Prey On The Prowl A Crime Novel
by BS Murthy
Even as
Detective Dhruva was enamored of Kavya, whom he rescues from her kidnapper,
Radha, an alleged murderess on the run, gatecrashes into his life. But when
Kavya too joins him after her man was poisoned there ensues the tussle of a
love triangle, which gets unraveled in a poignant end, but not before a series
of murders. So,
then who could have poisoned Ranjit the realtor, Shakeel the Inspector, Pravar
the criminal and Natya his accomplice?Well
the needle of suspicion tilted towards Pravar that was till he perished with
his mate, but then who was the one? Could
it be Radha under the scanner for her role in the death of her husband Madhu
and his mistress Mala, Pravar's sister? Or was it Ranjit's spouse Kavya, who
owing to Stockholm Syndrome, takes to Pravar her kidnapper.As
these deaths by poisoning puzzle Dhruva, Radha avers that Kavya had the motive
and the means to kill her spouse, her paramour and his wife besides the cop.However,
reckoning that when the ill-motives of the natural suspects to commit a murder
are an open secret, someone with a hidden agenda might be tempted to use that
as a camouflage for his subterfuge, Dhruva begins to look around for the
culprit.
The Book's Agenda for Revenge.1. Prey on
the Prowl2.
Shakeel’s Fixation3. Ranjit’s
Predicament 4. Rags to
Riches5. Dhruva’s
Dilemma 6. The
Gatecrasher7.
Operation Checkmate8. Foul on
Pravar 9.
Stockholm Syndrome10. An
Aborted Affair11. Psyche
of Revenge12. Victim
of Trust13.
Backyard of Life14.
Cuckoo’s Nest15.
‘Untried’ Crime16. Kavya’s
Quagmire17. Murders
to Mislead18. The
Other Woman 19.
Shakeel’s Demise20. A
Perfect Murder21. Deaths
in Spandan22.
Arraigned in Remand23. Depressing Discovery24. The Red
Herring25. Wages
of Abuse26.
Decoding the Crime27. A
Poignant End:Book excerpt for the feel of its literary style:Prey on the ProwlThat June
evening, the crimson sun gave in to the dark monsoon clouds to let them end its
long summer reign over the Deccan skies. What with the thickening clouds
thundering in triumph, Dhruva woke up from his siesta, and by the time he moved
into the portico of his palatial bungalow at 9, Castle Hills, the skies had
opened up to shower its sprawling lawns. It was as if the eagerness of the rainfall
matched the longing of the parched soil to receive its fertile mate in an aroma
of embrace, and in the ensuing echoes of that seasonal union, the roots of the
garden plants devoured every raindrop, that is, even as their leaves shed the
overburden to accommodate the new arrivals.Dhruva,
impelled by all that, stood engrossed, and Raju, the housekeeper, fetched him a
plateful of hot pakodas, which, facing the spatter, he began to savour,
and before he had finished with the snack, Raju returned with a mug of steaming
Darjeeling tea for him. Soon, the
refreshed sun resurged to warm up the leaves, even as the satiated roots
let the bounty go down the drain. Done with the beverage, Dhruva picked up the
sachet of lanka pogaku,
to roll a cigar, and finishing that as he reached for the cigar lighter,
the rainbow, in its resplendent colors, unfolded in the misty skies. However,
when he began puffing away at the cigar, as if dispelled by its strong scent,
the dissipated clouds began disappearing from the horizon.Watched by
Dicey, the Alsatian, Dhruva savored the cigar to the last puff, but as he
stubbed the butt, and stepped out onto the lush green lawn, the pet followed
him to leave its footprints on the damp canvas in its master’s tracks. Even as
the clouds began regrouping in the skies, he covered the garden to caress every
croton and coleus as he would Dicey. But when it portended downpour, Raju led
Dicey into the portico and Dhruva headed towards the study to pick up the
half-read Crimes Digest of the month.
However, as it rained again, he reached the first-floor French window, standing
by which he thought that it was akin to the urge of the assassin to revisit the
scene of the crime, for a review of the same. Amused by his analogy, he thought
as if the rain was obliterating its earlier footprints, but when it ceased
raining and the skies turned murky, seemingly mourning the loss of their
resplendence, he too immersed himself in the dark world of crime the Digest pictured.Meanwhile,
Raju let Dicey do the patrolling, and soon it began barking at the gate
inducing Dhruva to reach to the window, through which he saw a sensuous woman,
tentative at the half-open Iron Gate of his mansion. Enamoured of her
attractive face and desirous of her middle-aged frame, as he stood rooted, the
pet sprang up to the gate, forcing the tantalizing trespasser to beat a hasty
retreat. No less affected by her sensual gait in her retreat, Dhruva lost his
eyes to her, until she went out of his sight, but readily alive to her loss, he
cursed himself for not sticking to the portico. Inexplicably obsessed with her,
he rushed to the gate only to see her turning the bend even as Inspector
Shakeel came into view on his Bajaj Pulsar.When
Shakeel greeted Dhruva, feeling lost, he forced himself to hug him, just as
Dicey leapt up to the visitor in welcome, and as Raju took away the pet, Dhruva
led the cop into the portico, wondering aloud what made him scarce, for nearly
three months then. When Shakeel began to detail how he had reached the dead-end
of the investigation of a double murder he was handling, the detective closed
his eyes, as if to avoid reading the script from the cop’s body language.
