Murder at Crescent Point

by G. S. Dutt

  ‘Well…there was one Madam, a simple looking woman, maybe a widow…’ Nikki looked questioningly at the maid. ‘She was dressed in plain white sari and she visited Madam twice,’ said Savitri.

  This was unexpected. Nikki asked, ‘What did the woman want from Aunty?’

  ‘I really don’t know. Both times Madam took her to her own bedroom. I was a bit surprised because she never takes strangers there.’

  ‘Did you hear anything that the woman said?’

  ‘Not really, but during her first visit Madam asked me to give her a glass of water. When I entered the room the woman was crying and saying, “Don’t be cruel. I have already suffered a lot…” Madam immediately took the glass from me and asked me to leave. I was taken aback. Why do you ask me about that woman?’

  Nikki replied, ‘…that woman was also killed on the same day when Jyoti was killed, and at the same place.’

  Savitri’s face turned pale. She started crying again. Nikki tried to console her, ‘I know how you feel. The mere mention of Jyoti’s death causes you distress. Savitri, please do not talk about our conversation to anyone… not even to Aunty.’

  Savitri nodded between sobs. ‘You were her friend, but baby was like my own child.’

  The next day Nikki got up to see the entire household buzzing with activity. Soon she realised that the arrangements were being made for a puja—to offer prayers for the peace of the departed soul. A number of people were expected to come. The puja was to be held in the afternoon but preparations had started from early morning. Nikki noticed that a well dressed man was supervising everything. Nikki asked Mrs Taneja who he was.

  ‘Mr Khanna. He is the manager of our company.’

  Nikki recalled Mr Taneja saying that all the arrangements for the ‘baby swapping’ were done by his personal assistant who was now a manager. Nikki looked at Mr Khanna again. He was middle-aged, with medium height and a receding hairline. He seemed quite energetic.

  In the afternoon, the guests started arriving. Nikki noticed that they mostly sat in two sections, ladies on one side and men on the other. She saw two young girls entering the house with a middle-aged woman. Their faces looked familiar. After a while she realised that they were the same girls who were in the photograph with Jyoti. Nikki became alert. The woman who Nikki presumed was their mother sat near Mr Khanna in the second row from the hearth. Mr and Mrs Taneja were sitting in the first row close to the priest. Soon the priest started chanting mantras.The two girls sat at the end of the ladies section. Nikki drifted there and sat close to them.

  After the function, everybody helped themselves to refreshments. Nikki addressed the older of the two girls, ‘Hello, I am Nikki, a friend of Jyoti’s.’ The girl’s face lit up. She said, ‘You are Nikki? Oh, Jyoti was never tired of talking about you! She praised you a lot. She told me that you were her best friend. I am so happy to finally meet you!’ She extended her hand and said, ‘I am Seema and this is my younger sister, Tina.’

  ‘Were you also a friend of hers?’ Nikki asked.

  ‘We both did our pre-school here together. In fact, Dad and Anurag Uncle work in the same company. Our families are quite close,’ said Seema.

  ‘I know…I saw both of you with Jyoti in a photograph.’

  ‘In a photograph?’ asked Seema somewhat surprised. ‘I don’t remember a photo of the three of us being taken recently.’

  Nikki corrected herself, ‘Maybe someone else took that picture. You were walking in a park. There was a rain shelter in the background.’

  ‘That must be Central Park. It’s quite close to our house,’ said Tina.

  ‘Where are you staying?’ Seema asked Nikki.

  ‘I came along with Mr and Mrs Taneja and I am staying here with them.’

  ‘How long are you going to be here?’ asked Seema.

  ‘Till the end of the winter break. I was supposed to spend my holidays with Jyoti, but...’ Nikki trailed off grimly.

  ‘Why don’t you come and spend a couple of days with us?’ Seema offered, ‘We too have holidays.’ Before Nikki could react, Tina added, ‘Yes, you must come! You must be bored and lonely here.’

  ‘Thanks very much. I will speak to Aunty and make a plan,’ said Nikki. Seema wrote a number on a piece of paper and passed it on to Nikki, ‘Here is our phone number. Give me a call, both of us will come to pick you up.’

