Murder at Crescent Point Read online

  Table of Contents

  Book Title

  Inside Cover Page

  Copyright

  Contents

  One - Waterfall

  Two- A Baffling Discovery

  Three- Another Shock

  Four-Facing the Facts

  Five - Hunt for the Photographer

  Six - Evergreen Hotel

  Seven - The Chatterbox

  Eight- Face to Face

  Nine- Burgled

  Ten- Between Life and Death

  Eleven- Tables are Turned

  Twelve- Hidden Facts

  Thirteen- A New Lead

  Fourteen- The Kidnapping

  Fifteen- Caught in the Web

  Sixteen - Change of Priorities

  Seventeen - Case Re-opened

  Eighteen - Another Case Opened

  Nineteen- The Mystery Deepens

  Twenty - The Retribution

  Twenty One - The Revelation

  Twenty Two- Close Encounter

  Twenty Three- Closing the Net

  Twenty Four - The Final Confession

  Back Cover

  G.S. Dutt

  © G S Dutt, 2012

  First published 2012

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise—without the prior permission of the author and the publisher.

  ISBN: 978-81-8328-313-7

  Published by

  Wisdom Tree,

  4779/23, Ansari Road,

  Darya Ganj, New Delhi-2

  Ph.: 23247966/67/68

  [email protected]

  Printed in India at Print Perfect

  Contents

  1. Waterfall

  2. A Baffling Discovery

  3. Another Shock

  4. Facing the Facts

  5. Hunt for the Photographer

  6. Evergreen Hotel

  7. The Chatterbox

  8. Face to Face

  9. Burgled

  10. Between Life and Death

  11. Tables are Turned

  12. Hidden Facts

  13. A New Lead

  14. The Kidnapping

  15. Caught in the Web

  16. Change of Priorities

  17. Case Re-opened

  18. Another Case Opened

  19. The Mystery Deepens

  20. The Retribution

  21. The Revelation

  22. Close Encounter

  23. Closing the Net

  24. The Final Confession

  — CHAPTER ONE —

  Waterfall

  It was a breathtaking scene. A lush green meadow was flanked by mountain peaks and a huge waterfall gushed at the far end. Water fell from a height of two hundred feet; shimmering light reflected in an iridescent pool at the bottom of the fall. The valley was dotted with wild orchids. Yellow, white, pink and blue flowers created a riot of colours against the green background.

  Nikki and her classmates had come to this idyll for a picnic. It was the last day at the school hostel before the start of their winter break. The idea of a picnic at Crescent Valley was suggested by Jyoti, Nikki’s best friend and roommate. It immediately excited the others. But getting permission from Ms Malati, the strict warden, was not easy. When the girls went to her, she refused saying, ‘All the teachers have left. Who will go with you? No, I cannot send you alone.’

  ‘Why don’t you come with us?’ suggested Nikki, tongue-in-cheek. A girl standing next to Nikki nudged her, muttering quietly, ‘Silly, who wants the warden to come with us!’

  ‘No, I can’t leave the hostel,’ replied Ms Malati.

  ‘Ma’am, Crescent Valley is not far from here. It is our last day in the hostel. Ma’am please,’ pleaded Jyoti. The other girls joined in and the warden gave in, smiling.

  ‘Okay, but you girls will go in the school van and Ramu Kaka will be with you. No mischief, understand?’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am! Thanks Ma’am!’

  ‘Hooray!’ they shouted, coming out of the warden’s room.

  Ramu Kaka was the old and trusted driver of the school. He took the group of nine vivacious hostel girls to Crescent Valley, who kept chattering non-stop all along the way. Only Jyoti seemed lost in thought. It struck Nikki as odd, but she was too excited to give it much thought. Ramu Kaka parked the van by the roadside, below the hill and told the girls that he would stay in the van. He would be much happier smoking his beedis and snoozing in the sun instead of babysitting this giggling lot. The girls climbed a circuitous path to reach this picturesque valley, happy not to have an adult hovering too close.

