32

Wrapping Up

By the time JBS barged into the living room of Charmwood Cottage at half past nine, the rows of chairs arranged in front of the overhead projector had been occupied by an eager audience.

‘I hope it’s worth all this effort, Colonel,’ said the DSP, disparaging all the showmanship, as he flopped down into a chair in the front row. ‘Driving from Almora to this place on a cold night is not a walk in the park.’

‘Don’t worry, JBS, it’ll be more than worth it,’ Acharya assured him. ‘Waiting until tomorrow would have given a chance for the culprit to escape.’

The room was filled with people. Although the guests had been told they could leave directly after Tia’s autopsy report had been received, they chose to stay on until the following day.

‘It’s been a forced holiday for me,’ the director had responded when he learnt that the mystery of the murders was likely to be solved by the end of the day. ‘I’ve come to love Ramsar. I might as well wait until the final denouement.’

‘I’m not leaving either,’ said Ahuja. ‘I owe it to Ramola and Tia.’

‘I’d like to wring the person’s neck personally,’ Arif’s response ran on expected lines.

‘I’m not going anywhere until I know who killed the women I loved,’ Rohan agreed.

‘Women?’ Sen arched his eyebrows delicately.

‘That’s true. In the last few days I had fallen in love with Tia,’ explained the cad. ‘But I also loved Ramola in my own way.’

‘You mean you were in love with both the women simultaneously,’ the director rolled his eyes.

The poker partners were also present at the cottage to hear the murderer’s name. Laila, Geeta and Uma sat together at the back while Durgabai and Dinesh hovered around the door, listening intently to the conversation. Everyone was agog with curiosity.

‘I hope the police team is in place,’ the colonel said to JBS.

‘Yes. They’ve reached the address you gave to me,’ JBS confirmed.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Acharya cleared his throat and ran his eyes around the room. ‘Ramsar has never witnessed two murders in a week, let alone one in recent times. When Tia was killed, I realized that we were dealing with a very dangerous person. If not stopped, there was every danger of another murder. Fortunately, we have been able to pinpoint the culprit and avert further mishaps.

You’ve gathered here to hear the name of the murderer, I know,’ he paused dramatically. ‘You’ve waited patiently for the police to solve the crime and we are grateful.’

The DSP shifted impatiently in his seat, crossing and uncrossing his legs repeatedly. He wished the colonel would drop the drama and announce the killer’s name. The return journey to Almora worried him. Perhaps, he should park himself at Charmwood Cottage for the night instead of driving down the treacherous roads.

‘You’ll learn the name as well as see Ramola’s killer. Please bear with me for a couple of minutes while the laptop wakes up.’ He booted Tia’s laptop, which had been connected to the projector. There was an impatient shuffling as everyone waited to see a magnified image of the murderer on the wall.

Acharya’s phone rang just then. Putting it on loudspeaker, he answered the call.

‘Archie, your job is done,’ came Geese’s voice. ‘He’s booting his laptop and will be on Skype in a couple of minutes.’

‘Thanks, pal. I’m waiting.’

Smiling, the colonel turned on the Skype on Tia’s laptop and punched a button as soon as he saw the felon logged in.

‘Hello, Karan,’ he smiled. ‘This is Colonel Acharya from Ramsar.’

Everyone watched as Karan’s unibrowed face froze in an expression of fear. A few, who were present at Tia’s cremation, recalled the face. Almost instantly the connection was lost as the laptop at Mumbai was abruptly switched off.

A couple of tense minutes later, JBS’s phone rang. ‘He has been arrested,’ he informed the audience after listening to the caller. ‘The Mumbai police confirmed that Karan Patel has been arrested while trying to flee.’

Everybody started talking simultaneously. The sudden turn of events had taken everybody aback. No one had expected it all to be over in a few seconds.

‘Who is Karan Patel?’ asked the judge, framing the question that was foremost on everyone’s mind.

‘Karan Patel is Ramola’s cousin and Tia’s fiancé,’ replied Acharya. Seeing the perplexed faces around him, he added, ‘let me start at the beginning.’

The murmurs died down and he had everyone’s attention, once more.

‘The story began the day Ramola’s father died. Her uncle, fearing that the burden of his brother’s debts would fall upon him, severed all connections with her family. Thereafter, there was no interaction between Ramola and her uncle’s family. Six months ago, however, Ramola began toying with the idea of reconciling with the cousin. It was the typical case of blood being thicker than water. Karan was her only relative and she was a lonely woman. To understand her thoughts, we have to consider the fact that Ramola had lost her parents and her brother quite early in her life. Although she did not keep in touch with Karan, Ramola willed a part of her property to him. At the time of making the will, she had not imagined that she would die so soon. The will was made six months before her death. Shortly thereafter she decided to divorce Rohan. Did you know this, Rohan?’ Acharya asked Ramola’s husband, who had turned ashen.

‘No. I wasn’t aware of this,’ the young man shook his head. ‘She did mention it during the party, but I thought she was kidding.’

