch.

 

“Why do you always sketch a face?” I asked.

 

“Frankly speaking, even I don’t know. I just feel like,” was his reply.

 

When I reached home, while opening the door, I heard the telephone ring. I hurriedly opened the door and picked up the receiver. It was Ronin the other side.

 

“Where were you? At Kramer’s house again?”

 

“Yes. I was having dinner there.”

 

“You seem to have got close to him.”

 

“Yes. To him as well as Mrs.Price. I should tell you, this guy Kramer could become a terrific artist. His sketches are superb,” just then I remembered something, “oh…oh…”

 

“What happened Johnny? What’s the matter?”

 

“Come to Kramer’s place as quickly as possible. I’ve to show you something. Quick…” and I kept the receiver down.

 

At 20 past eleven, I was at Kramer’s house. Both Kramer and Mrs.Price were puzzled. Ronin was there in another five minutes.

 

“Remember the jeweler’s murder, Ronin?” I asked.

 

“Oh no. Not again.”

 

“Kramer, bring your first sketch.” I ordered Kramer.

 

He brought it. Ronin was dumbstruck after seeing it.

 

“It’s the jeweler Ms.Joana’s sketch”, he spoke out loud.

 

“Exactly”, I continued, “no wonder why I thought I had seen her somewhere.”

 

Mrs.Price and Kramer where surprised to hear all this.

 

“That doesn’t mean that he is the murderer. Does it?” asked Mrs.Price with concern.

 

“No. Definitely not. But was it mere coincidence or what?”

 

“We have to wait”, I said “we cant talk about this to the chief.”

 

Two days went by and we did not discuss about it with any body.

 

Third day proved that it wasn’t a mere coincidence. Business tycoon of Ireland, Mr. Highbury Dyers, the old man in Kramer’s sketch was dead in a chopper accident. He was in Las Vegas last night.

 

I told the whole issue to the chief. Kramer was given medical attention more security and somehow the reporters came to know of this story. And immediately, Kramer was in news all around the world.

 

GOD SENT KRAMER, THE GOD GIFTED ARTIST.

 

KRAMER, THE MAN WITH THE SIXTH SENSE.

 

THE CLAIRVOYANT MAN SPEAKS.

 

The Newspaper circulation increased like hell. No house was there without their television sets switched on. Kramer was in the limelight.

 

2 days after:

 

I decided to talk to the doctor about the issue. I went to the hospital early in the morning itself. I was told to wait as he had gone for routine rounds.  Called the headquarters and informed the chief that I’d be late.

8: 45 and the doctor was back.

 

“Doctor, can I see you for a moment? I want to talk to you about Kramer,” said I.

 

“Oh sure. But, not now. Iam seeing some of my patients right now. I’d be free in the evening after six.”

 

“Alright then I shall see you in the evening.”

 

I left the hospital for the headquarters. I went on duty but I couldn’t let Kramer out of my mind. Later in the evening I went back to the hospital. Dr. Iverson was eagerly waiting for me.

 

“Hello, Mr.Depp. Sorry I had to send you back in the morning,” said the doctor.

“No, no need to feel sorry about that. I understand you were doing your job.”

 

“So, what about Kramer?”

 

“You must have heard the news.”

 

“Yes… yes. So he’s got super natural powers”, said Dr. Iverson with a light giggle.

 

“But, you don’t think so. Do you?”

 

“Definitely not. What about you?”

 

“No. Same here.”

 

“Mr. Depp, I have an explanation for this.”

 

“And what’s that?” I asked.

 

“Come here”, Dr. Iverson took me to his cabin and took out Kramer’s report, “look here,” he said pointing to the report, “these are his reports. This one is his brain’s scan. This black portion is the portion he has lost in the accident.”

 

“And this is the part of memory?” asked I.

 

“Yes”, continued the doctor “if you look carefully you’d be able to see a green spot over here”, he said pointing at the scanned image.

 

“Yes, I can see it.”

 

“This spot is generally inactive in normal humans. But the accident has activated this region.”

 

“And does the green colour indicate its activity?” I asked.

 

“Yes. And this portion helps him to see and hear things that are not physically present or to foresee the future. This is what people call the sixth sense and people think that sixth sense is all hoax because it isn’t present in a normal man.”

 

“ But, why does he foresee the persons who are going to die? Why not anything else?” I asked.

 

“That’s one thing I can’t explain. That’s still a mystery to me.”

