Disclaimer: Not proof read. If you find any mistakes, please read and move on.
Chapter 21:
--8:00 AM Friday, Police Station –
"I am here. What do you want? And where is Robin?" Emily asked Maan.
"You have seen the file Deshmukh received from detective agency right? I know you were badgering Deshmukh last night for it." Maan replied wryly and as if remembering something he asked, "Who is Robin?"
"You don't know? You and Satya are our own Batman and Robin." Emily asked smiling.
"And what does that make you?" Maan asked flashing her a smile. Emily merely rolled her eyes at that. "Satya will be in interview room with me," Maan said.
"Emily, did you find out who posted that comment on Sasha's blog?"
"Maan, these kinds of things take time in real life unlike TV shows." Emily replied.
"I need you to do something. Can you go talk to Geet?" Maan asked. Emily looked surprised.
"Sure I will. But why am I going alone?" Emily asked curiously.
"She is hiding a lot Emily. And given the circumstances I think she would be more forthright with you rather than anyone else. You seemed to have built a rapport with her. The last time Satya and I interviewed her, she was here with Mal," Maan said.
"What should be my method of interrogation?" Emily asked.
"Play it casual and talk to her about Mal. Ensure that in the beginning every question you ask must revolve around one of the dead women. Once she is comfortable and is nostalgic, bring in Varun. I am sure she knows more than she is letting us on. For all you know she might be in with Mal on this from the very start and is taking us all for a ride," Maan said. Emily raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Emily, don't under estimate Geet. She is extremely smart in the way she answers questions. Remember when you told me that Geet told you how she made a call to Mal that night of Anjali's murder which coincided with time of death?" Maan asked and Emily nodded in response. Maan continued, "I found it odd because Geet had told me that she spoke to Mal around midnight and assured me that there were no other calls."
"She is lying, obviously," Emily said.
"No, she isn't. She answered specific to what I asked. She didn't tell us about Mal calling her around the time of death because we didn't ask her. And when she answered my question about someone contacting her, she answered it with time in perspective which is actually after midnight. So technically, she isn't lying." Maan finished.
"Did she do that intentionally or was she simply being specific?" Emily asked.
"I have no idea." Maan sighed.
"By the way, can I use Vikram's affair as a wildcard?" Emily asked. Maan nodded.
"See you later Batman," Emily left without much further deliberation.
"See you later Catgirl," Maan said after she left his cabin. It was however immediately opened by Satya.
"Varun is here sir ji."
"Let's go talk to him," Maan said.
Once they reached interview room, they introduced themselves before they began questioning. It was clearly evident to Maan that Satya didn't like Varun.
"How and when did you meet Mal?" Satya asked diving right in as soon as the recorder was turned on.
"Mal and I met almost four years ago when she came to my gallery looking for some pieces. She and I hit it off instantly and we have been friends ever since."
"Did your relationship with her ventured outside your professional boundaries too?" Satya asked. Maan couldn't help but wonder how politically correct Satya was and how Emily would have plaintively asked, "Are you sleeping with her?"
"We were good friends," Varun answered stoically. Satya rolled his eyes.
"We have witnesses saying otherwise." Satya said mentally twisting the statement given by Mal's neighbor. Maan could see that Varun was conflicted. Neither Satya nor Maan said anything but patiently waited for him to make up his mind.
"Well…alright…yeah. We were kind of attracted to each other since we first met and we have been seeing each other in secret ever since. My brother wouldn't have approved of it though," Varun said.
"Why not?" Maan asked.
"He didn't like Mal very much. He met her a few times she was in my gallery and they always ended up having heated arguments."
"About what?" Satya asked.
"I think they argued about how Vikram cheated her with few art pieces before. I am not sure how familiar you are with the world of art but few years ago Vikram was accused of selling fakes. Mal was convinced that Vikram got away scot free while she faced the brunt of her clients." Varun paused. "I sometimes thought that Mal got close to me only to make me turn against my brother. But I realized a year or so later that she genuinely cared for me," Varun finished.