  Getting out of the stuffy atmosphere of their tiny hostel rooms to a place as lovely as this, was indeed enchanting. The waterfall was the most bewitching sight in the valley. The moment they saw it, they flung their picnic baskets and backpacks on the valley floor and ran towards it. Moving around the pond, they looked eagerly for fish and water lilies. The more adventurous walked on the precarious ledge behind the waterfall to touch the cold water or just enjoy the majestic beauty of the mammoth water shaft from close quarters. The pond was shallow and at the far end, the overflow formed a serpentine stream which ran through the middle of the valley and disappeared somewhere beyond the hills.

  Having soaked themselves in and around the waterfall the girls scattered around in the valley. Some plucked flowers, others lazily chased colourful butterflies and a couple of them were busy collecting white pebbles from the waterbed.

  After a while, they felt hungry and collected on the bank of the stream with their lunch baskets. Lunch was a leisurely affair as they chatted and marvelled at the astonishing beauty of the place.

  After lunch, every girl had her own agenda. Nikki wanted to go fishing and took out her angling kit, others in batches of two or three moved further into the valley to explore it. Jyoti came to Nikki and said, ‘I am going to climb the western hill.’

  Nikki looked at the hill and asked her friend, ‘That looks very steep and rugged. How will you climb it?’

  Jyoti pointed towards her backpack and said, ‘I’m totally prepared. I’ve brought my hiking gear—shoes, ropes, pegs, hammer, all of it. I think I can scale this peak in about an hour’s time.’

  Nikki was disappointed. ‘You should have told me when we left the hostel. I would have brought my kit and both of us could have climbed together.’

  Jyoti was quiet. Nikki shrugged. ‘Well, good luck. I’ll just watch from here.’

  Jyoti left and Nikki returned to her fishing. The current in the stream was far too swift for any fish to take her bait. Nikki changed her position several times but the only thing she could attract was a tiny tadpole that was trying to get out of the water. From time to time, she looked towards the western hill to keep a track of Jyoti. To her surprise, Jyoti was climbing with ease and was making good progress. In her red coat, she looked like a red dot moving on the mountain. Nikki and Jyoti were not only roommates, but also best friends. Nikki was an orphan and instead of staying with relatives on Sundays and during the holidays, preferred staying with friends. She was now eagerly looking forward to spending the winter break at Jyoti’s home.

  Late afternoon, shadows soon lengthened on the valley floor. Gradually, the girls started returning from their adventurous jaunts. Nikki looked up. She had expected Jyoti to be back by now but she could not see her. Maybe she had taken a different route for climbing down. Nikki’s eyes swept across the hill, but she could not spot her friend anywhere.

  Nikki began to get anxious as dusk was approaching and it was nearly time for the girls to return to their hostel. When others started to enquire about Jyoti, Nikki replied, �
�I don’t know what’s holding her back. I saw her reach the hilltop a long time back. She should have returned by now.’ As more time passed, anxiety mounted and although everyone looked in the direction of the hill, there was no trace of her.

  Suddenly, a girl shouted, ‘Look! What’s that floating in the pond?’ All of them looked to the pond and dashed towards the waterfall. What they saw completely staggered them. Floating in the pond with her face down was Jyoti!

  Nikki jumped into the cold water followed by other girls. They pulled Jyoti out of the water and placed her on a dry patch of grass. When Nikki turned her over, she was shocked to see Jyoti’s horror-struck face and wide-open eyes. She screamed, ‘Jyoti! Jyoti! Get up!’ But Jyoti did not respond. Nikki, remembering her first-aid classes, felt for Jyoti’s pulse, but couldn’t detect it.

  The girls started crying, ‘Oh my god! Oh my god! What has happened to Jyoti?’ Collecting her wits, Nikki turned to one of the girls, ‘Pami, run and get Ramu Kaka here.’ Ramu Kaka came running, anxiously. He was shocked to see Jyoti lying lifeless on the grass. Nikki anxiously said, ‘Ramu Kaka, let us carry her to the van and rush to the Hill View Hospital. Maybe the doctors can resuscitate her.’

  A distraught Ramu Kaka picked up Jyoti and started running down the valley. The girls ran with him leaving their picnic baskets and backpacks strewn by the side of the stream. Climbing down the hill was tough and slowed them down considerably. Eventually they managed to reach the van by the roadside. Ramu Kaka placed Jyoti on the middle seat. The girls got in and they sped towards the Hill View Hospital.

