Banquet on the Dead
by Sharath Komarraju
Kauveramma loved life. She was terrified of water. So why was her body found floating grotesquely, hair fanned out, limbs outspread, in the well of the family compound? Enter a policeman, Inspector Valmiki Nagarajan, and a charming rogue, Hamid Pasha. The duo interrogates each member of the family and staff in turn, unearthing secrets of their past, and calculating the degrees of their love, hatred or loyalty to Kauveramma—and each other. As it happens, everyone had something to gain from Kauveramma’s banishment from their lives…