

### The Night After

### UJAAN GHOSH

### The Night After

### Ujaan Ghosh

### Cover Picture Amrita Chowdhury

### Published By Ujaan Ghosh at Smashwords

### Copyright 2014 Ujaan Ghosh

### All characters appearing in this book are fictional. Any resemblance to actual events, locales and persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

### Smashwords Edition, License Notes

### _This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be r-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author_.

### Chapter 1

"We have a new recruit. Ganesh! Local guy recently got promoted; he will be your new side kick." The commissioner sat in his office as he passed on the information. The room was centrally air- conditioned, making it a respite from the sultry weather of India. Hari sat on the opposite chair and cleaned his glasses with the tail end of his shirt. He scratched his well-maintained French cut and said warily, "You know Javed, I hardly have ten years or so of my service left. My beard and hair are all growing white. I have a hard time working with these kids."

Javed picked up a file from the table, which was kept amidst a messy heap of papers, "This is the file of the guy, read it. The kid has a good record; this is his first term in homicide. Just make him do the leg work, the errands and your coffee and stuff like that."

Hari wore his glasses back; a sleek metallic half- rimmed one with a blue sheen that his wife got him recently from one of those upstart malls of the city which Hari believed to be housing sophisticated goons who tricked people into paying more by using fancy technological jargon. He picked up the blue file that had the career record of his new subordinate. "Don't tell me I have to meet him today."

Javed looked at his watch on his right wrist, a big dial beautifully attached to wide leather strap. He had some time left before he could pack his things up and call it a day and he rather chose staying in the confines of this air conditioned room than out on the road."You can if you want, but first I want to talk about this case we received in the morning. It's a bit sensitive so I wanted to clear things out first."

Hari got his phone out from his pocket and kept it on the table. The small phone with its keypad and small screen was a prehistoric past compared to the several smart phones that flooded the market. "You know I am still Old school. If by sensitive you mean I have to overlook criminality considering the social status of the accused then..." He was stopped midway as Javed shook his head sideways and said, "Listen to me first!" Hari reluctantly added, "Go on."

"The case concerns the retired Army General Koushik Sen. As you know, he is one of the most respected people around. Yesterday was his son's wedding and..." Javed took a pause. Hari grew curious and leaned closer as the tone of suspense in Javed's voice became thicker, resting his elbows at the very edge of the glass table, "And ? What?"

"And the bride was murdered." Javed replied.

"In front of everybody?" Hari exclaimed.

"I don't know. Her drink was poisoned or so it seems. They tried to take her to the hospital but she died on the way." Javed lowered his voice as he said, to add a histrionic touch to his narrative.

Hari got up from his chair and roamed around in the room, the unusual yellowish paint on the wall never suited his eyes. He stared at the big portrait of Gandhi that is mandatory in most cabins of the police head quarters. "You want me to do what?" he said without turning towards Javed.

"I want you to go easy on them. Their reputation is at stake. It is being followed up by the media and there is a pressure on the department. You understand what I am saying." Javed added cautiously. Knowing Hari for all these years he knew hardly any of it would have an effect.

"I don't get it. What exactly do you want me to do?" Hari said with a tone of astonishment.

"I won't beat around the bush Hari. I want you to be careful. If you take even one wrong step... they are very powerful people and then there is the Media..." Javed continued, "I want you to realize what is at stake here."

Hari got back to his chair and looked Javed straight into his eyes, "I will carry on this investigation. If the truth is unpleasant then so be it."

"You don't get it." Javed got up from his red revolving chair, animated in his gestures, he said, "I was summoned from the Home ministry and General Sen was there. He will contest in the Parliamentary elections next month and has already filed his nomination. The minster and the general made it clear that while they want the investigation to be routine, the department should make sure that their family is safe."

"So what? If I come to know that his son is involved in the murder I should let him go?" Hari was disgusted with the running of the department and that resonated profoundly in his voice.

"I have said what I needed to. You are intelligent enough to understand." Javed went to the small glass cabinet where he kept the most valuable files and got a green one out. "These are the preliminary findings. The local station cleared things out. You can take over now."He handed the file to Hari.

"Forensics?" Hari kept it short as he took the file.

"Don't ask me about forensics." Javed came back to his seat.

"Fine. I will visit the scene and start working." Hari got up from his chair and headed for the door when Javed added, "The media is waiting just outside their building and will have a lot of questions for you." Hari did not reply and got out of the cabin.

He stood outside the lift and waited for it to arrive. He stared down and could see the roof of the lift probably stuck in the second floor.

"Sir!" Somebody said from behind as Hari turned back his head. A young man in his thirties stood in uniform. His utmost search for maturity was reflected by the hard effort he put to make his moustache longer than usual. The curled edges of the moustache surely felicitated his masculine expression. The well-sculpted chest and biceps testified the hours in the gym he wasted. His voice though hardly matched his physique, "I am Ganesh. I am supposed to report to you." His voice shook in nervousness out of the sheer fact of seniority that Hari had over him. His monumental accomplishment of solving thousands of homicides before made Ganesh more nervous than his first day at the police school.

"Yes! Good that you have arrived but why are you dressed like a clown?" Hari hardly seemed impressed by the ethereal physique and the accurate gestures that his subordinate displayed.

"I am sorry Sir. I don't understand." Ganesh fumbled.

"You are in homicide and not the traffic guard. Carry your batch from tomorrow and get rid of the uniform." Hari laughed inside his head, enjoying the opportunity to bully the freshmen.

"I am sorry. I will keep that in mind." Ganesh looked towards the floor as he replied. It was a convention for kids to not look into the eyes of their officers.

"Accompany me to the crime scene. This is your first case." Hari prepared to walk towards the lift, which arrived as he finished. The liftman removed the crisscrossed gates and saluted Hari. Both men entered the lift as it took them down with an archaic sound that always accompanied it.

### Chapter 2

Hari and Ganesh wrestled their way as they passed the huge group of reporters who waited outside the entrance of the house. In spite of their incessant demands for answers, the detectives refused to answer their questions and entered the house. Hari and Ganesh were asked to wait in the drawing room by one of the servants of the house.

"Namashkar Hari baboo! I was informed by the department that you are taking charge of this case. " Mr. Sen entered the room with his hands folded and addressed the detectives.

Hari and Ganesh both got up from the blue sofa set where they were getting comfortable with each passing minute. Just behind the Sofa was huge glass cabinet filled with honorary medals that Mr.Sen had collected in his lifetime for servicing in the army. Hari and Ganesh both returned the formal gesture by folding their hands.

"I heard what happened yesterday and I am sorry." Hari sat back on his sofa as Mr. Sen also took a seat opposite to him. The line of separation was rectangular glass table that was occupied with the day's newspaper. The morning light fell directly into the table creating a cynical reflection. Hari looked closely to Mr. Sen who wore a traditional white Panjabi that suited his persona. What struck Hari's eyes were the astrological rings he wore in each of his ten fingers. The clean shaved face and the strong jaw line testified the ruthlessness of the army man as he lifted his right leg and kept it in perpendicular support on his left.

"I can't believe that such an event befell on our family. We are shattered. Especially my son." Mr. Sen said as he rubbed the corner of his left eye with the middle finger of his right hand.

"Can you describe what happened exactly? We visited the crime scene and are waiting for forensics but a clear picture of the event is important. Was it during the wedding ceremony? " Hari said while he gestured Ganesh something. Ganesh who was idle for the time being took out a notebook and a pen from his laptop bag. He was asked to take down the notes of the interviews that Hari was about to conduct.

"No the wedding was a couple of days back. This was the reception."Mr. Sen looked at the clock on the wall, which indicated just fifteen past one, and added, "Please make it quick! I have some unfinished work."

"So what happened exactly?"

"It is a tradition in our family that before the formal reception the bride and the groom are supposed to have lunch with the whole family in the afternoon. So as planned both Paromita and Sujit had lunch with the whole family."

"Sorry to interrupt but who all were there during the lunch?"

"It was of course a closed gathering. Our entire family was present. A few friends, that's all."

"What about the bride's family?"

"Well! The bride's family is generally not present but Paromita's aunt came. She missed the wedding and stays in London, so only she came and of course a couple of her friends."

"Ok! And who else?"

"That is pretty much it. Sujit's friends of course came and it was fantastic and she seemed fine as well."

"Hmm!! What happened after that?"

"After the lunch, Paromita rushed to the beauty parlor and that's when she left. We took some much needed rest and then went back preparing for the big reception in the evening."

"Achha! What happened in the reception?"

"This is just too much for me to describe. Anyway, the reception was going in good flair and suddenly in the midst of everything, Paromita started vomiting blood. It was a horrible sight to see."

"Did you take her to the hospital?"

"Yes we immediately called an ambulance but the situation was too dire to wait. We tried to take her to the hospital in my car but she died on the way."

"Mr. Sen our primary thought entails that she was poisoned but we can't say for sure. Can you think of anyone who might have done this?"

The question answer session was something Ganesh enjoyed thoroughly. It was his first time taking notes in a homicide investigation. However, he had a hard time writing down all of the information since the pace of the dialog was quite rapid.

Mr. Sen gave a lengthy thought in answering the last question that Hari asked and after taking some time, he said, "No. It is very unlikely that someone would do this so I really don't know."

"I know that a lot is at stake here for you but I need to know the details if this murder has to be solved." Hari kept his voice firm.

"There is a bit of history about my son that you might want to know." Mr. Sen coughed a bit feeling uneasy about disclosing the family secret.

"Your secret is safe!" Hari assured.

"My son is no prize. Mediocre would be an overstatement. Four years back my son was involved in a scandal. A woman filed a report in the police about molestation charges against him." Sen kept his voice down as much as possible.

"Was he really responsible?" Hari wiggled his fingers.

"He was. So I sent him abroad for his Masters. Paid for all his studies, of course scholarship was out of the question for him." Sen hung his face down, probably in shame. "You won't bring that up right?" He quickly added.

"I don't think I have to unless this has something to do with the murder. I am sure she was not present during the ceremony yesterday?" Hari asked.

"No!" Sen slowly got his head up and replied."Fair enough!" Hari got up from the sofa and Ganesh followed him. "Is there anything else that you might think would be useful?"

"Not that I know off." Mr. Sen sat on his place and continued, "Please, solve this case as soon as possible."

Hari nodded his head and looked around the room; an old black and white picture caught his attention. The picture was kept amongst many other frames above the glass cabinet, which displayed several honorary mementos. A man in his uniform posed in the backdrop of an unending forest."Is that you Mr. Sen? You have not changed a lot."

Mr. Sen chuckled, "Yes, I have maintained my army schedule even after retirement, limited food, dinner at 7, daily exercise and stuff like that."

"When was this?" Hari concentrated on the details.

"This was when I was posted somewhere in Bihar almost twenty five years back or so." Mr. Sen got up from his chair and added a quick rejoinder, "I really have to go now. My wife and son both had a rough day yesterday. Do you mind coming back in the evening and carrying on with your investigation? "

"Yes not a problem! I will come back in the evening. Thank you Mr. Sen for your co-operation. " Hari said as both men shook each other's hands. Ganesh was left in the side taking notes, having not a lot of role to play.

After Mr. Sen left, Ganesh was not yet sure whether to start a conversation with his superior or not. Hari was the one to finally initiate the conversation, "I want to go back to the office and check on the forensics and see if anything has turned up or not. You have a hard job to accomplish."

"Yes Sir. What is it that I have to do?" Ganesh replied in his firm voice. "I need a list of people who were attending the reception and I am sure there were private cameramen capturing the event. Get a copy of that as well and meet me near that Gurushaday Road crossing. In front of Haldiram around 6:00." Hari maintained his calm tone.

