by RV Raman
‘Nothing out of place. I’ve been thinking about it, but I don’t remember hearing anything unusual.’
‘No sounds of doors opening or closing?’
‘That, I did. I often do. I am a light sleeper. But there is no way I can remember any of it, or the time. Such sounds just don’t register deeply enough for me to remember them in the morning.’
‘Thank you, Dora. That’s all for now.’
But Dora was not done. She looked around at the circle of faces and asked, ‘Any questions? Seriously, I won’t take offence. Ask me.’
When nobody responded, she shrugged and looked deflated.
‘I guess I’m done then,’ she said.
‘With your permission, Mr. Varadan, can I go next?’ Manu asked. ‘Because what I have to say corroborates with what Dora just said.’
‘Sure, Manu.’ Varadan nodded. ‘Go ahead.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ Manu turned to Athreya. ‘I endorse all that Dora said about our chat last night. I can go further and confirm the time we went to the rose garden because I happened to look at my watch then. It was 11:35 p.m.
‘What I have to add is this: After Dora returned to the mansion, I went for a walk to clear my head and to wind down before going to bed. The others will tell you that I often do that. I must have walked around for about fifteen minutes, and then returned to the mansion through the front door. My best estimate of when I entered the mansion is about 12:40 a.m.
‘I went straight to bed. I noticed that there was no light under your door or Sebastian’s. I assumed that both of you had retired by then. I checked Dad’s door too, as I always do. His light was also off.
‘Unlike Dora, I am a deep sleeper. I didn’t wake up during the night, and didn’t hear anything, either. I woke up only when Murugan started banging on the door of the staff quarters, which was around 7 a.m. I went to the back door immediately, and saw Sebastian opening it. I remember noticing that Dad’s wheelchair was not in its usual charging point beside the back door.’
He stopped and looked at Athreya enquiringly.
‘Questions, sir?’
‘None. Thank you, Manu. That was quite comprehensive and concise. Who would like to go next? You don’t have to do it here just because Dora and Manu chose to do so. We can talk in the study.’
‘Perhaps Mr. Varadan would like to go next,’ Manu suggested. ‘It seemed as though he wanted to go first, but Dora and I stalled him.’
‘That’s quite all right, Manu,’ said Varadan, smiling. He turned to Athreya and went on in his own slow, precise manner. ‘Anticipating this interview, I prepared a note for you and the police. Shall I read it out to you? I am perfectly willing to have this in the public domain. In fact, I’d prefer to.’
‘Yes, Mr. Varadan.’ Athreya nodded. ‘Please proceed.’
‘My contribution to the investigation is limited,’ Varadan began as if he were giving evidence in a witness stand. He had opened a folded piece of paper. ‘The timings I have detailed are my best estimates. I am prepared to swear to them in court if need be, but only after some additional contemplation. I left the mansion at 12:27 a.m. and reached my room in the annex at 12:55 a.m. As Dora mentioned, I met her on the walkway outside the mansion after I had come out of the front door.
‘Much of the twenty-eight minutes between my leaving the mansion and entering my room was spent talking to Michelle. I met her en route, and we walked around the rose garden a few times, talking. I am not at liberty to disclose the contents of our discussion at this time.
‘Once I reached my room, I changed into my nightclothes and retired for the night. Like Manu, I too am a sound sleeper. I heard nothing, and I doubt if I would have woken up in the middle of the night after the wonderful feast and wine.
‘As I said, these are my best estimates at this time. I can give you this paper if you wish. It has the details of what I just said.’ He handed the paper over to Athreya.
‘I understand you were talking to Phillip before you stepped out of the mansion. You may well have been the last person he talked to. Can you tell me what you talked about?’
Athreya could see that the lawyer’s mind was working furiously. He had perhaps not realized that he was the last person Phillip had spoken to.
‘We spoke mostly about Phillip’s abilities as a painter,’ Varadan said slowly. ‘His main point was that he was an artist with no creativity—a strange animal by his own assessment. His fingers could paint exceedingly well, to the extent that they could produce almost identical copies of a landscape before him or of the works of the masters in front of him.
