Blood Feud

by Brenda Donelan

  “Eleanor talked to Professor Kommala at University of Mumbai. She should be able to tell me if she is a credible source or just has it in for Professor Patel.” Having been on two faculty search committees herself, she knew that impressions were not necessarily jotted down and made part of the official file. Academics were a fickle bunch, always ready to launch critiques at each other verbally, yet not wanting their statements or thoughts to be memorialized in writing.

  “Why does Eleanor’s name keep popping up?” Dax asked. “She had an affair with Raj and is perhaps carrying his child. She was on the search committee which hired Professor Patel, and he was being blackmailed by Raj. Maybe Eleanor knew damning information and told Raj and then he used it to blackmail Patel.”

  “She could use it herself to blackmail Professor Patel, but she doesn’t seem the type to do something like that. Of course, who knows? Maybe she and Raj were in on it together. We’re all capable of about anything,” Marlee said.

  “Or maybe she kept the damning information in her office, which Raj likely had access to since they were romantically involved,” Dax added.

  “So then how does Eleanor’s husband fit into all of this? If he knew Eleanor was having an affair, he had motive to kill Raj. And again, whoever assaulted Raj may not have intended to kill him. The goal could be serious bodily harm and to also send him a message.” Marlee commented.

  “And how do Raj’s brothers fit into this whole thing? Did they assault him? Did one or both of them poison him? And if so, was the intention to kill him or just send a strong message?” Dax asked.

  Marlee grabbed her book bag and rummaged for her notebook. She hadn’t jotted anything down in a couple days but wanted to look it over to see if there were any emerging clues from previous entries. “It’s not here. Let’s go back to the room for a little bit. I want to look at the journal I’ve been keeping about Raj’s death.”

  They walked back to Marlee’s apartment, all the while she was thinking of how to get Dax out after they looked at the notebook. Upon reaching the door, she was relieved to see it was still locked, just the way she left it an hour ago.

  Inside, the apartment looked exactly as it had when they left. Marlee rummaged around the room, looking for her notebook. She remembered having it out when she updated her information that morning. Ordinarily, she would’ve put it back in her book bag, but now she recalled leaving it on the night stand.

  “That’s it!” Marlee shouted at Dax. “Whoever broke in took my notebook. Since I arrived, I’ve been jotting down my experiences and observations about Indian culture. Once Raj died, I just used the notebook to document my interviews with people and my thoughts on the possible killer and the motives. The person who took the notebook has access to all my innermost thoughts and suspicions about Raj’s death!”

  To control the mind is like trying to control a drunken monkey that has been bitten by a scorpion.

  Hindu proverb

  Chapter 28

  “You think someone broke in and stole your diary?” Dax asked, looking around the messy room in which nothing was in its place.

  “First, it’s a notebook, not a diary. And second, this isn’t how my apartment usually looks. I keep everything neat and tidy and have a specific place for things. That’s how I know my notebook is gone,” Marlee said.

  “But whoever broke in could have moved it,” Dax argued.

  Marlee went through the room again, this time giving careful attention to the piles of clothing on the floor. She dropped to the floor and looked under the bed, then moved into the bathroom to more fully inspect the room. “Nope, not here.” She resisted the urge to say ‘I told you so,’ but she was pretty sure Dax could sense her feelings.

  “Okay, the intruder took your diary, I mean notebook. The question is: did they break in for other reasons and simply find the notebook, or did they break in with the intent to steal it?”

  “Hmmm…. good question. If grabbing the notebook wasn’t the focus, then why did they break in? And what would have happened if I was here in the room?” Marlee asked.

  “Who knew you were keeping your thoughts written in a specific notebook?” Dax questioned.

  “I don’t know. Whenever I had some time I would write in regardless of where I was. Anyone from the university could have walked by my office and noticed me writing in it. But how would they know it had to do with the Raj’s death? I don’t think Raj’s brothers would have known about it, but who knows?”

  “If we put ourselves in the place of the burglars, maybe that will help us find their motive for wanting the notebook,” Dax suggested.

  “Okay, if Raj’s brothers knew about it or just found it when they broke in they might have wanted to know what I’d found out about Raj’s death. And they might have wanted to destroy all suggestion of them beating or poisoning Raj,” Marlee said.

  “If they broke in but had nothing to with Raj’s death, they may have wanted to find out everything you know. So far, you’ve talked to several people and have come up with a few different theories. If the brothers are looking for Raj’s killer, they may be using your notebook to track down more clues and talk with some of the people you already interviewed.”

  Marlee nodded as she processed that information. “But what if Crispin was behind the break in? He may have done it himself or hired someone. He probably thinks I have a lot more information about Raj’s relationship with Eleanor. Little does he know, Raj never told me anything about Eleanor or anyone else he was seeing. I doubt he knew I was keeping notes about Raj unless Eleanor mentioned it in passing. Maybe Crispin or his goons broke in just to see if there was any information here and took the notebook for no particular reason.”

  “It seems to me that someone who has the audacity to break in to an apartment will not have much reticence when it comes to theft. Crispin may have just opened the notebook and saw some familiar names and decided to grab it. Not that he had a particular motive, but just to see what you knew. And maybe Crispin broke in not for any reason other than to scare you,” said Dax.

