FF:Murder Mystery-'The Hidden Cat';Ch6;Pg:14;8/9 - Page 6

"Well, here we are, all set," said Miss Pia. She looked round the drawing-room with an appraising eye.

Little Villa was a Medium-sized house. It had a long shallow veranda and green shuttered windows. The long, narrow drawing-room which lost a good deal of light had double doors at one end leading into a small room with a window. But the end door is hardly used. There was a fireplace each end, but neither fire was lit, although a gentle warmth pervaded the room.

"Oh, the Central heating is on Aunt Pia," said Prateek. Miss Pia nodded.

"It's getting very cold by evening these days. So I asked Maya to switch it on."

There were some funny discussions among them. And they started teasing each other and more of Maya and her cooking and working style.

The door opened and Sameera came in. She was fair. She looked round the room in surprise. "Hello," she said. "Is it a party? Nobody told me."

"Of course," cried Prateek. "Our Sameera doesn't know. The only woman in Little Villa Community who doesn't, I bet." Sameera looked at him inquiringly.

"Here you behold," said Prateek dramatically, waving a hand, "the scene of a murder!"

Sameera looked faintly puzzled and looked inquiringly at Miss Pia.

"Is it a joke?" she asked. "I'm always terribly stupid at seeing jokes."

"It's a very nasty joke," said Mrs. Bharti with energy. "I don't like it at all."

"Show her the advertisement," said Miss Pia. "I must water the plants."

"Let me do it," said Sameera.

"Certainly not, my dear. You've finished your day's work."

"I'll do it, Aunt Pia," offered Prateek.

"No, you won't," said Miss Pia with energy. "I can't trust you."

"I'll do it, Pia dear," said Mrs. Bharti. "Indeed, I would love to."

But Miss Pia, with a smile, had already left the room.

"It's no good, Bunny," said Prateek. "Aunt Pia's so efficient that she can never bear anybody else to do things for her. She really much prefers to do everything herself."

"She loves it," said Pranavi.

"I didn't notice you making any offers of assistance," said her brother. Pranavi smiled lazily.

"You've just said Aunt Pia likes to do things herself," she pointed out.

They argued regarding the notice in the paper and the death and all.

"Won't somebody please tell me," cried Sameera, "why there is a talk on death?"

Everybody tried to tell her at once - nobody could find the paper to show her because Maya had taken it into the kitchen. Miss Pia returned a few minutes later.

"There," she said, "that's done." She glanced at the clock.

"It's 6.40 P.M. Somebody ought to be here soon - unless I'm entirely wrong in my estimate of my neighbours."

"I don't see why anybody should come," said Sameera, looking bewildered.

"Don't you, dear?... I dare say you wouldn't. But most people are rather more curious than you are."

"Sameera's attitude to life is that she just isn't interested," said Pranavi, rather nastily.

Sameera did not reply.

Miss Pia was glancing round the room. Maya had put the three snack dishes and also some pastries on the table in the middle of the room.

"You might move that tray - or the whole table if you like in to other room, Prateek, if you don't mind. After all, I am not giving a party! I haven't asked anyone. And I don't intend to make it obvious that I expect people to turn up."

"You wish, Aunt Pia, to disguise your intelligent anticipation?"

"Very nicely put, Prateek. Thank you, my dear boy."

"Now we can all give a lovely performance of a quiet evening at home," said Pranavi, "and be quite surprised when somebody drops in."

"Hush," said Miss Pia quickly. "That's the bell. You see, my intelligent anticipation is being justified."

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Maya opened the door of the drawing-room. She had her own methods of announcing people. "Here is Mr. & Mrs. Varma to see you," she said conversationally.

They entered seeming to be normal to cover their embarrassment.

"Hope you don't mind us dropping in," he said. "Happened to be passing this way? Quite a mild evening. Noticed you've got your central heating on. We haven't started ours yet."

"Aren't your Flowers lovely?" gushed Mrs. Supriya looking at the flower vases. "Such beauties!"

"They're rather scraggy, really," said Pranavi.

Mrs. Supriya greeted Sameera with a little extra cordiality.

Maya opened the door again and said: "Here are the ladies."

"'Evening," said Miss Sunidhi, striding over and taking Miss Pia's hand in her formidable grip. "I said to Suhasi: 'Let's just drop in at Little Villa.' It's been long since we met. "

"The evenings do draw in so quickly now, don't they?" said Miss Suhasi to Prateek in a rather fluttery way. "

"You've got your central heating on," said Miss Sunidhi. She said it accusingly. "Very early."

"I don't like the news," said Mr. Suraj Varma to Prateek.

"I never pay any attention to news," said Prateek.

Once more the door opened and Mrs. Sanskriti came in.

"Hello, Miss Pia," she exclaimed. After some discussion "Supreet can't be here," she said.

The door again opened and Mrs. Aarti came in rather guiltily, followed by uncomfortable Anmol.

"Here we are!" said Mrs. Aarti with curiosity. Then, feeling suddenly uncomfortable, she went on: "I'm not too late, am I? When does the murder begin?"

"You've got your central heating on, haven't you?" asked Anmol, with an air of originality.

Who ever entered every one were asking about the flowers in the vase and about the central heating. "Aren't people just like gramophone records?" murmured Pranavi.

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There was an audible series of gasps. Pranavi gave an approving little giggle, Prateek crinkled up his face and Miss Pia smiled at her latest guest.

Miss Pia looked at the clock on the mantelpiece.

"If it's going to begin," she said cheerfully, "it ought to begin soon. It's just a minute to the hour. In the meantime, have a glass of Wine."

Miss Pia went to the table by the archway where the Wine bottles were placed.