Detective Dhruva was enamored of Kavya, whom he rescues from her kidnapper,
Radha, an alleged murderess on the run, gatecrashes into his life. But when
Kavya too joins him after her man was poisoned there ensues the tussle of a
love triangle, which gets unraveled in a poignant end, but not before a series
of murders. So,
then who could have poisoned Ranjit the realtor, Shakeel the Inspector, Pravar
the criminal and Natya his accomplice?Well
the needle of suspicion tilted towards Pravar that was till he perished with
his mate, but then who was the one? Could
it be Radha under the scanner for her role in the death of her husband Madhu
and his mistress Mala, Pravar's sister? Or was it Ranjit's spouse Kavya, who
owing to Stockholm Syndrome, takes to Pravar her kidnapper.As
these deaths by poisoning puzzle Dhruva, Radha avers that Kavya had the motive
and the means to kill her spouse, her paramour and his wife besides the cop.However,
reckoning that when the ill-motives of the natural suspects to commit a murder
are an open secret, someone with a hidden agenda might be tempted to use that
as a camouflage for his subterfuge, Dhruva begins to look around for the
culprit.
The Book's Agenda for Revenge.1. Prey on
the Prowl2.
Shakeel’s Fixation3. Ranjit’s
Predicament 4. Rags to
Riches5. Dhruva’s
Dilemma 6. The
Gatecrasher7.
Operation Checkmate8. Foul on
Pravar 9.
Stockholm Syndrome10. An
Aborted Affair11. Psyche
of Revenge12. Victim
of Trust13.
Backyard of Life14.
Cuckoo’s Nest15.
‘Untried’ Crime16. Kavya’s
Quagmire17. Murders
to Mislead18. The
Other Woman 19.
Shakeel’s Demise20. A
Perfect Murder21. Deaths
in Spandan22.
Arraigned in Remand23. Depressing Discovery24. The Red
Herring25. Wages
of Abuse26.
Decoding the Crime27. A
Poignant End:Book excerpt for the feel of its literary style:Prey on the ProwlThat June
evening, the crimson sun gave in to the dark monsoon clouds to let them end its
long summer reign over the Deccan skies. What with the thickening clouds
thundering in triumph, Dhruva woke up from his siesta, and by the time he moved
into the portico of his palatial bungalow at 9, Castle Hills, the skies had
opened up to shower its sprawling lawns. It was as if the eagerness of the rainfall
matched the longing of the parched soil to receive its fertile mate in an aroma
of embrace, and in the ensuing echoes of that seasonal union, the roots of the
garden plants devoured every raindrop, that is, even as their leaves shed the
overburden to accommodate the new arrivals.Dhruva,
impelled by all that, stood engrossed, and Raju, the housekeeper, fetched him a
plateful of hot pakodas, which, facing the spatter, he began to savour,
and before he had finished with the snack, Raju returned with a mug of steaming
Darjeeling tea for him. Soon, the
refreshed sun resurged to warm up the leaves, even as the satiated roots
let the bounty go down the drain. Done with the beverage, Dhruva picked up the
sachet of lanka pogaku,
to roll a cigar, and finishing that as he reached for the cigar lighter,
the rainbow, in its resplendent colors, unfolded in the misty skies. However,
when he began puffing away at the cigar, as if dispelled by its strong scent,
the dissipated clouds began disappearing from the horizon.Watched by
Dicey, the Alsatian, Dhruva savored the cigar to the last puff, but as he
stubbed the butt, and stepped out onto the lush green lawn, the pet followed
him to leave its footprints on the damp canvas in its master’s tracks. Even as
the clouds began regrouping in the skies, he covered the garden to caress every
croton and coleus as he would Dicey. But when it portended downpour, Raju led
Dicey into the portico and Dhruva headed towards the study to pick up the
half-read Crimes Digest of the month.
However, as it rained again, he reached the first-floor French window, standing
by which he thought that it was akin to the urge of the assassin to revisit the
scene of the crime, for a review of the same. Amused by his analogy, he thought
as if the rain was obliterating its earlier footprints, but when it ceased
raining and the skies turned murky, seemingly mourning the loss of their
resplendence, he too immersed himself in the dark world of crime the Digest pictured.Meanwhile,
Raju let Dicey do the patrolling, and soon it began barking at the gate
inducing Dhruva to reach to the window, through which he saw a sensuous woman,
tentative at the half-open Iron Gate of his mansion. Enamoured of her
attractive face and desirous of her middle-aged frame, as he stood rooted, the
pet sprang up to the gate, forcing the tantalizing trespasser to beat a hasty
retreat. No less affected by her sensual gait in her retreat, Dhruva lost his
eyes to her, until she went out of his sight, but readily alive to her loss, he
cursed himself for not sticking to the portico. Inexplicably obsessed with her,
he rushed to the gate only to see her turning the bend even as Inspector
Shakeel came into view on his Bajaj Pulsar.When
Shakeel greeted Dhruva, feeling lost, he forced himself to hug him, just as
Dicey leapt up to the visitor in welcome, and as Raju took away the pet, Dhruva
led the cop into the portico, wondering aloud what made him scarce, for nearly
three months then. When Shakeel began to detail how he had reached the dead-end
of the investigation of a double murder he was handling, the detective closed
his eyes, as if to avoid reading the script from the cop’s body language.