It Happened on Scrabble Sunday

by Vas, Mahita;

  Uday raised his eyebrows. “So I see.”

  The fourth policeman introduced himself as Assistant Superintendent Belmont Lee.

  Ashwin leant towards his father, “Unless they have a fancy title or name. In this case, both.”

  “Shush,” Uday said as he waved Ashwin away, smiling as he remembered the time one of his colleagues had asked him to review the resume of a young hotel school graduate who called himself Ritz Chan.

  The Assistant Superintendent—“Call me ASP Lee”—thrust his chest out slightly, scanned the room and glanced at everyone around the table. He walked towards Uday, asking, “Mr Aurora, you called us about an attempted murder. Could you please explain?”

  Pointing towards Ashwin, Uday said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to mislead you. Not here but somewhere else. An on-going case in your files. My son has all the evidence. We managed to get Tamara’s daughter’s phone from her friend.”

  “Please start from the beginning, sir.”

  Uday narrated the events of Sunday night up until the time he had given the police his statement at the hospital. “All this information should be in your files.”

  Tamara jumped out of her seat and screamed, “How can you be sure it was my Sharon who tried to kill Lavi? But we are all sure you killed my daughter! You admitted it yourself. She’s in … in … there!” Tamara pointed to the bowl as she wailed. “You people are worse than animals. Look at you! You are even eating her! Is she delicious? Monsters! Animals!” Turning to Sergeant Ridzwan, who was standing next to her, Tamara begged through tears, which messed up her make-up, “Please arrest him. He did such a bad thing to my beloved child. Oh, my poor child. How she must have suffered!”

  Sergeant Ridzwan gently sat her down while warning her to be quiet.

  ASP Lee turned towards Tamara and repeated Sergeant Ridzwan’s warning in Mandarin. Addressing Uday and the rest of the family, he said, “There is still nothing that pins Ms Tamara to your daughter’s alleged attempted murder.”

  Sayana frowned as he spoke. “There’s nothing alleged about it. She did it. And she didn’t just attack her, she tried to kill her! Please check your police report. It’s all there. And if that’s not enough, check these phones.” Pointing at Tamara, Sayana said, “She, allegedly, is the loving mother. Go through that phone to see if this loving mother had any communication with her daughter during her first two months here and after that, for the three weeks after her return, until days before she left for China. Allegedly loving mother who is now distraught about her missing daughter.”

  ASP Lee breathed deeply and placed his notebook and pen on the table. He scrolled through the messages on Sharon’s phone. “It’s all in Chinese. I’ll need to ask Constable Teo to translate all the messages.” Handing Sharon’s phone to the young policemen, ASP Lee said, “Get Ms Tamara’s phone and go through the messages, especially between Ms Tamara and her daughter. Give me an update in ten minutes.”

  Tamara tried to run towards the bedroom, but was restrained by Sergeant Ridzwan, who accompanied her and Ashwin to the bedroom, where he saw her bag on the bed. Uday watched through the hallway as Tamara tried to free herself and lunge for the bag, but Sergeant Ridzwan managed to retrieve the phone and hand it to Constable Teo.

  Constable Teo interrupted with a whisper. “Sir, the woman keeps insisting her daughter is in the meatball curry—”

  “She has quite an imagination! Look at my sons and their wives still eating them. It’s just a combination of minced beef, minced pork and a little bacon. Help yourself.”

  ASP Lee raised his hand. “Thank you, sir. We’ll need to take some samples for testing.”

  Ashwin exclaimed, “You’re kidding! You must be! You might want to believe we’re cannibals, but you can’t possibly imagine my pregnant wife would eat a human being!”

  “Sir, please allow us to do what we need to do.”

  Uday waved towards the bowl, with all of three pieces of kofta left, drenched in gravy. “I understand. Please, help yourself. We only said that to taunt her. While my daughter barely clings to signs of life because of what she did to her, she is worried about her daughter, who we believe carried out the attack on her instructions.”

  ASP Lee pulled his chair away from the table and turned it around to face Uday. “Mr Aurora, up until the night your daughter was hospitalised, you had a suspect who was in Mumbai, correct? At what point did you realise Ms Tamara and her daughter were involved?”

