Short Story IV

            Detective Joseph sat in his armchair with his usual nightcap, a glass of scotch filled with ice. He was sifting through the box sent over to him after the death of Detective Kureshi. A murder was committed at the property of Mrs. and Mr. Brattis. One Mr. Munna Rao, was killed with a barbecue skewer in the staff quarters of the Brattis mansion. The Late Mr. Rao worked as domestic help in the maintenance and upkeep of the large property which had one one-storey mansion, a vegetable garden at the back with a large open field adjacent to it and a 3-room structure at the end of the field which housed the victim, a cook, Mr. Musheed Khan and a maid, Ms. Lata Kurien. The house also employed a driver, Mr. Mahesh Yadav, who did not stay at the property and reported for duty every day at 9 AM till 6 PM. The couple had a sixteen-year-old son, Ritvik Brattis. On the morning of the murder there was one other person at the property delivering manure for the fields and garden, Mr. Peru Halder.

            Detective Joseph flipped through the file and found a few photos of the mansion clicked on the day of the crime. There was no cordoning-off of the crime scene and he could see at least ten policemen in the small room where the murder happened. He knew he could not rely on the forensics or the lack thereof, solely, to find the perpetrator. Detective Kureshi had spent almost 14 months on this case but he could never pin point with certainty who would have the motive and the means to carry out this crime. The father of the victim was very close to Detective Kureshi and he had made it his absolute mission to provide the victim’s family with the closure they deserved. Now that Detective Kureshi was no more, Detective Joseph had made it his absolute mission to solve the case as a goodbye gift to one of his most revered seniors.

            The file also contained some handwritten notes of Detective Kureshi and Detective Joseph pushed everything on his desk aside and opened the file with a renewed sense of urgency. Mrs. Samantha Brattis (nee Samson) was the only daughter of the pharma giant Dr. Albert Samson. After Dr. Samson’s death, all his property and businesses were passed down to Mrs. Brattis who was already managing everything ever since her father had taken ill. She was married to Mr. Kevin Brattis, whom she met on one of her company retreats. Mr. Brattis was a new entrant in the pharmaceutical line at the time and had started buying licenses for production of generic medicines, which Dr. Samson along with his entire fraternity felt would be detrimental to the big companies’ profit margins. After a few months, the Samson group had bought all of Mr. Brattis’ licenses and a grand wedding ceremony had been planned of Ms. Samson and Mr. Brattis. Detective Kureshi had made a small note on the side, Mr. Brattis – opportunistic sly bastard. Hates wife. Affair? Maid? Strong alibi. Mr. Brattis never worked a day after he got married. He completely left the everyday running and management to his wife. They had moved-in with Mr. Samson soon after their wedding since Mrs. Brattis wanted to be close to her ailing father. Mr. Brattis would often invest money in new ideas, especially if there was an attractive face which thought of the idea. He had lost money in almost all of these ventures but he kept doing it. He was also great at hosting parties and Mrs. Brattis found that quite useful for networking and meeting the people in the high echelons of the power circle, further accelerating the pace of her ever-growing business.

            Mrs. Brattis was the head of the family and everyone was scared of her. She had a panache for being in all places at once. She would take care of the business, keep her home beautiful and find time to indulge herself in the lavish parties her husband would throw. She knew everyone and she knew everything about everyone. She would never hesitate to blackmail bureaucrats, contractors and even the ministers in order to get what she wanted. Overambitious. Egoistic. Motive? Mrs. Brattis loved only two things in life, her father’s legacy and her son, Ritvik. The fact that she and Mr. Brattis had marital troubles was known to one and all. They slept in separate rooms and tried to avoid each other as much as possible. At the time of the murder, she was out in the garden with the cook. The cook confirmed this. Their neighbour, Retd. Col. A. Anthony was in his garden, which is adjacent to the Brattis’ gardens, also confirmed that she was there for almost ninety minutes and they had chatted with each other for quite some time as well.