  “Then we have our third suspect; Professor Patel. He was supposedly being blackmailed by Raj, and he most likely saw me writing in the notebook at the office. He could have broken into my apartment to see what Raj had told me about his blackmail scheme. Or, and this is a long shot, Professor Patel might have discovered I had his personnel file from work and wanted to get it back. While he was here, he couldn’t find the personnel file, but found the notebook and grabbed it,” Marlee said.

  “All three are fairly sound theories,” Dax said. “Who else knows that you are working to find out what happened to Raj?”

  “His parents. I suppose either they or the brothers told Raj’s sisters-in-law. Eleanor knows, as do Riya and Meena, but I have a hard time believing any of them were responsible for his death. None of them have a motive.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Dax raised his eyebrows. “Or are you just believing their stories because they were nice to you, and you like them?”

  Marlee was tempted to lash out at Dax’s ridiculous suggestion, but after a moment of contemplation realized his point was valid. “Yes, I suppose I haven’t seriously considered Meena, Riya, and Eleanor because they have all been nice and polite to me while the three male suspects have all been jackasses. I guess the women could have a motive, but it seems it would be lesser than the motives of the men I mentioned. Nonetheless, I guess we should try to put together some reasons the women would have to ransack my room and steal my journal. I guess the easiest motive for all three of them would be to find out what I know.”

  “If Eleanor killed Raj, then she could be wondering what you know and also what everyone else has told you about Raj and who they think killed him,” said Dax.

  “Okay, this is out there, but what if she knew Raj had dirt on Professor Patel and was blackmailing him but didn’t know the specifics? Maybe she decided to use the information to blackmail Professor Patel herself or to get him thrown out of th
e department. Or Raj may have broken up with her and said he didn’t want anything to do with their baby,” Marlee said. “That would be enough to cause someone to murder.”

  Marlee struggled with what to say. Riya was Dax’s niece, and she didn’t want to say anything negative about their family. “As for Riya, the only thing I can think of is that she and Raj were grad students in the different programs but worked in the same office. He may have done something to offend her, cheat her out of a promotion, or put her on bad terms with the faculty.”

  “And what about Meena?” Dax looked at Marlee questioningly.

  “Well, Meena is the secretary in the department, and I’m sure she has plenty of reason to want Raj, as well as many of the other grad students and professors, dead. He may have caused trouble for her at work or done something else to get on her bad side.”

  “So, there are three new suspects with valid motives for killing Raj and breaking into your room to seize the notebook,” Dax stated.

  “I don’t see any of the three physically capable of causing Raj as much physical damage as he sustained. Meena and Riya are both short and of slight build. Eleanor is much bigger than Raj, but she’s out of shape. All Raj would have to do is outrun her if she tried to attack him,” Marlee surmised.

  “Even if the women were small in stature or out of shape, any one of them could have surprised Raj by hitting him over the head with a heavy object. Once he fell to the floor, he would be vulnerable to punches and kicks and unable to get away,” suggested Dax.

  “That might also be the reason he refused to tell me who assaulted him. It would be a huge blow to Raj’s ego to have everyone know he was beaten up by a woman,” Marlee said.

  “Good point,” said Dax. “What about Raj’s parents? I doubt they assaulted him, but they could have poisoned him. We are very protective of our family status here in India, and it is not unusual for a family member to be killed to uphold the family name.”

  “At this point, who isn’t a suspect?” Marlee grumbled, walking to the front door to let in some cool air. All of the theorizing, along with digesting her spicy supper, made her hot. Getting overheated seemed to be happening more and more lately. One of her friends had suggested she might be going through menopause, which Marlee promptly disregarded because she was only in her forties.

  She pulled the door open a crack and there stood Barry, hand poised and ready to knock.

  “What the hell, Barry!” Marlee shouted. “I tried to find you twice today. Where have you been?” She stood back so he could enter the room.

  He looked around, taking in the unmade bed, the jumble of clothes on the floor, and Dax sprawled out on the only chair in the room. “Never mind. I see I’ve interrupted something here,” Barry spat, not even trying to hide the bitterness in his voice.

  “Take it easy, Barry. There’s nothing going on. Someone broke into my apartment while I was out this afternoon and ransacked the place. I tried to contact you, but you weren’t in your room. I needed to talk to someone about it, so I called Dax, and he came over,” Marlee said.

  “A break-in? Are you alright? Was anything taken?” Barry already forgot his anger toward Marlee and had vaulted back into cop mode.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. The only thing taken was the notebook I’ve been using to write down information about Raj’s death. We’ve been brainstorming ideas on why the notebook was taken – was it the motive for breaking in or did they just grab it when they saw some familiar names?” Marlee said, recapping the information she and Dax had discussed in the past few hours.

  “I don’t believe we’ve met,” Barry said, facing Dax and extending his hand. “I’m Barry Stevens. I came to India to spend time with Marlee. We’ve known each other for over twenty years.” Barry stuck his chest out and stood a little taller as he talked.

