The Astral Alibi (11 page)

“All right. But I’m going to stop by this restaurant. It’s eleven and I’m famished. We’re going to eat something!”

Without heeding her protests, he parked outside a vegetarian restaurant and led his companion into the air-conditioned section.

“Are you going to order for yourself or should I?” he asked her briskly.

“I’ll order. An Idli Sambar, please,” Sonia told the waiter.

“Is that all? You’ll feel hungry in the middle of the night,” Mohnish warned, exasperated. But when she merely shrugged, he ordered a Fried Rice for himself. The waiter jotted down the order and left.

Mohnish considered Sonia with a keen eye. She was fidgeting with the napkin, avoiding looking at him. He sighed.

“Okay, tell me what’s the matter.”

“Nothing.”

“Obviously you are upset about something, Sonia. Spit it out!”

“All right, I’m a little annoyed. Why did you interrupt me when I was talking to Karan?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to deliberately disturb you. It was just that Inspector Divekar said we could leave and—”

“And you just marched up and conveyed the message,” Sonia completed coolly.

“Right.”

“Well, don’t do it again.”

Mohnish stared at her flushed face. He had seen Sonia angry on several occasions. But never had the anger been directed towards him. And perhaps she was justified this time—to an extent. He probably had intruded on her professional boundary.

“Are we having a quarrel?” he asked finally.

“I don’t like quarrels.”

“Neither do I.”

“Nor do I appreciate occasions which lead to them.”

“Point taken. Now can we eat?”

The waiter placed the food on the table and vanished discreetly. Mohnish watched silently as his companion toyed with the Idli Sambar. With a sigh, he replaced his spoon on his plate, folded his arms, and looked at Sonia squarely.

“Fine, I apologise, okay? It’s just that I saw you comforting Karan and I was worried that you’d get too involved emotionally and I…” He caught her look of amusement. “What?”

“You were
worried
?” She tipped her head and observed him.

“Of course I was. I was aware that Karan was a college friend and that put you in a very vulnerable position and—”

“You thought I would get too deeply drawn in to this case?” she confirmed. A pleasant tingling sensation was creeping over her body, at his concern.

“Yes. You would only end up getting upset and that’s exactly what I didn’t want. Now or ever!”

“Mohnish, if that was your only motive, your crime is excused.” Sonia’s eyes glinted with mischief.

“Does that mean I don’t get a sentence for the crime?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Maybe a light rap or two, so that you’re not tempted to take up emotional responsibility for me again? And, by the way, you were right: I don’t think this Idli Sambar is going to be sufficient for me. I’m hungry and I need another dish!”

A pleased smile lit up Mohnish’s face. “That’s good news I haven’t heard in a long time!”

“So much happened and you didn’t call me!” Jatin was indignant.

Sonia had arrived early that morning. She had a sleepless night. The voices of Anup and Jaya had droned on in her mind like a stuck record.

“There wasn’t time and to tell you the truth, it’s not our concern. We are not ‘on the case.’ Besides, I’m positive Jaya and Anup did indeed kill each other.”

“You mean…!”

Sonia nodded gravely. “Inspector Divekar called. He said that the doctors couldn’t save either Anup or Jaya.”

“How terrible! But…but why! I thought you said that they were all good friends and going in and out of one another’s houses.”

“Yes, that’s what Karan told me. Actually, initially I thought that someone had replaced the fake property bottles with real poison. And that someone connected with the play had tried to murder Anup and Jaya. But then, one of the play members discovered the original bottles still in the same position, untouched. Anup and Jaya were supposed to slip into the wings and pick up the fake bottles and return to the stage. Which they did not do. Instead they used bottles that they had on them.

“Besides, look at the evidence. Pouring poison right in front of the audience and dying like that? As if they were really in love and couldn’t bear to live in this world anymore. True essence of romance, though melodramatically tragic if you were really looking for romance. But the motive, as of now, is out of human reach.”

“How awful!”

“Maybe that’s just the way they wanted it. The mystery shrouding their deaths would be spicy material for all and sundry. A fitting end to two exceptionally talented actors. Perhaps they planned it like that.”

“But you said that Jaya was upset about something right before the show. Couldn’t that have had something to do with the murders?”