‘Karan kept tabs on his famous cousin. He knew all about her career, the men in her life and the wealth she had amassed,’ continued the colonel. ‘A petty trader, he hoped they would patch things up one day. In fact, he had tried to approach Ramola, but she had refused to see him. The only meeting they had a few years ago was a disaster. She had lashed out at him for abandoning her family in their hour of need. Her vitriolic outburst did not deter the young man. He bribed the clerk in the lawyer’s office and learnt about her will. He also learnt that she was planning to divorce Rohan. Delighted that he was the beneficiary and that Rohan would not be a competitor for the inheritance, he embarked on a dangerous plan of getting rid of Ramola.’

‘Why would he do that?’ asked JBS.

‘There were two reasons for that. Firstly, there was a strong probability that it would be ages before he actually came into the money because Ramola wasn’t likely to die any time soon. Secondly, he was insecure. What if Ramola changed the will? What if she divorced Rohan and married again?’

‘A year ago, he and Tia had fallen in love and planned to get married. But Karan’s business was floundering and he felt he urgently needed to get his greedy hands on Ramola’s fortune. A news report about a diabolic doctor killing his wife with an overdose of insulin had caught Karan’s attention and a macabre seed began to germinate in his mind. He realized that it would be fairly simple to kill Ramola, who, he was aware, was diabetic just as he was himself. It was a genetic issue. Karan knew enough about insulin to use it in his plan. He decided to involve Tia in his evil scheme. He convinced the girl that the two of them could get rich beyond their wildest dreams if she cooperated in executing a simple plan.’

‘So, what was the plan?’ JBS asked, impatiently.

‘I’m coming to that,’ Acharya placated him. ‘Learning that Ramola had settled here, Karan sent Tia to Ramsar.’

‘How did he know that?’ Tim asked.

‘Via the same clerk who is employed in Ramola’s lawyer’s office. Don’t forget that her lawyer was the only person at Mumbai who had her address. Getting back to the story … Tia came to Ramsar. Upon learning of the star’s struggles with the chronicling of her life story, the girl found a perfect excuse to worm her way into Ramola’s home, heart and hearth. She kept her fiancé posted of the developments on a daily basis. It was Karan who decided that the four men in Ramola’s life should be invited for the birthday and the book announced.’

‘How did that help his plans?’ came the question from Arif, who was cracking his knuckles nervously.

‘Karan knew all about the four men and their reputations. He realized that the police would suspect the husband or the politician or Arif of Ramola’s murder. The stage was set and the curtains were to go up. Karan arrived at Ramsar, a day before Ramola’s birthday, to be close at hand to orchestrate his Machiavellian masterplan. He convinced Tia that injecting insulin was a simple procedure and it would take a few hours for Ramola to die. That would give her enough time to compose herself. As per the plan, Tia injected the insulin and went back to her room. Alone in her room the girl began developing cold feet and she called Karan. Nothing he said would pacify the hysterical girl. Realizing that the girl could lose her nerve and rush for help, Karan decided to take matters into his own hands. If Tia weakened and Ramola was revived before she died, his carefully constructed plan would fall apart. He instructed Tia to lock herself in her room. Karan had already learnt that the rear door was never locked. An hour later, he snuck into the house, picked up a knife from the kitchen, went up to Ramola’s room, stabbed her and threw the knife out of the window.’

The audience gasped.

‘It was while he was throwing the knife out of the window that Bhuvan, the petty thief, caught a fleeting glimpse of him. Bhuvan mistook a ponytailed Karan to be a woman.’

‘Why did he kill Tia?’ asked Rohan, who had not reconciled to the girl’s death.

‘Tia panicked as the police began investigating the murder. She was sure that the truth would be discovered and that she would be hanged. She reached out to Karan for support. Karan realized that Tia had become a liability, who could break down and blurt out the truth, dragging him down with her. He could feel the noose tightening. He decided Tia had to go. They spoke almost every few hours on Skype and met during her morning walks. All he had to do was push her over the cliff after taking away her phone.’

‘How did you connect Ramola’s murder with Karan?’ This time the question came from the DSP.

‘To be honest, I was clueless until I discovered an old photograph of Ramola and her family. I decided to investigate the uncle’s family. That was where my friend in Mumbai, the retired DG of Police, T.N. Varghese, came to my rescue. He did a thorough check on Karan’s financial status and connections. He also traced Tia’s background and informed me about the relationship between the two. I had been observing Tia right from the beginning. Her presence at Ramsar and the explanations given by her did not satisfy me. When Tim informed me that the tissues under Ramola’s nail matched the girl, my suspicions was confirmed. Her lawyer’s details about the will substantiated my doubts. Since Tia’s arms were covered at all times, nobody spotted the scratches on her lower arms.’

‘How did you identify Karan?’ Tim wanted to know. He had been with the colonel every step of the way but he had had no inkling about the existence of Karan.

