Owning Nothing

Prologue

I took a deep breath. "Everything will be all right. I have gotten out of scrapes before. I can do it one more time." The room, inspite of the matching double bed, cupboard and the dresser, was quite spacious. I still felt like the walls were closing in on me.

The reflection that I saw in the oval wall mirror was pale and anxious, the same shade as the walls. My hands shook as I tried to put on my makeup. My grey eyes already had a sleep deprived look about them, but I needed to get the cried-all-night look. I was supposed to be in mourning. There was nothing I could do to my soft pink lips though.

I hastily put on mismatched earrings and bangles. The diamond necklace already hugged my neck. It never left my person. Pranab understood its need. The diamond ring, however, was just for show.

Somehow my heartbeat refused to slow down. "It's just some questions. The cops are not here to arrest me."

Beads of sweat were forming on my forehead. I dabbed the sweat with the corner of my saree. With one end pinned to my shoulder, I took the white chiffon cloth and placed its centre on my head, such that the border touched my chin. Having a veiled face gave me the strength to step out. I heard my husband talking to the cops. "No need to worry, Pranab can hold his own," I assured myself. He was telling them how shaken I was with all that had happened and that must have been the reason for the delay. Any sensible woman would be shaken by a murder, one that took place in her own house.

I walked out of my room. The three men were seated in the ground floor verandah. I could see the two blue uniformed men from the gallery. They had seen me too. Suddenly everything went quiet. The only voice I heard was of the bells ringing in my anklets. I wondered if they would soon be replaced by shackles.

"We are sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Thakur," the man who was clearly senior in rank said. "But it is mandatory."

"I understand." I glanced at the table. Shanti had provided them with ample snacks and tea, but they hadn't touched anything. Sutak.

The other man, the junior, took out a pen and a small diary from his shirt pocket. "Where were you when it happened?" His moustache quivered a bit when he spoke.

I looked at my hands and counted the twelve red bangles. "I was with him," I said, still keeping my eyes down. The art of sounding ladylike was the same as the art of sounding scared. A good woman, an obedient wife is always scared.

"Where?" the senior asked. He somehow managed to sound more respectful than his junior.

"In our room." I pointed at the room I had just exited.

"Were both of you sleeping when the murder took place?" The senior asked.

"I don't know when it happened. We must have been sleeping or we would have heard something." I hoped that my voice had been shaky enough.

"Inspector Sinha," Pranab spoke for the first time since I came down. Even in that situation, I couldn't help but smile. My knight in shining armour, sweeping in to rescue the damsel in distress. "You had already asked me all these questions." I risked a look at him. White was not his colour.

"Procedure," Sinha said. "Do you know anyone who would have wanted to kill Mr. Khanna?"

I shook my head. "He lived so far away. We didn't communicate much."

"Any family?"

"He never married." The junior one was taking notes like it was a classroom. His round belly was almost cartoonish.

"Parents? Siblings? Friends?"

"Our parents died long ago. I don't have any other siblings."

Pranab spoke again, "We do not know anything about Vinay. He lived too far and travelled a lot. We never got a chance to talk to him."

"But you do know how much he had inherited from her parents." Sinha pointed at me. "And now it will all be yours, since their is no other heir."

I marveled at the irony. It was all my money.

Pranab's complexion had gone from wheatish to dark pink. His beady eyes were close to slits. I found it cute when he tried to look intimidating. "I already have enough money to last me seven lifetimes," he said coolly. "Do you not know who I am or what I own?'

Oh the classic 'do you know who I am?'. Sinha didn't budge but his subordinate was intimidated.

"Sir," he pleaded.

"Thank you for the tea," Sinha said as they both stood up. "We'll contact you if we have any leads."

"Shantilal," Pranab shouted immediately. "Close the gate and take the tray back into the kitchen."

I slid the veil to my shoulders and Pranab was amused to see my smile. "Everything will be alright," I said. Shantilal, the head of our household staff, had come to collect the tea cups and the tray. Pranab looked at the man with worry as if asking me, "Will it?"

Shanti smiled at him. He was a man of few words, but when he spoke it was like hearing an angel sing. He looked so young that it was hard to believe he was the same age as us.

"We should hire a lawyer," Pranab said.

"We should definitely start looking for one," I replied.

"Mina." He took my hand into his and started making circles my the diamond ring. "We'll get through."

"Of course, we will."