“Yes, you could be right. But I have a gut feeling that this went deeper than a misunderstanding. Just think. Why would two co-stars or colleagues who are good friends wish to kill each other? And how could they carry out such a plan successfully? It has to be either extreme love or extreme hate, for them to take each other’s lives. If it’s the former, why give up everything if you’re in love and can enjoy a glorious future together? And if it’s extreme hate, what could’ve passed between them to take such terrible measures?”

“A huge fight, perhaps?”

“Possible.”

“What about the poison? Did the police confirm which bottle contained the poison?”

“The police checked the juice. There was no poison in it at all. The poison came from the bottles that both the actors possessed. It was cockroach poison. But not manufactured by the same company. Surely it’s too much of a coincidence if they both
hadn’t
planned it together. Although it’s possible that it could be an independent idea, of course….”

Jatin sighed. “The police have their work cut out for them.”

“They will have to perform the routine inquiry. Ask questions of the play members, concentrating on Karan and Deepa, who were closest to Anup and Jaya. And perhaps pay a visit to Jaya’s house and meet her housekeeper. They’ll try their best to find out what lay beneath this mutual murder. And if they don’t, the obvious will have to be accepted. That Jaya and Anup did indeed murder each other, for some strange, inexplicable personal reason. And the audience was their witness!”

“What about us?” Jatin asked. “Are we going to be involved?”

“From the fringes.” Sonia shrugged. “Uncle Jeevan has asked me to hang around and keep my ears open. In fact, we are to meet him at Anup’s house in half an hour. I believe that Karan will be there, too.”

“And we are not going to get
actively
involved?” Jatin asked again, a little incredulously.

“Nobody’s asked us!”

“But, Boss, we have to find out why they killed each other….”

“We don’t have to do
anything.
And Jatin, what about professionalism? About being hired and discussing money matters and taking an advance?” Sonia asked deliberately.

Jatin ignored the sweet sarcasm. “Come on, Boss, I can’t believe that
you’re
saying this! You’re always plunging into cases, without giving a single thought to
my
advice! Why now?”

“It’s time, I guess, to pay heed to your smart, worldly knowledge!” the detective responded airily.

“Okay, Boss, there are exceptions to the rule, that’s what
you’ve
always told
me.
And this is an exception.”

“You mean, even if there’s no client?”

“I guess, in the name of truth…” He looked abashed.

“And it’s all right if no one pays us?”

“Just this once, we pay ourselves!”

“You mean
I
pay
ourselves
!” Sonia smiled. “Good, I believe that for the first time we’re actually agreeing in thought.”

It was the worst part of any investigation. Meeting the grieving relatives. Sonia was glad she was not going to do the questioning. One look at Deepa’s red, swollen eyes and her heart went out to the dead man’s wife. Deepa sat in her house, with photo frames of her husband and herself. Her eyes strayed to them as she answered the Inspector’s questions in a dead voice. Karan was seated beside her, holding her hand, permanent pain stamped on his face. Jatin hung back as Sonia perched in another chair against the bare wall, from which the photographs had previously hung.

“This is a shock for me. I had no idea they had planned anything like that. They did it together, didn’t they? There’s no other explanation for it, is there?” Deepa asked, searching the Inspector’s face.

Inspector Divekar shook his head. “I’m afraid that at the moment there’s not. Unless you can throw some light on the events leading to this incident.”

“There
are
no events! There was only the play! The play! There was nothing else on anyone’s mind! We were all totally immersed in this play, which was supposed to be one of the greatest hits in Marathi theatre. And now look at what’s happened!”

Karan tightened his grip on his friend’s hand.

“Tell them, Karan, that not one of us thought beyond the first show for the invitees!”

The Director nodded. “That’s true. We were all too engrossed in trying to make it a hit. I can’t see what could have resulted in something so drastic.”

“But something must have occurred. You do realise that?”

“I don’t understand.” Deepa looked puzzled.

“Look, I know this may come as a shock to you. But have you considered the possibility that the two—Jaya and your husband—may have been involved?”

“Involved?” Deepa repeated stupidly.

“Having an affair,” the Inspector persisted grimly.

