THE LEDGER
CHAPTER 18 — THE COAL YARD
The night had become almost completely silent.
Inspector Arjun Menon walked alone through the deserted section of Visakhapatnam Port.
He had no particular destination.
He was simply walking.
The conversation with Raghav Prasad was still running through his mind.
Maya Varma.
Devendra Rao.
Vikram Rana.
Timoor Lesti.
Four names.
Four different doors.
But Arjun had a feeling that all four doors opened into the same dark room.
He walked along the inner road of the port.
Then he turned toward the main road.
A few minutes later, something caught his attention.
He stopped.
On one side of the port stood several enormous coal piles.
Under the weak yellow lights, the black mountains of coal looked almost like shadows.
Arjun stared at them.
He had seen coal before.
But never like this.
Never in such enormous quantities.
He slowly walked closer.
The wind carried the smell of dust and coal through the air.
Arjun looked around.
There were no workers nearby.
No loading activity.
No vehicles.
Just the coal.
And silence.
He looked at the nearest pile.
Something didn't feel right.
“Why is this section so quiet?”
He walked around the pile.
Then stopped again.
There were tyre marks on the ground.
Fresh ones.
Arjun crouched down.
He touched the ground.
The soil was still slightly disturbed.
Someone had driven through here recently.
His eyes moved toward the coal.
He stood up.
“Interesting...”
He started walking around the coal yard.
Then he noticed something else.
A small pathway ran between two of the coal piles.
It was barely visible from the main road.
Arjun followed it.
The farther he walked, the darker it became.
Then he heard voices.
He stopped immediately.
Two men were standing on the other side of the coal pile.
A third man was near a jeep.
Arjun remained behind the coal stack and listened.
“Is it all there?”
“Yes.”
“Move it quickly.”
“Where?”
“Same place.”
Arjun frowned.
He couldn't see what they were exchanging.
He moved slightly forward.
Then he saw it.
A small package changed hands.
One man immediately looked around.
Another opened the rear of the jeep.
Arjun's suspicion grew.
He looked at the coal pile.
Then at the jeep.
Then back at the men.
The coal wasn't simply being stored here.
Someone was using this isolated section for something else.
Arjun stepped out from behind the coal pile.
“Excuse me.”
All three men froze.
One of them turned.
“Who are you?”
Arjun walked closer.
“I could ask you the same question.”
The man looked at the others.
Suddenly, everyone became alert.
One of them whispered,
“That's the guy.”
“What guy?”
“The man who was walking around the coal yard.”
Arjun heard it.
His expression changed.
“So you've been watching me?”
Nobody answered.
Arjun looked at the package.
“What are you moving?”
“Nothing.”
“Then open it.”
The man stepped backward.
“It's just material.”
“What material?”
“Coal-related documents.”
Arjun looked at the package.
“Then why are you afraid to open it?”
The man suddenly rushed toward him.
Arjun moved aside.
The man missed him and crashed against the coal pile.
Another man came from behind.
Arjun turned and blocked his hand.
“Don't.”
The man tried again.
Arjun pushed him away.
The third man ran toward the jeep.
“Stop!”
Arjun chased him.
The man reached the jeep and tried to start it.
Arjun grabbed the door.
“Get out!”
The driver accelerated.
The vehicle moved forward.
Arjun jumped aside.
The jeep disappeared between the coal stacks.
Arjun immediately pulled out his phone.
He dialled a number.
“Hello?”
“CI Srinivas Rao?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Inspector Arjun Menon.”
There was a short pause.
“Where are you?”
“Visakhapatnam Port. Coal storage area.”
“What happened?”
“I think I've found a narcotics exchange.”
Srinivas became serious.
“Are you certain?”
“I am.”
“Stay where you are. We're coming.”
Arjun looked toward the coal piles.
“Come fast.”
---
THE RAID
Within minutes, police vehicles entered the coal yard.
Their headlights cut through the darkness.
“Everyone stay where you are!”
Police officers surrounded the area.
Two suspects attempted to escape.
They were caught.
The jeep was located a short distance away.
Srinivas Rao walked toward Arjun.
“Where did this happen?”
“Between those two coal piles.”
Srinivas looked around.
“Why here?”
“That is what I want to know.”
The police began searching the area.
One officer suddenly shouted,
“Sir!”
Srinivas turned.
“What?”
“We found something.”
He walked toward the officer.
Several suspicious packages had been recovered from the coal storage area.
Srinivas looked at them carefully.
“Seal everything.”
“Yes, sir.”
The search continued.
More packets were recovered from the vicinity.
The preliminary examination indicated MDMA and other narcotic substances.
The quantity was substantial.
Srinivas stared at the seized material.
Then he looked at the coal piles.
“Whoever brought this here knew exactly what they were doing.”
Arjun said nothing.
Srinivas looked at him.
“You noticed the coal?”
“Yes.”
“What made you suspicious?”
Arjun looked at the massive black pile.
“The coal.”
Srinivas frowned.
“The coal?”
“Yes.”
“What about it?”
Arjun pointed toward the ground.
“Look at the tyre marks.”
Srinivas crouched down.
Fresh tracks.
He followed them with his eyes.
They disappeared behind the coal stack.
Arjun said quietly,
“This wasn't random.”
Srinivas stood up.
“You think they were using the coal yard regularly?”
“I don't know yet.”
Arjun looked at the enormous pile.
“But I think we should find out.”
---
THE QUESTION
After the suspects were taken into custody, Srinivas walked back toward Arjun.
“Inspector, who exactly are you?”
Arjun paused.
“I told you. I'm here for an investigation.”
“From where?”
“Bihar.”
“Which department?”
Arjun remained silent for a moment.
“I am working on a separate investigation.”
Srinivas studied his face.
“Then why are you walking around my port at midnight?”
Arjun looked toward the coal yard.
“Because sometimes the truth is standing in the open.”
Srinivas followed his gaze.
“All this coal?”
Arjun nodded.
“Maybe.”
Srinivas looked at the massive piles again.
“There's something else you should know.”
“What?”
“This coal yard has appeared in several old reports.”
Arjun immediately turned.
“What reports?”
“Suspicious movements. Unregistered vehicles. Missing inventory.”
“Any narcotics?”
Srinivas hesitated.
“Nothing was ever proved.”
Arjun's eyes narrowed.
“Who investigated them?”
Srinivas looked at him.
“Devendra Rao.”
Silence.
The name hit Arjun immediately.
Devendra Rao.
The dead NCB officer.
The man who had been investigating Maya Varma.
The man who had discovered connections to Thailand.
The man who had been silenced.
Arjun slowly turned toward the coal piles.
“What did his report say?”
Srinivas answered,
“Only one sentence.”
“What sentence?”
Srinivas opened an old notebook.
He read:
“THE COAL YARD IS NOT THE DESTINATION.”
Arjun stared at him.
“Then what is it?”
Srinivas closed the notebook.
“We never found out.”
Arjun looked again at the enormous black mountains of coal.
For the first time, the coal no longer looked like cargo.
It looked like a wall.
A wall hiding something.
And somewhere behind that wall was a connection to the investigation Arjun had been chasing.
Vikram Rana.
Arjun slowly opened his notebook.
Under the four existing names, he wrote a fifth line:
COAL YARD
Then, beneath it:
WHY?
He closed the notebook.
The night remained silent.
But Arjun knew one thing now.
The coal piles were not just part of Visakhapatnam Port.
They were part of the mystery.
And he had just found the first crack in the wall.
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