            The neighbour was an ex-colonel in the Indian Army, who was widely decorated, and had been a close friend of Dr. Samson. Retd. Col. A. Anthony knew Mrs. Brattis since she was a child and was a big pillar of support towards the last days of Dr. Samson. He was Ritvik’s godfather and Ritvik would spend a lot of time helping the colonel in the upkeep of his library and his award cabinet. Mrs. and Mr. Brattis’ wedding was done in the colonel’s garden and he had strong reservations about the choice of groom. He still didn’t see eye-to-eye with Mr. Brattis. He was a very jovial man who would always talk to the staff politely and courteously. A true gentleman.

            The victim, Late Munna Rao, had been employed with the family for some three months. He took care of the vast garden, the driveways and the terrace nursery. He would spend most of his time outside the mansion on the grounds. He was a very reserved boy and kept to himself mostly. Even on a few occasions when Retd. Col. Anthony tried to spark a conversation with him, he would always find an excuse of finishing some pending work and leave. He was a very alert boy, hardworking and always wanted to impress Mrs. Brattis, often following her like a puppy, around the kitchen garden, and into the kitchen. Affair with maid? Cook killed?

            Mr. Musheed Khan, the cook, was with the family the longest. He started working here some 12 years back and was having an affair with the maid, Ms. Lata Kurien, which the staff knew about. Ms. Kurien had joined work a few years back and was a widow. She had no children and lived with the Brattis family. Mr. Musheed Khan was a man in his early forties with a very calm demeanour. He was a simpleton who loved cooking and worshipped his kitchen. Fit of rage? Crime of passion? Was the maid involved?

            The driver, Mr. Mahesh Yadav, was with Mr. Brattis in his study when the crime happened. He was also a newer employee in the family and was removed a few months after the murder. Detective Kureshi had tracked him to his new place of work but did not find anything worth pursuing further. Motive?

            Ritvik Brattis was a spoilt child who was not used to hearing no for a response. He worshipped his mother and his best friend was Retd. Col. Anthony. He shared with him things he wouldn’t talk to his mom about. He studied in a boarding school and was home for vacations when the crime was committed.

            Apart from all the usual residents of the house, there was one Mr. Peru Halder present in the property premises at the time of the murder. He worked as a day labourer and would often do odd jobs in and around the town. On the day of the murder, he was delivering manure and soil for the kitchen garden. He had drove inside in a rickshaw and was storing the gunny bags in the shed by the back of the house all morning.

            Mr. Brattis was in his study with the driver, Mr. Yadav, all morning on a very important phone call with the Health Secretary. Detective Kureshi had applied for the call records at the Swastha Bhavan and it confirmed that indeed, Mr. Brattis was on a telephonic meeting for over two hours that morning. As for Mr. Yadav, Mr. Brattis vows that he never left the room since it was a very important meeting and the driver was there helping him out in fetching the correct papers from the files, handing out the coloured pens to take down notes, et cetera.

            Mrs. Brattis was in the kitchen garden with the cook, Mr. Khan, who says he did not leave Mrs. Brattis’ side even for a moment. They were earmarking the field where new kitchen garden was to be added. The delivery for the manure and soil was for the same. They were talking and moving about just outside the kitchen on the fields for quite some time. The neighbour, Retd. Col. Anthony also confirmed the same as he was sitting in his garden the entire morning having his tea, breakfast and lunch, all in the garden. He even had a chat with Mrs. Brattis and the cook about the vegetables best suited for the coming weather and the choice of manure. All three of them denied seeing Munna that morning in the garden as he had informed through Mr. Khan that he was feeling a little under the weather that morning and wanted some time to rest before joining duty. The last man to see Munna Rao alive was Mr. Khan when he went in the staff quarter to give him some food and medicine before joining Mrs. Brattis in the kitchen and then the garden.

