The Murder Suspect

by Rani Ramakrishnan

  I arrived on time. As I approached the dais, a distrustful hush fell over the people I passed. Maybe my nervousness was making me feel like an outsider, but I could not shake off the feeling. I desperately needed them to trust me if I was to secure their future and IndeGen’s. I thought about what I planned to say and fretted over how they would receive the news.

  There was pin-drop silence as I mounted the stage.

  As was tradition, Pandurang and Senthil were also present. They had arrived before me. One of my HR people took over the role of master of ceremonies and invited me to speak. All through the proceedings, the room remained wrapped in an eerie silence until he made the actual announcement.

  ‘Now, I invite our acting CEO to address the gathering. Ladies and gentleman, our new acting CEO, Ms Nalini Bose!’

  A gasp went through the audience as though somebody had sucked the life out of each of them. That piece of news was unexpected. Did they hate me more now?

  Rumour mills had been rife with the news of a new CEO taking charge, but I had deliberately kept my name a secret so that there would be minimum gossip before I spoke to them myself. It was a gamble, and I hoped that I knew these people well enough to have taken the right decision. I needed their support, and for that I had to make an impact through my speech and win their trust. I hoped I was up to it. This was my first test as Piyush’s official successor.

  As for Pandurang, considering the miserable way everything was handled under his leadership, he was given the choice of remaining the chief operating officer or quitting. That had been the first item of the board meeting that morning. The second had been that of my elevation to acting CEO. He chose to stay. I knew it was only until he found something better, but I was grateful that he was here. I could use his abilities and experience.

  I let the shock running through the audience subside before launching my address.

  ‘I know a lot has happened since the year began. It must seem like every day is springing an unexpected, unpleasant surprise on us IndeGeners. Trust me, I know that feeling. Yesterday morning, when the CBI escorted me off the campus, I thought I was being arrested. And today, I am here addressing all of you.

  ‘Last year, in this same room, Piyush Gokhle—our founder CEO—thrilled us all with the news of IndeGen's plans to go public. And today, we stand here and he is no longer with us. In the past one and a half months, a lot has been written and said about him, about me, and about our family here at IndeGen. The manner in which the truth came out, the circumstances under which we have had to deal with it—everything has been difficult for all of us.

  ‘I want to take this opportunity to come clean. IndeGen has always believed in being forthright and honest with its people. It is in our DNA to never forget our roots, to love our people and our work.

  ‘Our founder CEO, Mr Piyush Gokhle, interviewed me for my first position here as HR trainee.

  ‘During the interview, he asked me many questions that seemed inappropriate to me. Instead of telling him what to do with his questions, I shocked him with bold answers. Throughout my life I had been considered a bad girl, and I knew exactly what irked people the most. I showed him my bad side so I would not have to work here.

  ‘Trust me, I did not want this job. The office was a tiny two-bedroom house that was smaller than the servants’ quarters on my grandfather’s estate where I grew up. The people here were dressed neatly, and tidy was not in fashion as far as I was concerned.

  ‘My interviewer, Mr Piyush Gokhle, looked like a nerd, and I avoided people like that big time. In all respects, IndeGen was too big a name for its actual size and I wanted no part of it. I was only attending the interview because my college insisted on it. Otherwise I would never have bothered to turn up.

  ‘He asked me if I had a boyfriend, to which I replied that I preferred men; boys were too immature. He did not even blink at my reply. Then he asked me how my parents died. I told him that I had killed them. Again no reaction! He asked me if I did drugs. I replied that I did more than just drugs, if he knew what I meant. Once again, stone face! He asked me why I wanted the job. I told him that I did not want it at all. Even this did not ruffle him.

  ‘He told me to give a dishonest answer to the next set of questions. He asked about my favourite colour. I said “black”. I was wearing black that day. He did not comment. He asked me if IndeGen would ever become a billion-dollar company. I thought about it and replied that it would not if I joined. Then he said he was offering me the job and asked me how much salary I expected. And do you know what—I did not know what to say!