  The guests were leaving now. Nikki saw Mr and Mrs Taneja standing outside in the portico with folded hands. Mr Khanna and his wife were also standing close to them. Nikki and the two girls were the last to go out. When all the guests departed, Mrs Taneja turned to Mr Khanna, ‘Thanks for all your help in organising today’s puja.’ Mr Khanna said, ‘Please don’t mention it. Jyoti was like my own daughter.’

  ‘Yes,’ added Mrs Khanna. ‘I can never forget that lovely girl.’

  As the Khannas came to the portico to leave, Nikki was startled to see a big black car entering to take them. Nikki suddenly remembered what Lakshmi had told her. So he is in it too.

  The next morning, when Mr Taneja had left for office, Nikki went to Mrs Taneja’s room, ‘Aunty, can I come and talk to you for a while?’ Nikki sat down and said, ‘Aunty, Inspector Rajan whom you met in Sangalina Hills, told me that the woman who was found dead along with Jyoti had told someone there that Jyoti was in fact “her daughter” who had been taken away from her by deceit. She also said that she had come to your house in Somabad to state her claim.’

  Blood drained from Mrs Taneja’s face. ‘What else did the inspector tell you?’ She asked. Nikki informed her, ‘He told me that once his enquiries are over in Sangalina Hills, he will come to Somabad.’

  Mrs Taneja started sobbing. She said, ‘Yes, it is a fact that the woman came to see me. She made a preposterous claim about some child swapping. I thought it must be the usual blackmail stuff and asked her to leave. That evening I asked my husband about it but he flatly refused any child swapping. He advised me not to let her in again. But she called me again after two days and implored that she just wanted to come for five minutes. At first I refused, but then hearing her pleas I softened and allowed her to come. This time she said that she just wanted to see Jyoti and wanted her address. I told her to go away. She seemed highly disappointed and left.’

  Nikki asked, ‘If the woman had come to your house twice, why did you tell the inspector that you had never seen her earlier?’

  Mrs Taneja said, ‘You are like my daughter. Please keep this to yourself. Before my delivery, the doctor had told me that the baby was not in good condition. When this woman talked about the child swapping, a doubt crossed my mind that she might be telling the truth.

  When I saw her dead body, the first thing which occurred to me was that maybe my husband was behind her death and I did not want to create complications for him. To be honest, I thought at the time that if I recognise the woman, it would open up a Pandora’s box. We would be asked a lot of questions which we were not in the right frame of mind to answer.’

  Nikki kept quiet. She felt that Mrs Taneja was telling the truth. But this did not explain the payment of 10 lakhs to the woman and ‘the big black car’ which Lakshmi had seen Asha Sayal in.

  The next morning, Nikki decided to talk to Jyoti’s father just as he was getting ready for work.

  ‘Uncle, can I speak to you alone?’

  Mr Taneja looked surprised. ‘Well…why don’t you come with me to the office? If I don’t leave now, I’ll be late.’

  Nikki ran to put on her shoes and coat. When they had settled in his room, he ordered two cups of tea.

  ‘Now, tell me...what’s on your mind, Nikki?’

  Nikki said, ‘Uncle, you will recall when we were leaving Sangalina Hills, Inspector Rajan was also in the hospital. He told me something which I thought I must share with you.’

  ‘Yes, go ahead,’ said Mr Taneja, encouragingly.

  ‘Asha Sayal told someone in Sangalina Hills that you paid her 10 lakhs to abandon her claim on Jyoti. Is this true?’


  ‘Yes,’ Mr Taneja responded, ‘I did not want to pay anything but Mr Khanna persuaded me to pay the money so that the matter could be closed forever.’

  ‘This opens up another angle. If having got the money, the woman did not abandon her claim and still went to see her daughter in Sangalina Hills, someone would be quite upset.’

  ‘But that someone would not plan the murder of his own daughter for whom he had paid the money.’

  Nikki kept quiet. Mr Taneja felt sorry as he saw her crestfallen face. After a pause, he smiled and said, ‘If that is all you wanted to know, may I go on with my work, my dear?’ Nikki, lost in her thoughts, was suddenly awakened and nodded at his question. ‘I will have Mr Khanna ensure you are dropped home. You may look around till then if you want. Talk to my secretary, Miss Mary. She was quite fond of Jyoti, like everyone else.’

  ‘Sure, Uncle,’ said Nikki.

  Mr Taneja spoke on the intercom, ‘Mary, could you ask Mr Khanna to come in?’ When Mr Khanna entered, he was introduced to Nikki. ‘This is Nikki, a friend of Jyoti’s. We asked her to spend the winter holidays with us.’

