Read Online Murder at Crescent Point by G. S. Dutt - Free Book Online Page A

well dressed man was supervising everything. Nikki asked Mrs Taneja who he was.
    ‘Mr Khanna. He is the manager of our company.’
    Nikki recalled Mr Taneja saying that all the arrangements for the ‘baby swapping’ were done by his personal assistant who was now a manager. Nikki looked at Mr Khanna again. He was middle-aged, with medium height and a receding hairline. He seemed quite energetic.
    In the afternoon, the guests started arriving. Nikki noticed that they mostly sat in two sections, ladies on one side and men on the other. She saw two young girls entering the house with a middle-aged woman. Their faces looked familiar. After a while she realised that they were the same girls who were in the photograph with Jyoti. Nikki became alert. The woman who Nikki presumed was their mother sat near Mr Khanna in the second row from the hearth. Mr and Mrs Taneja were sitting in the first row close to the priest. Soon the priest started chanting mantras.The two girls sat at the end of the ladies section. Nikki drifted there and sat close to them.

    After the function, everybody helped themselves to refreshments. Nikki addressed the older of the two girls, ‘Hello, I am Nikki, a friend of Jyoti’s.’ The girl’s face lit up. She said, ‘You are Nikki? Oh, Jyoti was never tired of talking about you! She praised you a lot. She told me that you were her best friend. I am so happy to finally meet you!’ She extended her hand and said, ‘I am Seema and this is my younger sister, Tina.’
    ‘Were you also a friend of hers?’ Nikki asked.
    ‘We both did our pre-school here together. In fact, Dad and Anurag Uncle work in the same company. Our families are quite close,’ said Seema.
    ‘I know…I saw both of you with Jyoti in a photograph.’
    ‘In a photograph?’ asked Seema somewhat surprised. ‘I don’t remember a photo of the three of us being taken recently.’
    Nikki corrected herself, ‘Maybe someone else took that picture. You were walking in a park. There was a rain shelter in the background.’
    ‘That must be Central Park. It’s quite close to our house,’ said Tina.
    ‘Where are you staying?’ Seema asked Nikki.
    ‘I came along with Mr and Mrs Taneja and I am staying here with them.’
    ‘How long are you going to be here?’ asked Seema.
    ‘Till the end of the winter break. I was supposed to spend my holidays with Jyoti, but...’ Nikki trailed off grimly.
    ‘Why don’t you come and spend a couple of days with us?’ Seema offered, ‘We too have holidays.’ Before Nikki could react, Tina added, ‘Yes, you must come! You must be bored and lonely here.’
    ‘Thanks very much. I will speak to Aunty and make a plan,’ said Nikki. Seema wrote a number on a piece of paper and passed it on to Nikki, ‘Here is our phone number. Give me a call, both of us will come to pick you up.’
    The guests were leaving now. Nikki saw Mr and Mrs Taneja standing outside in the portico with folded hands. Mr Khanna and his wife were also standing close to them. Nikki and the two girls were the last to go out. When all the guests departed, Mrs Taneja turned to Mr Khanna, ‘Thanks for all your help in organising today’s puja.’ Mr Khanna said, ‘Please don’t mention it. Jyoti was like my own daughter.’
    ‘Yes,’ added Mrs Khanna. ‘I can never forget that lovely girl.’
    As the Khannas came to the portico to leave, Nikki was startled to see a big black car entering to take them. Nikki suddenly remembered what Lakshmi had told her. So he is in it too.
    The next morning, when Mr Taneja had left for office, Nikki went to Mrs Taneja’s room, ‘Aunty, can I come and talk to you for a while?’ Nikki sat down and said, ‘Aunty, Inspector Rajan whom you met in Sangalina Hills, told me that the woman who was found dead along with Jyoti had told someone there that Jyoti was in fact “her daughter” who had been taken away from her by deceit. She also said that she had come to your house in Somabad to state