  ‘If I lied and told him no salary, would he assume that I wanted to work here and the salary was the only problem? But if I said something outlandish like one lakh rupees a month, would he assume that I would settle for a low package? Which fresher wants a low-paying job? I was in a fix, and I had to ask him if he wanted an honest answer or a dishonest one for that question. He laughed and told me the interview was over.

  ‘He got up from his seat, shook hands with me, and apologised for his inappropriate questions. He told me that he had put the same questions to all the candidates, irrespective of gender, and I was the only one who had replied without getting worked up. He said that he needed a person who could take on problems head-on and think rationally when angry.

  ‘He had riled me up first with his obnoxious questions and then asked me about the salary, for which I needed to think before responding. Despite being furious, I had not shot out an answer without thinking. He said that because of this I was selected and could join if I wanted.

  ‘The rest, as you know, is history. Piyush and I had an unconventional beginning and our unconventional relationship has been plastered all over the media these past few weeks. No matter how it all happened, the truth is we have all lost someone we trusted and cherished. He was the person who had been driving IndeGen’s success from the beginning.

  ‘Today he is no longer with us. He was taken away unexpectedly and too early. We miss his presence every day, in everything we do. Sadly, we have to learn to cope without him now. The times are just as he predicted. Today we face many questions that make us angry. This is exactly that time which Piyush told me about in my first interview—when everything seems wrong—but we have to respond and not react. We have to act rationally.

  ‘For me, life has always been unorthodox, so what anyone says about me is inconsequential. But it matters very much to me what you think of yourselves and of your roles here as IndeGeners, because we are one family.

  ‘No matter how it seems to the outside world, every single one of us was handpicked because of two—only two—reasons. One, we are the right persons for the job and two, because we are the best fit for this company. Our presence in this family makes the other IndeGeners work better.

  ‘I want to know if you feel differently. Does anyone doubt that they are in the right place? Are you proud of being an IndeGener?’

  ‘Yes,’ came a loud reply, but I wanted more.

  ‘Are you happy being an IndeGener?’

  ‘Yes,’ was a little louder this time.

  ‘Are you ready to show the world what it means to be an IndeGener so that they can eat their words and swallow all the bad language they have used for us in the last few weeks?’

  ‘Yes!’ Still louder and stronger. The echo lasted a full ten seconds, I noted.

  ‘Are you the IndeGeners who will make Piyush Gokhle wish he had lived a little longer?’

  Some smiles accompanied the loud ‘yes’ this time.

  ‘Can I count on you to come to work on Sundays as well?’

  A few yesses sounded then trailed off when they realised to what they had agreed. I smiled at them and said in a playful voice, ‘I was only checking to see if you were listening before answering.’

  Now there were laughs, smiles, and a few sheepish grins from those who had said ‘yes’ without thinking.

  ‘Now, I’d like to say what I really came to say today. Are you all ready
to hear what I have to say to you as your CEO?’ I asked, smiling.

  The ‘yes’ that they shouted almost blew the roof away. I was happy. Now was definitely the time to speak my mind.

  ‘Fellow IndeGeners,’ I began, as Piyush always did, and the claps that followed those two words brought tears to my eyes. It was as though Piyush’s blessings were with me, and somehow I had won the respect of my family. It felt surreal. ‘Fellow IndeGeners,’ I said again with a smile. ‘We had planned for an IPO in the second half of this year, and, with some effort, we can still make it happen.’

  More clapping and cheering now. ‘Don’t get carried away just yet. We will proceed only if it makes economic sense by then. Otherwise it will have to be postponed.’ A sigh went through the audience. ‘Don’t give up like that. Ask me what needs to be done to keep that timetable intact. That’s how IndeGen needs to think.’

  Everyone became alert. They had not expected me to say that. They knew me as an HR person, not as a business strategist. Even I was surprised by my confidence.