  ‘Yes, I met her yesterday,’ Mr Khanna said.

  Mr Taneja continued, ‘Could you please ensure she is dropped home safe? She will wait with Miss Mary while you are ready.’

  ‘Okay. Please come, Miss Nikki.’

  When both of them stepped into the ante room, Mr Khanna introduced Nikki to Miss Mary, a warm and genial lady sitting at a desk, working diligently. ‘This is Mary, secretary to Mr Taneja. Can you wait with her for a few minutes. I’ll be back.’

  Mary smiled at Nikki and said, ‘Please take a seat.’

  Mary said sympathetically, ‘Jyoti’s death has come as a rude shock to all of us. She was a very pleasant girl. We used to talk on the phone quite often.’

  ‘She was my roommate and my best friend. I can’t believe she’s gone,’ Nikki replied grimly, almost choking.

  They were still talking when Mr Khanna came back.

  The office was spread over two big floors. It appeared to be a very busy place. Apparently, the company owned by Mr Taneja was doing well. Mr Khanna explained various departments of the company. Nikki noticed that wherever they went Mr Khanna was greeted with respect by the staff. Nikki thought that his proximity to Mr Taneja must have earned him a good deal of influence in the company. Finally, when he came to leave her to the car, Nikki said, ‘I met your daughters yesterday. Seema invited me to come to your place for a couple of days.’

  ‘Yes, she told me. It would be a pleasure to have you with us!’ Nikki thanked him and entered the car.

  Nikki felt happy that by directly confronting the Tanejas, she had solved the mystery of `10 lakhs. Mr Khanna would have paid the money on behalf of Jyoti’s father and the issue of the ‘big black car’ had also been resolved. However, the mystery of the murder was still looming over her head. Mr Taneja was clearly not behind this. Who else could kill them and why?

  — CHAPTER THIRTEEN —

  A New Lead

  As soon as Nikki returned, Mrs Taneja said, ‘Inspector Rajan called up. He is in Somabad,’ she sounded quite nervous.

  ‘Did he say he will come here?’

  ‘No, he was enquiring about you and wanted you to call him at this number,’ she said handing over a slip of paper to her. ‘What does he want from you?’

  ‘I don’t know. May be something about the incident regarding Jyoti.’

  Nikki went upstairs and called Inspector Rajan, ‘Hello, Mr Rajan, Nikki here.’

  ‘Oh, hello. You didn’t contact me. Inspector Vinod also tells me that you did not get in touch with him. How are things at your end?’

  Nikki said, ‘Can I come and meet you? There are some developments about which I need to talk to you in person.’

  ‘Hmmm…have you got a mode of transport or shall I send my jeep?’

  ‘Please give me the address. I will manage to come on my own.’

  Soon enough, Inspector Rajan warmly greeted Nikki. When they settled down, Nikki asked, ‘Sir, any breakthrough…?’

  ‘No, not yet. We, however, have a lead and that is why I am here.’ Nikki looked at him. He continued, ‘A few days ago, we caught a small time criminal who was hired by a tough looking man in Sangalina for `500, to keep surveillance on the woman. This man kept a watch on the woman and informed him about her movements from time to time including the day when she went to Crescent Point.’ The inspector then took out a pencil sketch from his file and placed it before Nikki. ‘Based on the information provided by the man we arrested, we have a sketch of the person who hired him.’

  Nikki looked at the sketch of a bald man with a thick moustache. There was a scar, a deep cut on his right cheek, presumably caused by an injury, which was partly hidden by his moustache. Perhaps he kept the moustache for that purpose. The inspector said, ‘This guy was not a local. We presume that he may have come from Somabad. That is why I am here.’ Then changing the subject he said, ‘You mentioned that there have been some developments.’

  Nikki replied, ‘I’m sorry that I did not share some documents which I had come across at Sangalina. These papers pointed to some involvement of the Tanejas in the case. Since I was accompanying them to Somabad I thought I would get some first-hand information before I speak to you about it. As it happens, I got the information which I was looking for, but unfortunately I lost those documents including the paper you gave me at Sangalina. That is why I could not contact you even when I was in trouble.’

  ‘Trouble! What sort of trouble?’ asked Inspector Rajan anxiously. She recounted her experience at the Evergreen, her encounter with Mohan Lal and how she confronted Mr and Mrs Taneja.

