The Enigmatic Murder

“So you were a close friend of the rich businessman Mukesh Kumar and the famous journalist Udit Goswami,” Utpal, Rajiv’s new neighbor said.

“Yeah, we were very good friends since our school days. By the way, thanks for inviting me to your house and serving such delicious food,” Rajiv said.

“No need to thank. We are good friends now.”

“I am glad to have such a friend like you.”

“Okay, stop praising me. A week back you promised me that you would tell me about the horrifying experiences you had three years ago.”

“Okay, so listen.”

Rajiv started narrating the story:

I, Mukesh, and Udit were very good friends since we were in school. I and Udit were very good students but I was not a bookworm like my friend. Udit wore spectacles from the age of 12. Mukesh was not much interested in studies and he somehow managed to pass the exams. I aspired to be a software engineer and Udit a journalist. Both of us succeeded in our ambitions. Mukesh did not worry much about his future as he was going to take over the business of his father one day as he was the only heir to his property.

Udit grew up to be a short heightened man with a neat and simple hairstyle and beard. He stayed in Dehradun. He was a true journalist. He raised his voice against whatever wrong he thought was going on. He was not someone who could be bribed. Because of his nature, many corrupt and dishonest politicians and businessmen considered him as their enemy. Mukesh took over the business of his father. He was a tall man with six-pack abs and he had the tattoo of the letters M and K on his right wrist.

The day of 24th December 2014 was a black day for us. That day, our dear friend Udit left us on his heavenly abode. We were startled to hear the unexpected news. That day his dead body was found at his home at Dehradun by the police. A dagger was pierced into his chest which he was holding with his hands. Later it was confirmed that Udit had committed suicide. But I did not believe it. For me, it was a murder, or might be he was pressurized by someone to commit suicide. A week later, Mukesh lost his parents in a road accident. I made a vain attempt for the next few months to find the murderer.

It was one day when I was driving back home from my office that I heard my phone ring and found out that Mukesh had called me. I received the phone.

“Hi, Mukesh. What’s the reason behind calling me?” I asked.

“Please come to my house immediately. I need your help,” he said in a faint voice.

“Okay, I am coming.”

“Thanks”

After a few minutes, I reached his house. I rang the calling bell of the massive five story building and I was welcomed by Mukesh.

“Please take your seat. I have something important to discuss with you,” he said.

“What is that important thing that you have to discuss with me?” I asked lounging on the sofa.

“Since last one month, I have been encountering some strange happenings. I have nightmares and always feel creepy wherever I am. I even saw Udit in my nightmares. I am in no control of my body for some time and break things at my home. Finally, two days back, I consulted Dr. Ajit Talukdar, a renowned psychiatrist. According to him, I had a mental disorder and advised me to stay in the company of people. You know that I lost my parents in a road accident and I don’t have any siblings. I have just a few cousins who come sometimes to consult me about my condition. So, I want you to stay at my home if you don’t have any objection,” Mukesh said.

“It must have been hard for you to bear the death of your parents and best friend in a short span of time. For your sake, I will stay here.”

“Thank you so much for your kind favor.”

I stayed with Mukesh for the next few weeks. I observed that his condition was recovering. I thought of inviting him in my mission of finding Udit’s murderer. One night, we were having our dinner together in the dining room, when I proposed to him the plan.

“Mukesh, I feel that Udit’s death was not a suicide but indeed a well-planned murder,” I said.

“But wasn’t it confirmed to be a suicide after a police investigation. I don’t think their investigation may be wrong,” Mukesh said.

“Do you really think that Udit had committed suicide? I don’t. We all know what a journalist he was. And because of it, many people considered him as their enemy as he was a threat to them. Or he might have been pressurized to stab himself,” I said.

“Your reasoning seems quite likely. I never thought of it this way.”

“So, I want you to join me in the mission of finding the culprit.”

“It would be my pleasure to assist you for a good cause.”

“I think we must go to Udit’s house at Dehradun. There we may find some evidence.”

“Okay”

We booked our flight tickets to Dehradun. Mukesh booked our seats in the business class. After a few hours of journey, we were in Dehradun. We booked a car which drove us to his house. As we reached his house, I was mesmerized by the scenic beauty of the place. The house was a red one-storey bungalow located on a hilltop and there was lush greenery around it. I felt as if I was in heaven.

“Udit had chosen a great place to stay in,” I said.