  ‘Our first challenge is to make this quarter count. A month and a half have passed but we still have one and a half months left. Is our glass half full or half empty?’ I shouted.

  ‘Half full!’ came the resolute response.

  ‘Let’s make every day count and make this quarter just as spectacular as we had initially planned. Implement every strategy that was discussed, hashed out, and planned, and adjust timelines suitably. Make sure that we meet our target for this quarter.

  ‘Leave the external factors like bad publicity and other unexpected matters to me. I will make sure that we deal with them firmly and effectively. When we come out of this quarter, we will be on track for our IPO at the year-end. That is our goal and we will achieve it, right?’

  ‘Yes,’ they replied with full enthusiasm.

  ‘The second thing I want to say is actually a reassurance. I know that in spite of my brave words the thought must have crossed your minds. I had told the board that our most capable and trustworthy founder, Piyush Gokhle, was ill-suited to be CEO for the IPO. If he was not good enough, how is this HR lady, Nalini Bose, suitable?

  ‘Your fears are correct, and I agree with you. This role of CEO that I have donned is only temporary until we identify someone who is as ideal as each of us for our family. This whole fiasco that we have all endured has taught us how fragile our image is. So when we induct a new CEO, it will be with the utmost care.

  ‘Only that person who will merge into our fabric seamlessly will be chosen, and I will leave no stone unturned to find the right person. I hope you believe that much at least about my abilities. Didn’t we find each other?’ I asked, and everyone smiled in agreement.

  ‘I also want to say a few words about our able COO, Pandurang Tikre, who has donned many hats these past few weeks. He has been CEO, COO, HR head... he has been burdened with too many roles and ambushed from God knows every direction.

  ‘Pandurang has been with us a long time, and he has been outstanding throughout. That is also the reason he is not CEO instead of me. Others can do my duties, just like Hemanth did a few minutes ago... thanks, Hemanth,’ I said, smiling at my colleague who had taken over my traditional role of master of ceremonies. Claps broke out.

  ‘But what Pandurang does—dealing with clients, handling vendors, scouting for new business—I don’t think there is another person who could do it better. Is there?’

  ‘No,’ came the happy response this time.

  ‘So, Pandurang will continue as our able and sturdy chief operating officer.’ There was a round of applause, this time for Pandurang.

  ‘Good, with that settled, let me just say two of the most difficult things I have to say today. One is, rest well this weekend, because to keep our timeline intact we will have to work twice as hard in the coming weeks. We all know Pandurang can be quite a slave driver, and he has his mind set on it this time.’ Pandurang nodded in agreement, and the audience gave a collective, good-natured sigh.

  ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The other difficult thing I have to say is—thank you!’ I smiled. ‘Thank you for being you and for being an IndeGener. I assure you that this is and will always be the most accurate career decision each one of us has ever made. It is already true for me. I know it will be the case for each of you. So thank you!’

  Cheers, stomps, and claps all broke out at once, and, as was the IndeGen tradition, the speakers sprang to life with a blast of foot-thumping music. Pandurang came forward and shook my hand looking stunned and grateful. He had not expected me to mention him, let alone praise him in spite of his goof-ups.

  I had spoken the truth, and the audience had understood. The matter had been settled as smoothly as that. He also had respect in his eyes. Maybe he was finally seeing the merit in my elevation to the top job. I hoped so.

  Senthil also came and shook hands warmly. He too had respect written all over his face. As I stepped off the dais to mingle with the crowd, many IndeGeners came forward to congratulate me. Every face had hope and happiness written all over it. Everyone believed in me.

  There was no judgemental look nor were they doubtful. They believed that everything I had said was possible. They were with me, just as they had been with Piyush. It was a heady feeling. It was also an emotion I could get used to.

  Chapter 26

  It was well past 7:00 p.m. when I escaped the party atmosphere that engulfed the food court the moment I ended my talk. Everyone wanted a piece of me. Some wanted to congratulate. Others wanted to discuss strategy or other important matters. It felt wonderful. I had to dance with at least a hundred people before I could politely excuse myself from the place.