### Chapter 3

Ganesh looked at his watch and it was fifteen passed Six. He waited near the big gate of Haldiram, one of the largest food courts of the city. Reviewing the instruction he got earlier from his superior, Ganesh changed into casual clothing. A plain white formal shirt along with faded blue jeans, the hands of the shirts rolled up until his elbow. He looked at the big hoarding of Century Plywood just on the opposite side of the road as the street lights came into life owing to the fading dusk. His back ached a bit from standing for so long since he arrived by 5:35 just to make sure he was not late. He leaned on the recently painted blue and white railing by the footpath and thought of having a cigarette. He opened the front chain of his heavy leather laptop bag that he was carrying. He searched through the front compartment of his bag, tried to find the pack of cigarettes amidst a group of unnecessary papers, and eventually succeeded. A bit more search continued for the matchbox but he could not find one. Ganesh walked down the footpath towards a small cigarette shop and asked for a matchbox. The shopkeeper indicated towards the side of the shop where Ganesh saw a brown rope hanging by the wall with a burning end. Ganesh lit his cigarette by the end of the rope, puffed a bit of smoke in the air, and walked back to his initial position.

"You smoke while you are on duty?" Ganesh was taken aback all of a sudden, as he turned his head back. He saw Hari still a couple of yards away walking with a cup of coffee down towards him trying to balance his overweight body. He was still wearing the same white and red checked shirt he was wearing this morning.

"No, Sir, I mean I will just you know throw..." Ganesh fumbled.

"It is your first day and this is what they taught you." Hari increased his tone.

"I am so sorry sir I thought..." Ganesh was out of words.

"What did you think?" Hari's eyes narrowed towards his new sidekick.

Ganesh shook his head down and was about to throw the cigarette away. "Ah! I am kidding, aren't you a girl?" Hari was happy cracking a stupid joke.

Ganesh was still quiet and did not know what to do. "Oh come on! Smoke. It is all right. I am screwing with you." Hari added.

Ganesh slowly looked up and took a drag. Hari took a sip from his coffee cup, "Did you get the things I asked for?"

"Yes! I got the list of people who were invited. I have asked to make a copy of the video tapes and should be in the office in some time." Ganesh replied as he smoked, relishing the new found license.

"Let's walk towards the car then, we have to go to Mr. Sen's place." Hari started walking as Ganesh followed him.

"Did you get any news from forensics?" Ganesh walked by the side of the railings while he enquired. The footpath pavement was being redone for some reason and in most places, the red bricks made their cameo appearances.

"What you think? I just wish the forensics were that fast. This is Calcutta Homicide, forensics, they don't reach the scene till a week." Hari threw the Coffee cup on the pavement after his last sip, littering on the street as he always does.

"But how will he proceed without forensics?"

"The girl is poisoned, that is as much forensic you will need."

"But we gotta know the time and the kind of poison and all that."

"You never worked on homicide so let me give you an advice. If you think you are going to work, based on forensic reports go join the CIA."

"Yes but we need some sort of report from them. We at least need to know when she was poisoned."

"When I joined the department you were probably in high school and the forensics arrived after the case was solved. But yes it is important for us to know when she was poisoned to narrow down suspects."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Old school interrogation."

Hari stopped all of a sudden by a small roadside shop that sold local junk food. The small shop was less than a shop and more like a small space covered by blue plastic on the top to prevent the rain from entering. The woman sat with a small stove and only a little lamp was lit by the side that illuminated the tiny surrounding. "Ask her in Bengali to give me two begunis." Hari said in a childish tone.

"What?" Ganesh seemed surprised.

"If you want something for yourself, ask her for that too. I will pay." Hari ordered.

Ganesh leaned a bit and said, "Charte beguni deben?" The woman took four begunis out from the small jhuri and wrapped it in the small thonga made of newspaper and handed it to Ganesh. "12 taka!" she hallmarked the price.

Ganesh went for the money but Hari got a ten-rupee note and a two-rupee coin forward and said, "I said I will pay."

After the payment, he took a bite and said, "Isn't that awesome." Ganesh also took a bite from his share and nodded his head. Hari said while eating, "My Bengali is terrible! It is a surprise how I am managing here in Calcutta for so long."

"Are you South Indian?" Ganesh asked having gained a bit of confidence after spending some time with his superior.

"There is no such thing as a South Indian, Idiot." Hari rebuked his subordinate as he enjoyed every piece of his Beguni.

"I am sorry. I meant..." Ganesh cursed himself for being stupid.

"Yeah I am from Chennai but trust me there is nothing like Calcutta street food." Hari finished his share of two pieces. Ganesh conscious about his health and the dictum of his gym instructor counted the calories he had to burn today. After the men finished their meal, they walked towards the car, which was parked close to the shop. Hari went towards the Driver seat and pushed his key into the lustrous black Scorpio. Ganesh was really impressed by the taste of his boss in the matters of automobile.

"The department got you that car?" Ganesh asked while getting up.

Hari adjusted his seat belt and posed a rejoinder, "You don't get to drive it and I pick the music while we ride. No complains about that." Hari started the car and put on a loud raw Tamil pop songs, as the two detectives set out for their mission.

### Chapter 4

"Don't call me Mrs. Sen. Just Oindrila will do." The woman said in a frivolous tone as she addressed the detectives. The men after reaching the house directly went for questioning Mr. Sen's wife. She was one of those new age Bengali women. She was dressed as if she was going for a party, with a loud colored saree and equally loud jewelries to match. Her big round head was anyway too repulsive and to add to that she had huge red teep placed on the middle of her forehead. However, there was a bit of enigma in her appearance that did not escape Hari's attention. The room they sat was on the first floor, just beside the drawing room where they questioned Mr. Sen this morning. The guest room had a history of drunken people staying over the night after the phony parties that were held in Mr. Sen's house. Two small beds were kept side-by-side and there was hardly any other furniture except a small table and a wooden chair, which made the small room look a bit more spacious. The wooden chair was occupied by Hari while Ganesh stood by his side keeping his bag on the nearest bed. The table in front of Hari's chair was

"I am sorry; the drawing room is being cleaned so I had to accommodate you here. I hope you don't mind." Oindrila carried on.

"No it's absolutely fine."Hari maintained a fake smile being unnerved in front of a woman. He was no expert when it came to women, being monogamous for over quarter of a century. The only woman who he remotely tried to woo and partially succeeded was his wife.

"Please make yourself comfortable. You can sit on the bed if you want." She said to Ganesh. "No Ma'am, I am fine." Ganesh was curt in his reply.

Hari leaned back in his chair, "So tell us about yesterday."

Ganesh prepared to take down the notes as he got his pad and pen out. It was a bit uncomfortable for him to stand and take down the notes but he anyway continued.

"Yesterday was a tough day for all of us. But you can't change fate can you?" She spoke in the most nonchalant way.

Hari was a bit surprised with the imperturbable attitude considering the magnitude of the event. "You seem not much agonized."

"I feel sorry for Paromita, the girl you know. But fate as it stands. What can we mortals do?"

"She was murdered by someone, possibly someone you know, and why doesn't that seem to bother you?"

"As I said, fate! Trickster isn't it?"

"Your son and his future are involved in this too. She would have been a member of your family."

"Marriage as it was known to our generation was much less about love than it is today. But yes I feel extremely sad for my son but who knows what fate holds."

"Let me ask you this; were you not happy with this marriage?"

"What makes you think I was not. My son was happy so nothing else counts."

"Your son was happy I get it. But what about you?"

Before Oindrila could answer, a servant entered with a huge black tray. Three cups of tea and a big plate filled with Chicken Pakora was kept in the middle of the room on a small table. The servant served each of them with their cups of tea before leaving the room. Ganesh was doing a twist to keep his back muscles flexible. More so realizing that he might have to skip gym today and the unnecessary calories, he is in taking throughout the day.

Ganesh took a sip from his cup and kept it on the inner ledge of the window. He thought of skipping those Pakoras but fate had other plans. "Ganesh! Take some. They are really good." Hari said while he turned back towards Ganesh. Left with no choice Ganesh stepped forward and took a piece from the white plate. He took a bite and was scared with the amount of oil that dripped from it.

Hari took a large piece directly in his mouth; the boneless chicken was too good for him to avoid, "Are these homemade?"

"Yes they are! You saw Ramesh, the guy who served, he is a brilliant cook." Oindrila took some pride.

"Yeah I am really..." Hari took another piece before he could complete the sentence."Amazed" he finished the sentence while he chewed his piece.

"I have a reputation of being a great hostess." Oindrila said as she batted her eyelids.

"So as I was saying, were you not happy with Paromita?" Hari narrowed his eyes towards Oindrila.

Oindrila was holding her cup until now, she slowly kept it down on the table beside the plate of Pakoras and started, " Paromita was...how do I put it..ummm...a bit over smart."

"Interesting! Can you explain a bit more?" Hari added.

"Before she was married even she acted like she was one of us. You know, intervened in our family matters. At times she would talk in between a conversation between me and my husband."

"So you think she was not courteous enough." Hari added a bit of inquisitiveness to his tone.

Ganesh in the mean time was bored while he took down the notes. He noticed the minute details of the room. The small brown wooden closet to his left had a mirror attached to it. Ganesh looked himself in the mirror and measured his curved biceps drowning in narcissism for a moment. The making of the closet testified its expensive price. There was a huge black suitcase kept on the top of the closet, which left him wondering about its contents. His attention returned when Oindrila started speaking.

"I should not say this but our family...as you know has a huge ancestral heritage. My husband's father was a Zamindar in Bangladesh, in wealth and status we hardly have a match. This bangle I am wearing..." Oindrila moved her right hand forward as she spoke and displayed two gorgeous golden bangles that she wore, "These alone costs two cores of rupees. You can buy a residence in Calcutta with that money." The Bangles were made of gold and had at least seven small pieces of diamonds attached to its circumference. Both were identical and if not anything, the antique value was beyond calculation.

"And Paromita's family wasn't that rich? Was that the problem?" Hari carefully looked at her necklace now. The golden necklace she wore was looking indeed beautiful at the backdrop of her fair skin. The round necklace surrounded her neck and the intricacy of details that went into its making was a thing to watch.

"No, being rich is not the thing! Culture! Culture! Sangoshkriti! You know that is what she lacked. Can you imagine she did not even touch my feet when she first met me?" Oindrila rolled her eyes as if there could not have been a more aberrant behavior.

Hari picked up his cup of tea, blew a bit of air to cool it off and took a sip, "So you had your share of objections? Was anybody else against the marriage as well?"

"No." She nodded her head sideways, "I was not against the marriage. My son was happy and that is what mattered. My husband particularly liked her so my initial objection was never solidified."

Ganesh noticed the fine build of the cups, the plain white color was not eye catching but the shape was suddenly mesmerizing. The broad opening eventually narrowed down at the bottom with a slim handle at the side. He finished his tea quickly enough and concentrated on the questioning.

"So this minor objection you had, is that the reason you are not grieved?" Hari raised a brow.

"I am deeply saddened by the event but what are you expecting me to do?" Oindrila played with a coral ring she wore in her left hand index finger.

Hari switched the topic, "Now that we know she is poisoned, can you tell me what she ate during the reception?"

"I was extremely busy during the reception attending the guests. She was having the normal cold beverages and starters that the caterers made." She took the last piece of Pakora from the plate.

"Before the reception you had lunch together. Can you remember of anything?"

"She ate everything that we all ate. Don't you think we would all be poisoned then?"

"Yes we will get a clearer picture when the forensic report will arrive. But for the time being we need to carry on with the investigation so please try and remember."

"I remember her having a chocolate before the lunch and I told her not to fill herself before the meal."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing specific. You can actually ask the maid she was with her all the time."

"Even during the reception?"

"I think so because she was the first to inform me that Paromita was not feeling well."

"This maid... is she here today?"

"Yes. Should I call her now?"

Hari looked at his watch and it was almost 7:30, "Yes we can do one more questioning today."

Oindrila stood up and fixed her green chiffon saree, "I will send her in the room. In the mean time do you want another cup of tea?"

"If it is not too much to ask, a cup of coffee would be nice." Hari sat in his place while he talked.

"Oh absolutely I will send two cups of strong coffee and some more pakoras." She smiled and left the room.

