The Tantalizing Case

  Sandy was only two years old. His world rotated around his mother. In the day time, he would be busy with so many make-belief games in which sometimes he was a policeman, at other times a ferocious lion. But wherever he was, every five minutes he would keep running back to see whether his mother was there. At night he would clutch his mother’s finger with his tiny chubby hands and then sleep peacefully without care. His silky soft black-brown hair covered his head in small waves and it would not be an exaggeration to say that his dimpled cheeks made him extremely lovable. When he closed his eyes in deep slumber, his long curling eyelashes against his baby pink complexion made him look like a doll. But fate was unkind as his mother was snatched away from him before he could understand the meaning of “death”. When he ran up and down searching for his mother, everybody told him that God had taken her away and she had become a star. He looked hard at the sky but tears rolled down his cheeks when he could not spot his mother.

 Pamela, Sandy’s mother had known for a very long time that her days were numbered. She had been told by her Physician that the Cancer had gone to the bones and the disease had become so advanced that there was no treatment for it. She was terribly worried about her baby. He was like her shadow, how could he survive without her! Every now and then he would come running and smother her with kisses, hugging her hard as if he was afraid of losing her. Sandy’s future happiness was paramount on her mind and she would wrack her brain to find a solution, and in the end, she prevailed on Ronald, her husband to marry again for the sake of the child. He was very understanding and in order to give Pamela peace of mind, he promised to do whatever she wanted him to do. Until the very last moment, before she breathed her last, Pamela held on to Ronald’s hand and made him give her his word that he would not let Sandy miss her for a moment and he would fill up the vacuum as soon as possible. After her demise, Ronald advertised in the matrimonial column and got Sandy a mother.

             Ronald’s choice fell on Anne as she looked somewhat like Pamela. She had the same sharp features, was slim and petite to look at, and her mannerisms were somewhat similar. Anne confided that she had not got married earlier as the boy with whom she was in love, had deserted her and had got married to someone else. She was heart-broken and had preferred to stay single. But as she was not qualified to take on a job, and was finding it difficult to make both ends meet with the meager sum her father had left her, she had decided that the best solution was to get married. The encumbrance of the son did not bother her as she did not take on the responsibility seriously. Sandy grew up like a weed without the solicitous care of the gardener but strong and confident, enjoying the freedom of his unhampered surroundings. Day by day the little boy grew in stature as well as in wisdom, clinging to his father like a creeper and getting all his sustenance as well as support from him. Small as he was, he developed a charming personality and had incredible charismatic qualities in him. In school he was always the Topper, excelling not only in academics but athletics and co-curricular activities as well. In no time he was elected the Captain of the Junior School. He carried himself well and was a vibrant cheerful boy.

Sandy hardly interacted with his mother. She kept herself aloof from the boy and often he would over-hear his father complaining to her about not taking care of him. He became the cause of their constant friction and the child could sense that his parents were unhappy. Early in the morning, he would see his father drive out to the office in his red Ford car and a little later he himself would leave the house on the school bus. Then when he would be playing in the evenings with his friends, he would see his mother go out regularly in her best attire to some unknown rendezvous. But he was very attached to his father. He kept a close watch over him and like an antenna picked up all his moods. Lately he sensed that his father was very disturbed mentally.

One evening his father came home looking tired and depressed. As he sat sprawled on the couch, the servant came with a tray with a glass full of some cold drink which Rajesh drank eagerly. After a few minutes he started breathing heavily and perspiring profusely. Sandy ran to his side and started fanning him. He then ran to get some water and sprinkled it on his head. But with his arms around his son, Rajesh gave him his last kiss and then breathed his last.

The doctor was called. He certified that death was due to cardiac arrest. Anne called the doctor to her room and after prolonged discussion, he left, looking very grave. Then Anne called the police and reported that the teenage boy was not getting on with his father as the latter was putting restrictions and embargo on his unacceptable behavior so common among the younger generation. The boy had been chafing at the shackles on his freedom and had decided to get rid of all impediments by poisoning his father and the servant was hand in glove with him. Anne’s brother and sister who were both there for a six month holiday also made the statement to the police that every evening the boy and his father were having serious altercations which nearly ended up in violence. The police then interrogated the servant and Sandy. After talking to both of them they realized that that the report lacked veracity. They made a note of the complaint but knew that there was much to investigate. What the young boy could divulge to the police, the complainants had not figured out, so when they left after talking to him without taking leave of them, they were a bit surprised.

The coroner’s report from the inquest was that the death was caused by ingesting a massive dose of sedative. The next step was to investigate how this happened.

The following day the police were back to interrogate Sandy. They took down the name of the school in which he was studying, where he spent his evenings and the names of his friends. They wanted to find out whether there were any real issues on which Sandy and his father had heated arguments and whether his father was actually coming in the way of the Teenager who wanted to break free. Next was the turn of the servants, one by one they were cross-examined. Then they grilled Anne and her brother and sister.

  First, the Police went to Sandy’s school. There the Principal certified that Sandy was a gem of a student, very well-behaved, polite and exemplary in his decorum. Academically he was a Star student and never neglected his studies. These statements seemed to be incongruous about a boy who was described as a rebel against family discipline and seemed not likely to have murdered his father. Then they went to the Athletic Club where the boy was supposed to be spending his evenings. He was regular in his attendance for the different activities and the coaches were full of praises for his behaviour. The police could not figure out how any boy who was so much involved in sports and studies could indulge in any objectionable activities. How could there be any bone of contention between the father and the son! The servants supported each other’s statements and described the relation between the father and son as very cordial and affectionate. The police then ruled out the servants’ or Sandy’s involvement in the murder.

 Now they had to investigate the credentials of Anne and her brother and sister and the motive they had for implicating the boy. This would take some time. First a plainclothes policeman was deputed to trail Anne and find out what she was about. According to the boy she would regularly dress up and go out somewhere of which no one had any idea. The policeman trailed her for a week and discovered her destination was always the same—the house of one Donald. From the window he happened to hear these words clearly, “Honey I can’t wait anymore, why don’t we just go and get ourselves registered------as long as the legal part is properly executed there will be no problem with the inheritance. “The plainclothes policeman was fast enough to record these words and take a photograph of the couple in a compromising position. Now the policemen felt they could close the case as it was evident that Anne and her accomplices had implicated the boy so as when he would be kept in Juvenile Detention they would be able to comfortably enjoy the legacy undisturbed. Besides Ronald was murdered so that Anne could lay her hands on all his wealth and marry her lover. The motive and the culprits ascertained, the police would submit the report to the court                   

It was at this time that more information came in, which totally upset their apple cart. The sergeant, who had been sent to Ronald’s office, to find out whether he could gather any more clues, came back with a note, presumably written by the deceased, stating that life had become unbearable for him for he felt that he had let down Pamela and Sandy, the two people who meant everything to him. He had come to know that his business had collapsed and he had become a pauper. He had lost his house also which he had mortgaged for his business. He did not have the strength to endure the feeling of guilt. He was leaving his beloved son to God’s care and he himself was taking his life.       

 This revelation was a great blow to Sandy as his world revolved around his Father. But Ronald had brought him up to be strong and self-sufficient and capable of meeting life’s challenges undaunted. In Ronald’s office, the Police had found Ronald’s last Will in which he had specified that his legacy was to devolve on his son and nothing should go to Anne. As Donald was getting married for the sake of the assumed wealth, when he saw Anne would not get any of the massive inheritance, he backed out. Anne also moved out as she had no more interest deprived of the inheritance. But Sandy grew up to be everything his mother Pamela had dreamed her son would be and was even able to retrieve the property and revive the business by his sheer acumen