Authors: Manjiri Prabhu
Parmeet discovered the photo. It was a little awkward explaining it to him, but I think he understood that I had kept it for old times’ sake. For the sake of friendship. But now that I think of it, because of the atmosphere here, it would be wise to get rid of it. Because Parmeet may understand, but I’m positive his parents won’t! It will only be added ammunition for them against me.
I have such a strange feeling. As if someone is following me around constantly. Is it only a figment of my imagination or am I really being followed?
Sonia turned to the final entry in the diary. It was dated the day of Vidya’s death.
The feeling of being constantly watched is so strong…. I’m convinced now that I’m not imagining it. On the streets and even through my bedroom window. A couple of days ago, while I was arranging my cupboard in the afternoon, I even caught a glint of glass from across the street. Strange…Even as I write this, I feel as if I’m being watched. No,
I’m sure
that I’m being watched. As soon as I finish writing, I’m going to turn off the light.
I had a fight with Ma-in-law again, a moment ago. It’s a car now, and that’s the last straw! I could have borne it. The humiliation of being treated like a source of income. The insults and bad words. Everything—if only Parmeet was not a part of it all. He doesn’t cross his parents or argue with them, and he doesn’t side with me, either. He’s weak and he escapes into his bird-watching and he makes me feel like an outsider. Why, why can’t he see how much I love him? Why can’t he love me back instead of giving in to the pressures of his family? I feel so tired. What with this constant harassing and the medicine, I feel as if I’ll never get through this! It’s all my fault, Renuka would say. For not standing for my rights.
For not fighting back. But how can I explain to her that it’s not easy to fight someone you love? It’s so easy to break up families, but so terribly difficult to hold them together. I’ve wanted my family to feel that I’m a part of them, not an outsider, someone who brings them gifts. But is it too late now? I don’t know. I need Parmeet to help me. I have to make him see that a wife is a companion, a friend, and a lover. Oh God, please help me to be strong, to face this difficult phase in my life….
A small blotch had smudged the words towards the end. Vidya had been crying when she wrote the words. Sonia paused at this point, brushing away the tears gathered in her own eyes. Poor Vidya. So many hopes and expectations and dreams dashed away forever! Had Vidya written these words minutes before she died? Minutes before she was killed? She died with a prayer in her heart….
Sonia felt restless and heavy in the heart. Regret was fast overlapped with anger. Vidya need not have died. If only she had been more alert, more careful. If only she had been less misguided by emotion and love! If only Renuka had approached Sonia earlier…Even yesterday. Instead of celebrating her own birthday, Sonia could probably have saved a life….
Stop it!
she admonished herself. None of this was her fault. And she wasn’t being sensible creating a halo of regret and guilt within herself. If she wanted to help Vidya at all, she had to find out who had murdered her.
Jatin entered the room.
“What is it?” Sonia asked.
“There’s a guy outside—name Kartik—who says he’d like to see you urgently. It’s something to do with the Vidya case.”
“Really? Would he fit the bill?”
Jatin nodded. “I think so. He could be the guy Vidya’s mother-in-law mentioned.”
“Send him in.”
Sonia’s gaze took in the tall, lanky man as he entered her office. A dark short beard which lined his firm jaw matched his unkempt hair. His black eyes rested anxiously on Sonia. With a jolt she recognised him as the man who had recited poetry in the restaurant the previous evening.
“Please, sit down,” Sonia told him. “What can I do for you?”
“You can catch Vidya’s murderer!” Kartik’s eyes flashed.
“You are…?”
“I’m Kartik. I was there when you were talking to Renuka and then to the policeman. I had to meet you! You see, I loved her a lot. Always did and always will…” His eyes moistened. “But that’s not the point. You simply can’t let those awful people go scot-free!”
Sonia observed Kartik with narrow eyes. The young man looked distraught. Somehow his open declaration of love did not surprise her. But had Vidya reciprocated his love?
“If anyone in the family is guilty, he or she will be charged for murder,” Sonia assured. “But tell me about you. Were you and Vidya still…?”
