Free Seduced by Murder by Saurbh Katyal Page A

currency is authentic.”
    Five crores in cash. The inspector was stumped, the detective was tempted, and the rich dad’s son was nonchalant. Life was fair.
    Babu looked at Leo menacingly and said, “You better have an explanation for this.”
    “I … I earned it”.
    I placed the scissors below his chin, and lifted his face. “Either Anil gave it to you, or you stole it from him. Which one?”
    All that crap about the eyes not lying is actually true. He knew that I knew, and he knew that he was cornered. His eyes conceded defeat and he said, “I didn’t steal it from Anil. He gave it to me. Can you light a cigarette for me, please?”
    Vimal spoke up. “That is a load of bullshit. Anil would never give that kind of money to you.”
    “I think he did,” I said.
    I picked up Babu’s keys from the bed, and unlocked Leo’s handcuffs. He took a cigarette from his pack, lit it, inhaled deeply, and immediately relaxed.
    “Thanks a lot.”
    “No sudden movements,” Babu threatened him. Then, turning to me he asked, “How do you know Anil gave him the money?”
    “If he had murdered Anil, he would have left the country yesterday with the cash. I am assuming he became aware of Anil’s death just now, and was trying to escape with or without the money. He knew that if he was found with the cash, he would become the prime suspect. He was desperate to escape. That’s why he attacked us.”
    Leo nodded. “Yes! If I had murdered Anil, why would I stay? I saw it on TV an hour ago, and panicked. That’s exactly how it happened. The money belonged to Anil.”
    “I believe you. But you need to give me more dope.”
    Vimal intervened. “You people don’t believe this scum, do you?”
    I looked at Leo and said, “Depends on our friend here. As of now, he does seem to have a motive. Five crores is big enough a motive for someone to kill Anil.”
    “Bullshit! Anil didn’t have that kind of money. He got peanuts from his family. Ask him,” Leo pointed at Vimal.
    Vimal looked at him with hatred.
    I turned to Leo. “You have attacked an inspector. Your locket was found at the scene of the murder. You have a motive. Unless you tell us what’s been happening, you are going to the noose.”
    Leo sighed. “We were supposed to go to Paris on Thursday, three days from today. On Saturday night Anil called me, all excited, and instructed me to postpone the tickets to next week. They are in the envelope that you took out from the drawer.”
    I found two international tickets and handed the envelope to Babu.
    “Why did he ask you to postpone the flight?”
    “He didn’t tell me. He was excited, and mentioned that he had hit a jackpot. He said we would have to wait another week to collect the payment.”
    “Okay. How much?”
    “I don’t know. He didn’t speak much. He seemed in a hurry.”
    “What about this? Five crores?”
    “He got this money last week. He didn’t tell me from where. We were planning to leave India for good. Everything was settled. He called me on his father’s birthday, and told me to postpone the trip by a week.
    “He didn’t show up this morning. Which was normal. He usually spent weekends at home, or his old man burst a vein and didn’t pay him his pocket money. I heard about Anil’s murder on TV. I panicked, and decided to leave the city. I was packing when you showed up on the balcony. That is the truth.”
    “At what time did he call you on Saturday?”
    “Around seven in the evening.”
    “So let me get this right. The cash in the apartment is Anil’s, and you are unaware of the source. Both of you were planning to leave the country this Thursday. Something happened on Saturday evening, that got him excited about another big payment, and he asked you to postpone the trip, correct?”
    “Yes.”
    I looked at Vimal.
    “Anil was Paras Kapoor’s heir. Why would he leave the country with just five crores, jeopardizing his inheritance?”
    Leo interrupted with a sarcastic laugh.