Seduced by Murder (14 page)

His legs wobbled, and his hands started trembling. I quickly leaned towards him and said reassuringly, “I am your best friend here, okay? Who do you think is the murderer?”

He gulped, looked in all directions to ensure that no one was eavesdropping, and whispered, “Sir, I haven’t told this to anyone because no one would believe me. They think I am an old fool.”

“They are snobs,” I urged in my most bourgeois tone. “Tell me,”

I was barely able to bear the suspense. Would he name Shalini? Detectives have many a time relied on the careless and frank testimony of the domestic help, to solve a crime.

He whispered, “Sir, Anil sir was an evil man. He was punished for his bad deeds.”

“Well, for God’s sake, who did it?”

“You just said it, sir.”

“What did I say?” I controlled the urge to shake him.

“God.”

“God?”

“Yes, sir. When Paras sir bought the land, and was clearing the site, we found a small Shiva idol in the middle right where the beach is. I begged sir to construct a boundary and give it the respect it deserved. The place of worship was demolished for people to lie half-naked in the sun. You know what Paras sir did? You know what he did?”

I could guess, but I dutifully shook my head.

“He removed the idol, and gave it to the construction labourers working at the site. God has taken revenge.”

He was livid at the memory of the blasphemy.

“How come?” I was too dazed to react.

“Don’t you see, sir? The hammock was right at the position where the idol had been. You know what happened one day? I was requesting Paras sir to consider shifting the beach somewhere else, and build a small temple there instead. Anil sir heard me. He laughed at me and urinated on the beach – right where we had found the idol.”

Ram trembled with anger, remembering the act of desecration.

“One day my friend Kishore, while returning from the city at midnight, saw a white spirit sitting on the beach and crying …
at the same spot
.”

Was he pulling a fast one on me? I noticed his wide eyes, the pulsating veins on his forehead, the terror-struck posture, and gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“So you are saying that a white spirit killed Anil?”

“It was an act of God, sir.”

“How is that possible?” asked the non-believer.

“With God, anything is possible,” said the believer.

‘With God, anything is possible,’ I repeated slowly. I squinted to look in another direction to suppress a rude laugh. I took a few deep breaths before speaking again. Knife-throwing gypsies, and God, would be a formidable opposition for anyone.

“Well, let’s hope God doesn’t take care of all retributions himself. I would go out of business!”

Ram looked shocked.

“Okay, Ram, I have a few more questions.”

I didn’t want him to gauge my suspicions about Shalini, so I kept her for the last. “Tell me about the brothers – about their nature, and the relationship between them.”

He spooked me by looking for imaginary white spirits in either direction before replying in a whisper, “Sunil sir and Anil sir used to fight incessantly. Every day, sir. If it wasn’t for the timely intervention of Paras sir or Vimal sir, one of them would have killed the other a long time back.”

“They used to fight over—?”

“Over everything, sir. They were two opposite planets sir, Rahu and Ketu.”

“Focus, Ram! What was the most common reason for their fights?”

“Anil sir was lazy and cruel. He was wasting his father’s money. Sunil sir is a good man, but he can’t control his temper. Everyone is scared of Sunil sir’s temper, including Paras sir. They always fought over money and business.”

“Were the fights serious?” I asked.

“Oh yes, sir. Very serious. The servants tell me that the night Anil sir was murdered, there had been a big fight between the two in the evening. Very bad, sir!”

I leaned forward. No one had mentioned a fight to me.

“Okay. Tell me about this very bad fight.”

He leaned towards me, till he was practically on my lap, and spoke with an ultrasound frequency that even Bruno would have found difficult registering.

“Speak up. I can’t hear a thing.”

“Paras sir has forbidden the servants to speak about it in front of the police.”

“What exactly has he told the servants?”

“Well, I was not a witness to the fight, sir. I was at the farmhouse. But Malti saw the fight. She’s my niece. Paras sir has instructed her not to talk about it to anyone.”

I tried to maintain a deadpan expression.

“Hiding important information from a police officer, who is investigating a murder, is a crime with a minimum sentence of two years. Tell me everything you know about the fight.”