            The maid, Ms. Kurien, said she served breakfast that morning in the dining hall downstairs and then went upstairs to clean the bedrooms. She had not seen Munna Rao that morning and did not seem to be shaken by his death either. “I would never do such a thing in Madam’s home” was her reply when asked if she had killed Munna Rao. The fact that she did not like Munna was evident. “Yes, I did not like him. He was a very suspicious guy, I told Madam the first day itself. He always stared at the paintings in the hall, and the kitchen silverware; often picking them up in his hands and minutely looking at the detailed carvings on them. He would always keep a check on when Madam was leaving and coming back home. Ritvik sir also had a fight with him one evening by the kitchen.”

            The delivery man Mr. Halder said he entered via the main door in his cycle rickshaw carrying the order of manure and soil, some 45 gunny bags, with him in his rickshaw. The driver Mr. Yadav also reached around the same time and was locking his bicycle by the back of the house near the shed when Mr. Halder pulled in. Mr. Yadav went inside the house to inform of the delivery and unlocked the shed door. “Keep all the bags six inches away from the back wall in stacks. Come by the front door afterwards and collect the money” Mr. Yadav said dismissively, leaving Mr. Halder there. None of the other staff members saw him until he came out in front, the police having already arrived by the time.

            Ritvik Brattis was questioned when he came back that evening in his friend’s car. He had no knowledge of the murder till then. He said he went back to his room that morning after eating breakfast with the family. He listened to some music in his room before going for a shower. Got ready and left with his friend for the town where they saw a movie and ate lunch afterwards. While coming down from his room after getting dressed, he was seen by Ms. Kurien, who was cleaning Mr. and Mrs. Brattis’ bedroom across the hall. Ritvik had gone in the kitchen to look for his mother and waved her through the window when he saw she was in the garden. The colonel also corroborated the timeline. Ritvik then went out the front door and sat in his friend’s car who was already waiting for him there.

            All the alibis seemed watertight and the questioning by Detective Kureshi had gone on till late in the night. Mrs. and Mr. Brattis were physically shaken by what had transpired under their roof. Retd. Col. Anthony was the one who kept the entire house up and functioning through the night as the police collected evidence and forensics. The colonel took the mantle of ensuring tea and snacks kept rolling out of the kitchen for the members of the house and the police. He was unperturbed by death as the case with military men usually was.

            Detective Kureshi was heading out to light a cigarette when he accidentally overheard a hushed conversation between the cook and the maid. Ms. Kurien was afraid that the police might think they killed Munna to hush up their affair. “After all,” Ms. Kurien was heard saying, “he did say he was going to tell Madam about us. What if he did, and Madam tells the police that we were being blackmailed and the police decide to blame it on us?” Mr. Khan seemed lost for words. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Detective Kureshi eavesdropping and said heartily, “Do you need anything sir? Tea, coffee?” and went towards the detective, letting go of Ms. Kurien’s hand abruptly. “Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost, Khan? All ok with you two? Do you want to add something to your statements?” Detective Kureshi asked while keeping his eyes trained on Ms. Kurien.

            Ritvik Brattis was the last one to be interrogated that evening. Retd. Col. Anthony kept pacing the hall as he was being questioned in the study. As soon as Ritvik came out the colonel offered him dinner and a glass of scotch to calm his nerves. Mrs. Brattis was tired and exhausted by the time and was lying asleep on the couch. Mr. Brattis was simply staring at the muted television set.

            Detective Joseph took out some more family pictures that were clipped inside the file. He looked at them carefully and wrote down some notes on his pad and stood up to refill his drink. Detective Joseph decided to call it a night after his drink as he kept staring at the pictures he had put up on the board. He was trying to picture himself at the scene of crime and in that mansion on the day of the murder.

            The next day Detective Joseph got ready to visit the Brattis’ home. Mr. Brattis was not pleased with a uniformed personnel knocking at his door early in the morning. “I thought Detective Kureshi was the officer-in-charge of the investigation.” Mr. Brattis asked annoyed. “He has left.” Replied Detective Joseph, “I will be looking into the case now.”

            “With all due respect officer, Detective Kureshi was unable to solve this case in the last fourteen months. We do not think it is of any importance anymore.”

