The Cryptic Clue

by Jisha Rajesh

  Sandra burst out into silent sobs and Ayana put an arm around her to comfort her. She ended up breaking into tears herself as her gaze fell on the life size portrait of Mrs and Mr Kumar hung in the living room, who were all smiles in each other’s arms.

  ‘Poor man,’ Ayana thought as her heart bled for Mr Kumar who was lovingly hugging his wife in the portrait, ‘She was his life. How is he going to survive without her?’

  “Where is Mr Kumar?” Ayana asked in whispers.

  “Upstairs,” Sandra said as she wiped her tear-stained face with a tissue, “ACP Patel is interrogating him.”

  “Where was he last night?”

  As Ayana was a close friend of the couple, she knew about the couple’s pact to have dinner together every night no matter how busy they were with their work.

  “He was at his office.” Sandra drew a deep breath to calm herself. “He had some urgent work to finish and hence, worked all night. He returned home only in the morning to see his beloved wife’s lifeless body hanging by the fan and his maid lying unconscious on the ground.”

  Ayana shuddered even at the mere imagination of the horrid scene.

  * *

  “ACP Patel,” an elderly gentleman said, “we are done with our work.”

  “Thanks a lot to you and to the whole forensic team, Dr Anand,” Varun said as he ardently shook hands with him.

  Dr Anand, the head the team of forensic experts, gave marching orders to his subordinates.

  “Send the body for the postmortem, Kashyap,” Varun said to the officer standing by his side as he saw the forensic team leaving the scene of crime. “Let’s start interrogating everyone close to her.”

  “All of them are downstairs,” Inspector Vishal Kashyap said as he walked out of Shanaya’s bedroom along with Varun, “It will be convenient if we conduct the interrogation downstairs in the study.”

  Varun nodded as he stooped and held on the railings of the stairs that led down to the living roomthat was crowded with the near and dear ones of Shanaya, who were jolted out of their sleep early in the morning by the shocking news. Varun keenly scrutinized their faces for a while and studied the expressions on them with his keen eyes.

  “She had a lot of fans all over the world and her amiable nature won her a lot of friends in her social circle as well,” Inspector Kashyap said as he presented an honest character sketch of the lady, “but she was really close to only a few. One among them is Ms Ayana Sharma. She owns an editing and copyrighting firm and used to edit Mrs Kumar’s manuscripts. They were close friends and some people also refer her as the ‘right hand’ of Mrs Kumar. Can you see that pretty girl over there, in the black dress? That’s her.”

  Varun noticed a twinkle in Kashyap’s eyes as he talked about the girl. He turned his eyes towards the girl in question and understood the reason. The girl was gorgeous enough to sweep any man off his feet. But instead of being delighted by the sight of the ravishing damsel, Varun’s face contorted into a scorn. He was not only immune to feminine charms but also allergic to them. Whenever he set eyes on a beautiful girl, his mind took him back to the cold and bloated body of his classmate and best friend, Venktesh. It was during his schooldays when Varun had befriended him. He was the class topper of the eleventh standard and the most ardent bookworm Varun had ever seen. Apart from being studious, he was kind hearted and well-mannered too and these attributes made him the apple of the teachers’ eye. In the days of their late teens, when all other boys were dreaming of spending nights in the warm embrace of beautiful babes, Venktesh Subramanian alias Venky embraced colossal textbooks and dreamt of becoming an IAS officer, as was the last wish of his late father. His father was an IAS aspirant too but couldn’t crack the exam even after several attempts and had to satisfy himself with a clerical post in the postal office. But he planted the seeds of his own ambition in his little son’s mind and nurtured it till he died in a freak accident. Venky’s mother took up the job of a peon in his office after his death and somehow made ends meet.

