SS- Sepulchre by the sea - Chapter 4, Pg 5, 20 Oct - Page 2

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Krishnaluv94 thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#11
I'm lovin' it. (I know, I'm weird. lol) Does the victim own that perfume or whatever smell that is? Jealousy? A broken heart?

Awesome, S! Can't wait to read more!
_mahi_ thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#12
very well written dear👏.. must say that you are good at writing thriller stories😃
do update soon😳
Sneha113 thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#13
i dont think i can find words to criticise you as you have beautifully portrayed the genre 😊
loving this mystery!!
update soon 😊
-Sookie- thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#14

Chapter 2:

"I can't believe Piyush Malhotra is dead." Manu Kumar collapsed on his chair. The reaction on his face was genuine or he was a brilliant actor.

"Where were you last night?" Arjun asked diving right in.

"I was here, at office. There was a video conference arranged with an American client and due to time difference, we have meetings late in night."

"Why wasn't Piyush here with you?"

"There isn't a need for both of us to be here. One of us attends the meeting and update the other next morning. I have been attending the meetings for past three months now," he shrugged.

"Are you Piyush Malhotra's partner in this invest firm?" Riya asked taking out her notebook.

"We have been friends all our lives; we met first time in college and opened this firm more than a decade ago. He is…was my best friend," Manu Kumar whispered. Arjun and Riya exchanged looks.

"Do you know anyone who might have grudge against him – probably some unhappy clients?" Arjun asked.

"We don't operation on margins like that sir. Our investments have been safe and stable for years and rarely take any risk. We deal in a way to ensure that clients get moderate profits with lesser risks. So no; as far as Piyush is concerned, he didn't have any customers who would take it as far as killing him." Manu Kumar replied.

"What about his other friends?" Riya asked.

"Piyush was a loner and didn't have many friends in his life. He isn't very close to his family either. He was married eight years ago but the marriage didn't last. She divorced him after two years of marriage. After that he pursued relationship few times but none of them lasted. He has been single for most part of last five years. My wife and I are the only family he has…had." Manu replied.

"Was he seeing anyone recently?" Arjun asked.

"I don't think so. Maybe you should ask my wife about it as he would talk about his personal life with her." Manu said scribbling his residence address and his wife's number on a post-it.

"Thank you." Riya said. "Please come to the police station tomorrow to sign your statement. Also we will be interviewing rest of your staff. Let them know about it." She added.

Three hours later, Arjun and Riya walked out of the investment firm after taking statements from the staff. The staff seemed surprised and shocked at their boss's death and few had even tears in their eyes. Apparently Piyush was a boss to look up to.

"They all seem to be rattled by his friend's death." Riya noted as they walked towards the SUV. As she was opening the SUV door, her eyes trailed across the road and latched on to the man who was standing in front of a small box like shop and sulking. "Sir, I will be back in a minute," she said and crossed the street hurriedly. To let Arjun in on whatever she was doing, she secured Bluetooth earpiece in her ears and dialed his number on phone.

"Are you going to talk to that office boy we first interviewed?" Arjun asked.

"You don't believe that he is telling us the complete truth, do you?" She asked.

"How did you know that?" He asked, watching her back as she stood on the street divider and waited till the incoming traffic slowed.

"You had that….look." She said. He could hear traces of embarrassment in her voice. "It's an unmistaken symbol of doubt and disbelief." She added.

"I don't have any look," he replied, annoyed but amused nonetheless. He hadn't pegged her for an observation junkie like him. Maybe she was hanging around him little more than necessary.

"Can I have a bottle of water?" Riya asked the shopkeeper ignoring the office boy standing right next to her. She was waiting for the right moment to strike a conversation. She handed the shop keeper a thousand rupee note and smiled brilliantly at him.

"Sorry ma'am, I don't have change for this," the shop keeper trailed. She put on her best damsel-in-dress face and brought out dimpled smile.