  As soon as they reached the hospital, Nikki dashed out of the van and ran inside the hospital building shouting, ‘Bring a stretcher! There is an accident victim in the van!’ Soon two attendants brought a stretcher and took Jyoti inside. Dr Ajit Shetty who was on duty in the OPD looked at Jyoti and said, ‘Oh my god! How did this happen?’ Nikki tearfully replied, ‘She climbed a hill adjacent to the waterfall. I saw her reaching the top of the hill. She probably met with some accident and fell in the pond below the waterfall.’

  Dr Shetty said urgently, ‘All of you wait here while I examine her.’

  Nikki ran outside to find Ramu Kaka. He was waiting at the entrance. She requested, ‘Ramu Kaka, please go to the hostel and ask Malati Ma’am to come here immediately.’ She ran back and stood outside the examination room with the other anxious girls. Dr Shetty came out after a few minutes. His face was ashen. Removing his gloves he said softly, ‘I am sorry, your friend is no more. She was already dead when you brought her in. Someone had strangled her to death before throwing her into the water.’

  Nikki was shell-shocked. ‘Strangled her! How could that be? There was no one there except us.’

  ‘What about the hilltop? You said she went up the hill,’ the doctor asked.

  ‘But who would strangle her on top of a hill?’

  ‘Come with me,’ Dr Shetty said in a determined voice.

  The girls went with him inside the examination room. The doctor had closed Jyoti’s eyes and now she looked calm and serene. He pointed towards her neck. Deep grooves of strangulation marks were visible around her neck. ‘Someone strangled her with a fine rope or a wire. Now this is a police case, I will have to call the police station. Sit outside in the reception area. The police may have some questions for all of you. I also need to talk to your warden.’

  The realisation that someone had actually killed Jyoti and thrown her into the river, started to dawn upon the girls and horrified them. They sat silently with blank faces and watery eyes. Ms Malati and Ramu Kaka rushed into the hospital. The girls jumped to their feet as soon as they saw Ms Malati. Breathless, she asked, ‘What happened? Where is Jyoti? I told you girls to be careful…say something!’ With tears in her eyes, Nikki responded, ‘Ma’am, she is no more.’

  ‘What do you mean no more! Where is the doctor? Let me talk to him.’

  The girls took Ms Malati to the doctor’s room. She went in, the girls remained outside. After five minutes, she returned looking pale and shocked. She quietly went and sat on one of the chairs in the reception area with her head in her hands.

  After about half an hour, a police officer came to the hospital. He went straight to the examination room with the doctor. After a few minutes, he came out. The doctor introduced him to Ms Malati. ‘I am Inspector Rajan. This is a clear case of murder. Were you with the girls when this happened?’

  ‘No, the girls had gone by themselves. Our driver had gone with them.’

  Turning to the girls, he asked, ‘Tell me, why did she climb the hill?’

  ‘It is not the first time that she has climbed a hill. She was a trained rock climber. She used to take part in several hiking and rock climbing expeditions.’

  The inspector probed further, ‘Where did she live?’

  ‘In the hostel,’ Ms Malati said.

  ‘She was my roommate,’ Nikki added.

  ‘It is already dark. I cannot do anything today. I will come to your hostel tomorrow morning. You may please notify her parents,’ said the inspector.

  They all started moving towards the gate. Nikki whispered to Ms Malati, ‘Before I go I want to see Jyoti one last time. I will come in a minute.’ Ms Malati nodded her approval. Nikki ran to the doctor who was entering the examination room, ‘Sir, can I see my friend please?’

  The doctor permitted her, ‘Sure. Go in.’

  Nikki went in. She stood close to Jyoti and tearfully murmured, ‘What happened to you? Who killed you? Talk to me. Why don’t you talk to me?’ She caressed her face fondly. When her hand went to the side she found that the earring was missing. She turned Jyoti’s face to the other side. The other earring was also not there. Nikki could clearly recollect that she had seen Jyoti wearing the zircon earrings in the morning. Nikki had gifted those earrings to her best friend on her birthday. Perhaps the earrings fell when the murderer pushed her down the hill, Nikki thought.

