Death in the Air by Ram Murali

Author:Ram Murali [Ram Murali]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2024-04-26T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Lala sat in the interview room, cool and collected, a cup of coffee on the table in front of her. Her lawyer, an older man, wore glasses and a well-cut suit that had aged along with him.

“Thank you for coming to speak with me, Mrs. Mehta,” Inspector Singh began, rather formal.

“Of course,” she replied quietly. “It’s one’s duty in a situation such as this.”

Ro tried his best to suppress his grin.

Catherine, who had come back for Lala’s interview, eyed him with interest.

“You must still be in shock,” the inspector said. “Do you feel ready to discuss what happened last night?”

Lala’s lawyer looked at her warily. She nodded at him.

“Mrs. Mehta will answer your questions, but I’ll ask you to stop this interview at any moment if it becomes too much for her,” her lawyer said.

“I understand.”

The inspector marked a brief pause.

“How well did you know Miss Dey, Mrs. Mehta?”

“I hardly knew her at all.”

“When did you first meet her?”

“Here, at Samsara. Last Christmas.”

Lala slowly removed her fur headband, folded it, and placed it on the table. Massive earrings of black pearl and diamonds glinted from her ears.

Ro sat straight up. “Wait a second. I just thought of something.”

“What?” Catherine asked, turning toward him.

“Not now. I’ll tell you later,” he replied, absorbed by Lala’s interview.

“Fine, but for goodness’ sake, write it down so you don’t forget it.”

She tossed him a copy of Hello! magazine and a pen.

“Did you spend much time together?” the inspector asked.

“Only the way one does with fellow hotel guests.”

“Did you keep in touch with Miss Dey after you left Samsara last year?”

“How do you mean?” Lala asked, polite.

“Did you socialize with her over the course of the last year?”

“Not really.” Lala put her finger to her lips, thinking. “I may have seen her at a couple of parties, but I can’t be sure. I wasn’t really paying attention, you see.” She smiled at the inspector and shrugged. “She lived in Europe in any case, didn’t she?”

Lala’s lawyer put his hand on the table.

“Do you know where in Europe?”

Lala shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t,” she replied with a wan smile.

“Apologies. I know this will be difficult for you to discuss, but my understanding is that you discovered Miss Dey’s body.”

“Yes,” Lala replied. “Yes, I did.”

She closed her eyes briefly.

Inspector Singh allowed her a moment.

“Can you please tell me a bit about the circumstances?” he continued, gentle.

“We’d all left to stargaze. Ro Krishna and I stopped in the spa to get everyone blankets. And then, when we were leaving the building, I turned, and I saw …”

Lala’s voice began to falter. Her lawyer put his hand on her arm.

She turned to him. “It’s all right,” she said, brave. “I can keep going.”

He looked her intently in the eye, then removed his hand and sat back.

Catherine chuckled.

“I saw something white. Something that didn’t belong there.”

“It was very dark, and the body was actually quite covered.”

Inspector Singh leaned in slightly.

“How did you manage to see it?”

“I have unusually good eyesight.

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