  Inspector Rajan looked at Nikki with amazement, and said, ‘My God, you are impressive! You obtained so much information in such a short time. The police here have not yet been able to even verify the antecedents of Asha Sayal.’

  Nikki looked pleased. ‘Thank you. I told you I’ll do anything to get my best friend’s killers nabbed.’ She added, ‘I lost the bank statement, but you could check with the bank about this. Also, Mohan Lal appears to be a slimy character. You may get some more information about the case from him. I was told by the attendant at the Shyamabad house that he and his associates live around Bus Stand Road. I am not sure though that he would still be there, having got hold of such a lot of money.’

  Inspector Rajan assured her, ‘Don’t worry, we will find him wherever he is. Wait here. I will return in a moment.’

  Inspector Rajan returned with another officer accompanying him. ‘Nikki, meet Inspector Vinod. He is not only my colleague but also my batchmate.’ Turning to Vinod, he said, ‘This is Nikki. She is way ahead of her age. In a span of a few days, she collected extremely useful information about the double murder case in Sangalina Hills.’

  Inspector Vinod looked at her admiringly and said, ‘Hello. I am happy to meet such a brave and resourceful girl.’

  Inspector Rajan said, ‘Nikki, I hope to make some progress on the leads given by you by tomorrow afternoon. Will it be possible for you to come back tomorrow?’

  ‘Sure, Sir! I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  When Nikki returned to Jyoti’s house, Mrs Taneja asked anxiously, ‘What did the inspector say? Will he come to make an enquiry?’

  Nikki responded, ‘He did not tell me that. He just wanted to find out whether I was able to get any relevant information from Jyoti’s belongings in the hostel.’ Mrs Taneja kept quiet. Nikki went up to her room.

  The next day, when Nikki went to the police station, Inspector Rajan was waiting for her. As soon as she sat down, he placed her ID card with her photograph and

  the name Jyoti typed and pasted on it in front of her. He also showed her the paper on which she had written that she is the daughter of Asha Sayal and signed her name as Jyoti. He said, ‘Yesterday, we nabbed Mohan Lal and his gang. He is a small time thug who cons unsuspecting passengers at the bus stand. After your confrontation with
Feroz, he (Feroz) had panicked and wanted the photograph and his pencil sketch back from you. Mohan Lal obliged since Feroz is useful to him. He sent his associate Abdul to search your room. Among the papers was the bank statement. When Mohan Lal came to know about the huge deposit in Asha Sayal’s account he decided to hatch a plan, and you became his scapegoat.’

  ‘So Mohan Lal has nothing to do with the murders?’ said Nikki.

  ‘No, he is basically a conman. This was an isolated act. The only difference being that this time it was big money and hence he planned all the drama in Shyamabad.’

  Nikki looked dejected, ‘We seem to be moving nowhere.’

  ‘No, not exactly. You have found out that the woman had met the Tanejas. And Mr Taneja had paid her money to hush up the matter. This time also the transaction was done with the help of the trusted Khanna. There is one thing though,’ he continued, ‘if the woman had accepted the money to forego her claim on her daughter, why did she go to Sangalina?’

  Nikki said, ‘Perhaps just to see her. That is also what she told Mrs Taneja.’

  ‘Or someone encouraged her to go there?’ added Inspector Rajan. Nikki kept quiet. She had not considered that angle. Their meeting point at a deserted place may have been fixed by someone with murder on his mind. And that someone must be known to Asha Sayal. But who?

  Inspector Rajan asked, ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘Nothing. I should be going now.’ As Nikki got up to leave, Inspector Rajan asked, ‘What do you want to do now?’

  ‘I have a standing invitation from Mr Khanna’s daughters to spend a few days with them. I think I will go to their place tomorrow morning.’ Inspector Rajan said, ‘Fine, but this time, keep in touch.’

  — CHAPTER FOURTEEN —

  The Kidnapping

  When Nikki entered the gate of Tanejas’ house, she saw Mr Taneja’s car parked there, along with Mr Khanna’s black car. She was surprised because it was afternoon and Mr Taneja normally returned home late in the evening. Nikki rang the doorbell. Savitri opened the door. One look at her face and Nikki knew something was seriously amiss. She asked, ‘What is the matter? Why has Uncle returned so early today?’