by Amit Khan
I smelled danger.
“I know you are here, Tilak,” I shouted. “You can hide but you cannot escape. I am sorry but your death is confirmed tonight.”
Passage was silent.
Absolutely silent!
“You know how my plans of murder always work out well,” I continued. “I will be successful today as well.”
For a split second I sensed something or someone.
Before I could comprehend, Tilak attacked me from behind.
I screeched with horror as he grabbed me and crashed down on floor. He tried snatching my revolver as we fell down. I pushed him away, threw myself in air and fired. The bullet missed his head by a whisker. That gave him time to pounce on me again and pin me down.
“If I die tonight, Shinaya,” he squealed, “then I am taking you with me.”
He pinned me down. His legs were locking mine and his hands reached my neck. Tilak started strangling me ruthlessly. I was struggling but to no avail.
I could not fire though I had revolver in my hand. That hand was stuck between him and me, pressed in between our bellies. I did not know where it was pointing.
Towards him!
Or towards me!
●
Out of the blue something we had least imagined, happened.
Someone was banging at penthouse main gate loudly. We both startled for a moment.
Who could it be?
Both of us were baffled. But we were in the middle of a situation ourselves.
My condition was worse.
Tilak’s grip on my throat was tightening. I was gasping and strange suffocating sounds had begun to emanate from my throat. Few more moments and feared I would be dead.
I had to do something.
Banging at the main gate was getting louder.
It appeared as if a crowd had gathered out there and they were trying to break in.
What was that?
Who was there outside the main gate?
Tilak applied more pressure and I was about to give up.
I was dying.
I had to take risk. I pressed the trigger.
A deafening shot echoed in penthouse. Blood spurted out from between us. We both screamed and then sprung away from each other. There was blood everywhere.
For some time I continue to lie on the floor without moving. Then I realized that I was alive.
I was breathing.
My hands and legs were shivering.
I looked at Tilak Rajkotia.
He was dead.
Bullet had blasted open his belly. His intestines were out. It was hideous sight. It was a lucky coincidence for me that when I fired, nozzle was facing him.
It was a gamble that proved successful.
Thank God!
I slowly stood up.
I sensed that I was bathing in sweat.
That’s when I heard the main gate came crashing down. “That side. The gunshot came from there.” I heard a voice.
“Beyond that passage.” Another voice was heard.
All the policemen started storming the spot and surrounding me. All were holding guns.
Police!
How was that possible?
I didn’t comprehend.
But the biggest blow of my life came, when Brinda arrived in the hall. She entered as the most important character of a drama that was being played.
Brinda!
My first murder!
●
21
Truth Shall Set You Free
“Inspector…” Brinda looked at Tilak’s dead body and wailed, “My worst fear has come true. She has done it. This wicked woman has killed my Tilak!”
I was still holding the Smith & Wesson.
But slowly my fingers around it loosened up. The gun simply dropped down from my hand.
I was staring at Brinda.
It was mind-boggling. She was right there before me.
“You are alive…” I mumbled hazily.
“Yes…I am alive,” she hissed like a poisonous snake- “and I am alive because I was to expose your hideous crimes before police.”
“But how are you alive?” I said. “You were declared dead.”
“It’s all destiny,” the inspector came forward and said. “You know for this woman to be alive, it had to be a twisted plan of destiny. Otherwise you had done everything you can do kill her.”
“But how?” I was genuinely curious. “How did this miracle happen?”
I was thunderstruck.
Absolutely dumbfounded!
Brinda being alive was a thought driving me crazy.
“I will tell you how this happened,” Brinda said. “I will reveal how I came back from dead. After you two forced me to eat Dianil tablets and sleeping pills, I was declared dead. My dead body was donated to ‘Medical Research Society’. But in reality I was not dead; I was in coma. When Dr. Maalpani arranged for post-mortem of my body, he was shocked to find out that there were signs of life. Dr. Maalpani started efforts to save me. Seventy two hours of continuous efforts finally yielded result and I opened my eyes. Medical science reported it as a miracle.”
“Then?” I asked. “What happened next?”
“After regaining consciousness I told Dr. Maalpani about how my death was not natural,” Brinda said- “I told him how it was a pre-planned murder. How you and Tilak had killed me. Seeing you two suffer was the only aim of my life. I wanted to see you two being punished. Dr. Maalpani attracted my attention to one weak point.”
“What weak point?”
“I could prove that the two of you had conspired to murder me. I had no evidence to prove it in a court of law. Dr. Maalpani suggested me something. He said that it would be better to collect evidence before going to police. That is why we began a blackmailing drama. He knew that in desperation you two will commit a blunder. We could find evidence against you.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed. “The partner Dr. Maalpani was talking about was you.”
“Yes, that was me.”
Excitement was growing inside me.
New cards were opening.
“Anyway, I was shocked when you two killed Dr. Maalpani and destroyed his dead body. Nobody found out anything about it. After Dr. Maalpani disappeared, I went to police and told them everything.”
“If you went to police,” I asked, “then why did police not show up at penthouse and start an enquiry?”
