Short story - The Vacation Gone Wrong!

 The vacation gone wrong

“Radhikaaaa! Radhikaaaa!” Varun wailed, his inconsolable tears reverberated across the island.

“What happened, Sir?” the hotel manager, Mr. Ayaz Khan rushed to the room. And saw her. Her body pale, half-naked.

“I’ll call the police”, Ayaz said, composing himself, trying his best to not reveal that he knew Varun’s dark little secret from one hour ago.

Thirty minutes later, a speedboat entered the island carrying Inspector Irfan Malik and his team, Head Constable Jerry Thomas and Sub-inspector Zareen Ahmed. Inspector Malik was famous for solving high-profile murders. In the quest of better work-life balance, he had chosen to be transferred to Lakshadweep last month. However, as they say, Murder & Malik go hand in hand! You cannot keep one away from the other for long.

“Take me to the crime scene,” he announced his entry with panache.

Twelve hours ago

“Blue waters, white sands. So pristine! Better than Maldives!”

“I know. I am glad you loved the surprise. Happy anniversary, baby!”

Varun Nair and his wife, Radhika Kapadia the heir of Kapadia industries, were in the speedboat cruising to Bangaram, a sparsely inhabited island in Lakshadweep, an archipelago of over thirty islands on the south-western coast of India.

They were celebrating their first anniversary and rumors were that Radhika’s father was going to announce Radhika as the Chairman of Kapadia Industries and Varun as the CEO. Varun, a simple middle-class Malayali lad had joined Kapadia Industries in the Strategy department after his MBA. Radhika was his first boss – soon, they fell in love and got married. Some called it destiny while others, a “shrewd move” – fast-track promotion to becoming a billionaire!

Bangaram Island has just one resort, Jannat – truly Paradise as the name suggests. Given the off-season, only eight out of the twenty-seven rooms were occupied. Varun and Radhika had booked the newest attraction, its most exquisite suite with a private water villa. Who says money cannot buy happiness!

“Welcome to Jannat” they were greeted by warm hotel staff, with ever-refreshing coconut water.

Nine hours ago

 “If you keeping looking so hot, I wouldn’t want to leave this bed”

“Save that for night. Now, c’mon. Let’s go for a swim.”

Radhika and Varun were walking near the pier, taking selfies, when Varun’s expressions suddenly lost its color. His mind was filled with rage, yet he tried to remain calm on the outside.

“Hi Anjana. It is such a surprise to see you here. Hi Sarthak.”

“Hi Varun”, Anjana gave him an awkward hug. “So good to see you. You are here for three days too? Let’s catch up later?”

Anjana was Varun’s ex from his MBA days. He had cheated on her with Radhika. Sarthak was Anjana’s husband; arranged marriage. Anjana was heartbroken and didn’t care who she was marrying. She wanted to travel the world – and a rich husband gave her the luxury. Here they were, honeymooning at Jannat!

After Varun cheated on Anjana, things became so ugly that three days before Varun’s wedding, she sent him a voice note, “Wish you a happy married life, Varun. Remember this; your wife will die within a year. Enjoy!” Varun had gotten so angry with her for that note that he had deleted Anjana from his life permanently. Until today.

Back to the present

Inspector Malik was examining the body.

“Strangulation marks on the neck. No weapon. Simple MO. Clearly, this is the job of a strong man.”

“Or a woman.” corrected his colleague, Sub-Inspector Zareen Ahmed.

“Sir, I have a point to make.” She added. “Her bra is unhooked, her panties are off, and her hair is messy. Wetness near her vagina – potentially semen. Maybe she was killed right after sex.”

“That’s a pertinent observation. I have a wild theory. Mrs. Kapadia and her husband enjoyed BDSM. Deriving pleasure from violent sex – handcuffs, beating, tying her ankles with ropes, grabbing each other by the neck. If you notice her wrists closely, you will see marks there. Same with her feet. Rope marks. Perhaps this time, they just went too far and she choked to death”

“Sir, you may be right,” acknowledged Head Constable Jerry. “I searched their bags and found kinky sex toys. Some of these are not even legal.”

