Authors: Manjiri Prabhu
“Somebody call a Doctor!”
It took a while for the audience to realise that this was no more fine acting! The clapping echoed into eerie silence, as shocked faces turned to one another throughout the auditorium.
A couple of assistants urged the audience to leave, and one by one they trooped outside, numb and shaken. What exactly had happened? Sonia glanced at Mohnish, a speculative glint in her eyes. Poisoning? Again!
“Come on!” she urged Mohnish. “We’ve got to go backstage.”
Mohnish followed the detective as they threaded their way through the human traffic. Pushing past the gathering crowd, they climbed up to the stage.
“Make way, please. I’m Sonia Samarth, an Investigator. What’s happened here?” Sonia spoke authoritatively.
Instinctively the knot of people onstage made way and Sonia saw Karan and a woman kneeling beside the fallen couple. The woman was sobbing. A Doctor from the audience was examining Anup. Sonia dropped on her knees and quickly checked Jaya’s pulse. A very faint pulse. She hastily turned to Anup. Very weak.
“The van’s outside. Let’s take them to the hospital!” someone shouted.
Immediately, Karan and the woman rose. A backstage member tapped on the woman’s shoulder. “Yours.” He thrust a blue-checked handkerchief in her hands.
She glanced at it with wet eyes, then shook her head. “Not mine,” she mumbled, then turned to the flurry of activity.
The two unconscious artistes were carried by the anxious play members.
Sonia stared after the departing bodies, a deep sorrow choking her. Perfect lovers onstage. But parting like true lovers in real life?
Inspector Divekar had taken charge. The Police were bustling around asking questions of the play members, who seemed as nonplussed as the audience at the sudden turn of events. How could a play end in real tragedy? Who had tried to kill Anup and Jaya, and why? For the first time the theatre people had more questions to ask than the Police. Everyone hung around inactively, the sets yet to be dismantled. No one seemed in the mood to wind up the scene.
Sonia stood in the wings, watching the official Police inquiry, a strange reluctance in her heart. She knew that she should begin investigating, interact with the play crew, and assist Uncle Jeevan, if he wished. But she felt hesitant to be a part of this odd scenario. The play was over and its end was far too real, so why did she feel that the playacting wasn’t over?
Karan sat in a corner of the stage, looking stunned. Sonia observed him in silence. He hadn’t changed much. The same serious good looks that once upon a time had set her shy teenage heart racing. For an instant, the image of herself, sitting for long hours in the library, waiting for a glimpse of him, rose in her mind. The image faded and she shook her head. That was a long time ago and her crush had paled into a vague memory. But her sensitivity towards him hadn’t. With sudden resolve, Sonia moved towards him.
“Sonia?” He recognised her instantly. “What are you doing here?”
“Glad you remember me.” She took the stool beside him.
“Of course I do! Wish we could’ve met in pleasanter circumstances,” he remarked sadly.
“I was here for the play and witnessed what happened,” Sonia volunteered. “I’m sorry it all ended like this.”
Karan nodded, staring dazed at a chip on the stage floor. He wiped the sheen of perspiration on his forehead and shook his head in anger. Then he looked up and there were tears in his eyes. “Why did this happen? Why? We were just beginning the shows for this play and we were booked all over Maharashtra! How can one explain such a tragedy?”
“There was poison in the juice they poured out to each other,” Sonia said simply. “Or perhaps real poison in the bottles.”
Karan looked startled. “But that’s impossible!”
“Where was the juice before the play began?” Sonia asked.
“It was kept ready in the side wings before the show…” Karan replied, a little more steadily.
“And what about the poison bottles that they used for the last scene?”
“The property man provides the bottles. They are also kept ready, on a stool, just beside the stage, in the side wings, for the scene.” Karan hesitated. “You think someone replaced the coloured water with real poison?”
Sonia shrugged. “Quite possible. But the question remains: Who would want to do such a thing?”
“I don’t know, I don’t understand any of this! Why would someone want to try and kill Anup and Jaya?”
“Usually the motives range from jealousy, professional rivalry to personal hatred. Is there anyone who would fit any one of these motives?”
