3 - Enter Khoji Khargosh Investigates
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‘Have you ever read Holmes?’ – Kunal asked
‘Sherlock?’ – Narayan confirmed
‘Who else?’ – Kunal said
‘No’ – Narayan replied
‘Hercule Poirot?’
‘Who is he?’
‘Surendra Mohan Pathhak? I bet you must have heard of him’
‘Oh…. the reporter of Blast……Sunil…. Surendra Mohan Pathhak’s character! Yes…..He is the only star writer of hindi pulp fiction and my fav during college days.’
‘Then you just consider that you are talking to Sherlock Hercule Kumar Chakraborty urf Khoji Khargosh’
‘What?’
‘I mean I alone have all the qualities these three detectives have combined…Sherlock’s deductive reasoning, Hercule’s behavioural observation and Sunil Kumar Chakraborty’s tendency of fighting for truth and justice at any cost.’
‘But….’
For past ten minutes they were conversing like this. Kunal was too busy boasting and ask the visitor to come to the point.
Giving a clear signal of boredom from that unnecessary chit-chat, I left the chair with my tea cup to stand and stare off the only office window.
Kunal stood up and dragged his chair back to come out of behind the table. This was his typical gesture to impress the other person with his authoritative personality, he cut in – ‘If you have no trust in us, you wouldn’t have come here in first place on your CD100 blue coloured bike here.’
Narayan registered an instant shade of surprise on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but now Kunal was in his full swing – ‘but people should not believe even a mere detective now days.
Let me tell you certain very interesting things before I expect you to believe me. Either you are single or your wife is out of station now days.’ – he was clearly enjoying the surprised curl of Narayan’s eyebrows. He strolled round the chair on which Narayan was sitting and continued - ‘Instant shoe shiner is your first choice for shoe polish. And last but not the least, today or yesterday only you have had your hair cut. Tell me if I am wrong Narayan Ji?’
I looked at Narayan once again and instantly noticed an exclusively expensive designer Rado watch on his wrist and a heavy gold chain behind the collars of his shirt. On the mention of his recent hair cut I observed that Narayan’s hair cut was remarkably elegant and evidently looked the work of a professional hair dresser.
A common, middle class man hardly goes for such luxuries. But there was a flaw. His right side of hair near the ears was a bit shorter than those on left side.
‘How…how could you…..’ – Narayan stammered out of surprise.
‘So now you believe Khoji Khargosh?’ – Kunal tapped his right thumb on his broad chest –‘…..or you still have any doubts which I need to clear?’
‘As far as your prediction of my being married is concerned, I am single. How come….’
‘The third button in your shirt is so carelessly and loosely stitched, only a man’s hand that is you since you have no wife.’
‘Impressive, and shoe shiner, how did you know about that?
‘Your shoes are shining only on the tips. A man using brush holds the shoe in his hands and polishes them thoroughly. But in a hurry, daily, you are used to just smack the shoes with shoe shiner on the front only. A busy man getting late, rushing for office, last moment’s finishing touches, no?’
‘Bravo!’ – Narayan almost shouted, and asked – ‘…and what about hair cut? I had it yesterday only.’
Narayan’s questions were pouring bliss in Kunal’s ears. His eyes were half closed like an enlightened mahatma who was going to reveal the “path of moksha” to his pet disciple. He looked at me, saying without saying – ‘See! This is called observation…..the essence of detection!”
He answered Narayan’s query - ‘Your… one side of hair…. is a bit shorter…. than the other…. and just recently you clearly have not noticed it as yet.’
Instantly Narayan touched his side hair and smiled. So did I.
‘My friend Manoj was right about you….’
Kunal cut in – ‘……your friend Manoj who is very fond of reading entire news paper from start to finish?’
‘Oh…How do you know Manoj?’
‘I’ve never seen your friend Manoj. This is a good chance to learn deductive reasoning for you too. Kaushal!’ – he addressed me – ‘listen carefully’
I was.
Kunal continued – ‘we just have solved one case so far and that news had just appeared in a few news papers inside somewhere, very briefly. Only a man who is not fond of reading every printed word of a news paper by habit can only miss that news. Since your friend Manoj knows about us that means……’
‘I got it…..excellent! – Narayan stood up and held Kunal by his shoulders in appreciation – ‘you are the man…who can turn the inevitable disaster away.’
‘But’ – a clearly flattered Kunal spoke – ‘you have not yet told us about your problem.’
