WHO KILLED ME: The Strangest Whodunnit

by Irfan Khan

  Shiv understood the situation “You should not have broken the engagement if you were going to go back to him. I don’t blame you, after all he was so much better than Nikhil.”

  Reema stuck to her guns “Whatever I have told the police is the truth. There is nothing more to it than that.”

  Hemlata sensed that Reema is doing a cover up “I don’t believe you are telling us the whole story. Remember the police have more details and the truth will come out. If you have lied to me Reema, I will never forgive you.”

  Hemlata walks away leaving Shiv and Reema staring at the floor.

  . . .

  When Sid Hid

  Day 7

  For me, the next interesting place was the police station. How is Madhav going to solve the mystery?

  Madhav was busy working the white board. He had drawn flow charts with me in the center. “The most usable lead is the affair of Karan and Reema, but the father-in-law also has some reasons and Sudhir Belawadi and Sid are also on the radar. Reema-Karan has the strongest motive for the murder.”

  I was surprised to know that Sid has featured in the list of suspects. What earthly reason would he have? When I interviewed him, he knew his stuff and looked very sincere. Now that Madhav has found the link between Sid and Sudhir, I feel stupid. Sudhir knew how to keep a grudge.

  Jagan filled in with latest details “We got a response from the hotels in Dalhousie. On the dates that Sudhir was in Dalhousie, another interesting person was staying but in another hotel. That person was Siddarth Raghavan ‘Sid’.”

  I was stunned. Holy mother of God, Sid!

  Madhav did not look surprised “I knew it, Sudhir travelled for a reason. So, Sid was Sudhir’s man in Nikhil’s company? Smart move, planting his man inside the enemy territory.”

  How did I miss that? It is my failure that I did not do a thorough background check. Full points to Madhav and his team.

  Jagan cautioned Madhav “But this is still circumstantial. We yet don’t have any real proof of their involvement.”

  Madhav didn’t agree totally “They have a motive, now we have to find out how they did it.”

  Jagan asked a pertinent question “But the person who mailed this tip will know more about the murder.”

  “Yes, did we get the call records from the telecom company”? Madhav needed more data.

  Jagan pulled out a bunch of papers “Yes. Reema and Karan were not near the murder spot on that day.” Madhav was disappointed. Jagan made another observation “But sir, considering that they have not protested about their alleged affair means it's true. What is strange is that they hardly talk to each other, according to the call records. Then how were they communicating? This was good investigative work, great analysis by Jagan.

  Madhav is impressed and starts to look at the call records report made by Jagan.

  “You are right. This means they have secret phone numbers for talking to each other. Jagan, Sugaoni is not very densely populated. The area near Reema’s residence is mostly villas. The density of mobile connections there must be thin. We must get all the call records of the towers in that area. The secret phones won’t be smart phones. If a basic phone is being used then the IMEI number can identify the model. Look out for those phones.”

  Jagan nodded his head in appreciation “Hmmm… that’s a nice idea. I will get on that.”

  Madhav went back to his white board where he saw the question mark on the source of the email “Also, who is tracing the source of that email? Any progress”?

  “We have asked the cybercrime team from Amritsar to help. Their initial report says, whoever is sending those emails must be an expert with computers. He has made it very difficult to trace as the mail seems to have come from the USA. But that’s because a VPN relocation must have been done. That’s what the cybercrime department guys in Amritsar have conveyed. They are continuing the tracking but it’s tedious and will take time.”

  Madhav suddenly thought of something “We must unearth this Sid guy. Let’s go.”

  . . .

  Nikhil’s Office

  Madhav and Jagan walked into Nikhil’s office. The staff is surprised and stands up. Shishir walked towards them,

  Shishir asked politely “What can we do for you”?

  Madhav does not answer but leads Shishir to Nikhil's cabin. He is surprised to see Reema at Nikhil’s desk. She is surprised to see Madhav too. Madhav is not sure if he wants to talk in front of Reema.

  “Hello Madhav, I would prefer that you meet me at home.”

  Madhav sat down without being asked to “I have some queries for your office staff.”

  Reema replied calmly “Even then, you should talk only to me. I have to give clearance for the staff to speak with the police.”

  Madhav explained to her “No. I don’t need your permission as this is a homicide investigation, police can question and detain anyone.” He paused to let the statement sink. Then he threw the dagger “You are already a person of interest in the case so you will have to step outside while I speak to them.”

  The staff looked stunned. Reema realized this was not going the way she imagined.

  Reema was desperate to save face “You may consider me ‘a person of interest’ but I am also the Joint Managing Director of this company and that gives me power over my employees unless they are also suspects. My interest to find the killer is more important than anyone. So, tell me what can we do for you”?

  Madhav decided to stop the debate as she wouldn’t allow the staff to speak with him. The atmosphere has been vilified and the response from the staff will be biased.

  Madhav continued “We need your help to know more about Sid.”

  Reema gets interested to know why Madhav is asking about this. She knew about Sid as the recruit but beyond that nothing.

