by Ruby Gupta
‘Gosh, yes. But that day – night rather– there were so many people … and all of them had the right to be at Xanadu,’ Pallavi said.
‘But how many of them knew the way to Rajvir’s study and about where the gun was kept?’
‘Yes – you are right,’ Pallavi looked troubled.
‘So – it has to be someone from the family or some close friend,’ Shantanu reiterated.
‘My God! I never thought of this.’
‘I think you should, and when you think of the possibilities, let me know.’
‘This is a scary thought. Going by what you say, it could be one of only a handful of people,’ Pallavi’s eyes took on a distressed look.
Shantanu wanted to kick himself for causing agony to so lovely a lady. ‘But don’t you worry now. I’m sure Inspector Bhogle must have formed some conclusions,’ he tried to soothe her.
Notwithstanding his attempt, Pallavi looked pensively into her tea, as they sat together in the silence that stretched between them.
Shantanu controlled his urge to reach out and stroke her arm. She was just so adorable, and really, no one had a right to put her in trouble, he thought with a flicker of antagonism towards her deceased husband.
He really should not have gone and gotten himself killed like this.
Chapter 7
Inspector Bhogle looked at the list of family members and close friends that he had jotted down in his case diary. He had decided that he had to begin by ruling them out as suspects, one by one.
In most homicide cases, it was always someone close to the victim who had the strongest motive as well as the strongest opportunity for carrying out the crime. This was the way to proceed in this case also.
Besides, he neither had any leads, nor was anywhere near to pinpointing the likely suspects as of now.
Many people seemed to dislike Rajvir, but would they have gone so far as to kill him?
What about the information that Rose had just given him? Could it be possible? Possible that Lucas could have had something to do with Rajvir’s murder, or indeed done the deed himself? He had better grill Lucas closely and Natalie too. Clearly, Natalie must have been the flashpoint for Lucas. Given Rajvir’s reputation, possibly there could have been something between the two; and Lucas upon finding it out, must have been furious.
But first, he decided to examine the security footage one last time. He knew there would be nothing new. But then, not for anything was he known for his thoroughness. As he switched on the system, Professor Shantanu walked in.
‘Would you mind if I too have a look at it?’ the professor requested.
‘Okay, I guess. But why would you be interested in it?’ Bhogle was puzzled. Previously he had chosen to ignore the professor’s unnatural inquisitiveness in the investigation. But this time round, he had to ask.
‘Well – I don’t quite know how to put this, without sounding smug,’ the professor hesitated.
‘No, it’s okay, just tell me,’ Bhogle said.
‘Actually, I have solved some murders in the past,’ Shantanu stated.
‘Really? Where, when? Tell me the details,’ Bhogle was always interested in hearing about crime.
Professor Shantanu needed no further prompting. Fondly, he launched into the tale of how he had solved the case of the murder of a professor’s wife when he had been a young lecturer at IIT.
‘And when was the next murder?’ Bhogle asked.
‘It was not just one murder, but a series of murders last year in Dehradun.’
‘Oh! You mean the ones which took place in a college, in which the plot involved an international intrigue? I read all about it.’ Bhogle had a phenomenal memory.
‘Yeah.’
‘Wow. You got to the bottom if it?’ Bhogle was impressed.
‘Yes,’ Shantanu tried vainly to remain modest.
‘Then you must get into this one too. I could use your insight into the case,’ Bhogle made a split-second decision.
Shantanu smiled broadly. This was precisely what he wanted. He was already deep into trying to work out the how and why of Rajvir’s murder. He also realized that he wanted in on all the information that Bhogle had gathered. The best way to do this was to join forces with him.
The two hunched over the security footage. Bhogle rapidly filled him in with details about how he had questioned everyone seen in the footage around the time of the murder.
‘You mean between three and five?’ Shantanu stated.
‘Yeah and all those who were seen in the vicinity of the study.’
Bhogle pointed out all the people they could see and ticked them off from his list, a second-time round, for the benefit of the professor.
