“Sure we can! We have the handkerchief - your blue- checked handkerchief - which you used to pass the bottle of poison to Jaya and which you refused to acknowledge as yours when Vijay tried to give it to you. Remember?” Sonia replied. “That kerchief still has the smell of poison on it from the spilled liquid. Besides, you have a matching kerchief in your house at the moment! And if that’s not enough, we can easily trace the shop Jaya’s bottle of poison came from. I’m sure the chemist will remember the one-time, beautiful stage actress who bought it, even if her head was heavily draped in a dupatta.”
Deepa’s eyes widened in shock. Then, as realisation sank in, she sighed and slumped into a chair.
“It was a very clever plan, Deepa. Perhaps too clever,” Sonia remarked. “Want to tell us about it?”
“It was brilliant, wasn’t it?” Deepa took a deep breath. “And not at all easy to plan and enact. I knew from the first moment that Anup was attracted to Jaya. And it filled me with rage. He had no right to even look at another woman. I was crazy about him. I had made too many sacrifices to be made a fool of. Initially, I thought it was a passing fancy and that he would get over it. But instead it got more and more serious, till one day I learned that they were meeting at her house and at a hotel. That he was contemplating leaving me, ending our marriage. That was the last straw. I had to do something. Not just to stop their affair, but to teach them a lesson. By getting rid of both of them.
“I decided that I wouldn’t actually kill them with my own hands. They would kill each other, like in the play. I would use them like clay pawns, moulding and planning their moves as per my wishes. I deliberately urged Karan to change the end - through Anup, of course. Then I embarked on the most enjoyable process of creating trouble between the two of them. I kept telephoning Anup, pretending to be someone from Jaya’s past and warning him repeatedly about that terrible woman. My creativity was at its best as I wove a shady background for Jaya. The seed of doubt was sown. Then came my masterpiece. On the day of the play, I called up Anup as Jaya. I declared ruthlessly that it was all over and that I was pregnant. I even blackmailed him, demanding that he pay a price for my silence, or else I would spill the truth to his wife! Anup reacted exactly as I thought he would. He believed that hed been tricked by the woman he loved. Not only did his ego take a tumble, but his rage was stirred. He had a dangerous temper and I stoked it to a roaring fire. I had already kept a bottle of cockroach poison handy. He behaved predictably. When the poison bottle vanished, I knew that success was close.
“Meanwhile, I was also manipulating Jaya, working on her insecurities, making her feel like a fool. During lunch that day, I was the perfect, doting wife and Anup the ideal husband. I deliberately broached the subject of our ‘project twins,’ which did the trick of ruffling Jaya. But I knew that I could not rely on the upheaval of her emotions for killing Anup. It was not possible to control Jaya’s actions the way I had done with Anup’s. Nor could I rely on her to react with a killing anger. So I decided to use her. I left a message on Jaya’s answering machine, informing her that I was pregnant and that Anup would pay her for her services. That really upset her. She was convinced that Anup had indeed exploited her and it confused her. That was all I needed. I hoped that this would result in a massive fight, which would strengthen his resolve to get rid of her.
“Trying to get rid of him was more tricky, but the solution turned out to be quite simple actually. Handing Jaya real poison when the moment arrived. The last scene was so touching, though not a soul knew, except for Anup and me, that it would lead to tragedy. And not even Anup knew that this was indeed the last moment of his life! When Jaya edged momentarily into the wings for the bottle of poison, I quickly handed her the real one, carefully holding it with my kerchief, avoiding leaving my fingerprints on the bottle. Then I hastily tucked the kerchief into my purse, but unfortunately it fell out. It was only when Vijay showed it to me that I realised that Id dropped the kerchief. I was confused, so I just flatly denied it was mine. Perhaps I should not have lied.”
“Not that that would’ve helped much. Sooner or later, we would’ve arrived at the conclusion that the bottle had been handled with gloves and that there were no prints on it other than Jaya’s. And then Vijay would’ve remembered the kerchief he tried to return to you,” Sonia commented.
“Yes, I guess you’re right…”
“Was it worth it, do you think?” Sonia asked softly.
Deepa looked up and brazenly challenged the question in the detective’s eyes. “Yes. Every single minute of it.”
Inspector Divekar flashed Sonia an affectionate look. “You get better and better by the day, beti,” he remarked.
Sonia took a sip of the chai and smiled at him. “Uncle, you played a major role in all this. I just added the finishing touches!”
“Stop fishing for compliments!” Mohnish said. “And start telling me, when and how did this mutual murder turn into a masterminded double murder!”
“Yes, Boss, Id like to hear it, too!” Jatin’s admiration shone in his eyes.
“Okay.” Sonia shrugged, a little abashed. “We all know exactly what happened in the auditorium. Both Anup and Jaya poured out poison from the bottles and killed each other. They were
