The police jeep moved slowly through the nearly empty morning roads.
Ravi sat silently in the back seat.
His mind was filled with questions.
Why had they taken him?
Who was Jyothika?
And most importantly—
Why did the police think he knew something about her?
The officer sitting beside him finally broke the silence.
“Mr. Ravi.”
Ravi looked at him.
“Tell us the truth.”
Ravi frowned.
“The truth about what, sir?”
The officer didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he took out his phone and looked at the screen.
“We are going to ask you a few questions.”
Ravi nodded nervously.
“But before we ask them,” the officer continued, “I want you to understand something.”
He turned toward Ravi.
“We already have some information.”
Ravi's expression changed.
“What information, sir?”
The officer showed him a photograph of a phone screen.
“These messages are from Jyothika's phone.”
Ravi stared at the screen.
His heart skipped a beat.
He recognised the conversation.
The officer continued.
“We also checked her call history.”
He paused.
“Do you know how many times your number appears in it?”
Ravi remained silent.
The officer looked directly into his eyes.
“Several times.”
Ravi lowered his gaze.
Then came the question he had been afraid of.
“Is Jyothika your girlfriend?”
Ravi immediately looked up.
“No, sir.”
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
The officer noticed.
“Then why did she call you so many times?”
Ravi opened his mouth to answer.
But no words came out.
The officer waited.
“Ravi…”
His voice was calm.
“We are not here to accuse you.”
He leaned back in his seat.
“But if you don't tell us what happened, the evidence will tell the story for you.”
Ravi looked out of the window.
The buildings outside passed one after another.
He could feel the weight of the officer's question.
Finally, Ravi spoke.
“Sir… Jyothika and I were friends.”
The officer raised an eyebrow.
“Just friends?”
Ravi nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then why did she message you last night?”
Ravi froze.
He slowly turned toward the officer.
“How do you know she messaged me last night?”
The officer said nothing.
He simply looked at Ravi.
And Ravi suddenly realised—
The police knew much more than he had imagined.