Brita Roy

Crime

3  

Brita Roy

Crime

The Diamond Pendant

The Diamond Pendant

6 mins
181


Veronica had lost her husband fourteen years back. After that, she could not adjust to the changed circumstances. She became a psychiatric patient. She did not know what to do with her time as when her husband was living, she had a full life, going places, cooking fabulous dishes which her husband liked, and visiting friends. But after her husband expired, first she grieved and fretted, and then she went into depression. Her daughter tried to give meaning to her life by arranging holidays to sight-seeing places and inviting her to stay with her so that she would not miss her husband in the company of her grandchildren. She also bought her a dog, so that her love for the pet would partly compensate for the company she was missing. But nothing seemed to work. As the saying goes ‘time is a healer’. Slowly she herself found a diversion, which kept her involved for long hours, though her preoccupation was all indicative of mental aberration.

Veronica would sit on the balcony and watch the squirrels in the garden, frolicking in sheer abandonment. The birds would come and sit on the railing and Veronica conversed with them, and poured out her heart to them, and they chirped in reply as if they understood every word that she said. The squirrels became bolder and would run up and down under the table on the balcony, and the birds would even dare to nibble at her cookie when she was engrossed reading the newspaper, or at least making an attempt to do so.

 Eva, Veronica’s daughter tried to compensate her at the best she could, for being deprived of the finer things in life, being a lonely widow. She would buy expensive jewelry for her mother and try to make her happy. Veronica would take out her jewelry and admire them every day. She would polish the silver, and gold, till they sparkled. This she did for hours. Sometimes she placed them on the table in front of her, and took them, one by one, and tried them on, and looked at herself from all angles in a small mirror which she kept in close proximity. But one day, all of a sudden, she realized that her diamond pendant was missing. She went berserk with agitation. She shouted, she screamed, and nearly brought the house down. She started accusing everybody in the household for the disappearance. She even used harsh words such as ‘thieves’ and ‘crooks.’

Her suspicion first fell on the physiotherapist, who came every day to give her a massage. As she was constantly complaining of joint pain, Eva had appointed her to do the needful for an hour every day. The therapist looked respectable. She would try to cheer up Veronica by striking a conversation with her. The subject near to Veronica’s heart was her jewelry, so Betsy, the physiotherapist would go into ecstasy about the jewelry and express over and over again how much she wished that she too could have been the owner of such fabulous sets. The reason for her saying so was just because she wanted Veronica to realize how blessed she was. She would watch the patient’s eyes light up, and experienced a feeling of deep satisfaction that she had been able to stir up some emotions in her. But unfortunately, it was because of the interest shown by Betsy in her jewelry that Veronica’s suspicion fell on her.

 She also suspected the woman, Sita, who came to sweep and swab the balcony. Veronica did not rule out the possibility of the pendant having fallen to the floor, from where the maid could have picked it up, and hiding it in her clothes, gone home without incurring anybody’s suspicion. She had often shown undue interest in them and had enquired from Veronica the names of the gems and their price. Veronica did not appreciate such curiosity and nearly snubbed her off by rudely telling her off, that it was none of her business to know the price of her mistress’ jewelry. Now she felt that Sita had her eyes on her jewelry all the time and that is why she had kept on asking so many questions.

According to Veronica, another person who could have taken her pendant was the cook, who sometimes served her food on the balcony. She would warn Veronica that it was not wise of her to make an exhibition of her jewelry, as to put temptation before those who could not make both ends meet, might be foolhardy. She herself felt an irrepressible desire to steal a few of the exquisite pieces of ornaments.


Eva was in a fix as how to detect where the pendant had gone. She did not want to antagonize the servants by making false allegations. On the other hand that piece of jewelry had cost her lakhs. What posed another big problem was, how was she going to pacify her mother, who had lost her mental equilibrium?! As visitors had not entered the flat, no outsider could have taken it. She trusted everybody in her household, so it was difficult to figure out how the pendant had gone missing.

Reluctantly she had to call the Police. The police did their job as efficiently as expected. After questioning all and sundry, they left. They reported that it did not seem that it was stolen. In all probability, it had been misplaced. Eva took down from the shelves Veronica’s entire wardrobe, but the pendant was nowhere to be spotted.

 At last, Eva decided to talk to her mother. Perhaps that would help her to remember if she had kept it anywhere else. But it did not help. Veronica was hysterical and wanted Eva to retrieve the pendant then and there. She was like a little child who could not see reason. But all of a sudden Eva’s eyes fell on the guava tree in the garden. As the sunlight fell on it, something shining could be seen in between a folded leaf. She strained her eyes to see properly. There was no mistaking. It did look like a piece of glass. Had the squirrels picked up the pendant, and deposited it where they thought it would be safe, like their precious nuts, which they were forever hiding.

Eva was so excited that she rushed down immediately. She was downstairs within seconds. But having reached the guava tree, she just stood underneath. She could not figure out how to access the top branch. She tried to climb a number of times, but each time she slipped. After a few determined attempts, she finally managed and breathing vigorously, huffing and puffing, with a victorious ‘Got it’, grabbed at the elusive pendant. But when she opened her palm, what did she see? It was indeed a piece of glass!

Eva disappointed, and angry, for having taken so much trouble for a useless ‘goose chaise’, came up to the balcony and plonked herself on the reclining chair. Eva’s face was flushed with the effort, with perspiration trickling down like streams running down the mountainside. She closed her eyes, in sheer exhaustion, trying to regain her mental equilibrium. After making an effort at self-control, for the first time she expressed her displeasure, as at last, she had lost her patience with her mother, “Ma, how can you be so irresponsible! ” she remarked.

 It was then that Veronica, with much hesitation, blurted out, “Eva, don’t be angry with me. When you had gone down, I felt something hard against my skin, inside my inner vest. I delved in, and what do I find? It was the pendant which had got lost!”


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