Karan looked thoughtful.
Sonia knew that jealousy and professional rivalry were the most common features in showbiz. Personal hatreds, chequered pasts, and obsessive fan following resulted in a gamut of reactions and it was very difficult to decode the constant undercurrents that ran through relationships in the film and theatre world. In short, Sonia was aware that this world would never lack motives for crime.
Karan shook his head stubbornly. “I can’t imagine a single person from my group doing such a horrendous thing!”
“The best of people have a dark side to them,” Sonia reminded him. “By the way, why did you have two poison bottles in the end? I mean, don’t you think that the natural thing to do would’ve been for them to pour the poison from the same bottle, the way you did the juice?”
“Actually, the original idea had been one poison bottle. But Anup felt that it would be more poetic and melodramatic if the couple poured poison from their own separate bottles. It would feel like a real toast to their love and give a chance for their histrionics as they approached each other on the background of the sad song. More like a film It was a last-minute change, but I wouldn’t have agreed if I hadn’t liked the idea. Somehow it seemed less clichéd.”
“Anup?” Sonia repeated with a thoughtful expression.
“What happens next?” Karan asked in a resigned tone, seemingly unaware of her reaction.
“The police have confiscated those bottles and the jar of juice. They’ll be able to deduce whether the poison was in the bottles or the juice. Then they will try to nail down the person who was responsible for it, who would have a
motive
to attempt to pull off such a blatant crime! It’s got to be someone closely associated with the play, who knew exactly what the ending was and how it would be enacted. Someone who would have ample opportunity to either replace the fake bottles with the real ones or pour poison in them or into the juice.”
A murmur of voices broke out on centre stage, where Inspector Divekar stood. A constable and a member of the play hastened to the Inspector and he followed them to the side of the stage. Sonia frowned. What was happening?
A crew member passed them and Karan hailed him.
“What’s up, Vijay?”
“They’ve made a discovery!”
“Discovery?” Sonia repeated, interested.
“He’ll tell you.” Vijay indicated the Inspector with a thumb, then walked briskly away.
At that very moment, Inspector Divekar signalled to Sonia. She rose at once.
“Excuse me, I’ll be back in a moment!” she told the Director.
Karan watched as she quickly joined Inspector Divekar. The Inspector began speaking instantly, showing her something. They bent their heads in a quick consultation. Sonia looked worried. Something twisted in Karan’s stomach.
Now
what was happening? Hadn’t they had enough trouble for a lifetime?
Sonia nodded as the Inspector handed a plastic bag to the constable. Then she retraced her steps towards Karan, a grim expression on her face.
“What is it?” Karan asked her fearfully.
She took the seat beside him in silence and inhaled a soft breath.
“The police have just discovered that the poison bottles that were supposed to be used in the play are still in their appointed place. They are apparently untouched!”
“What! But that’s impossible! Anup and Jaya used them to pour the poison,” he insisted.
“Obviously not!”
“What does this mean?” Karan looked bewildered.
Sonia was thoughtful. “It means that Anup and Jaya did not use the fake bottles kept for them in the wings. Most likely one of them brought the poison or even they both brought their own.”
“You mean…?”
“If the property bottles were not used in the last scene, it means that
no one
replaced those fake bottles with real poison. Which also means that
no one really tried to kill
Anup and Jaya.”
“But then, who, how…?”
“The conclusion is obvious, isn’t it?” Sonia spoke gently. “Either, one of them brought the two poison bottles or Anup and Jaya each brought their own. Regardless since neither of them touched the fake bottles, it looks like they deliberately poisoned each other, with or without each other’s consent!”
“
What are you saying?
They tried to
kill
each other? I don’t believe it!” Karan exclaimed. “We are all such good friends! Why in heavens should Jaya and Anup wish to kill each other? We’ve been working closely for months. We had a wonderful lunch this afternoon and the atmosphere was such fun, so tension-free. I don’t see why those two would take such drastic action. No, I’m sure there’s another explanation to it!”
“Assuming that the poison was not in the juice—can you explain what the entire auditorium witnessed with their own eyes? Jaya and Anup poured poison out of the bottles they had in their possession. And they collapsed onstage in front of all of us. And they did not get up again. In fact, I’m not sure the Doctors will be able to do much for them.”