  Shishir jumps in with his finding “About Sid, we are also worried as he has been missing since that day. Manish went through his laptop but could not find anything suspicious.” Reema looks unhappy that Shishir did not brief her on this.

  Madhav looked at Shishir and then to Reema “Did you guys know that he is connected to Sudhir Belawadi”?

  Reema and Shishir are both shocked. They exchange looks.

  Madhav expected the reactions and continued “How did he come to this company”?

  “He applied on our company website.”

  Reema was still trying to get a grip on this news “But I don’t understand. What was his reason to harm Nikhil”?

  Madhav had one possible explanation which he directed towards Reema “He may be sharing your company secrets with Sudhir.” Reema was stunned with the revelation.

  Shishir added hurriedly “He was not doing that using an office laptop. Maybe he had his laptop at home. (Remembering something) He was using an expensive mobile. Good mobiles are almost like computers.”

  Jagan said “We checked his phone number and there was nothing suspicious there.”

  Madhav thought of another idea “Who was the friendliest with him here, in your staff”?

  Shishir looks around the office “I think he used to hang out with Poonam sometimes.”

  Reema immediately takes action and Poonam is called to the cabin. Reema never really liked her as she was always cold and distant. Madhav asked Poonam about Sid.

  Poonam had no idea that Sid was being investigated. She was totally cooperative “He was new and needed help so I use to help him. Is there a problem”?

  Madhav continued “Did he discuss company matters with you? About Nikhil”?

  Poonam hesitated, now she was on guard. She knew now that Sid is in trouble with police “Just casual stuff. He was very impressed with Sir and even I was, so we talked about that.” Reema didn’t understand why Poonam glanced at her.

  Madhav decided to make her comfortable “Look Poonam, we are suspicious of him and are investigating him. Tell us everything and you will be fine. If you hide something (he paused for dramatic effect) then you will be considered an accessory to the c
rime.”

  Reema added resolutely “And you will also lose the job.”

  Poonam’s face fell as she grasped the gravity of the situation. She decided to spill the beans “He was trying to get close to me. We even went out a few times. Just as friends, nothing more.”

  Madhav remained quiet and continued to stare at her. Poonam knew that she was not able to convince him. Reema’s face did not conceal the anger that was building up.

  Poonam continued “A few times he came to my house. He wanted to use the WIFI urgently. (Then she added softly) Mostly after we went out for drinks.”

  This was interesting for Madhav “Did he use, only the WIFI or your computer too”?

  Poonam scanned her memory and added “No just WIFI. His phone was the latest, dual sim and all so he did not need any computer.”

  Madhav’s instincts jumped suddenly.

  “Dual sim? Do you have his second number”?

  Poonam was glad and relieved that she could be of some help “Yes. He gave it to me for video calls.”

  This was a big breakthrough for Madhav and Jagan. They left after getting the second number of Sid.

  Reema blew her fuse with the staff “This is ridiculous. You guys were taking advantage of Nikhil’s goodness and trust. I want to know about this ‘Sid’ guy. Everything from how he was hired to what he did here.”

  . . .

  In the jeep travelling to the police station, Jagan was in deep thought and Madhav asked him what was he thinking,

  Jagan replied “I am beginning to wonder if Sid is the guy sending us these emails.”

  Madhav liked the theory and analyzed “Hmmm… So, he got evidence of Reema and Karan. Then killed Nikhil and framed the debauch wife. Interesting.”

  . . .

  The process of discovering the culprit is a fascinating one. The detectives start with a blank canvas and then they start sketching random lines and soon start seeing some patterns. I used to give the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle but then it was not accurate. You see in a jigsaw puzzle you get an image of the finished puzzle. Then there are pieces which fit together and they are in different colour and patterns. But detectives begin with theories and hunches. Then they try proving the theories and new evidence may change the course of investigation completely. With experience, these guys develop a sixth sense and become an expert on body language and tonality of voice. That’s when they see the plot clearly and then go about finding the details to support their suspicion.

  I never had those instincts. I did not realise when Reema had strayed and started cheating on me. In all fairness, I did not even have an inkling that something has happened which will be the beginning of the end of my life. The oft-repeated cliché is that a bored wife looked for a romance and made a mistake. In my case, even a bystander could see that scenario. Reema was bored because my work made me keep punishing schedules. I needed to work because like any regular middle-class family I stumbled into a trap. As I became richer, I upped my standards and then worked harder to support that newly upgraded standard. Soon it became a vicious circle and I got sucked into the vortex.

  I had thought about Reema’s situation and tried to convince myself that maybe it’s a mistake, a moment of madness or poor judgement. She had lost her son and that messed up her head completely. Maybe I would have got over that. My love for Reema was very deep and living without her was never an option. I had decided to make amends and repair my relationship with her. But what Reema did next, destroyed me and it kept getting worse.

  . . .