 

“Doctor, can I disclose the event that led to this?”

 

“Yes”, he said without a moment’s hesitation.

 

“Iam surprised to hear you say yes.”

 

“Well that is because…” he hesitated to speak.

 

“Because what, doctor?”

 

“Because he may not live long enough. His time is ticking.”

 

The reply shook me for a second. I couldn’t believe what he had just told me.

 

“What?”

 

“Yes”, he again pointed towards the scanned image and said, “the red spot you see here is growing at a tremendous rate. That is clotting of blood and it is like a time bomb without any cure.”

 

“For how many days will he survive?”

 

“At the most one month. Don’t tell him about this.”

 

“Definitely not. Poor chap. Why didn’t you tell me about his earlier?”

 

“ Kramer visits me for his routine tests every third day. This is the last test report. This clot wasn’t present in the previous test. So, you can see how fast it is growing.”

 

“Mmm… what can we do?”

 

“Nothing. Just don’t tell him anything about this. He won’t come to know of it by himself because it is like heart attack. You would have no symptoms before getting an attack”

 

I assured him I won’t leak anything of this and I went back to meet Ronin.

He was surprised to hear the story and he too felt sorry for him.

 

Nothing can be done… nothing.

 

1 day later:

 

I decide to drop in at Kramer’s place. Mrs. Price was happy to see me.

 

“Two days and no see”.

 

“Ya! Busy schedule.”

 

“I wanted to talk to Kramer.”

 

Mrs.Price called Kramer and he greeted me with a smile on his face.

 

“Kramer, I wanted to talk to you something really personal.”

 

“I understand. I’ll go and make some coffee,” said Mrs.Price.

 

“Yes Mr.Depp, what’s it about?”

 

“Kramer, today I wanted to let you know about your past. What you were and what led you to this.”

 

“Well I’ve always been asking the doctor about this but he won’t tell me.”

 

“Then listen, it goes like this.”

 

“You used to work as a lumber-jack. You fell in love with an Irish woman named Christina Dyers. She was the only daughter of a business tycoon. You both married each other and two years after you had a lovely child. One year after, Christina’s father died leaving all his property in her name, which according to the will would be yours after her death. Out of greediness, you killed your lovely wife and your daughter. After several months of investigation, you were proved guilty. You tried to escape but the cops had you surrendered. An officer shot at you. You fell down and a protruding rod lying in the ground went through your skull. That’s how you lost a part of the brain miraculously escaping death.”

 

Kramer was looking at me without blinking. He was on the verge of tears. He broke down. I comforted him by saying that atleast he is a completely different person now.

 

“Kramer, I want to ask a question to you. What do you see that you make those sketches?”

 

“I think I’ve seen them somewhere. But the doctor says it is sixth sense.”

 

Days went by and death was nearing him. Any time he may pass away. Kramer was still unaware of what awaited him.

 

Again one day, I decided to drop by at the hospital to meet the doctor. He had not come to the hospital yet. So I was asked to wait in his cabin.

 

Two hours went by and still no sign of him. In front of me was a file having the doctor’s name. Something made me feel uneasy about it. I at once left the hospital and called Ronin and asked him to me at Kramer’s place.

 

Ronin was there at eleven.

 

“What’s the matter, Johnny?” asked Ronin.

 

“What are the names of the two victims, Kramer had drawn?”

 

“Joanna and Highbury. Why?”

 

“I want their full names.”

 

“Joanna and Highbury Dyers. Oh… I understand. But that can be coincidence.”

 

“Well you would be surprised to digest the height of coincidence. Dr. M.Iverson is Dr.Michelle Iverson and Kramer’s sir name is Iverson.”

 

“Kramer Iverson?”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“Dr. Iverson was here just an hour before you arrived”, said Kramer.

 

“What? What did he want?”

 

“Nothing. He came to see me.”

 

“Did he ask you any thing?”

 

“No. I showed my next sketch to him. Then he went back to the hospital.”

 

“Can I see the sketch?”

 

“Oh sure. Here it is”, Kramer showed it to me.

 

“Can I have it for just one day?”

 

“Definitely”.

 

Ronin and I then went to the abandoned house of Kramer, his real residence. It was all dusty inside. After an hour’s search, we found an album. It had the photographs of all the family members including the Dyers and the Iversons. It became clear that Dr. Michelle Iverson was related to Kramer and Joanna and Highbury to Christina, Kramer’s wife.

