DECEPTIVE MURDERS - A NOVEL

                                                                                                                     SAMPLE CHAPTER

CHAPTER-3

New Delhi-2012. 

That night, on October 17th at 3:20 a.m., a crime unfolded gradually in the shadows of an isolated farmhouse on the outskirts of South Delhi. As in most luxury constructions of that era, the building had large portions of its walls fitted with decorative glass, many of which were partly transparent and featured various shades, which ultimately didn't help much in preserving inner privacy.   

A man of above-average height, wearing a black jacket and with his head hooded, was seen moving swiftly through the light and shadows of the well-manicured lawn, reaching the left side of the sizable two-story building with running glass windows across almost the entire wall, ending with a double-panelled, heavy wooden door.  He used a special diamond glass cutter and created a small opening on the last window alongside the door; toughened glass was challenging. He then inserted his hand inside and opened the door latch with some difficulty.  Entering and climbing the stairs to the first floor, he went towards the main bedroom on the right. Its windows overlooked the garden; the curtains were partially drawn, and a concealed light burnt inside. He carefully checked that the victim didn’t occupy the bedroom and then moved inside. Looking around, he saw the attached bathroom in darkness, and upon entering with a torch’s beam, he set about doing his task silently; his hands seemed to move swiftly and precisely as he tampered with the electrical system next to the bathtub, which was already filled with water. Wires were meticulously rerouted, and safety mechanisms were bypassed with calculated ease. 

Very shortly, his job was finally done. The bathtub sat quietly in the corner, appearing harmless yet dangerous; who would know that peril was hidden beneath a facade of normalcy? Soon, he stepped back to appreciate his work, aware that the snare was set and the scene was arranged. Then, he exited quickly to the main bedroom and entered a full-length wardrobe storage next to the bathroom. He gently closed the door, leaving a paper-thin space for a peek. 

All that remained was to wait for the victim, to bide his time until the moment was right. 

Shortly after, Sundar Rai, the well-known textile industrialist, a well-built man of short stature with a bald pate, emerged from another room opposite and entered the main bedroom. He disrobed and entered the booby-trapped bathroom; the door remained half open.  Unaware of a pair of watching eyes from the wardrobe, he stepped into the bathtub. 

That was his doom!  

A barrage of agonising jolts instantly kicked in, which wracked his body with unbearable pain. The electricity seemed to run through his veins, destroying the very fibre of his living body. He screamed out of excruciating agony that filled every corner of the empty building and penetrated out, too, but faintly. Then, the thrashing of the body subsided, and the lifeless form slowly sank into the water.  The deadly trap had done its job!

The bathroom's stillness after the crime scene was eerie and unsettling. As the perpetrator exited the wardrobe and looked inside the bathroom at his criminal handiwork, his heart raced with adrenaline. He felt satisfied and pleased with his deeds and believed his wrongdoing would remain undiscovered forever.

After exiting from the building in the manner he had entered, he vanished into the darkness of the garden and beyond.

That was not the end. The next scene had already unfolded in the garden. Another pair of eyes had watched the crime from outside through the main bedroom windows overlooking the garden, using high-powered night binoculars.  Hidden behind a bush from afar, that man had waited and smoked intermittently, seeing and faintly hearing enough to grasp its enormity. He knew that his anticipation, alertness, and a bit of luck had paid off handsomely. It was also providential that the farmhouse's security guards were stationed only at the gate, approximately half a kilometre away. 

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