  “When we received her daughter’s phone in the mailbox on Wednesday evening. There was no stamp or anything, so it must have been delivered by someone. The security guards could not identify who it was—”

  “Aren’t they supposed to have a record of who enters and leaves the condominium? Especially at a luxury condo like this?”

  “I think they are but clearly they didn’t bother, and I can only assume that usually they don’t check.”

  “Tell me more about the phone.”

  “My son, Sayana,” Uday nodded in Sayana’s direction and continued, “is fluent in Chinese and translated the messages from the past week. A lot of words were in code—for example, tandoori meat, which, in the context, seemed to mean Lavinia. We were astounded.

  “I refused to believe that this woman, this seductress I was going to marry, was behind my daughter being so viciously attacked and left in a coma. I tried to find out more about Sharon, to confront her, you know, to face the devil, before handing her over to the police. We called everyone in her contacts who had a local number. There weren’t many, at the most twenty. Most said they hadn’t heard from her in a long time. Some claimed they didn’t know her. A few people asked a lot of questions and hung up. I knew I had to lure the culprit—”

  “Culprit! Culprit! That’s all you can say! I was in Shanghai. I had nothing to do with whatever happened to that daughter of yours—”

  Sergeant Ridzwan patted Tamara’s shoulder, “Madam, please …”

  Uday sighed, “That daughter of mine, who lies in hospital, her chances of survival diminishing by the day … As I was saying, I could no longer pretend that all was well, and asked Tamara to return a week earlier. She was ready to fly out anyway because she hadn’t heard from her daughter and was probably wondering how Lavinia was still alive—”

  Tamara pushed her plate and cutlery off the table, sending them crashing onto the marble floor. In a voice hoarse from screaming, she spat out, “Ya! I wish she were dead! It’s true! She hates me! Trying to turn you against me! But doesn’t mean I did it, okay!”

  Constable Teo returned with a phone in each hand and bent to whisper to ASP Lee, who frowned as he listened. Pursing his lips and frowning, he turned to Uday and asked, “Any idea who Ah Lon might be?”

  Uday froze. “Ah who?”

  “Ah Lon. He’s mentioned in the messages.”

  Sayana interrupted, “No idea. We tried to guess but we knew you’d figure it out.”

  A soft voice replied, “Aaron. His name is Aaron. My son’s nurse.”

  Sayana laughed. “Alleged nurse. You really got dad fooled, Tamara. Not us. We knew.”

  ASP Lee asked, “Knew what?”

  “Aaron is her lover. Maybe her son’s nurse, too, but her lover first. I’m sure you’ll soon find out all the details, ASP Lee.”

  ASP Lee walked towards Tamara. “We’ll need to take you in for questioning. I urge you not to resist as Sergeant Ridzwan handcuffs you.” Tamara let out a piercing wail which had Wati and Conchita come crashing through the kitchen swing door, wondering what was happening. Uday noticed a hint of a smile on Wati’s face as Tamara was led away, howling like a banshee, proclaiming her innocence.

  Inspector Lim, who until then had observed the proceedings from a distance, approached Uday and his family. “We will need to ask you also to come in for questioning. Please make yourselves available. We’ll be looking for Ms Tamara’s daughter and the person known as Ah Lon in the messages.”

  27

  Saturday

&nb
sp; Dr Low is standing with a nurse at the foot of Lavinia’s bed when Uday enters the room, accompanied by Sayana, Ashwin and their wives. Angela looks pale, having had many sleepless nights since the police arrested Tamara. Apparently, Ashwin tried to convince her he really had no idea where Sharon was, but she didn’t seem to believe him.

  Five grief-stricken faces are looking at Lavinia. Priyanka and Angela are weeping.

  “Mr Aurora, the signs show that Miss Lavinia is slipping away. We do not have much time for harvesting her organs—”

  “Harvesting. Sounds like a business transaction. You can’t think of a better word?” Sayana snaps, as Priyanka puts her arms around him.

  Dr Low leans back and opens his mouth, as if searching for the right words. He pauses before speaking. “I’m sorry. I know this is very difficult and we are grateful that you agreed to donate Miss Lavinia’s organs. We need to remove them while they are still functioning—”

  Uday nods, “Give us some time with her, please. How long do we have?”

