A Cold Blooded Murder

The yellow leaf dangled precariously from the branch. With a waft of cool breeze, it fluttered nervously and fell daintily on the already carpeted ground beneath. The orange, red and yellow leaves which had covered the area glistened with the dew which had fallen in the night. Though some of the trees had shed off all their leaves in callous disregard of their past services, yet they looked beautiful in their bareness. Their branches devoid of leaves looked as if their out-stretched arms were poised in prayer. There was an atmosphere of tranquillity and peace. The Festive season had already begun. Christmas shopping was going on in full swing. The houses were being decorated and there was Christmas cheer in everybody’s heart.

Cynthia breathed a sigh of contentment and satisfaction. She had a charismatic personality and attracted attention due to her dignified, stately figure. She prided in being an Octogenarian yet very active. She loved to brush her soft silken silvery hair in front of the mirror and admire the tresses ripple down her shoulders like a waterfall shining and glistening in the sunlight. Though her soft countenance bespoke of the ravages of the wear and tear of years yet one could make out that in her younger days she must have been very pretty. What made her specially remarkable was, she had a very big heart which made her extremely generous. But this was the cause of all her problems to which she was indifferent, and resolved them stoically.

She had lived a good life and had no regrets. She had to rough it out in the initial stages. But she had not succumbed to her problems and had fought like a brave warrior, and overcame them one by one. Her mother had become mentally unstable and she had to cope with this enormous problem. Agatha, that was the name of her mother, used to leave the house and no one knew her whereabouts. Neither did her mother, who could not remember where she had been. Cynthia used to be in a state of anxiety for days, searching for her everywhere. When she was found, she was found in a bedraggled condition. For a prolonged period, she would be without any means of sustenance and food, so her condition would be pathetic.

Her father Joseph was an alcoholic and would squander all his money on liquor. When he came home, hardly able to walk, he would slump on the divan in the drawing-room and he would not be able to stir for the whole day. Sometimes he became violent and mouthed profanities. Her mother was his second marriage. From his first marriage, he had three sons who had taken after their Father and thought nothing of doing underhand deals. They were worthless fellows and their income was from shady transactions. Her Mother had also married twice and from her first marriage, there were two sons. So Cynthia had five stepbrothers. She had a sister and a brother from their parents’ second marriage. Now for Christmas, she had invited all her near and dear ones to come and spend a few days of holidays at her house. Since she had plenty, she wanted the less fortunate also to have a good time during Christmas. That was Cynthia with her big heart!

Cynthia used to hold a good position in a Multinational Company. She had the satisfaction of drawing a substantial salary and her stepbrothers would often harass her for money. She was very understanding and would humour them whenever the demands were not too exorbitant but there had been times when there were very unpleasant scenes and the relationship had become toxic. But because of her amiable temperament, they could still be on good terms..

As both her parents were dependent on her, she had not married till very late. Cynthia had managed to admit her mother in a mental hospital and after she had been treated by the top Psychiatrists for two years, she became normal. As for her father, when he became bed-ridden he could not go out to buy liquor. That solved a massive problem for Cynthia, but she was heartbroken when he died of a liver abscess.

After the death of her parents, she let herself think of marriage. But because it was a late marriage all the good, desirable eligible bachelors were already married. She, therefore, did not get the man after her own heart. Again it was her generous temperament which led her to marry the man she did. He had some defect because of which he could not speak. She looked after him like a mother would a sick child or a nurse would a patient. But she did not for once think of herself or what she was getting out of the commitment. On the other hand, her husband made constant selfish demands on her. He had a very crooked smile and never looked straight in the eye. He used to get into fits of temper and then he bellowed out sounds which were unintelligible but terrifying.

Cynthia sat on the balcony in a reclining chair, satisfied with life and happy in her surroundings. She enjoyed the nip in the air, the chirping of the birds on the dried up twigs, and the flimsy mist suspended in a foggy veil. At that moment two of her stepbrothers drew up chairs and sat down next to her. Tim informed her in a very matter-of-fact way that his car needed repairs and as he was running short of a couple of thousands, he assumed Cynthia would give him the difference. Then Fred joined in and told her that he was not keeping too well. Then he added that as he was staying as a guest in her house, he expected her to pay up the investigation charges. Besides he did not have the required sum. Cynthia knew if she agreed too easily, t

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hey would make further onslaughts, so she demurred and put on a show of reluctance. Immediately they lost their temper and after a heated argument left in a huff. But before they left, they wagged their fingers in a threatening gesture, that if she did not help out, she would not be able to enjoy her cursed money for long. Then the other three brothers Frank, Wilfred and Thomas also hearing the raised voices, came on to the scene. They came to mediate but got embroiled in the imbroglio. They told her in no uncertain terms that the house in which she was staying was their father’s and they had an equal share in it, though their father in his will had bequeathed his property to Cynthia. They also accused her of manipulating the will in her favour, when he must have been in his drunken state.