‘Hey, how about this person?’ Shantanu pointed to the back of a man as he entered the study.
‘How did I miss him?’ Bhogle quickly reversed the recording. Strangely enough, the man appeared from one corner, which was not covered by the camera and quickly slipped into the study. Only his back was visible. There was no way of identifying who it could be. The time in the footage showed 4 am. They watched the remaining clip to see when he came out. But he did not. It seemed that he stayed back in the study or disappeared from there, or something.
‘This needs further investigation,’ Bhogle’s eyes narrowed.
‘Let’s check the entire footage until morning. Maybe he left through the secret passageway leading to the garage,’ Shantanu said.
Bhogle looked at him in surprise. How did the professor know about the secret passageway? He did seem adept at investigation; he had not been kidding.
‘But first, how do we know who is he? Does his back profile tell us anything?’ the professor continued.
They stared hard, as they replayed the footage of the man’s entry into the study.
‘He is not young,’ Shantanu said.
‘How can you say?’ Bhogle said.
‘Look at the way he walks. The steps he takes are not those of a young man… And wait …’ Shantanu paused, as he stared at the frozen frame of the man. ‘When you look at him from an angle it seems that one of his shoulder blades slopes lower than the other one – it reminds me of … of … someone … I can’t quite recall. But I think I have noticed it in someone.’
‘Really?’ Bhogle leaned forward to peer closely at the picture.
‘Yes! Maybe it will come to me and then I will tell you.’
‘Please! Think hard. This is one chap I have overlooked and we must identify him immediately so that I can interrogate him. Maybe he is the culprit, or maybe he knows something, or maybe he can give us some clue,’ Bhogle was excited.
‘Maybe you should show it to the people in the house. They could perhaps recognize him,’ Shantanu suggested.
‘Yes. I’ll do that ASAP,’ Bhogle nodded. ‘I think it was a good idea that I asked you to be in on this. You have already made a beginning in helping me.’
Shantanu smiled. Was it possible that Bhogle did not realise that he had been manoeuvred into making this decision?
‘Would you like to be with me during my next round of interrogation?’ Bhogle asked.
‘Absolutely!’ Shantanu was happy things were turning out just as he wanted.
‘Great, I’m going to begin with Lucas,’ Bhogle quickly filled in Shantanu with the conversation between Lucas and Natalie that Rose had overheard.
‘Right go ahead. I’ll just sit by the side, listen, and observe,’ the professor said.
A little later Bhogle summoned Lucas, ‘Tell me, where were you between three and five on the night of Rajvir Kapoor’s murder?’
‘Nowhere. Why do you ask?’ Lucas said.
‘I’m putting this question to everyone, that is why I’m asking.’
‘But why put it to me? I have nothing to do with Rajvir,’ Lucas became insolent.
‘Yes, you don’t, but your girlfriend does,’ Bhogle goaded him.
Lucas’s face tightened. ‘So?’ he hit out after a while.
‘So,
it is natural for you to hate the man your girlfriend is overly friendly with.’
‘Natalie was only doing a film with him. There was nothing more between them. So, I did not need to feel anything for him, or hate him,’ Lucas spoke evenly.
‘Are you sure about this?’
‘Yes.’
‘But I believe a little while ago you mentioned about Rajvir messing with your woman and so deserving to get what he got,’ Bhogle spoke softly.
Lucas’s eyes widened with surprise. Then quickly recovering, he improvised, ‘Whoever has been telling you tales, neglected to tell you that I was just joking.’
‘Really? Was it a joke?’
‘Of course. Natalie was mine, is mine, and will always be mine. Why would I mind about Rajvir?’ Lucas paused. ‘And Rajvir was an old man – no match for me. Why would Natalie be interested in an old man? No matter that he was a big star.’
‘But you knew he was messing with Natalie?’
‘I told you I was just joking!’ Lucas raised his voice glaring at him. ‘I had found out about his reputation and was just teasing my girl. Can’t you understand?’