Shades of despair again returned back on Narayan’s face.
All of us took our chairs back. I interrupted before Narayan could relate his story – ‘what about CD100 bike? How did you guess that?’
Almost laughing, Kunal replied - ‘As far as your CD100 bike is concerned, one needs not to be a detective for that. Even a child sitting in my chair could have told who had arrived on that bike just by looking at the reflection in the window glass door at the angle where I am sitting. Your bike in parking is visible from here and I had seen you parking it there in the reflection itself’
We all joined him in the little laughter.
‘Mr. Kunal’ – Narayan spoke – ‘now I am thoroughly convinced that I have come to the right person’
‘We assure you Narayan Ji’ – I said – ‘that we will never disappoint you as long as your problem is genuine and humanly diffusible. But first thing first…what is the problem that bothers you’
‘There could possibly be a murder…..’ – Narayan said.
‘murder?’ – Kunal sat straight in his chair.
‘….you can avert’ – Narayan finished his sentence - ‘You must have heard of GCA Builders Enterprise owned by Girish Chandra Aggarwal’ – Narayan asked and then answered himself – ‘…who hasn’t. I am his nephew.’
So, that explained Rado watch, heavy gold chain and designer hair cut.
Narayan paused to see the effect of the big name on us. Neither of us showed any.
‘Then, why this disguise of an ordinary man? Motor bike? Plain, simple clothes?’ – I asked and answered too – ‘You clearly don’t want to be noticed by people while coming here. No?’
‘Right Mr. Kaushal’ – Narayan confirmed – ‘this shirt and bike are borrowed from my friend and employee Manoj’ – he looked at an uneasy Kunal – ‘actually his wife is not in town and he had mended this button in the shirt himself.’
With a good deal of effort I forced myself not to smile on Kunal’s awkward situation now. His expressions clearly showed that he was offended.
As far as shoe shiner was concerned, I guessed, for a man of Narayan’s stature, he definitely wouldn’t care what his personal attendant(s) apply on his shoes. Today he might have worn unpolished shoes just to go with the looks and before entering here, may be due to the habit of wearing polished shoes always, he might have wiped the tips with the helm of his trousers.
Kunal gave him a quiet but angry stare.
‘I…I am sorry Mr. Kunal but I meant no offence. I could not muster courage to interfere when you were so enthusiastically sharing your intelligent observations….’ – Narayan tried to explain.
‘Intelligent observations?’ – Kunal hissed – ‘All my observations you proved wrong and you are saying….’
I thought better to diffuse the situation here rather than losing a client.
I said – ‘Kunal…hold on…who said your observations were wrong? It was just that only the subject was wrong. You observed one guy and predicted correctly about the other one.’
Kunal’s acidic expressions eased down a bit.
Encouraged, I continued – ‘I think this is rather far…far better than what any Holmes, Poirot or Sunil ever did. This is unique in a way that you hit bull’s eye for the person Manoj in this case whom you have never met! Isn’t it something great? What do you say Narayan Ji?’
‘Ye..ye..yes. Really. I didn’t think that way. You were…are amazing Mr. Kunal and the right guy for my problem to…..’ – Narayan blurted.
‘Let us’ – A calmed down Kunal cut in – ‘learn more about the probable murder you were talking about Mr. Narayan and how we can avert it’
I took a long, silent breath of relief.
Narayan continued with his story.
I knew that the voice recorder in Kunal’s inner coat pocket was still recording quietly since Narayan’s arrival here.
[][][][][]
Girish Chandra, GC Aggarwal’s adopted daughter, as she had told us, was sitting with us sipping coffee and telling us why she had thought that someone wanted to kill her father. Following ethics we could not disclose her cousin brother Narayan’s meeting in the morning with us to her. She had called us at noon asking for this meeting to which we complied.
‘So Alka ji you mean to say that the accident last year was actually an attempt to kill your father?’ –
Kunal and Alka were in conversation. I was a mute participant as usual.
‘Exactly’ – she said – ‘Shefali was behind this. I never ever liked her…even today, I don’t like that woman.’
‘Who is this Shefali?’
‘My mom. She is always after his money. She actually wants to have it all, my papa’s property. She wanted to be his widow. But it was sheer luck that papa was not killed in that severe accident staged by her’
‘Alka ji, as we follow media, is it true that Shefali lives in America somewhere now?’