  As an immature and insouciant teenager, Varun decided to play a prank on his best buddy. He decided to break Venky’s vow of celibacy and make him behave like all the ‘normal’ boys of their age. Venky was in a habit of helping all other fellow students in studies. One day, when Natasha—the most beautiful girl in their class—came to seek Venky’s help, Varun used the opportunity to implant whimsical thoughts about her in poor Venky’s mind. Venky bade goodbye to his books as his fancy for her kept him awake all night. And before anyone knew, Venky was head over heels in love with the girl. When the naïve Venky told Varun about his feelings for Natasha, Varun thought of another mischief to make the show merrier. He asked Venky to open his heart to Natasha. On Varun’s insistence, Venky invited Natasha to a sea side restaurant, an invitation she readily accepted as she felt indebted to him for helping her with the studies. But the proposal outraged her and she showered Venky with insulting words in front of the other customers in the restaurant. Venky couldn’t handle the rejection and committed suicide by drowning himself in the sea. It was only when he saw the dead body of his friend and his mother weeping inconsolably by its side that Varun realized the gravity of the sin he had unknowingly committed toward his best buddy. He decided to fulfill Venky’s dream by becoming an IAS officer himself. He immediately buried himself in books, something which eased his guilt of being a murderer. He got selected for IPS and joined the Police Department, much against his father’s wish who wanted his only son to join his business. In his desperate attempt to keep Venky alive, he had turned into a split personality. A part of him was Venky who was absolutely immune to feminine charms and the other was Varun who despised beautiful females for bringing such a tragic end to his friend’s life.

  * *

  “Ms Sharma”

  “Yes.” Ayana turned to see a constable standing behind her.

  “ACP Patel wants to meet you,” he said as he pointed a finger towards the closed doors right in front of them. “He is waiting for you in the study.”

  “Okay,” Ayana said as she drew a deep breath, “in a moment.”

  Ayana lovingly ran a hand on Sandra’s head who was leaning on her shoulder for support. She gave Sandra a consoling hug before making her way to meet the man whose melodious voice woke her up from her sleep earlier that morning even though it was for breaking the most tragic news to her. She silently walked with the constable holding her head low to shield her pale, agonized face from the mourners gathered in the bungalow. The constable ushered her and made a quick exit after closing the doors behind him.

  Ayana raised her eyes to look at the man clad in a neat uniform. He was standing by the side of the window with his back towards her, his gaze was fixed on the far horizon.

  “Have a seat, Ms Sharma,” Varun said, still not turning to look at her.

  ‘His voice sounds even more melodious in real life,’ Ayana thought as she studied him from her chair.

  Her avid eyes slid across his tall frame with sturdy muscles. A slight gasp escaped when her eyes reached his biceps that were threatening to burst out of his sleeves. She felt a sudden urge to run a hand through the crop of dark, silky hair that crowned his head and relish their texture. But she instantly shut down her whimsical thoughts as her mind filled up with the guilt of checking out a stranger on such a dark day. She immediately dragged her eyes off him and looked at the floor.

  “I understand, Ms Sharma,” he said as he turned to face her making her gasp again as if his stunning face had cast a spell on her, “that you were Mrs Kumar’s best friend and confidante.”

  Ayana felt an admixture of terror and admiration sweep into her as she looked at his dusky complexion, which appeared a shade darker owing to the frown that contorted his perfectly carved face. She replied with a vigorous nod of her head for her words betrayed her. She held her breath and kept her petrified eyes locked with the abysmal ones of the handsome apparition staring hard at her.

  “And her last message to you,” he
said as he took his eyes off her giving her the liberty to breath, “was, I guess, concerned with your work.”

  “Yes.” She deliberately kept her eyes low as she couldn’t stand to face his bewitching, fiery eyes that fascinated her as much as they threatened to rip her apart. “It was about her next novel that I am to start working on. She wanted me to get it published in case she couldn’t.”

  “And what did she mean by saying in case?”

  “Well, Officer,” Ayana twisted uneasily in her chair as she raised her eyes and looked out of the window though she was well aware that his gaze was on her flushed face, “I myself have no idea about it. May be…” she lowered her head again, “she meant if some other engagements kept her busy and she couldn’t get it published herself.”