Cynthia was very hurt at their behaviour and disturbed by all that they accused her of.. In one stroke of her pen, she felt like giving up all her right to the property. She had been good to her brothers and did not expect them to react like the way they did. She got up quietly, went to her room and as if in deep thought came back with a glass of fruit juice. The altercation with her brothers had left her shaken. If she had had even one pair of shoulders to rest her head on and cry her heart out, she could have had an outlet of her pent up emotional suffering. All her life she had been bottling up her feelings as she knew she had to be the stay and support for the weaker ones, who clung on to her and were dependent on her. In a deep reverie, she started to sip the liquid, little by little till the whole glass was empty.

All of a sudden with a loud cry she fell prostrate on the hard marble flooring beneath. There was no one to come and lift her up. No one was there to find out what had happened to her. When the inmates of the house detected the still figure lying lifeless on the floor, it was too late. She had breathed her last breath two hours back.

The police came and started the investigations. On examining the contents of the glass it was evident that the lady had been poisoned. They found granules of some medicine in the glass, which on further testing proved to be sleeping pills.

First of all Cynthia’s husband was called. He was asked to write down the answers to all their questions as he would not be able to speak. He was the nominee for Cynthia’s life insurance. He would get an enormous sum on her demise as the beneficiary. Thus he would have a strong motivation to get Cynthia out of the way. He came along with a broad smirk on his face. His obnoxious crooked smile and shifty eyes gave him a very evil look. The Investigation Officer asked him where he had been in the past three or four hours and he wrote back that he had gone to the Jubilee Park for his morning walk. The police personal was surprised because he knew that the Park was closed in the winter mornings. Besides, it was very abnormal that he should be smiling just after his wife had expired.

It was then the turn of Cynthia’s own brother and sister, Meg and Clarence. In their Father’s will, they would get the house if anything should happen to Cynthia. So it was clear that they would benefit on Cynthia’s demise. As it was, both of them were jealous of her for their father had given the property to Cynthia. Though they were cordial towards her outwardly, yet they had a grudge against her and could not forgive her for depriving them of their just inheritance.

Then the Police officer cross-examined the other brothers who blatantly expressed their rejection of the sister who was doing so well. It was a very complicated case and all the members of the family seemed to have a valid reason to have her out of the way.

After the Questioning was over, they searched the entire house to find any clues leading up to the murder. Then to their great satisfaction, the Inspector found the incriminating article. It was in the bedroom occupied by Cynthia and her husband. As the police officer was removing it as a proof of the despicable deed and the criminal, Cynthia’s Husband grabbed hold of it with a protesting howl. Then he made it known that if they confiscated the stuff, he would spend sleepless nights. The tablets had been prescribed for him because he was suffering from insomnia. It was now quite evident who was responsible for the murder.

As the policemen were leaving, they gave instructions to Cynthia’s husband not to leave the house for he would have to be grilled further at the police station.

It so happened that at that time one of the men was going through the pages of a diary which he had found in Cynthia’s closet. With deep concentration he was reading the excerpt—“ I wonder why I had to inherit my mother’s mental affliction at the dead-end of my life. I have no one to confide and I am all bottled up from within—one day I will explode. I see weird apparitions and hear voices from the other world. Sometimes I become so depressed that I want to end my life. Though I am miserable and unhappy, I try to make others happy in my effort to fill up the void. But God does not have pity so I will end my suffering by ingesting an overdose of sleeping pills when the time arrives. I have the key which will unlock my shackle and set me free.”

The police officers looked at each other, shook their heads and went out. When leaving, their countenances were grave and solemn as if they could empathise and understand the pain of the Departed. A chapter of Cynthia’s tragic life had ended. It also ended the exploitation by the avaricious brothers. But strangely, for some reason unknown to everybody, Cynthia’s husband lost his crooked smile--- in fact, he never smiled again!