  It was only then that the horror and enormity of what had happened to Jyoti struck Nikki. She began to sob and was moving her hand through Jyoti’s lovely silky hair when suddenly, her hand felt a bristle. She looked carefully. Someone had cut a tuft of her hair. The stub was at the back of her head and was covered by the adjacent plaits. This was a stunning discovery. Why would anyone cut her hair? Nikki was mystified. She quietly came out of the room and joined the other girls. She was too shocked to tell anybody about the missing hair and the earrings.

  That night Nikki could hardly sleep. Jyoti’s face haunted her. What did she see on top of the hill? Who killed her? There were a few other things which puzzled Nikki. She recalled that in the last couple of days, Jyoti

  had become very edgy and spent most of the time alone in the room. In the past, whenever she had planned an expedition, she would always insist that Nikki should accompany her. Is it that she wanted to go up the hill alone? She couldn’t fathom the mystery of the missing tuft of hair. Then she suddenly remembered that Jyoti’s backpack was not there when her body was found in the pond. Maybe it was still lying on the hill. She got up and started pacing the room. She decided she had to go herself and see what was there on that ill-fated hilltop.

  Her job was made easy by Ms Malati the next morning. She sent for her soon after breakfast. Inspector Rajan was sitting with her. ‘Inspector Rajan wants someone to go with him to show the place where Jyoti’s body was found. He also wants some information about Jyoti. Since you were her roommate and her best friend I thought it would be better if you went.’

  Nikki nodded, and turning to Inspector Rajan, said quickly, ‘Give me a moment. I will put on my walking shoes and join you.’

  — CHAPTER TWO —

  A Baffling Discovery

  Inspector Rajan stopped his jeep below the hill and both of them climbed the circuitous, dusty path to reach the picnic spot. The girls’ belongings still lay scattered by the side of the stream. Nikki pointed towards the hill which Jyoti had climbed. She then took him to the pond below the water
fall and said, ‘I will show you the place where we found her body.’

  She entered the freezing water of the pond.

  ‘You need not go into water. Just point out the spot from here,’ said Inspector Rajan.

  But Nikki didn’t stop and went ahead. She paused at a point, ‘We found her floating here with her face down.’ She looked carefully into clear water. She was searching for Jyoti’s missing pair of earrings. They weren’t there. When she came out, the inspector said, ‘Let us see what is up on the hill.’

  Nikki asked, ‘Do we have to climb the hill?’

  ‘No, not from this side. This hill slopes gently on the other side. The road also ascends and reaches a place from where Crescent Point is only about a fifteen minute climb.’

  ‘What is Crescent Point?’ she asked.

  ‘You don’t know?’ exclaimed the surprised inspector. ‘Crescent Point is on top of this hill where the two rivers merge and flow down the hill creating a gigantic waterfall. During tourist season, a lot of people go up there to see how the water of the two rivers merges into one stream. This time of the year being off season, the place remains deserted.

  They returned to the jeep and climbed up the hill. It was a difficult ascent and the inspector had to frequently change gears. After some time, the road widened and Nikki saw a little parking space and also an area for turning vehicles around. The inspector parked his jeep on the side of the road and said, ‘Let’s go up.’

  Nikki noticed a muddy track zigzagging through tall trees. It took them almost twenty minutes to reach the top. The top of the hill had a narrow, flat surface. Nikki went across to the edge of the hill on the other side to check the section of the hill which Jyoti had climbed. She could see the stream but the picnic baskets looked very tiny from above. Taking the picnic baskets as the reference point, she showed Inspector Rajan the point at the top of the hill where she had last seen Jyoti.

  Inspector Rajan looked determined, ‘Time to go to Crescent Point.’

  They walked along a rugged surface abutting thick forest until the roar of the waterfall became almost deafening. Up ahead was the most picturesque sight Nikki had ever seen. There was a shelf between two tall hills through which a river was flowing. Further up in the distance, she could see two separate streams entering the river from two sides of the hill range and merging to form one big river. She noticed quite a few stumps of trees. Apparently, the place near the mouth of the waterfall had been widened to make a sitting area. A few wooden benches were also placed around. Lying on one such bench was the blue backpack that Jyoti had carried. Nikki quickly went there and got hold of it. When the inspector looked at her, she said, ‘This is Jyoti’s backpack.’