Authors: Manjiri Prabhu
Renuka turned a furious face on the older woman. “Vidya gave every ounce of her energy, time, and love for this family, and this is all you can say for her? That she was
trouble
? The fact was that, despite you making life miserable for her, she stuck by your side, refusing to leave her home and a husband who didn’t deserve her! And now she’s
gone
! So now you can be happy!”
“Renuka, stop it!” Sonia put a firm hand on the agitated girl’s arm. “Let the police deal with this. Show me Vidya’s room, will you? Inspector, do you mind?”
The Inspector gave her a go-ahead signal while Renuka looked daggers at the in-laws. Both glowered back at her. Sonia prodded the girl and she moved reluctantly. Jatin followed.
“It’s a three-bedroom apartment. And this is Vidya’s room,” Renuka stepped through the doorway of the scene where her friend had breathed her last.
A double bed took up most of the space. A table and chair and two steel cupboards stood against the wall. A window with a sliding pane overlooked the courtyard and the street. Sonia stood in the centre of the room and tried to imagine what had transpired. Vidya had been administered a dose of sleeping pills. She had drunk a glass of milk before going to bed and had been found dead at dawn. Had the pills been in the milk? And who had put them in there? The obvious suspect was, of course, Mrs. Sahay. After all, according to the Inspector, the bottle was found in her cupboard. Had Mrs. Sahay got rid of Vidya, because the poor girl couldn’t supply her avaricious demands? If that was the case, the woman deserved the worst punishment possible!
Sonia strode to a cupboard and turned the handle. It was locked.
“That is Parmeet’s cupboard and the other one is Vidya’s,” Renuka explained.
The second cupboard opened easily. Sonia looked through the contents. Ironed saris, with matching blouses and petticoats and a couple of Salwar Kameez, all hung neatly on hangers. Every article had a place and was neatly folded. Even her handkerchiefs. Vidya had been a disciplined and tidy person. The drawer contained some receipts, papers, and a money purse. Sonia casually riffled through the papers and to her great surprise found a booklet. Vidya’s horoscope! What luck! Sonia’s immediate impulse was to open the horoscope and begin reading it. But she curbed the desire. She had to go about this case logically and patiently.
“You know, I just thought of something,” Renuka said eagerly.
Closing the cupboard, Sonia quickly turned around at the tone in her voice.
“Vidya was in the habit of writing her diary regularly,” Renuka continued. “She wrote
everything
in it!”
“The police must’ve surely found it,” Sonia remarked.
Renuka shook her head. “I doubt it.” Her eyes gleamed. “Vidya hid her diary really well, because she never wanted her in-laws to get their hands on it. She told me once that her mother-in-law secretly went through her cupboard and her mail, so she kept her diary in a place Mrs Sahay wouldn’t ever think of looking.”
“But then it could be just about anywhere in this house.”
“Luckily for us, I know exactly where it is!” Renuka declared grandly.
Much to the surprise of the detective, she walked towards a pile of clothes wrapped in a bedsheet and placed on a stool near the cupboard.
Renuka untied the clumsy knot, which revealed an untidy stack of old clothes. She plunged her hand into the pile and then, with a triumphant smile, she withdrew a cheap, red plastic-covered diary.
“I knew it would be here. Vidya once showed me the hiding place. She said that her mother-in-law would never touch her old clothes!”
She handed the diary to Sonia, who took it with spiralling anticipation. Her pulse quickened as she flicked through the pages filled with a childish scrawl. It suddenly and forcefully reminded her of how young Vidya had been. What a waste of a good life….
“The police would love to have this diary, but I’m going to get it photo-copied
before
handing it to them. I’m sure the Inspector will understand.” Sonia passed the diary to Jatin, who nodded and slipped out of the room.
“This diary will definitely prove that Vidya’s in-laws killed her….” Renuka began happily.
“Wait a minute, Renuka!” Sonia cut in. “We don’t really know what happened here. At the moment the evidence is definitely pointing towards Mrs. Sahay, but we still have to get all the details. So I’d advise you to be careful with what you say. I know that you’re convinced this is an open-and-shut case. But until that is proved, you cannot raise your hopes and you cannot denounce anybody!”
“Okay, though I know in my heart that Vidya died because of these
monsters
!”
Sonia and Renuka returned to the hall to find Inspector Shinde speaking on the phone and the three Sahays whispering in hushed tones.
