A PAINTED GATE
PRE-NOTE:
Kindly excuse correct the grammatical mistakes. Thanks
in advance. :-)
PART 6:
“Damn. You’re not scared at all. Can I hire you for teaching
a lesson or two to my wife?”
Indhu looked for the source of the voice and found Gowtham
walking down the path from the side of the house. “Gowtham, what are you doing
here?” she said, clearly surprised by his sudden appearance. He greeted her
with a warm smile and took the bottle from her hands.
“Sorry, I couldn’t restrain myself from playing a little
prank when I heard you talking about the morphine bottle.”
“Are you eavesdropping?” Indhu’s jaw was belligerent.
“Probably spying on Vijay?”
“Why would I? If at all I have to spy on somebody, it would
be Vimal. No, not at all – I just happened to come around when you guys were
discussing the bottle went missing… God, it’s too cold; won’t you invite me
in?” Gowtham asked, rubbing his palms together and holding them against his
cheeks.
“Please do,” Indhu stepped in, allowing space for him to gain
entry. Indhu closed the door, saying, “Guys, look who’s here.”
Vijay was amused by the arrival of an unexpected guest but
his facial expressions didn’t betray him. He welcomed his rival with a firm
handshake and offered him a seat in his excellent couch. Karthick gave a
friendly smile and he looked as though he already knew the purpose of this
visit. Priya looked rattled for some unknown reason.
“17 missed calls. I should’ve foreseen this,” said Karthick.
“Thanks that I don’t have to explain myself now. Come with
me,” said Gowtham in a calm voice. “Now,” he added strictly.
“Come on, Gowtham. You can’t burst in my house at this hour
and threaten my guest,” said Vijay. “I forbid it.”
“As it happens to be your house, we didn’t burst in, Vijay. I
came in quietly and we didn’t send anyone armed. You should be happy,” replied
Gowtham. “It’s a pity that we can’t blackmail you. Either you have such a clean
past or you know how to cover your tracks.”
“There were no tracks to cover,” Indhu said angrily.
“This is so silly. Can’t we call the cops?” Priya blurted
out.
Gowtham grinned. “I represent a higher authority actually –
Minister Janarthan himself. To refresh your memory, he is your future
father-in-law.”
Priya opened her mouth to say something but Karthick
interrupted. “You can’t take me anywhere against my will. I dwelt in my
father’s sins for too long and I stand by my friends now.”
“You heard the man,” said Vijay. “But we can happily chat
about anything else. We are pleased to have such esteemed visitor.”
Gowtham lifted his eyebrows. “There is no irony in your
voice. Either you’re a…”
Vijay chuckled despite the situation. “Spare me the details
about me to me.”
“We don’t have anything else in common to discuss, Vijay.
Send Karthick and Priya with me. You know I won’t hurt them.”
“It’s their wish,” said Vijay nonchalantly.
“How unfortunate! Now I have to do the impossible,” he paused
for a moment before continuing, “which is blackmailing you at a higher level –
leverage.”
Vijay smiled. “Really?”
“Blackmail involves the individual alone. If a man does not
have a dirty past, we have to let it slide. But do you know how leverage works?
I just have to find your little weakness.” He pointed his index finger in the
direction of Indhu without taking his eyes off Vijay. “The weakness is sitting
right here and are you sure that there are no secrets in her life?”
“Go to hell,” said Indhu with a sweet smile.
Gowtham returned the same sweetness in his fake smile. “Oh,
you’re confident too. What is your weakness?” He clicked his tongue. “Let me
guess - your little brother Bhargav. How hard it will hit you if I reopen the
ragging case – some history it is.”
A rush of warm air escaped through Indhu’s lips. As she
absorbed this, she instinctively glanced at the mirror on the opposite wall and
yes, she looked weak as she felt. She almost blurted ‘how the hell do you know
this?’ but to do so would be to admit the truth. Nor could she deny it. She
knew that Gowtham already knew. “There was no ragging. And there was no case to
reopen. That girl Ragini didn’t want to press charges back then.”
Gowtham laughed. “Now we’re getting somewhere. I may not be
able to blackmail you. But I could blackmail this Ragini to do anything which
means that I could touch Bhargav which means that I have a hold on Indhu and
that means I am above you, Vijay. I own this little secret of an unknown girl
Ragini and I own Vijay – this is how leverage works.”
