Ssshhh…”
“What??”
“Sshh.. ” Samaara hushed Tanya.
They could hear some arguments in the adjacent room from their balcony.
Samaara and Tanya were on their way to Ooty, but they had got delayed and had put up at a hotel in Mettupalayam, the foothills of Ooty.
They had their dinner and returned to their rooms. Samaara opened the balcony and stepped out to enjoy the cool breeze and the night sky. That was when she heard raised voices from the adjacent room. The balcony door was open and she could hear voices.
She beckoned Tanya.
“I don’t want to do this!” Shouted a female voice.
Tanya pulled at Samaara’s sleeves
“It looks like a couple having argument. Let’s not eavesdrop.”
But Samaara’s eyes were gleaming. She smiled naughtily at Tanya and held her arms.
“We will get to hear some bedtime stories!” She whispered giggling.
By now they could hear the man pleading.
For a while there was silence and then suddenly,
“You are mine, you have to do what I ask of you.”
The man’s tone had changed it was rough and savage.
“Please…don’t do this!” The woman was now pleading in a plaintive tone.
Samaara and Tanya looked at each other bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
Silence…
“Look how sharp the knife is… look at it glinting against your skin… it is lusting for your blood!”
“Pleassseee…Nooooo….NOOO…” her sound was cut halfway followed by a hideous laughter.
“Ssshhh… They are listening… Sweetheart…Silence!”
And again that evil laughter!!
“We have to see,” Samaara whispered, as she leaned over the partition of the shared balcony to peer into the adjacent room which was partially curtained.
That’s when they saw something they were not meant to see!
MURDER!
A woman lay absolutely still on the floor, surrounded by a dark pool of blood. A man in a dark hoodie stood over her, his back to them, meticulously wiping a long silver knife!
The two friends scuttled into their room and shut the balcony door. Their hearts pounding at what they just saw!
“Murder!” whispered Samaara while Tanya looked terrified.
“Do you think he saw us?…What do we do now?” asked Tanya in a quavering voice.
“Inform the hotel authorities and ask them
to call the police. Come.”
*****
A t the desk, the manager’s eyes popped out as she finished her story. He looked at Samaara, incredulously.
“Are you sure, you girls have not imagined the whole thing.”
Samaara got angry and replied.
“Tomorrow, when the murder is discovered and the police arrive, how would you like it?”
At the mention of police, the manager looked a little unsure.
“Reporters will flock asking questions. I’ll tell them that I had given you the information and you had refused to act on it!” said Samaara.
At once the manager dialed the police station and gave a brief outline of the situation. He then nodded his head and kept down the phone.
Samaara and Tanya sat down on the chairs facing the reception desk. The manager was wiping his forehead and glancing at the door every two minutes.
Soon enough the two policemen arrived, and the girls followed them alongwith the manager. Tanya cowered behind Samaara as the manager knocked at the door.
After a brief pause, the door opened. A young man stood holding the door. At the sight of the police his eyes widened. He came out of the room and shut the door, before looking at the manager questioningly.
But it was the police who spoke first.
“Sir, We have reason to believe you have murdered your wife!”
The man turned pale and staggered backwards.
“WHAAAT…”
“We would like to search your room please.”
“What gave you such a preposterous idea?” he asked blusteringly as he looked at the manager.
The manager straightened his shoulders and answered,
“These ladies heard you killing your wife from their balcony and saw the body. They are the witness!”
The man turned towards the girls, “You girls were eavesdropping and snooping?”
Tanya shivered as Samaara replied.
“Yess… and a good thing we did… we caught you in your act! You villain, you murdered your wife!”
“What is the commotion?” asked a voice, as the door opened and there stood a young woman in her pyjamas. She looked taken aback at the crowd in front and turned towards the man.
“These girls believe that I killed you as they spied your dead body from their balcony!” he answered her with a sardonic smile.
The woman put back her head and gave a gurgling laughter. Then wiping off the tears streaming down her cheeks, she told the officers.
“Sorry for that. You see we are actors and we were practising our dialogues for tomorrow’s play.”
There was a collective gasp at her revelation.
The woman then opened the door and asked them in.
After verifying, the police turned towards the girls with a glare
“Next time, don’t see what you are not supposed to see!”
The girls turned beet red and apologised to everyone for the mistake.
As the police left, the girls turned towards their room.
The man turned to the girls and growled, “You girls beware! Picture abhi baaki hai!”
Terror struck the girls scrambled into their room and shut the door. They didn’t see him grinning, enjoying his act!
THE MURDER WITNESS