 

The next sketch was that of a woman who was standing next to Highbury. Immediate action was needed now. The woman was the next target.

 

We went to the headquarters first and told the chief about this and broadcasting the woman’s photograph all over the world did the job. The woman immediately called back and told that she lived in New Jersey and her name was Mrs. Elena Dyers. Immediately the New Jersey police department was contacted to give tight security to Mrs. Elena.

 

The chief, Ronin and I along with some fellow officers went to New Jersey.

 

Tight security was there outside her house. We talked to Mrs. Elena.

 

“Who do you think would do this to your family?”

 

“I don’t know. It could have been Kramer but I got to know that he has completely lost his memory.”

 

“Not completely Mrs. Elena. Not completely.”

 

Chillness ran through her veins.

 

“What?” she asked. I could see her hands trembling.

 

“What happened, Mrs. Elena?”

 

“Nothing. Does he still remember everything?”

 

“No. Not everything. He remembers just the faces.”

 

Mrs. Elena started shaking severely; “He is going to kill me too.”

 

“Why would he kill you?” I asked curiously.

 

“He is going to kill me.” She kept on repeating. She was in a state of shock.  

 

We decided not to talk to her, as she wasn’t feeling well.

 

 

22:00

“I think I know who is behind all this,” said I.

“Who?” asked the chief.

 

Just then a noise in the backyard interrupted me. We all rushed to the backyard. No one was in sight. We then went to Mrs. Elena’s room. A nurse was along with her all the time.

 

Just then we heard gunfire in the backyard. We all rushed to the site. It was a dead cop.

 

“Who is guarding Mrs. Elena’s room? Oh my goodness, everybody is down here. Let’s go.”

 

On our way upstairs, we heard her cry with fear. When we reached, we saw the murderer pointing the gun at her temple. He had worn a mask.

 

“Let me go or else I’ll kill her. Let me go.”

 

“Kill her,” said I “you’re going to kill her any way.”

 

He didn’t know what to do and pointed the gun towards me and before he could pull the trigger, Ronin shot at his leg. He fell down losing hold of his gun. His mask was removed and the identity was unraveled.

 

It was Dr. Iverson. He was arrested and sent to the hospital to get the bullet removed.

 

1 day after, the story was in newspapers and news. I went to meet Dr. Iverson. On asking Dr. Iverson, he said that he was Kramer’s elder brother.

 

“Kramer was innocent. He did not kill his family. He was trapped in a plot,” he said.

 

“What plot?”

 

“Christina’s father, Mr. Dyers, left all the property to her name only because other members were only greedy for money. In his will he had mentioned that after Christina’s death, property would go to Kramer. Highbury was Mr. Dyers’ younger brother. Joanna and Elena were his sisters. All three had made a fool proof plan to trap Kramer because they thought that Christina’s murder would reflect that Kramer had killed her for property and when he would be sentenced to die, the property would automatically be theirs’ as there would be no other person in the family to claim it. So they killed Christina and Kramer had to run for his life. I knew Kramer had not lost whole of his memory. When I came to know that he still remembers their faces, I took advantage of it and framed it as sixth sense which wasn’t actually so.”

 

“So, you did all this for your brother.”

 

“But, you didn’t let me finish the job. Elena is still alive.”

 

“I assure you that she will be given worst sentence, the sentence of life imprisonment.”

 

“Take care of Kramer, Mr. Depp. His death is nearing him,” he said as tear rolled down his face.

 

Mrs. Elena was arrested after investigation.

 

After going back to New York, I visited Kramer’s place.

 

“Good morning, I came to know about Iverson. I felt happy to hear that I didn’t kill my family after all but felt sorry for Iverson.”

 

That day we chatted on till mid night and I had dinner at his place.

 

Two days after, Mrs. Price called me. Kramer was no more. I went to his funeral and sent the message to his brother Iverson. Just when I was about to leave, Mrs. Price called me and gave me a box wrapped up with newspaper. I went back home and opened it up. It was a sketch of Kramer himself and along with it was a note: DO REMEMBER ME. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.

SO THE CLAIRVOYANCE WAS ALL FAKE.

 

Thought in my mind, “ No Kramer. It wasn’t all fake. You sketched your face and you died.”

The next day’s paper read:         ‘THE CLAIRVOYANT MAN DIES.’

 

---------------------SRIRAM KRISHNAN