The Bankster (Ravi Subramanian) (30 page)

‘There is no one here!’ cried Schroeder.

‘Yes sir.’

‘Looks like it’s been cleared up very recently,’ Schroeder commented as he looked around the room.

‘It looks pretty clean to me sir,’ the Chief agreed. ‘Maybe we should watch it and see if someone comes along.’

‘Frederick, look here,’ said Schroeder to him, pointing towards something on the floor. It looked like a patch on the carpet. Schroeder walked close to it, bent down and looked at it himself. ‘See this patch?’ Frederick nodded. Schroeder looked around, surveying all the tables in the room. ‘You will find one such patch below most of the tables in this room, a patch where the carpet seems trodden and weighed down.’

Frederick went closer. There was indeed a patch below most of the tables wherein the carpet was crushed. ‘It’s as if something was kept on the carpet for a long time.’

‘Yes Frederick. This is where their computers were. The weight of the CPU has crushed the carpet, leaving a patch below all the tables. They have shifted out every single CPU in this room. Monitors are there on every table, so are the connecting wires, but where are the CPUs?’

‘They have taken them and evacuated,’ said Frederick.

‘Yes, and it looks like they evacuated in a hurry. They have taken everything with them. They didn’t have time to remove just the hard disk, so they took out the entire computer unit,’ said Schroeder. He looked around. There was nothing else in the room. No paper, no files. . .nothing. Johann looked at the others in the room and said, ‘Pack up guys, you won’t find anything here.’ He knew the search was going to be futile. ‘Send a forensic team to check for any traces.’

As he was heading outside, he stopped at the reception, a couple of feet from the main door. A six-inch high glass screen separated him and the receptionist’s desk. He bent over the frosted glass partition and picked up the phone lying on the desk and pressed the redial button. This was the litmus test of any forensic operation. The tone persisted. All phones were wiped clean. All the contacts, all the incoming call details and the outgoing numbers were erased. He was beginning to get worried. Chasing the telephone route would be futile. The calls would have been routed through a complex maze of exchanges and it would be virtually impossible for them to trace the actual number called. What he was seeing here was an organized crime syndicate. If there was nothing to hide, why was everything wiped clean?

A worried Schroeder bent over the glass again to place the telephone instrument back. As he stretched himself over the glass counter, something caught his eye. He walked around the glass to the receptionist’s side, bent down and picked it up. ‘So we were right. She was here, but why?’ He pocketed what he had picked up and quietly walked back into his waiting car and drove back to his office.

Once in his room, he opened his top drawer and pulled out the Café Coffee Day bill that Richard had brought to him and spread it out on the glass on top of his table. The address was very clear. The lead particles were still stuck to the paper. Had they got the address slightly earlier, they could have reached on time. Ruing this fact, he pulled out the piece of paper he had picked up from beneath the reception and spread it out alongside the other one. It was the same handwriting. The same text. In fact Richard had brought him the copy—the paper that had the impression. The original, on which Harshita had actually written down the address, was what he had picked up from the Union of Jews Foundation’s office. It would have fallen out of Harshita’s hands when she was being chased or maybe being killed. In the process of clearing out, this had been missed. Every criminal leaves behind a clue. This piece of paper was all they had.

38

GB2, Mumbai

Late evening, 31
^st
January 2012

‘Is there anything else you need Karan? I might be leaving in the next half an hour.’ When Jacqueline walked in and said this, it suddenly struck Karan that the day was coming to a close. So involved was he with what was going on at GB2 that he had not even told Andy, his boss, that he wouldn’t be coming in for the day. Andy would be furious. ‘It’s fine. When I tell him that I was away for a cause, he will understand,’ he said to himself.

‘We might be needing a few things Jacks. Is it possible for you stay back with us? Just in case. I’m sorry about it, but we are hard-pressed for time and I really don’t know what might come up. We only have time till tomorrow evening.’

‘No problem Karan. I will be at my desk. Let me know whenever you need me.’

‘Once everyone has left Jacqueline, we would like to inspect Raymond’s desk to see if there is something we can find which can be of relevance to this case.’

‘I will organize that. Duplicate keys etc.’

‘Thanks Jacks.’ Jacqueline just smiled and disappeared.

‘Sweet lady,’ this time Karan said this purposely to irritate Kavya.

