The adventures of David Roy

Case #2: The invesatigation

Next day, Amrita Jaiswal is in the station. David " Thank you for cooperating with us Ms. Jaiswal. We heard that you are in a relationship with Naveen, is that correct?" Amrita nodded yes in response.

David " Is there anyone who's not happy about your relationship?"

Amrita " Yes, Arun Malhotra. He's my ex-boyfriend, we work together. I broke up with him last year."

David " Why did you break up?"

Amrita " He was impossibly possessive & controlling."

David " How did he take the breakup?"

Amrita " Not well. He threatened me & then begged me to leave Naveen."

David " But you didn't?"

Amrita " No. I had enough of him."

David " Before Naveen died, is there anything unusual about him? Was he depressed about anything?"

Amrita " No, I haven't noticed any such thing."

David " What about Preeti?"

Amrita " She's a very reserved person, but we had a friendly relationship between us. She's a lovely person. She used to discuss how snake venom can be used in treating various autoimmune diseases."

David " What're you doing, on the day of the murders?"

Amrita " I was at my home watching television."

David " Can anyone verify that?"

Amrita" Yes, my parents they live with me."

David " Thank you. We will call you again if necessary. Don't leave town."

Amrita said thanks and she left. David called Smriti " Can you interrogate the cousin? I am going to talk with the colleagues of both the victims. I am taking Billy with me."

Smriti " yeah, sure. I sent Ahmed to see if he can trace the shop from where the rat poison was brought."

David " Let me know if you need anything. Bye"

The cousin Sudeep Bhatia told them about their family. Their grandparents Mohit Bhatia & Gouri Bhatia had three sons & two daughters. They are Praveen, the eldest son, Pradeep, Prakash, Parineeti & Akriti, the youngest daughter. All of them lives in the same village.

Naveen & Preeti are the children of Praveen & Lakshmi Bhatia. He himself is the son of Akriti & Ratan Rathore, who became a drug addict in early teens, ran away from home. Naveen & Preeti found him with the help of the police, at a den, brought him home. No one wanted to take him back. Naveen & Preeti took him to their house, paid for his whole treatment. They paid for his studies, gave him a loan to start his business, which he paid back within a year. He married and have two sons. Naveen's parents died a long time ago, they took care of their grandparents too which the others refused to do. When our grandparents died, we decided to sell the lands. Naveen & Preeti did all the paperwork & they wanted to keep a bigger share to themselves. He himself didn't blame them for that, because that's justified. The others were not so happy about it, especially Suraj & Dibyansh Mehra sons of Parineeti & Ratan Mehra.

Smriti " Why were they angry?"

Sudeep " Well, they're gamblers & they lost everything on gambling, their job, their money but they didn't stop gambling. They said they wanted a larger share of the profit because they wanted to start a business, but the truth is, they would gamble & lose it. Naveen didn't want to let that happen. So he gave them a small share & sure enough, they lost it on gambling. They're always asking Naveen, Preeti, me or anyone for money."

Smriti " What do you know about Veena?"

Sudeep " She is the daughter of Harilal, Harilal was an old servant who looked after us especially our grandparents. After Harilal died, Veena came to work for them. In the last few years, our grandparents lived with Naveen & Preeti, Veena also went with them. After our grandparents died, Veena continued to stay with them. All is going well, Naveen got married. But then things took an ugly turn, they separated.

Smriti " What can you tell us about Maya? Have you ever met Amrita Jaiswal?" Sudeep " Well, Maya is a nice lady, they were happy with each other. I couldn't understand why they separated for such a trivial matter. The medical science has made tremendous success in this field. Preeti tried to make them understand, but they separated. And no, I haven't met with Amrita Jaiswal, but I heard about her from Naveen."

Smriti " They both died without an heir, what will happen to their property?" Sudeep " Well, they made a will, according to which, sixty percent of their property will be divided amongst Maya, Veena, the lawyer & me, each of us will receive an amount of fifty thousand rupees. Forty percent will be donated to the university for continuing the research. All of us are the signed the papers at the lawyer's office."

Smriti " Who drew the papers?"

Sudeep " Mr. Karan Bakshi, their old & trusted lawyer."

Smriti " Thanks Mr. Rathore, now tell us what're you doing on the night of the murders?"

Sudeep " I was at a restaurant having dinner with my family."

They talked to Mr. Bakshi, who is in the UK, for a lecture over the phone. He corroborated Sudeep's story. He will be arriving shortly after this week. He heard the news from Veena. He is their lawyer for more than thirty years. At first, he worked for their father, after his death, then he worked for them.

Veena came to the station, Smriti asked: " How're you holding up?"

Veena " Been better."

Smriti decided to start with a shocking question, " Veena, was Naveen ever behave inappropriately towards you?"

Veena " No. On the contrary, he was very respectful towards women."

Smriti "And Preeti? How was Maya? How was their behavior towards you? Veena " They both were a nice person. Maya Madam used to take me to the movies. We also went shopping together."

Smriti " Is there anything to tell us, that might help us to solve this case?" Veena " Yes, Suraj Bhaiyaji came, the day before they died. He was asking them for money because Ratan Chachaji is ill. When they refused, he threatened to kill them. He was looking quite desperate."

Smriti " Then what happened?"

Veena " After some time he left, still angry. Then Bhaiyaji said not to worry about Suraj Bhaiyaji. Actually, Chachaji himself warned them about Suraj's intention. On the day of the murders, I left for home around 5.30 pm, as usual. I reached around 6 pm. I was feeling a little uneasy, so I went straight to sleep, I don't for how long. I was awakened by your phone call."

Smriti " You're one of the witnesses of the will?"

Veena " Yes, I am."

Smriti " Is it possible that anyone killed them for this money?"

Veena " I don't think so, because there's a clause in the will, if there's any sign of foul play, all of If none of us are alive, all the money goes to the university." Smriti " Smart people, ok Veena you can go now."

David talked with Maya & her parents, she was not in India, during the day of the murders. She had no contacts with them since the divorce. David looked into the lives all four of them, none of them had any financial problems, none of their activities are suspicious.