Murder in the Mind

Pallabi stepped out of the car and looked at the Bungalow in front of her.

It had been more than five years now since she had last come here. And, now she was back owing to a death – the death of her grandfather. When she had left this house five years ago, she had decided never to step foot in this house again. But, destiny had other plans. The person, whom she had loved as a child but whom she had began hating as an adult, was now dead. She entered the house and immediately realized that her grandfather’s popularity had not waned. The house was full of people. Just like when he was alive, even in his death, Birendra Pratap Choudhury, was able to attract a crowd. ****** Commissioner of Police, Arvind Gupta, looked around the room. ‘This case has to be handled very delicately’, he reminded himself. Birendra Pratap Choudhury was a former Cabinet Minister of the state and a five-time MLA. He had lost the elections five years ago but was already preparing for the next elections scheduled a few months later. Choudhury was involved in a few controversies but he was a popular leader. His death had sent shockwaves around the state. Commissioner Gupta looked at Choudhury’s elder son, Rajiv, and said, “The Reports have come. It’s confirmed. Your father was poisoned, which resulted in his death.” There were a few gasps of surprise and shock from those present in the room. Pallabi, Rajiv’s daughter, was sitting in a corner chair and she now surveyed the faces of her family members. Her father, as usual, remained stoic and silent, but she knew that he was shaken on the inside. Her elder uncle, Biren, was visibly upset, and he was now holding onto the hands of his wife, Nita. Bidyut, the youngest of the three sons of Birendra Choudhury, looked agitated and was about to say something when his wife Twinkle held his hand and signalled him to stay quiet. Pallabi wondered how her mother would have reacted to this news had she been alive. ‘I guess she would have been happy knowing that someone killed that man’, she thought. Rajiv Choudhury looked at the Commissioner and said, “We do not want this news to be out in the media.” “We will try our best. But, naturally, we have to investigate this. We need to find out the murderer.” The Commissioner replied. “Yes. But kindly ensure that this is done discreetly.” Rajiv said. “I bet this is the work of the opposition party. They feared losing out to our father and murdered him.” Bidyut said in a raised voice. The Commissioner just nodded and stayed silent for a few moments. He then said, “There may be another angle to this.” “What do you mean?” Bidyut asked. Commissioner pointed out to the Inspector sitting on a chair to his right and said, “I guess you know Inspector Bikram Phukan. He is the Officer-in-Charge of the local Police Station.” The brothers nodded. They, of course, knew almost all the local cops. “Please listen to what he has to say”, the Commissioner said and asked the Inspector to speak.  “Yesterday evening I got a call from your father. He asked me to come and meet him and said that it was urgent.” Inspector Bikram said. “What did he say?” Rajiv asked. “He felt that someone in the family was trying to kill him.” ****** “You have to carry out your investigation very carefully, Bikram’, the Commissioner said to the Inspector. They were driving back to the Commissioner’s office from the residence of Birendra Pratap Choudhury. “Yes, Sir. I will do my best.” Inspector Bikram replied. “This is a very high-profile case. I do not want any slip-ups. You call me if you need any more resources or manpower.” Bikram nodded. “Now, give me a recap of the case”, the Commissioner said. “On the night of 16 January, Birendra Choudhury had dinner at around 9 pm. That is his usual time for having dinner when he is at home. He had rice, dal, mutton curry and salad. He went to his room around 9.30 pm. It is actually two rooms– one room acts as his study, while the other is his bedroom.  He spends some time in his study every night and drinks a cup of black coffee at that time.” “Did he drink black coffee that night?” “Yes. He did. No one is sure when he went to bed, but according to his servant, Ramani, he was still at his study at around 10.45 pm.  That was the last time Ramani saw him that night and maybe it was the last time anyone saw him alive.” “Can we trust this Ramani guy?” “Yes, I guess so. Ramani has been working in the Choudhury household from the time of Birendra Choudhury’s father. He was a young boy when he became an orphan and Birendra Choudhury’s father brought him to his home as a servant. Since then he has been working here. He is, I guess, now more than 60 years old.” “Ok. Continue with the case.” “On 17 January morning, when it seemed that Birendra Choudhury has still not got up, Ramani knocked on his door several times. The time was around 8 am. Choudhury usually gets up at 7 am. When there was no response, he informed Choudhury’s eldest son Rajiv. Rajiv too tried knocking but it failed to generate any response. He rang up his father’s mobile but it kept ringing. He then called the security guards of their house and they together broke open the door. Inside, Choudhury was found sleeping in his bed and seemed unconscious. They took him to the hospital, but the doctors declared him dead on arrival.” “Did the family suspect that he was poisoned?” “No. It was the doctors who found that his body