A Night to make a Candle bright

Chapter 3

There was a moment of hesitation before she replied. "Yes, God damn you! You may try your very best to get him free, while I will do my best to tie the noose round his neck. Goodbye."

That was the end of the interview. Mr Ketkar was dumbfounded. He did not have any high hopes to begin with but he had never expected this turn of events. He could not believe that he was so gullible as not have seen through Anand's innocence act. He considered that Anand must indeed be a superb actor. But it still did not make sense that if their relations were not harmonious, why had Anand been so sure that Ananya would vouch for him? Was all that just blatant confidence of his hold over his wife? Mr. Ketkar was confused as he set out to meet Anand again, to tell him of the turn of events.

When Anand heard that Ananya had said, he was flabbergasted. He kept on insisting, "Are you sure you went to the correct address? Why should Ananya say something that I have not done? Why should she tell such a cock and bull story? Oh God! Somebody wake me up from this nightmare. I can't take it anymore. First I am charged with the murder of a lady, whom I respected and cared for and now my own dear wife has gone against me and wishes to see me hanged. Why should she hate me so? I have always loved her to the best of my abilities." He sobbed piteously.

After a long moment, he seemed to collect himself and said, "In that case Mr. Ketkar there is no point in you trying to defend me. As it is the circumstantial evidence is all against me and now Ananya's statement will definitely finish me off nicely. In any case what is the point of my being acquitted if my Ananya herself wishes to get rid of me? I have resigned myself to doom and hence there is no need for you to pursue my case and waste your precious time. But the fact remains that I am an innocent man."He looked straight into Mr. Ketkar's eyes and held his gaze. The lawyer was quite downcast; in his whole professional life he had never felt as unsure of his client. His instinct told him that Anand was innocent but professionally he knew that it was a lost case: as Ananya was a dream witness for the prosecution. He knew his case did not have a single leg to stand on, but he remembered Anand's face as he last saw him and decided to fight it out to the end.

On the opening day of the case the prosecutor laid down the case strongly, but Mr. Ketkar tried to create a benign feel for Anand, laying a stress on all his strong points. Anand himself presented a very sorry picture which went well for him. The general opinion was of grudging belief but the crowd was ready to give Anand a benefit of doubt. But when the prosecutor called Ananya to the witness box she literally charged the atmosphere. Her appearance and her stance were like that of a doxy. She was dressed quite cheaply and gaudily. Her attitude, her mannerisms were all like that of a sleazy woman. Mr. Ketkar was quite amazed to see the difference. He would never have recognized her if he had met her in the street.

Mr. Ketkar was quite intrigued by this. But how much ever her appearance differed, her testimonial remained the same. She ranted and raved and did everything within her capacity to establish Anand's guilt. The opinion of the crowd easily swayed and it started to look at him with askance. Anand however maintained a dignified silence thru out this play and that was what kept the judge undecided and he postponed the verdict. The next date was to be a fortnight later.

Mr. Ketkar was at a loss to know, how to proceed. He hated to admit defeat. He was sitting late into the night studying all the aspects of the case when suddenly his door bell rang and shortly, a lady was shown into his study by his maid. The lawyer looked up with irritation from his papers to see Ananya standing before him, but he was surprised to see her again as he had met her at her house; a neatly dressed woman of substance.

Before he could get over his surprise Ananya opened the conversation with a question. "How did my statement go?"

"So you have come here to gloat over your success, have you?" demanded the lawyer angrily. "You may have been successful in the court but I for one do not believe you at all. I shall strive to do my best for Anand."

"Oh, Thank God! I thought I had even convinced you." So saying, she slumped in the opposite chair.
Mr. Ketkar's jaw literally to the floor at this, he looked at her in a daze. This woman would easily beat a chameleon at changing colors.

She laughed at his stupor and snapped a finger to get him out of it. She said, "Please, we need to be
quick. I do not have time." She then removed a stack of letters from her purse and gave them to him.

"You can read them at your leisure. Some of the earlier ones are quite genuine, while the others are sham. Now listen, this my plan I had an affair earlier with a man named in the letter. We were together for quite some time but later I met Anand and I fell head over heels in love with him and I parted from my boyfriend. Fortunately, he had also met someone else; his present wife so the parting was quite amicable, and we have remained friends since. I have hence requested their help in this façade to which they have agreed. What I want you to do is present these letters to the judge as evidence and thus tear my statement against Anand to pieces. The letters are quite incriminating and written in such a way as to ensure that I am having an illicit affair with the said man and these letters are supposed to be brought to you by the jealous wife who accidently found them. The last letter, will destroy my statement totally.

Mr. Ketkar perused the said letter.
It said,

'Darling, at last I will be free from the staid Anand. That mutt actually believes that I love him, but I just can't stand him. He drives me crazy with his dog like devotion. Whatever I say to affront him, he refuses to take offense. I don't know what I had been thinking to get married to him. Anyway, I have decided to get rid of him royally and fate has really placed all the cards into my hands. He has been arrested for the murder of Mrs. Seth, the rich widow. You must have read about it in the newspapers. I could laugh till my sides ached at the idea that that silly Anand who can't say boo to a goose should be charged with a brutal murder. But the evidence is quite against him and I was the poor devil's only hope. For when that woman was killed, he was having his dinner at home with me and unfortunately for him I was his only alibi. Just today, he had sent his advocate to meet me and get my statement, but I sent him with a flea in ear. I have concocted a wonderful story implicating Anand. Thus Anand will be sent for life sentence while I will be free to enjoy my life with you. Soon we will be together my love.

Au revoir, then.'

Mr. Ketkar read the letter twice before he could make any sense of it. He finally removed his glasses and cleaned them and looked hard at the lady in front of him. The ingenuity of the whole plan was slowly sinking thru his dazed brain. He asked her a question, "But when you knew of his innocence, why form such an elaborate plan? You could very well have given evidence in his favor in the first place."

"And a fat lot of good that would have done me or Anand! The evidence of a loving and a docile wife would be taken with a pinch of salt. You yourself told me that it was not good enough."

"But don't you realize how devastated Anand has been with your statement?" asked the lawyer.

"It is better to have a hurt, but alive and free Anand beside me than to have him full of gushing love imprisoned in the jail with a life sentence."

"But why make him suffer? Why didn't you take us into confidence?" asked the bewildered lawyer.

"Well, because Anand's prowess as an actor is nil. He would not have been able to assume his present dejected stance to literally save his life and it had to be realistic enough. Anand has got the sympathy of the people with his innocent, dignified looks but at the moment my evidence is strongly against him. But when that is ripped apart with this letter, he will get the full benefit of doubt and will enjoy the sympathy of being caught in the snare of a vile and dishonorable wife, and the case around him will crumble down. I am sure of his acquittal if we play our cards well." said Ananya earnestly.

"I appreciate your plan and applaud you but still you will have created such a negative image of yourself.
Was it necessary?" asked the perplexed lawyer.

Ananya shrugged her shoulders and gave a wry smile. "The verity of Anand's statement could only be established if it was challenged by an astounding fallacy. Sometimes, the night has to be really dark to
make us appreciate the tiny flicker of light." So, saying she left the room. The lawyer stared after her for a long moment.

On the hearing's day the letters were submitted in evidence, predictably they created a huge hue and cry.

Anand totally crumpled down when the last letter was read out aloud. But all is well that ends well.

The judge acquitted Anand for the lack of further definite evidence and his now restored alibi.