  “What other engagements?” His eyes penetrated to the depths of her soul.

  “She used to do a lot of charity work.” Her heart skipped a beat for a split second as she found him staring dubiously at her and then it hiked at an alarming rate.

  “When did you meet her last?”

  “Yesterday,” she lowered her eyes and warned herself not to look into his eyes ever again till the interrogation was over, “when she came to my office to hand over her manuscript for editing.”

  “Did you notice anything unusual about her?”

  “Yes.” Her face became pale as her thoughts drifted back to their last meeting. “She paid me in full instead of the 25% that I usually charge as the advance.”

  “And why was so?”

  “She didn’t give any specific reason for doing so.”

  “Do you think she had already planned to end her life?”

  “No, sir!” Ayana broke her promise and her agonized eyes rose to look straight into his eyes. “She was not that kind of a person. She was a brave lady, a fighter who’d never give up so easily. I still can’t believe that she has committed suicide. She wouldn’t not do that, never ever!”

  A sharp pang of pain stabbed her and Ayana buried her face in her palms as she broke into tears.

  “Have some water.” His tone softened a bit as he picked up the glass of water from the table and held it out to her.

  She raised her head and gulped down heavily. She kept her eyes glued to the glass while taking it from him but caught the sight of his long, slender fingers that were pressed on to it.

  ‘Everything about him is so shapely and perfect,’ a voice whispered in her mind and she choked on the water.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was drenched with tenderness.

  “Yes,” her eyes threw a quick glance at his face and her heart pounded again as she saw concern on his face. “I am fine.”

  “Well,” his voice and eyes both were soft, “you may go now. I will give you a call if we need to interrogate you again.”

  She was not sure why she was feeling uneasy in place of being happy and relieved when she was asked to leave.

  “Thank you, Officer,” she said throwing a leisurely glance at him and then turned to drag herself out of the study with heavy steps.

  As she approached the door of the study, she felt a sudden, irresistible urge to turn back and have one last look at him. But she trampled it immediately using all her might and almost ran out of the opened door.

  * *

  Ayana was lying still on her bed, almost lifeless except for her shallow breathing that was the only sign of her being alive. Her soul, it seemed, had also passed away along with that of Shanaya’s. She couldn’t sleep even though it was well past midnight. Her stony eyes were wide open and were fixed on the ceiling. A tear sneaked out of the corner of her eye as the memories of the good old days that she had spent with her Shanaya Ma’am stabbed her with a sharp sword. She had grown up reading Shanaya’s stories. Her stories projected a colorful display of a rainbow of human emotions that made Ayana an ardent fan of Shanaya right from her childhood. Most of the stories inspired Ayana and guided her through the trials and tribulations of life while a few others made her laugh her heart out and even shed a few tears. But Ayana never imagined even in her wildest of her dreams that she will ever get a chance to meet her idol in flesh. It was like a dream come true for her when she came to her school as the judge for the literary competition.

  ‘We never know what turn life is about to take,’ she thought as she wiped her tears and turned to her side, ‘and whom we are about to meet at the next turning.’

  Shanaya’s face flashed in front of her eyes—the way she smiled, the way her eyes twinkled with affection for Ayana, the way she faked anger at Ayana’s clumsiness and even lovingly twitched her ear. Ayana smiled as those memories tickled her and made another tear escape out of her eyes. But her face turned dark instantly as she felt a craving pain to be with her again, to give her a hug and tell her how much she loved her and how much she missed her and to bare the wounds on her soul that the vulnerable feeling of loneliness ripped upon it.

  “Why did you do this to me?” Ayana screamed as she sat on her bed almost breathless, choked by a tsunami of tears that sunk her in their tremendous waves.

  Her scream echoed for some time in the empty room and then silence reigned over again. She burst out crying as she realized that there was no one who she could complain to or share her grief with. She slipped back on the bed as the horrendous truth sunk deep down into her that now she was left all alone in this mean, merciless world and had nobody to call her own.

