An untellable secret
(Some secrets may better remain secrets for ever)
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“All inquiries were made. Nothing like that happened. She was not even close to guys not to say love. All her friends are girls.”
Smaran got off from the chair and went to the middle of the room and turned towards Ranganath. “How you can say that surely she committed suicide? It might be….”
“No question of that. My daughter committed suicide. Police conducted postmortem. The report mentioned it as pure suicide. And….” He paused for a moment and then said “……I myself also sure that she committed suicide. No one entered into her room and killed her and there was no necessity to anyone to do so either.”
Smaran came back and slumped himself into his chair again and hissed out.
“If you yourself rule it out as a suicide…….” balancing his arms on the table placed in between their chairs and looking into the eyes of Ranganath, Smaran asked “…….what I have to find out?”
Ranganath also stooped forward and put his arms on the table in the same way Smaran did. “I know my daughter well. She is intelligent. Not a fool. I Just cannot think of that my daughter committed suicide for a simple, silly thing. There must be some compelling reason for my daughter taking such an extreme step. I just want to know that reason.”
“Whatever that reason may be ….” Smaran felt uneasily. He dealt with murders, burglaries, etc. but this type of assignment was new to him. “……..your daughter died and she would not come back by your knowing it.”
“You need not tell me about that.” with an emphasis Ranganath said and once again leaned back in the chair. “I just don’t like people think that my daughter is a mental freak and committed suicide for a silly reason or for no reason at all. I just want to know what is that compelled my daughter to commit suicide.”
Smaran nodded his head thoughtfully and he also leaned back in his chair. “I understand. I take up your case. But…”
“Tell. What else you want to know?”
“I agree that your daughter committed suicide with a very strong reason. That reason whatever it may be is stronger enough to compel your daughter to commit suicide.” Fixing his gaze onto the face of Ranganath, Smaran continued. “But once it is revealed and came into light, it may have the same effect on you also. It may not be soothing to you as you are thinking.”
“Whatever effect it may have on me even if it leads me to hang myself as my daughter did, I have no objection. But I must know the reason why my daughter committed suicide.”
The firmness in Ranganath’s voice prevented Smaran from entertaining any other views on taking up this case.
“The total time I do take for completing this assignment is one month. My total fees for this is two lakhs. You have to pay one lakh before I start my detection. The remaining one lakh rupees you have to pay to me after I have submitted my report to you with positive result. If I cannot submit the report with positive result, that means, if I cannot find out the truth, you need not pay me the remaining one lakh rupees.” Smaran said.
“Money is not a problem. I want you to find out the truth.” With hope filled voice Ranganath said.
“I do try my level best. Of course, I am feeling positive at present.” Smaran said.
Ranganath remained silent expecting Smaran to continue.
“I make a contract in duplicate and we both are going to sign on it and both of us keep a copy of it. All the terms and conditions will be detailed in that. Anyhow I shall tell some of them orally to you now.”
Ranganath continued his silence. This all appeared tedious and he had not expected this. But he understood that he has to endure that.
“I do go on with my investigation in the way I like within the precincts of law and you must not obstruct it in any way at any point of time even it appears so absurd to you. You do have to give me all the cooperation all the time I need.”
“I have no objection whatsoever to this.” making himself straight in the chair Ranganath asked Smaran “When I have to pay the first part of your one lakh rupees?”.
“I prepare the contract ready by nine tomorrow morning. You pay that amount in cheque. My services start after we both signed on it.” Smaran said. “Anyhow as I have decided to take up this assignment, I want to ask you some important questions now itself.”
“Ask then. I am ready to answer.” Ranganath adjusted himself in his chair for more comfort.
“Has your daughter the habit of writing diary?”
“Yes, of course. My daughter has the habit of writing a diary.” Ranganath nodded his head positively. “But not in a regular way and she noted down the events only she wanted. Anyhow she stopped writing that diary for some fifteen days or so before the day of her committing suiside. She did not leave any hint or clue for her committing suiside like that in her diary either.”
“What about her social profiles, friends and followers therein. Now a day youth are so much obsessed about that face book, twitter, etc. and they do share even those things also in them which they don’t want to share with anyone in any other way.”
“My daughter has Face Book, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. She has a close friend Sukanya and she knew about the passwords of those three accounts and a thorough search of those three accounts also made. She did not leave even a simple clue also in any of them regarding her suiside.”
“I see” Smaran nodded his head. “What about her smart-phone? Her phone calls and other data…….”
“She has a smart-phone and laptop. Passwords of them were also known to Sukanya and both the devices were searched thoroughly in all the ways needed. She took particular not to leave any trace about that reason which compelled her to commit suiside.” Ranganath hissed out heavily.