            “With all due respect, Mr. Brattis, I think the law decides what is important and what is not! If you would just let me do my job, that’ll be very helpful.”

            “I am calling the commissioner, right now. Who do you think you are?” Mr. Brattis kept yelling and did nothing as Detective Joseph took calculated steps, observing the table in Mr. Brattis’ study and pausing in front of every family portrait hung on the wall beside the massive bookshelves.

            “Is Mrs. Brattis home?” Detective Joseph asked Ms. Lata Kurien as she entered the study holding a tray with a glass of water and a small case of medicines for Mr. Brattis. “Yes, sir. She is in the garden.” Ms. Kurien replied.

            “Will you inform her about my presence. I would like to talk to her in private.”

            “Good morning, Mrs. Brattis. I am Detective Joseph. I took over the case from Detective Kureshi after his untimely passing. I want to clear a few doubts with you, if you have the time right now” Detective Joseph said. “How did Munna Rao come to join your employment?”

            “Munna’s father had worked for a few months for my father long back. He was my mother’s chauffer. Munna’s mother had passed away a few years back and his father had hit the bottle after the death. So, Munna came to the estate looking for my father, who also had passed away recently. Munna wanted to take a loan from my father to send his own father to rehab. When he was apprised of Dr. Samson’s death, he requested me to give him a job at the estate.”

            “You gave him a job where he had to stay in the property without any letter of recommendation? That’s a bit odd, Mrs. Brattis.”

            “As I said, I remembered his father driving my mum’s car when I was a kid. When he told me about his family situation, I took pity of his situation. It is not very odd of us to help out a poor family. You should ask around the town.”

            “Yes, I did ask around. As it turns out, your family fortunes have been dwindling in the recent years. Forcing you to cut down on the servants, the cars, the properties.” Mrs. Brattis just gave the detective a cold look and continued to stare outside the window. “Was Munna good at his job? Did you have any complaints? Did you ever find him trying to steal or eye any object?”

            “No. Of course, not. I would have fired him then and there if something of the sorts had happened.”

            “The other staff members said in their depositions that Munna would often follow you inside the house, talking to you in careful whispers. What was that about, Mrs. Brattis?”

            “It was nothing. He was trying to get in my good books by telling me about the affair my cook was having with my maid. Obviously, I already knew about it. Such things keep happening in big estates. It is no big deal.”

            “Did you confront Mr. Khan or Ms. Kurien about it? That could have been a motive for them?”

            “No. I did not bring it up. I do not like to get involved in the staff’s personal lives.”

            “Why did you remove your driver, Mr. Yadav, from service soon after the incident?”

            “It was nothing to do with the incident. He was demanding a raise which I did not think he deserved so soon into the service. That’s all.”

            Detective Joseph made notes in his pad. He was looking at Mrs. Brattis with accusing eyes. He was sure she was not telling the entire story about what had happened between her and Munna Rao.

            “Your staff also accused Munna of eyeing the silverware and other valuables keenly. Did you find anything missing during his tenure here?”

            Mrs. Brattis shuffled uncomfortably in her shoes, trying to avoid eye contact with Detective Joseph. “There was a necklace missing from my dressing which I had worn the night before the murder. But we could not find it anywhere in his belongings. I thought I probably misplaced it somewhere and will find it eventually.”

            “Why did you not reveal this during the investigation?” Detective Joseph was angry at this revelation. He had started doubting Mrs. Brattis with even more conviction than he had approached her with.

            “The case had become a local sensation. We just wanted to get it over with. We did not want any more attention on us. By the time I realised the necklace was missing, the police had just started to leave us in peace. I did not want you guys to rummage through the house again.”

            Detective Joseph went out into the garden heaving in anger. This was a crucial piece of information and he was trying to make sense of it. As he was pacing the garden up and down, he saw the cook, Mr. Khan, come out of the staff quarter and immediately go back inside on seeing him there. He knocked on Mr. Khan’s door and heard hurried closing of briefcases. He pushed the door open and saw Mr. Khan putting a briefcase under his bed. The briefcase contained the stolen necklace of Mrs. Brattis.

