My mind returned to reality as soon as I turned the last page of the diary.

I couldn't stop the tears running down my cheeks. I never knew I could love anyone that much.

I started blaming myself for everything that happened.

Why did I let her leave alone that day? I should have gone with her. I should have proposed to her on that day at the station. I should have given her the ring. If I had done any of this, then maybe we wouldn’t have gone to the lover’s peak on the night of the incident. So many things that I could have done differently.

Why? Why didn’t I do any of those?

I could feel the sadness, despair and anger course through my veins.

Till now, I was dealing with an abstract idea that I had lost someone close to me. But to suddenly realize how much Priya meant to me and knowing that I would never see her again was devastating. I was completely breaking down. I started wailing like a baby. I wanted to scream, shout, and God knows what else.

The only thing that I was clear about was that I need to find the person responsible for this. And I would kill him.

I no longer cared about the consequences. I just wanted to find him and make him pay for what he had done. That was going to be the only goal in my life going forward.

I promised myself that I would get it done, irrespective of the price that I would have to pay for that.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I didn't realize when I had fallen asleep. It was nearly noon the next day.

I checked my phone. It was the Inspector calling. I picked up the phone, hoping he had some news for me.

"Jacob. I thought more about what you said yesterday. I think I’m ready to discuss the case more with you. If you are free, come over. There’s something I want to share with you.”

"Sure, I'll be over soon.”

I was pleased that the Inspected wanted to talk to me. I didn’t waste much time. I got fresh and went to meet the Inspector as soon as possible.

When I reached the Inspector’s office, he was waiting for me. Based on his expressions, it felt like he had a lot on his mind.

He invited me to have a seat.

"Jacob, let me be honest with you. We have not made much progress yet in this case. Usually, I would not admit to anything like this. But in this case, I understand how deeply this incident has affected you and want to help you get closure. Also, there are few things about the case that bothers me. “

"Like what?”

I was hoping to get any news leads that I could follow or checkout at this point.

"Let me think how to put it in the right way. You know Priya’s father, right? I had met him to talk about the case. The meeting did not go as I had expected. He did not seem to be grieving about his daughter, but he seemed angry. It could have been directed at the perpetrator of the crime. But something seemed odd to me. Also, considering how well connected he is, I was expecting a lot more pressure on this case. But surprisingly, there hasn't been anyone breathing down my neck to get this solved as soon as possible. I find that really odd. “

After thinking for few seconds, he added.

“Another thing, I have heard there is a lot of pressure on the doctor about the autopsy report and to show it to the superiors first before widely circulating it. It feels as though they are trying to protect someone or hide something. I'm not sure what.”

“And considering the circumstances, the only person who seems to be able to do that is her father. But that doesn't make any sense to me. What do you think about this?”

Seeing as the Inspector was looking forward to hearing my opinion, I added.

"That does sound odd to me as well. Anything else Uncle mentioned when you met him?”

"He did. He asked me if it was necessary to get the autopsy done. He seemed really against it. It was as though he was worried about something other than his daughter’s death. And I can't imagine what that could be. Let me be frank with you. Were there any problems between them? Was he unhappy over her engagement with you?”

I decided to share my recent developments with the Inspector.

"I recently found some of my old diaries and have recovered most of my memories except for the last year. About the engagement, Uncle was indeed initially unhappy and tried his best to get us to split. But Priya was really adamant about us. After I had a chat with him, he finally gave in to at least give us a chance.”

The Inspector was pleased to hear that.

“Wow. That’s great. I’m happy to see that you are recovering well. Hope you can remember everything soon. That would be a big help to all of us. Anything else you remember, any potential suspects that you could think of? And I agree with what you said about Priya’s Dad as well. It indeed is a bit strange.

“No one in particular as a potential suspect. Though there was this one boy named Gaurav, I had gotten into a fight with him in the second year due to some disagreement over Priya. Though I’m not sure if that would warrant this kind of reaction. But still thought it was worth bringing it up.”

“Thanks for sharing that. I’ll definitely look into him”.

Thinking for a minute, I decided to run an idea with the Inspector.

"As for Priya’s Dad. Do you think it might help if I speak to him directly?”

"I don't think you should speak to him, Jacob. But maybe you could try speaking to Priya’s mother. I believe you might have more luck with her. But try to talk to her alone. Also, let me know if you find anything useful.”

"Ok, Inspector. I will try that. Thanks for sharing all this with me.”

I left the Inspector’s office while planning my next steps. He had raised some interesting points. I guess I should meet Priya’s parents next.

I had been wondering whether I should meet them. But I was trying to find reasons not to, as I was worried that they might blame me for what happened to Priya.

But looks like there were more at play here.

Maybe like the Inspector said, I should meet her mother first, preferably alone.

On asking around, I found Priya s mother had been spending a lot more time recently at the temple. That should make it easier for me to meet her.

I decided to try my luck at the temple to meet her while praying that the meeting will go well.