Ganesh was trying to pose his objection about having coffee but that went unheard.

### Chapter 5

Hari took a sip from his coffee cup that recently arrived with a fresh plate of Pakoras. The cups were the same as before but the plate that bore the Pakoras changed.

"Coffee ok Sahhab?" The woman asked in an apprehensive tone while she stood.

"Very nice, young lady." Hari smiled back.

Ganesh in the meantime was tired of standing and took a seat at the corner of a bed. Since he opened his shoes while entering the room, Ganesh freely lifted his legs on the bed while he sat.

"What is your name?" Hari asked while he placed the coffee cup back on the table.

"Onjoli." She said.

She was hardly in her mid thirties, slim built and long hair. She was wearing a pink Salowar-Kameez and had a hand full of red bangles made of glass, on her both hands.

"You know we are from the police." Hari continued.

"Ha baboo! Mashima told me that you will ask me something." The woman was a bit scared while she spoke.

Hari, leaned back comfortably, crossed his legs, and began, "Tell us about the day. From the morning. Do not miss a single thing."

Onjoli seemed nervous while she stated the events, "I woke up a bit late but Paromita di was still asleep so I waited for her to wake up. It was around 9:00 clock. After she woke up, she had breakfast. I made it for her."

Hari interrupted, "What did you make?"

"I made two pieces of bread toast with one boiled egg and a cup of tea." She replied.

"Ok. Go on. What happened after that?"

"Then I went to the kitchen to cook."

"Were you cooking everything by yourself?"

"No. I and Ramesh were cooking together and one dish was specially prepared by Pishima."

"Who is Pishima? Sujit's mother?"

"No. No. Pishima is Sujit's paternal aunt."

"As in Mr. Sen's sister?"

"Yes."

"Ok. What did she prepare?"

"She prepared the Mutton."

"Why?"

"Well nobody has mutton that much in this house. But Paromita di loves mutton and pishima's mutton kasha is the tastiest thing in the world. So she prepared it especially for her?"

"So you were with her while she prepared it?"

"Yes. I was in and out from the kitchen."

"What happened after that?"

"The cooking took a long time and ended around 2:30"

"So when did you start cooking?"

"The cooking already started from 10:00. Ramesh started it with the help of another cook who was rented for the purpose. I then joined, say at 11:30 and the Pishima came to prepare the mutton around 1:00."

"While you were in and out from the kitchen, what was Paromita doing?"

"She called me once or twice to run some errands."

"What kind of errands?"

"She lost her comb once and then she could not find her soap before taking her bath and..."

"Ok. I get it. Did you see her eating anything?"

"The breakfast she ate and then ..umm...no. I saw her at lunch. In the mean time if she ate something, I might have missed that."

"Everything was fine during the lunch?"

"Yes. It was nice everybody enjoyed the food. One of the guests even gave me 1000 Rs for cooking so well."

Ganesh got tired of penning down the details and shortly gave his black gel pen a rest. He rested his palms on his thighs. Hari kept quiet trying to think what the possibilities as he stared inside his cup, which he picked up for a sip. He took a chicken pakora from the plate and dipped it in the small container of tomato sauce that was placed on the plate. He took a bite but unknowingly a drop of the sauce fell on his shirt, just by the left book-pocket.

"What happened after the lunch?" Hari asked while he ate the pakora. The puffed brown coating of the pakoras had become hardened owing to its loss of warmth. He did not enjoy it much.

"After the lunch Paromita di went out for the beauty parlor." Onjoli replied.

"Did she go alone to the parlor?" Hari picked up the cup of tea perfectly cooled off by now from the table for his final sip.

"I don't know that, Sahhab. I went back to finish my works at the kitchen. Stuffing the excess food in the refrigerator and all that. Then I had lunch myself." She was getting tired of answering but she did not react.

"This lunch and all was being held in this house right?"Hari put his coffee cup down.

"Yes. The sitting arrangement was made on the rooftop." Onjoli now slowly sat on the floor with her legs folded and elevated in front of her.

"How many people in total were there? Including the family and the guests?"Hari looked at his watch while asking and it was almost five past eight.

"I don't know but not more than 25... more like 20. Only close family people were there. And a very few friends came." Onjoli answered while she tried to remove a dirt patch from the off-white mosaic floor of the room.

"I see. So what happened after she came back from the parlor?" Hari continued his interrogation.

"I was in the kitchen making tea for Mashima and Sujit da. She called me when she came back and I went to her, she had done her hair and all and was dressed up for the reception at the club." Onjoli stopped for a moment and suddenly added, "She was having a pizza slice when she came."

"Just so we are clear Mashima is Mrs. Sen?" Hari added.

"Yes." Onjoli clarified.

"A pizza slice? just after the heavy lunch? What time was this?" Hari grew interested.

"Around 6:30." Onjoli put a bit of thought before answering.

Hari turned towards Ganesh and said, "Are you noting everything down?" Ganesh being a nonchalant observer was caught by the suddenness. "Yes sir. All of it."

Hari turned his eyes back to Onjoli, "So the Pizza...what after that?"

"I went back to the kitchen and concentrated on making tea. Paromita di came rushing saying her mouth was burning from the chilies in the Pizza and she had tears rolling from her eyes. She rushed to the kitchen and opened the fridge door and there was a glass of lassi prepared for barobabu. Barobabu has lassi in the evening instead of tea. It is always kept in the fridge. She finished the glass at one go and had some relief. And then she asked me to make another glass for Barobabu." Onjoli focused back on the black patch, which she somehow could not remove from the floor.

"Who generally prepares the lassi?" Hari added.

"Mashima generally makes it but for the past few days Paromita di was doing it. That day also she prepared it in the afternoon." Onjoli was still staying with that black patch.

"How bad was her condition with the Pizza?" Hari's eyes narrowed at his subject.

"Very bad. She was almost grasping for breath and could hardly speak. Only after having the lassi she calmed down. Barobabu likes his lassi very sweet." Onjoli now concentrated on the ceiling while she spoke.

There was a moment of silence and Hari stood up from his chair. Onjoli was trying to get up but Hari gestured her to sit back.

"When did you guys leave for the reception ceremony from the house?"Hari got his hands inside his pocket for his phone.

"Around 7:00. The club is not far and the guests were notified that reception would begin from 7:30. Most of the people were ready when she came back so they left by 7:00. I dressed up and reached there by 8:00 Clock." She was indeed tired with the questioning and her voice reflected that.

Hari got his phone out and glanced through a text message that reached his phone. He carefully got the phone back in his pocket and said, "In the reception after you reached what were you doing?"

"I was close to Paromita di to see if she needed anything or not." Onjoli's face grew pale with the interrogation lasting so long.

"What did she eat?" Hari continued without mercy.

"I mean we were all having soft drinks and the finger food that the caterer served. But I also had to attend errands of other people so I was not there present all the time. " Onjoli's answer had an element of reluctance.

"What happened just before she started vomiting?" Hari indicated Ganesh to get up from his place indicating they were in the concluding stages.

"She called me and said she was not feeling well and her eyes were all red. I rushed and called Mashima. When we came back before she could say anything, she started vomiting blood." Onjoli's voice almost choked narrating the entire incident. She shook her head down.

"It is alright you can go now." Hari addressed her as she slowly got up and left the room.

Hari and Ganesh after finishing the interview climbed down the stairs and saw Mr. Sen entering the house after coming back from a tiring election campaign. The red mosaic staircase with a black railing was an architectural hallmark of many old households in Calcutta. The detectives met Mr. Sen midway as he asked, "Did you make any headway?"

"No Mr. Sen but we have a lot of investigation left. We questioned your wife and the maid but there is lot left." Hari stopped for a moment and immediately added, "Can we meet your son now?"

"I just saw him drive away while I was entering the gates of the house. Can't you question him tomorrow? " Mr. Sen said in a cautious way.

"Not a problem Mr. Sen. I will come tomorrow. If not for anything, your cook is a genius. What food he served." Hari replied diplomatically with a smile on his face.

After coming out from the house Hari looked at Ganesh and said, "What do you think?"

"Sir is it necessary that the food was poisoned? She could be injected too? And how do we know that she was poisoned." Ganesh had these questions for quite some time in his head.

"If she is injected forcefully nobody got a hint? That's not possible. And well this is a case of poisoning. Has to be. And like most cases the easiest way is to poison the food." Hari took a pause and added, "I can drop you to your place if you want." Ganesh was coy and replied, "No Sir I will take a cab." He was of course hoping Hari would insist one more time. Hari being himself replied, "Ok. Meet me exactly here tomorrow around 11:00 clock. We will interview the groom."

### Chapter 6

"Sujit I know this might have been hard for you but I need you to concentrate right now." Hari sat in his vintage pose, crossing his legs resting one on the top of the other.

It was almost half passed ten and Hari was a bit late in arriving. Ganesh however was right on time since he wanted to make a good impression on his superior. After all this was only his second day at work. When Hari arrived, they rushed to question Sujit as time was running out from their hands indicated by the presence of press cameras right outside the house.

"I need to know what is it that she ate throughout the day she was murdered."Hari asked the question again.

Sujit's room was not as big as the other one's in the house that the detectives have been to. Perhaps it was the presence of too many furniture that ate up most space from the room. Hari sat on a chair just by the writing table and Sujit stood facing him resting his back against the wall.

"I don't really remember what she ate in the reception because I was attending guests. But nothing out of the way I am sure. Whatever we all ate." Sujit replied.

Ganesh sat just beside Hari and carried his routine of taking notes of the proceedings. He was glad that his sitting arrangement was comfortable enough.

"I need a bit more specific answer." Hari asserted.

Sujit looked a bit disoriented as if it hardly mattered for him."I really can't remember. She had lunch in the noon with all of us and then in the reception.... I really don't know"

Hari covered his beard with his hands up until his nose covering the lower portion of his mouth. It was his trademark gesture when he was suspecting something. "Sujit. How was your relationship with Paromita?"

"What do you mean?" Sujit questioned back.

Before Hari could add anything, Oindrila, Sujit's mother entered the room and called his son. She smiled at Hari, which was reciprocated. Sujit got out from the room with his mother.

Hari indicated Ganesh to follow Sujit outside the room and eavesdrop on the matter. Ganesh wanted to ask something but did not pursue and followed Sujit. As his cover, he thought if somebody asked something he would say he was searching for the toilet. He was actually disappointed to know that all Sujit was called for was nothing important.

Ganesh entered the room and saw Hari out of his seat. He sat back in his own chair after Hari returned to his seat.

Sujit entered the room and looked at Hari, "I have asked for tea for all three of us. I hope that's fine."

"No I would actually love a cup of coffee. But well... the question that I was pursuing..." Hari pushed for the answer.

"Yes what were you asking?" Sujit said as he walked towards his bedside table and opened a drawer.

"How was your relationship with Paromita?" Hari asked the question again.

"Yes why are you asking that?" Sujit got a red packet of cigarette out along with a yellow matchbox.

"Standard procedure." Hari was getting at something.

"Cigarettes anybody?" Sujit addressed both of them.

Ganesh wanted a smoke badly but thought it to be inappropriate. Hari shook his head indicating negation to the proposal.

A small puff of air was blown by Sujit as he replied, "She was my wife. Of course it is like every man's relationship with his wife."

Hari had a little smile, which was hard to identify as he asked his next question, "Yet just as your wife died you were sleeping with another woman?"

There was a minute's silence in the room, as Sujit had no clue how to react to that. "What ? I mean..." He fumbled like a child.

"Take your time. I have got all day." Hari got comfortable in his chair.

"That is not true. I mean how do you know? That is insane?" Sujit threw the still lit cigarette on the floor and crushed it with his feet.

"Denial is the first step Sujit. But my experience says it's not a good idea."As soon as Hari finished his sentence Onjoli entered the room with a tray like that of yesterday with three cups of tea and a plate of biscuits. She served each one with their respective cups with a big smile on her face.