“I will answer that question,” Inspector said.
I looked at him.
“Actually you and Tilak had commited two murders but we had no proof against you. It would have been useless to accuse a big shot like Tilak Rajkotia without sufficient proof. He would have easily got himself freed. That’s when Brinda told me one thing that gave me hope. She told me that you were an ordinary call girl in a nightclub and you had married Tilak Rajkotia simply for his wealth. Brinda also told me that the wealth for which you had planned so much and married Tilak, was simply not there anymore. Tilak was on the verge of bankruptcy. Brinda also told me that he has life insurance worth 50 crores. I guessed that if you could plan so much for his wealth then after finding out about life insurance, you might scheme his murder. All this was happening fast. Brinda being alive was a fact that we kept under cover for some time. Police wanted you to go ahead with plans of Tilak’s murder and we wanted you to catch red-handed. At least we would then have some solid evidence. We did catch you red handed but we could not save Tilak’s life. You added another murder to your tally.”
My head was spinning now.
You cannot imagine what was going through my spinning head at that time.
Brinda being alive had proved to be death sentence for me.
“But how did you know that I was about to kill Tilak tonight,” I asked. “What made you blast your way in penthouse in such urgency with so much police force?”
“Good question,” Inspector said. “Let me tell you for your information, Shinaya Sharma, that around quarter past ten tonight, Tilak Raj
kotia called local police station and informed the sub-inspector on duty that he could be murdered tonight. Unfortunately that sub-inspector did not take it seriously. When I returned from patrolling duty, I was shocked to hear that message. I called Brinda and rushed here. Yet I could not save Tilak.
“Oh!”
I felt I was about to faint.
I was trapped.
Lot of people from downstairs came up.
The hotel manager was one of them.
●
Do I need to tell you that all my cards had been beaten?
All my hopes and all my dreams had crumbled down to nothing. It was as if someone had grabbed a beautiful crystal glass and banged it against floor.
I was arrested.
I was charged with three murders. Brinda, Dr. Maalpani and Tilak Rajkotia. The court gave me a death sentence.
I accepted all my crimes.
I also told them about Sardar Kartar Singh’s murder in Singapore.
I was completely broken from inside.
Death did not scare me. Whatever I did, I was paying for it.
But story of my life does not end here.
I thought that this was the end of this whole chapter. But it wasn’t. It was my mistake to think so. There was one more surprise to be revealed. One more shocking revelation that changed my outlook completely !
This was the shadow-curtain that could unveil the ugliest truth and it was about to rise.
●
It was a dark stinking cell in jail. Resting against a rough wall, with my knees folded I sat, waiting for the day of my hanging. I used to sit in despair with my head buried between my knees. That’s how I spent my days, in remorse.
I had prepared myself for the capital punishment.
I heard a lock opening and then door creaked open noisily.
Little light entered the cell as door opened. A constable came in.
“Stand up,” the constable said sharply.
I looked up.
“What happened?”
“Someone is here to see you.”
I was surprised.
It was matter of utter shock. Who could have come to see me?
Was there anyone left who wanted to see me?
“Who…who is it?”
“I don’t know name,” constable snapped. “Come to meeting chamber. See the face and find out. And hurry up. You won’t get much time.”
●
It was a cubicle meant for meeting relatives or friends. When I reached there and saw the person across grill, I could not believe it.
Brinda had come to meet me.
The most remarkable thing was her face. She looked at me with no grudge. In fact she was smiling. It was an honest, caring smile. She was also looking fresh. And she did not seem ill at all.
“Brinda?”
“Why? Are you surprised?” Brinda came closer to me and said. There was metal grill between us. “Did you not expect to see me?”
I was quiet.
I could not hold me head high for long. I felt guilty.
I was guilty. I had ruined her happy life.
“You used to think that you are very smart, Shinaya…but you know what you are an idiot…a top class idiot!”
She broke in to such an evil laughter that could suit only a ghostly character in a horror film.
I looked up.
This was a new Brinda I was looking at. Strong and confident Brinda.
“Shinaya darling,” she giggled and said, “remember what I said once in nightclub? I had said one day I will beat you and my victory will be such that it will make up for all my defeats at your hand. This is that victory.” Brinda banged her hand against the metal cage and sneered. “You are in this condition because of my planning.”
My head swirled with her words.
“What are you saying, Brinda?”
“This is Brinda’s magic,” she giggled again. “And magic is something that can’t be understood easily, right? Otherwise it won’t be called magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well the story that you heard in penthouse before Inspector was not the real one. If you hear the truth, it will drive you crazy. Your head will spin so fast that you won’t be able to stand.”
“What is the truth?” I asked in a weak and quavering voice.
I looked at Brinda as if a witch was standing before me.
“Just like you, I wanted to get out of the cursed life of nightclub. I wanted to be wealthy. That’s why I trapped Tilak Rajkotia and made him fall in love with me. I even got married. But then everything went wrong.”
“What happened?”
I was curious.