had certain symptoms which indicated poisoning. Hence, they suggested that a test be done. The results confirmed their suspicions.” “Was Choudhury on any medications?” “He used to have tablets for his blood pressure. He was also having cough for the last few days, so was taking a cough syrup.” “So, the poison may have been in his food, his coffee or his medicines? Did you send the samples for test?” “There was no leftover food; the utensils used that night too were washed. His coffee cup too had been washed. We have sent the pressure tablets and the cough syrup for analysis.” “Tell me one thing. I know that Birendra Choudhury’s younger son and his family stays at this house, but the others usually don’t stay here. Why were they all in the house that night?” The Commissioner asked. “The family usually got together during festivals. This is the time of Magh Bihu and hence they all were staying together.” “How many people were in the house that night?” “There was his eldest son Rajiv; the second son, Biren, his wife Nita and their 16 year old son; the youngest son, Bidyut, his wife, Twinkle and their 8 year old daughter. Apart from them, there are two cooks, who are husband and wife, and there is Ramani and another servant, a young boy of around 20 years. There are also two security guards in the house.” “So, our murderer is amongst these people?” “May be” “So, when are you taking the statements of these people?” “From Tomorrow”, Inspector Bikram replied. ****** “I know this is a hard time for you but hope you understand”, Inspector Bikram said to Rajiv Choudhury. “It’s ok. I know you would have to collect the statements from all of us. Please ask whatever you want to ask.” Inspector Bikram signalled to the constable, who got ready to write. After a few preliminary questions on his name, age, address, etc, Bikram asked Rajiv, “When was the last time you saw your father alive?” “All of us had dinner together that night. After that my father went to his room. The next morning we found him on his bed. I thought he had a heart attack and so we took him to the hospital. But….” “Did he have a heart attack earlier?” “No. Except for a slightly high Blood Pressure, his health was fine.” “As you said, you all had dinner together.  Does that mean that every member of the family was at the dinner table at that time?” “Bidyut’s wife Twinkle was a bit unwell. She stayed on in her room. Rest all of us were there, including the children.” “Who had served the food?” “The food was prepared and kept on the table by the servants. We took it ourselves.” “Including your father?” “Well, Biren’s wife served him the food. But we all ate the same food. So, if you think poison was in the food, I guess that may not be the case.” “Your daughter Pallabi was not here that night. Right?” “Yes. She stays in Delhi. She came here after she got the news of his death.” “Is she working in Delhi?” “No. She is doing her PhD from Delhi University.” “What did you do after dinner?” “I was too tired that day. Went straight to bed and slept.” “I would also like to ask a few questions about your family business. You look after it, correct?” “Yes, I and my other brother, Biren, look after the business.” “What business is that mainly?” “Well, we have three companies, each involved in three different spheres - real estate, agro-products and medicines.” “Your father is not involved in the business operations?” “He was earlier. But, after he had become a cabinet minister, he had left his position in the company, as it would have been a case of conflict of interest. We took over the reins and it has been like that since then.” “Your younger brother is not involved in the business?” “No. Bidyut is more interested in politics. He is a member of the party and a secretary of the party’s youth wing. He has similar political ambitions like my father.” “You never tried to enter the political arena?” “No. Neither I nor Biren wanted to be an active part of politics. It was only Bidyut who was interested in this field.” “I have heard that Bidyut wanted to contest the elections from this constituency this time but your father decided to contest himself. There was also a rumour about fight between your father and Bidyut over this. Is this true?” “No. This is not true. My father had won from this constituency five times and although he had lost the last time, this time he would have surely won. Bidyut would have got the ticket when the right time came.” Inspector Bikram was about to ask another question, when Pallabi entered the room. She went to her father and said, “I am sorry to disturb, but some party members have come. They want to meet you.” “I am sorry but I have to go now. You please continue your discussions with other members of the family.” Rajiv said and went out of the room. “Do you want to take my statement now?” Pallabi asked. “You were not present that day….” “Yes, I was not there but I can give you answers to certain questions you have not even thought of asking.” She said and sat before the Inspector. ‘It’s going to be a long day’, Bikram thought and got ready to listen. ****** “Whatever I am going to say is not exactly my statement on this murder. I just wanted to say something which might be important for your investigation. But I want to say it off the record.” Pallabi said. “Ok”, Inspector Bikram said and asked the constable to wait outside. Now alone, he let Pallabi speak. “My grandfather