‘Well, at any rate, you didn’t commit the fatal act.’
‘Thanks!’ Dora shot back with a mock bow. ‘That’s a comfort … however small it may be. But what if I am an accomplice?’
‘That’s possible, but I have taken that into account.’
‘Really, Mr Athreya!’
‘So will you help me? he repeated.
‘If I can, I would love to. What do you have in mind?’
‘Laundry.’
12
Inspector Muthu turned out to be an intimidating hulk of a man, over six and a half feet tall, with powerful limbs and shoulders. His uniform stretched tight over his body and seemed to be a size too small for him. When he walked, it was with a swagger born out of an unshakable confidence in one’s physical prowess. His hair was close-cropped and jet black. His mobile phone looked like a toy in his hand.
Watching him from the far end of the drawing room as he came in, Jilsy took an involuntary step back, half hiding herself behind her husband. Dora eyed him warily and Michelle grew visibly nervous.
Sebastian made the introductions quickly and with minimum words. He had been brought up to speed with whatever had transpired in his absence, and had, in turn, updated the inspector and the police doctor. Bhaskar had earlier asked everyone to gather in the drawing room, so the two officials could meet all of them in one go.
Muthu glowered at each one of them in turn, trying to intimidate them into conceding the upper hand to him. But he met with little success, except with Richie, who had suddenly gone sullen and shifty-eyed.
When Muthu’s eyes fell on Ganesh, his back straightened and he threw the major a quick salute, which Ganesh returned. Uniform, it appeared, admired uniform. With Varadan, Muthu remained cautious, limiting himself to a quick nod. When Abbas’s turn came, the inspector’s scowl deepened, but Abbas remained placid and polite.
Bhaskar seemed to take an instant dislike to the inspector, though it was not clear to Athreya if it was something he carried over from the past, perhaps when the break-in was investigated. Muthu had already met Manu and Sebastian before reaching Greybrooke Manor.
The ladies the inspector glossed over, appearing to consider them irrelevant. His eyes lingered over Athreya, whom he studied the longest.
‘You are the one who discovered the body?’ he asked belligerently.
‘I am,’ Athreya answered evenly.
‘How long were you alone with the body before you called the others?’
‘Fifteen minutes or so.’
‘Why didn’t you call them immediately?’
‘So that I could study the crime scene. I didn’t want people coming in and contaminating the evidence. In any case, Mr Phillip was long dead.’
‘But you contaminated the evidence!’ Muthu snapped fiercely.
‘I didn’t touch anything after I discovered the body, except the body itself, which I touched to gauge its temperature.’
‘You touched something before you discovered it, then?’
‘Yes. I closed an open window that was banging in the wind. That’s what I had entered the chapel for. And, of course, I touched the chapel door.’
‘So, you left your fingerprints on the window and the door! That’s contamination! Then you studied the crime scene, you say? What did you find?’
‘I have made a list, which I will give to you. I have also spoken to everyone here and made a note of their movements during the night.’
‘You? Who gave you the authority to talk to the witnesses?’
‘I did,’ Bhaskar cut in sharply. ‘I asked him to investigate the crime.’
‘A suspect investigating the crime?’ Muthu demanded without taking his eyes off Athreya. ‘Are you a policeman?’
‘No,’ Athreya answered calmly.
‘Then?’
‘Let’s say I have a little experience in such matters. Would you like me to share my findings?’
‘A civilian’s findings?’ Muthu looked incredulous. ‘That too a suspect who discovered the body? I will make my own investigations. Now, Mr Sebastian says that you have the murder weapon in your possession. Hand it over.’
‘Gladly.’ Athreya produced a key ring with two keys. ‘This is the key to the chapel. Two identical keys. The dagger is in a sealed plastic bag inside the chapel. Nobody has touched it.’
‘Why did you meddle with the evidence?’
‘For God’s sake, man,’ Bhaskar thundered. ‘If he hadn’t found it, it might have been buried under the brook’s sand and gravel by now. Can’t you see that he did you a service by recovering it?’
‘How did you know it was there?’ Muthu persisted, eyeing Athreya.
‘I thought there was a good chance that the killer might have thrown it there.’
‘You want me to believe that?’ Muthu attempted to thunder as Bhaskar just had, and failed miserably.
‘That’s your choice, Inspector.’
‘Lord in heaven, Inspector!’ Bhaskar exclaimed. ‘Do you know who he is?’
‘It wouldn’t matter if he was the prime minister. He is a civilian and a suspect. That’s all that matters. The law,’ he concluded loftily, ‘applies equally to everyone.’
Athreya gestured Bhaskar to back off.
‘Mr Sebastian told me that one of you is a doctor,’ Muthu went on. ‘And that the person has estimated the time of death. Who was it?’
‘Me,’ Michelle said timidly. ‘I am only a GP, and I don’t know much about estimating the time of death. I did my best.’
‘That is fine, madam,’ Muthu conceded magnanimously. ‘It’s always a good thing to estimate the time of death as soon as the body is discovered. As time passes, the accuracy drops. So thank you, madam. You have saved us one task.
‘Now, the police doctor and I will go see the body. I want everyone to remain here. You!’ he pointed to Athreya. ‘You come with me. I want you to tell me how exactly you discovered the body.’
Flashing a quick smile at a bristling Bhaskar and a horrified Manu, Athreya followed the inspector out through the French windows and on to the walkway.
‘The chapel is at the end of the walkway,’ Sebastian called out after Muthu, who grunted in response and turned left.
The police doctor, a small quiet man, had been staring at Athreya during his exchange with the inspector. As Muthu strode forward on his long legs, pulling away from