“I can’t, sir. Malti will lose her job, and I my respect in front of Paras sir.”

“Listen, Ram, your telling the truth will help me capture the murderer. I have already hinted to you that you are our prime suspect. I am your only friend, remember?”

He muttered weakly, “I can’t be disloyal. I have had their salt, sir.”

“Don’t be stupid. It must have been Tata’s. And it will taste the same whether you have it here or in jail.”

I could see he was considering the options.

“You promise not to tell Paras sir that I told you?”

“I swear!”

He said, “The fight took place on Saturday evening, before they left for the farmhouse.”

“Would you know what the fight was about?”

“Well, I have spoken to the other servants, and have an idea. They are building something big in the city, sir … something very big, and very costly, at MG Road junction. Sunil sir is handling it.”

“Yes, I am aware of the mall they are building.”

“It was a cursed project, sir, the root of all problems,” he paused dramatically.

I was sarcastic. “Why? Did they find an idol there too?”

“No, sir! Please don’t make fun of such things. A lot of money was borrowed for the project … from illegal sources. Rowdy people started coming to the house and shouting at Paras sir. Vile things, sir … very vile things. Since Sunil sir was handling the project, Anil sir used to blame him for the financial distress of the family. Of course, I am not the one to gossip. I just heard some servants talking.”

“This is not gossip; this is a healthy discussion. Please go on.”

“Have you heard of Muktiar Ali? The Don?”

“No. Who is he?”

His eyes became the size of saucers.

“Muktiar Ali? He is going around with Rakhi, the film actress! You must have heard of him?”

I had no idea what he was talking about, so I nodded vigorously. “Yes, Mukhi. I remember now. What about him?”

“On Saturday, his men came to the house. They started throwing the furniture around. Malti hid behind this cabinet when they came in. Sunil sir rushed down to confront them. Malti told me that Sunil sir tried to pacify them, but they wouldn’t listen. They carried a piece of paper that they threw at Sunil sir’s face, and accused him of cheating the lenders.”

“What was that paper?”

“One of those stamp papers that we use to buy and sell properties.”

“Okay. What else did Malti tell you?”

“They left threatening dire consequences if the money was not arranged. After they had left, Sunil sir read that paper and lost his cool. Soon he was shouting at Anil sir, and Anil sir was abusing him. Malti told me, they were yelling at the top of their lungs.

“The servants told me that the fight escalated when Sunil sir said something about Anil sir’s boyfriend. Anil sir slapped Sunil sir. Sunil sir picked up a knife, and chased Anil sir around the house. Malti swears that Sunil sir would have stabbed Anil sir. He was a madman that evening!”

“What happened next?” I asked

“Anil sir locked himself in the bathroom. Sunil sir kept banging on the door, striking the door with the knife shouting in anger. He calmed only when Paras sir arrived. He had …”

“Wait! Sunil chased Anil with a knife on Saturday evening?”

“Yes, sir! Malti saw it with her own eyes.”

“Get Malti here now.”

He was reluctant about that. I gave him my don’t-argue-with-me stare.

Ram ushered Malti into the room in a few seconds. He introduced me. “Malti, this is Inspector Vishal from the CID. Tell him the truth.”

From the police to CID over a cup of coffee. That must have been the fastest promotion in the annals of the Indian police.

I decided to benefit from the prestige bestowed upon me. “Yes, Malti, I am from the CID. Tell the truth, all right?”

“Yes, sir.” she trembled.

“Was there a fight between Anil and Sunil the day Anil was found murdered?”

She looked at Ram, who encouraged her to go on.

“Yes, sir.”

“Tell me, what happened exactly?”

“They were shouting at each other. We expected the fight to stop quickly, since they often fought. But that day they came to blows. Sunil sir said something and Anil sir slapped him.”

“Then?”

“Sunil sir picked up the knife from the fruit basket, and chased Anil sir around the house.”

“You saw this with your own eyes?”

“Yes, sir. All the servants were scared.”

“How did it end?”

“Anil sir ran and locked himself in the bathroom. Paras sir came in and put a stop to the fight.”

I wondered if Aditi had witnessed the fight.