Sujit still had no clue how to reply to that question. After Onjoli left the room, he said with an angry tone. "How on earth did you know about that? Are you following me?"

"Ahh! Anger! that's step two. And seriously you think we need to follow you to figure that out? You are too dumb to execute a murder. I have to say this." Hari had sarcasm to his tone as he took a sip from his own cup.

"Don't you say that. I loved Paromita." Sujit was agitated.

"Yet you had sex with Radhika last night? Really just after your wife died. That's just...," Hari kept adding to that insult.

Sujit was dumb indeed, as he tried to figure out how Hari could know all the details. "You know Radhika...I mean Oh man this is just..."

"Your tea is getting really cold. Have a sip and then we can know about the story." Hari spoke with ease as Ganesh noted things down, all the while wondering himself how Hari could have known all this.

"Ok. But this is just outrageous. I will tell you but I swear I had nothing to do with Paromita's Murder." Sujit shook out of nervousness.

Hari nodded his head and said, "I am all ears."

Sujit balked a bit, "Radhika and I had a thing when I was abroad. She used to study in the same university as me. I was enamored by her charms and well that's it. We were never together. And more like friends."

"Good then what happened?" Hari kept his cup down after finishing it.

"She was never going to be in a committed relationship so that never materialized. She did not believe in marriage and stuff." Sujit looked down towards the floor.

"I am failing to understand something. So where you with her or not? I mean what kind of relationship did you have with her?" Hari scratched his left cheek trying to figure out.

"Ok so she had this boyfriend for a long time but then she believed it is impossible to be in love with one person and that she can love me and it does not hurt her relationship and also that she does not have to be in a relationship to love me." Sujit knew he was rumbling.

Hari coughed, "Get to the bottom line. You were sleeping with her in spite of her being in a relationship."

"Yes. That is one way to put it." Sujit could not get his head up.

"And you fell in love with her in the process and you are still not out of it?" Hari got up from his chair and roamed in the room.

Sujit took a cigarette and lit it. The nervousness in his head was getting the better of him. "But that was over when I came back to India. And I really loved Paromita."

Ganesh asked a bizarre question from nowhere "Was your love for Paromita a rebound?"

Sujit looked at Ganesh and said, "I don't think that. But I was just friends with Radhika after I came back."

"Oh please. You were with her last night and just friends?" Hari's tone had an element of disgust this time.

"I just had one or two encounters with Radhika all the while I was with Paromita but that is way before the marriage was finalized and that's all." Sujit replied.

"It's not my duty to judge you Sujit. I want you to understand that. I want to know about the murder. Was there ever a problem between you and Paromita because of Radhika?" Hari walked towards Ganesh and leaned a bit to see if he was taking all the notes down or not.

"No. Paromita had no clue. She knew that Radhika was a very close friend of mine. In fact I did not invite her to the wedding. She did."Sujit asserted while he finished his cigarette.

"What if Paromita knew about you and created some problems and you killed her?" Hari started his intimidation tactics.

"No...that..." Before Sujit could finish Hari said, "What if Radhika killed her because she loved you and your marriage was too real for her?" Hari continued without pausing, "What if you and Radhika killed her together. Countless possibilities."

"No trust me I had nothing to do with it and I can assure you neither did Radhika." Sujit grew scared.

"No there is more to it than I thought. I want to interrogate Radhika..." Sujit interrupted and said, "But she is..." Hari pointed his finger up in air indicating Sujit to stop and added, "I am not done. I want to interrogate both of you together."

Sujit stayed quiet for some time and said, "Should I tell her to come down here?"

Hari gestured with his hand to Ganesh that job here was done. He took his archaic phone out and said, "Give me Radhika's number."

"9883846457" Sujit gave the number against his wish.

"Yes Am I Speaking to Radhika... Right I am the detective investigating Paromita's murder. .."

As Hari spoke, Sujit's heart raced like a Schumacher Ferrari trying to gain pole position.

"Yes...Brilliant...even I want to talk in a place less formal...Come down to Osirus International Club by 6 pm today. Right thank you." Hari kept the phone. He looked at Sujit and said, "You come to the club by 7:30 and in the mean time if you talk to Radhika, the repercussions would be horrible."

Sujit fumbled a bit and said, "Tell me how you knew about me and Radhika?"

Hari looked at him and in his heavy accent, he speeded up, "The shirt you left at the corner of the room still has lipstick on it. And in fact a couple of long female hairs are attached to it. And the corner of the small plastic condom packet peeping out from the pocket of your pants that you were probably wearing last night. Both the shirt and the jeans are in the corner of the room, which you should probably give to the washing machine. I will meet you today at seven thirty."

Hari left the room leaving Sujit speechless. He uttered, "How did you..."

Hari and Ganesh got out of the room and walked towards the stairs. Ganesh was stunned by the brilliance of Hari and said, "You got all that out from the Shirt and the Jeans?"

"Wrong question to ask. The right question is why are we going to Osirus International Club tonight?" Hari started walking down the stairs with his face expressionless.

"Ok why?" Ganesh asked.

"Mr. Sen's political opponent Mr. Das is being given a special felicitation today in the club and Oindrila, Mr. Sen's wife is organizing it. It might be a political game but worth checking it out. I am a member too so that means we can go in whenever we want."Hari stopped.

Ganesh was still not over the Sherlock Holmes part, "Please Sir, How did you know about Sujit and Radhika?"

They have climbed down all the way to the ground floor by now and Hari against said, "Wrong question. Important question is what are we going to do till the evening?"

Ganesh stayed quiet because he knew Hari would answer himself. "Quite the narcissist he thought in his head."

"We are going to Paromita's house and have a talk with her parents. Let's see what is in store there." Hari searched his pocket for the car keys.

They left the house and a couple of press cameras still hoped to get an update. Hari avoided as usual and walked towards the car. After the car left the vicinity of the house, Ganesh beseeched Hari, "tell me how you knew about all this? Was it really from the clothes but if so how did you know about Radhika? Could have been anybody."

"When both of you were out. I checked Sujit's phone and his message box. Radhika sent a pretty poetic message about the sexual encounter last night."Hari replied as the car moved through the city towards its new destination.

### Chapter 7

Paromita's house was an average Bengali décor reeking of middle class difficulties. The pink wall of her room had its plaster showing signs of its eventual demise. Her room was filled with countless photos framed and stuck to the wall. The photos were themselves nothing to gain applause but definitely had an element of newness to it. Nude bodies, crows and shoes were some of the subjects screaming out that a new era of photography was here. The room itself was small with a single bed by the side of the wall and a table and a chair by its side. The table itself had a number of small photo frames clicked by Paromita. A few pictures featured Paromita with her friends and the rest were of similar nature to that of the one's on the wall. Hari sat on the chair while Paromita's father sat on the bed with his legs folded. He was wearing a blue-checkered Lungi and a white half sleeve shirt.

A woman entered the room with another plastic chair for Ganesh to have his seat. As he sat and got his notebook out Hari was still quiet not knowing what to say. He eventually broke his silence. "We will find out who did this to your daughter Mr. Chakrabarty."

"I have no interest in all this. My daughter won't be back right?"

"But I need your help if I have to catch her killer."

"Killer!! The rich bastard did it. I know it. You police officers would eventually do what they say. After Paromita's mother passed away when Paromita was young, I did my job and took care of her. I can't begin to say what I am feeling right now."

"I understand your point and while the police force is nothing to be proud of but trust me when I am saying this. It does not matter who did this. Why do you think Sujit did this?"

"Oh please he is as spoiled as you get. When Paromita came and told me, she was in love with him. It felt impossible. Their family is filthy rich and look at us. You think this works?"

"Mr. Chakrobarty I understand what you are saying but perhaps they loved each other?"

"Oh please. This is no fairy tale. I just am a...forget it. I do not want pity about my financial condition. I could not even spend a lot for my daughter's wedding."

"I am sorry for all that but removing that part aside. What was your problem with Sujit?"

"That is enough a big problem for me. The rich bastards don't care about anybody. The rich guy falls for somebody else and kills my daughter. Why is it difficult for you to understand?"

"Weren't you happy that your daughter would have a great life ahead of her if this would have worked?"

"Yes I was. Which father won't be happy at this scenario? But I warned Paromita again and again but she said that everything was fine,"

"Hmmm. Tell me something, do you know of anybody who can have problems with Paromita other than Sujit?"

"No. Honestly, I never asked about Paromita's professional life and I never intervened. So if there was any I won't know."

"Tell me about her friends and people that were close to her?"

"Ranjana and Chitra were her childhood friends and the ones I know were closest to her. There were some of her friends who came over but I hardly knew about them."

"Can you tell me the whereabouts of these two people?"

"Ranjana is not here.She stays abroad and could not even come for the wedding. Chitra stays in the exact opposite building. Flat no B-35. But I think she might be at work now. She is herself a lot troubled by the incident."

Hari looked at his watch and it was almost 2 in the noon. He thought of something in his head and asked Mr. Chakrabarty, "You were there in the reception. Did you see your daughter eat anything unusual?"

Mr. Chakrabarty tried to remember the proceedings of the day and replied, "I was not with her all the while but she had a glass of cold drinks in her hand that I distinctly remember."

"Do you remember who gave it to her?" Hari asked as he got up from the chair and looked through the photo frames.

"No. I think she probably picked it up from the waiter who was serving." Mr. Chakrabarty stared blankly at the wall and continued without any further questions, "She always said how photography takes a part of the soul from the one who is being photographed. And now..."

Hari picked up a picture frame that he noticed amongst the plenty others scattered on the table. The picture frame was itself short laminated 10 by 5 but the click was indeed a master piece. The setting was the dusk sky on which a pigeon flew across the frame burning in flames. "Did she click this one?"

"Oh yes. She even got an award for it."

Hari stared at the picture frame for quite some time and then placed it back on the table.

"Thank You Mr. Chakrabarty about your co-operation. I will let you know once we have sorted it out." Hari moved his hand for a handshake.

Mr. Chakrabarty got up, shook Hari's hand, and said, "I told you who is behind this. Please don't let the murderer get away."

While coming out Hari said to Ganesh, "It's late. Let's go grab some lunch." Ganesh hesitated a bit about it, not knowing the norms of such lunches but decided to follow the orders.

Ganesh ordered just a bada while Hari ordered a platter of things that covered the entire Menu. Only if Ganesh knew he was going to have South Indian food for Lunch he would have happily skipped it. However, his calorie conscious mind told him that this was apt for lunch. While the detectives waited for the food, Hari started the conversation, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Uhhh...No Sir." Ganesh was flabbergasted with the question.

"Boyfriend?" Hari added.

"No!!" Ganesh could not understand why he is being asked questions like these.

"It's alright to have a boyfriend." Hari continued.

"Of course I know it alright." Ganesh asserted.

"What do you think of the previous interview?" Hari changed the topic.

"I think Mr. Chakrabarty loved his daughter." After replying Ganesh realized that was a stupid thing to say.

"Of course he loved his daughter. What else?"

"Paromita took a lot of pictures about so many things but there is no picture of her and Sujit in the room."

"Very Good. Now tell me what that might indicate?"

Ganesh was rejuvenated with the new approval from his superior, "I think she was in love with someone else."

"No!! No!! See that is jumping to conclusions. Tell me what the evidence points out. There is no evidence that she was in love with someone else, none from her room or the course of this entire investigation." Hari's discouragement did more harm than good.

"May be she knew about Radhika?"

"How do you prove that? Just tell me from the interview with her father and her room, what did you get?"

"That not having a photo of Sujit struck me."

"There was something else too." Hari replied as he wondered what is taking so long for the food to arrive.

"What?" Ganesh grew inquisitive.

"Did you see the picture of the pigeon in flames? The only way she could have taken that picture is if she would have burnt those pigeons by herself." Hari continued.

"Yes But what does that mean?" Ganesh wondered.

"Imagine the cruelty of a person who could burn a living being just for the sake of clicking a picture. Does it get any more inhuman than this?" Hari added.

