Seduced by Murder (23 page)

“What? Are you insane? I never—”

I picked up the phone, and started dialling a random number.

“What … what are you doing?”

“Trying to reach Mr Asrani.”

“No!”

He snatched the phone from my hands and threw it on the table.

“Listen, I didn’t do anything wrong. It was a good deal for my company. I am proud of it. If anything was given to me, it was because Anil was happy that I had helped him. So don’t try scaring me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. I just wanted to place a piece in this jigsaw puzzle. So your motivation for expediting the transaction for Anil was partly some money.”

“Never. I received something as a token of his gratitude,” He softened. “Listen, I am willing to give you five lakhs. Let everyone be happy.”

“No, that’s okay. You have been very cooperative. Thanks.”

I got up to leave.

“Wait. I insist. Meet me this evening for a drink.”

“Thanks again. Not needed. Enjoy yourself.”

“You … won’t tell Asrani?”

“Nope. None of my business.”

“Really, I would like to share some of this good fortune with you. I like you.”

That made me laugh. I turned around and said, “Just one more question. How much did you make?”

He brightened. “Oh, so that’s it! Well, I made half of what the broker would have charged. See, I am a reasonable—”

“So you made one and a half crores in cash?”

“One point three. Name your price, but be reasonable. You know you can’t prove anything.”

I shook my head and walked out. He made one point three crores, cash, for a week of paperwork, and here I was thinking that twenty-five lakhs was all the money in the world. I was so depressed that I didn’t even ask the smiling receptionist for her number.

I
sat in the car and decided to call Anjali. The battery had gone kaput. I tilted the flask into my mouth. The flask had gone dry. I picked up last night’s packet of wafers, and put my hand into it. It was empty. This was going to one of those days. I drove to office.

I walked in after forty-five minutes. Aarti looked at me.

“What happened to your face?”

“Long story. Any calls?”

“Yes. But I can’t reach you, can I? Because guess what? Your phone, as you know, is always unreachable.”

“Later. I am in pain now, lady.”

She softened. “Can I get you something?”

“Call Pranay and tell him to get his ass over here.”

I walked into my cabin, and took a few swigs of whisky before filling the flask. The pain in my neck receded. I decided I was fine for a couple of more hours without sleep. I connected the phone to the charger, and removed my shirt. Blue and black bruises covered my abdomen where Abhijit had kicked me. I washed my face, wiped away the blood from my chin, and sat down on the chair shutting my eyes for a few seconds.

Once the phone was charged, I heard multiple beeps signalling the arrival of SMSs. I walked to my desk and picked
up the mobile. There were two messages, both from Anjali. The first one read:

Hi. Your phone is not reachable. Recd a call from a lady. Has info on Kapoor case. Going to meet her. Call me back
.

This had come at eleven in the morning. I must have left the Kapoor residence, and been on my way to Asrani’s office then.

The second one was sent at eleven-forty:

At the old zoo. Ghat Road. Ur phone still not rchble. Going inside. Spooky place. Scared. Wish you were here
.

I dialled her phone. It was switched off. I waited for five minutes, and tried her number again. It was still switched off. I had a bad feeling about this. The only women associated with the case were Aditi, Shalini, and Reena. Anjali had never mentioned any of them. I called Paras on his mobile. He picked up at the first ring.

“Yes, Vishal?”

“Hi, sir. I was just wondering where all the ladies of your household were.”

“What?”

“At this precise moment, where are Shalini, Reena, and Aditi?”

“Why?”

“Please this is an emergency.”

“Okay. Reena is right beside me. Aditi has gone to the mall to pick up something, and Shalini has taken her father to the hospital for his check-up.”

“Which hospital would that be?”

“Nayantara. What is this about?”

I disconnected without exchanging pleasantries. Nayantara was a prominent hospital located on Ghat Road. I dialled Babu’s number.

“Hi, buddy!” he said cheerfully.

“I need you to send some men to the old zoo at Ghat Road. Emergency! We are looking for a female.”

“The old zoo? That is abandoned. They shifted the animals to—”

“I know that. Anjali Singh, the journalist, was called to the old zoo, at the pretext of giving her some information regarding Anil’s murder. I have a bad feeling about this. Her phone is switched off.”

“I remember Anjali Singh. Who called her?”

“Some female. Anjali was trying to reach me, but my phone was off.”

“Oh, okay. I will call the Ghat Police Station, and tell them to send some men there.”

“Good. Where are you?”

“I am at the city station.”

“Why don’t you make it there too? Whoever called her is related to the Kapoor case.”

“Okay. I am starting now. Should be there in half an hour. What about you?”

“I am at the other side of town. Should be there in an hour.”

“You said a lady called? Who?”

“I don’t know. But Shalini is right now at Nayantara hospital. With her dad.”

“Isn’t that the one on Ghat road?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh! I am leaving right now.”

Paras had tried my number twice while I was on the phone with Babu. I dialled his number and informed him about the developments, so that he would get off my back. I rushed out
of my cabin, grabbed Aarti’s mobile, and transferred my SIM card while running down the flight of stairs. The old zoo had been shut two years ago. It was out of city limits. One had to take a detour of at least a kilometre from the main road to reach the zoo. I drove the car through the irritatingly slow city traffic, and jumped a few signals to make up for lost time. Babu called me after about half an hour.

“Yeah?”

“We found her body!”

I slowed down and parked at the side of the road, hoping that I had not heard him right. “What?” I felt the panic in his voice.

“We found her body. In the fountain. Murdered. And we arrested the murderer too. He was fleeing the crime scene.”

“Who?”

“Rajesh. Shalini’s ex.”

“Hold him in custody. I should take another twenty minutes to reach you.”