Hemant walked in just as Kavya shot Karan a dirty look. ‘No luck on the Cochin Guy. The branch does not know who he is. He came with the cheque, they apparently checked with the Bandra branch, who told them that this customer was a Vikram Bahl reference. So they quietly paid up even though it was a high value transaction.’

‘We know that Hemant. What we want to know is whether they know the person who withdrew the funds or not?’

‘No they don’t.’

‘Hmm. . .dead end again.’ When Kavya said this, Karan got really worked up. ‘Guys we have twenty-four hours to go. I am sure we can arrive at a theory, even if we can’t conclusively prove what we are investigating. As of now we don’t have even that.’

‘Yes baba,’ Kavya was irked by this aggressive outburst from Karan. ‘I was just stating a fact. Was I talking about giving up?’

Karan smiled. ‘I am sorry. I guess it’s just the end-of-day syndrome.’ Kavya smiled in return. This was what she liked about Karan. He was always quick to apologize and make up.

‘Maybe we should speak to Nikhil and see what he has to say on this account. Now that we know that Asia Logistics was a front account for organized fraud, let’s find out what went wrong? How did such an account get opened? Maybe we will also get insights into the death. . .or rather, murder of the cashier. I think it is worth the fifteen minutes. What say?’

‘Agreed. Let’s call him. Ask Jacqueline to tell him that Indrani wants to meet him.’

‘Cool,’ and Hemant disappeared.

‘I have gone through two personnel files of the relationship managers. Another half an hour and I should be through all of them.’ Karan was quick to bring them back on course.

‘Sure.’

Indrani came in once in the next ten minutes and seeing them working away seriously, she disappeared.

‘Kavya,’ called out Karan after a prolonged period of silence. ‘I have seen six personnel files and there’s already a pattern emerging.’

Hemant too walked into the conversation.

Karan continued, ‘In all the six files, I have seen something strange. In fact, a couple of things are strange.’

‘As in?’

‘Like every other large organization, GB2 also performs a formal, third party verification on its employees. They hire an external agency to do the background checks and to validate the information provided by the employees in their résumés. And this is done around the time that they are hired into the organization. As far as I know, GB2 used to do its verification through an external agency called Matrix.’

‘Matrix Business Services, yes we use them. You’re referring to the Chennai based company right?’ Hemant knew them. In his role in fraud management, he often dealt with them.

‘Yes, the same blokes.’

‘The bank still uses them. We interact with them almost everyday.’

‘Great. They are the best in the business. Anyway, I had earlier casually perused a few files from the fifty files that Kavya had managed to get from HR. All the files that I saw from the general lot had the background checks done by Matrix. Till here, it’s all fine. The problem is that the six personnel files of the RMs under cloud that I have just gone through don’t have the verification report.’

‘Doing a verification is a mandatory requirement for HR. It’s a Group HR directive—prescribed by Global Head Quarters in Boston,’ added Hemant. He was a veteran in the bank and hence knew its processes inside out.

‘Then how come these tainted RMs don’t have a verification report on file?’ Hemant shrugged his shoulders in response.

Karan thought for a moment, ‘Hmm. . .There can only be two possibilities. There was a report, but it was negative which is why it was pulled out and hidden. Or, there was no report at all.’

‘But you have only seen six files. Maybe it’s there in the rest,’ Kavya interjected.

‘My guess is that if this is not there in the six that I have gone through, it is unlikely that it will be there in the remaining seven.’

‘Okay. Let me check with Matrix. I know PC Balasubramanian, the CEO who sits in Chennai. If he has done the verifications, I will ask him to send the reports for all these guys. If he has not done it, then it’s obvious: someone has pulled the names out before sending the names of new employees for background checks.’ Hemant volunteered. ‘That would be great,’ Karan smiled.

Hemant was about to walk out of the room when Karan stopped him. ‘Wait. Listen to the balance part of my observation and then go.’

‘You’re making it sound very dramatic Karan,’ Kavya said, sounding amused.

‘Yes Kavya. It’s indeed dramatic. And that’s what I want to verify.’

‘I’m all ears.’

‘The first six RMs that I have seen have all been referred by one individual,’ and he paused. ‘I want you to glance through the other files quickly and see if what I have observed is true.’

Kavya didn’t wait for him to tell her anything else. She pulled out the other files and started hurriedly going through them.