“Yeah” Mukesh replied in a faint voice.

“Didn’t you like the place?”

“I did, but I have already enjoyed this panoramic view.”

“When?”

“Don’t you remember that I came here for some work a few days before Udit passed away? During my visit to Dehradun, I visited him.”

“I can recount now. You were here the day Udit died,” I said.

Then we moved towards the main door which was locked. As we were about to break the door with a hammer, we were resisted by someone. We saw in front of us a middle-aged man with a bald head and a long mustache.

“Who are you? What do you want?” he asked suspiciously.

“I am Rajiv and he is my friend Mukesh. We were good friends of Udit,” I said.

“I apologize for treating you this way. You were strangers to me and that’s the reason why I suspected.”

“It’s okay. May I know your name?”

“I am Akash. I was the butler of Udit Sir. If you don’t mind, may I know the reason behind your arrival?”

“We think that our friend’s death was not a suicide, but a murder. Thus we are here to find evidence to prove that it was not a suicide and find the culprit,” Mukesh replied.

“Even I feel the same. Please wait for some time. I need to get the key.”

After a few minutes, Akash returned and opened the door. We lounged on the sofa meanwhile Akash served us some noodles. After having it, we explored the house and kept our luggage at the entrance of our respective rooms that we had occupied that once belonged to Udit.

We were very tired after the journey and so we abandoned our plan of investigating the case for the day. Akash stayed on the ground floor of the house. The place was deathly silent at night and we found the place very spooky as we were not habituated in such an environment. After having dinner, we walked to our respective rooms. I read a book for the next two hours and finally, at 11:45 A.M., I switched off the lights.

I had merely slept for an hour when I was woken up by a loud scream. Startled, I rushed towards Mukesh’s room as the voice seemed quite similar to his. I pushed open the door only to find him fast asleep. A chill ran down my spine and I started shivering. Thinking of it as my illusion, I returned back to my room and continued my sleep once again. A few minutes later I heard another scream. As I stepped out of my room, I saw Mukesh on the floor of the corridor in front of a painting featuring Udit. I saw terror in his eyes. He was trembling and sweat poured down from his forehead. I rushed forward to help him.

“Th-e-e pain-t-ing, it moved!” he exclaimed in terror.

“I think you are not well. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have brought you here knowing about your condition,” I said.

“I know, it was not an illusion or because of my condition. The painting let out a wild laugh.”

“Come, let me take you to your room,” I said and guided him to his room.

As I was returning back to my room, I gazed at the oil painting for a moment in which Udit was seated on a wooden chair wearing a red shirt. I appreciated the artist who made such a great piece of art. I wondered how Mukesh had such an illusion looking at this art and gazed at it for some more time. Suddenly, an involuntary chill ran down my spine and I started sweating. Ignoring the painting, I rushed towards my room and continued my sleep.

The next day turned out to be a very hectic and even successful day for us. We found much evidence gathered by Udit against some politicians, businessmen, and even some religious preachers. We found all these on the shelf of his study room, a room that was specially prepared by Udit for doing his work. I entrusted Mukesh with the responsibility of keeping the evidence in safe custody. That evening, I enquired him about the evidence.

Actually Rajiv,” he said in a low voice, “I had kept the evidence on the table of the guest room. For a moment of around two minutes, I left the room and when I returned back, I saw the papers flying out of the window in front of the table. I tried to save the papers but I couldn’t and most of them were burned to ashes because of the fire that was burning in the courtyard outside the window.”

“How can you be so irresponsible,” I said furiously.

“Sorry Rajiv”

“No need to apologize for it was my fault to hand over the responsibility to such an irresponsible man like you,” I said fuming with anger.

“Didn’t you hear that I have apologized and such a mistake could be made by anyone?”

“I can’t believe that you still call this a mistake. You won’t be forgiven for it.”

“Okay, then I won’t be helping you in solving the case.”

“Even I don’t need the help of someone like you.”

We didn’t converse with each other after that. One night I was reading a novel at midnight as I was not feeling sleepy. I was so engrossed in reading the book that I did not hear the door knock. The door was knocked a few more times when I finally heard it.

“Are you Akash?” I asked.

“Yes sir. May I come in?”

“Yes sure.”

“I have something important to discuss with you about Udit Sir’s case.”

“Really! I would be pleased to know about it.”