“One more thing!” Babu said. “We have proof! Shalini did it with Rajesh. We have them now!”

“What’s the proof?”

“We found an earring in Anjali’s fist. It has been identified. They have confirmed that it belongs to Shalini.”

“Who are
they
?”

“Well, Paras sir and his family. They arrived here shortly after I reached. You called them, right?”

“Not exactly. Never mind. So what are you going to do now?”

“I am going to talk to Rajesh. I am sending some men to Nayantara to escort Shalini and her father here. You should get here fast.”

“Shalini was not on the site?”

“No. Only Rajesh.”

It took me fifteen minutes to reach the turning for the zoo. I got off the main road, and drove the odd kilometre, till I saw the rusted iron gates and a dilapidated sign that read
City Zoo
. I drove in.

Dense foliage comprising wild grass and weeds covered the land. The sound of crickets was deafening. I followed the fresh tyre marks until I came to a fork on the muddy road. Anjali’s pink Scooty was parked there. Her small footsteps were visible near the two-wheeler. She had parked the vehicle here and walked towards the right. Someone must have been directing her on the phone. There was a hedge running parallel to the road. I took a right from the fork, and drove another fifty metres until I came across a police jeep and two cars that I recognised as the Kapoors’.

The driver of the jeep pointed to an opening in the hedge. It was imperceptible. One couldn’t find it unless he was aware of its existence, or was being guided towards it. I walked through it, and found myself in a small square-shaped lawn, with a fountain in the centre, and four cemented benches at each corner. The area had been created as a resting spot for visitors. The people surrounding the fountain stopped squabbling as soon as they became aware of my existence. I glanced at everyone. All the Kapoors were present. Ram was also there. Babu quickly walked towards me, looking visibly relieved.

“What took you so long? And what happened to your face? You are bleeding!”

I wiped the blood from the wound on my chin.

“Where is Rajesh?”

“He is in the jeep. Handcuffed. Shalini and Mayank should be here any minute.”

Babu pointed towards the fountain, motioning that I should step forward and take a look. All of a sudden I felt nervous. My feet felt heavy. I stood rooted to the spot and stared at Reena. She didn’t register any emotion when her gaze met mine. If she was aware of my confrontation with Abhijit, her expressions did not give her away. Paras coughed slightly. He was the only one standing at the foot of the fountain, near the body.

Babu came closer to me and whispered, “They will come and take the body. Don’t you want to…um…look for clues?”

I nodded, and started walking towards the fountain. My senses were still trying to come to terms with the fact that Anjali was lying there – dead. The grass covering the lawn was eight inches high, erect, and the blades had sharp tips. They reached my calves, cutting the ankles through the socks.

Anjali’s body was immersed in the fountain. I avoided looking at it directly, staring at the fountain for some time. It was an old, rusty fountain, filled with approximately four feet of water. Probably just rainwater over the last couple of days. Some gushed out from a crack at the bottom of the fountain, forming a stream around my shoes. I could feel the intense gaze of many eyes at my back, urging me to act. I took a deep breath and looked at the body. Anjali’s left foot rested on the edge of the fountain, while the rest of the body was partially immersed in the water. She was wearing a pink top and a long white skirt that came down to her ankles.

I used my handkerchief to lift her face out of the water. Her face was bloated, and her complexion had turned white. Her eyes were partly open, protruding, and swollen. I felt
nauseous, and gently released her head back into the water. A sharp pang ran through me, as I remembered that just hours earlier I had had breakfast with her. I felt disgusted. I silently cursed this unnecessary waste of a life. I felt a weary kind of anger that comes when you have been pushed too far. I wanted to break some bones. I wanted to drown someone. I wanted to stab someone.

“Here’s the earring,” said Babu.

He handed me a lone earring. It was gold-plated, and a blue stone was embedded in it.

“It was clenched in Anjali’s fist. It belongs to Shalini. Reena and Aditi have identified it.”

Paras exploded, “Damn her! I told you she was crazy. Crazy!”

“Can we get all the civilians out on the road?” I asked Babu.

Babu nodded and ordered one of his men to escort the Kapoors outside. All of them looked relieved to leave the scene. Even Paras walked away eagerly.

I asked Babu, “Where did you find Rajesh?”

“I dispatched men from the Ghat Road police station right after your call. They caught Rajesh near the entrance. He was fleeing on his bike.”

Anjali had messaged me last after arriving at the zoo at eleven-forty. She must have parked her bike and then typed the SMS. I had seen her last message after reaching my office, around twelve-thirty. The police would have taken an additional twenty to thirty minutes to reach the scene. What was Rajesh doing at the crime scene for over an hour? Anger consumed me as a thought crossed my mind.

“Any signs of sexual assault?”

“No. She was drowned.”

“And your men found him at the gate, on the bike, at around twelve-thirty?”

“Twelve forty-five. They reached here within half an hour of your call.”

“That’s strange. It means he was at the scene till at least an hour after Anjali had arrived.”

Babu pondered this over and asked, “Why?”

“Maybe he was waiting for someone.”

“Oh, you mean Shalini?”

“I don’t know. Has he confessed?”

“Not yet. The bastard is pretending to be shocked. He has admitted nothing. But I haven’t given him the special Babu treatment till now. I should have arrested him yesterday at the Kapoor residence.”

I leaned forward. The water surrounding the body was a tinge of red and brown. The brown was from the mud. The red was blood.

“There is some red sedimentation in the water. I don’t see any wound. Do you?”

“That is normal, said Babu authoritatively. “Nosebleed occurs underwater.”

“There is too much blood for a nosebleed.” I lifted her head out of the water for a second time, and felt her scalp with my fingers. I felt a cut below her head. It was a deep, asymmetrical wound, probably inflicted by a blunt instrument. It had been a powerful blow.