"I am so sorry. Can you please get change from next store? I can wait!" She said chirpily.

"It's not going to work," Arjun sang watching the scene unfold across the street.

"Sorry, I can't do that…" The shop keeper was trying very hard not to give into her charm.

"Please….." She said leaning several inches closer. The man looked at her for ten seconds and finally gave in.

"Please wait for few minutes; I'll see what I can do." He said and walked out.

"Dumbass," Arjun sighed. She turned around and gave him a smug smile of victory. He simply shook his head.

"You are…Sunil, right?" She asked the young man standing in corner. He nodded.

"Will you catch the person who killed Piyush sir?" He asked worriedly.

"We will do everything in our power to do so. Were you close to him?" She asked.

"He was very nice to me. There aren't many people in our office who take notice of me or show me some respect but Piyush sir wasn't like that at all. We spoke freely after office hours when he was feeling too lonely to go home. I used to sit with him and he used to tell me lot of things – about the world of finance and sometimes about himself."

"Did he talk to you about his personal life?" Riya asked. Sunil looked torn. "Sunil," she said her voice barely above whisper. "You aren't breaking any vows of confidentiality. Whatever you say will help the investigation further and can take us several steps closer to the killer." Riya said softly. The right modulation in her voice affected Sunil.

"I think its fault of Roopa ma'am. She was sir's ex-wife and she came to meet him three weeks ago. Since then he has been a bit upset."

"Do you know what was it?" Riya urged. Sunil shook his head.

"Sir never told me what happened that night. It was an average weekday and late in evening, Roopa ma'am came to office to meet him. She left after an hour along with sir. After that evening, sir always looked lost in his thoughts and bit dull. When I asked him he smiled and shook his head but didn't answer my question."

"Why did Roopa and Piyush separate?" Riya cottoned on.

"Roopa ma'am thought that sir was having an affair with someone when in reality it wasn't true. She once came to office and had a huge fight with him. She was telling him that the flowers he gets couple of days a month and occasional gift all pointed to that fact." Sunil replied.

"Who sent him those flowers and gifts?" Riya asked, surprised at the new found information.

"He didn't know. He still keeps getting flowers and gifts occasionally – like some important festival or his birthday and some odd days too." Sunil replied.

"Are they delivered to office?" Riya asked.

"Sometimes they are delivered to office and sometimes at his home. He used to get very upset the day the flowers or gift arrived."

"Ask him what Piyush did with gifts Riya," Arjun said. Riya repeated the question to Sunil.

"I don't know ma'am. When I asked him, he never replied."

"Here is the change," the shop keeper said handing her notes and coins, smiling wanly. Riya accepted the notes and coins with a smile of her own.

She turned to Sunil and said, "If you remember anything else, don't hesitate to call me." She patted his back and walked back to the SUV.

She silently climbed the vehicle and strapped the seat belt. "Not bad Riya," he said offering rarest smile.

"Thank you sir," she said smile reaching her eyes. "I'll get Shree to get more information on Roopa."

To be continued.
SIP1997 thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#15
Very nice story, loved the way Riya is so confident. Continue soon please.
Sabina_Ansari thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#16
Riya is so confident here,..
Loved the update...
Plz update soon..
Mimi2609 thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#17
wonderful update...
Riya was just awesome👍🏼
Please continue soon...
Ur story is very interesting😊
her_story thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#18
Loving this Sooks...
Glad to see you here... Looking forward to some great stories to read :)
Krishnaluv94 thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#19
S, I just love your stories! They keep me on my toes. Awesome update.



Edited by Krishnaluv94 - 13 years ago
rainydays. thumbnail
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Posted: 13 years ago
#20
I love your SS <3 It's awesome. I actually had more to say but then I accidentally pressed backspace and it all went bye bye =/

Anywho, I loved this part. Especially when Arjun's comment about the shopkeeper🤣 Can't wait to read the next part!

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