“What’s going on?” There was a crowd gathered outside the department’s building when Rupali reached there.

“Murder. Or suicide. I don’t know,” someone from the crowd informed her.

“What?” she ran inside. An entire wing was cordoned off. It included both her lab and Paritosh’ office.

She spotted Paritosh and pushed through the crowd to reach him. He looked distressed. “Where did it happen?” she asked him.

“In my office,” he tried hard, but his voice quivered.

“What? How?”

“I have no idea, Rupali. The door was open when I came this morning. Varun had jumped out of the window. Or had been pushed. Can’t say.”

She noticed him clenching and unclenching his fists. He was nervous! She took one of his hands in hers. He was startled. But she did not let go.

“It will be all right,” she said.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Do you want to go home?” she asked.

“I am not sure. I might be needed here. Police, students, media–”

“Okay.”

They stood there, unnoticed among other faculty members and students, while policemen scuttled in and out of the crime scene. Paritosh’ phone rang after a while. It was the director of the institute.

“I will take it outside,” he told Rupali and went away.

Rupalit grew worried when Paritosh did not come back for almost fifteen minutes. She called him. He picked up after a few rings.

“Dr. Khanna. Where are you?”

She heard a sigh before he spoke, “In the park. Behind the department building.” It was a well-maintained, but hardly visited park.

“I am coming there.”

—

“What happened?”

“You should go back to your hostel, Rupali. This is hardly a day to do any work.”

“Who is talking about work? What did the director say? Why didn’t you come back?”

“Let it be, Rupali. I will handle it.”

“I am not moving an inch from here until you tell me.”

“I am a suspect in the case.”

“What? That is ridiculous.”

“It’s not. It happened in my office.”

“So what! When did it happen?”

“Last night according to the provisional forensic assessment.”

“Were you even there?”

“No.”

“Then tell them.”

“Police respects the boundaries of an educational institution. If the director clears me of suspicion, then they won’t pursue that line of enquiry.”

“And?”

“The director tells me that he needs some concrete proof, or a witness to show that I was not in the department.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing. He advised me to not say anything hastily and prepare for a possible interrogation.”

“Just call the woman you were with yesterday evening at The Landmark Hotel.”

Paritosh looked alarmed, “How do you know?”

“I was there.”

“How come?”

“I was not stalking you. One of my maternal uncles was in town. I had booked a room for him there and I met him for dinner.”

“You must keep this to yourself, Rupali.”

“Why?”

“I can’t involve her in this?”

“Why not? What is more important to you right now? Avoiding a little marital discord or getting out of this horrible mess?”

“Marital discord? What are you– Oh!” he fell silent.

“Call her.”

“I can’t. It is not about me. It is about her.”

“Right!” Rupali walked away with clenched teeth.

Paritosh buried his head in his hands. What mess had he gotten himself into?

—

Rupali recalled the last night. She was at The Landmark Hotel with her Uncle. He had a late-night flight to catch and was in the city for a few hours. So, Rupali had booked a room for him to rest before his flight. They had come to the restaurant of the hotel for dinner where she had spotted Paritosh. He was with a woman. In her late 20s or early 30s, lean and fair. Rupali saw Paritosh comforting and consoling her. He even gave her a hug before they started their dinner.

She had felt incredibly jealous. It made no sense. Even if everyone else was right, and she was in love with him, she knew he was a married man. She had never felt jealous of Amrit. So, why now? Why seeing him with another woman was making her so jealous? Had she subconsciously assumed that if there was to be another woman in his life, it would be her?

She had returned late after dropping her Uncle off at the airport. Then she had tossed and turned in her bed for a long time. Only in the wee hours of morning her exhaustion had taken over her mental anguish and she had drifted off to sleep. She could not get up in time after that and had been late in reaching her lab, by when Paritosh was already in this mess not of his making. Despite the enormity of the situation, his unwillingness to call that woman as a witness strengthened her suspicions about their relationship even further.

Presently, Rupali sighed and toyed with her mobile. Finally, she made up her mind and made a call, “Kaku. This is Rupali. I need your help right away. Please speak to the commissioner of police…”

When she returned to the park after making the call, Paritosh was no longer there. She called him, but he disconnected. He sent a message immediately though, “In the director’s office.”

—

To be continued