Chapter 3

Mr. Wahlia read out the terms of Shyam Manohar Jha's will. It was quite simple. He left everything he owned to be divided equally among his wife and sister.

"As you all have heard, the contents of the will leaves half of his fortune to his widow Anjali and the rest to his sister Payal."

Inspector Kashyap looked around the room, studying everyone's face in turn.

"Next we must look at motives. Right now, the strongest motive lies with both Anjali and Payal."

Arnav stood up in a flash and looked at the Inspector with outraged eyes.

"Are you trying to insinuate that my sister killed Jeejaji? Are you insane?"

"No. I did not insinuate anything. I am merely stating a fact. And you would do well to keep your temper under control Mr. Raizada."

Lavanya shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Whenever her brother addressed anyone by their last name, it meant that he was definitely angry. She pulled on Arnav's sleeve, beckoning him to sit down.

"I ask each of you to not leave this house until further investigation is completed. Mrs. Jha, I assume that there are enough rooms in this house to accommodate a few guests?"

Anjali nodded her head, unsure of what to do. Her brother's temper was rising and it looked like the Inspector was not too pleased either.

...

Khushi walked into the library, her mind lost in thoughts. She didn't realize that there was a person in front of her and collided headlong into him. She instantly felt two strong arms come around her and the shiver which went along her spine confirmed that she was in the arms of the last person whom she wanted to meet at the moment.

Arnav looked down into angry, hazel eyes and felt an irrational rage engulf him. He let go of the girl roughly and was satisfied to see her gasp in surprise.

"Why am I not surprised? As always, you're found throwing yourself in a rich man's arms."

Khushi could feel her own temper rising as she registered his sneering voice. She wasn't sure what she had done to earn such abominable behavior from him. But she always gave back as good as she got. Therefore, she opened her mouth and practically spat out her response.

"It's amazing how people with eyes are unable to see. But then, you are one such living example."

They stood like that for a long time, glaring at each other with eyes full of hatred. She because he had unfairly judged her and labeled her as something she was not and he because he felt she had led him on.

...

Laxmi opened the door and was greeted by an unfamiliar figure. She had light brown curls which reached just below her shoulders, an oval face, small black eyes and a scarlet mouth. She was quite tall and possessed a well bred air.

"Yes?"

"Umm... is this the Raizada Mansion?"

"It is. Who are you?"

"I'm Malini Joshi, NK's fiance."

...

"Malu! I'm so glad to see you! You don't know how bored I was in this house. No one here knows anything about fashion. It's quite stifling in fact."

"Don't worry Paro, I'm here now. But you shouldn't talk about people like that."

"Why shouldn't I? It's the truth! I hate this place. Not a single person is nice to me and I was feeling so lost till you came."

Khushi was about to go into her room when she heard voices from the next room. Curiosity overpowered her and she went near the door to listen to the new voice which was speaking to NK's spoilt little sister.

"Where's NK?"

"Oh come on Malu! You can forget about my brother for a bit, can't you? I know he's your fianc but you don't have to look for him as soon as you enter. You're my best friend first!"

"Ok ok. Relax Paro. I'll meet him later. At least tell me where he is."

"Probably with ASR."

"Who's ASR?"

"Probably the most handsome and eligible bachelor in Delhi. He's just so good looking Malu. In fact, this stupid murder business might actually be a blessing in disguise. I'll make the most of this opportunity and make him mine!"

Malini shook her head in despair as Parvati ranted about how she was going to get Arnav Singh Raizada to fall for her.

She didn't notice the pair of livid, hazel eyes glaring at her best friend. Khushi didn't know why but she felt unbearably angry and disgusted after listening to Parvati's words. Why should it matter to her if random girls were getting ready to fling themselves onto him? She couldn't care less!

...

Inspector Kashyap looked at the notebook in his hands. He went through the contents to check whether there were any mistakes.

Motives

1. Anjali Jha - Comes into a substantial amount of money

2. Payal Jha - Inherits money and can marry her long time boyfriend

3. Akash Gupta - Free to marry his girlfriend without her having to be cut off from her inheritance

4. Khushi Kumari Gupta - Her brother is able to marry a very wealthy girl, thereby establishing their family

5. NK Mehra - ?

6. Parvati Mehra - ?

7. Arnav Singh Raizada - ?

It was really not much to go on but at least it was a good start. Now he needed to speak to NK's fiance and determine whether he could have any way of benefiting from Shyam's death.

...

"Good morning Ms. Joshi. I understand that you are NK's fiance?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Could you please tell me a little bit about how you two got engaged?"

"Well, I work in NK's father's company as the General Secretary. We met a couple of years ago and we've been engaged for almost five months now."

"So you work for Mehras Inc.? That's interesting. I wonder if you could tell me whether NK could have any reason to want Mr. Jha dead."

He watched as she folded her well manicured hands together and looked at him in a determined way. She seemed like a woman who was in control of her emotions and not much could get her flustered.

"As far as I know, he has no such reason. But I did hear something about the company fighting a case of fraud for a couple of weeks now. It's very hush hush but I think Mr. Jha was the opposition's lawyer."

Inspector Kashyap nodded his head and thanked her for her cooperation. He followed her out and seated himself inside his jeep, all the while not betraying the shock that her words had created within him. He needed to find out more about Mehras Inc. and he needed to find out soon.

So that was chapter three. I'm continuously writing, so the faster you guys comment, the faster I put up the chapters. I've finished chapter four as well. But I'll only put it up after I get enough comments. 😆

Chapter Four - Time Heals, But How Much?