“So leverage is blackmail in a roundabout way?” Priya
suggested.
“You can say so,” said Gowtham, his smile triumphant. He knew
that he had shaken the ground pretty hard. He waited patiently for the result
that he knew would be in his favor.
“Where do you want us to come?” Karthick broke the prolonged
silence. Vijay was about to protest but Karthick shook his head. “It’s okay,
Vij.” He rose, gesturing to Priya.
“Wait a minute,” said Indhu. “Gowtham, the morphine bottle.
Did the police find it? How come it was not in the list of evidences?”
“No. It was sent to me by courier today – no fingerprints
except for my wife’s as she was the one to open it. I know one of you did it. I
don’t understand why,” said Gowtham. He got up, snapping his fingers that told
Karthick that his time was over. Karthick ran over his finger over the side of
his neck, and then flicked off the perspiration. After one tiny nod, he helped
Priya get up and followed Gowtham to the door.
Indhu watched them leave with heavy heart. “I won’t be able
to sleep tonight, Vij.”
Vijay looked grave but his thoughts were in a different
direction. “Indhu, did the police search everything and everybody on the day of
Jason’s death?”
“Yes, it was not in the house. They didn’t search us but they
searched Sravya.”
“It means that the morphine bottle was hidden on one of you.
That proves that Sravya wasn’t the killer.”
**********
“I want you to do a rehearsal of the cross-examination with
me. You and Priya. And repeat the performance on the stage, I mean the court.”
“We’re not your puppets,” said Priya irritably.
Gowtham leaned forward, adjusted his elbows on his desk and
began gently tapping his fingertips together. The lower half of his face eased
into a smile while the upper half remained non-committal. “You are, till this
case is over.” He punctuated each word separately that gave a harsh impression
on them.
Karthick took a gulp of water and placed it back on the desk.
He knew his father and the elections were close – putting two plus two wasn’t
harder for him. The man in front of him was in charge now and he had no choice.
“Okay,” he said slowly.
The fake smile widened and Gowtham nodded his head
satisfactorily. “Good.” His eyes perfunctorily moved to Priya’s face and even
though her lips were twisted as though she was in agony, she nodded her head. Gowtham
reached for the file, shaking his head grimly frowning as if he’d been
insulted. He retrieved a few papers, flipped through them, and then glared at
the both. “According to your statements to the police, you two were the
strongest alibi to Sravya. That has to be broken. First of all, I want your
story in your point of view. Priya, you go.”
“Starting from where?”
“From your arrival at the party.”
“Karthick and I came together. Indhu opened the door and
welcomed us. She went back to the kitchen. I switched on the TV and Karthick
started playing with Caesar, the dog. They were playing this stupid
ball-chasing game and went out of my sight soon. Just after 10 minutes, Jason
came in. He asked me where Karthick was and went to fetch him.”
“You continued to watch TV?”
“Yes. Anyway that was the plan too. Karthick and Jason
shouldn’t show up till we ask them to. I mean that Jason’s arrival shouldn’t be
a shock to Vimal. I had to stay in the hall and give a heads-up before he meets
Jason.”
“I get it. Go ahead.” Gowtham took his elbows off the table
and tried to relax a little deeper into the folding chair. He crossed his legs
and placed the file on his left thigh.
“Vimal and Vrunda came at 9, discussing their day. Both of
them looked very tired and Vrunda was straight from her work. Sravya came out
of the kitchen and we told them that Jason was innocent. We told them that he
was here.”
“Where?”
“In the house.”
“Where exactly in the house?”
“I didn’t know. They were playing with the dog, running
around. He could have been anywhere.”
“In Indhu’s testimony, she said that Jason was still in the
hall.”
“Well, she didn’t know, did she? She was in the kitchen. She
simply bought it when Sravya said that she had to come out because Jason and
Vimal were outside.”
“Correct. How did Vimal and Vrunda take the news?”
“Vrunda was happy and she hugged Sravya. Vimal was furious
but he didn’t say anything. I could say that his temper was rising with the way
he was gritting his teeth.”
“Go on.”