was not a nice person. He was involved in corruption and had made money through illegal ways. He had siphoned off funds from development projects when he was a minister. He had taken commissions to award contracts. He also was accused of rape by several women.” “Ms. Pallabi, let me stop you right here. I know about these things and it was out in the newspapers and television as well. There were several allegations against him but he was never arrested or was proven guilty in any of the cases. And, anyway, this has nothing to do with the current situation.” Inspector Bikram said. “How can you be so sure of that? My grandfather had many enemies over the years and maybe it was the work of any of them.” “Do you have any specific person in mind who might have done so?” “No. But what I am trying to say is that it might not be a family member who had killed him.” “Well, we have not yet reached any conclusion in this regard. I am not saying that someone from the family has killed him. But, during investigations, we have to cover every aspect of the case.” Pallabi nodded. For a few moments, she was silent. Then she said, “My mother never liked him. She was a very simple lady and had urged my father many times to talk to grandfather – to tell him to stop using corrupt practises or to ruin lives of others.” “What do you mean by ruin lives of others?” “My grandfather had a weakness towards girls. The rape allegations that were levelled against him were true but they could never be proven. Once I had myself heard him talking to one of his friends and saying that he had slept with so many women that he might have many illegitimate children. And, the whole time, they were laughing. How would you describe such a person?” Inpsector Bikram looked visibly uncomfortable at her words. He said, “We are moving away from the case here. Do you know anything specific that might help us find who killed your grandfather?” “Not yet. But, I will be also investigating on my own. Will inform you if I get any information.” She said and got up to leave the room. At that moment, Ramani entered the room with a cup of tea. “I wanted to talk to you about the case. Can we do it now?” Inspector Bikram said to him. Ramani looked at the Inspector and then towards Pallabi. “I don’t know anything”, he said in a meek voice. “Ramani koka, you please answer his questions. I will be here with you. Don’t worry.” Pallabi said. “Actually, I wanted to ask him the questions alone”, Bikram said. “He might feel a bit unnerved in your presence. My presence will help ease his nerves.” She replied. Reluctantly, the Inspector agreed. ‘This girl will be a pain in the ass’, Bikram thought, as he asked the Constable to come in again. ****** “When was the last time you saw Birendra Choudhury alive?” Inspector Bikram asked. “Around 10.45 pm. It’s my habit to go to his room once, before I go to sleep, to ask if he needs anything.” Ramani answered. “Did he want anything that night?” “No” “What was he doing when you went to his room?” “He was reading some book.” “Did he look sick or disturbed or anything?” “No. I don’t think so. I did not notice anything such.” “You know him for more than fifty years now. Do you know whether he had enmity with someone who might want to kill him?” “I am just a servant. I don’t know much about such things.” Inspector Bikram realized that Ramani would not say anything even if he knew. He was thinking what next to ask him, when suddenly Pallabi asked, “Had grandfather finished drinking the cup of coffee when you had gone to his room?” Bikram was a bit annoyed at Pallabi for butting in with a question, but he did not say anything. “Yes. He had. I had taken it back to the kitchen and washed and kept the cup back in the kitchen cabinet.” “Had he taken his medicines by then?” Pallabi asked again. “That I don’t know.” Ramani replied. “Did you see anyone entering grandfather’s room that night, after or before 10.45 pm?” She put in another question. “After 10.45 pm, I went to the kitchen first and then to my room, which is in the ground floor. I will not be able to see even if anyone goes upstairs to your grandfather’s room. But, before 10.45 pm, several people had gone to his room – your father, Bidyut, Twinkle, as well as the Inspector.” “Do you know who the last person to leave the room was?” “I am not sure. I saw someone coming down the stairs but my eyesight is not that great. I could not clearly see the face. It may have been Bidyut, it may have been the Inspector or it may have been your father.” Pallabi was about to ask a question again, when Bikram said, “Ms. Pallabi, its better if I do the questioning. I am the investigating officer here, not you.” She opened her mouth to give a reply but at that moment her phone rang. She picked it up and spoke for some time. She then looked at the Inspector and said, “Biren uncle and Nita aunty would like to talk to you now.” “But, I am not done here.” Bikram replied. “Ramani Koka has faced enough questions. Please leave him alone now. Let’s go to my uncle’s room.” She said and went out of the room. Inspector Bikram reluctantly followed her. ****** “I would like to take your statements separately”, Inspector Bikram said, looking towards Choudhury’s second son Biren and his wife Nita. “Inspector, my husband’s health is not good. Ever since his father’s death, his blood pressure too is getting high. He is not in a position to take any stress and your questions may lead to more stress on his mind. It is better if we sit together during this questioning.” Nita said.  