  “It is my pleasure to meet you. My name is Dax Kapoor, and I am Marlee’s fiancée,” he said, not batting an eye.

  Marlee’s jaw dropped, and Barry’s eyes narrowed to a squint. She could feel the rage boiling within him. “Now I know why you wanted to give up on us. You’ve been involved with this guy!” he shouted as he pointed in Dax’s direction. “You could have at least told me you were engaged! And how long have you two known each other? A week? Are you moving to India, or is he coming back to South Dakota with you? I hope you realize he’s just using you to get citizenship. As soon as he’s legal, he’ll drop you like a hot potato! Mark my words, Marlee!” Barry raged.

  “You wait one minute! We are not engaged. Dax said he wanted me to consider marrying him, and I declined. I’m not marrying anybody,” she shouted at Barry. “And you,” Marlee said turning on Dax, “I told you I’m not going to marry you! Not now, not at the end of the semester, not ever! You need to get that through your thick skull.”

  Dax and Barry both tried to speak at the same time, each upping the volume of his voice to drown out the other.

  “Enough! Get out, both of you! I’ve had enough of you two and your drama. I’m not marrying you,” she said pointing to Dax, “and I’m not in any kind of relationship with you except for friendship,” she said pointing to Barry. She whisked the door open wide, and both men left, turning around to look at her again.

  “Shoo!” she yelled motioning them to move away from her doorstep. She slammed the door and turned to face the mess in her apartment.

  The more she exerted herself in picking up items strewn across the floor, the angrier she became. Marlee was mad at Barry for being so easily duped by Dax’s claims, and she was furious at Dax for telling Barry that they were engaged. If I wasn’t completely alone in this country, I wouldn’t have to depend on either one of them, Marlee thought, throwing semi-folded clothes back into the dresser. Back home when somebody pissed her off, she just avoided them and found someone else to assist her when she absolutely couldn’t accomplish everything on her own. In India, it was different. She didn’t know the customs in India and had only recently learned to navigate her way to Raj’s parents’ home by herself. Dax had been willing and able to assist her anytime she needed him. Barry, on the other hand, was a long-time trusted friend. She could bounce ideas off of him, and they worked well together when figuring out peoples’ motivations for committing crimes.

  Sleep eluded her most of the night as she tossed and turned, worrying about the break-in at her apartment and wondering if it would happen again. It was close to 10:00 a.m. when she realized how late she slept. That last she checked the bedside clock, it was nearing 6:00 a.m.

  Marlee jumped out of bed and placed a quick call to Barry’s hotel room. She needed to make things right with him. She wasn’t going to marry Dax, and hopefully, Barry had figured that out by now. If not, she would have to walk him through it.

  There was no answer, so Marlee decided to call the concierge desk to see if he had seen Barry this morning. Within minutes, she had her answer and she didn’t like it one bit.

  “Mr. Stevens checked out of his room early this morning, Miss. He said he was going back to America. Will you be stopping by for more beer or wine today?” he asked with hope in his voice.

  It is better to pick a fight with your in-laws than with your neighbors.

  Indian proverb

  Chapter 29

  Well this bites, Marlee thought as she figured out who to contact that day. Barry was clearly still in a snit over Dax’s announcement of his engagement to her. Even though Marlee had denied it and threw both Dax and Barry out of her apartment, Barry believed there was some truth to it. That, coupled with the argument they had earlier in the day in which she made it clear she just wanted to be friends, was enough to send Barry packing.

  Putting her men troubles out of her mind, Marlee concentrated on what she needed to do to figure out once and for all what happened to Raj and who was responsible. As she pulled her laptop from her bag, she saw the USB stick she’d taken from Meena’s desk. Still unsure why she’d taken it, Marlee pulled up the only document on the USB stick.

 
; After scrolling through the first chapter, Marlee stopped reading. Her face was hot, and she was too embarrassed to read any further. Not that she was a prude, but Marlee had a hard time associating the erotic tale with its author, Meena Sharma. This isn’t anything I expected Meena to write, she thought, pulling the stick from the computer and throwing it back in her bag. She had more important things to worry about than the secretary’s story about heaving bosoms and pulsing nether regions.

  She again rummaged through her bag and found a legal-sized pad and began writing down everything she could recall putting into the stolen notebook. When she was satisfied that everything in the notebook was now recreated on the legal pad, she kicked back in her chair to rest her mind.

  What if I’ve been thinking about this all wrong? Marlee thought as she doodled in the margins. I assumed the same people who beat up Raj the first time were responsible for the second assault. With as many enemies as he had, there were probably many people looking to settle the score with Raj.

  Even though she knew Dax was at work, she called him on his cell. “Can you meet me for lunch?”

  Dax was overly eager to meet, and Marlee knew she would have to start all over again with her conviction that she would not be marrying him and moving to India. Any time she initiated contact with Dax, he seemed to think she had changed her mind.

  To her surprise, Dax didn’t bring up his marriage intentions at lunch. Instead, he was focused on what Marlee had to say about Raj’s death. He nodded along as she laid out her newest theories on Raj’s assailants.