  * *

  Ayana’s eyes remained riveted to Shanaya’s picture while various eminent writers and poets expressed their pretentious grief over the loss of a talented fellow writer during a condolence meeting held for her. Ayana even noticed some of them shedding crocodile tears to grab media attention and to reign over the limelight. But she was so benumbed by shock that she couldn’t react to anything and sat still as a statue. Moreover, she had attended dozens of such prayer meets during the past few days and was now quite accustomed to the way people behaved. Even arch rivals, who had been bitching about her while she was alive, were now generously showering her with words of praise. Ayana remained glued next to Shanaya’s picture even when the meeting was over and all others around her got up to leave. A kind, old lady placed a hand on her shoulder and brought her back to her senses. Ayana drew a deep breath, got up from the chair and hurriedly walked out of the hall, deliberately abstaining herself from looking at the picture.

  Outside, it was one of those much coveted warm, sunny afternoons during the peak of winters. A cold wind blew through and playfully touched Ayana’s silky hair. But she could neither feel the warmth of the sunrays on her skin nor the cool sensation of the wind blowing through her hair. It was only the freezing cold touch of death that she could feel, as if a part of her was already in its clutches. She walked unperturbed by anything and everything, straight to her car parked at the far end of the driveway. While she was walking like a lost soul, something caught her eyes and made her gasp. Right from the middle of the driveway, ACP Patel’s keen eyes were scanning the crowd leaving the hall, his tall frame leaning against his car. Unlike the other day, he was clad in a snow-white cardigan and black trousers and looked even more breathtaking than in the uniform of a policeman. The charm of his ebony-hued eyes was hidden behind the shield of his sunglasses.

  ‘What is he doing here?’ Ayana’s her heart raced for a moment but she promptly chained the pace of escalating beats and shrugged. ‘Why should I be concerned about it? It is none of my business.’

  As she approached him, she noticed that he was looking for someone among the faces that emerged out of the hall.

  ‘Who might that be?’ Her eyes drifted again towards him as he took his sunglasses off but she dragged them away from him with a colossal effort as she thought, ‘Whoever it is, it won’t be me, then why should I bother about it?’

  When she was only a few steps away from him she taught herself to behave and not let his presence cause any kind of emotional tempest within her. She fixed her gaze on the huge arched gate outside
the hall and walked past him in an unperturbed manner though her heart was racing like the engines of a rocket. She pressed her eyes tightly out of relief as soon as she walked a few steps ahead of the place where he was standing and heaved a sigh of relief.

  “Ms Sharma,” he called out to her from behind, “do you have a moment please?”

  “Yes Officer.” Ayana admitted that her voice quivered a little as she saw him walking towards her with long, confident strides.

  “I have some really important information to share with you, Ms Sharma.”His face was pale and she saw as he gulped down with a hint of unusual nervousness. “Can we talk about it right now?”

  “Of course.” Ayana looked curiously at him.

  “No, not here.” He threw awkward glances at the people passing by them while making their way out. “It is a confidential matter and urgent as well.”

  “Fine.” Ayana turned her head around and looked for an appropriate place as the jittered look on his face piled up anxiety within her. “Can we talk over there?”

  Ayana pointed towards the small cafeteria in the lawn outside the hall. There were only a few customers inside it while the tables laid outside it were empty. And as it was the winter season, sitting outside on a sunny afternoon was a soothing thing.

  “That’s perfect!” He instantly nodded his approval and his lips fluttered a little, making Ayana doubt whether there was a hint of a smile in there or was it purely the outcome of her fancies.

  They walked silently together on the grass towards the cafeteria that was in the middle of the huge lawn while both of them where lost in their own conundrum. She knew that he was far away from her even though he was walking close by her side. She noticed the charm of his handsome face devastated by the lines of uncertainty and concern that ran crisscross all over it. She felt her heart melt for him and yearned to hold his hand that was stuffed in his pocket and console him. And if that didn’t work out, she wanted to give him a hug and assure him that it will all be alright, whatever it was.