‘But, by himself, he was unable to imagine a picture to paint. So, he was, he repeated several times, a painter with zero creativity. “What else can you say of an artist who can’t create a painting of his own?” he asked. I was forced to agree with the logic of his argument. That’s what we mostly talked about. He felt sad about it, and considered himself lesser for it. The tag of an artist, he felt, was ill-deserved.’
‘How was his mood?’ Athreya asked.
‘Pensive. Subdued.’
‘Did he seem out of sorts?’
‘Difficult for me to say; I hardly knew him.’
‘Yet, he opened up to you, didn’t he?’
‘Yes,’ said Varadan, nodding. ‘I wonder why. I am not a person who normally inspires such confidences. Perhaps he wanted someone to talk to. I noticed that he said little during the party except when the subject was painting. He seemed a lonely man.’
‘Thank you, Mr Varadan,’ Athreya concluded. ‘That was useful. Who wants to go next? We can adjourn to the study.’ But with Dora and Manu having set the precedent, nobody wanted to appear less forthcoming.
After a long pause, Michelle spoke up.
‘I’ll go next,’ she said.
‘Go into the study, girl,’ Bhaskar rumbled. ‘Don’t let Dora and Manu’s choices affect yours.’
‘I’m fine, Uncle,’ Michelle responded with a wan smile.
‘I’d rather say my piece here. What’s there to hide? I may have my problems and I may have my timings mixed up, but I know that I didn’t kill Phillip.
‘Mr. Athreya, I am not as sure about my timings as Mr. Varadan or my cousins are. I seldom look at my watch, except when I am taking a patient’s pulse. I’ll do my best, but please don’t hold it against me if I make a mistake.’
‘Do your best, Michelle,’ Athreya said encouragingly.
‘That’s the most anyone can ask of you.’
‘I will, thanks. I think I stepped out of the mansion a little after Dora and Manu did. I say this because I remember seeing them walk out. I must have come out ten minutes or so after they left. That makes it…’ Michelle stumbled and referred to a piece of paper on which she had scribbled something ‘about 11:45 p.m. I strolled along the walkways for some time, and when I passed Sunset Deck, I saw Abbas there. I sat down with him and we chatted for a while.’
Athreya remembered seeing Michelle and Abbas walking out together the previous night, shortly after Manu and Dora had left. He wondered why Michelle was giving him a slightly different version of events. Was she misremembering? Or was it deliberate?
‘For how long?’ Athreya asked aloud.
‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe for half an hour? After that, I walked for some more time and met Mr Varadan. He said that he had stepped out of the mansion at …’ Michelle consulted her paper again. ’12:27 a.m. From what he said, Abbas and I must have spoken for…twenty-five minutes or so.
‘I won’t repeat what Mr Varadan has already said. After chatting with Mr Varadan, I returned to the mansion and went up to my room. So I must have come back to my room just short of 1 a.m. I brushed my teeth and went to bed. I didn’t hear anything at night. When I woke up, it was 8 a.m. I must have come down at quarter past eight, after which I spoke to Murugan and Gopal. We were quite perplexed and worried when you and Dora came in. After that, you know the story.’
Athreya h
ad a number of questions to ask, but he decided not to do so in public. He would speak to her separately later.
‘Thank you, Michelle,’ he said. ‘If you remember anything else, please do tell me.’
‘I know that my account is vague and my timings, imprecise,’ Michelle persevered. ‘But, honest to God, I had nothing to do with Phillip’s death. Do you believe me, Mr Athreya?’ It was almost a plea.
‘How do you expect him to answer that question?’ Bhaskar interposed gently.
‘But I am telling the truth, Uncle.’
‘I’m sure you are, Michelle. But don’t embarrass Mr Athreya by asking questions he can’t answer.’
‘We’ll go next,’ Ganesh butted in, to everyone’s relief. ‘Jilsy and I. There isn’t much to tell, but I’ll go first and Jilsy will add to it. That okay?’ he asked his wife.
She nodded silently.