‘Yes. Wilmington. North Carolina. Same place where accident had been staged by her. She doesn’t live with us anymore.’
‘How are you so sure that that accident was actually staged?’
Alka described the accident that occurred – staged according to her – on August 14 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
She continued - ‘The chauffer driving the limousine was changed at the last moment and our sources revealed that new chauffer was a small time Hollywood stuntman specialized in car stunts.
Fortunately papa survived and he was killed on the spot.’
Kunal nodded. I asked – ‘What do you mean by “our sources”? Does that mean you had your own team of investigators?’
‘Not “had”,’ – Alka replied – ‘we have our BIT - Business Intelligence Team. Every business house owns one.’
‘Then’ – I asked, ignoring Kunal’s stare – ‘why do you need us, the small time detectives?’
‘This is a family matter. I need someone whom no one in my family knows in any way. I found you from a file in papa’s office maintained by our BIT on all the detective services in the town….well……where was I?’
‘Oh, pardon my interruption’ – I said – ‘You were saying that that driver – Hollywood stuntman – was killed on the spot’
‘Yeah’ – She continued – ‘two days later the driver of that tanker, who had run away from the spot, was found floating, dead in Orton Pond near Wilmington. His death was a dead end to all our investigations but papa too smelled fish. After getting discharged from the hospital he filed a divorce suite. By next week Shefali will not be my mother anymore.’
‘But that accident is not the reason that you are here. No?’ – Kunal prompted her.
She told us about the three poisoning incidents - dead cat on the night of September 3 2013, GC’s milk poisoning on September 5 2013 and how Narayan got poisoned with wine on September 6 2013.
Narayan also had told us the same.
Three killing attempts - failed attempts – by poisoning! Quite a coincidence!
‘You want us to be in that party and keep watch’ – Kunal said.
‘Exactly. Mom is also invited. If she comes, especially watch her. We need to be very discreet on this.’
How do we join the party?’
‘Don’t worry. I explain you how.’
She did.
‘We also need the details of the investigations carried out after the accident in Wilmington.’ – Kunal said
‘That file will reach you tomorrow sometime to your office. Someone will drop in.’
September 8 2013, 10:30 AM -
Khoji Khargosh Investigates Office
‘Have you ever read Holmes?’ – Kunal asked
‘Sherlock?’ – Narayan confirmed
‘Who else?’ – Kunal said
‘No’ – Narayan replied
‘Hercule Poirot?’
‘Who is he?’
‘Surendra Mohan Pathhak? I bet you must have heard of him’
‘Oh…. the reporter of Blast……Sunil…. Surendra Mohan Pathhak’s character! Yes…..He is the only star writer of hindi pulp fiction and my fav during college days.’
‘Then you just consider that you are talking to Sherlock Hercule Kumar Chakraborty urf Khoji Khargosh’
‘What?’
‘I mean I alone have all the qualities these three detectives have combined…Sherlock’s deductive reasoning, Hercule’s behavioural observation and Sunil Kumar Chakraborty’s tendency of fighting for truth and justice at any cost.’
‘But….’
For past ten minutes they were conversing like this. Kunal was too busy boasting and ask the visitor to come to the point.
Giving a clear signal of boredom from that unnecessary chit-chat, I left the chair with my tea cup to stand and stare off the only office window.
Kunal stood up and dragged his chair back to come out of behind the table. This was his typical gesture to impress the other person with his authoritative personality, he cut in – ‘If you have no trust in us, you wouldn’t have come here in first place on your CD100 blue coloured bike here.’
Narayan registered an instant shade of surprise on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but now Kunal was in his full swing – ‘but people should not believe even a mere detective now days.
Let me tell you certain very interesting things before I expect you to believe me. Either you are single or your wife is out of station now days.’ – he was clearly enjoying the surprised curl of Narayan’s eyebrows. He strolled round the chair on which Narayan was sitting and continued - ‘Instant shoe shiner is your first choice for shoe polish. And last but not the least, today or yesterday only you have had your hair cut. Tell me if I am wrong Narayan Ji?’
I looked at Narayan once again and instantly noticed an exclusively expensive designer Rado watch on his wrist and a heavy gold chain behind the collars of his shirt. On the mention of his recent hair cut I observed that Narayan’s hair cut was remarkably elegant and evidently looked the work of a professional hair dresser.
A common, middle class man hardly goes for such luxuries. But there was a flaw. His right side of hair near the ears was a bit shorter than those on left side.