Karan looked horrified. “You mean…?”
Sonia was silent, as she allowed the significance of her remark to sink in. The Director clutched his head and burst into tears. His shoulders shook and Sonia felt tears rise in her eyes at such raw emotion.
“Get a grip, Karan,” she said finally. “Some things are beyond our control.”
“I loved her!” Karan mumbled as he fought to control the dam of emotions. “I loved Jaya a lot. But she never really looked at me. Until recently. She was changing towards me. I could sense that. Especially today, during Deepa and Anup’s lunch party. I truly did love her! Oh, why did this have to happen?” he wailed.
At the back of her mind, Sonia noticed that his admission of love for someone else evoked nothing but a sense of deep sympathy. She felt inordinately pleased about it. “Did you ever reveal your feelings to her?” she asked.
“Several times—not in so many words, but through actions, hints. She knew. And she wasn’t indifferent. I know that because she would come to me so naturally whenever she was upset or angry or emotional. Like this evening, just before the show, she was quite upset and she came straight to me. Vijay, the makeup man, told me that he had seen her go into Anup’s room and that she emerged very agitated.”
“Did she say what had upset her?”
“Just that she was so angry, she could kill someone!” He raised his head and stared at her, as if realising the impact of what he’d just said. “She didn’t mean that literally, of course. She said that her world was collapsing around her. Her housekeeper had announced that she was leaving, someone had left an unpleasant message on her answering machine which was a real eye-opener, the milkman had refused to drop off the milk. She said she was tired of acting. She wanted to settle down! She was furious, and she swore that after today she would give up everything and concentrate entirely on me! Can you believe it? She said that to
me.
She knew that I cared and she said that she was ready to begin a new relationship with me. I was so happy to hear her say that! I had even planned a romantic dinner for just the two of us tonight!”
Sonia started.
Dinner!
The meal she had promised Mohnish had totally slipped from her mind. Distracted, she scanned the scattered groups for Mohnish and found him talking to Inspector Divekar. How could she ever treat him to dinner now? As if on cue, Mohnish turned and caught her eye. He flashed her a half smile, then resumed his conversation with the Inspector.
“Who was the woman who was kneeling beside Anup a while ago?” Sonia asked Karan.
“Deepa, Anup’s wife. Oh Lord! I forgot all about Deepa!”
“I think she’s gone on to the hospital, with her husband.”
“I need to ask the Inspector if we can pack up. I really must go to Deepa. She shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. What a horrible, horrible mess!” Karan thrust his head in his hands again.
Sonia covered his shoulders consolingly with her arm. He was right: it
was
a mess. What was supposed to be a rewarding night, a fruitful culmination of months of hard work, had instead turned into an unforgettable nightmare.
Inspector Divekar moved away and Mohnish turned to look for Sonia. He stiffened involuntarily as he saw Sonia bend close towards Karan and talk consolingly to him. A shard of pure jealousy pierced him. The hot night and the morbid atmosphere of the theatre suddenly seemed to stifle him and he longed to drag Sonia away from the place. Without permitting himself the time to analyse his reaction, he hastily moved towards the couple.
“Sonia?” he interrupted.
Surprised, she glanced up.
“Sorry to disturb you, but Inspector Divekar says that they’ve finished with us and we can all go home.”
“Right!” Sonia replied, but a flash of annoyance replaced the surprise on her face. “Karan, I’ll keep in touch.”
“Thanks, Sonia. I’m so thankful you were here tonight.”
“So am I.” Sonia smiled gently at him.
“But you have to eat
something
!” Mohnish argued.
“Dinner, after such a tragic evening? I couldn’t eat a morsel,” Sonia protested.
“Where’s your professionalism? You can’t allow cases to affect your metabolism.”
“Investigators are human, too,” she reminded lightly. “And this is
not
a case. I’m not hired and I’m not sure I
want
to be hired. The enacted last scene was as poignant as the actual reality and I’m not sure I can detach myself from the emotions! And lastly, please don’t talk like Jatin!”