Zareen was playing the devil’s advocate. “You mean, this was an accident? Sex gone wrong? But, something doesn’t add up here. When the hotel manager, Ayaz called, he said the husband was crying inconsolably.”

“There’s only one way to find out. We have eyewitnesses that saw Radhika at dinner at nine and her body was discovered at midnight. So, I have one question for each guest – where were you between 9 pm and midnight?” said Inspector Malik, in his trademark style.

Inspector Malik investigates Varun Nair

“Tell me about your relationship with Radhika. Were you happy?”

“What kind of a question is that? We were madly in love. We have been really looking forward to spending a wonderful romantic holiday in Bangaram. I can’t believe she’s no more.”

 “I am sorry for your loss. Please have some water.”

Composing himself, Varun enquired, “Was Radhika murdered?”

“The forensic team is at work at Agatti Hospital. We will get the reports in the morning. Meanwhile, were you with your wife when she died?”

“I will tell the truth, but promise me that you won’t judge me.”

Inspector Malik stayed silent, urging Varun to go on.

“We finished dinner around 9. It was a beautiful night and Radhika wanted to lie down under the stars. We rested on the hammocks, admiring the beautiful stars. We were holding hands and I kissed her. We went to the room, we had sex.”

“Let me pause you. Are you a fan of BDSM? Did you and your wife enjoy wild sex? I don’t intend to intrude your privacy; it’s part of the investigation”

“Yes, it helped spice up things in bed. But trust me; she didn’t die of accidental choking, if you are hinting that. She went off to sleep. It must be around 10.30. And then…”

“Then what?”

“And then I went out for a stroll. To meet Anjana.”

“Bumping into an ex on an anniversary trip? Quite uncanny, isn’t it?”

“Things have been messy between us off late; I just thought it was destiny that brought us together again and it would be good to mend things with her. Get rid of my guilt, become friends again.”

“And is that where you both decided to kill off your wife? Make the death seem natural, get the insurance money, rekindle an old romance and live happily ever after.”

“What rubbish, Inspector! You are clearly judging me – and I thought I could be honest with you. What was I even thinking!”

“I apologize for my rudeness. Please continue. What did you two talk about?”

“Nothing in particular. Just pleasantries. Life, family, work, etc. She had just got married so I was curious to know about her husband – how he is as a person etc.”

Inspector Malik investigates Anjana Singh

“Mrs. Singh, Mr. Nair told me he met you around 10.30. Can you corroborate this?”

Anjana nodded. “Yes, he texted whether I was awake and wanted to catch up. I said yes and went to meet him.”

“Mrs. Singh, isn’t it strange that you are on your honeymoon, he is on his anniversary; it’s 10.30 at night and you both meet each other instead of being with partners.”

“Why is it strange, Inspector? I had a wonderful day with my husband. Is it wrong to get some “me-time”? It’s not that I was meeting Varun to sleep with him.” Anjana retorted, offended by Inspector Malik’s insinuations.

“I apologize for my rudeness, Mrs. Singh. What did you two discuss about?”

“Just the usual. Work. Marriage.”

“Hmm, that is what Mr. Nair also said. Coming to the point, if I were to say Mr. Nair murdered his wife, how would you react?”

Anjana started laughing, surprised with the question. “Varun may have cheated on me, but he is definitely not a murderer. Though, there’s something I want to tell you.”

“Go on. I’m listening.”

“We were two drinks down and getting nostalgic – remembering our good old days, our times together. Suddenly he said, ‘sometimes I wish Radhika would disappear. It is so hard living up to the tag of a power-couple. I hate luxury – the constant media glare; the nasty comments that I married her for the money etc. I just wish I could go back to the past and be with you again’. I could sense that something was bothering him, but that’s not motive to kill his wife. That’s my opinion.”

