Eternal Return: Ch 9-16 summary; 26/July/2015; pg 101 - Page 32

Originally posted by: -pixie-

@Moksha: Thats a really interesting hypothesis. I am not sure if the child would be capable of stabbing them both. Then who stabbed the mother?

Originally posted by: hegdemedha

Has the mother also been added to the list of suspects?

Do we know the day of the week that the murders took place? If it was a weekday, was there anything unusual that the classmates of the boy noticed? Classes at school for a13-year old generally start in the morning, right? If this was the case for Guha Junior too, did any friend / classmate attempt to reach him to find out the reason for his absence?

And, why did the cops call Mr Guha's employer in order to contact him? Could not they have contacted Mr Guha directly? Or is Mr Guha one of those laudable humans who refuses to use a cellphone (and rely instead on more traditional means such as the daakiya, of course:-))?

PS: All I seem to have are more questions. Will be back again tomorrow.

Dear Reader,

If you think additional information is needed (evidence - forensic or behavior, witnesses et al) with respect to first murders, drop in a comment with reasons :-)

Thanks!

Chapter 11:

"We will start with the assumption that both the double homicides were done by same perpetrator. Once we have assessed both the cases, we will evaluate the overlaps and see if the original assumption is correct or not." Maan said pinning up the last of the crime scene photos he had picked up from file. "Satya, start with the first murder," he added.

"Anuj Bhagat and his daughter Nisha Bhagat were found murdered by the house help on 13^th October. The call came in at 09:17 from the woman using the phone in the house itself. She had come in to work at nine in the morning and saw that the main door was left ajar. She found the victims in master bedroom - the girl was laid out on bed while the father was lying on the ground."

"Same signature as the second murder. Where was the mother?" Geet asked.

"Pratima Bhagat was spending the night at her sister's house. The house help called her right after she made the 100 call." Satya replied.

"The forensics report shows that the father sustained several injuries on his torso. The fatal injury was the one at the neck however he didn't die immediately. He bled out to death just like his daughter. There were no sexual assaults made on either of them."

"What about their background?" Maan asked.

"Anuj Bhagat was a writer, a published novelist. His wife, Pratima Bhagat works in a reputed fashion house. Mr. Bhagat mostly stayed at home and worked on his books and was the looked after their daughter."

"So the primary caretaker and the child die when the dominant parent is away from home." Geet observed. "How did the killer get in?" She asked.

"We have no idea. There were no evidences of breaking and entering or damages to windows." Satya replied.

"Did the house help and others who regularly visit the house check out?" Emily asked.

"Everyone is clean. The people who work around the house have rock solid alibi and they have been accounted for by Mrs. Bhagat herself. They have been around the house for a long time."

"Did Mr. Bhagat have an affair?" Maan asked.

"According to Mrs. Bhagat, her husband was quite faithful to her. However there were times when he slipped. Most of his affairs were short lived and he always came back to his wife and daughter."

"Mistresses or escorts?" Maan asked again.

"Mistresses, we think. Three of them checked out. Two of them don't live here anymore nor were they in the city on the day of murder. One is married and her alibi checks out. Fourth one however is unaccounted for." Satya said.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"Mrs. Bhagat mentioned that Anuj Bhagat had four affairs in their ten years of marriage. We could only find three of them. We haven't been able to find the last person he was having an affair with. Mrs. Bhagat gave a statement saying that she was sure that her husband had terminated the relationship five months ago and he hadn't had any contact later on."

"He was quite forthright with his clandestine relationships and his wife didn't put up a fight. It's weird actually," Emily noted.

"They must be having a fully functional symbiotic relationship. The relationship between them could have been reduced to what society dictates them to be in the eyes of public where as in private, they can be whatever or whoever they want to be. She has a high profile career and he is almost parasitic given how his novels sucked," Maan shrugged at the last part. "Whatever the definition of their relationship is, Mrs. Bhagat gave us a statement and it checked out."

"Didn't neighbors hear anything?" Emily asked.

"No. The house is approximately four thousand square feet with quite large lawn space around the house. The property is sealed off by a high raised wall like the rest of the houses in the locality. No one heard or saw anything."

"So a man comes inside the house and kills two people leaving no forensic evidence. No foreign prints or DNA were found on any windows or doors and not even in crime scene. The murder weapon was picked from kitchen as the house help has identified. The handle was wiped clean and thrown on the floor." Emily summarized.

"Revenge could be a motive though it wouldn't explain the overkill," Satya said.

"What is it Geet?" Maan asked when he saw Geet looking at a picture intently. She wasn't responsive for several moments but when she finally looked up, her eyes challenged Maan.

"Look at this," she placed the photo on the table. Maan paled.

It was the hand of a child with slight serration marks just below the fingers. As every wound on the girl's body was photographed, the one on the palm was too but wasn't categorized under defensive wound or stab wound. It was deeper than a scratch but shallower than stab wound.

No one had paid attention to that little detail till David pointed out similar markings on the latest victim.

The homicides did seem connected after all.

To be continued.

Note: Update is tomorrow and it will pick up right where it is now left. Why the frack is this story seem much complicated than Till Human Voices..? Is it only me who is feeling this way or is there anyone else who feel the same???