“Where were the women of the house at that time?”

She thought for a while and replied, “Aditi madam and Reena madam had gone to the club to play tennis. Only Shalini madam was at home.”

“Right. How did the knife look?”

“Very sharp, sir! I have cut my finger countless times while washing it.”

“That is not what I meant. What was the colour of the handle?”

“It was black, sir.”

I remembered the black handle of the knife that was used to stab Anil.

“Malti, I want you to think carefully about this. What happened to the knife Sunil used to threaten Anil with?”

“I looked for the knife all around the house, sir … that day and the next. I could not find it. So I replaced it with an identical knife from the set.”

“When did you last see the knife?”

“Sunil sir had marched out of the room with the knife. I searched his room thoroughly the next day, but I did not find it.”

I controlled my rising excitement. “No one found the original knife?”

“No, sir.”

My heart was beating faster than ever now. “Is the replaced knife from the set similar to the one that was lost?”

“Yes, sir. Only, this one has a red handle.”

“Bring it to me.”

Malti brought the fruit basket. I picked up the knife and stared at it. It was a replica of the knife that had been used to stab Anil. I tried to subdue my thrill at this discovery. The Kapoor family had deliberately hidden this incident from me. Could this be one reason why Paras was eager for me to get a confession from Shalini?

I realised that Malti and Ram were waiting for my orders. I needed another testimony, lest the uncle-niece team were misleading me. I saw a man come out of the kitchen.

“What’s his name?” I asked Ram.

“That is Raju, sir. He is a cook.”

“Raju!” I yelled, and he immediately paled on seeing me. Apparently my reputation preceded me everywhere.

He came towards me with folded hands. I wasted no time. If it was rank they wanted, they would get it.

“Raju, I am the chief of the CID, and demand the truth. Was there a fight between Anil and Sunil on Saturday evening? The night Anil was murdered?”

He looked accusingly at Ram, and said in a visibly upset tone, “Yes, sir. There was a fight.”

“Who attacked whom?”

He looked at Ram again. I held Raju by his shoulders and repeated, “Who attacked whom, and with what instrument?”

“Sunil sir attacked Anil sir. With a knife.”

I dismissed all of them, and pondered over this new twist. Even if Sunil was innocent, Paras was smart enough to gauge the import of the events on Saturday night. If the police came to know of this, they would definitely take Sunil in for questioning. So he had instructed everyone to remain quiet. Even Aditi had not mentioned this to me.

My belief that Shalini was the murderer was based on three facts: her suspicious behaviour at the farmhouse, her attempts to mislead the police by planting the locket near the back gate, and the message sent to her by Raj.

The suspicious behaviour could easily stem from nervousness; I had no evidence at all that she had planted the locket; and the SMS was cryptic to say the least. Not to forget, Paras definitely had a clear motive to prove that Shalini was the murderer, in case Sunil was involved. I remembered my meeting with Aditi in the café. She was the first one who had mentioned that the family suspected Shalini. Had she met me because of our past, or had she come just to reinforce my suspicions about Shalini?

I let it all sink in. Sunil had chased Anil with a knife. The knife was missing and, most probably, was the murder
weapon. Shalini had just become my number two suspect. I needed to get in touch with Babu.

“Hi buddy!” a cheerful voice called behind me.

I turned around to see Babu walking towards me. I had never thought I would ever be genuinely delighted to see Babu, until that moment.

“They told me I would find you in the kitchen. Found anything else?” he winked.

“Yeah. Your timing couldn’t be better. I think you are my lucky mascot. What did you find out about Leo?”

“He returned the locket all right. It is an inside job. Shalini, isn”t it?”

“What makes you say that?”

“You were in her room when I came. I was chatting with Paras sir. He said you would break her and get a confession. So did you break her?”

“I have only broken wind so far. But … do you recognise this?”

I handed the knife to him. He looked at it cautiously, trying to decide if this was a trick question. Then he said meekly, “This is similar to the one that Anil was killed with. But the colour of the handle is different.”

“Correct. What if I tell you that the night Anil was found murdered, someone had chased him that very evening with a knife similar to the one you are holding in your hand?”