            “I am sorry madam. I am extremely sorry. Me and Lata were extremely worried that Munna had told you about us and you would throw us out. So, I made a plan with Peru, the delivery boy, to steal something valuable before we got fired. That morning, Lata stole the necklace from your dressing and threw it out the back window where Peru was unloading the bags. He kept it with him. The murder made us defer the plans of selling the jewellery since we thought the police might already be on the lookout for it. Please, please, forgive us madam. After you did not remove us from your service, we thought we will sneak the necklace back in the house somewhere you can find it. Hence, I got it back from Peru last week.”

            “Did Munna know about this heist plan?” Detective Joseph asked the cook.

            “No, sir. We had not told him. But that day he saw Peru wrapping the necklace in a cloth and shoving it under his rickshaw seat. But we did not do anything, sir. In fact, I got to know about this only after he was found murdered. You have to believe me, sir. I swear on my mother.”

            Detective Jospeh walked out of the building again. He was walking along the fence, talking over the phone. “Go and find Mr. Peru Halder and bring him to the station. I think I know what happened to Munna.”

            The next day, the Brattis family was called to the police station along with all the staff members. When they reached, they saw Retd. Col. Anthony was also there, sitting on the bench next to the lockup. Inside the lockup, Peru was squatting in a corner. Detective Joseph was not there in his office. As the family started to sit and discuss what was going on, Detective Jospeh stepped out of the interrogation room with Ritvik Brattis behind him, handcuffed. Everyone stood up in shock and Mrs. Brattis stared at the detective in disbelief.

            “Mrs. and Mr. Brattis, your son Ritvik is under arrest on the charge of murdering Munna Rao. Colonel Anthony, you are under arrest for abetting the murder and on the charge of falsifying your statements given under oath.” Detective Jospeh announced. Mrs. Brattis fell back on her chair and started crying. The Colonel simply stood up straight and held his hands in front of him to get handcuffed.

            Outside the police station, media personnel had started arriving where the detective was to make the news of both the arrests public. “It was a perfect crime not because of the way it was planned, but because of the circumstances under which nobody could rat on each other. The deceased, Munna Rao, was the step-brother of Mrs. Samantha Brattis. The bastard child of Dr. Samson who had an affair with the wife of his chauffer. Before the death of Munna’s mother, she told him the truth about his real father and Munna saw this as an opportunity to alleviate himself from his life of poverty. He came to the Brattis family looking for a job, and then started blackmailing Mrs. Brattis that he would come out with the truth unless she paid him to keep quiet.” Detective Joseph held up a family picture which had Dr. Samson in it and a photo of Munna Rao. “As you can see, both Dr. Samson and the victim had the exact same grey eyes and jawline which first led me to believe that they were related. On one of the occasions when Munna was trying to blackmail Mrs. Brattis, her son Ritvik overheard the entire conversation and took it upon himself to solve this conundrum for his mother. He could think of only one other person who would be willing to help him without asking any question, Retd. Col. A. Anthony, who was also his godfather. The colonel and Ritvik plotted to kill him when all the staff and family were in the house so the blame would not come on Ritvik. The Colonel made sure that Mrs. Brattis had an alibi when the crime was committed because he cared for her deeply. Ritvik was beyond any suspicion because everyone saw him come out of the house and get into the car of his friend who was waiting in the driveway. But it took Ritvik less than a minute to quickly go into Munna’s room and stab him with a skewer right before entering his friend’s car. Unluckily, Mr. Peru Halder had seen Ritvik coming out of the staff quarter when he was going there to talk to Munna about giving him a share if he kept his mouth shut. The colonel had ensured Munna would be in the staff quarter by mixing sleeping pills in his food the night before by entering through a loose slat in the fence between the two properties. We have arrested both Mr. Ritvik Brattis and Retd. Col. A. Anthony after getting written confessions by Ritvik Brattis. The case stands closed.” I hope you get peace, Kureshi my friend, Detective Jospeh thought.