The Mystery Of The Murder At Lyons Range

It was in the Month of June. It should have been very hot and humid, but it was not so. There was a cool bracing breeze, and the smell of the sea wafted in the air. The coconut palms swayed in unison, care-free and relaxing, adding to the peace and tranquility of the surrounding. The distant sound of the waves striking against the wide expanse of the golden beach, was music to the air.

Julia lay languidly in the comfort of her Lounge Chaise, placed next to the glistening swimming pool, in the center of a well-groomed garden. She herself had selected the flowering plants to beautify the garden, and had appointed three experienced gardeners to tend to them. But her mental composure was momentarily disturbed as a thought crossed her mind, and she creased her forehead in irritation. Two days back the three of them had come to her and had demanded an increase in their pay. When she had told them that she would not give them the hike, as she was already paying them at an exorbitant rate, they were aggressive and gave her the ultimatum that then they would quit the job. Julia had responded in the same tone. But for some reason or other, after that, she had not felt at ease.

Julia brushed aside the unpleasant thoughts and waited patiently for Rheet to come. At the same time, she kept twirling the diamond ring on her slender porcelain-like finger. Ronnie, her husband used to say that she was as dainty and delicate as a Japanese doll. That was twenty years back. She worked in the same office as her husband. They fell in love. Both of them felt that they loved each other so much that no one could love another, more than they. One fine day, Ronnie unexpectedly asked Julia to marry him and had slipped the ring on her finger. He had said that the diamond looked as if it were meant only for her finger! Years rolled on. Ronnie took a job in Africa. Though he got a hefty remuneration, he would not get leave to come home. Julia spent her days in loneliness and depression. Slowly the love which she had for Ronnie fizzled out. How long can a plant survive without its sustenance of water and nutrients? Same was the case with Julia.

Rheet had come into her life lately. She wanted some renovation in her beach bungalow and had contacted a firm to do that. Rheet had been sent for the assignment. Julia saw him nearly every day. Rheet being a bachelor, and Julia hankering for love and companionship, became close, and they became so intimate, that they could not do without each other. It was now that she was waiting for Rheet to come. He had become her confidante and her trusted friend, so much so that she had named him as the one to inherit the beach bungalow which was her exclusive inheritance, after her death. Perhaps it was a very impetuous gesture on her part and not so prudent!

Now Julia had a nineteen year old son, studying in an Engineering College in Bombay. Some times when time permitted he would come on his motor bike and give Julia a surprise visit. The mother would look forward to his coming home because that was the only break she had in her monotonous life. Though Ranjan’s father met his son only a few times after he had become an adult, he was his great child-hood friend. Ranjan hero- worshipped his father and bore great affection for him.

Now it happened one day, when Julia and Rheet were in the bedroom in a compromising situation, Ranjan barged in, and was shocked. In a nanosecond, he had extricated Rheet from his mother, and given him a hard biff, which sent Rheet flying to the corner of the room. With his teeth grinding, Ranjan swore that his mother would soon see the result of her disloyalty and infidelity to his father. With that he stamped out, red in the face, heaving like an enraged monster, and grunting all the way to his motor bike. He kept muttering that he was not going to spare even his own mother.

As he rushed out from the gate, he nearly ran over a group of men who were discussing something in a very low voice, and pointing towards the bungalow.

 Now mention must be made of Ranjan’s father. It was at this time that Ronnie had been given leave to come to Bombay from Africa. With a light step, and feeling very happy, loaded with gifts, Ronnie entered the house. He went from room to room, but where was his Julia, his wife, his Sweet Heart? On enquiring, he was told that no one had seen her since a fortnight. Frantically he reported the matter to the local police station. They took him to the morgue and showed him the bodies, and asked him to identify his wife, if she were one of them. The Police showed him the objects found on them. His heart missed a beat as he spotted the very same diamond ring which she had given Julia. But now it seemed to have lost its luster. How could there be any sparkle without the love which was between them?! Though Julia’s body had swollen beyond recognition, the diamond marked her out as the very same Julia, his lover, his wife.

The Police Superintendent narrated to Ronnie how some fishermen had come and excitedly reported that the body of a woman had been washed ashore by the waves. It seemed that some sea creatures had gnawed at her body. There upon the police force had immediately brought the body to the Police station for investigation. After that they had kept the body in the morgue, hoping somebody would identify the body. Though the bloated body had been through the ravages of the sea, when the Police had seen it, even then the Dead seemed to have been a Beauty. Ronnie felt as if someone was hitting him hard on the head. His vision blurred. He could only see darkness in front of him. He lost his balance and frantically tried to steady himself, then collapsed on the floor, and hit his head against the wall.

The police got busy with their investigation. Now that the body had been identified, they had to find out how the body got washed up by the waves. They summoned everybody who would know anything about Julia.

The three gardeners, the men who were seen outside Julia’s house, Rheet, Ronnie and Ranjan had to face the tough grilling of the police.

The three gardeners had become suspects, as they were not in good terms with their mistress, and to teach her a lesson for not complying with their terms, could have tried to intimidate her into accepting what they were demanding and could have taken her life as a last resort, and then thrown the body into the sea. Then the men seen in the vicinity of the house, as witnessed by others in the street, talking in an undertone, and pointing to the house caused suspicion.

In Ronnie’s Case,it was a known fact that Rheet was having an affair with Julia. Ronnie might have come to know of it, and in a frenzy of jealousy, might have murdered his wife. But if so, there were no marks of strangulation, or having had used any instrument. But to complicate matters, Rheet to get the suspicion off himself, said that Ronnie had been there since a week and that Ronnie had a terrible show down with Julia. The Police could not come to any conclusion how Julia was murdered. She might have been poisoned and for that, they had to wait for the postmortem report.

The gardeners were questioned one by one, but as there was no contradiction in their statements, the police were satisfied that they were not involved. The three of them had been in the premises all the time and they had also stated that they had not seen Ronnie, which proved that Rheet had been lying, but why? Was he the murderer?

The men on the street were also interrogated. The police were satisfied with their explanation that they were interested in taking down the many coconuts hanging from the trees, and selling them in the market.

 Rheet could have killed Julia .The very fact that he had induced Julia to make him the inheritor of her exclusive inheritance, which was the sprawling bungalow on the beach, made him a prime Suspect. Then it became evident that he had also spun a yarn about Ronnie being at Lyons Range a few days back. Why was he deliberately lying? What was he trying to cover up? Both Ronnie and Rheet had sufficient motivation to take Julia’s life.

On the other hand they could not rule out Ranjan as the Killer, though Julia was his mother. He loved his father very much and to see before his very eyes, his mother being disloyal to him, must have made his blood boil, and it was a natural reaction for him to kill her, so that she could never be unfaithful to him.

Warrant was issued against all three. And they were confined in the Lock-up.

The Police searched every corner of the house for further clues to come to a decisive conclusion. All of a sudden their eyes fell on a white sheet of paper on which something was written. It was a note from Julia. She had penned that she was ending her life as she could not face the world any more. She felt humiliated and disgraced in front of her own teen-aged son. She said that she would give up her last breath in the welcoming arms of the mighty ocean which would wash off all her stains.

After getting this note, the police released all three Suspects to their great relief. The mystery of the Murder at Lyons Range was finally solved.