Inspector Bikram was not comfortable with the idea but he agreed to it. He glanced towards Pallabi, who was standing near the window. He wondered whether he should ask her to leave, but then he thought otherwise. “When did you last see your father alive?” “We had dinner together. Then he went to his room and we went to ours.” Biren replied. “You used to live in this house till a few years ago. Why did you start living separately?” Biren seemed hesitant to give an answer. It was Nita who replied, “We just wanted to have a house of our own, where we could live on our own terms.” “You mean, here you were not able to?” “See, my father-in-law was quite strict in several matters. He also wanted that his son’s follow his instructions without questioning. He also used to order us. It’s not possible to follow his orders all the time.” The Inspector looked at Biren, wanting to see if he contradicts his wife. But, Biren seemed kind of aloof and uninterested. The Inspector guessed that the string to his life was now controlled by his wife. Bikram then asked Nita, “You had served food to your father-in-law that night. Was his food kept in separate utensils or it were the same from which you all had taken?” “It was the same utensils. I just served it to him. We all ate the same food.” She replied. “He had dal.” Biren said just as Nita finished her sentence. “What?” Bikram asked. “We all had mutton curry but no dal. Our father had eaten both the dal and mutton curry.” Biren replied, as Nita looked at him in a curious manner. “So you are saying that there was one item in dinner which was eaten only by your father and not anyone else.” “Yes” Inspector Bikram was silent for some time and then again he asked, “How long have the cooks been working here? And, who referred them to you?” “About three years; they came just before we left this house. They are husband and wife. They worked in a hotel here but the hotel got shut. The wife’s brother worked in one of our companies and he asked Biren if there was any job available. We too were looking for a new cook then, so Biren brought them here. They are working since then and father-in-law too was satisfied with their work.” Nita replied. “Your father-in-law drinks black coffee every night.  Who prepares it?” “Either one of them. They prepare it and then, either Ramani or Ranjan, the other house help, goes and gives it to our father-in-law. And, before you ask, let me tell you, Ranjan has been working here for the last six months. He is a distant relative of one of the home guards who was posted here at that time.”  “Do you have any idea who might have wanted to kill your father?” The Inspector asked Biren looking at him directly and not wanting Nita to answer on his behalf. “May be it was the opposition party”, he said in a totally non-committal voice. Nita then said, “You see, Inspector, my father-in-law had a very long and interesting stint in politics. He had defeated several prominent political leaders and had rose through the ranks and became a cabinet minister. But, on the way, he had made several enemies as well. He may be targeted by any of them.” “How was his standing with the people in his constituency?” “He was a popular leader and had a dynamic personality. He was popular equally among the men as well as women. He was quite a handsome man in his younger days, just like you.” Nita said. Pallabi noticed the inspector blushing on hearing the compliment. ‘So the tough inspector does have some emotions in him’, she thought, as a little smile danced on her lips. ****** “This is the work of the opposition party. They know our father would have won this time, so they killed him. These bastards will not get away with this.” Bidyut said with a raised voice and clenched fist. “Do you have suspicion on any one person in particular?” Inspector Bikram asked. He had been talking to Bidyut for more than ten minutes now, but he was giving all incoherent answers. “This is not the work of one person. The whole opposition is involved in this. They wanted to silence him and they did it. But, I will not let them win.” He replied. “Does this mean that now you will contest the election in place of your father?” The Inspector’s question suddenly put Bidyut on the back foot. He stammered a little and said, “This is for the party to decide. If they give me the ticket, I will contest the election.” “Did you want to contest the election this time?” “No.” Bidyut replied immediately, but there was no conviction in his voice. “Your wife, Twinkle, did not have dinner with you all that night. But, did she have the same food that you all ate?” “She was not feeling well that night. She had some snacks in the evening and did not eat later that night. In fact, she was already asleep by the time we were having dinner.” “How is she now?” “She is little better. I am taking her to the hospital now to do some tests.” “Oh. I would have liked to talk to her too about the case.” “Well, not today. Please come some other day. Let her health recover a little.” Bidyut said and got up. The Inspector understood that it was an indirect way to say that he will not be speaking anymore about the case. He now decided to talk to the cooks. As soon as he got them to sit in front of him, they started shivering and saying, “We have not done anything, Sir. We