“You must be mad! My husband and…and Jaya? What nonsense! They were excellent actors, so they could project that passion and…love onstage. But don’t get fooled by those emotions. They weren’t real. My husband loved
me
! How could you even dream of accusing him of having an affair! And with Jaya, of all the people! We were all friends.
Close
friends!”

She was so agitated that Karan murmured, “Calm down, calm down.”

“How can I calm down! These people are suggesting atrocious things!”

“We’re trying to find a reason for their murder, Madam,” Inspector Divekar interjected gravely.

“Well, that is not the reason! You’ll have to look for something else! Perhaps this lady who kept calling up Anup at odd hours. She fed him a lot of crap about a lot of things. He told you about her, didn’t he, Karan?”

“Yes, he did mention some woman who wanted to meet him and kept telling him stories against Jaya, which of course he didn’t believe. Or so he said,” Karan confirmed.

“Did he mention this woman’s name?”

“No, she never revealed her name. All she said was that she was from Jaya’s past. But she hasn’t called up lately, as far as I know,” Deepa replied, then continued. “But there’s also the angle of money. Anup did speak occasionally of his debts, which were piling, and Jaya…” She paused abruptly and stared at the solemn, sympathetic faces gazing at her. “You don’t believe me, do you? You think I’m hunting around for reasons, to avoid the real issue. You are convinced that Anup and Jaya…”

“There were rumours, Deepa.” Karan spoke quietly. “I didn’t want to tell you, because I thought, then, that they were just rumours. But now I’m not so sure. Jaya and Anup did spend a lot of time together, during rehearsals and otherwise. It’s not impossible!”

Deepa swept wild eyes from face to face as the thought registered. Then she covered her face with her hands and began sobbing. Karan flung a consoling arm around her. Inspector Divekar flashed Sonia a glance.

“No, it can’t be true! Anup could not have cheated on me! I gave up everything for him. My acting career, my family—he knew I loved him like no one has ever loved him. He cannot have betrayed me!” Deepa’s cries were heartrending.

An awkward silence ensued, filled with the sobs of the distraught woman. Gradually, her sobbing petered out. She seemed to appear calmer as she dabbed at her eyes with a blue handkerchief. At length, she gazed up at the Inspector. “But I still don’t understand. If they were in love and…and having an affair, why would they kill each other?”

“That is something we are going to find out,” Inspector Divekar replied. “I have just one last question for you, Deepaji. Have you any idea how or when Anup got hold of the cockroach poison?”

Deepa nodded. “I think I can make a guess. I had bought cockroach poison yesterday and left the bottle on one of the tables in the hall. Last night I was surprised to hear that the stage bottles were not used at all. But it did not strike me until this morning that perhaps Anup had used the bottle I had purchased. I searched for it this morning, but couldn’t find it anywhere. I even asked my maid if she’d picked it up, but she said she hadn’t seen it.”

“Thank you, Deepaji, I think that’s all for now. If we need to talk again, we’ll get in touch with you.” Inspector Divekar rose and the others followed his example. “Karan, can we talk outside?”

“Yes, of course.” Karan readily led the way outdoors, to where the Police Jeep and Sonia’s van were parked.

“About what you told Deepa—do you really believe that Anup and Jaya were having a serious affair?” the Inspector asked.

Karan nodded. “I didn’t want to believe it at first. I’d kept hearing the jokes being cracked behind their backs, how they went off together in separate cars but then met at a hotel in the city. But gradually, when I saw things for myself—little things, the intimate looks, the way their hands brushed, the manner in which they talked—I didn’t like it at all. Apart from the fact that I was…interested in Jaya myself, I was worried Deepa would get wind of it. She’s very sensitive and caring and she’s treated all of us like family the last few months. I didn’t want her to be hurt or even hear the rumours, specially if they were true. I knew it would break her heart. She loved Anup deeply. But if Anup and Jaya were having a fling—or worse, if it was serious between them—it would destroy Deepa emotionally. But yes, Inspector, I do believe now that the two of them were having a passionate affair behind all our backs. It explains why Jaya insisted on Anup being present for all the sessions, including her dress rehearsals. It also explains why she was so upset just before the play. She was seen leaving his makeup room and she was very, very angry. She even told me that she would never work with Anup again. I thought then that they’d just had a friendly tiff. But obviously it was much more serious. Serious enough, perhaps, for her to take his life!”