Bhogle remained quiet, watching the play of rile and irritation on Lucas’s face. After a while he said, ‘All right, just answer my routine questions then.’
‘Okay,’ Lucas conceded.
‘So where were you on that night?’
‘I was at my hotel room.’
‘Can someone vouch for it?’
‘No – I was alone. And you will have to take my word for it,’ Lucas spoke firmly.
‘Okay, I guess it is all right for now. In case I need more information, I will contact you. Please leave details about your whereabouts with my sub-inspector outside.’
Lucas nodded.
‘For how long do you intend to be in India?’ Bhogle asked.
‘I have decided that I should not leave my Natalie unprotected here. So, I will stay as long as it takes for her to finish her current assignments and then we will leave together,’ Lucas spoke firmly.
‘Right, thank you,’ the inspector said.
Lucas left.
‘Lucas was not invited to the party. He was not seen at Xanadu by anyone. He is not visible in any of the security camera recordings either. So, we will have to take his word that he was in his hotel room. If we cannot place him at the scene of crime, then we cannot really brand him a suspect,’ Bhogle said to the professor, who had been sitting quietly all this while.
‘True,’ Shantanu said.
‘But notwithstanding that, what do you make of him?’ Bhogle asked.
‘Umm, it is difficult to say. He is a tough cookie, no doubt. But would he have killed Rajvir? And if so why? I’m not too convinced about it,’ Shantanu responded laconically.
‘Yeah, I agree. I’m also not convinced about it. Although he does seem like a man who could easily kill someone. But not in the present situation,’ Bhogle paused.
Professor Shantanu inclined his head in acquiescence. ‘Perhaps Lucas really was joking as he said. Maybe Rose misconstrued the whole thing. She may have misinterpreted his words. She must have heard only a part of the conversation and not knowing the complete context, jumped to the only conclusion she could and reported accordingly,’ he said.
‘But anyway, it was a good thing that she told us what she did, and we have cleared this thing with Lucas,’ Bhogle said.
‘Yes. Now what next?’ Shantanu asked.
‘Well let us see who could be our main suspects …’ Bhogle flipped through his case diary. ‘Actually, I have not been able to pinpoint anyone as such. It is all based upon conjecture actually. I decided to begin with the family members, as is the norm in these matters. So, there is the wife, Pallavi, the son, Amar, the daughter-in-law, Remanika, the daughter, Mridula and the brother, Girish. Maybe the other wife Jyothika and the other son Chandra Prakash,’ Bhogle read out from his jottings on the page.
‘Yes, one must rule out the immediate family first,’ Professor Shantanu said.
‘Rajvir did not have any close friend, barring Dr. Singhvi and that swami perhaps, and maybe CP Karan Ahuja,’ Bhogle paused. ‘It would be ridiculous for us to assume that Ahuja Sir is suspect,’ he smiled.
‘I thought you guys are taught that everyone is suspect, unless proven innocent,’ the professor said.
‘Yes. But Ahuja Sir is the Commissioner Mumbai Police, for God’s sake,’ Bhogle said.
‘Right. What else do we have to go on?’ Shantanu asked.
‘Not much. Nothing actually. None of the guests, who had remained at Xanadu between three to five, seem to have anything against Rajvir. At least nothing that could be a strong enough motive for murder. The household staff too is very well looked after. I don’t think any one of them could have borne a grudge against their master and so wanted to do away with him,’ Bhogle paused.
‘Perhaps it could be someone unknown, some outside person, who could have done the deed for reasons best known to him or her,’ Professor Shantanu pointed out.
‘Umm … it could be possible. But how would the person have hoodwinked the security at Xanadu, gained access to the study, and also known about the fortuitous presence of the gun in advance?’ Bhogle said.
‘Yes. Also, there is no evidence of any such person in the camera footage either,’ Shantanu concurred. ‘Except, except, if the person entered the study via the secret passageway, did the deed, and escaped by the same route. Then no camera would have recorded it,’ he continued.