"Are you sure it's not over imagining?" Ganesh replied.

"Tell me another way of clicking that?" Hari asked back.

Ganesh stayed quiet. Hari continued, "I jump to conclusions and I have a feeling she was not in love with Sujit either. She was in it because of the money or something else. Do you want to go for an interrogation yourself?"

Ganesh was excited but did not say yes directly, " If you... "

"Yes or No." Hari did not encourage the hesitation.

"Yes" Ganesh was firm this time.

"Go and ask everything you can to that friend of Paromita. Get me some concrete answers. Try to find out whatever you can especially about her relation with Sujit." Hari grew impatient about the food while he instructed Ganesh.

Ganesh was excited about the interrogation he was going to do by himself. The excitement affected his thoughts, "Should I play good cop or Bad cop?" He asked.

"What? That is not a thing. Stop watching Hollywood movies and become a real detective. Leave after Lunch, but meet me at the club by 6 pm." Hari said as the waiter came with the food.

Ganesh was disheartened and just ended by saying, "Ok. Sir"

Hari took up the spoon that came with his plate of Dhosa and kept it by his side. "You can play bad cop." He said while concentrating on the food.

### Chapter 8

The shot of the cue ball hitting the red one over the green snooker table echoed in the room. Hari leaned in front of the table and noticed the flow of the ball, which missed the pocket. "Come on!!" He uttered.

"You are missing too many today Hari." The man on the side said as he prepared for his shot.

"Don't worry Anindya, I will catch up." Hari waited as Anindya prepared for his turn.

The small snooker room of the Osirus International Club was empty as it was still early for the regulars to come in. The sole square light on the top of the snooker table was the only light of the room that was switched on. Hari looked at his watch and it was almost nearing 5:45.

Anindya's shot also missed the pocket as he said in his trademark tone, "Shiiit."

A sound at the door deferred Hari's next shot as he saw Ganesh entering the room. "You are early!! How did it go with the friend?"

Ganesh was not so sure whether to talk about the investigation in front of a stranger. Anindya understood that and looked at Hari, "You know Hari I have to go for that felicitation anyway. You guys talk."

Hari did not pursue but added, "This game is unfinished though." Anindya smiled and left the room.

Hari kept the cue in his hand and asked Ganesh, "Can you play?"

"No." Ganesh replied.

"Why does not it surprise me? Tell me about your interrogation." Hari kept the cue back in its rack. A bit of blue billiard chalk stuck to his left hand that he used at the tip of the cue.

"She said Paromita told her that she was only marrying Sujit for money and she had no other interest in him." Ganesh reported briefly.

"What else?"Hari asked as he himself sat on a chair by the side of the wall where generally spectators sit. He even indicated Ganesh to take a seat.

"That is the most important part and also said that prior to this Paromita had two boyfriends who were filthy rich as well and she left them as prospects got better each time." Ganesh carried on as he sat on the chair beside the right side of Hari leaving one char in between empty.

"You got all of that at one go. Impressive!" Hari nodded in appreciation.

"Yeah but she kind of started crying and threatened to sue the department for emotional harassment. Because I was kind of overboard with the bad cop thing." Ganesh fumbled.

"You what?" Hari raised his eyebrows. "What did you do?"

"Initially she said she does not know anything and then I said I could send her to jail for the charge of murdering and also for hiding information and abetting the murderer." Ganesh was a bit scared knowing he had crossed the line. He apprehended that Hari might react badly. He added, "I am sorry Sir. Please. I will rectify myself. Please don't...It's my first time."

Hari stopped Ganesh midway and started laughing, "That has to be the funniest thing in this drab case."

"But what if she sues us?" Ganesh was anxious and his face sweated.

"You know how many cases would be against our department if that kind of thing adds up." Hari kept laughing, "Job well done."

Ganesh was relieved a bit, "Won't we go to the felicitation meeting?"

"Yes. But we have to wait for Radhika. We need solid information from her and then from Sujit. As of now, they are strong suspects. Sujit, I don't think can execute a murder but let's see what this girl has to offer?" Hari got up from his chair as his phone started vibrating, "Speaking of the devil." He said as he answered the phone. "Yes...Radhika....Yes I am here. Just ask anybody in the gate where the snooker room is. I have informed the men at the reception that you will be coming. Just say your name and that you are supposed to meet me...they will show you the way."Hari kept the phone and looked at Ganesh, "She might be an important piece of the conundrum."

Within a few minutes, Radhika entered the room clad in a single piece dark blue dress that ended just above her knees. The fair exposed legs were the first thing that caught Ganesh's eyes. The thin orange lace that surrounded the waistline of the dress perhaps looked a bit out of place.

Hari noticed that Ganesh had fixed his eyes for the rest of his life. He played on that and said to Ganesh, "Ganesh please show the lady a seat. God where are those of days of chivalry?"

Ganesh got immediately up and said, "Oh Yes...Ma'am please have a seat...I am Ganesh and this is..."

Ganesh's awe did not escape Radhika's eyes either; she smiled at him in the most frivolous manner possible and stopped him in the middle of the sentence, "Please detective you don't have to be this formal."

Hari added an outrageous part, "Don't you think you are a bit overdressed for a police interrogation?"

Ganesh was scandalized and thought in his head, "What is the dick thinking?"

Radhika smiled, "Why detective? Are you feeling exposed?"

"I am not. But well chances are someone else might." Hari walked towards the snooker board as he talked.

"Will you play with me?" In a very perky way, she looked at Hari. Before Hari could answer she added, "Snooker I mean."

"I have to ask you a few questions. Ganesh here can play with you." Hari started collecting the balls and aligning them in the table for play to begin.

Radhika had a sleek blue purse with her, which she kept on one of the empty chairs of the room. "I have to say detective you have a very cute accent."

Hari tried to act blasé and said, "One of my many flaws." With a small pause he said, "Where did you learn to play snooker?"

"While I was in England. It is there, I met Sujit as well! Perfect score, isn't it." She said as she looked at Hari setting up the balls for play.

"Ganesh go pick up the cue." Hari said as he saw Ganesh looking blankly at him. "The stick. It's called the cue, now go!"

Ganesh followed what Hari said and picked up the cue. He had no clue what to do. A few times, he has seen people play but that was about it.

"I will begin then. " Radhika bent down as she aimed for her first shot. Ganesh gawked at her cleavage as she measured the shot. Radhika knew what was going on and kept delaying the shot. "I can defer my shot Dr. Watson. Tell me when you are ready."

"No I mean you....what..." Ganesh blustered.

Radhika took the shot gently as the cue ball hit the right side of the red cluster.

"Not a great break." Hari uttered.

"Agreed." Radhika said. "I am a bit disoriented as you can understand. I am a murder suspect. Isn't it?"

"That depends. Did you kill Paromita?" Hari sat down on the chair as he burped. The food from the noon had not digested itself totally.

"Assuming that I have what motive can I possibly harbor?" Radhika held the cue in her hands as she walked a bit towards the side of the table.

"Sujit. You wanted him." Hari leaned a bit back in the chair.

Ganesh was feeling relieved that he does not have to abase himself again with the game.

Radhika smirked at Hari, "Detective do you really think if I wanted to have a man I could not have had him?"

"That's quite a blithe optimism don't you think?" Hari got his right leg up and rested it on his left.

"Do you want me to bolster my statement? Sujit and I had quite the time just after the day Paromita died." Radhika turned his head towards Ganesh and said, "Your first shot is still due."

Ganesh did not reply. He was out of words for quite some time. He tried to place the cue and aimed for the ball. Sweat drops accumulated crowding his forehead; the pressure to impress Radhika hovered on his head. The fact that he had no idea what he was supposed to do did not make it easier.

While Ganesh aimed for the shot, Hari resumed the conversation, "About Sujit why don't you elaborate your relationship with him."

"Sujit was a good friend and we had good times together." Radhika replied.

"So you and Sujit were never in a relationship." Hari uttered.

"No." The brevity of Radhika's reply was anomalous.

"So if you were not in love with him..." Hari was stopped midway as Radhika smiled at him and said, "Love!!! That is a strange word detective. Do you think you have to be in a relationship if you were to love someone?"

Hari tapped his skull trying to understand the situation. "It does not matter what I think. Where you or where you not in love with Sujit?"

Ganesh took the shot. The cue ball went nowhere hitting the other side of the table not finding any target on the way. Radhika noticed that and said, "Dr. Watson here has no idea how to play."

Ganesh protested on the Dr. Watson part, "I am a detective too."

"I am sure you are. Now let me teach you how to play that shot." Radhika walked towards Ganesh and said, "Place your left hand on the table. And place it gently first, like it's a woman's neck." Ganesh had his heart skip a beat when she said that. She held Ganesh's hand from behind and placed the cue in the appropriate position. "Now hold the cue with your right hand, and tighten your grip." The whispering tone made Ganesh cadge for more.

Hari intervened within the birds, "So Sujit and your love?"

Radhika did not turn to Hari and whispered to Ganesh, "Now, aim and hit the ball". The shot that Ganesh took now was not that bad as it did make contact with one of the red balls. She now looked at Hari and said, "Hmmm... I loved him. Just like, I could love Dr. Watson here. Falling in love is a wonderful feeling detective. The more it happens, the better. You should try it sometime."

Ganesh was now just out of his mind. His heart throbbed against his chest. He stood still and calculated his next move.

"So basically you love sleeping with a lot of men. Why be so bombastic?" Hari was cantankerous.

Radhika was offended, "That is preposterous." She said.

Ganesh was frustrated. "Only if I could kill the old faggot." He said in his head and almost screamed it out.

"So let me get the clear picture. You were sleeping with Sujit just as you were with plenty other men. Your life, your bed, nothing I have to say. All I want to know is whether you would go as far as to kill Paromita for Sujit." Hari narrowed his eyebrows.

"No. I told you before; I could get Sujit whenever I wanted. Mostly I did not, but when I did, I could get him. And Sujit is no prize enough for whom committing a murder is worth it." Radhika gave a brusque reply.

Hari was about to say something as Sujit opened the door and came in. He was too nervous, "Oh it's not seven thirty yet. I am a bit early. Actually, my mother is here for the felicitation of Mr. Das. So I came with her." Without taking a breath he added, "I can stay out if you are not done."

Hari rested his palms on the two side rests of his chair and pushed to get up, "No I need you both for the next round. When is the felicitation program going to start?"

"In another 15 minutes I guess." Sujit replied.

"Let's go and sit in for some time and then you can accompany me to the bar where I need to ask you both a couple of things." Hari walked towards the door.

### Chapter 9

The poolside bar was hardly crowded with most of the members flocking in the rooftop bar, mostly because of its newly installed air condition machines.

Ganesh and Hari sat side by side while Radhika and Sujit sat together on the opposite side of the square table. They completed their orders and waited for the drink and the food to arrive. All of them sat through the felicitation of Mr. Das, which broached a few question in Hari's head.

Ganesh did not order his drink because he thought it is unfair to drink on duty. However, he pointed out that he is not drinking simply because of health reasons. He eventually was the first to speak, "Sir is it alright to drink on duty?" He asked to Hari.

"Everything is allowed after 8 PM." Hari laughed.

The joke was not recognized by the two men but Radhika laughed at the pun. "Seriously nobody else got the joke?" Hari asked the others and realized they are still grappling with the idea. He looked at Ganesh and said, "Homicide is a tough call. Our shift ends by 6:00 in the evening. So theoretically, it is not a problem. We still work all the way into the night, so of course you can't expect a man to stay awake without his poison."

The waiter arrived with his tray and served the drinks and food. He slowly served it accordingly in the table. Swimming was closed for the day and the blue stagnant water of the pool reflected the position of the case as well. The round table was now filled with glasses and plates. Hari took the bottle of Cola and poured it in his large peg of Old Monk rum. The vintage combination had helped him solve countless cases over the years.

Sujit took a couple of ice cubes from the container and rested them within his glass of whiskey, "Why did you meet us here? You could have met us anywhere and even you could have asked us to get to the station?"