“A week before Udit Sir passed away he started having frequent phone calls of an unknown person. Each of the times he received the phone calls his face turned pale and even from then there was a change in his behavior and even he did not interact much with other people. I tried to investigate what was wrong. A day before Udit Sir left us, I was passing through his room when I heard a voice coming from the inside. I heard him tell his parents that he was been given death threats by a rich businessman for exposing his truth about smuggling and other illegal activities. That night, I was called by my sister and she stated that her mother was in a critical condition and asked me to get there immediately. I left for my village after taking leave from Udit Sir. When I returned back after two days, everything was changed. Udit Sir’s parents too died of a heart attack two days later.”

“So, I was right that it was a murder.”

“I didn’t tell about it earlier as you were unknown to me and I suspected you. I hope that the information I provided would be of help to you.”

“The information you provided is indeed very valuable. Thank you so much.”

“I am glad that I could be of help to you,” Akash spoke before he left the room.

The next day Akash left for his village. During the afternoon, I went to buy some groceries and so Mukesh was stranded alone at the house. As I was walking back, I heard a loud scream and the sound of the crashing of glass coming from the house. Worried, I rushed towards the house. I banged open the door and I found Mukesh on the ground. The bookshelf and the artifacts were broken. The glass of the center table was shattered into pieces. Mukesh was lying unconscious on the ground and blood poured down from his head. I rushed forward to help him. I rested him on the rear seat of the car and drove towards the hospital.

He had a severe head injury and so he was discharged the next day. He also had difficulty in walking and so I had to support him in walking.

“I am sorry to shout at you for the fault even after knowing that it wasn’t intentional,” I said.

“No need to apologize. It was completely my fault that I treated you badly even after committing such a mistake.”

“Now forget all these. It’s good that we are friends once again.”

Our relation became cordial once again as it was earlier. We worked relentlessly for the next few days to find the murderer. It was the night of 24th June 2015, six months since Udit passed away that we returned back late at 10 P.M. after having dinner in a restaurant. As we pushed open the door, we saw something which sent a shockwave of fear in us. We froze on the spot as the door behind us closed itself. We saw the shadow of a man with a dagger casting on the wall facing the door. We fled towards the nearest room from the drawing-room, the guest room, and locked it from inside.

It was the worst night of our lives. We did not wink for a second that night as we heard horrifying screams. We felt very creepy and sank into a corner. Finally, the dreadful night was over and we packed our luggage early morning. What happened that night was something unexplainable and we thought of it as a horrifying nightmare. We left the house and locked it. We booked a room in a hotel and booked flight tickets to our home back. Till then we had to stay there in the hotel.

That evening, Mukesh realized that he had left his phone in the guest room of the house. I resisted him from going there as he may buy a new home, but going there was not safe. But he did not listen to me and left in a cab. Suddenly, I noticed a camera on the ground of the room we were occupying. I thought it must have belonged to Mukesh, so I kept it in my trolley bag and thought of returning it back to Mukesh after he returns. It was soon 8 P.M., two hours since Mukesh left but there was no sign of him. At last, I booked a cab which dropped me at the entrance of the house.

I hastened towards the house and banged the door open. Then my eyes witnessed something terrifying. The dead body of Mukesh was lying on the floor with a strange shadow casting on the wall beside the dead body. My legs froze in fear, but somehow I gathered my courage and fled from there. I was in no control of my body and I just kept running towards the hotel. At last, I fainted in front of the lobby of the hotel. I still don’t know how I survived that night.

There was silence for the next two minutes as Rajiv finished speaking.

“I am sorry to ask you about those incidents.”

“It’s okay. I was glad to share these with you. So I must leave now.”

“Thanks for coming. Bye.”

“Bye”

Rajiv started cleaning the house as he had planned to do that afternoon. As he was cleaning, he came across a camera. He wondered when he bought it. A few minutes later he could recount that the camera was the one he found in his hotel in Dehradun the horrifying night. He opened it as a video was played that was shot with it. He was startled to see Udit in the video. He saw him positioning the camera secretly. “This would be my proof,” he heard Udit whisper in the video. The next moment, a man appeared in the video. The faces of the man and Udit were not visible because of the positioning of the camera. He heard that the unknown figure forced Udit to stab himself. If he doesn’t, his parents would be killed. The next scene Rajiv saw unfolded the mystery of the murder as he saw the tattoos of the letters ‘M’ and ‘K’ on the right wrist of the murderer.