are innocent. We would never mix poison in his food.” “Calm down. No one is accusing you of poisoning. You just answer my questions.” Bikram said. Then he asked, “Did anyone apart from you two, enter the kitchen that night?” “Ramani da and Ranjan were in the kitchen. Nita madam came once to check on the mutton preparation.” “Who had purchased the mutton?” “Ranjan” “Who had prepared the black coffee that night?” “It was me”, the wife replied. “Who took it to Birendra Choudhury’s room?” “Ranjan.” “Hmm. Ok, you two go now and call Ranjan” “He has gone out to buy some groceries.” The Inspector asked both the cooks to go and began to think. “Let’s go. We are done for today.” He said to the constable, who closed his notebook. While going out of the house, he met Pallabi. “I guess you are relieved that I did not join you during your further conversations”, she said with a smile on her face. Bikram didn’t know what to reply. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead. “Is your work finished here?” She asked from behind. “Not until I catch the culprit”, he replied without looking back. ****** “Come on, Ramani Koka, try to remember! You must have seen something or someone.” Pallabi said. “I told you. I do not remember anything else.” “Do you at least remember who was the last person you had seen coming down the stairs?” “I told you already – it could have been your father, your uncle or the Inspector. I am not sure.” Pallabi decided to change her line of questioning. “You have been with him so many years. Did anyone ever tried to take his life earlier, may be when he was younger and did not have a security cover?”  “No. I don’t think so.” “How many extra-marital affairs did he have?” Ramani seemed shocked at the question. “What are you saying?” he stammered. “Don’t act as if you don’t know. I know he had many affairs outside marriage.” “I don’t know anything about it”, Ramani said and began to walk away. Pallabi was about to follow him, when she heard her father yell at someone. “What happened?” Pallabi almost ran towards her father. She saw her father sitting in the sofa and the cook standing in front of him with his eyes down towards the floor. “Ranjan had gone to buy some groceries more than four hours ago. He has not yet returned and his phone is also switched off.” Rajiv Choudhury said and took out his phone. He dialled Ranjan’s number but it still showed switched off. “He had called around three hours ago to tell that Bidyut sir had called him and told him to collect some documents from the party office.” The cook said again. Rajiv immediately called Bidyut and spoke with him. He then asked him to return home soon. “Bidyut says he had called Ranjan to tell him to buy some medicines but he denies telling him to go to the party office.” Rajiv said to Pallabi after disconnecting the call. “We need to inform the police immediately”, Rajiv said and dialled again. Pallabi stood there watching her father call Inspector Bikram. Ranjan’s disappearance muddled the already complicated matter. ‘Was Ranjan the one who poisoned her grandfather? Where did he add the poison? And, more importantly, on whose instructions?’ She began thinking. ****** Pallabi opened her notebook and prepared to write down some points. She knew that the police were doing their investigations, including searching for Ranjan, but she too wanted to find out who the culprit was. Her grandfather had told the Inspector that he feared someone from his family was trying to kill him. That meant her grandfather already had a fair idea who that person was. She decided to be objective and not let emotions get better of her. If it was a family member who had killed her grandfather, she wanted to find who it was. Pallabi began writing: MOTIVE: Money? Political Conspiracy? Personal Enmity? WHO BENEFITS FROM THE DEATH: The Opposition Candidate? Bidyut Uncle? POISON WAS IN: Food? Coffee? Medicines? Any other way? (Biren uncle talked about Dal being eaten only by grandfather. Was it there?) LIST OF SUSPECTS & REASON: (1) Opposition Candidate (would have increased his winning chance)(2) Bidyut Uncle (could have contested in place of grandfather)(3) Cooks (easy for them to put poison)(4) Ranjan (could have put poison. Disappeared now.)(5) Nita Aunty (served food to grandfather that night)(6) Twinkle Aunty (Was not at dinner table. May be was not asleep.) She pondered over her notes and began thinking what more could be added. At that moment, there was a knock at her door and Nita walked into the room. Pallabi closed her notebook and greeted her. “How are you holding up?” Nita said as she came and sat besides Pallabi. “I am ok. Feels a bit weird sitting here in this house, without hearing the shouts of grandfather.” She replied. “He loved you a lot, you know. After you had fought with him and said that you would never return to this house, he was quite sad for a few days. Though he did not express his emotions, but I know that he missed you. You were, after all, his first grandchild.” Nita said. “I know he loved me. He was my hero too while growing up. But, later on, I came to know about his real character – a corrupt politician, a womanizer and may be what not. Plus, he was never cordial with my mother. I guess I am not that sorry for his death. But, a part of me still misses him and I want to know who the person that killed him was.” For a few moments, both of them were silent. Then, Nita