  “I can only stretch it to thirty minutes.”

  “What about the priest?”

  “He left just before you arrived. We called him right after we spoke to you. He happened to be in the next ward.”

  Sayana takes the first turn. As everyone leaves the room, Sayana calls out to Ashwin. “Shall we do this together?” There’s an audible gasp. Angela pats Ashwin’s arm as she releases her clasp of their intertwined fingers.

  As Uday leads the women out of Lavinia’s room, Ashwin and Sayana hug. I don’t remember seeing them ever coming this close to being so affectionate to each other since they grew up. Sayana sobs into his brother’s shoulders. Ashwin stares, glassy-eyed, at the wall in front of him. There are no tears, but I see immense sorrow, lined with guilt, in Ashwin’s eyes. Ashwin pulls away and looks at Sayana, then sobs as he whispers, “Everything has changed, but it’s going to be better now between us. I promise.”

  Sayana nods. “I hope so.”

  They both stand across from each other, at the top of Lavinia’s bed. They take turns remembering moments from their childhood. Ashwin says, “Remember when you asked Mama to buy you a Singapore Airlines stewardess uniform to wear to a costume party? You were five or six. After that, you insisted on wearing it every time we flew on Singapore Airlines. We were all so embarrassed. I refused to walk near you, and even slapped your hand away when you tried to hold mine. After a few trips, Mama and Dad threatened to send you as an unaccompanied minor, but you outgrew the uniform before our next trip. What I would give to go back to that time and hold your hand as we walked through all those airports!” Ashwin reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief as he releases a soft sob. “Thank you for being the best sister anyone could ask for. Good night, my darling Lavi.” Ashwin kisses her on her forehead and sinks into the armchair, sobbing.

  Sayana continues staring at Lavinia for a few minutes after Ashwin stops speaking. every now and then moving his lips for a few seconds. It looks as if he has so much to say, yet nothing comes out. Sayana, the Cambridge-educated English teacher is now at a loss for words. I feel sorry for my younger son, yet I know this moment of humility is long overdue. “I am so sorry, Lavi, for not being a better big brother. I always loved you, adored you, and I know I could’ve done more for you … but I didn’t. I am … I really am … thankful …” Sayana looks away and sobs, cupping his face in his hands. Shaking his head, he cries, “I am thankful you had Ashwin being the brother he was, making up for my failings, being there when I wasn’t or couldn’t be.”

  Ashwin walks to his brother’s side and puts his arms around him. “Our ten minutes are nearly up. Say your goodbyes, Sayana.”

  Sayana kisses his sister’s forehead. Again, he apologises and is led out by Ashwin, who holds the door open for Angela. Like her husband had done earlier with Ashwin, Priyanka asks to go in with Angela, wanting them both to have ten minutes together with Lavinia. But Angela refuses, preferring to be alone with Lavinia.

  Angela sits on the armchair and closes her eyes, as if in prayer. She murmurs a few words in Chinese—a prayer, perhaps—before standing up and walking to the end of the bed. She tilts her head as she speaks to Lavinia. “My beloved Lavi, you are the most wonderful human being I have ever known. If ever I have been, or will be, as kind, or as thoughtful, as you, it will be because of you. Thank you for welcoming me as your sister. I shall never forget the day …” Angela takes a deep breath and begins to weep.

  “That day … before Ashwin and I were to be married. You were nineteen, I was twenty-three. You gave me a plastic tiara from your old Barbie doll collection and told me that for years, you had been number one in Ashwin’s life. You then hugged me and said I was now Ashwin’s princess, and that you would settle for second position. I have never known such a generous spirit in anyone. Thank you, Lavi. Rest in peace.”

  I was there when Lavinia extended that warm welcome to Angela. I knew then that Angela would treat Lavinia like her own little sister. It was Angela’s way of ensuring that Ashwin and Lavinia remained close.

  Priyanka speaks the least amongst the four of them. She apologises for not making a bigger effort to be friendlier, she says she resented Lavinia for being the family star. Priyanka pats Lavinia’s hand. “I realise now—a little too late—that you were just a lovely young woman making sense of this wicked world. Forgive me, Lavi.” Priyanka does not cry but she bites her lip and shakes her head slowly as she runs her finger through Lavinia’s hair. “Rest in peace, Lavi.”