‘Honestly, I don’t remember when or how I got to my room,’ Ganesh went on. ‘I must have had a drink too many. That doesn’t happen often, you know. I can hold my rum. It must have been the cognac I had after dinner. But it was a wonderful cognac, Mr. Fernandez. I must try it again tonight.’
Jilsy nudged him. For a moment, he gaped at her uncomprehendingly. Then he continued.
‘As I was saying, I don’t know when or how I reached my room. The last thing I remember is enjoying the cognac. The next thing I knew I was waking up and looking at the clock. It was close to 8 a.m. I had slept like a log. Good food and good drink have to be matched with good sleep. Thankfully, I’m blessed in that department. Sleep like a baby, I do.’
He grinned and turned to his wife, gesturing to her to add her bit.
‘There isn’t much more,’ she said in a small voice, her eyes on the floor. ‘Richie helped me get Ganesh to our room. After that, I locked the door and went to bed. I woke up a little before Ganesh, but I just lazed about in bed, and got up when he did. Then we came here.’
She looked up briefly and flashed an imploring glance at Athreya. It seemed to him that she was entreating him not to cross-question her. He obliged and nodded. After a pause, Abbas cleared his throat and spoke.
‘That leaves Richie and me, I guess,’ he said. ‘Let me go first. Listen, I never once looked at my watch all evening and all night. What’s the point of attending a party if you are going to be a prisoner to time? That’s not my style. I’m not going to pretend that I know what I did when or what time I went to bed, for the simple reason that I don’t.
‘I wandered out of the mansion about fifteen minutes after we broke up, and must have walked around for an hour or so. I was feeling full after the feast, and had to walk around a little bit before hitting the sack. Sometime in between, I met Michelle at Sunset Deck, and we chatted for a while.
‘After she left, I wandered around for a little more and smoked a ciggy or two before returning to my room. It was a great party, Mr Athreya, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. It’s truly unfortunate that Phillip has been killed, but there is nothing I can do about it. A nice man, he was. My neighbour, you know. He lived across the mud road from the resort. I’ll miss him.’
‘Where all did you wander, Abbas?’ Athreya asked mildly.
‘Oh, here and there. All over the place. It’s not a huge place, you know, and the fog was impenetrable. I stuck to the walkways because I knew that they would lead me back to my room, even if I could see nothing else.’
‘Never stepped off the walkways?’
‘Don’t think so.’
‘Did you happen to overhear any conversations? We have just learnt about two conversations, apart from the one you had with Michelle.’
‘If I did, I don’t remember. Listen, there were voices here and there, but I didn’t eavesdrop.’
Which meant he did, Athreya thought.
‘Your cigarettes,’ he asked, ‘do you have them on you now?’
‘Sure.’
Abbas pulled out a packet of More cigarettes and showed it to Athreya. The cigarettes were slim and dark brown in colour.
‘Did anyone borrow your cigarettes?’ Athreya asked.
‘No, why do you ask?’
‘Just curious.’
‘The only other person who smokes is Ganesh, but he prefers stronger stuff.’
‘Do you know if Phillip smoked? I thought you might know as he was your neighbour.’
‘No, he didn’t. Said he had been a chain-smoker in his younger days, but he cut the habit seven years ago when he moved here.’
Abbas’s eyes were searching Athreya’s face, but the latter kept it pleasantly expressionless.
‘Thank you, Abbas,’ he said and turned to Richie expectantly.
‘I have nothing to say, Mr. Detective, if that’s indeed what you are,’ the younger man drawled. He was leaning back nonchalantly in his chair, with one leg draped over an armrest. ‘You offered me a wager, and I have decided to take it. Then why should I help you win?’
‘Richie!’ Bhaskar snapped.
‘I know what you are going to say, Uncle,’ Richie responded, turning towards Bhaskar. ‘But I have no information of any value for Mr. Athreya. After escorting Ganesh to his room, I returned to the mansion and went to bed.’
‘You?’ Bhaskar demanded. ‘To bed so early?’
‘Why not, Uncle? It had been a busy day. Besides, I had no intention of falling into the stream and breaking my neck in the fog. Like that Englishman who died.’