‘How…how could you…..’ – Narayan stammered out of surprise.
‘So now you believe Khoji Khargosh?’ – Kunal tapped his right thumb on his broad chest –‘…..or you still have any doubts which I need to clear?’
‘As far as your prediction of my being married is concerned, I am single. How come….’
‘The third button in your shirt is so carelessly and loosely stitched, only a man’s hand that is you since you have no wife.’
‘Impressive, and shoe shiner, how did you know about that?
‘Your shoes are shining only on the tips. A man using brush holds the shoe in his hands and polishes them thoroughly. But in a hurry, daily, you are used to just smack the shoes with shoe shiner on the front only. A busy man getting late, rushing for office, last moment’s finishing touches, no?’
‘Bravo!’ – Narayan almost shouted, and asked – ‘…and what about hair cut? I had it yesterday only.’
Narayan’s questions were pouring bliss in Kunal’s ears. His eyes were half closed like an enlightened mahatma who was going to reveal the “path of moksha” to his pet disciple. He looked at me, saying without saying – ‘See! This is called observation…..the essence of detection!”
He answered Narayan’s query - ‘Your… one side of hair…. is a bit shorter…. than the other…. and just recently you clearly have not noticed it as yet.’
Instantly Narayan touched his side hair and smiled. So did I.
‘My friend Manoj was right about you….’
Kunal cut in – ‘……your friend Manoj who is very fond of reading entire news paper from start to finish?’
‘Oh…How do you know Manoj?’
‘I’ve never seen your friend Manoj. This is a good chance to learn deductive reasoning for you too. Kaushal!’ – he addressed me – ‘listen carefully’
I was.
Kunal continued – ‘we just have solved one case so far and that news had just appeared in a few news papers inside somewhere, very briefly. Only a man who is not fond of reading every printed word of a news paper by habit can only miss that news. Since your friend Manoj knows about us that means……’
‘I got it…..excellent! – Narayan stood up and held Kunal by his shoulders in appreciation – ‘you are the man…who can turn the inevitable disaster away.’
‘But’ – a clearly flattered Kunal spoke – ‘you have not yet told us about your problem.’
Shades of despair again returned back on Narayan’s face.
All of us took our chairs back. I interrupted before Narayan could relate his story – ‘what about CD100 bike? How did you guess that?’
Almost laughing, Kunal replied - ‘As far as your CD100 bike is concerned, one needs not to be a detective for that. Even a child sitting in my chair could have told who had arrived on that bike just by looking at the reflection in the window glass door at the angle where I am sitting. Your bike in parking is visible from here and I had seen you parking it there in the reflection itself’
We all joined him in the little laughter.
‘Mr. Kunal’ – Narayan spoke – ‘now I am thoroughly convinced that I have come to the right person’
‘We assure you Narayan Ji’ – I said – ‘that we will never disappoint you as long as your problem is genuine and humanly diffusible. But first thing first…what is the problem that bothers you’
‘There could possibly be a murder…..’ – Narayan said.
‘murder?’ – Kunal sat straight in his chair.
‘….you can avert’ – Narayan finished his sentence - ‘You must have heard of GCA Builders Enterprise owned by Girish Chandra Aggarwal’ – Narayan asked and then answered himself – ‘…who hasn’t. I am his nephew.’
So, that explained Rado watch, heavy gold chain and designer hair cut.
Narayan paused to see the effect of the big name on us. Neither of us showed any.
‘Then, why this disguise of an ordinary man? Motor bike? Plain, simple clothes?’ – I asked and answered too – ‘You clearly don’t want to be noticed by people while coming here. No?’
‘Right Mr. Kaushal’ – Narayan confirmed – ‘this shirt and bike are borrowed from my friend and employee Manoj’ – he looked at an uneasy Kunal – ‘actually his wife is not in town and he had mended this button in the shirt himself.’
With a good deal of effort I forced myself not to smile on Kunal’s awkward situation now. His expressions clearly showed that he was offended.
As far as shoe shiner was concerned, I guessed, for a man of Narayan’s stature, he definitely wouldn’t care what his personal attendant(s) apply on his shoes. Today he might have worn unpolished shoes just to go with the looks and before entering here, may be due to the habit of wearing polished shoes always, he might have wiped the tips with the helm of his trousers.
Kunal gave him a quiet but angry stare.
‘I…I am sorry Mr. Kunal but I meant no offence. I could not muster courage to interfere when you were so enthusiastically sharing your intelligent observations….’ – Narayan tried to explain.
