A MURDER AND A MYSTERY

CHAPTER 9: HEADWAY

The problem with murder cases is that there are too many strands leading to the criminal. Often, these strands are not visible to naked eye as the human mind finds it difficult to see things in a very broad perspective. But detectives are trained to use their brain differently; they are taught to think "out of the box"; which means they have to separate themselves from the complicating circumstances of the case, stand out of the entire picture and then try to see patterns. Very often, investigations get mired in complexities, with investigators pursuing wrong leads.

There was this case which Williams had cracked; it was not a murder case initially, but a financial scam perpetrated by a chit fund. The company had collected huge sums from foolish investors who were lured by the high returns the company promised in least time. There were complaints followed by investigations. The evidence was quite clearly leading to the Managing Director of the company who, it seemed, was the mastermind behind the scam. There were statements given by key employees implicating the MD. It seemed the employees were quite unaware of the proposed fraud.

Suddenly, one day the MD was found dead; apparently, he had hung himself with a bedsheet in his bedroom. It was strongly believed that as the police were closing in on his fraud, the MD had decided to end his life rather than face charges and imprisonment.

While his team was planning celebrations, Williams was worried about this abrupt ending of the case. For a moment, he decided to eliminate the possibility of the MD being involved in the scam. The moment he did this, further possibilities opened up. He told his team that they had to be sure about the conclusions before the case was closed as solved. He went through the various shreds of evidence once again and decided to re-examine people close to the MD. The result was quite unexpected. A close confidante of the MD who had turned approver to help the police turned out to be the lynchpin. Without the MD's knowledge, he had manipulated records, taking into confidence some senior officials. It turned out that the MD stumbled upon evidence implicating his closest aide and had confronted him. The aide then decided to eliminate the MD and the suicide was staged. It, in fact, turned out to be a well thought out murder.

Williams knew that there would be leads in every case leading to some obvious conclusions, but they could be red herrings, and one could easily be misled. The present case suggested a very obvious conclusion, as everything led to Sebastian. No court or judge would believe his story about his dead wife appearing and showing him the location of the body. No judge would believe that Sebastian slept with a corpse in his flat for days without suspecting anything foul. The rat story would carry little conviction.

For the case to move to the next level, the body needed a name and an identity. Williams had just got what he had wanted. From the list of persons missing he had eliminated everyone who was male; he then eliminated those below 20 yrs and above 40 years. He was left with eighty-six females reported missing between the age-band of 20-40 yrs.

Many reports did not carry photographs of the missing person. This happened, even though you may not believe the reason. The family did not have a recent photograph of the missing person! In many cases, the family would provide an old photograph of the missing person in his or her childhood, which was of no use. In other cases you would get only passport size photographs, making it difficult to identify the person. In some cases, the makeup in the photograph would obscure the real identity of the person. With such photographs, even if the person appeared before you, you may not be able to tell.

Williams was lucky this time. He zeroed in on three photographs which appealed to him. The problem, in this case, was that the body was already well decomposed, and the skin was discolored and even peeling off. The three photographs before Williams belonged to the following girls reported as missing:

Sabina Khan-age 25yrs. A resident of Byculla.

Karina Kapoor-age 27 yrs. Resident of Borivali

Shipra Waghmare-age 27 years. Resident of Parel.

It could be that the corpse was one of these girls or none at all. Williams must now talk to the family of all the three. He first called up Sabina's home and enquired about the complaint. The family was surprised by the call and informed him that the girl had returned home long ago and they had even informed the local police about it. Karina Kapoor's father was nervous when Williams called him up. His girl had gone away and had not returned or called them. They suspected she had eloped with a boy from the neighborhood who was also missing. Without raising alarm, Williams requested him to visit his office for some clarifications.

He then called up Shipra's family. A boy, Gotya, answered his call. His sister had not returned and the family was worried about her whereabouts. He would definitely come over and meet Williams as soon as possible.

What if the body was not identified by both the families? Williams looked at the other photographs once again, but could not pick up anyone who matched his requirements. He hated unidentified bodies that regularly appeared; in many cases, no one would claim the body and the police would have to cremate the body and close the file.

Karina's father turned up first. When Williams told him about a dead body being found that matched his daughter's appearance, the man looked shattered. It just could not be her; the family had known about her liaison with the neighbor for long. She could not have been murdered by the boy who loved her. She could not commit suicide for there was no reason for her to do that.

Williams showed him the photograph of the corpse, and the man jumped up in delight. This was not her, his daughter. Was he sure? The man appeared to be in some confusion; he was not sure, but yet believed that this was not Karina. She always wore a necklace with a pendant and bangles. This woman had nothing on her. The dress too did not belong to his daughter; though it was possible she had bought some new clothes. Williams then took him to the morgue to show him the body. No; this definitely was not his daughter.

Gotya reported in the afternoon. One look at the photograph and he burst in tears. He could not bear the sight of his sister lying in such a state. He then went with Williams to see her body and his worst fears were confirmed. Williams hated these moments of truth. He felt bad for the boy and his family who had lost their child; but was ecstatic that his choice was correct. He now had the lead to move ahead.

Gotya's story tumbled out. He told Williams about the party, her assignments, and her stay at the Bandra guest house on the fateful day with someone important. He told him about his visit and enquiries at the guest house and how one of the employees had told him about Manohar and his possible involvement in the episode.

Williams showed Gotya Sebastian's picture and asked him whether he knew this man. Gotya had never seen this face before. Williams needed time to think over the fresh developments in the case. He asked Gotya to be available when he wanted; in the meantime Gotya should not discuss the case with anyone including his family. If there was any fresh information, he should contact Williams.