HONEYDEW (A murder mystery)

Chapter 43

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Aahil stood beside the window of his huge bedroom, his hands deep in his trouser pocket and his gaze fixed at some inanimate object in the garden below.

Several moments passed by but he did not make an effort to break the spell.

I took smooth strides towards him and looked at him expectantly, but he was in another world. Aahil's face was tightly drawn, his eyes black fathomless pools, focused inward. It is was impossible to determine the chain of his thoughts.

"I have to go out," He announced.

"Sweetheart..," I swallowed hard, took a deep breath and spilt out what I felt. "I know it's none of my business, but I don't want you to build a ridge with your brother. The tough times are gonna pass by, but families are meant to stay together and strong."

"Weren't you the one who put him on the spot," He mocked.

"I agree but I just realized that we aren't sure of anything, and until he is proven guilty we should stop bothering him."

His mouth twisted into a savage grimace, "I'm not worried about him right now, there is something else that has been bothering me."

"What is it?" I gently caressed his arm.

"Mrs Mariam was lying."

"About what?"

"She wasn't at your house today. When I left your house in the morning, your mom served me breakfast. I was told that she had taken the day off."

"Then why would Mrs Mariam lie?"

He rubbed his temple with the pad of his thumb finger and shrugged his shoulders.

I sighed.

He gave a sharp dismissive shake of his head, then took his cell phone from his trouser pocket and put it on his ears, after he had dialled a number.

I stood beside him, shamelessly listening to his side of the conversation.

"Have you been able to gather information?"

There was a long silence, while he listened to the other end of the conversation. Whatever the other person said, it had a noticeable effect on Aahil's facial expression, it turned from angry to savage, "Thank you, Mr Ravinder shah."

He let out a shrill laugh, as he slipped his phone back into his pockets.

"Sweetheart! What is it?" I demanded, his grave expression making me feel jittery.

He just kept staring at the wallpaper for what seemed like forever. Finally, he spoke up, "Do you know where Mariam had been?"

"Where?" I felt my breath constrict in my throat.

"It seems like my life is a thriller movie and all are determined to play the villain," His face was etched with a deep scowl.

"What do you mean?"

"Mrs Mariam was found dining with Usman in one of the shabby little hotels in the downtown."

I gasped at the information, unable to digest it, "But isn't Usman missing after that fateful accident."

"He is Mariam's sister's son and was employed in the villa only due to her recommendation. He always got involved in illegal business and when he went missing Mariam was sure that he might have got himself involved with Rizwan in hopes of earning more money to gamble," He let out a deep sigh and sank down to the edge of the bed. "This is getting more complicated day by day."