Enigma : A Tale Of Mystery - III & IV

Read --> Chapter 2.

Chapter 3

It was already 9 AM passed, when the post-mortem report of the dead woman reached the office. Collecting the report, Ayesha along with the chief detective Jennifer arrived at Leela’s house for a formal inquiry. Meera who was already there with Leela whispered on her ears, 'They are here..'

‘Mrs. Ravi, we are here to ask you a few questions,’ said Jennifer as she sat down.

‘Yeah sure... How can I help you? Meera, would you mind offering them a drink?’, said Leela.

‘No, its okay’ Jennifer stopped Meera who was about to get up, ‘We are fine. We don’t have time for that.’

Ayesha took a quick glance at the house and then asked Leela, ‘Are you and your husband living alone here?’

Leela replied, ‘We have our house maid but she is on leave now and has gone to her native 3 days back’

‘Okay.. So where is your husband?’

‘He must be on his way back home from the hospital,’ answered Leela.

‘Oh.. really? um.. but how come his vehicle is right there in your garage, huh?’ Ayesha shot out her question.

Keeping her calm, Leela replied, ‘He went by cab cos he was telling something about the punctured car tyre last night.’

Jennifer instructed something to her subordinate officer about calling the forensic department and turned to Leela, ‘Mrs. Ravi, we got the post mortem report and I am sorry to say that your husband, Dr. Ravi, is possibly behind this murder.’

Leela got tensed on hearing this, ‘What?? No way.. He is a doctor. He only saves life. I don’t believe you...’

Ayesha stood next to the glass window, staring outside thoughtfully. She sensed something odd as she was trying to solve the puzzle.

Jennifer then continued, ‘Well, the dead body had traces of his finger prints. So we need to inquire Dr. Ravi as a part of the investigation process.’ Jennifer said holding a paper in her hand, ‘We have a warrant to arrest your husband, Ma’m. Please cooperate with us and don’t hide anything. We are only trying to help you.’

Leela stood up and felt unbalanced after hearing that. Meera held her trembling hands and made her sit again. She asked Meera for a glass of water.

Ayesha now turned away from the window and asked, ‘When was the last time you were with your husband?’

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Chapter 4

Leela and her husband, Dr. Ravi, were having a conversation over their dinner.

‘You remember Dr. Alex?’ asked Ravi as he gulped down his food.

‘Yeah,’ Leela took her food close to her mouth and said, ‘your friend from Ukraine.’

Ravi noticed Leela slipping her spoon spilling the food all over her, ‘Uh-oh, you slipped it again Leela,’, as he got up from his seat to clean it.

‘I’m sorry,’ Leela moved away a little so that Ravi could clean the mess. She then asked him, ‘How is he doing?’

‘Who?’

‘Alex.’

‘Ah yeah he is doing great. We have a good news dear..' he smiled happily, 'He is in town and we are going to meet him tomorrow.’

‘Er.. Tomorrow?’

‘Yeah, you heard me right.’ He frowned at Leela's hesitant reply.

‘But why... this Yoga therapy seems just fine to me after all.’

‘It’s been more than 6 months you are getting treated there. In fact I accepted that only for the sake of your happiness. But no slight improvement yet. We can’t simply go on like this, Leela. Now that we know Alex is a renowned eye surgeon. Last time when I talked to him, he said that he has a solution for your problem and he will let me know once he gets back from Ukraine. And he is here now.’

‘Uh.. No, I don’t want to meet him,’ Leela muttered.

Out of his irritation, Ravi spoke, ‘Are you mad? You’re going to get your sight back, you idiot! Can’t you hear what I’m saying? Are you experiencing temporary deafness along with your blindness, huh? We are going tomorrow, that’s it.’

‘No Ravi, I’m not coming.’ She sounded strong this time.

Ravi pushed the table aside and all the utensils that were on the table fell on the floor making clanking sound. He then asked in a louder tone, ‘Give me one convincing reason.’

‘I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to get my sight back. The world is filled with lies and I don’t want to see it again. I’m better this way. In fact, I’m starting to like the way I am right now. I don’t want things to get back to normal once again. Please understand me, Ravi. I want to live like this for few more days. Maybe if my thoughts change at a later stage I’ll let you know. But as for now I’ve made up my mind and this is final. We are not going tomorrow. So don’t force me. ’

Ravi walked to the door and opened it. The wailing sound of the wind made him to raise his tone, ‘I’m not convinced and I’m least concerned with what you have decided. We are going tomorrow. I have kept your dress on the bed. I’ll be back from the hospital by morning and I want you to be ready by the time I arrive. I don’t want to hear any excuses.’ 

To be continued... 

Read --> Chapter 5