The arranged murder?️

chapter 7

Almost a hundred people, most of them dressed in white, occupied the

front room of Malhotra House. They had come to offer their condolences.

The family was waiting for the cops to bring back the body from the

morgue, so that they could take it to the electric crematorium.

'The police is here,’ Aditya said. The police mortuary van drove up to

the front entrance of the house. Inspector Singh and a constable

accompanied the body. They too had come in plain white clothes, in

keeping with the situation.

The women in the room reacted first. Neelam, Bindu, Maaji and Anjali

huddled together and cried loudly when they saw Prema’s pale and still

face. Ramesh and Aditya stood quietly by. Ajay hid in one comer of the

room. He seemed unable to process his emotions and looked intimidated by

the crowd in the house. Prerna was wrapped in a white shroud and was in a

glass case. The police had cleaned up her face. There was no blood, only

calm.

Saurabh began to cry again, his hand tight in mine. Saurabh’s parents

arrived soon after and stood next to their son with folded hands. Saurabh’s

mother too tried to comfort him.

A priest chanted a few mantras, after which the body was taken back to

the mortuary van. The family had decided not to do a procession. Family

members and other visitors sat in their respective cars and followed the van

to the crematorium.

The crematorium staff, too used to doing this, mechanically moved the

body to the tray that went inside the electric furnace. Within minutes,

Prerna was in the opaque combustion chamber. Smoke flew up the chimney,

high above the crematorium building. Prerna rose up to the sky, leaving us

forever.

Inspector Singh came and stood next to me.

I nodded in greeting.

‘What are you thinking?’ Singh said.

'Feeling bad for my friend,’ I said.

‘And?’

‘Thinking of someone in my past who died as well.’ ‘You

know what I am thinking?’

I shook my head.

‘That if Prerna was murdered, the murderer is right here at the funeral.’I looked at the inspector. I didn’t know how to respond.

'True, isn’t it?’ Singh said.

I turned my gaze to Saurabh, who stood sobbing between his parents.

Tn that case, Inspector, for the sake of my best friend, let’s find out who did

it.’