‘You do seem to have a point there. The main thing is the motive. Why would some outside person do it? Come to think of it, why would some family member also do it? As of now, it seems that only Lucas has some sort of motive,’ Bhogle said.
‘We just have to find out more about Rajvir’s relationship with all his family members. That is the only way to move forward. That will tell us if one of them had a motive for killing him,’ Shantanu said.
‘I will start working on it right away. I think you should also do the same. Since you are staying at Xanadu, it will be easier for you. You can informally get to know more things than I could ever hope to, in my official capacity,’ Bhogle said.
He was right, Professor Shantanu thought. The family members did indeed talk quite freely with him and even amongst themselves in his presence. He decided not to share with the inspector the last conversation he had, had with Pallavi. There was no reason to do so at this point of time. He knew it was not like him to lose objectivity when dealing with murder. ‘Maybe I will share my suspicion about Pallavi later,’ the professor made a mental note to himself.
‘You know Rajvir was not an ordinary star,’ Professor Dinkar Mishra said.
‘Yes, of course I know that,’ Professor Shantanu was surprised as to why his otherwise perceptive friend was stating the obvious.
‘I mean he consciously strategized to create his own success.’
‘What? How could he do that? Being successful as a hero is more a matter of chance and luck, than mere talent,’ Shantanu countered.
‘I agree, it usually is. But this was not the case with Rajvir,’ Dinkar smiled.
‘Really? What did he do?’ Shantanu was interested.
‘Remember, Rajvir studied Business Administration and wanted a career in the corporate world before deciding to give movies a shot?’
‘Yeah.’
‘As you know, he lived with us during the time and I became his best buddy and he discussed his strategy with me. He had majored in marketing and he decided to apply marketing theories in real life. He told me that he himself was a product, which he had to market. What he needed to do was to create and project Rajvir Kapoor as a brand with mass appeal,’ Dinkar paused.
‘Wow. Did he actually do this? And how?’ Professor Shantanu was impressed.
‘Yes. What Rajvir did was, he studied all the Hindi movies that had been hits. In particular, the films of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and others. He concluded that the successful movies of the time had a com
mon story-line. In most of them, the hero was a common person who managed to triumph against all odds. So, he decided that he would act in only those films where he was projected as being one of the masses; one who fights and wins against the establishment. For this, he roped in the scriptwriter duo Manas-Munir, who also happened to be his friends. He convinced them to spin stories around this central theme,’ Dinkar said.
‘Wow,’ Shantanu recalled some of the early hits of Rajvir, which had exactly the kind of story that Dinkar was mentioning. Who would have thought that it was all one big strategy?
‘And then the rest was history, as you know. With the passage of years, he made sure that the story-line and his role in his films kept pace with changing times and social concerns. This ensured that the masses continued to identify with him, empathize with him and feel that he was one of them. This ensured his continued mass appeal over the decades. So, beginning with playing the underdog, he went on to play the rebel, then romantic lover, to action hero and so on… All along, there was a clever marketing strategy in place. That is not to say that he was not immensely talented,’ Dinkar explained in detail.
‘Wow! I never knew this,’ Professor Shantanu marvelled at Rajvir’s astute acumen. This was certainly remarkable. ‘Gosh he certainly was a master illusionist like Mandrake the Magician and managed to manipulate the masses and that too for decades.’
‘Yes, not many people were in the know of it.’
‘But why didn’t the same strategy work for his son, Amar?’ Shantanu asked.
‘Well, there has to be talent and a bit of luck too. Strategy alone cannot do the trick,’ Dinkar said. ‘Sadly, Amar has no acting ability, charisma, or star power; and luck too has somehow bypassed the poor boy.’
‘Could this have led Amar to be extremely jealous of his father? You have been close to the family. Tell me what do you think?’ Shantanu asked.
‘Yes. Come to think of it, Amar was not really fond of his father. Had never been, for as far back as I remember. He pretended to get along, for the sake of his mother. I think it was Pallavi, who sort of held the family together,’ Dinkar said.