“Did Mr. Nair really say this or is this your wishful thinking?”

“What the hell, Inspector! Firstly, yes he did say this. You can ask the manager, Ayaz. He was there recommending us an amazing Chilean wine when Varun said this. Secondly, I have moved on. It took me months, but I finally feel settled in life. Sarthak is a nice person and I want to make my marriage work.”

Inspector Malik investigates Ayaz Khan

“Since how long have you been at Jannat?”

“Over two years now, Sir. Jannat is my life; taking care of guests is my passion.”

“I thought eavesdropping to guests’ intimate conversations was your passion. Coming to the point, did you hear Mr. Nair wishing his wife were dead?”

“No no no. Mr. Nair said nothing of this sort. He seems a genuinely nice person. He said that sometimes he wishes his wife could disappear. I interpreted it that he may have fought with his wife. No no no, Mr. Nair cannot murder anyone. However, the thought did cross my mind when I first saw the body. I thought Mr. Nair actually murdered her just as he said to Mrs. Singh. However, that was only my impulse reaction to what I heard. No no no, Mr. Nair can’t murder anyone.”

“Fair enough. You seem vehemently confident about a person’s character whom you met just today. Anyway, moving on. Describe the moment you saw Mrs. Kapadia’s body.

“Seeing Mrs. Kapadia was quite shocking. She is a renowned personality – VIP guest. All our staff were quite excited to meet her. We had specially hired a new chef from Lucknow on a temporary basis, who apparently makes the best Mutton Yakhni Pulao, Ma’am favorite dish. In fact, we served this for dinner today. Ma’am was so happy that she personally went to thank the chef. I feel proud when VIP guests praise us. That brings more publicity and tourists.”

“Clearly, you got more publicity from today’s incident than you would have imagined.”

Next morning: Investigation team huddle

“Sir, the forensic team has confirmed ‘death due to strangulation-induced asphyxiation’. Doctors have confirmed semen near the vagina – unprotected sex, with consent, as there do not seem to be any signs of resistance. The fingerprints on her neck – those are of Mr. Nair. No other man or woman’s marks. The killer could be wearing gloves.”

“Thank you. Time of death?”

“Between 10 pm and midnight.”

“This means that the last person to see Mrs. Kapadia alive was Mr. Nair at 10.30 pm. He has an alibi between 10.30-11.45 pm; then he went to the room and as soon as he entered, he saw the victim’s body. Which means that someone else went to the room and murdered her. Of course, this is assuming his story is true.”

“If his story isn’t true, he went to the room, had sex, killed the wife and casually asked Mrs. Singh if she was free to meet. Which means that the murder happened between 10-10.30, but the body was discovered at midnight.”

“Damn, this case is giving me a headache. Let’s have Chai and reconvene in 30 minutes.”

Inspector Malik was known to get brainwaves over Chai. Most of his cases were solved over a cup of Ginger Chai. He claimed that he had a strong intuition that triggered whenever he had a cup of tea – strong, with little milk, no sugar.

“Zareen. There is one thing I want you to check urgently. The answer to this mystery lies in Radhika’s past.”

The Magician unravels the mystery

It was five pm. Inspector Malik, with his ever-so-smug face was back in Jannat with his team. He called a meeting in the grand ballroom, usually reserved for recreational activities.

“Thank you for coming. Some of you may be expecting a salsa class, but here is a magician in front of you to solve the mystery of the ‘Vacation Gone Wrong’”, Malik exclaimed, with all his theatrics.

Zareen bolted the door from the inside when Malik howled, “Hey, don’t bolt the door yet. Where is our special friend from Lucknow, Chef Archit? He was getting us his famous Kashmiri Kahwa. Oh, there he is!”

The room had 36 people – 17 guests, 16 staff members and 3 members from investigating team.

“Thank you, Chef. This was the best tea ever. Now, if you could please tell everyone – WHY DID YOU MURDER MRS. RADHIKA KAPADIA?”