‘Intelligent observations?’ – Kunal hissed – ‘All my observations you proved wrong and you are saying….’
I thought better to diffuse the situation here rather than losing a client.
I said – ‘Kunal…hold on…who said your observations were wrong? It was just that only the subject was wrong. You observed one guy and predicted correctly about the other one.’
Kunal’s acidic expressions eased down a bit.
Encouraged, I continued – ‘I think this is rather far…far better than what any Holmes, Poirot or Sunil ever did. This is unique in a way that you hit bull’s eye for the person Manoj in this case whom you have never met! Isn’t it something great? What do you say Narayan Ji?’
‘Ye..ye..yes. Really. I didn’t think that way. You were…are amazing Mr. Kunal and the right guy for my problem to…..’ – Narayan blurted.
‘Let us’ – A calmed down Kunal cut in – ‘learn more about the probable murder you were talking about Mr. Narayan and how we can avert it’
I took a long, silent breath of relief.
Narayan continued with his story.
I knew that the voice recorder in Kunal’s inner coat pocket was still recording quietly since Narayan’s arrival here.
[][][][][]
September 8 2013, 2:30 PM - A
nondescript restaurant in an unnoticed part of the city
Girish Chandra, GC Aggarwal’s adopted daughter, as she had told us, was sitting with us sipping coffee and telling us why she had thought that someone wanted to kill her father. Following ethics we could not disclose her cousin brother Narayan’s meeting in the morning with us to her. She had called us at noon asking for this meeting to which we complied.
‘So Alka ji you mean to say that the accident last year was actually an attempt to kill your father?’ –
Kunal and Alka were in conversation. I was a mute participant as usual.
‘Exactly’ – she said – ‘Shefali was behind this. I never ever liked her…even today, I don’t like that woman.’
‘Who is this Shefali?’
‘My mom. She is always after his money. She actually wants to have it all, my papa’s property. She wanted to be his widow. But it was sheer luck that papa was not killed in that severe accident staged by her’
‘Alka ji, as we follow media, is it true that Shefali lives in America somewhere now?’
‘Yes. Wilmington. North Carolina. Same place where accident had been staged by her. She doesn’t live with us anymore.’
‘How are you so sure that that accident was actually staged?’
Alka described the accident that occurred – staged according to her – on August 14 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
She continued - ‘The chauffer driving the limousine was changed at the last moment and our sources revealed that new chauffer was a small time Hollywood stuntman specialized in car stunts.
Fortunately papa survived and he was killed on the spot.’
Kunal nodded. I asked – ‘What do you mean by “our sources”? Does that mean you had your own team of investigators?’
‘Not “had”,’ – Alka replied – ‘we have our BIT - Business Intelligence Team. Every business house owns one.’
‘Then’ – I asked, ignoring Kunal’s stare – ‘why do you need us, the small time detectives?’
‘This is a family matter. I need someone whom no one in my family knows in any way. I found you from a file in papa’s office maintained by our BIT on all the detective services in the town….well……where was I?’
‘Oh, pardon my interruption’ – I said – ‘You were saying that that driver – Hollywood stuntman – was killed on the spot’
‘Yeah’ – She continued – ‘two days later the driver of that tanker, who had run away from the spot, was found floating, dead in Orton Pond near Wilmington. His death was a dead end to all our investigations but papa too smelled fish. After getting discharged from the hospital he filed a divorce suite. By next week Shefali will not be my mother anymore.’
‘But that accident is not the reason that you are here. No?’ – Kunal prompted her.
She told us about the three poisoning incidents - dead cat on the night of September 3 2013, GC’s milk poisoning on September 5 2013 and how Narayan got poisoned with wine on September 6 2013.
Narayan also had told us the same.
Three killing attempts - failed attempts – by poisoning! Quite a coincidence!
‘You want us to be in that party and keep watch’ – Kunal said.
‘Exactly. Mom is also invited. If she comes, especially watch her. We need to be very discreet on this.’
How do we join the party?’
‘Don’t worry. I explain you how.’
She did.
‘We also need the details of the investigations carried out after the accident in Wilmington.’ – Kunal said
‘That file will reach you tomorrow sometime to your office. Someone will drop in.’
After she had left, Kunal
switched off the voice recorder in his pocket.
[][][][][]
Murder at the party>>
[][][][][]
Murder at the party>>
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