“Excuse me,” Sonia said. “I know you feel that I am intruding, but believe me, I can be of help. If you could tell me exactly what happened last night…”
“Nothing happened!” Parmeet exclaimed. “I had a night shift and returned early morning to find Vidya still sleeping. Which was really unusual. I shook her and was startled to find her body hard and…and…blue. I immediately called my parents and the doctor. The police arrived soon enough. Believe me when I say that this is a nightmare. Did my wife really die of an overdose of pills? And who could’ve done such a thing? I can’t believe this is happening to us!”
Parmeet fell silent as he struggled to control his confused feelings. Sonia observed him reflectively.
“What about the milk?” she asked. “Did anybody see her drink it?”
Parmeet shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Where exactly do you work, Parmeet?”
“I’m a Supervising Engineer at Chetan works. And I often have night duty from nine onwards.”
Sonia nodded. She drew a stool and sat down beside the stunned husband. “Parmeet, tell me very honestly: Did you love your wife?”
All eyes were trained on the widowed man. Renuka—hostile; his parents—anxious. Even Inspector Shinde, who had finished his conversation on the phone and was heading out of the room to talk to his constables, paused.
“Yes.” The single word slipped out in a whisper. “Yes, I loved her a lot!”
“Liar!” sneered Renuka.
“She was a warm and a wonderful person,” Parmeet continued in a broken voice. “And I never realised it until now!” Suddenly, he broke into sobs.
Renuka glanced at the young widower scornfully, as his parents huddled around him to comfort him. Sonia watched them all thoughtfully. Inspector Shinde signalled to Sonia and she rose. For a moment she stood undecided, then she followed him down the stairs and into the open air.
“Miss Samarth, I just spoke to Inspector Divekar and he said you’re unique!” Shinde smiled politely.
“The Inspector is very kind,” Sonia replied. Jatin briskly walked towards her and handed her the diary.
“He said you would be an asset to this case.” Shinde added.
“Thank you. We found Vidya’s diary in her room. I’m sure you’ll find it useful.” Sonia handed the Inspector the red book, which he accepted with a look of surprise. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve photocopied a few pages…”
The Inspector nodded. “All for the ultimate justice…which should be very near.”
“What do you mean?” Sonia asked.
“Look at the evidence. Vidya died of an overdose of sleeping pills. There can be no doubt of it. I spoke to the neighbours and to Renuka, her close friend. They all voiced the same motive. That the dead woman’s in-laws had been harassing her for dowry. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Vidya couldn’t fulfill their latest demand of a car, so her mother-in-law emptied the bottle of sleeping pills into her milk and got rid of her!”
“You could be right, of course,” Sonia replied thoughtfully. “The motive does seem quite obvious. Have you spoken to Vidya’s parents? What was their reaction?”
“They are devastated. They had the same story to tell. Their daughter was harassed and they were convinced that the in-laws had something to do with this tragedy!”
“Where are they now?”
“Her parents? I asked them to go home. No point waiting here, flinging accusations at the Sahays, in their grief. Besides it’s only a matter of a couple of hours. If the contents in the milk and the contents of the bottle match, I shall have an arrest warrant for Mrs. Sahay!” The Inspector spoke grimly.
Sonia nodded. “Yes, it does seem pretty simple, doesn’t it? Inspector Shinde, do you think you could get me the horoscopes of Mr. and Mrs. Sahay and Parmeet? Just to pursue a hunch? I’m not sure they would appreciate it if I asked for them.”
Shinde shrugged. “No problem.”
Sonia and Jatin returned to the Sahay apartment. There, a gloomy silence reigned. Renuka sat staring stonily at the three Sahays. The moment Sonia entered, Mrs. Sahay flung back her unruly grey hair and demanded shrilly, “What’s happening? Why won’t someone tell us?”
“I think you’d better ask the police,” Sonia replied evenly.
“The police? Are they going to arrest me? Or one of us?” Mrs. Sahay glanced wildly around. “I won’t allow that! We’ve done nothing wrong! Instead of harassing us, why don’t the police try looking for that guy who kept calling up Vidya? The one she went off to meet with for hours!”
“Maa!” Parmeet exclaimed. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the clandestine affair she was having with that guy!”
“Which guy? What’s his name?” Renuka demanded sharply. “She’s lying! Vidya was very devoted to her husband!”