  Uday knocks on the door before he walks in. Priyanka has another minute, but appears to be ready to leave. Uday pulls a chair from a corner of the room and places it as close as possible to Lavinia. He leans back and gazes at her with all the love a man can feel for his daughter.

  “My clever, beautiful, child. I wish I could have protected you better, prevented this. I wish … I wish I had listened to you when you tried to warn me about … well, you know who. I shall not tell you what happened to the people who did this to you because you would be angry with me. You were always about forgiveness and justice. Some day I shall be more like you. For now, forgive me as I take pleasure in believing that the people who did this to you will rot in hell, while you will rest in peace.”

  Uday looks exhausted. The fire that was in him when he dropped by the other day, when he told Lavinia of his plans to send Tamara to jail, has been snuffed out. He now looks cold and hard. “You might have forgotten this, Lavi, but I haven’t, along with your wish to donate your organs if you were ever in such a situation. Remember when your history teacher—Mr Menon, I think—passed away, and had left instructions for his body to be donated for medical research? You were fifteen, maybe sixteen. You had said it was such a thoughtful thing to do, the body being of no use to anyone once it’s cremated. You had gone on to say that you would tell your children to plan the same for you.” Uday sobs. It takes a few minutes before he stops heaving and tries to speak. He stammers, “I will do as you wish, my beloved Lavinia.”

  I place my hand on his arm. He does not respond. I go behind him and squeeze him as I wrap my arms around his shoulders. He looks towards the ceiling and closes his eyes. I run my fingers through his hair. He does the same, as if reaching for my hand.

  It’s nearly time, my love. Don’t worry. She’ll sleep peacefully in my arms.

  “Oh, Julie … where are you? I miss you.” Uday opens his eyes and looks at his watch. He stands and leans over Lavinia. “You have brought me nothing but absolute joy, but you must leave now. Tell your mother that no one else will ever take her place. Go to her now, Lavinia, light of my life. I will always love you. Rest in peace.”

  I release him from my embrace and lie down on my side next to Lavinia, my arm across her chest. Uday shivers as he stands, rubbing his arms to keep himself warm as he leaves the room, turning around to blow Lavinia a kiss as he shuts the door.

  28

  A Few Days Later

  Uday arrived at the police sta
tion a little late. ASP Lee was waiting in his room, his hands in his pockets. His handshake was firm, and he made fleeting eye contact with Uday as he pursed his lips. The churn in Uday’s stomach returned, the way it had when ASP Lee called him that morning, to be at the police station as soon as possible.

  “Once again, Mr Aurora, I am very sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you, ASP Lee. It’s been very difficult for our family.” Uday turned towards the window. The lush greenery from tall trees, and two pigeons on a ledge facing him briefly before turning around and flying away, did little to soothe his tumultuous mind.

  “Nothing in the press so far. Let’s hope to keep it that way. When this case goes to court, though, there’ll be nothing we can do to stop reporters from covering it.”

  ASP Lee shrugged. “Right now, there isn’t much to report anyway—very few facts and much speculation.” He gathered his notes and placed them to one side. “As mentioned when we spoke, Miss Lavinia’s death meant that the charges against Wang Yan—Tamara Wang’s official name—were amended to instigation to commit murder.”

  “If found guilty, will she get the death penalty?”

  “Most likely. The only problem now is the evidence. We have studied all the messages carefully. While it is possible to translate some code words to correspond to what we believe were part of Wang Yan’s murderous plans, we cannot make assumptions or jump to conclusions without solid evidence.”

  “I understand. But you do have time to get more evidence, don’t you?”

  “We’re working on it.”

  “Before we continue, tell me something, please. According to my son’s army buddy, whose brother works at the prison, she shares a cell with another prisoner, and sleeps on a thin, unpadded straw mat which she has to unroll onto a cold concrete floor. No pillows, just two thin blankets, one of which may be rolled up and used as a pillow. Her cellmate rolls her out of her mat at 5am because she simply can’t wake up. There’s almost no privacy for the loo. The food is not great, and she’s already lost some weight. She initially complained about her haircut being too ugly and the soap being too harsh for her skin, until she was slapped into shutting up. Is this true?”