said, “Who do you think poisoned him?” “I am also wondering who that might be. Ranjan is somehow involved with this, otherwise why would he run away. Have the police talked with the home guard who had referred Ranjan’s name?” “None of us know who had referred Ranjan. It was your grandfather who had hired Ranjan, after the home guard had requested him to give the boy a job. The police are trying to find who was posted in this house at that time.” “But, Bidyut uncle must know. He too lives here. Doesn’t he remember?” “He says he does not remember”, Nita said. The way Nita gave the answer caught Pallabi’s attention. “You think Bidyut uncle is lying?” She asked. “I am not sure. But after whatever happened on the night of the Bihu feast, I am not sure I can trust Bidyut.” “What happened?” Pallabi asked. Nita started speaking. ****** Inspector Bikram was eating his breakfast when his phone rang. He picked up the call and was surprised to find Pallabi on the other end of the line. “Hi. Sorry to call you so early in the morning but I wanted to meet you once. I guess I have found a lead.” She said excitedly. “What lead?” “I cannot tell you on the phone. Can we meet?” “I will be at the police station in an hour.” “No. I do not want to talk in the police station. Too many ears and I do not want anyone to listen. Can I come to your house?” Bikram hesitated a little but then agreed and gave her his address. Pallabi reached at the address within half an hour. She opened the gate and went inside. There was a small flower garden inside. An elderly lady was spraying something on the rose plants. “Excuse me.” Pallabi said to the lady, “Does Inspector Bikram Phukan live here?” The lady stopped and looked at her. “Yes.” She replied and looked questioningly at her. “Are you his mother?” Pallavi asked, a bit fazed by the look the lady was giving her. “No. I am his landlady. He lives in the top floor. Take the stairs and go up.” She pointed towards the stairs. Pallabi went up and rang the bell. Inspector Bikram opened the door. ‘He indeed is handsome’, Pallabi thought as she entered his home. “Please take a seat”, Bikram said as Pallabi looked around the room. “You live alone?” She asked. “Yes”, he replied. “Your parents? Wife?” “My parents are dead and I am unmarried.” “Oh. Am  sorry.” She said, now a bit embarrassed for having asked that. “It’s ok. Now tell me what lead have you got?” He asked. “Bidyut uncle has siphoned large amount of money from the party funds. The party found about it and informed our grandfather. The party also said that unless Bidyut return the money, grandfather would not be given a party ticket to contest the election.” “So did your grandfather confront Bidyut about this?” “Yes. But, Bidyut uncle refused to return the money. There was a big fight in the house on this issue.” “When did this fight take place?” “Two nights before his death. It was the day of the Magh Bihu feast and the family had got together that day. After dinner, my grandfather had called Bidyut uncle to his study and then they had a heated argument. Almost everyone in the house heard that, including the servants.” “Who told you about this?” “Nita Aunty. She was saying how much angry and agitated grandfather was that night. Bidyut too was angry and was even threatening grandfather that he would expose all his corrupt practises to the public.” “Anything happened after that?” “No. According to Nita Aunty, grandfather and Bidyut uncle were not talking with each other since then, even though they dined together the next two days.” Inspector Bikram digested the new information and began thinking. “This is indeed a good lead. Thank you, Pallabi.” Pallabi smiled and said, “How about a cup of tea then?” Bikram laughed and went into the kitchen. After finishing tea, Pallabi took leave and exited his room. Bikram watched as Pallabi went down the stairs. ‘She is quite a beautiful girl’, he thought. He watched his landlady asking her something. Bikram knew his landlady was too inquisitive. Watching a girl come to the room of a bachelor, even though he was a police officer, has surely made his landlady build up romantic scenarios inside her mind. Pallabi stood there talking to the landlady for some time. ‘I guess she bored Pallabi with tales of her flower garden’, Bikram thought, as he saw her finally take leave from the woman and go out. Bikram got ready to go to the police station. The latest information from Pallabi had now opened a new line of thinking. His mind started working. ****** A few days had passed since Pallabi had visited the house of Inspector Bikram. Since then, Bikram was busy following up on the lead given by Pallabi, but he was not able to find any concrete evidence that could tie Bidyut with the crime. One such evening, as he was at the police station, he got a call from the Police Commissioner.  