"I'd love some Wine," said Mrs. Aarti. "But what do you mean by if?"

"Well," said Miss Pia. "I'm as much in the dark as you are. I don't know what -"

She stopped and turned her head as the little clock on the mantelpiece began to strick. Everybody was silent and nobody moved. They all stared at the clock. As the last note died away all the lights went out.

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Delighted gasps and feminine squeaks of appreciation were heard in the darkness. "It's beginning," cried Mrs. Aarti. Mrs. Bharti's voice cried out, "Oh, I don't like it!" Other voices said, "How terribly frightening!"

"Raj, where are you?" "What do I have to do?" "Oh, dear - did I step on your foot? I'm so sorry" cried Mrs. Priya.

Then, with a crash the door swung open. A powerful flashlight played rapidly round the room. A man's husky voice said, "put ur hands up, I tell you!" the voice barked. Delightedly, hands were raised above heads.

"Isn't it wonderful?" breathed a female voice. "I'm so thrilled."

And then, unexpectedly, a revolver spoke. It spoke twice. The ping of two bullets shattered the silence of the room. Suddenly the game was no longer a game.

Somebody screamed... The figure in the doorway whirled suddenly round, a third shot rang out. Flashlight dropped and went out.

There was darkness once again.

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Inside the drawing-room various voices spoke at once.

"Lights."

"Can't you find the switch?"

"Who's got a lighter?"

"Oh, I don't like it, I don't like it."

"But those shots were real!"

"It was a real revolver he had."

"Was it a burglar?"

"Oh, Raj, I want to get out of here."

"Please, has somebody got a lighter?"

And then, almost at the same moment, two lighters clicked and burned with small steady flames. Everybody blinked and peered at each other. Startled face looked into startled face. Against the wall by the archway Miss Pia stood with her hand up to her face. The light was too dim to show more than that something dark was trickling over her fingers.

Mr. Suraj Varma cleared his throat and rose to the occasion.

"Try the switches, Anmol," he ordered.

Anmol, near the door, obediently jerked the switch up and down.

"Off at the main, or a fuse," said Raj. "Who's making that awful sound?"

A female voice had been screaming steadily from somewhere beyond the closed door. It rose now in pitch and with it came the sound of fists hammering on a door.

Mrs. Bharti, who had been sobbing quietly, called out: "It's Maya.

Somebody's murdering Maya..."

Prateek said: "No such luck."

Miss Pia said: "We must get candles. Prateek, will you -"

Suraj was already opening the door. He and Anmol, their lighters flickering, stepped into the hall.

They almost stumbled over a recumbent figure there.

"Where's that woman making that hellish noise?" said Suraj.

"In the dining-room," said Anmol.

The dining-room was just across the hall. Someone was beating on the panels and howling and screaming.

"She's locked in," said Anmol, stooping down. He turned the key and Maya came out like a tiger.

The dining-room light was still on. Maya continued to scream.

"Be quiet, Maya," said Miss Pia.

"Stop it," said Anmol, and as Maya didn't stop screaming, he leaned forward and gave her a sharp slap on the cheek.

Maya gasped and hiccupped into silence.

"Get some candles," said Miss Pia. "In the kitchen cupboard. Prateek, you know where the fuse box is?"

"The room beside the Kitchen? Right, I'll see what I can do."

Miss Pia had moved forward into the light thrown from the dining room and Mrs. Bharti gave a sobbing gasp. Maya let out another full blooded scream.

"The blood, the blood!" she gasped. "You are shot - Miss Pia, you bleed to death."

"Don't be so stupid," snapped Miss Pia. "I'm hardly hurt at all. It just grazed my ear."

"But Aunt Pia," said Pranavi, "the blood."

And indeed Miss Pia's white blouse and pearls and her hand were of horrifying sight.

"Ears always bleed," said Miss Pia. "I remember fainting when I was a child. The man had only just snipped my ear.

There seemed to be a basin of blood at once. But we must have some light."

"I get the candles," said Maya.

Pranavi went with her and they returned with several candles stuck into candle stands.

"Now let's have a look at our malefactor," said Suraj. "Hold the candles down low, will you, Anmol? As many as you can."

"I'll come the other side," said Sameera.

With a steady hand she took a couple of candles. Mr. Suraj Varma knelt down.

There was a black mask over the face and he wore black cotton gloves. Mr. Suraj Varma turned him over, felt the pulse, the heart... then drew away his fingers with an exclamation of distaste, looking down on them. They were sticky and red.

"Shot himself," he said.

"Is he badly hurt?" asked Miss Pia,

"H'm. I'm afraid he's dead... May have been suicide - or he may have tripped himself up with that the revolver went off as he fell. If I could see better -" At that moment, as though by magic, the lights came on again.

With a queer feeling of unreality those inhabitants of Little Villa Community who stood in the hall of Little Villa realised that they stood in the presence of violent and sudden death. Mr. Suraj Varma's hand was stained red. Blood was still trickling down Miss Pia's neck over her blouse and Saree.

Prateek, coming from the dining-room, said, "It seemed to be just one fuse gone..." He stopped. Mr. Suraj Varma tugged at the small black mask.

"Better see who the fellow is," he said. "Though I don't suppose it's anyone we know..."

He detached the mask. Necks were craned forward. Maya hiccupped and gasped, but the others were very quiet.

"He's quite young," said Mrs. Sanskriti with a note of pity in her voice.

And suddenly Mrs. Bharti cried out excitedly:

"Pia, Pia, it's the young man from the Hotel in Center. The one who came out here and wanted you to give him money to get back to Calcutta and you refused. I suppose the whole thing was just a pretext - to spy out the house... Oh, dear - he might easily have killed you..."

Chapter 2 - Completed