“I realized within few months after marriage that Tilak was on the verge of bankruptcy. All his wealth and property is just a façade. I felt as if someone had pulled the ground beneath my feet. All my hard work was a waste. That’s when I found insurance papers. Tilak had life insurance of 50 crores. I saw new hope and my mind worked out a new plan.”
“What plan?”
“A plan to kill Tilak,” Brinda whispered coming closer to me. “To kill Tilak for the insurance money.”
“No!”
“Oh, yes Shinaya darling,” Brinda continued. “Of course I decided not to kill Tilak Rajkotia myself. I thought about the situation over and over again. That’s when I remembered you. You were fond of suspense stories. You were adventurous and I knew you would not hesitate while breaking the law. I had found my ‘scapegoat’. Shinaya Sharma. Now all I needed was a plan to trap you.”
“So?”
“I had a partner in this game. Dr. Maalpani,” Brinda said. “Dr. Maalpani was my sweetheart since the time of nightclub. He was an admirer, a steady customer. I don’t have to explain to you. You very well know how we sluts used to have at least five-six steady sweethearts. He was ready to do anything for me. I put up a new show called ‘Serious Illness’. He was the one who declared that I was suffering from ‘Malignant Blood Dyscrasia’.”
“You mean, you were never sick?” I asked helplessly.
“Of course not. Malignant Blood Dyscrasia is a serious disease but I never had it. I never even had simple fever. I was healthy. Whatever was in progress at penthouse was a drama.”
“This is very surprising,” I confessed. “I saw you. You were weak. There were dark circles around your eyes. You looked sick.”
“Is it a difficult thing to lose some weight?” Brinda was revealing all her secrets today. “I started eating less. In a few days I started to look sick. Now you will ask why all this drama? Let me answer it. I wanted to see you in the penthouse. I told Tilak that I wanted a caretaker so printing an ad in newspaper was my idea. It was meant for you and just look at my luck. You saw it and decided to go for it. If you had not read that advertisement, I had other methods to bring that news to you. He would have brought you to penthouse anyway. I knew that you could not resist the temptation once you read that ad; I was confident that a greedy person like you will immediately start dreaming about becoming Tilak’s wife. And you did. Only at one point did I fear failure.”
“What point?”
“When you said to me in penthouse that you can never think of taking my place. You promised me that you will stay in penthouse and take good care of me. I thought- what the ****!’ It could have spoiled my entire plan. But soon I felt better when love games began between you and Tilak started. I was glad that ‘the bitch’ in you was back in action.”
It was like unfolding of an astounding secret.
I was mesmerized.
I could never have expected such a high stakes game from Brinda.
“Then you and Tilak started planning my murder,” Brinda said, “In fact I had inspired you to think on those lines. If Dr. Maalpani had not told you the good news that I was getting better and may recover from illness, you would never have planned my murder. Planning my own murder at your hands was the part of plan I am especially proud of. I showed some improvement. You chose Dianil a
nd sleeping pill formula for my death. Not a bad plan! Even Dr. Maalpani appreciated it. I used to spy on you two all the time. I could hear everything. So I was updated with your plan. Everytime you planned to give me Dianil tablet, I would eat lot of sugar in advance. Dr. Maalpani had told me that sugar is the only antidote for Dianil tablet. If sugar is in abundant quantity in body, Dianil tablet cannot show effect. After Dianil I had to some acting to convince you that it was damaging me. The day you pushed ten tablets in me, I had eaten very high amount of sugar.”
“So 10 Dianil tablets had no effect on you?” I asked.
“Absolutely not.”
“And sleeping pills…how did you escape effect of sleeping pills?”
“I did not, sweetheart.” Brinda smiled mischievously. “I did not escape the effect of sleeping pills. In fact I was in a state of coma. It was because of that effect of sleeping pills that you all thought I was dead.”
“Oh!’ I frowned at her and said, “I understand now… some of your moves. Donating body to ‘Medical Research Society’ was necessary or else you would have been reduced to ashes in a funeral. That’s how you saved yourself. Dr. Maalpani himself carried your body out of penthouse. Very convenient.”
“And perfect!” Brinda proudly said. “Everything went according to plan. My next target was Dr. Maalpani.”
“Dr. Maalpani?” Every word Brinda was saying today was enigmatic. “Wasn’t Dr. Maalpani your partner? Your admirer?”
“That was true. But he knew lot of things, you know. He could have proved dangerous for me in future. Getting rid of him was necessary. For that I instilled blackmailing plan in his head and told him how to blackmail you and Tilak. I knew that you will be terrified and you will try to murder Tilak somehow. That idiot doctor was too careless. He didn’t think that you will plan his murder before Tilak’s. And you did just that. By killing Dr. Maalpani you did me a great favour.”
●
I wondered if my ears were bleeding!
I was standing in that ‘meeting cubicle’ of jail listening to Brinda standing on other side of grill. I was frozen. Everything she had said today was explosive.
The way Brinda had used me, it was remarkable.
I was finding it hard to believe that the ordinary looking girl before me was capable of so much scheming.