‘Do you remember the photographs we found in Ramola’s room? One of them was an old family photograph. It had her uncle, aunt and Karan posing with Ramola’s family. The next time I saw him was at Tia’s cremation. Every criminal slips up at some point. Karan’s mistake was attending his girl friend’s funeral. He wanted to find out if the police had connected him with the murder case. Although he was disguised as a reporter, my antenna picked up the signals of his anxiety. Finding his photographs and the Skype conversation on Tia’s laptop was the final clincher. There were no more doubts that he was the killer.’

‘How did Tia’s tissue end up under Ramola’s nails?’

‘We have to remember that Ramola was asleep, not dead, when Tia injected insulin. The injection jab woke up the groggy woman and she put up a feeble resistance, scratching Tia on the arm and bits of the girl’s skin tissues were lodged under Ramola’s nails.’

‘How did you know that it was not Arif who stabbed her?’ asked the DSP, who had suspected the don all along.

‘Initially, I assumed that Arif had stabbed her, especially after the forensic experts deduced that the stabs were dealt by a leftie. We all know that Arif is left-handed.’

‘I’m not sure, I like that statement, Colonel,’ objected Arif. ‘I wouldn’t have killed Ramola for the memoir. It didn’t bother me. I’ve faced too many setbacks in life to fear a woman’s account of her life.’

‘Sorry, Arif. I’m stating the facts uncovered during the investigation.’

‘There’s a fundamental flaw with your argument. I’m not the only left-handed person in the world,’ Arif retorted, using the inhaler to ease his breath.

‘That’s true. Subsequent investigations proved that it was Karan – also left-handed – who killed her.’

‘I don’t understand how the bloodstained gloves came to be in Arif’s drawer,’ Tim said.

‘I am also waiting to know how they reached my room.’ The don curled his lips in a sneer.

‘Karan had worn the gloves while stabbing Ramola. He gave them to Tia with the instructions to plant them in Arif’s drawer.’

‘But we had searched all the rooms and failed to find the gloves in his room.’

‘The gloves were planted the next day. Karan knew that the police would search all the rooms so he passed on the gloves to Tia the next day, when they met during her morning walk.’

Satisfied with the explanation, Tim nodded.

‘One last question,’ JBS raised his hand. ‘Who formatted Ramola’s laptop?’

‘Sameer Kelkar aka Sammy was the one who formatted the laptop and bribed the gardener to burn Ramola’s diaries. On the night of the murder, when he went into her bedroom, Ramola had been administered the insulin injection but not stabbed. Technically, Ramola was still alive when Sammy formatted the hard disk. Remember, Arif saw him coming out of the room?’

‘So, Tia took a big risk when she went to Ramola’s room? What if someone had seen her entering the room or getting out of it?’ Ahuja piped up.

‘That was a chance she took. Tia may not have dreamt that Ramola’s bedroom would have so much traffic that night.’

‘One last question, why did Karan log into the Skype when he saw Tia was online? Didn’t he realize it was a trap since she was dead?’ asked the professor, who had been listening silently to the story.

‘That was where my friend, Varghese, came again to the rescue. Posing as Ramola’s lawyer, he called Karan asking him to come on Skype so they could speak about Ramola’s will. Karan could not resist the carrot. He logged in. Seeing Tia online, he became curious and responded to my call. It was a chance I was taking. There was no guarantee he would respond. In any case, the police had reached his apartment and were ready to nab him. I just wanted to provide you the opportunity of seeing his face.’

Congratulations poured in from all quarters. Acharya’s wife and the poker partners beamed with pride in the background.

Sen was the first one to go up to the colonel and shake his hand.

‘You did a brilliant job, Colonel. I am honoured to meet a man of your calibre,’ he said.

Acharya adjusted his silk cravat self-consciously and murmured his thanks.

‘I can go back to Mumbai, my faith in the long arm of the law restored,’ said Ahuja. ‘Thank you, Colonel.’

‘Remember to look me up whenever you are in Mumbai,’ said Arif, his face creasing in a rare smile. ‘My resources will be at your service for as long as you desire.’

‘Thank you for being so patient and cooperative with us,’ said Acharya, shaking his proffered hand.

While everyone was gathered around the colonel, JBS telephoned his boss. He was keen to hog the credit for solving the case.

‘Good evening, sir. We have cracked the Ramola murder case. The murderer has been taken into custody at Mumbai.’

‘I know who cracked the case,’ growled the ACP. ‘Put the colonel on.’

Reluctantly, JBS handed over the phone to Acharya.

‘Congratulations, Colonel,’ the ACP began. ‘Thank you for finding the culprit. You are an invaluable asset to the police force.’

‘Thank you for your kind words,’ replied Acharya, adding. ‘It was ASP Tim Thapa who did most of the work. I just helped him.’

‘I know who did the work, Colonel. In today’s world of credit-snatching, it’s difficult to come across an unassuming man like you. Don’t worry about Tim. The young man will get due credit.’