He asked Bikram to come to Birendra Choudhury’s house. He reached the house soon and saw the Commissioner sitting with Rajiv Choudhury. “I have received a complaint about you”, the Commissioner said, as Bikram sat down on the sofa. He looked at the commissioner in surprise. “Mr. Rajiv says that you had visited their agro-product factory and were questioning the workers. You also had gone and searched inside the store where the products were kept. Did you have any search warrant for that?” the Commissioner asked. “Sir, I just wanted to check whether there is any poisonous product in the factory.” He replied. “What were you expecting to find there?” the commissioner asked again. Before he could answer, Rajiv Choudhury spoke, “Do you think that one of us would bring some poisonous product from our factory and put it in our father’s food?” “Sir, I was just following a lead...” “What lead?” the Commissioner asked. Inspector Bikram remained silent. At that moment, Pallabi walked into the room. She addressed the commissioner and said, “It’s good that you and the Inspector both are here. I wanted to show you all something.” Rajiv looked at his daughter in surprise and said, “Can we do it later. We are discussing something.” “This is related to the death of grandfather. Please all of you come with me.” She replied. Rajiv shrugged his shoulders and said to the Commissioner, “I don’t know what she is doing. Last few days she has not been in the house at all.” “I will explain everything to you. But now please all of you come with me.” Pallabi said. They all got up and followed her. They found the other members of the house too standing inside. “I would request all of you to be patient with me. This is just a small experiment that I want to do.” Pallabi said, as the family members looked confused. She turned towards Inspector Bikram and said, “You met with grandfather at his room that night, correct?” “Yes”, he replied. “Did you use these stairs?” She pointed to the stairs leading up to the first floor. “Yes. Of course.” “You also used these same stairs to come down?” “Yes, obviously. There is no other way.” Bikram said, now a bit irritated. “Could you kindly go to the top of stairs?” Pallabi said. The Inspector looked confused. “Why?” he asked. “Please do it.” She said. Bikram looked at the Commissioner, who nodded. The inspector got to the top of the stairs and stood there. “Can you come down now”, she said. The Inspector did as he was told. At the moment, Pallabi said, “Ramani koka, please come inside.” As Ramani entered from a side door, Pallabi switched off the light. “Hey, what are you doing?” Almost everyone shouted in unison. Inspector Bikram stopped midway down the stairs. “Ramani Koka, whom do you see standing in the stairs?” Pallabi asked. Ramani looked towards the stairs. That area was almost dark, with light coming from the nearby rooms giving a little illumination. He could only see a silhouette. “I think it is Bidyut”, he said. Pallabi switched on the light and now Ramani could see the police uniform. “Oh! It is the Inspector.” He said. “Yes. It is the Inspector.” She repeated. “What was the meaning of all this?” Bidyut asked, on behalf of all the bewildered audience. “I used it to confirm my suspicions and find the answer.” She replied. “What answer?” “Inspector Bikram is the murderer of our grandfather. He is also his son.” ****** “When did you start suspecting him?” Nita asked, as they all gathered around Pallabi. “Actually it all began with a small piece of talk that I had with his landlady. I had visited his house to discuss something about the case. There I saw his landlady spraying something on the rose plants in her garden. On my way out, I noticed that the rose plants did not look healthy at all and the leaves looked infected. I just casually asked the landlady and she informed that there was some pest infection in the plants and she was spraying a type of pesticide on the plant. As I was about to end the conversation and leave, she said that she had to buy a new can of pesticide, because apparently her earlier can emptied early than she thought.” “At that moment, a thought struck my mind – can that pesticide kill a person? Well, a simple Google search revealed that it can. And, in fact, agriculture pesticides are a major source of suicide in developing nations. It could easily have been put in the black coffee and the bitter taste of the coffee would offset the taste of the pesticide. It would take only a few hours for the poison to have its affect.” “As this fact was revealed, I started recapping all the events since my grandfather’s death. I started questioning every detail.” “It was Inspector Bikram who had said that grandfather told him someone from the family wanted to kill him. But, it was only his word. There was no one to corroborate the statement. We all had assumed that it was true.” “Then I checked the call lists of both the mobiles of my grandfather on the day of his death. None of the outgoing calls were to Inspector Bikram’s number. I then checked the incoming numbers using the Truecaller app. There was a call from a landline number in the evening and it was the number of the police station of which Bikram was the OC. So, it was not grandfather who called him but rather it was the other way round. I was now sure that it was Inspector Bikram who had insisted on the meeting.” “But, why would he come to the house on a day when it was filled with family members and then try to poison him?  