"I have my own ways of solving cases. You tell me something. Your mother is organizing this program for Mr. Das. He is the main contender against your father. Won't this be a problem?" Hari took a sip.

"No. my mother and Mr. Das are friends from when they were in medical school together. And also this kind of a thing is a good political gimmick and is good for the Press." Sujit replied.

Hari now went for the plate of Reshmi Kababs. He took a piece and put it directly inside his mouth. Ganesh was enjoying his fresh lime soda and refrained from the food computing the calories that he might end up consuming. Radhika was also surprisingly quiet as she sipped her vodka mixed with orange juice.

"Yeah political gimmicks are quite a thing. Anyway, see from what I understand about you two is that both of you are shameless which is fine. You are in love with the girl but she is not. Paromita was a rebound because you had a failed relationship with Radhika. Now that is what I understand. If anybody has anything more to add feel free to do so." Hari said the entire sentence while holding half of the Reshmi Kabab in his hand and the rest in his mouth.

Sujit protested, "No way...."

Hari raised his hand still holding the half piece and raised his voice " Ahhhaahha!! Enough of your bullshit! I don't care what your dynamics are either with your right hand or with your girlfriend. I am here to catch the killer. Now you two tell me first about the reception. We know she was poisoned, so definitely she has to consume something, probably food or liquid. The catch is everybody was having the same food. There is something she ate that nobody else did. Now tell me specifically both of you what did she have in the reception exclusively. And put pressure on your head for a change instead of between your legs."

Hari's acrimonious attack did some good as both of them tried to reconstruct the events.

"The cold drink..." Radhika now became a part of the conversation.

"No the cold drink is unlikely. Everybody was having the same thing and even then, somebody had to be extremely sure that the glass Paromita is having is the right one. That seems too unlikely." Ganesh answered Radhika trying to prove his intelligence.

"I saw one of Paromita's relatives literally feeding her a mishti. A sweet of some kind. " Sujit said as soon as Ganesh finished.

"That is new. Can you tell me who exactly this person was?" Hari took another sip.

"Some woman. I don't know exactly who she was may be some extended relative." Sujit said as he nervously finished his glass.

"This can be the missing piece. Can you tell me a bit more about the lunch that day? Was it anything specific she ate there?" Hari finished the sentence, looked at a nearby waiter, and waved his hand indicating another order.

"Nothing she finished the lunch and ate almost all that we ate. After that she went to the beauty parlor." Sujit replied mechanically.

"Tell me something I don't know." Hari narrowed his eyebrows. "What happened after lunch?"

While Hari and Sujit talked, Ganesh was staring at Radhika in a way he thought she did not notice. He could not have been more wrong.

The waiter came to take down the order. "Get me a repeat of my peg and a Hariyali kebab." Hari gave the order and looked at the others, "If you want anything do order." Nobody really wanted anything else except Sujit who reordered his whisky.

The poolside bar was almost empty now as it was nearing 10:00. Radhika looked at the night sky and said, "I always wondered what it is to be like the moon, adored by poets, staying alive yet waning away every time only to be more beautiful the next time." Ganesh tried hard to impress her this time, "You know there is a conspiracy theory that the moon is actually a spaceship of alien beings stationed to watch over the earth."

Even Hari was taken a back with the bizarre idea. Radhika looked at her and sarcastically remarked, "That is very romantic Dr. Watson." Ganesh realized the idea of impressing the woman with sci-fi movies was a bit out of place.

"Sujit answer me something, after she had lunch what did she do?" Hari got back to the case.

"I was taking rest and she had to go to the beauty parlor...."Sujit was interrupted by Hari, "This is what we don't know. Did she go to the parlor alone?"

"No. Chitra her friend was also with her." Sujit replied.

The drinks and the Hariyali kabab came and were served accordingly. Hari emptied the bottle of cola in his glass and prepared his peg while Sujit added ice. A piece of Hariyali kabab immediately disappeared within Hari's mouth as Ganesh wondered, 'what is the exact amount that this man can eat'.

"Ahha !! Chitra. Right. So what happened when she came back. Was Chitra with her too?" Hari took a savored sip from his peg of Rum.

"No she was not there. When she came into the room, she said she had an extremely spicy pizza with Chitra, which almost choked her. She took some time and finally calmed down before we could go out for the reception." Sujit finished half of his glass at one go.

Hari did not reply and drowned in his thoughts. Ganesh finished his fresh lime soda and looked at the watch.

"I need some time to think. Ganesh make sure you drop Sujit and Radhika home safely. And reach office tomorrow by 10:00 in the morning." Hari instructed Ganesh and abruptly got up and asked the waiter to add the bill for today on his card.

Ganesh did not realize what was going on and followed Hari, "Is everything alright?" he asked cautiously.

"Just do as I said." Hari replied with brevity as he left.

### Chapter 10

Hari entered his cabin with a disposable glass of coffee in his hand. He saw Ganesh already there in the cabin with a bunch of files.

"You are early." Hari kept his coffee glass in the table and sat on his chair trying to turn on his computer.

"Yeah I actually came a lot earlier. I went to the forensics division and they said report will be soon here. I also found the picture of the mystery woman with the mishti feeding Paromita with her hands. But I don't know who she is. I also collected the reports from the newspaper this morning. And I also cleaned the file shelf of your room and catalogued them according to year." Ganesh said it all in one breath.

Hari narrowed his eyebrows, "You slept with Radhika last night."

"Noooo. Sir she is a suspect I would never do that." Ganesh defended the accusation.

"You are still wearing the same shirt from yesterday so of course you did not get a chance to go home. And while I would understand you being pro active because you are new but come on its all over your face. All you need is a 'I got laid last night' T shirt." Hari looked at the computer screen while he talked.

Ganesh was caught off guard but he still carried on, "No you are getting it wrong sir."

Hari turned his eyes slowly towards Ganesh, "Does your endeavor add anything to the investigation."

"Actually I found out something bizarre." Ganesh was sitting on this for a long time.

"What happened?" Hari engaged in the conversation.

"Don't judge me but she took me to a hotel a bit towards the bypass connector side. It is a totally unknown place. I had no clue about it before yesterday.Now I got out on the balcony of the room around midnight. And I saw a woman coming out from the hotel and much to my surprise it was Mrs. Sen." Ganesh took a pause.

"Wait you mean Oindrila?" Hari was a bit surprised.

"There is more to it. Do you know who was there in the room with her?" Ganesh grew excited.

"I won't guess." Hari's eyes grew interested.

"Mr. Das. I did some digging by asking the room service and I actually traced the room she was renting. She booked the room in the name of her husband. So it was a bit difficult but I peeked inside the room and Mr. Das was actually in the room." Ganesh said at one go.

"Bolish ki re!" Hari exclaimed in his heavily accented Bengali.

"Your Bengali is not that bad Sir." Ganesh attempted a bit more buttering given he still had no clue how his superior felt about sleeping with a suspect.

"So this entire thing can be a long going affair but how can the press or anybody not know about it? At least some rumor." Hari wondered.

"May be it is a relatively new thing so the press has no news." Ganesh was happy that he had unknowingly managed some information of colossal importance.

"What do we know about Mr. Das and his history? Nothing right?" Hari picked up the receiver of his landline phone and dialed an extension.

"It won't be hard to manage that information. Should I try and find it?"

"No that won't be necessary. I am calling the commissioner."

"What? Commissioner? Are you going to tell him about this?"

Hari's phone connected, "Yes Javed, I need to know something....Yes this is that urgent...Yes tell me about Mr. Das the man who is contesting against Mr. Sen....uhhmmm....hmmmm.....yeah that will do." Hari kept the phone.

"Mr. Das came to India only two months back or so. He used to be a doctor in Russia...even got some Bengali of the year award or something a year back. Now when he came back one of the communist parties approached him for contesting the elections and he agreed." Hari narrated the story.

"So in a way it makes sense, may be they had a thing long back and rekindled when he came back." Ganesh looked at Hari for approval.

"While this is important information, this does not help us with the case. So, Oindrila and Mr.Das had an affair. There is no link with the murder of Paromita." Hari rested his chin on his right palms and looked like a Greek statue.

"What about the mystery woman whose picture we have now." Ganesh got a blue file from the table, which had the pictures.

Hari opened his glasses with his left hand and put one of the ends of the glasses inside the corner of his mouth. It was one of his traditional thinking postures. He gazed at the window and said, "Let's think what we have till now."

"Ok." Ganesh responded.

"Sujit has the strongest motive because he is the groom and clearly not over Radhika."

"Yes ,Sir."

"Radhika has motive but has less chance of the execution of the murder."

"True, Sir."

"Mr. Sen has opportunity but no motives or a motive we are overlooking."

"Right, Sir."

"This mystery woman we have to figure out because she had the best opportunity as of now and may have a great motive."

"Right again, Sir."

"But I think in the timeline we are missing something. The part where she was in the beauty parlor. And the Pizza. Remember how both Onjoli and Sujit told us that the Pizza was extremely spicy. What if the poison was in the Pizza?" Hari cleaned the corner of his right eye.

"But then she left for the parlor with Chitra and when she came back she had the Pizza which if poisoned, then Chitra has something to do with it." Ganesh answered thoroughly.

"And you scared her to God knows what extent." Hari wore back his glasses; Before Ganesh could say something Hari added, "Which might be a good thing if she had something to do with the murder. She will know that the police are suspecting her and they are ruthless. Dig up about Chitra and her relationship with Paromita. Something might come up worthy of a motive. Then let's call her up in the precinct for interrogation."

"Sir I have two theories. It might be bizarre." Ganesh noted.

"Till we have proof all we have are theories. So go on." Hari again picked up the phone and dialed an extension.

"I think ... I mean what if Paromita and Mr. Sen had an affair? Chitra told us that Paromita was only marrying for money. What if there is something like this?" Ganesh cautiously broached the idea.

Hari's phone connected and he ordered two cups of coffee. He turned back at Ganesh and said, "What is your second theory?"

"I think Onjoli might be involved. It is unlikely to escape her notice something this important when she almost attended Paromita twenty four, seven" Ganesh again was cautious as ever.

"In a way your second theory is possible that Onjoli might be involved. The first one seems distant but we don't know what goes on such high quarters of society." Hari wiggled his fingers.

A man entered the room with two cups of coffee cups, clad in reddish gray uniform, the standard dress code for the canteen stuff downstairs. Hari gave him thirty rupees after he had served the coffee making him glad as he saluted both the officers and went outside the room.

Ganesh took a sip and said, "I am so sorry for this Radhika thing...I mean I know I have done a horrible thing. This won't be repeated."

"I am simply not making it a big deal which I can because you are saved this time for...you know that...Oindrila thing." Hari held his cup in his hand.

"It won't happen ever again sir." Ganesh shook his head.

"Twenty bucks and you are sleeping with her tonight. I am sure she mentioned that when you left her this morning." Hari took a sip.

"No...She said this was a onetime thing." Ganesh was awkward.

"Oh please!! You can't stop blushing. Now see I get the fact that Radhika is all nice words and all that but she is a suspect. It is way against the rules." Hari kept the cup in his hands while he screwed with Ganesh's head.

"I mean I got carried away." Ganesh could not look up to Hari and kept his eyes fixed on his own shoes.

"That's no surprise is it? Now control yourself until the case is over. And I think it won't take long." Hari kept the cup down after finishing it.

"Ok Sir." Ganesh was short in his reply.

"Now in all this key suspects we are forgetting that there are possibly thousand other people who came for the wedding and for the lunch preceding it. And it is not difficult to slip a pill in your drink." Hari got up from his chair and indicated Ganesh to get up.

Ganesh got up and said, "Now what to do?"

"You will dig up on Chitra and find everything possible on her and find a possible motive. And call her to the precinct this evening." Hari walked towards the door.

"What will you do?" Ganesh asked.

"I will go get a warrant and search the place. That is something we have missed." Hari said as he walked through the corridor.

