“Vindictive enough to take someone’s life?”
“If someone was important enough to her and he was planning to drop her? I’m beginning to wonder now.”
“Was Anup planning to drop her?”
“I couldn’t be sure. But during the lunch we had at Anup’s house, Deepa and Anup were very fondly talking about their ‘project twins.’ They desperately wanted to have twins. There was absolutely no sign that Anup ever planned to leave his wife for Jaya. He seemed completely devoted to Deepa. In fact, when Deepa, who is an excellent actress, was mimicking all of us, Anup was totally in synch with her, supporting her. On the other hand, his behaviour towards Jaya that day seemed kind of cold and dismissive. Could that have been an indication of the reversal of his affections? But then, maybe I am wrong. Maybe it was all an act!”
“You could be right, of course.” Inspector Divekar agreed. “And what about Anup? Do you think he could be capable of murder?”
“I think Deepa would be the best person to answer that. I knew Anup as a friendly, talented actor, always willing to take special efforts on his role. He had his bouts of temper, of course. And he was uncontrollable when enraged. But capable of murder?” Karan shrugged.
“Had Anup loaned Jaya any money, do you think?”
“Not that I know of. And just now I heard Deepa mention Anup’s debt for the first time. So I’m quite in the dark about his money matters,” Karan replied.
“Right. Thank you, Karanji. We’ll get in touch with you if we need to talk again.” Inspector Divekar shook hands with Karan.
“Had she recently bought cockroach poison or asked you to buy a bottle?” Inspector Divekar asked.
Mrs Wakil, Jaya’s housekeeper, shook her head. “Not that I know of. And actually, I always took care of these matters and she never interfered with my work. I can’t see Jayaji going out to the chemist Store to buy cockroach poison. It just isn’t like her. But you never know about people, do you?”
Inspector Divekar, Sonia, and Jatin sat in the actress’s plush hall. The interior designing, apparently newly done, gave the hall a grand feel. Jaya had really begun to do well in her career, Sonia thought. Or had the money come from another source? Anup?
“How was she yesterday? I mean, what mood did she seem to be in?”
“She was upset about something,” Mrs Wakil answered. “And not just yesterday. She’s been like that for a couple of days now. Snappy and waspy. She’s usually not like that. In fact, she’s rather polite and patient, as long as you don’t cross her. But I guess my decision to quit upset her more than I thought!” “How long have you worked for Jayaji?” Inspector Divekar asked.
“For a year now. We got along quite well. But my husband took a job up north and I have to leave by the end of this month. Unfortunately, Jayaji did not take the news well.”
“Has anything unusual happened in the last few days? Anything that you can think of?”
The housekeeper shook her head. Then grinned. “Yes, there was something. Anupji did not turn up during the last couple of days!”
Inspector Divekar and Sonia flashed each other a glance.
“Anup was a frequent visitor here?”
“He came here every single day. She was crazy about him. I warned her that no good would come of this relationship. He was married and his wife was a wonderful woman. I’d met Deepaji a few times and I thought she was a very warm and caring person. It wasn’t right of Jayaji to break up their marriage. Because that’s what it would’ve come to if this tragic incident hadn’t occurred. I’d tried explaining to Jayaji, but she was so happy and so much in love that nothing I said would’ve seeped into her brain. And Anupji seemed totally smitten, too, so who was I to interfere? Then last two days, things seemed to have cooled between them. And, suddenly, yesterday, just before she was leaving for the show, Jayaji came to me and said, ‘Never trust men! The most loved one can stab you in the back!’ She seemed very upset and angry and I did not pursue the subject. I assumed, quite naturally, that she’d had a lovers’ tiff. Then she suddenly added, ‘Oh, but it’s different with you. You’re married and have a child. Ultimately it’s always the legal status! Believe me, that comes from the horse’s mouth!’ And she left. That was the last I saw of her.”
Sudden tears welled up in Mrs Wakil’s eyes. “Poor Jayaji. She wanted so much from life and she got so little..”
Sonia sat in her office, a hand absently caressing Nidhi, who sat cuddled on her lap. She felt a deep sadness and her heart felt heavy. Karan’s play was a disaster. His whole future had shattered around him and he had to start all over again with new actors. Not to mention the bad publicity, which would repel crowds from the play. Poor Karan. Deepa’s tearstained, grief-struck face flashed before her eyes. Even Mrs Wakil had been moved by the mutual killing. Why had they killed each other, when they were so much in love? What had they achieved, Sonia wondered. Then suddenly her hand stilled. She reframed the question carefully in her mind. What had the mutual murder achieved? A vague answer