  The party was still on, though. Now that they had finally let go of their fears for their jobs and income, they could be just as happy as they had been before Piyush got himself killed.

  From the food court, I headed straight to his office. It was mine now, but for me that cabin would always remain his. I wanted to spend time alone with his memories and make sense of everything that had happened.

  On the way, I met many IndeGeners who could not fit into the food court and had watched my address at their workstations. More handshakes and congratulations ensued. I politely dealt with each of them. I was exhausted by the time I reached the ground floor office of the CEO.

  It was dark inside and I switched on the lights as soon as I stepped in. I stopped dead in my tracks. There, tears running down his cheeks, head resting on the table facing Piyush’s chair, was Chirag. He was weeping like a child, and I did not know what to do. From my heady bliss I was suddenly dumped back to reality, a reality in which there was a grown-up child who was Piyush’s brother-in-law—a person I loathed.

  The second he saw me, Chirag rushed to me, expecting me to console him. What was I to say to him? How much did he know? What did he expect of me? He hugged me and cried his soul out—for his dead brother-in-law, for his jailed sister, and for every loved one who had left him.

  I felt sorry for him. He had lost his mother, his sister, his brother-in-law... worse still, he did not understand what had happened. There was little for me to do but console him. A few minutes later, someone came to fetch him. His car was ready to leave. He wanted to stay. His eyes implored me, begged me to stop him, to ask him home. For a moment, I thought it would not be too bad to take him home with me.

  Then I remembered that he was Bharat Desai’s son, and that stopped me. I had no illusions about what that man thought of me. It was best that I backed off. I hoped that like all children, Chirag too learnt to forget his trauma.

  After he left, I felt sad and lonely. In all this mess, I had not once considered his plight. Everything had happened because of him. I hoped he never found out the truth. It would devastate him. I cursed Pakhi and her devious mind. She was responsible for the entire mess. But remembering a recent press conference her father had given with her sons, I also pitied her. Her world was miserable compared to mine. It was a thought I
had never dreamt that I would ever have.

  ◆◆◆

  I sat down in Piyush’s chair. I needed to sit, having been standing for over three hours. To take my mind off Chirag, I checked my mobile for messages. There were many from people in whom I had no interest whatsoever. Then I spotted one from the Creep.

  How my opinion of him had transformed over the past twenty-four hours! He was the reason I was free. He had sent his congratulations. I replied with thanks.

  Merely arresting me had not satisfied CBI officer Avinash Choudhary. He had kept the investigation open and explored every angle of Piyush’s murder. He had left no stone unturned, literally.

  I became the primary suspect because of the way he was briefed when he took over the case. He immediately came home to meet me. My sassy attitude irked him, and he pursued the case with even more aggression. That resulted in his discovery of the plants in my backyard and my subsequent arrest.

  He was apparently very thorough, so he had sent the samples of datura from my backyard for matching with the sample found in Piyush’s blood. The tests took a while, but the samples did not match.

  He also investigated every IndeGener who had been on the trip with us. That was how Manav got red-flagged, and his cover was blown. But he was not the only one who raised the Creep’s suspicions. Sukhbir was another.

  Though a loner with an average job, Sukhbir appeared to be loaded beyond his means. His disproportionate income caught the Creep’s attention. The neighbours claimed he was a model citizen, but the Creep wasn’t fooled. He set his team on Sukhbir’s trail.

  In the meantime, he went to the resort, collected evidence from all the rooms we had occupied, dug into the marshes, and found the tainted watch. He also found how the datura poison entered Piyush’s system.

  An orange juice canister found in Piyush’s room had contained the poison.

  The unexpected leak of sensitive information about the past and personal lives of the five IndeGeners to the media triggered the Creep’s suspicions. He was sure that nobody from his team was to blame. But someone was.