“Indhu came out at that time to arrange the dining table and
Vrunda left to take a shower.”
“She headed to which room?”
“Indhu’s.”
“Did she carry the medical kit with her or did she leave it
in the hall?”
“In the hall.”
“Then?”
“Vimal wasn’t convinced but he said that he would meet Jason.
Sravya was a bit upset and went to join Indhu to help her arrange the table. I
told Vimal that I did the finance with Jason for JK chit funds and I knew that
he never once cheated.”
“You’re going to cut the last statement during your testimony
in the court. Do you understand?”
Priya bit her lips. “Yes.”
“Go on.”
“Then I also joined the girls in the dining table. Karthick
joined us, arranging the champagne bottles.”
Gowtham readjusted himself in the chair, uncrossed his legs,
stretched his back, and returned to the most comfortable position with both
elbows stuck on the table. “Here comes the crucial part. Indhu receives a call
now and then what happened?”
“After Indhu left, Jason came there looking for Sravya and
they closeted themselves in Vijay’s room.”
“So you two were alone in the food table at this time?”
“Not exactly. Karthick went upstairs to get glasses and I
went to kitchen to take the water bottles.”
“That has to be tweaked. You need an alibi – Karthick, say
that you were with her the whole time. Same goes with you, Priya.”
Karthick began with a skeptical expression, “Gowtham, but…”
“Jason is dead and he won’t be there to scream that you’re
lying. Take a note of it.” He tossed a notepad and a pen towards him and
Karthick copied down the words. “Continue,” he added to Priya.
“But anyway when Sravya came out, we met at the table just
then. So even her testimony would be that we were together in the table,” said
Priya.
“Great,” Gowtham looked gleeful. “Then?”
“At that time only, Karthick asked her to get aspirin.”
“So Sravya went to the hall to get Aspirin. Vimal was still
in the hall, right?”
“I guess, yes. But I am not sure.”
“She came back with it?”
“Yes.”
“And you took it, Karthick?”
Karthick hesitated for the first time. “I… I didn’t take it.
Jason took it.”
Gowtham chewed the end of his pen for a moment, staring at
Karthick as if he were now a psychiatrist analyzing the patient. “I don’t get
it. What?”
“Well, when Sravya brought it and I was about to take it,
Jason took it from me saying that he needed it more than me. And he gulped it
down his throat. It was unexpected.”
“Interesting development indeed. We’re going to rearrange
that whole thing – let me think about it and get back to you soon on that
front. Go on.”
“Nothing to go on. Indhu was back and the dinner was served.”
“Priya, you were sure that you didn’t miss anything?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t go to refresh yourself in the rest room or
something? Or any calls like Indhu? Nothing, right?”
“No.”
“Fine. Your turn, Karthick.”
“Jason came straight to me that day. I was with Jason the
whole time since his arrival. He was worrying about Vimal and I was convincing
him. He…”
“He wasn’t angry?”
“No. I apologized to him like 100 times before and so that
talk didn’t come out that day.”
“Did he say anything about his gift to Sravya?”
“No. But we already knew about Sravya’s gift. It was in
Indhu’s room and we saw it just like that. We opened it and…”
“Seriously?” Priya looked at him in disbelief.
Even Gowtham lost his grip on his pen and it fell down on the
table. “Crap. You opened and handled the champagne bottle that killed Jason.
Did you tell this to Vijay or Vimal?”
“No, I didn’t mention it to them.”
Gowtham breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god. Why would you do
that?”
“Just out of curiosity. We found the bottle and I suddenly
got an idea. I loosened the cork and I said that I would invite him for a bet.”
“So the bet was a fake?”
Karthick shrugged his shoulders. “Yes. We just wanted to
impress the audience.”
Gowtham finished writing a long sentence on his notepad
before giving him an unbelievable stare. “And everyone was under the impression
that no one handled the bottle except Sravya. But you’re saying now that you
tampered with it. Thank god that Vimal didn’t know.”
Karthick was sure that his palms were sweating now. “But… but
it happened long before Vrunda’s arrival. I did not mix the morphine in it.”
“I trust you. Go ahead.”
“Nothing much. We played with the dog and…”
“Wasn’t that dog sick?”
“He was but I didn’t know it back then.”