Everyone in the room, including Chef. Archit was shocked. Jerry held the chef’s hands firmly and brought him next to Malik.

“Let me tell you all a story,” said Malik. “Story of twins, born in Lucknow, abandoned by their birth parents, left to rot outside a municipal hospital. A few hours later, a benevolent couple who were grieving the loss of their child due to miscarriage adopted one kid and gave the other in the orphanage for adoption. Years later, the child in the orphanage came to know he had a twin sister, who lived a luxurious life in Mumbai. He was jealous – almost angry that he had to rot in the orphanage and survive in poverty while his sister got an easy life. At the age of eighteen in 2011, the moment he walked out of the orphanage, he hatched a plan – a plan to kill her. A plan that took eleven years to materialize. Do you want me to continue, Chef?”

Chef Archit glared, in defeat. Malik continued, “As you would have guessed, Chef Archit is the twin brother of the deceased, Mrs. Radhika Kapadia. Chef completed his hotel management course in Mumbai and slowly rose the ranks at the famous K-Hotels, a luxury hotel chain, subsidiary of the Kapadia Industries. Due to his exquisite culinary skills, he became the favorite of the Kapadia household, especially Radhika, who was mesmerized by his Mutton Yakhni Pulao. So much that, Radhika insisted that he apply for a temporary internship at Jannat so that he could serve her the delicacies during their trip. Chef gladly obliged as he could keep an eye on his sister and when the right moment arrives, kill her. When Chef came to know about Mr. Kapadia’s succession plan, he could not control his jealousy and anger. And that’s why he murdered her – here on this beautiful Bangaram Island.”

Chef Archit continued to stare at Inspector Malik. “How did you find out?” he stammered.

“Good question, my friend. The answer’s simple – in your Yakhni Pulao. When our friend, Ayaz mentioned the dinner menu, it made me nostalgic about my times in the early 1990s in Lucknow. That is when I remembered a news article from 1993 from the local newspaper about the benevolent couple, the twins – basically, the story I narrated. I asked my colleague to do some digging. She found the news article, we called the orphanage, and we got your details. I put two and two together. I am quite smart, I know!”

A long silence. Everyone in the room was shocked.

It was time for the confession. “Yes, I killed her. When she thanked me after dinner, she told me that this was the best day of her life. Her father was handing over the reins of the Kapadia empire to her. And the Yakhni Pulao was the best way to celebrate. It blew me apart. I finished my chores in the kitchen and was walking towards the staff quarters when I saw Varun chatting with Anjana. That meant Radhika was alone in the suite. That’s where I decided – this is my chance. Her husband would be the obvious suspect. I went to the room; she was fast asleep. She murmured in her sleep, ‘Varun, come to bed.’ I kissed her gently on the cheeks and then with all my force, I covered her mouth with one hand, grabbed her neck by the other and choked her until she died. Poor Radhika did not even resist much. It was as if she enjoyed the process – which made it so much easier.”

“Did you know how I thought it could be you? Your eyes – hazel, same as Mrs. Kapadia. It was just a hunch; so had you not confessed, I had no concrete evidence to pin you.”

Six months later

Chef Archit was charged with committing a crime of passion and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.

Varun was trying hard to pick up the broken pieces of his life. He couldn’t stop feeling guilty about wanting her to disappear. He renounced his position at the Kapadia industries and relocated to Munnar to lead a simple life in the hills.

Anjana was brimming with guilt too, for she remembered her curse. While she had sent it in anger and did not mean it, her brain was spiraling. She started therapy and was trying hard to make her marriage with Sarthak work.

Inspector Malik was enjoying his daily cup of Ginger chai with his team when Zareen asked, “So how did you deduce that the Chef was the murderer? None of us even remotely thought it.”

“Intuition, my friend. And a cup of Ginger Chai!” Inspector Malik signed off, with panache.