The arranged murder?️

chapter 3

I couldn’t hear my phone in the noisy Malviya Nagar market. When I

checked it after grocery shopping at Mahavir General Stores, near the Z

Detectives office, I saw that I had four missed calls. Saurabh had called me

multiple times.

Why would he call me, I wondered. He had not initiated conversation

with me for a month. Maybe he had sat on his phone and butt-dialled me by

accident. I didn’t want to call back and hear more insults.

I kept my phone back in the pocket of my shirt. I lifted the two heavy

bags full of groceries and started to walk back home. My shirt lit up as the

phone flashed again.

Irritated, I kept the bags on the ground. I took out my phone again. The

call was from Saurabh. Had he come back home already? Maybe he’d

forgotten to carry his keys? And wanted to use the bathroom real bad? He

could go to hell. I shook my head in disgust. The ringing wouldn’t stop. I

finally picked up.

'Yes, Saurabh?’ I said in a frosty tone.

‘Keshav, where are you?’

'Bought milk. And other household stuff. That you keep finishing.

Carrying twenty kilos in my hands right now. You have a problem with

that?’

‘Bhai, can you come here?’

‘What?’ I said. His voice sounded urgent and disturbed at the same

time.

'Like right now, bhai?’

He had called me bhai after two months. Was he drunk?

‘Where?’

'Prerna’s house. You have come here before, right? A-956,’ he said,

voice still tense.

I checked the time. It was 8.30 p.m. Why was he calling me there?

What about the ‘let’s not get in each other’s way’ fight we had an hour ago?

And why the hell should I do what he wanted me to?

‘Why?’ I said.

‘Just come, bhai, please. Will tell you everything. Start right now.’

‘I have to keep the daal and atta at home first.’

‘No, bhai, I beg you. Now.’

I wondered what had happened. Did Prerna dump his romantic ass?‘Fine, I will come with the bags. You better help me carry them back.’

I reached Prema’s house in under twenty-five minutes. Meanwhile,

Saurabh had called me three more times to check my location. He was

standing outside when I arrived. I saw a Delhi Police Gypsy parked outside

Prema’s house. Cops sat inside the vehicle eating samosas.

The vibe said something was wrong.

‘What’s going on?’ I said to Saurabh.

‘Bhai,’ Saurabh said and gave me a tight hug. He continued to hold me,

and then he began to cry.

'What happened, Golu?’ I said, addressing him as I used to before our

recent differences. It is funny how you forget fights and automatically

switch back to caring mode when your best friend really needs you.

‘Prerna,’ he said, still in tears. ‘Bhai, Prerna.’

‘What about Prerna? What happened?’

He didn’t say anything. He continued to sob and pointed at the house. I

walked in. I saw a body covered in a white sheet. Aditya and Ramesh stood

there.

‘Uncle, what happened?’ I said. Ramesh gave me a blank look. Saurabh

came in after me.

'Bhai, Prerna is gone,’ he said and held my arm again, his tears

uncontrollable.

My eyes opened wide in shock. Saurabh went up to remove the sheet

from Prema’s face. Aditya gently stopped him.

‘The police said not to disturb her,’ he said.

I really wanted to know what had happened. However, I had to console

Saurabh first.

‘She was my life,’ Saurabh said, clutching my collar.

‘I know, Saurabh. I am so sorry.’ I patted his back. Even though I hadn’t

known Prerna well, I choked up to see my friend cry like this.

'What happened? You came to see her, right?’

Between sobs, in broken sentences, he narrated the events of the

evening.

'Oh my God' I said as I heard the entire story.

A few minutes later, a senior cop came up to us. Three other constables

followed him.

'Who’s he?’ the senior cop said, eyeing me.‘He’s Keshav. Saurabh’s friend,’ Ramesh said. ‘Ke-shav, this is

Inspector Singh.’

I offered my hand to the inspector to shake. He ignored me. Singh

looked to be in his thirties; he stood straight-backed, had a light complexion

and sharp features.

'You were at the terrace with your friend too?’ Singh said.

I shook my head.

'Inspector sahib, you don’t have to stay here so late. We will be fine.

Thank you for your support,’ Ramesh said.

‘The kind of case this is, we have to,’ Singh said.

'Case? What kind of case?’ Ramesh said. ‘She fell down, right?’

'We don’t know,’ Singh said, staring at Saurabh. ‘We need to talk to

everyone here. Where did the ladies of the house go?’

'They went upstairs. They need to be with my mother. She still doesn’t

know,’ Ramesh said.

'Who was the young lady? She came with a big backpack a little while

ago.’

‘My niece, Anjali. She returned from a trekking trip,’ Ramesh said.

The inspector took out a notebook.

‘Okay. And who are the other women in the house?’ ‘My

wife Neelam, sister Bindu and my mother.’ ‘Who else in the

house?’ Singh said, taking notes.

'My son Ajay. Maid Gopika. But why are you asking me all this?’

Ramesh said.

'We have to figure out what happened.’

'An accident. She fell down from the terrace,’ Ramesh said.

‘We don’t know that, do we? What do you say, Mr Saurabh?’ Singh

said.

Saurabh looked at the inspector, surprised at the cop’s accusatory tone.

‘Singh sir, it is better you come and talk to us later. Everyone is too

disturbed,’ Aditya said.

'Later is no good. People get time to make up their stories.’

Aditya walked up to the inspector and folded his hands.

‘I am sorry, Inspector sir, nobody needs to make up stories. Please leave

my brother alone. We haven’t even had time to absorb this. We haven’t

even told my mother,’ Aditya said softly. ‘The body is right here. We

haven’t even thought about the funeral.’I don’t know about the inspector, but the three constables seemed to

sympathise with Aditya. Or maybe they were just tired and wanted to go

home.

‘Okay,’ Singh said after a pause. ‘Can I just speak to him?’ He pointed

to Saurabh.

Aditya looked at Saurabh and me. Saurabh nodded.

‘Let’s go outside,’ the police inspector said, snapping his fingers at

Saurabh. ‘Let the family be for now.’