Read Online Murder with Bengali Characteristics by Shovon Chowdhury - Free Book Online
Authors: Shovon Chowdhury
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man who would hesitate to murder someone?’
As they got into the car, Li saw a slogan written on the wall across the street, crudely hand-drawn in bright red letters. All over Calcutta, the walls were covered in writing. It was how the city spoke. Like its people, it was talkative. No surface was safe. That was why no one ever bothered to paint their walls, giving the city its air of permanent decay, while at the same time communicating a wide variety of useful information. Except that this wasn’t a slogan. It was a name.
‘Harbin Paradise Realtors’ said the wall.
That’s funny, thought Li. Why would they advertise here?
10
‘We of the police force always respect sentiment…’
‘Now you shall die!’ said the thug. ‘For the glory of my goddess!’ He bared his teeth in a grin as he tightened his grip on the roomal. His teeth were black and crooked. His victim was soft and plump.
‘But I thought you were so friendly!’ gasped the young man. ‘Who knew that this was in your heart when you entered our Youth Camp? I should have listened to my mother and stayed at the Hilton!’
He rolled his eyes and collapsed, while the thug held fast to his throat. His legs twitched once, and then he was still. The thug reached into his pocket and removed his wallet. He looked up. ‘I claim it’s religious, but it’s really a profession,’ he said, looking them in the eye. ‘That’s how depraved we are.’
‘That man looks like he’s from Henzhou,’ said Big Chen, pointing at the screen suspiciously. Inspector Li put a finger to his lips. The producer made low-budget anti-Japanese war movies, the kind where Chinese soldiers threw grenades up in the air to bring down Japanese fighter planes. He was hardly going to waste money on foreigners.
The thug had more to say. ‘Don’t judge me too harshly,’ he said, ‘I’m just a product of a debased and immoral society. There are many more like me. This is what happens when you combine criminal tendencies with corrupt religious practices. Hahahaha!’
They cut to the anchor. She was dressed in a smart pink suit. Her cheeks were pale. Her hair was dark. She was perky. ‘Sometimes they spared the children,’ she said brightly, ‘So that they could recruit them and raise them as thugs. They considered themselves to be the children of the Goddess Kali, created from her sweat. They claimed their goddess had ordered them to prey on their fellow humans. Throughout the nineteenth century, the thugs murdered hundreds of thousands of their unsuspecting countrymen, until they were temporarily suppressed by British imperialist scum. We must always remember that people from this region have a strong streak of treachery against which we must be vigilant. Thugs can typically be recognized by their yellow handkerchiefs, devotion to Goddess Kali, and a cunning and deceitful nature. Thanks to recent rumours of the resurgence of this barbaric cult, citizens travelling to Bengal or India are advised to be cautious. So enjoy your journey, help spread Chinese culture, and remember,’ she smiled her dazzling smile, her eyes were like well-polished buttons, ‘mixing with unauthorized strangers is one of the Thirty-seven No-Nos.’
‘Well, that wasn’t very helpful,’ said Big Chen gloomily, as the screen went blank.
‘It’s all I could find,’ said Inspector Li apologetically. ‘But it does give us some idea. All we have to do is look for people who are deceitful and treacherous.’
‘You just described 90 per cent of the population,’ said Big Chen. ‘No offence, Brother Phoni.’
‘I’m more the loving and giving type,’ said Phoni-babu, unperturbed. He was cleaning traces of blood off the end of his stick with a grimy handkerchief.
‘This crime looked like a thug attack,’ said Li. ‘We have to consider the fact that it could actually be a thug attack. The question is, why?’
‘Perhaps it was a religious matter,’ said Phoni-babu, ‘in which case, what is
As they got into the car, Li saw a slogan written on the wall across the street, crudely hand-drawn in bright red letters. All over Calcutta, the walls were covered in writing. It was how the city spoke. Like its people, it was talkative. No surface was safe. That was why no one ever bothered to paint their walls, giving the city its air of permanent decay, while at the same time communicating a wide variety of useful information. Except that this wasn’t a slogan. It was a name.
‘Harbin Paradise Realtors’ said the wall.
That’s funny, thought Li. Why would they advertise here?
10
‘We of the police force always respect sentiment…’
‘Now you shall die!’ said the thug. ‘For the glory of my goddess!’ He bared his teeth in a grin as he tightened his grip on the roomal. His teeth were black and crooked. His victim was soft and plump.
‘But I thought you were so friendly!’ gasped the young man. ‘Who knew that this was in your heart when you entered our Youth Camp? I should have listened to my mother and stayed at the Hilton!’
He rolled his eyes and collapsed, while the thug held fast to his throat. His legs twitched once, and then he was still. The thug reached into his pocket and removed his wallet. He looked up. ‘I claim it’s religious, but it’s really a profession,’ he said, looking them in the eye. ‘That’s how depraved we are.’
‘That man looks like he’s from Henzhou,’ said Big Chen, pointing at the screen suspiciously. Inspector Li put a finger to his lips. The producer made low-budget anti-Japanese war movies, the kind where Chinese soldiers threw grenades up in the air to bring down Japanese fighter planes. He was hardly going to waste money on foreigners.
The thug had more to say. ‘Don’t judge me too harshly,’ he said, ‘I’m just a product of a debased and immoral society. There are many more like me. This is what happens when you combine criminal tendencies with corrupt religious practices. Hahahaha!’
They cut to the anchor. She was dressed in a smart pink suit. Her cheeks were pale. Her hair was dark. She was perky. ‘Sometimes they spared the children,’ she said brightly, ‘So that they could recruit them and raise them as thugs. They considered themselves to be the children of the Goddess Kali, created from her sweat. They claimed their goddess had ordered them to prey on their fellow humans. Throughout the nineteenth century, the thugs murdered hundreds of thousands of their unsuspecting countrymen, until they were temporarily suppressed by British imperialist scum. We must always remember that people from this region have a strong streak of treachery against which we must be vigilant. Thugs can typically be recognized by their yellow handkerchiefs, devotion to Goddess Kali, and a cunning and deceitful nature. Thanks to recent rumours of the resurgence of this barbaric cult, citizens travelling to Bengal or India are advised to be cautious. So enjoy your journey, help spread Chinese culture, and remember,’ she smiled her dazzling smile, her eyes were like well-polished buttons, ‘mixing with unauthorized strangers is one of the Thirty-seven No-Nos.’
‘Well, that wasn’t very helpful,’ said Big Chen gloomily, as the screen went blank.
‘It’s all I could find,’ said Inspector Li apologetically. ‘But it does give us some idea. All we have to do is look for people who are deceitful and treacherous.’
‘You just described 90 per cent of the population,’ said Big Chen. ‘No offence, Brother Phoni.’
‘I’m more the loving and giving type,’ said Phoni-babu, unperturbed. He was cleaning traces of blood off the end of his stick with a grimy handkerchief.
‘This crime looked like a thug attack,’ said Li. ‘We have to consider the fact that it could actually be a thug attack. The question is, why?’
‘Perhaps it was a religious matter,’ said Phoni-babu, ‘in which case, what is
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