‘So,’ Athreya said, ‘there were three crimes playing out at Greybrooke Manor–the attempted murder of Mr Fernandez, Phillip’s murder and drug trafficking. Abbas is the mastermind behind the first and the third. Murthy is involved in the first. While he didn’t have the resources to hire the mongrel, he certainly was a part of the planning to kill Mr Fernandez. I believe he also actively abetted the mongrel, just as Phillip had. Whether that is indeed so is for the courts to decide.’
Michelle was now shuddering as she took deep breaths. Her world had just collapsed around her, but she was dry-eyed. Dora clutched one hand as Manu held the other. At least her cousins were with her.
‘When it came to drug trafficking,’ Athreya went on, ‘the police were in for a surprise. One of the main distributors was a man they had never suspected. He was the one who handled the distribution of drugs to the Coorg area, including Madikeri. He was none other than Jacob Lopez, operating under a different name.
‘Jacob had come to the valley in 2009 and had taken on the identity of a man who had died two years earlier. He took the name of the dead man, and claimed the dead man’s relatives to be his. Unfortunately, Jacob’s adopted vocation was such that nobody questioned him.
‘It was he, Jacob Lopez, who killed Sebastian last night.’
‘What!’ Bhaskar exclaimed. ‘That can’t be! Phillip was already dead; Jacob Lopez was already dead!’
‘No, Mr Fernandez … That is the mistake you made. You assumed that Phillip was Jacob Lopez. He wasn’t. Jacob has been in front of you all this time under a different name, hidden in plain sight. In a garb that defies suspicion. He is in this room now.’
‘Who?’ Bhaskar thundered.
Athreya paused and slowly turned to the robed figure near the French windows.
‘Father Tobias.’
A stunned silence enveloped the room. All heads snapped to the priest, who sat motionless, staring into the distance.
‘The proof?’ Athreya continued. ‘His fingerprints. Under the pretext of getting him to identify some items, I got him to handle a silver cigar case and a glass paperweight. I took his prints from them and sent them to Vienna, where they matched with the police records. There is no doubt about his real identity.’
Inspector Muthu walked in through the French windows, carrying a black bag.
‘This is from Father Tobias’s room in the annex,’ the inspector said. ‘It has a false bottom. Inside, we found an Italian handgun.’
‘And I found this,’ Athreya added, pulling out the flat leather pouch that he had picked up in the chapel beside Sebastian’s body. ‘It is a set of lock picks that Sebastian’s murderer dropped when Sebastian ripped his jacket. I haven’t opened the pouch yet, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the picks will have Father Tobias’s fingerprints. Lock picks are notoriously difficult to use with gloved hands.
‘Phillip and Jacob Lopez knew each other from Vienna, where Phillip used to copy paintings for Jacob, which the latter then sold at a huge profit. They renewed their relationship here, after which Jacob must have told Phillip about the Balsano landscapes.
‘On Friday night, Phillip and Father Tobias were working together. Their original plan was that Phillip would steal the paintings and Father Tobias would take them away early in the morning, probably in cardboard tubes. The mongrel saw a person “dressed in a gown” lurking around the chapel, but didn’t realize that it was Father Tobias in his cassock.
‘Unfortunately for them, Sebastian intervened and killed the thief.’
Several gasps sounded and shock sprang to all the gathered around, faces except Bhaskar’s and Father Tobias’s.
‘Sebastian!’ Manu exclaimed. ‘How did that happen?’
‘Alas, we’ll never know,’ Athreya lied. ‘Both of them are dead now. But let me continue with what I was saying.
‘As a result, Father Tobias had to go back to Phillip’s house to return the cardboard tubes he was carrying. With Phillip dead, he had no idea what had happened to the paintings. Even at the risk of being found out, he had to return to the chapel last night to check the altar, but the vigilant Sebastian intervened again.’
Suddenly, the man who had been unmasked as Jacob Lopez leapt up. From inside his cassock, he drew another pistol. Athreya and Muthu were taken completely by surprise. They had not expected him to have a second gun. Having confiscated the weapon under the false bottom of his bag, they had become complacent.
Jacob lined up the pistol to fire at Athreya. Jilsy screamed, her high-pitched shriek piercing the air. For a moment, Jacob’s aim wavered between Athreya and Bhaskar. Before he could decide, a gun boomed twice. Jacob was thrown off his feet. His pistol clattered to the floor.
Athreya turned in astonishment towards where the gunshot had come from. There sat Bhaskar in his wheelchair, his face set in humourless lines. A thin strand of grey smoke curled up from the barrel of his gun.
‘I told you,’ he said grimly. ‘I am a pretty good shot.’
EPILOGUE
The next morning, Jilsy and Ganesh came to Athreya and said that they had decided to move out of the valley and, most likely, back to Pune. They didn’t want to stay opposite a drug-tainted resort, and next to Phillip’s house. Further, they were concerned about the ramifications after the mongrel was released from jail. After all, they were the ones who had tipped off Athreya about his involvement. All things considered, they had decided to move to Pune.
Immediately afterwards, Athreya took Richie aside and warned him. If Richie were to do anything to tarnish Jilsy’s reputation, he said, Bhaskar would come to know of how he had defiled the altar at the chapel. Considering that Bhaskar had already warned Richie about spoiling the family name, that would be enough for him to cut Richie out of his inheritance.
Michelle began drawing up the relevant papers with Varadan’s help, and before the week was out, she would file for divorce.
With Manu’s support, Dora