### Chapter 11

Hari switched off the AC and opened the windows and the evening breeze came rushing through. He sat on his chair maintaining his calmness in the middle of aggrandized insanity. The woman on the opposite end kept sobbing sitting on her chair messing up the loud make up on the face with her flowing tears. Hari ordered his coffee to sit through the cinematic unfolding. Only if he had his popcorn this will not be any less than the theatres that charge unnecessarily for unthinkably despicable movies. Hari had passed on a tissue twenty minutes earlier and he knew the tissue box would empty itself today. A couple of crumpled white tissues were already making their case having being used earlier to soak the priceless tears of the princess. Hari after some ineffective tricks in a paternal tone said, "Chitra, don't worry, just tell me the name of the officer who harassed you and file an official complaint with me. I will make sure that he pays for what he has done."

Chitra finally got a grip and said, "Ganesh... I do not remember the surname. He came and said..." She started sobbing again.

"Don't cry...Just tell me what happened." Hari reassured.

"He came in and said that if I don't tell him everything I know about Paromita and Sujit he will arrest me."

"And then...?"

"I told everything that I knew and also the secret about her...that she was marrying just for money."

"What did he say then?"

"He said I am still hiding something and pushed me to the extreme...his rude voice....I can't... He even said that I was jealous and killed Paromita because she looked prettier."

"That is a serious charge especially without evidence."

"Can you believe he said I am ugly?"

"No I was talking about the murder."

"I don't care. I can't believe women have to be treated like this."

"That is so not like a policeman. Here we uphold honor and respect. I am giving you a paper where you write down everything that happened to you and you will see what I do."

"Thank You sir... I am a respectable woman and even a member of a ladies circle group in a NGO. Women can't be treated like this."

"It is not about women. Some police officers just forget that even suspects are human beings. Don't worry." Hari forwarded a blank A4 sheet to Chitra, "Here, take this paper and write everything down."

Chitra took it and kept it in front of her. He eyes still swollen by the infringement on her respectful social status.

"But Chitra as you can see we still don't know about Paromita's murder. Can you elaborate a bit on that?" Hari wiggled his fingers again. It is becoming like a compulsive disorder and he knew that.

"I told that man whatever I knew." Chitra rubbed his index finger on her thumb.

Hari took notice of her unease and said, "Are you nervous? There is nothing to hide. You are safe here."

"No...I am not...It is just all this." The frequency of rubbing the fingers increased.

"Chitra do you know something that can help us solve this case? If you are quiet Paromita's murderer will go free." Hari leaned a bit forward.

"I can't say this...."Chitra started crying heavily this time.

Hari leaned back in his chair and waited for it the episode to get over. Thankfully, it did not last long.

"Paromita told me that her father in-law....Oh My God I can't say this." The pitch of the sobbing increased as it could override the loud horn by the road below the window.

Hari knew there is something and grew persistent, "What with the father in law?"

"He forced her to go to bed with her." Chitra somehow got a grip.

Hari was stunned. The loud noise of the horn this time could override his thoughts. He could not speak for a minute as he saw Chitra slowly gathering herself. "Am I in trouble? I don't want this. They are powerful people. Can you imagine?"

"Nothing will happen to you. What did she do about it?" Hari reverted to his Greek thinking pose.

"Her father in law said to her that it was a common practice in big families. Over time things grew voluntary I guess." Chitra took a pause and added, "That is all I Know."

"Thank you... You have done more than I could have asked for. And honestly in spite of my judgment earlier about you...You are possibly the key to this puzzle." Hari got up from his chair.

"What judgment?" Chitra questioned.

"Nothing... Thank you. And yeah don't forget to write down the complaint. I will take care of this."

After Chitra left, Hari read complaint as Ganesh barged in through the door. "What did she say? Did you ask about the pizza? Is she the killer?" Ganesh said all of it without a single pause.

"That was not necessary. She is probably not the killer. We got to know something more interesting." Hari opened his glasses.

"What?" Ganesh grew inquisitive.

Hari narrated the event as Ganesh's jaw dropped to the floor."Gaaaar Mereche!!!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah pretty much that. And also she formally complained about you for harassment. She said you harassed her and said she is ugly." Hari took the paper and waved it in front of him.

"Is that a formal complaint? What will you do?" Ganesh was anxious now.

Hari crumbled the paper and hit it straight into Ganesh's face, "Try to be gentle with other women like you are with Radhika."

"Sir...that is outrageous....I mean...How did you even..." Ganesh blushed.

"Now...we need to testify whether the story is true or not." Hari got his phone out.

"How will you know that?" Ganesh took the crumbled paper and tried to read what was written about it.

"Go and see if Javed is alone or not. If he is alone, tell him...Things are not going good for the department. And it is about the Mr. Sen case. And ask him to come to my room. And don't tell him anything." Hari dialed a number.

Ganesh left the room to inform the commissioner.

Hari waited for the phone to be picked up from the other end. "Yes..I need your help...Yes help! Your help...Right...It seems that I have to move early and you are the best possible decoy.....Stop with that poetry... I need it to be done by tonight and latest by tomorrow noon."

Hari explained the deal and kept the phone.

Javed entered the room with Ganesh and said, "What is going on?"

"We know things that we are not sure of but things that might be very bad for Mr. Sen." Hari kept sitting on his chair without moving an inch.

"What kind of information?" Javed leaned and rested his palms on the table.

"You know I am not going to share anything about my investigation." Hari's eyes were cold.

"You know you can't cross the line. This is sensitive." Javed's tone had an air of authoritarianism this time.

"Or what else?" Hari's voice was calm and firm.

"I will have you removed from this case by tomorrow." The anger in Javed's tone was unmistakable. "And the forensic reports are not here what the hell are you going to do?"

"The forensic reports are not here because they are being distorted somewhere and they are not going to come at least before the elections? Whoa are you fooling Javed?" Hari took a red pen from the pen stand.

"Our hands are tied. Please try to understand. The Home minister called me the day this happened and said that I make sure nothing is out of place." Javed now tried beseeching.

"Your hands are!! Mine are not. I will follow the trail my evidence shows." Hari now reached for a piece of paper and started writing something down.

"You don't have evidence. Not in paperwork." Javed now tried sarcastically smirking proving his superiority.

"The whorehouse never needs paperwork. Rumors are enough."Hari threatened.

"You will go to the press!!! Do you know what the papers are saying about you? 'Fat Harry Potter already a puppet'. 'Fat detective sold to fat cats.' They are already onto you and you want to leak to the press?" Javed almost shouted.

"What is the Harry potter analogy?" Hari asked a bizarre question in the middle.

"Because your name rhymes with Harry...Hari can be Harry." Ganesh added that bit from nowhere.

"Will you people just shut up?" Javed smacked the table, "I want you not to disclose anything till paperwork is done. Is that clear?"

"I will tell everybody whoever did this. Actually, they will say whether they did this or not. With confession we can make the arrest and with a confession to the press you will be forced to produce the paperwork." Hari gave the paper to Javed.

A scribble of 'Fuck You' was written.

Javed took the paper and td tore it in front of Hari. His voice filled with rage and vanity. "It is eight thirty now. Within twenty-four hours I will remove you from this case."

Javed slammed the door and walked away from the room.

### Chapter 12

"Now this is has been a largely boring endeavor. I thought this was going to be a tough case with so many suspects in the wedding but eventually came down to a couple of key information." Hari sat on the drawing room of Mr. Sen's house with both Mr. Sen and Oindrila occupying the opposite couch while Radhika and Sujit stood behind the couch. Ganesh stood like an obedient student beside Hari while Onjoli sat at the doorway on the floor. Chitra was also told to be present and she occupied the other couch just the one beside Mr. Sen. Dusk was setting in and the press reporters outside the main gate of the house made quite a big deal as evident by their idiosyncratic shouting.

"Now I don't have any paperwork or evidence to support what I am saying so I am not accusing anybody. I am just telling a story." Hari took a pause and said, "Before that, I would be glad if we could all go through this over a cup of coffee."

Oindrila looked at Onjoli with an affirmative reaction as she went for the coffee.

The coffee came and so did Onjoli. She reverted to her own position. Hari took his phone out from the book pocket of his blue and white checked shirt and gave it to Ganesh. Ganesh did not realize why he is being handed over the phone so after some hesitation took it. The vibrating phone was a result of repeated calls from Javed. Ganesh took the phone and turned the vibration settings off.

"Now the investigation. More of a story as pointed out before." Hari leaned back in his chair.

"Initially I thought that why killing in the wedding? Paromita could have been killed at any point at any time. What is the specificity of the wedding? It struck me that ideally if killed during the reception ceremony, the suspects would be numerous and possibility of being caught is less. While that could have been an option, these days in weddings and reception parties things are recorded in video cameras and photos are being taken constantly. So under constant surveillance it is impossible for somebody to commit the murder unless he is very precise or an insider. From all the photos of the wedding, nothing popped up strange, which made me realize that it could be the job of an insider. But then begging the question if an insider had to do it, he could have done it at any point." Hari convoluted the argument.

Mr. Sen in his husky voice said, "If you don't have evidence or anything concrete to say, you can leave. I have to go to the election campaign."

In a cold voice Hari added, "This is not your army regiment so keep your attitude with yourself or I will shove it up your ass."Hari's accent made it sound like a Columbian mobster threatening his partner for his share.

The room grew quiet and the shock value of Hari's statement was too much to handle. Even Radhika rolled her eyes in disbelief while Ganesh was struck with awe witnessing the rogue cop side of his superior.

Mr. Sen grew mad and while another day he would have got the gun out from his cabinet the sheer coldness of Hari's voice scared him.

"Back to the story." Hari cleared his throat, "Now that whoever killed Paromita was an insider was established in my head, I thought of possible suspects. The most obvious is Sujit and Radhika. Sujit was in love with Radhika and Radhika was territorial about Sujit but while they had the strongest motives, they could have done it before the wedding had happened? The closest suspect was Chitra since she had the opportunity and I honestly thought that the poison was on the pizza that Chitra gave to Paromita but that is not the case. "

Hari took his cup, took a sip, and said, "Please have your coffee. This is all informal. I do not have any evidence about the murderer." The rest of the room had fewer clues about what was going on and even Ganesh had no clue what road this is taking.

"Now the dirty part. Paromita was no saint. She was marrying Sujit for the money but what she got was more than what she deserved." Hari kept his cup down.

"She wanted money!!" Sujit exclaimed.

"Serves you right. Not that you were blindly in love. You were marrying her because Radhika won't marry you. Anyway, even after marriage, you would maintain your thing with Radhika. So it served as a safe compromise for both of you. Now shut up and listen to the rest of it and this might be harder on you."

Sujit grew quiet after exchanging a glance with Radhika.

"Now Paromita as soon as she started coming to the house the vulture had his eyes set. Mr.Sen wanted his share as well. So he started sleeping with her. Was it forced Mr. Sen?" Hari set his eyes on Mr. Sen as the latter's face grew dark with frustration and anger.

Sujit shouted and said, "What is wrong with you?" He was growing animated but Radhika tightly held his right wrist. Sujit looked and Radhika and her gestures were enough to communicate the truth about the event.

"Stay where you are Sujit. I know you should not have known this but this important." Hair raised his right hand index finger and indicated Sujit to stay where he was.

"What the hell are you talking about? Do you know I can strip you of your uniform with one phone call." Mr. Sen raised his voice but halfway realized he can be heard from the outside and lowered his voice.

"Speaking of phone calls... Didn't you get one yesterday from a blackmailer?" Hari calmly took another sip from his cup.

"How do you even..." Mr. Sen was flabbergasted.

"You know army and rape never surprises me. How many girls did you rape when you served on duty?" Hari kept his cup down on the table as he spoke.

"I will..." Mr. Sen tried saying something but Hari stopped him midway. "After I knew about it, I called Radhika and asked her to play the blackmailer and tell you that she knows about your sexual endeavors and that you killed her and if you don't pay her the sum she demanded, consequences will be bad. Now Radhika's help was essential because Mr. Sen could easily believe that it is possible for Radhika to find out given her charm, intelligence and whatever it is that she has."