"When did you meet Geet?" Maan asked.
"I met Geet almost two years ago. She had come in with her new flat mate and also her old flat mate – Sasha. Vikram wasn't in town then and for all practical purposes Mal tried to ignore the fact I actually had an older brother so his name was never brought up that evening. It was one of the best evenings I had without my brother hover our every move," Varun replied.
"Did you and Mal date publicly?" Maan asked.
"Not really, no. Our relationship was too complex to take it to public sir. Sometimes we would talk every hour about everything under the sun and then sometimes we wouldn't speak to each other at all. We both liked our personal spaces and we were both okay with this arrangement."
"Did you meet Sasha after that evening?" Maan asked.
"No sir I didn't. A few months later I heard from Mal that she died. Poor woman," Varun sympathized.
"But when Mal was here she said that Geet moved out of her apartment because Mal's boyfriend had planned to move in? Were you planning to move in?" Satya asked.
"Well, I wasn't her boyfriend exactly." Varun said sheepishly. Satya banged the file he was holding on the table.
"Would you cut the crap and tell us the truth? Last time Geet and Mal both wasted our time and made us run around and look where it has gotten us," Satya replied in anger.
"Mal's boyfriend wasn't really a boyfriend. They were two convenient friends who found being in each other's company was better than being lonely. When Mal got pregnant, I honestly told her that I would continue to be her friend and it was time she should commit to that man. Even he agreed to it and decided to move in with her. But she lost the baby and she became this depressed and bitter woman which drove the man nuts. I advised him to move out and lead a life without Mal. He didn't have any problem with it so he left." Varun replied.
"Do you know who her boyfriend was?" Satya asked.
"I will give you his details officer," Varun replied.
"Did Mal ever talk about her friends?" Maan asked.
"She talked about them few times, mostly about what they have been up to, things like that," Varun replied.
"How well did you know Anjali?" Satya asked the question he had been dying to ask the entire morning.
"Well, I didn't know her very well actually. I met her couple of times whenever I had an exhibition or a party and that's about it." Varun replied.
"Funny when you say that Varun seeing how contradicting your statement is when you take a look at this photo," Satya slammed a photo of Varun and Anjali in compromising position. Varun paled.
"How did you get these photos?" Varun whispered hoarsely.
"Mal had hired a private detective agency and they were following Anjali and taking these pictures." Maan didn't give him any further details.
"Mal had them all the time?" Varun looked terribly exhausted all of a sudden. Satya could only nod.
"Was she jealous of this and killed Anjali?" Varun looked horrified. Neither Satya nor Maan could answer that.
"She was devastated when she told me about the affair between Anjali and my brother Vikram. She really likes Geet as her own sibling, you know. She couldn't tolerate when Anjali started sleeping with my brother. I went to talk to Anjali couple of times at her workplace but she always shooed me away. And when I went to her apartment we were doomed." Varun said.
"Well you are doomed in a way Varun. Thank you for your time and we will come to your gallery or studio if we have any further questions." Maan said standing up.
"How much did Mal talk about Geet?" Maan asked collecting the files.
"In the beginning it was one of those things a person talks about, you know about roommates and all? But with Mal it was different. She talked as if Geet was another personality of her, someone who she knew very well and sometimes not known at all. It was little weird actually." Varun said sighing. Maan could see that he was feeling terrible about cheating on Mal. But there was something about Varun that was off. He had given the right expressions in all the right places and had lied about exactly the same things he was expected to lie and had accepted the truth when countered. His interview was perfect and that's where Maan had problem with. The story between him, Anjali and Mal wasn't as simple as Varun made it out to be.
"You should get a new bandage for your hands Varun. Looks like its bleeding," Satya said pointing to Varun's palm which indeed was bleeding. Varun paled at this.
To be continued.
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