“Hmmm.”
“Caesar suddenly fell down and we couldn’t understand why. I
knew Indhu would kill me and so I asked Jason to take care of Caesar and came
out to find Indhu. She was at the dining table – I picked the champagne bottles
and joined her. But before I could say anything, she went to attend the call.”
Gowtham picked his notepad, studied it as though he didn’t
know what he’d already written on it. “And Sravya and Jason went inside Vijay’s
room to discuss, you went to collect the glasses, when you came back, you asked
Sravya for the headache tablet, she went and collected it, Jason took it
instead of you and the dinner was served. Am I right?”
“Right.”
“Think again. Did I miss anything?”
“No.”
Gowtham made an impatient hiss. “You’ll make a poor witness
in the court, Karthick. So on the way to collect glasses, did you encounter
anybody?”
“No.”
“What about you, Priya? Did anyone see you when you went back
to kitchen?”
“No.”
“Did anyone of you happen to overhear the conversation
between Sravya and Jason when they were in Vijay’s room?”
Priya shook her head. Karthick said, “Not completely. She
asked him about why Caesar was down. She said something about Caesar was like
Indhu’s first son – that’s what made me sick and I had a sudden headache. I
kept thinking that how I would face Indhu if something would happen to Caesar.”
“I can’t believe that a dog plays an important role in this
story. Only if it can testify…” Gowtham sucked his lower lip. “So anything
else?”
“I didn’t stand and listen to them. I just happened to hear
it while passing. And when I am coming back on the way, I heard Sravya saying
something about Vimal losing all the money. So she said that it was natural for
Vimal to be angry.”
“So she defended Vimal’s reactions.” Gowtham looked
thoughtful.
“Yes.”
“Was she angry?”
“I can’t say so.”
“Say so in court.”
Karthick’s mouth actually dropped open and his shoulders
slumped. “Come on, Gowtham. That would be a blatant lie.”
“It’s just a lie. I’ll teach you what a blatant lie is. Your
story is really dangerous. And so we’re going to fabricate a new one. Make sure
that you master it by this weekend.”
There was a knock on the door – Vaishali. Gowtham rose and
went out of the door. Karthick leaned back in his chair, placed his right ankle
on his left knee, and relaxed for the first time in hours. Priya walked into
the bathroom, ran cold water in the sink, splashed it on her face and down her
neck, and for a long time stared at herself in the mirror.
When she came out, Gowtham was back in his position. As soon
as she sat down, he separated a photo from his file and moved it across the
table to place it straight in front of her. “I got that picture along with the
morphine bottle in the courier. What does it mean?”
Priya looked at it. It was a painted gate.
***********
Next morning, when Karthick joined his friends in court,
Vimal asked him, “What are you going to do?”
“He is not calling me today. So never mind. I am the last
witness.”
“But…” He began, wearing his gown after consulting his watch.
Gowtham passed the gang at the exact time and made a comment,
“No need to wear it, Vimal. You’re taking the witness box today.”
Vimal laughed in frustration and disbelief. He shook his head
and tried to think of an appropriate retort, but nothing came to mind. Sadly,
he had to agree with his tormentor and remove the gown.
Karthick wondered. “When you cross-examine yourself, you will
run back and forth between the witness box and stage, Vimal?”
Indhu slapped her forehead and Priya kicked his ankles.
“What did I tell you about not making inappropriate comments
at inappropriate time, Karthick?” asked Vijay, quickly stepping between
Karthick and Vimal.
“Oh sorry. Is it the time or the comment?” He looked
hopefully at Indhu.
“Both,” said Indhu.
“It’s pretty bad then,” Karthick apologized again before they
went in.
Priya and Vijay were the last and Priya suddenly touched Vijay’s shoulder and stopped him. Vijay turned around impatiently and asked, “What?”
“Vijay, remember Caesar’s little dog house in Indhu’s room?”
“I do because I designed it. Is it really important now?”
“Yes,” Priya assured him. “It has a gate outside, right?”
Vijay sighed. “What’s gotten into you today?”
“Somebody sent the picture of that gate to Gowtham along with
the morphine bottle. Why?” She asked.
To be continued.
For previous parts, kindly check
Thanks & Regards,
Lavanyaa
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