Time to Kill and Other Stories

By Madhav Desai

Time to Kill is a collection of short stories showcasing Madhav Desais storytelling talent. Set in India in the 1980s, this collection of six short stories is replete with elements of mystery, suspense, and surprise. From the tale of a clairvoyant woman on a noble mission to warn future victims, to the bizarre suicide of a successful business executive, to a fun-loving but naive village woman being stranded during her first visit to a large city, to the title story, which is a classic whodunit set in what appears to be a warm and carefree reunion of old friendsthe author keeps the readers at the edge of their seats with unexpected plot twists in this thrilling page-turner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Oct 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482839234

Madhav Desai

Madhav Desai has written and published several adventure stories for children in Gujarati. These books were written during his school and college years. A postgraduate from Stanford, he paused his literary pursuit once he started his career; but upon retirement, he has resumed his passion. He has recently published Time to Kill and Other Stories, a collection of short stories, and The World without God, a work of nonfiction. Madhav Desai lives in Mumbai, India, with his wife and daughter and has a son working in London.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Madhav Desai.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4828-3924-1

                eBook            978-1-4828-3923-4

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Contents

Memories

Peacock Restaurant

Yesterday

A Night with Strangers

The Last Dream

Time to Kill

To Pappa and Mummy

I am sure you would have enjoyed these stories

Memories

For three years after their marriage, not even once did Mahesh change his daily routine. In spite of the fact that he was managing a successful medium-sized business, he would leave his office at five-thirty sharp, and drive straight home to spend the rest of the evening with his wife, Sheila. Sheila and Mahesh had very few friends. They were so fully contented with each other’s company that they hardly ever felt the need for anyone else to share their feelings with. It was obvious that they were made for each other. They shared all their problems, all their secrets, and all their joys.

On May thirteenth, Mahesh deviated from his routine for the first time. He left the office at three, went to his car and started driving it in the direction away from his home, towards the railway station. He came to the bridge which passed over the railway tracks, and stopped the car in the middle of the bridge. A goods train was approaching. Engrossed in deep thought, he remained in the car for some time, staring at the steering wheel. Then he came out of the car, stood against the parapet of the bridge and lit a cigarette. The traffic on the bridge was very thin at this time of the day. There were a few pedestrians, but no one had noticed him.

The train had come very close to the bridge now. Mahesh dropped the half-smoked cigarette and climbed on the parapet. He stared down at the tracks for a few seconds and then jumped down.

The next instant, the train was running over his body.

***

When I went to see Sheila, she was so overcome with grief, that she did not speak a word. But three days later, she rang me up and asked me if I could see her. I was one of their few friends, albeit not what you might call an intimate friend. Mahesh and Sheila had no intimate friends. I was indebted to them because they had helped me very much in my career. It was from the loan I got from them that I was able to set up a small office and start my practice as a private investigator. Although business was not exactly thumping, I was able to make ends meet.

It was in my professional capacity as a private investigator that Sheila wanted to see me. She received me in her drawing room, where I had been on two occasions in the past when Mahesh and Sheila had entertained their friends. Sheila, sitting on the sofa looked stately in spite of her grief. She came straight to the point.

Anil, I need your help, she said. I will go crazy if I do not find out why Mahesh decided to end his life. I had done everything I could to make him happy. What did he find missing in my love that made him take this decision?

I am not prepared to believe that there was anything wrong between the two of you, I said, very sincerely. Do you know of any worries that he had in the recent past?

There were problems in the business, but they were of a routine nature, said Sheila. He used to discuss all his problems with me. There was nothing that would drive him to suicide. She paused for a moment and then continued: He had a turbulent life before our marriage. He was brought up to face challenges in life. He enjoyed challenges. He was not one to run away from a difficult situation.

I will agree with that also, I said. Of course, I know very little about his personal life, and if I have to find answers to your questions, I will need to ask you a lot of questions which may be very personal.

I will tell you everything I know, said Sheila.

Is it likely that Mahesh had kept a secret from you? Something that he had on his mind but did not mention to you?