He sighed. “I wish I could say yes. But I can’t. Vidya and I were in love. We were in college and still going steady while I was doing my job as an Accountant and she was doing her Chartered Accountancy. Then her dad fell ill and refused to allow our match. Being an obedient daughter, she married the guy her father chose. And that’s when all her troubles began. At first I stayed away from her. I was disillusioned and angry, but I wanted her to be happy. But gradually I realised that she was miserable. I had to meet with her and tell her that she couldn’t stay on in a marriage that was harming her. But she refused to heed my advice. She wouldn’t have anything to do with me. She told me on the phone that I should forget all about her and leave her to her fate. Of course I couldn’t. I followed her whenever she left her house. I was there, wherever she went, whomever she met. She never knew. And then out of the blue she agreed to meet with me. I was thrilled. I was sure that finally she was beginning to see sense. We met in Sambhaji Park yesterday, in the morning. She had changed so much. She had lost a lot of weight. Unlike the beautiful girl I had loved. And her eyes! I had never seen so much pain in those eyes before. I told her that I still loved her. Just as much as ever. And I would never allow her to return to that hellhole. But she did not budge. Do you know what she told me? She said that I was to move on with my life. Regardless of what happened to her, I was not to look behind. I asked her if she sensed any danger. And what she answered scared me to death. She said, ‘There’s more to life than living.’ She said, ‘Don’t worry, I have my life totally in control!’ I felt relieved by her confidence. But it didn’t help, did it? Someone did manage to take her life out of her control!” Kartik’s voice choked, as the tears flowed freely down his bearded face.
A wave of sympathy swamped Sonia. She recognised genuine, raw pain and emotion when she saw it. And she felt helpless. Helpless to comfort, to reverse actions and situations, or to advise.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I…feel so angry…” the young man stammered.
“I understand,” Sonia cut in softly.
“I thought that Vidya wanted to patch up things with me, that’s why she’d agreed to meet with me. But it wasn’t like that at all. When we met, I knew in my heart that her feelings for me hadn’t changed. She still cared for me. She was bound by honour to her husband, but a part of her heart would always be with me. I saw it in her eyes. And the way she stared at me, as if trying to etch my face into her memory. And the way she returned our college photograph to me. As if she sensed that something was indeed going to happen to her. And when she requested me to stop following her around. It surprised me that she was aware that I
was
following her!
“I hate to admit it, but I hung around every night outside her house and spied on her. As long as I could see and hear something, I had to do it. To ensure that everything was fine with her. I knew that she had arguments with her in-laws and that she rarely complained to her husband. But last night was different. Last night, I know that she and her mother-in-law had a roaring argument. Mrs. Sahay was yelling at her, and for the first time Vidya yelled back. Last night, I saw the change in Vidya. The fighting spirit was back. Maybe if she had lived, she would have walked out on her husband in the morning!” Agony was written all over Kartik’s face. “Oh God, if I’d only known that it was her last night, that someone was going to murder her, I would’ve stopped it!”
“Kartik…You had no idea that someone was planning to kill Vidya. You had absolutely no idea!” Sonia interjected harshly. But she understood. Hadn’t she experienced a similar guilt pang earlier? Only, Kartik’s burden was greater than hers. But if there stood even a slight chance of easing his burden, she would take it. For his sake and hers…
After a quick lunch of
Misal Pav,
Sonia returned to the diary, reading the last entries once again. Something about them puzzled her. Something elusive. Was it Vidya’s words? Her emotions and observations? Or was it something else?
Well, she would discover what it was eventually. Right now, her hands itched to hold the horoscopes, especially Vidya’s horoscope. Now was the time to begin the process of travelling the depths into Vidya’s psyche! Vidya was no more, but her horoscope would reveal the girl to Sonia as if she were still alive. She drew the booklet out of her handbag and opened it. It was traditional charting of the horoscope and Sonia quickly ran her expert eye over it.
Minutes ticked by. Silent minutes which turned into musical beats as Jatin slipped into the inner office and, unnoticed by his Boss, turned on the music system. He knew that his Boss particularly liked non-filmy Hindi
ghazals,
romantic Hindi film songs, hard rock, and jazz. She’d repeated to him, time and again, the importance of her “I formula”—“Nothing like music and dance to
inspire insight
into
intuition
and
instigate investigation
!” The priority merely went to the volume, which had to be loud and heart-thumping! He quickly left the room, mercifully shutting out the jing-bang which screeched into his sensitive ears.