‘I am taking a five-minute break,’ announced Karan when he saw Kavya busy with the files and Hemant trying to call Bala of Matrix. He desperately wanted the break to recharge his sapping energy cells.

Jacqueline walked in, struggling to balance bottles of coke and a few McDonalds burgers. ‘I got a mix of both veg and non-veg. I can see it’s going to be a long night.’

‘I’m lovin’ it’, quipped Karan and jumped out of his seat. He took the tray from Jacqueline’s hand and kept it on the table on one side of the room.

‘SRK slaps ex-friend Farah Khan’s husband,’ Karan read out a headline on the front page of
The Times of India
that lay on the table. ‘What an asshole he is!’ he said with intensity only an Indian can display about films. Right next to it was another headline—‘Jadeja. IPL’s next million dollar baby?’ He had an irritated look as he scanned through the article. ‘I always hated the guy. If guys like him start making a million dollars in one season, I want my kid to play in the IPL and not test cricket,’ he said to himself. After reading the article he looked at Hemant and lamented, ‘Looks like cricket and films have taken over the front page of our newspapers.’

‘Maybe. I guess commercial needs drive the media these days,’ said Hemant. ‘By the way, Nikhil is on his way here. I got Jacqueline to call him.’

‘Great. Thanks.’ He was still reading the article showering lavish praise on Ravindra Jadeja. ‘See what closeness to Mahendra Singh Dhoni can do for you?’ Karan said, still lost in that article. Hemant was not interested.

‘Bala was with someone. He said he will call in five minutes.’

‘Bala?’

‘P C Balasubramanian, the CEO of Matrix.’

‘Oh, right.’

At that very instant, Hemant’s phone rang. He looked at the other two. ‘Bala,’ he whispered before picking it up.

‘Hemant. . .it’s been far too long.’

‘Hey junior Rajini,’ Hemant always called Bala junior Rajini, thanks to his appearance. Bala looked like a pint-sized version of the South Indian superstar Rajinikant. ‘Bala, I need some help.’

‘When you called me at this hour, I knew you needed help. Tell me.’

‘I am sending you a list of thirteen names. I need to know if you have done the verification for these guys, and if so, I need the verification reports.’

‘Sorry, Hemant, but I can’t give it to you.’

‘Bala, I need it desperately.’

‘I can only give it to authorized personnel from GB2. I have a business to run, a reputation to protect. Unless GB2 gives me specific instructions, you won’t get it out of me.’

‘Authorised personnel?’

‘Yes, there are only certain people in HR who are authorised to deal with us.’

‘Is Indrani one of them?’

‘Indrani? The CEO?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you kidding Hemant? If Indrani says something how can I not do it? She is my karta dharta, my all-in-all.’

‘Great! You will get a mail from Indrani in the next five minutes with these names. I need the reports tonight.’

‘What? Tonight? Hemant, it’s already well past seven.’

‘Bala, it’s an emergency. We need it. I know you can do it. There’s no one I have met who is more resourceful than you.’

‘I will wait for instructions from Indrani, and then I will do my best.’

‘Thanks Bala.’

Hemant looked at Karan. ‘Now please stop reading the newspaper and send him the message from Indrani’s ID asap. Bala will send all the information we need, tonight. I know him well enough.’

Kavya saw Karan looking dejected. He had just taken a breather. ‘I will send it,’ she volunteered and got up.

‘Just kidding Kavya. I will do it. Don’t bother,’ and Hemant smiled. ‘Thanks,’ added Karan, who followed it up with an instruction. ‘And please guys, let me read one article in the newspaper in peace. And that too in my own newspaper.’ He desperately needed a break. Kavya would take about ten minutes to finish her analysis. She had to go through all the personnel files.

The other big story on the front page was the Times of India starting off their Cochin edition. February 1st was the day the Cochin launch had been planned. He was a part of the core project team, which had been put together for the launch. His chest swelled up a few inches with pride. From the time he led the GB2 fraud investigation a few years back, life had not been the same for him. He turned the page. A few Mumbai stories on page three—rapes, murders, corruption, drugs. . .the usual. He moved on. By the time he reached page eleven, he was just skimming subconsciously through the pages. However, something on the page caught his attention. He folded the newspaper around the article and began reading it. His eyes widened; he knew what he had just seen would have a huge bearing on their resolving the case.