‘And you stayed in your room for the rest of the night, Richie?’ Athreya asked mildly.
‘Of course.’
‘Never left it?’
‘Why should I?’
‘Just asking. If you wish to change your testimony, do let me know.’
‘That leaves only me,’ Bhaskar rumbled slowly. ‘I probably have the least to tell you, despite the fact that my room is the closest to the chapel. As you know, I was the first to retire, and once I got off the wheelchair, I was more or less bound to the bed. It had been a tiring day for me. I’m afraid I have little to offer.’
‘That’s fine. Did you happen to hear anything during the night?’
‘I hear things every night, Mr. Athreya, real and imagined. I don’t know which is which. After the intruder’s attack, I seldom sleep deeply. I keep my automatic under my pillow, you know. The slightest sound disturbs my sleep. Sometimes, I find that the sound was only inside my head.’
‘Did you hear anything last night?’
‘Yes…people walking, laughter, voices in the mist, doors closing and opening, Murugan locking up for the night, Sebastian retiring, many things. But now that I think about it, I think I did hear the whir of my wheelchair sometime during the night. I can’t say when. I thought I had imagined it, and decided that the whir was only inside my head.’
‘Why did you think you had imagined it, Mr. Fernandez?’
‘Who would touch my wheelchair, Mr. Athreya? It’s been around for a while, and it gets charged every night. It’s never been touched before. But it turns out that I was wrong. Somebody did take it.’
Athreya sat back and considered the facts. Everyone had returned to his or her room by 1 a.m. Each one of them had claimed that they had not left their room after that. By 2 a.m., they would have all been fast asleep. Yet, the murder took place between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.
Was someone lying?
Chapter 11
‘The next thing I’d like to do,’ Athreya said, ‘is to understand the deceased. Please tell me what you know about Phillip. What kind of a person was he? What work did he do? What were his interests? Does he have any relatives nearby? Who is the next of kin? Anything that can help me understand him.
‘Some of you may have personal views on him, both positive and negative. I recognize that you may not want to air them in public. Please feel free to hold those back and tell me later. Let’s start with his age. Dora told me this morning that he was going to be sixty next year. Is that right?’
Bhaskar nodded. ‘That’s right.’
‘What work did he do?’
‘He painted for a living. You’ve seen some of his work.’
‘When did he come to the valley? Where was he before he came here?’
‘He came about seven years ago and wanted to rent that cottage. I don’t know where he came from.’
‘Any relatives nearby?’
‘Not to my knowledge. I think there is a sister somewhere in Pune or Nagpur, someplace like that.’
‘He has a sister in Pune,’ Jilsy confirmed. ‘He mentioned her to me a few times. But where in Pune, and what her name is, I don’t know.’
‘I recall him saying that his sister was a few years older than him,’ Abbas added. ‘And that she was involved in some sort of social work in Maharashtra.’
‘Name? Address? Phone number?’ Abbas shook his head.
‘Won’t it be on his mobile phone?’ Manu asked. ‘Do you know where it is?’
‘In his pocket,’ Athreya said. ‘Whatever evidence it carries will keep ‘til the police arrive. I would rather let the police deal with it. They are touchy about such matters.’
‘But we retrieved the dagger,’ Manu countered.
‘If we hadn’t, it would have been covered by sand by the time the police got it out. Estimating the time of death was similarly an urgent task. We had to do it.’ He turned to Jilsy. ‘Phillip was your neighbour. What can you tell me about the kind of person he was?’
‘A very nice man.’ Jilsy’s eyes brimmed with tears.
‘Soft-spoken and courteous. He never raised his voice. He was always willing to help Ganesh or me with a chore. He used to come over for dinner sometimes.’
‘What did he talk about when he visited you?’
‘That’s the funny thing about him. He spoke very little, but was always willing to listen to my ramblings. A brief word here and a one-liner there would keep me going. I have so few people in the valley to talk to, Mr. Athreya. I ended up talking to him quite often. He could listen for hours without getting bored. I’m going to miss him terribly.’
She fished out a tiny kerchief from her handbag and dabbed her eyes.