“Before we both sign on the contract and before I start investigation in this matter….” Smaran paused for a second as if he wanted to reiterate what he was going to say. “By the conduct of your daughter it has become so evident that she did not want anyone to know why she has committed suiside. If you make me investigate to know about why she committed suiside, you are doing something that she does not like at all. It is against the will and wish of your daughter. She may feel very unhappy wherever she is, if we do this investigation.”
“To think about her unhappiness by this investigation, she did not do something which would make me feel happy.” There was firmness in the voice of Ranganath. “She knew very well how much I do love her. I would have done anything if she asked me. I would have excused her even however much big wrong she committed. I never would say a ‘no’ whatever her wish may be and she too very well knew about it. Then without bothering about me even a little bit how she committed suiside like that? No, the reason for her committing suisde must be known to me.”
“Alright then.” Smaran nodded his head and said “I just see whether I have forgotten to ask anything.” Then his face suddenly brightened. “I just don’t know how I have forgotten to ask about it. How about your wife? Is she also feeling as much curious as you are to know about the reason for her daughter’s committing suiside?”
“After finding our daughter hanged to the ceiling fan in her room, my wife became mad. She is not agreeing that our daughter dead and she is thinking and behaving just like our daughter is still alive. I am feeling happy that she is happy just in such a way and I am not trying to convice her that our daughter is no more.”
“How pathetic! Really very sad!” nodding his head with a sorrowful expression Smaran said. “I cannot think anything more to ask now. Come by this tomorrow and everything will be ready by then. And I am going to keep the photograph which you have given to me.”
Ranganadh nodded his head, stood up extending his hand and Smaran took that. Ranganath and Smaran shook their hands and they both felt that a contract has already been made.
***
The next day at the same time Ranganath went to Smaran’s office and Smaran handed over him the already prepared contract. Ranganath signed on the contract without bothering to go through it completely even Smaran urged him to do so and handed over to Smaran rupees one lakh cheque along with the signed contract. Smaran pocketed the cheque and put the contact copy in a box file after he also signed on that. Then he leaned back in his chair and said “Now again business. What was the date and month of Nirupama’s suicide?”
Ranganath said the date and month to Smaran.
“Six months fifteen days.” After hearing what Ranganath said, closing his eyes, calculating in himself Smaran said.
“You are right.” Now there was no expression on Ranganath. They both were discussing it business like and Ranganath liked it.
“Neither you nor your wife found anything different in your daughter even on the date of her committing suicide.”
“Again you are right. Not even little different. She was her usual self. Bloody usual self she retired into her bedroom after saying goodnight to me and to her mother.” The expression changed on the face of Ranghanath and sort of heaviness settled on it again.
“You said that your wife has become sort of mad and she is thinking and behaving as if her daughter is still alive. How she is in other matters? I mean is she doing her regular work….”
“She is alright in all other matters except in thinking that her daughter is still alive.” Ranganath sighed heavily. “I already told you that I am not trying to make her understand her daughter is no more. I just want to let her feel like that and be happy.”
“But you can ask her and see how your daughter was just fifteen days or so before her committing suiside. Even she does not agree that her daughter is no more, she sure can say how your daughter was before committing suiside.”
“I have to think about this.” Ranganath said. “But my daughter is more intimate to me than her mother. I don’t think that my wife could find any difference in my daughter if I could not.”
“Did your daughter have any close friends?”
Ranganath gave a list to him. They were four in number.
“Among these, Sukanya was the closest to her. Our families have been living in the same town quite nearby for a long-time. They both were friends even from their very childhood. My daughter used to share everything with Sukanya. Sukanya also confided in my daughter in the same way. They both were classmates, school-mates and college-mates also. Sukanya preferred to study economics and my daughter preferred to study psychology in their post graduation.”
There was some silence ensued and Smaran opened his mouth and about to ask something.
“I can guess what you are going to ask. No. My daughter did not leave even a hint either with her close friend or with her other friends or with anyone else. No stone left unmoved. Even the police were also made enquiries.”
Smaran stooped forward and hissed out heavily again before asking his next question.
“Why your daughter preferred to study psychology?”
“The reason is a person named Niranjan. Niranjan is a relative to us from my wife’s side. He is very close to our family and a well wisher to us. He is a retired psychology professor and came one year back into this town bought a house nearby to our house and settled here. My daughter and he used to move so close as my daughter and I used to move. He is like a father figure to my daughter. My daughter was impressed by him that much she joined in M.A. psychology to study.”
(I hope that you enjoyed upto here. I shall publish the next chapter as soon as possible. Please don’t forget to rate and review.)
