“The best of people have a dark side to them,” Sonia reminded him. “By the way, why did you have two poison bottles in the end? I mean, don’t you think that the natural thing to do would’ve been for them to pour the poison from the same bottle, the way you did the juice?”
“Actually, the original idea had been one poison bottle. But Anup felt that it would be more poetic and melodramatic if the couple poured poison from their own separate bottles. It would feel like a real toast to their love and give a chance for their histrionics as they approached each other on the background of the sad song. More like a film It was a last-minute change, but I wouldn’t have agreed if I hadn’t liked the idea. Somehow it seemed less clichéd.”
“Anup?” Sonia repeated with a thoughtful expression.
“What happens next?” Karan asked in a resigned tone, seemingly unaware of her reaction.
“The Police have confiscated those bottles and the jar of juice. They’ll be able to deduce whether the poison was in the bottles or the juice. Then they try to nail down the person who was responsible for it, who would have a motive to attempt to pull off such a blatant crime! It’s got to be someone closely associated with the play, who knew exactly what the ending was and how it would be enacted. Someone who would have ample opportunity to either replace the fake bottles with the real ones or pour poison in them or into the juice.”
A murmur of voices broke out on centre stage, where Inspector Divekar stood. A Constable and a member of the play hastened to the Inspector and he followed them to the side of the stage. Sonia frowned. What was happening?
A crew member passed them and Karan hailed him.
“What’s up, Vijay?”
“They’ve made a discovery!”
“Discovery?” Sonia repeated, interested.
“He’ll tell you.” Vijay indicated the Inspector with a thumb, then walked briskly away.
At that very moment, Inspector Divekar signalled to Sonia. She rose at once.
“Excuse me, I’ll be back in a moment!” she told the Director.
Karan watched as she quickly joined Inspector Divekar. The Inspector began speaking instantly, showing her something. They bent their heads in a quick consultation. Sonia looked worried. Something twisted in Karan’s stomach. Now what was happening? Hadn’t they had enough trouble for a lifetime?
Sonia nodded as the Inspector handed a plastic bag to the Constable. Then she retraced her steps towards Karan, a grim expression on her face.
“What is it?” Karan asked her fearfully.
She took the seat beside him in silence and inhaled a soft breath.
“The Police have just discovered that the poison bottles that were supposed to be used in the play are still in their appointed place. They are apparently untouched!”
“What! But that’s impossible! Anup and Jaya used them to pour the poison,” he insisted.
“Obviously not!”
“What does this mean?” Karan looked bewildered.
Sonia was thoughtful. “It means that Anup and Jaya did not use the fake bottles kept for them in the wings. Most likely one of them brought the poison or even they both brought their own.”
“You mean…?”
“If the property bottles were not used in the last scene, it means that no one replaced those fake bottles with real poison. Which also means that no one really tried to kill Anup and Jaya.”
“But then, who, how…?”
“The conclusion is obvious, isn’t it?” Sonia spoke gently. “Either, one of them brought the two poison bottles or Anup and Jaya each brought their own. Regardless since neither of them touched the fake bottles, it looks like they deliberately poisoned each other, with or without each other’s consent!”
“What are you saying? They tried to kill each other? I don’t believe it!” Karan exclaimed. “We are all such good friends. Why in heavens should Jaya and Anup wish to kill each other? We’ve been working closely for months. We had a wonderful lunch this afternoon and the atmosphere was such fun, so tension-free. I don’t see why those two would take such drastic action. No, I’m sure there’s another explanation to it.”
“Assuming that the poison was not in the juice - can you explain what the entire auditorium witnessed with their own eyes? Jaya and Anup poured poison out of the bottles they had in their possession. And they collapsed onstage in front of all of us. And they did not get up again. In fact, I’m not sure the Doctors will be able to do much for them.”
Karan looked horrified. “You mean…?”
Sonia was silent, as she allowed the significance of her remark to sink in. The Director clutched his head and burst into tears. His shoulders shook and Sonia felt tears rise in her eyes at such raw emotion.
“Get a grip, Karan,” she said finally. “Some things are beyond our control.”
“I loved her!” Karan mumbled as he fought to control the dam of emotions. “I loved Jaya a lot. But she never really looked at me. Until recently. She was changing towards me. I could sense that. Especially today, during Deepa and Anup’s lunch party. I truly did love her! Oh, why did this have to happen?” he wailed.
At the back of her mind, Sonia noticed that his admission of love for someone else evoked nothing but a sense of deep sympathy. She felt inordinately pleased about it. “Did you ever reveal your feelings to her?” she asked.
“Several times - not in so many words, but through actions, hints. She knew. And she wasn’t indifferent. I know that because she would come to me so naturally whenever she was upset or angry or emotional. Like this evening, just before the show, she was quite upset and she came straight to me. Vijay, the makeup man, told me that he had seen her go into Anup’s room and that she emerged very agitated.”
“Did she say what had upset her?”
“Just that she was so angry, she could kill someone!” He raised his head and stared at
