A Will to Kill, стр. 52

She let out a gasp and sat down on the bed.

‘When I asked you to come with me to the chapel to estimate the time of death, you came up to your room to get your medical bag. But you took a very long time. I figured that you had called your husband.’

‘What else could I do, Mr. Athreya? I couldn’t knowingly cast suspicion on him, could I?’

Athreya remained silent, watching her. She stood up, removed her jacket and draped it on the back of a chair. As she did, the loose, forearm-length sleeves of her shirt rode up to her elbows. On her forearms were bruises. Some old and some new. She realized it at once and pulled down her sleeves, but it was too late.

‘He can be a hard man sometimes, Mr. Athreya. Especially when he is angry.’

‘I’m sorry, but anger is no excuse.’

‘Anyway, let that be. I wanted to talk to you to…to…ask your advice. I’m stuck, Mr. Athreya, stuck like a kitten in a pipe. I can’t go forward, and I can’t go back. I don’t know what to do. I see no way out.’

‘Tell me, Michelle, does the phrase “the mongrel” mean anything to you?’

‘Mongrel?’ she repeated, bewildered. ‘No. I mean, nothing beyond the English meaning of the word: a street dog.’

‘The mongrel?’ he asked again.

‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘Nothing.’

‘Have you ever heard your husband use this phrase?’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘How about Abbas?’

‘No.’

‘Are you sure you have never heard it mentioned by Abbas or Murthy?’

‘No, never. What are you driving at?’

‘If you haven’t heard it, Michelle, you are better off not knowing. You’ll be safer. At any rate, don’t repeat this to Abbas or your husband.’

‘Safer? You’re frightening me, Mr. Athreya.’

‘I’m sorry, but I had to ask. Tell me, do you believe that there were attempts on your uncle’s life recently?’

‘Yes.’ Michelle’s eyes went round. ‘The intruder even came into his room to kill him. Thankfully, Uncle had his automatic with him.’

‘Who do you think sent him, Michelle? And where do you think he hid after being shot in the leg? There aren’t many places around here to hide.’

Michelle’s eyes became even rounder. Her mouth opened to form an O. Slowly, she gathered her wits. Athreya watched her silently as emotions flashed across her face.

‘Tell me honestly, Mr. Athreya,’ she whispered at length. ‘Do you think Abbas killed Phillip thinking that he was Uncle?’

‘I can’t answer that yet because I still don’t know.’

The emphasis on the last word was not lost on Michelle.

‘And Murthy?’ she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

‘Same answer, Michelle. I don’t know.’

‘Am I in for grief, Mr. Athreya?’

‘Likely. Quite likely.’

‘Uncle says I should leave Murthy—divorce him,’ she blurted out, as though taken by a sudden urge to confide in him.

‘Does Murthy know that Mr. Fernandez said that?’ Athreya asked softly.

Michelle nodded slowly, realization dawning on her.

‘Uncle is right,’ she said. ‘I’m a trusting fool. I don’t know when to keep my mouth shut.’

She looked up suddenly, fierce determination rising to her face. She squared her shoulders and stared straight at Athreya. ‘What do you think I should do?’ she demanded.

‘All I’ll say is this, Michelle. Know your husband for what he truly is. Know your friends for what they truly are. Let the scales fall from your eyes. Then make your decision. It’s yours, and only yours, to make.’

‘And as far as Phillip’s murder is concerned?’

‘Stick to the truth. Don’t lie on anyone’s behalf. Anyone’s. If you did not kill Phillip, you have nothing to fear.’

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Dora.

‘Uncle wants us in the library now,’ she said. ‘The family and you, Mr Athreya.’

Michelle and Athreya were the last to enter the library. Bhaskar and Varadan sat together against a wall, and facing them was a semicircle of five chairs. Manu, Dora and Richie had taken three, leaving two for Michelle and Athreya. Sebastian sat a just behind the semicircle.

Athreya pulled the last chair a little away from the rest and sat down. He had a sense of what Bhaskar might have in mind, and wanted to have a clear view of all the faces in the room.

‘You already know the contents of the first will,’ Bhaskar began. ‘I called you all here to tell you about my second will. This is the one that takes effect if I die of unnatural causes. There will be a few changes of course, due to Phillip’s death. The paintings, which were to go to him, now stay with the mansion.

‘I’ve asked Mr. Athreya here for obvious reasons. If I do die of unnatural causes, Mr. Athreya will be commissioned to get to the bottom of the death. It is therefore best that he sits in on this short meeting.

‘The reason I have chosen to disclose the contents of my second will now is this. There has been a development last evening that shows that someone has indeed been trying to kill me. The intruder who broke in three months ago and tried to kill me is back in the valley.’

Gasps escaped from Dora and Michelle.

‘Where?’ Dora demanded.

‘Later, Dora. It’s not relevant right now. The police are working on it. But coming back to the will, why am I disclosing the contents of the second will now? Because it is obvious that my ploy of keeping the second will a secret is not working. Why else would the intruder have returned to complete his aborted job?’

‘But Uncle–’ Dora began.

‘Later, girl!’ Bhaskar snapped. ‘Later. Let me first get to the provisions of the second will.’

Athreya looked around. Michelle and Dora seemed stunned. Richie was listening intently. Manu seemed calm. It was clear that he already knew what was going to be said. Bhaskar would have shared the contents of the will with his son before sharing it with the others. Varadan might have been a wooden statue.

‘If I die of unnatural causes,’ Bhaskar went on, ‘all bequests, except those earmarked for Manu, go into