Mr.Sen' face grew pale; he hung his face in shame and rolled his fists in anger knowing he could not do anything about it.

"This is the reason the forensic and the paperwork are being delayed unnecessarily. You think your dirty secret will be out if investigations are carried on. That is not right for your image is it?" Hari said at one go and looked at Radhika and said, "Will you play the recording of your conversation?"

Radhika removed the leather front cover of her smart phone and browsed through the menu. When she found it, she pressed the play button.

Radhika: I know you were sleeping with Paromita and you killed her.

Mr. Sen: I did not Kill her you can't blackmail me. I won't give you anything.

Radhika: Oh so at least you are confessing you were sleeping with her.

Mr. Sen:No, You think you can fool me. I will kill you.

Radhika: I have proof and I will go to the police.

Mr. Sen: You can't do anything. Nobody can. The police force will do as I say.

Radhika: May be the press will enjoy it then.

Mr. Sen : Fine tell me what you want?

Hari indicated Radhika to stop the recording and she followed the instruction. The room was filled with silence, the lull before the storm.

"When I heard this recording something struck me. While Mr. Sen agreed to the part about sleeping with Paromita he never even in the face of the tremendous pressure agreed about killing her." Hari took a deep breath, "Now the same logic applies to Mr. Sen. If he wanted to kill Paromita, he could have done it at any point. Why wait till the reception."

Radhika intervened and said, "He did not do it!!!!Who did it then?"

"Aaahhh! Wait!" Hari finished his coffee and kept holding the glass, "Now the same logic applies for Oindrila and Chitra. They could have all killed Paromita but they could have done it at any point when chances where better. So back to square one, why the reception?" Hari now got up from his chair, kept the cup on the table and tried to situate his pants in accordance with his shirt. He held the sides of his pants and pulled it a bit up.

"Oindrila, you are surprisingly quiet! Everybody is animated except you." Hari looked at Oindrila.

"I was.... you know....Just too much for me." Oindrila was caught by surprise with Hari's comments.

"You knew it all along that I know. But the question is you also could have killed Paromita but why the wedding?" Hari said while he stood and stared down towards Oindrila. He enjoyed looking down at most people. With a brief pause, he started again, "A side story unfolded. Mr. Das the man Mr. Sen was supposed to contest in the upcoming election was an old friend of Oindirla. Well old lovers should be the appropriate term. We found out that she was sleeping with Mr. Das in the meantime."

Mr. Sen looked at his wife as she hung her head in shame. She could hardly believe what the fat man was saying.

"Highland Hotel. Does is ring a bell Oindrila? Now I would not have known anything had it not been for my adventurous assistant." Hari looked at Sujit as his face was piled up with disbelief and dismay.

"I feel bad for you Sujit. While all are at fault here in some way or the other, perhaps you are bearing the most of it." Hari now got back in his chair and continued, "My guess is while Oindrila knew about Paromita and her husband she could not done anything. Social prestige and shit. Then came back her old lover? So she rekindled her love but as fate would have it Mr. Das turned out to be the political opponent of Mr.Sen." Hari took a long breath.

He looked at his watch and thought of something. He looked at Ganesh and said, "I am feeling hungry. Do you still have that Uncle Chips packet that I asked you to put in the bag?"

This was even too much for Ganesh but he mechanically opened his laptop bag, brought a blue packet of chips, and handed it over to his superior. In a way, he had enough. Ganesh could never reconcile this ever-eating petulant, old man with the sharp edged sleuth that he saw right in front of him.

Hari opened the Blue packet of chips with a crunchy noise, put his hands inside the packet, got a couple of pieces out, and said, "Please If anybody wants a share please don't hesitate." He looked at Sujit and Radhika and said, "Do you people want one?" None of them replied.

Hari ate the chips one by one and made crushing noises while eating. With a few in his mouth, he started again, "Now the question, the one that will solve the rest of the puzzle. Why did the killer choose the day of the reception? What I think is, the murderer wanted a spectacle. However what still bothers me is even if Paromita died with a great spectacle what good would it serve?"

Hari finished half of what was there and kept the blue packet holding in his left hand. He took another out and said, "This brings me to my version of the story. Paromita was never the intended target. She just came in the middle of a well sorted plan." Hari coughed with the salty particles of the chips causing irritation within his mouth.

Ganesh for the first time commented, "What?"

Hari looked at him and then turned his face to the rest of the room, "Last night I was going through the interrogations that Ganesh had written down and Onjoli's statement was the most useful. She said the most important part we all overlooked. After coming back from the beauty parlor, Paromita was struggling with the excessively spicy pizza that almost choked her. Paromita had a lassi from the fridge that was kept from Mr. Sen. that was the only thing I could trace that she had exclusively and no one else had. My guess is the lassi was poisoned and she took it unknowingly. While the poison was aimed for Mr. Sen and he could have had the same fate as Paromita."

Ganesh said, "Sir it is rude to intervene, but Paromita made that lassi by herself. Why would she poison herself?"

Hari took one last piece of chips from the packet and said, "Seriously!! You are not cut out for homicide." He finished the piece and said, "Now comes the well planned part. Oindrila knew about her husband and Paromita and she was in an affair with Mr. Das. The ideal situation was if Mr. Sen died and Paromita was convicted for the murder. She gets her vengeance and Mr. Das wins the elections with no contest. This was the plan." Hari addressed the room and said, "Let's not forget she was a doctor. She went to medical school with Mr. Das; she knew the exact amount of poison she had to pour for the reaction to come a bit late during the reception. So after Paromita had made the lassi she poisoned it with the conviction that no one else will have it, which was justified. Mr. Sen would have died and when the forensic report would arrive, it would be possible to say what caused the poisoning. If it was established that the lassi was poisoned, Paromita would go to Jail, while Mr. Das wins the election. But, Paromita had the poison instead." Hari continued with a brief pause again, "Only that makes sense. Nobody else had the motive to kill Paromita on the day of the reception. However killing Mr. Sen could be caused by a serious motive and only one person wins in that situation." Hari stopped.

After taking a long breath, he noticed the people in the room maintain their silence with whatever they have seen and heard. He turned his head to Oindrila and said, "Am I not a good storyteller?"

Oindrila looked at Hari and with a cold stare added, "You can't prove anything. The reports, you won't have it because my husband is afraid that his dirty secret would be out and well he will personally make sure that the truth does not come out because his reputation is involved as well. If you take me to jail, you will have to explain everything and my husband won't let that happen. Remember what you said about Sujit and Paromita, a safe compromise. Well here we have another safe compromise."

Hari got up from his chair and said, "I knew that you will say this." He looked at Sujit and said, "I am going outside explaining to the press everything that happened. You can either stay here or come out with me if you want justice for Paromita. And while I know it is your parents, think if they have done justice to their roles."

Sujit was almost crying and this push was enough. "I am coming with you."

Oindrila screamed, "No!!!" She broke in tears. "Don't do this. I got carried away. He said this was the only way we could be all happy and I can have revenge."

"Mr. Das was involved in this too. Does it get any better? Well the press will have a lot to do." Hari chuckled.

"No. Don't do this." Oindrila was howling.

"I am going to do this anyway Mrs. Sen. What you can do is confess everything and write it down on a piece of white paper." Hari gestured Ganesh to bring out the paper and the pen.

Ganesh got the paper out and handed it to Oindrila.

After Oindrila had written down everything, Hari took it and read it scrupulously. "You did not mention about Mr. Das being involved. You have said you killed Paromita because you thought she was having an affair with someone else and when you found out she was cheating on your son you killed her."

"Yes. I will take the blame. Let everybody else go." Oindrila could not stay steady.

Hari opened his glasses and said, "So be it! Ganesh go ahead make your first arrest."

Ganesh and Hari were prepared to leave the building with Oindrila still cuffed. Hari called Sujit and said, "There is something you need to have."

"What?" Sujit replied in a defeating tone.

Hari got out a small tape recorder from his pants and said, "This is today's conversation. I think you should have it. If you think, it is not apt for the world to know what happened inside the room and the secrets about your parents you can destroy this recording. However if you feel the world needs to know and all these dirty shit should come out and Paromita should get justice in every sense....Then the choice is yours."

The cameras flashed as Ganesh lead the way with a cuffed convict. Oindrila covered her face with her saree as the reporters asked countless questions, which like always Hari evaded.

### Chapter 13

The morning light fell on the table on which Hari worked in his cabin. He was browsing through some files as Ganesh entered the cabin holding a gray file of his own. He sat on the front chair and said, "Sir am I disturbing you?"

"Too late for that. What do you want?" Hari kept his eyes fixed on the file.

"Crazy one last night." Ganesh kept the file on the table.

"Hmmm!!" Hari did not look up yet.

"Sujit gave the recording to the press last night only. It is all over the news." Ganesh added.

Hari looked up now, "What? He did?"

"Yes. Unthinkably brave of him. Isn't it sir?" Ganesh opened the file in front of him and wanted to show something.

"Yeah!! So what are the headlines today then?" Hari questioned.

"Well didn't you see it, one said, 'Love Sex Aur Dhoka' but the best one was, 'Pati Fauj Mein, Biwi Mauj mein." Ganesh chuckled and added, "There was also a picture of me and you together. I have never been on news before."

"That's funny." Hari laughed a bit and added, "So what happened with the elections."

"There is mass outrage and now that even Mr. Das and his involvements are out, the respective parties would force them to pull out their nominations." Ganesh had a tone of pride in his voice.

A slight knock on the door was heard as Hari said, "Come in!"

Javed entered the room and got directly to the topic, "I have to say this Hari...I am sorry for my behavior last night."

Hari looked at Javed and said, "Doesn't matter Javed."

"No it does. I had pressure mounting on me, I have to take care of the department, and you know a routine transfer is nothing for people like us. They can send us anywhere they want. I did not have a choice." Javed pleaded.

"We always have a choice. We all do." Hari was philosophical in his tone with that, he quickly added "Listen let's not get into the intricacies, you did your job and I did mine. If I am removed, I will start my private agency. Remember my plan for retirement. If it comes early so be it. " Hari was blunt.

"Well...I am not going to feel guilty for this. Anyway, the media is dying to listen from you. The pressroom is filled with reporters. You are a hero now fat." Javed tried to ease the situation with the last one.

"I hate the press you know that and I have to go pick up my wife from the airport so I will pass on that." Hari got up from the chair.

"Oh give my best to her. And the media wants a version and they will get to you eventually." Javed prepared to leave.

After Javed left, Hari switched off his computer preparing to leave for the airport.

"Sir...There is a thing." Ganesh fumbled.

"What?" Hari stared at the screen as the computer took some time to shut down itself.

"I used to work on the narcotics division. So they wanted you to write a letter if you wanted me to stay on homicide?" Ganesh was cautious.

Hari did not look at him and said, "How is it going with Radhika?"

"Ummm...What? Yeah well that is over. She said she needs to be with Sujit now and that she thinks he is the right man for her." Ganesh still fumbled and was curious with the bizarre question.

"Ahh...a man can't lose his job and his woman on the same day." Hari finally switched off the computer and went for the switchboard to turn off the lights. "I will write the letter. Don't worry you are staying with homicide."

Hari switched off the lights and went for the door. As they walked towards the lift, Hari turned towards Ganesh and said, "You love to be on news papers don't you?"

"Yes. I mean you know. Who doesn't? It's like you always want your picture on news and stuff." Ganesh replied as they waited for the lift.

"Why don't you go do the press conference with the reporters?" Hari's proposed the idea.

"Me?? I mean I am...Just. It such a big..." Ganesh kept fumbling unable to believe what he was asked to do. He has never talked to reporters leave alone a press conference. The thought of being on the papers made him nervous and excited at the same time.

The lift had arrived and Hari went inside and before the door closed he added, "Don't fumble in front of the camera."

The lift went down making screeching noises.

## #######