I did not believe that there were any secrets between us, said Sheila with a sigh. And yet, I am at a loss to know what drove him to this action. Once again she paused for a moment before resuming, so far, he had taken me in confidence before taking any decision. We took all decisions together. But I did not even get a hint when he was on the verge of taking the most important decision in his life. What made him take such a decision? And what compulsions did he have that he did not even discuss his problems with me? If I do not get convincing answers to these questions, I think I will go mad.

There were no tears in Sheila’s eyes. But there was agony. There was anguish caused by the questions she had posed and which were stabbing at her heart constantly.

Sheila, it is too early to make any conjectures, but I have known cases where sudden mental depression takes hold of a man — for no reason at all, and he does things he would not otherwise think of doing. I am not suggesting that anything like this happened with Mahesh — at least, not yet. But this is a possibility that we must keep in our minds.

***

I accepted Sheila’s assignment as a friend. I was quite surprised that Sheila had decided to place her faith in me in asking me to investigate a matter that was so important to her. Surely, she had the financial ability to engage more able and qualified investigators. But on further reflection, I realized that perhaps the more professional investigators would insist on getting the right evidence and proof before concluding their investigation. Truth does not always come with a conclusive proof. Sheila had pinned her faith in my ability to feel the truth.

Sheila was the best source of all information relating to Mahesh. So from the following day, I started my interviews with her to know more about Mahesh.

I, like all your other friends, used to think of you as an ideal couple. So I feel strange asking this question. But was there anything wanting in your married life?

Sheila shook her head with confidence.

The fact that you did not have any children in your three years of marriage — did that bother you? I asked carefully.

It was planned, said Sheila. We wanted only one child. After two more years.

Any financial problems?

Sheila shook her head again.

Did you find any change in Mahesh’s behaviour in the past few days? Looking back after the event, can you think of any clue that might suggest that he was planning something like this?

No, said Sheila confidently once again. On the morning of the thirteenth, when I last saw him, he was looking his natural self.

Do you remember anything about that day?

Nothing unusual happened. We went for a walk early morning as we always did. Then I made breakfast and he went to get ready for work. After breakfast, he read the newspaper for a while, and went to the office at the usual time.

Did he discuss anything that he read in the newspaper?

Nothing that I can remember.

I made a note to go through the newspaper of that day.

Do you remember if he discussed anything else that day?

Sheila thought for a while. Then she said: We were planning to invite some friends for dinner two days later. We talked about the menu for that evening.

I was quiet for some time. Would a man who had decided to end his life within a few hours behave so normally as this?

How long did you know each other before your marriage?

"We were in the same college. Mahesh was two years senior to me. We first met at a college get-together. Mahesh stood out among his friends because of his reserved nature. I had just joined the college, and was feeling too shy to join the usual revelry that went on in such parties. The similarity in our nature brought us together, and we kept meeting each other after this evening also. We decided to get married after a few months of courting.

"I had not told my parents about my decision, because I was afraid that my father might not agree. Mahesh was an orphan and was raised in a very poor family. Father was a successful businessman, and had rich friends with sons who would have met my father’s criterion for my husband. But I did talk about Mahesh with my parents. I remember having told them when he graduated from the college with flying colours and got scholarship for further studies. Father had said that he would consider giving him a good position in his business, and wanted to meet him, but that was just a few days before their accident."

I knew that Sheila’s parents had died tragically in a car accident about four years ago.

Janakbhai, Father’s friend and his business partner took over the business after the accident. Evidently, Father had told him about Mahesh, and he respected my father’s wish and offered Mahesh a very good position immediately after he finished his studies. We got married a year later.

Did Mahesh ever think that he had got this job because of you? Did he resent that?

I think he did, initially. But very soon, he proved his competence. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind — including his own, that his rapid elevations were entirely on account of his ability and achievement, and not because he was married to the owner’s daughter. You can check this with Janakbhai, if you like.

I did. I met Janakbhai that evening. He was all praise for Mahesh. He also told me that three years later, when he retired, Mahesh stood an excellent chance to step into his shoes and control the entire business.

***

That night, sitting in my favourite rocking chair, and smoking a cigarette, I went over all the information I had gathered during the day. I had