Sonia’s foot automatically tapped along with the dance instrumental. A finger twirled a lock of silky brown hair, as her mind focused on the horoscope in hand. Zodiac sign Scorpio. Aries on the ascendant. Jupiter in the sixth house in Virgo, in conjunction with Saturn and the Sun. Mars, Harshal, Neptune, and the Moon in Scorpio in the eighth house. What an unfortunate combination of stars! Vidya’s life seemed to have been fraught with struggle. As a child and then as a youngster and certainly in marriage. The horoscope revealed a very unhappy marriage full of compromises. A very serious health patch was indicated. Vidya was victimised—not only a victim of dowry harassment, but a victim of murder!
Sonia leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Suddenly she stood up and swayed with the music, her eyes still closed. Nidhi opened one sleepy eye, watched her mistress in a detached manner. The cat was used to her mistress’s strange behaviour patterns, specially when loud ear-splitting rumblings seemed to rock the earth! The cat closed her eyes again, willing herself to ignore the sounds. If only her mistress was aware of what Nidhi endured for the sake of love!
Sonia danced with the music, till finally the piece ended. Perspiration trickled down her forehead, but her eyes were gleaming with satisfaction. Excitement coursed through her body as she turned once again to the horoscope, studying it with intensity and then taking up the diary. Her eyes scanned the last few entries. My God, was it possible? She’d heard of dowry harassment and deaths. But this? She needed to see the other horoscopes. As soon as possible!
She quickly opened the booklets handed over to her by the Inspector and laid them side by side. Mr. Sahay, Mrs. Sahay. Loud, blustering, greedy characters. Mercenary and careless. Prepared to go to great lengths to meet their ends. The horoscopes revealed vicious, cruel traits. But cruelty amounting to murder? Sonia moved to the fourth horoscope—Parmeet. Basically a weak person, detached, indifferent. Passive.
Sonia matched Vidya’s horoscope with Parmeet’s and instantly realised that these two were a most unsuited couple. Despite Vidya’s level of tolerance, her horoscope revealed a strong-willed person. Parmeet’s, on the other hand, showed definite signs of submissiveness. Perhaps it was this submissiveness that was responsible for Vidya’s harassment. The young husband’s lethargy had allowed his parents to cruelly dominate his wife. But where did he fit in the murder?
Sonia studied the four horoscopes again, trying out various permutations and combinations in her mind. Was she being biased? Was she being influenced, subconsciously, by Parmeet’s passionate declaration of his love for his wife? Jatin had said she was naïve. She wasn’t, of course. She knew exactly what Parmeet meant. More so, now that she had read all their horoscopes. But if her suspicions were right, she was going to have a tough time proving them. Inspector Shinde had been right. This case was really quite simple. Too simple to be proved! She couldn’t shrug off the strange feeling that she was walking on a road scattered with banana peels. And the danger of skidding off, every time she put a step forward, in whichever direction she chose!
Sonia swept a last thoughtful gaze over the horoscopes and then shut them. She had seen enough.
She buzzed the intercom and Jatin instantly popped his head in. In a glance, he read
breakthrough
written all over his Boss’s flushed face.
“What is it, Boss?” he asked in anticipation.
“Two things. Call up Renuka and tell her I need to have a look at the apartment again. Especially Vidya’s room. And then call Kartik. I wish to talk to him.”
“Right, Boss!”
Sonia closed her eyes. Be calm, she admonished herself. There was yet a lot to be done. A lot to be proved. But if she was right, she knew exactly which path to tread on!
She rose and headed towards the computer in the outer office. Jatin was making the calls. He observed her as she connected to the Internet and surfed for a while. Finally she stopped and turned to her assistant.
“What do you know about dowry deaths?” she asked him.
Jatin shrugged. “Nothing.”
“There were amendments made to the Dowry Prohibitions Act of 1961. Under a new section 304-B in the Indian Penal Code, dowry death is an IPC offence, punishable with not less than seven years, which may extend to imprisonment for life.”
“Boss, what are you getting at?”