A MURDER AND A MYSTERY

CHAPTER 5: SEBASTIAN IS GRILLED

"Mr Sebastian. My name is Williams, and I am the investigation officer assigned to this case. I want your help in solving this murder mystery."

"Mr Williams; pleased to meet you, Sir. I have already told the police everything that I know about this unfortunate incident."

"Of course you have, and I have read your statement. But Mr Sebastian, I think you do not understand the situation quite clearly. The body of a lady was rotting in your flat and you were going on normally with your life. You see, this does not happen normally. I am sorry to say this, but Mr Sebastian, you must know that you are our prime suspect."

"What? I am telling you that I have nothing to do with this lady."

"On the contrary, you have everything to do with her; as far as we are concerned. It is your apartment where the body was found. As the sole occupant, you have full control over who comes here and who goes out. You do not have any domestic help. What do you want us to believe? Some ghost walked in with the body?"

"This is preposterous; are you arresting me?"

"Maybe later; for now we suspect your involvement in the crime; unless you convince us otherwise. Now, I want to know who else visits this place apart from you. I also want you to give me a list of your friends and relatives irrespective of whether they come here or not. I want you to go over everything that happened to you in the last two weeks or so and tell me if there was something unusual. I want you to remember every single person you met during these weeks. I want you to tell me where you went during the two weeks, and if possible prove that you went there. You see Mr Sebastian, we need a lot of help from you; and you better sober up and give me all the information. Maybe you are innocent; in that case, I can help you."

Sebastian was looking stunned at this development. Meanwhile, Williams was moving around the house. "Mr Sebastian, can you show me your wife's photograph? I believe she was the one to discover the dead body in the loft."

Sebastian took out a photograph of his wife and offered it to Williams. He looked at it closely and gave it back.

"Now, Sebastian; tell me if you really believe in spirits?"

"I don't."

"Then how do you expect me, a hard-nosed investigator, to believe in your story?"

"I don't want you to believe in any story."

"But you know for sure that your wife appeared before you, is it not?"

"Yes, she did."

"But you can't prove it; I mean you cannot now ask her to come again and help you prove your innocence."

"I don't know."

"Did you try to call her again?"

"No."

"I strongly suggest you try. Only she can save you from the mess you are in. Remember what I want from you; I expect you to bring all the information I asked for by tomorrow evening; at my office."

As Williams walked out of the house, Sebastian sunk into a sofa. His head was reeling. What had he done to earn divine wrath? God was cruel to him always, now it had become worse. Sebastian wanted to cry; he realized that tears would not come, and there was none who cared for him. What is the use of living such a worthless life?

Williams had asked him to try calling his wife again. But he had not called her the other day; she had come on her own and left on her own accord. Sebastian was not very sure he wanted his wife to appear again. He had never loved his wife, for she was part of the deception that had shattered him forever. However, after he discovered her illness, he was full of pity for her; that is why he refused to divorce or marry again. Now he was not sure whether he had seen his wife or not; could be his imagination, but why would he imagine such a thing? Williams was right; when he did not believe in spirits, how could he expect the world to believe?

Sebastian decided not to think of his wife or his life. Someone killed the unknown lady and had dumped her in his flat. He wanted to know who did this, just to rule out the possibility of having committed the crime himself; it was possible he had killed the lady in some madness. Had he lost his mind and become insane?

Sebastian settled down comfortably and began to think. It was true that he went out every single day. He just walked aimlessly and bought things to eat. He always went to a particular shop near the building to buy things. And he bought some vegetables and fruit from a nearby vendor. He realized that this had become a routine with him, and he went out of the house every day at the same time, without even planning to do so.

After the discovery of the body, he had not ventured out. He now felt like taking a walk. He wanted to breathe fresh air, sit for a while to watch the sea, which he liked. Yes, he liked watching the sea.

He decided to go out. He would come back and write out the information that the investigator wanted. His relatives; he suddenly realized that he had relatives and he could seek some help from them. Should he contact them? They had long since given him up, rather he had given them up. His uncle; his uncle was closest to him and would really like to help him out. He had people and this gave him comfort.