  The First Bell

  One Month Ago

  One summer day, I was not particularly feeling up to the mark and decided to take the second half of the day off. I wanted to give Reema a heads up but could not reach her mobile. I reached home and lay on the couch watching something on TV and realised it was Thursday, it’s the day of her Kitty group. She must be at the lunch party. I dozed off for 30 mins. I woke up with a headache, I decided to take a pill but could not find the medicine box. I tried calling Reema again but with the same result. I started to get worried. Then I called Pia, wife of a friend, who was part of the group.

  She told me that Reema didn't meet them today. That got me worried on two counts. One, this will become the hot topic of the hen group right now. Two, now I was super worried about Reema. The mind starts messing up with your anxiety and gets extra creative with worse case scenarios. A few more calls later I was full scale panicking. I remembered that we were on the family sharing plan and ‘find phone’ feature would work on her new phone. I logged into the app from my computer to detect the location. The phone location was in the lake area near Hotel Oscar, Pride Avenue. There were no shops in that area. I tried to recollect if we had any friends or relatives or any doctor in that area. Then the phone started moving on the map. She was travelling. Just then she called me.

  Reema sounded her usual self “Hi, what’s up! My kitty lunch just got over and I saw the missed calls and messages. How come you are home, is everything alright”?

  I was stunned. I don’t remember how I responded. In a little while, she arrived and started doting over me. I was completely numb.

  I didn’t want to believe what my mind was screaming. I was making a mental list of all the possibilities that could be reason for her to lie. Maybe she is planning a surprise for me or she was helping a friend with some problem and the friend did not want her to tell anyone. Reema had never given me a reason to be remotely suspicious. She did become distant and we were not so intimate ever since Aashar left us. I thought that usually happens to couples going through a grave tragedy.

  . . .

  Three Months Ago (approximately)

  It starts with vanity. Among all the things that we humans love; praise, validation and approval top the list. Right from our childhood, we have learnt that good things happen when your parents are happy with you. There is an area in our brain that loves to get rewarded. It immediately creates dopamine which gives us a ‘feel good’ high and that is very addictive.

  Reema, like all of us, must have developed a fondness for that. As a husband, maybe I was not praising, her beauty or dressing sense or her figure, enough. I did not realise how deep her craving was. Deprived of her fix of dopamine she felt insecure and inferior. So naturally, when someone, smart and handsome appears on the scene and starts treating her like a princess, then the addiction is replenished. Especially if that someone is an ex. boyfriend.

  The catalyst of my extreme grief was the discovery that the man in my wife’s life was the same person who had ditched her. She had never stopped loving him. I must have been a rebound. This realisation hurt me the most. This is why it was tough for me to forgive her. I probably would have understood if she was having a dalliance, a fling because she was bored. But these roots run deep, she was not fulfilling her dormant desires. She rekindled her lost love and reset her allegiance and emotional anchor.

  I don’t know for sure how they reconnected. Piecing together fragments of information I gathered that they came across each other on the street. Karan had just started visiting the town and stopped at a shop to ask for directions. Reema happened to be at that shop. Both were surprised to meet like that. They sat down for coffee and caught up on old things. Till this point, they had no intention to fan their old smoldering tinder. Karan's wife had passed away and he came to this town for his new fruit business. They met several times in coffee shops, book stores and restaurants. I do not see any problem with those meetings. The problem was the need to keep them secret from me.

  Some people lie, some withhold information. Are both these things equally bad or is there a debate hiding in there? The information about meeting an old flame was withheld from me. People lie because they are scared of the response and consequences. I had never pestered her to know about previous boyfriends. I left it to her discretion. If she wanted, she could share. I really wanted her to be comfortable and not have her live in any kind of guilt. What could be the reason to hide it f
rom me, if she was not looking for a possibility of exploring further?

  One thing that I have learnt, when a woman starts getting attention from a man she is interested in, then she starts taking extra care of her appearance. In the past her looking good came naturally.

  One day while we were in the countryside on a pic-nic with Aashar,

  I could see that Reema was looking fresh as a daisy. I snuggled up to her “What are you eating secretly and not sharing with me”?

  Reema looked at me quizzically “What do you mean”?

  I nuzzled her ears and neck “You are looking gorgeous. I will start getting some serious competition.”

  Reema blushed in surprise “It’s your imagination you never have the time to look at me, so how would you notice the competition.”

  Touché! Good point. She was not only looking better, but she was also getting sharper.

  Aashar continued playing alone. He knew his parents were having a moment and he acted as if he did know. After a while he couldn’t resist “Excuse me you two! We are supposed to fly kites here and you guys are chit-chatting.”

  We laughed as I ran towards Aashar. Later I concentrated on Aashar and kites while Reema continued looking beautiful in the morning light.

  As I stare at her now, I get so mesmerised that instead of anger I just feel like a man who has lost a bird of paradise.

  . . .

  Two Months Ago

  Sugaoni was a small community and people were bound to run into each other. At one such community occasion, we were mingling with the people and came across Karan. Someone introduced him as a newcomer to town. That day, for me Karan was just another person whom I welcomed and wished all the best, Reema met Karan like a stranger meets another stranger. Very cordial and civil. No alarms bells for me, till the day I first saw them naked on a videotape. That’s when I joined the dots.