A Will to Kill by R V Raman

Author:R V Raman [Raman, R V]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: null
ISBN: 9789353570798
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India
Published: 2019-06-24T22:00:00+00:00

It was only when Athreya returned to his room did he realize that he had not bathed or changed. He had gone out for an early morning stroll in his trackpants, and had remained in them through the day. Other than to collect his lock picks and jacket, and then to return them, he had not been to his room. As he entered it now, he noticed his laundry lying on his bed. What had been collected the previous morning had been returned today, neatly folded and ironed. As he stared at it, a thought flashed through his mind. Simultaneously, a knock sounded on his door. It was Gopal.

‘I’ve come to pick up your laundry, sir,’ he said.

‘Do you do laundry every day, Gopal?’

‘Yes, sir. When we have guests.’

‘Do all the guests give you laundry, like I did yesterday?’

‘Yes, sir. There are more guests today. We are collecting everyone’s laundry. They are just returning to their rooms.’

‘I assume you wash the clothes right away. When do you iron them?’

‘As and when they dry, sir. The thicker clothes are mostly done late at night or early morning.’

‘And you always return them the next morning?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Thank you, Gopal. Give me a minute. I’ll also give you the clothes I am wearing.’

After Gopal had gone, Athreya had a slow and preoccupied shower, his mind on the discussion he had just had with Gopal.

Then, standing in front of the mirror, he slowly brushed back his uncommonly fine hair that was beginning to grey. Except the silvery tuft in the front, the rest of his head was still largely black. His fine-haired beard too was mostly black, except at the chin where a small patch of silver matched the tuft on his head.

Tall and lean, he was sometimes compared by his friends to a weeping willow, especially when he let his hair grow. At other times, his beard, which made his already long face look even longer, was compared with that of a bearded collie.

Five minutes later, he was on the phone, talking to his friend Rajan, the retired IPS officer in Coonoor. He briefed him on what had happened, and sought his help in finding out as much as possible about Phillip, Abbas, Ganesh and the people at Greybrooke Manor. He asked him to speak to the retired postmaster and his wife, and to anyone else who might be able to throw light on the backgrounds of these people. He also asked him to tap the police network in Ooty and Coonoor if he could.

He then went to the art gallery and photographed all of Phillip’s paintings. He returned to his room, called a Delhi number and spoke on the phone for ten minutes. After hanging up, he sent the photographs of the paintings via WhatsApp to the person in Delhi.

Then he went upstairs to Phillip’s room and examined it thoroughly without leaving fingerprints or smudging any that were already there. With a pencil or the tip of his shoe, he opened the cupboards. But he didn’t find anything out of place.

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