“Can you give us more details about this stranger?” Sonia asked.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” Vidya’s mother-in-law scoffed. “Only I know about this guy and that Vidya used to slip away to meet with him.”
“But why haven’t you revealed this information to us earlier?” Inspector Shinde asked.
The middle-aged woman looked a little abashed. “I…I didn’t want to disgrace the family further by revealing that our
bahu
was having an affair!” she replied defiantly.
“Well, if such a man does exist, we shall locate him in no time,” the Policeman assured. “In the meantime, I don’t want any one of you to leave this town, do you understand?”
Sonia sipped the
chai
gratefully. This whole affair had left a very nasty and bitter taste in her mouth. The accusations, the frustrations, the angry exchanges—it was a mess of a marriage which was supposed to have been the most beautiful experience of a girl’s life. Poor Vidya—a victim of dowry? Had there really been another person on the scene? Was the mother-in-law lying in an attempt to save herself?
“What do you think, Boss?” Jatin broke into her thoughts. “Do you also think the ma-in-law did Vidya in?”
“It would be such an easy solution, wouldn’t it? And such a relief to find a scapegoat. God knows, she deserves punishment for putting Vidya through hell. But unfortunately, much as I would like to believe that the in-laws have a hand in this whole tragic affair, there’s something that’s worrying me. The three M’s of investigations—Motive, Modus Operandi, and Material Used. The Motive is clear enough, but why this Modus Operandi and Material? Why find a way to get rid of the poor girl in a manner which would obviously scream ‘murder’? And why would someone leave the evidence around to be found?” Sonia shook her head, baffled.
“Perhaps Mrs. Sahay did plan to get rid of the bottle, but didn’t have time. Or she had asked someone else to do it, but he or she forgot?” Jatin suggested. “Her husband, for example, or even Parmeet?”
“Unlikely. This is murder, not a game. Besides, I’m not sure Parmeet wanted blood on his hands. Perhaps he really did love Vidya.”
“Aw, come on, Boss, that was obviously an act. You didn’t really believe him, did you?”
Sonia was silent, sipping her
chai.
Jatin was amazed at his Boss’s naiveté. Even a fool could’ve seen that Parmeet was putting on a great show of love and devotion for his dead wife!
Sonia finished her
chai
and took up the photocopied diary.
“I’m going to go through this diary and then Vidya’s horoscope. Please see that I’m not disturbed for a while, okay?”
“Right, Boss. I’m in the outer office completing the tax documents, if you need me. And I’ll order lunch for us.” Jatin rose promptly, collected the
chai
cups, and exited.
Sonia settled in her chair and opened the pages of the murdered girl’s diary. The entries began about a year and a half ago, and as Sonia began to scan them, the blurry image of Vidya in her mind took solid shape. The hopes and happiness of a newly married girl, stepping into the dream world of love and companionship. And then the pinching reality of the adjustments demanded in an arranged marriage and the stress of dealing with a new name, a new identity, and strangers for a family. Then the mood of the writing changed. The happy girl turned into a frustrated woman, trying to please her in-laws, but in vain. The dowry demands were mentioned frequently in the diary, as Vidya explained how mercenary her new family was. A particular entry caught Sonia’s eye.
Marriage is so different from what I imagined. Is it always like this for everyone? Of course not. I’m sure this is just a passing phase. Ma-in-law and Pa-in-law just need to get used to me. It must be difficult to have a new person in the house and suddenly accept her as a part of the family. But it’s difficult for me, too. We need to help one another. But at the moment, I can only see resentment, like I’m taking up unnecessary space in their house. I feel like a piece of furniture which needs to be moved from wall to wall to accommodate other articles. Parmeet tried to help at first, but Ma-in-law is so strong. She simply shuts him up and then he just walks out of the house on his favourite bird-watching hobby. He avoids controversy and leaves me alone to face the brunt of the anger. He says bird-watching gives him peace of mind. And what about my peace of mind? But things will change. I’m sure of it.
Sonia turned to another entry.
A TV set! How can they? I had told them at the time of the marriage that I was dead against dowry and that they would have to accept me as I am! And I remember what Parmeet had said to me then. That he hated the word
dowry
! So then, what is this? Surely Ma-in-law does not expect me to ask Papa to buy a TV set for Parmeet? I’m not going to do that! They’ll soon see that it’s useless making such demands on me….