‘Pardon me,’ he interrupted, apologetically blinking his eyes. ‘I don’t understand. Why are we talking as if we don’t know who killed Phillip?’
‘What do you mean, Reverend?’ Bhaskar asked, his eyes drilling into the cleric’s. ‘Of course, we don’t know who killed Phillip. Do you?’
‘Oh dear.’ Father Tobias’s face flushed red. ‘I must have made a mistake then. I must have misheard the inspector.’
‘The inspector?’
By now, everyone at the table was staring at the priest, who was clearly feeling awkward under the combined scrutiny.
‘Oh dear.’ he mumbled again. ‘How stupid of me.’
‘Tell us what you think you heard, Reverend.’
‘Well, Inspector Muthu was very pleased when he came to see me. He said that he had solved the case, and that he had done it without the help of any fancy specialist, whatever that meant.’
The meaning must have been obvious to everyone in the room other than Father Tobias.
‘Solved the case?’ Bhaskar echoed.
Father Tobias nodded vigorously and went on.
‘Apparently, he has already apprehended the man who had broken into this mansion three months ago and attacked you. The dagger that killed Phillip was his, too. And he had been hiding among the staff of the Misty Valley Resort the night Phillip was killed.’
As a stunned silence engulfed the room, Athreya glanced at Abbas. This time, the suave resort owner faltered. He had stopped eating, and his face had begun to blanch. Michelle and Richie also glanced at Abbas.
Into the shocked silence, Father Tobias threw another unwitting bomb.
‘Apparently, the arrested man is a well-known criminal, and has been recognized as the one who had tried to kill Bhaskar. He has a nickname. I believe he is called “the mongrel”.’
Michelle’s eyes flew wide open, and her head snapped to Athreya. By contrast, Jilsy, frightened out of her wits, shut her eyes and fists tightly, as if she wanted to cut out the world. A second later, Ganesh’s mouth dropped open.
‘The mongrel?’ he echoed. ‘Phillip was heard talking about the mongrel.’
‘What!’ Manu exclaimed. ‘Phillip knew the mongrel? Are your sure, Major?’
‘Very sure.’ Ganesh’s head bobbed up and down, even as Jilsy kept her eyes shut. ‘I heard him talk about the mongrel. Clearly.’
Suddenly, it dawned upon the major that he might have erred seriously. His despairing eyes sought out Athreya. But it was too late. Ganesh shut his mouth with a snap and picked up his glass of rum and Coke. Fortunately, nobody asked him whom Phillip had been talking to when he mentioned the mongrel, and how it was that he had overheard him.
Abbas had paled further, and was looking ashen. With an unsteady hand, he picked up his wine glass and brought it to his lips, keeping his eyes on the table the entire time. Michelle was staring at Abbas, her lips compressed and her nostrils flaring. Her eyes were glistening with moisture. An expression of incredulity came over Richie’s face. Dora, Sebastian and Varadan were also staring at the resort owner.
When Athreya took his eyes off Abbas, he found Bhaskar staring at him. Athreya returned the gaze unflinchingly and nodded slightly, telling Bhaskar that he had known about the mongrel’s association with Phillip.
‘So,’ Manu hissed. ‘Phillip had known the mongrel, eh?’ He looked uncharacteristically angry. ‘That answers a few questions, doesn’t it?’
‘What questions?’ Dora asked. She was still stunned at the sudden turn of events.
‘First, how did the mongrel get into the mansion that day, three months ago?’ Manu asked. ‘Murugan had locked up the house. He and Sebastian were in the storeroom, which is a part of the staff quarters. Only three people were in the main mansion: Dad, Phillip and me.
‘Dad had retired for the night, and his wheelchair had been plugged in for charging. I was in bed, reading. Phillip was in the room you are now staying in, Mr Athreya. All the doors and windows were locked, both Murugan and I had checked them just fifteen minutes previously. And, after the break-in, we checked each door and window again–none of them had been forced open.
‘So, you see what I am getting at? The mongrel couldn’t have got in…unless someone let him in!’
‘Jesus!’ Sebastian exclaimed. ‘Murugan and I were in the storeroom when we heard the gunshot. We had begun our stocktaking immediately after locking up the main house.’
‘Second question,’ Manu went on. ‘Who took the dagger from the drawer in the hall? Where did it go? Did Phillip take it? Did he return it to the mongrel?’
‘Third question,’ Sebastian cut in, his face intense with anger. ‘You remember the time when Mr Fernandez went to Coonoor, and the car’s brakes failed after we had visited the bank?’
‘What about it?’ Bhaskar growled.
‘Phillip had come with us on the outbound journey, but had decided to stay back and return later. He had no friends in Coonoor, and didn’t even bank there. All his purchases were made by others. Why then did he opt to stay back?’
‘Sebastian,’ Bhaskar said slowly. ‘Do you remember where you had parked the car that day in Coonoor? Some by lane, wasn’t it? Because you couldn’t get parking near the bank.’
‘Yes. You had to wait for five minutes for me to bring the car. It was three or four streets away on a side road.’
‘An ideal opportunity to tamper with the brakes!’ Manu finished. ‘Where was Phillip during that half hour we were at the bank?’
‘We don’t know. We didn’t know what he did or where he went.’
‘What do you think, Mr. Athreya?’ Manu asked, his face shining. ‘Could Phillip have been behind at least some of the attempts on Dad’s life?’
‘Possible, Manu,’ Varadan interjected before Athreya could respond. ‘But we must keep in mind that all this is circumstantial evidence.’
‘Mr. Varadan is right,’ Athreya said. ‘I would not jump to conclusions without further consideration.’ He turned to Bhaskar and asked, ‘You and Phillip talked a lot about paintings, didn’t you?’
‘Yes. That was