The answer was obvious – so that the blame falls on a family member, in case it was discovered that he was poisoned.” “Then I began thinking of the motive? Why would he do that? At that moment, I recalled certain conversations – both old and new. Grandfather telling his friend that he may have many illegitimate children; and, Inspector Bikram’s face getting red when Nita aunty said that grandfather was handsome in his younger days, just like the Inspector. I thought he was blushing at the compliment, but it was not the case. He was a bit apprehensive that Nita aunty may have noticed some of the facial similarities. The Inspector is clean shaven and our grandfather always kept a beard, so people do not easily notice the similarity.” “And, Ramani koka, who cannot recognize faces from a distance, too got confused between Bidyut uncle and the Inspector. It was mainly because both of them have an uncanny resemblance if we look from a distance. There is even a similarity in the walk, which they share with our grandfather.  So, while it was the Inspector who walked down the stairs that night, Ramani koka could not positively identify who it was, more so because the Inspector was here not in his police uniform.” “I then went through the old election affidavits of my grandfather. It is necessary to mention the criminal cases pending against the candidate in the affidavits and I collected the case numbers of all such cases.  I gave those to a friend of mine in the police department and he gave me the name of the three women who had filed cases of rape against grandfather. Then, through a casual visit to the police station to know about the progress of the case, I was able to find the name of Inspector Bikram’s mother.  The name matched with one of the women who had filed a case of rape against grandfather - a case which she had lost few years ago.” “I guess the Inspector’s confession would clear up his motive but I think the ill treatment of his mother by grandfather was the primary motive of this murder. Only he knows how long he has been planning it.” “Yesterday night when father told me that the Inspector was searching the store of our agro-product factory, I understood he was trying to find the same pesticide that he had used, so that he could implicate Bidyut uncle in the murder.” “What about Ranjan?” Rajiv asked, as they patiently heard the explanations by Pallabi. “I am not sure but I think Bikram used him to find out the daily routine of grandfather. And, I guess, it was Bikram who is responsible for Ranjan’s disappearance. I remember him walking out of the house without waiting to take Ranjan’s statement. He knew Ranjan was out of the house and maybe he called him and told him to disappear. I guess Bikram’s confession would answer that. ******Bikram’s confession: “When I was young, my mother used to tell me that my father worked overseas and hence could not be with us. As I grew up, I realized it was not the case. I never saw any relatives visiting our home. When I used to ask my mother, she used to say that they live in another city. Eventually I found out. I was born as a result of rape of my mother. Her family abandoned her. She singlehandedly raised me, absorbing all the insults of the society. But she was a fighter. She fought against Birendra Choudhury – the man who raped her after promising her a job. Police pressurized her to withdraw the case, goons of Choudhury intimidated her, but she kept fighting. However, our system could not give her justice. Choudhury was proven not guilty.” “But soon I too was able to become a part of the system. The day I got appointed to the Police, I told my mother that I will avenger her. But she made me promise that I would not do any unlawful thing. So, I just kept a watch on him. I tried to find evidence to implicate him for his illegal dealings, but I was not able to gather any solid evidence. I was getting impatient. And, then, a few months ago my mother passed away. I felt as if I failed to provide her justice. But, with her death, I felt as I was free of the promise I gave her. I decided to kill Birendra Choudhury.” “I knew Ranjan, who was a relative of Akhil, the home guard posted at Choudhury’s house at that time. Through casual conversations with him, I got the details of Choudhury’s daily routine. Then, one day I saw my landlady spray insecticides on the rose plants. I decided to use some of it.” “I knew that during Bihu everyone would be at the house. I decided to strike during that period, so that in case it was discovered that he was poisoned, the suspicion falls on the family members. I called up Choudhury and said that I wanted to meet him to discuss about a police-public community programme. I knew his daily habit by then to know at what time he would be having his coffee. I reached the house at that time and while talking with him I asked him about a book. Being an avid reader, he got up from his seat to bring the book from his book shelve and I used that opportunity to put the poison in the coffee. Then it was just a game of waiting.” “Next day when it was discovered that he was poisoned, I cooked up a story saying that he had told me that his life was in danger from a family member. And, I also persuaded my higher officials to let me handle the case. I was confident that I would be able to implicate one of the sons.” “I also told Ranjan that he might me implicated in the case and asked him to go hide for a few months in some other city. He was too fearful to not believe me and with some money that I gave him, he ran away to a friend’s place.” “I was confident that I would never be caught. But, it seems that the same rose plants that gave me the idea, also led to the solving of this crime.” “Well, that’s all I have to say. I don’t know whether what I did was right or wrong but I did avenge my mother.” THE END. (The basic premise of this story is inspired by one of Agatha Christie’s popular novels.)