Story 10: The Missing Necklace

Of late, I've been reading more of Agatha Christie's novels. So, when the prompt for this month's short story was "The Robbery" I decided to try and tell a simple story, focusing on a crime and its resolution. To add a little more emotion, I thought I'd weave in some romance, too. The result is this story titled "The Missing Necklace" 

Prompt: The Robbery    Word count: 1500 words exactly

I tossed the newspaper onto my desk, and cursed these astrology experts.  ‘Get ready to rebuild! Your ruling planet Jupiter arrives in Taurus for the first time since 1993, helping you attract new people into your orbit,’ was predicted for me. Huh! It was 11 o’clock on a Thursday, and not one client had entered my new ‘Alpha Detective Agency’ office.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I opened the door to a young man in his late twenties. “I’d like to see Mr. Gaurav,” he said.

“I’m Gaurav. Come inside. Please sit down, would you like a glass of water?”

“No, no, it’s ok, thank you. Sorry, I didn’t call for an appointment, but it’s quite urgent that I find that missing necklace, and so, I just rushed here because I heard you’re a good detective, and I can’t really go to the police…”

“Why don’t you start from the very beginning, and tell me your name, too,” I smiled, trying to calm him down.

“How foolish of me! Sorry, yes, my name is Dilip Kumar. See, I’m engaged to be married to Rekha, and the wedding is just a few weeks away. Now, when all arrangements are already in place, my mother says we must call it off!”

“Oh, why?”

“Because Rekha lost a diamond necklace that’s been in our family for generations. Ma says it’s a bad omen, and a sign that Rekha is careless, and unfit for our family.”

“But, how did Rekha get the necklace? You’re not yet married, right?”

“We were engaged in a small family function just yesterday. It’s a custom in the family that the necklace is gifted during the engagement ceremony. The same necklace must be worn during the wedding, and the new bride will step into her new home, wearing it. When her son gets engaged, she will pass it on to her daughter-in-law, and so the tradition continues.”

“I see. What does Rekha have to say?”

“Will you talk to her? And I think it’s better you see the place where the engagement was held, too.”

                                           ***********

Dilip ushered me into a huge hall on the first floor of his home. I looked up at the ornate chandeliers, and swept my gaze across the embroidered curtains pulled across the windows. The Kumars were certainly rich. A small door in the room led somewhere. It opened now, and a girl walked in. Into the hall and right into my life.

“This is Rekha,” said Dilip, in introduction.

I’ve never believed in the idea of love at first sight. But right then, I knew that in a few weeks time, I’d be sitting, nursing a drink, drowning my sorrows at the thought of Mrs. And Mr. Dilip Kumar enjoying their honeymoon.

I nodded at Rekha, taking in her wan look. Was she really innocent, or was I on her side already?

“Can you tell me when exactly you last had the necklace with you?” I asked.

“I wore it for the engagement ceremony. Just before leaving, I took it off and put it into my purse. When I got home, it wasn’t there! I emptied my purse onto the bed and checked, I even went back and checked in the car, but there was no sign of it. That’s when I called up Dilip and told him I’d lost it.”

“Was the purse with you all the time or did you put it down unattended somewhere? Try and remember carefully, Rekha.”

“Oh no, I was so worried about the necklace that when I had to use this washroom before leaving, I even took the purse in with me.”

I stepped into the small door from where she had earlier entered, and looked about. Nothing much there, except for a mirror and washbasin to clean one’s hands, and another door leading to the commode. There was a fresh patch of white cement on the floor behind the washbasin, and seeing me looking at it, Dilip explained, “There was some drainage problem, the water was leaking out from this place, so we had it patched up today morning.”

Rekha had followed me inside, and in the tiny space, I could smell her lemony perfume. “I left the purse here when I went inside,” she explained, indicating the platform on which the washbasin was fitted.

“So, someone could have got to the purse when you were inside?”

“Oh no, I don’t think so. Dilip was waiting outside the door for me to finish up.”

                                         **********

Trust no one was what my mentor in the profession had always advised. So, I spent the next few days checking up on all the people who had been in the Kumar home on that eventful day. Including members of both the involved families. I’d even followed Dilip and Rekha on two days. He seemed like the typical spoilt brat of a rich family. She was a simple girl, who spent time with her friends and went once a week to the nearby orphanage to read to the kids. Finally, after a week, I had a glimmer of hope, but no hard evidence. I’d have to play my cards just right to trap the thief.

                                          *********

I asked Dilip to come to my office. He arrived, looking hassled and irritable. “Well, what progress have you made, Gaurav? I’m really busy, and I have to meet someone important in an hour’s time, so make it quick. ”

“Is that someone important going to buy the diamond necklace from you, Dilip?”

“What the hell are you saying? What necklace?”

Now for step 2, I thought, as I spread out the tissue paper in my hand, to reveal a tiny sparkling stone. “I don’t think your buyer will care about the necklace missing a small diamond, but you’ll lose a few thousand rupees, for sure.”

Dilip’s hand flew to the inner pocket of the black coat he was wearing, and he brought out a little jewel case.

“That’s right, you must check the necklace to be sure I’m not lying.”

That did it for Dilip. He crumbled and in a trembling voice, the whole story spilled out. Most of it matched with what I had learned and deduced. Spoilt brat indeed, with a weakness for gambling at which he had not much luck. No sense of when to quit, either. Papa Kumar had found out, and refused to bail the son out. Hence Dilip had planned to rob the diamond necklace, and sell it to settle his debts.

I prised the jewel case from Dilip’s unresisting hands and locked it up in my table drawer. I’d have to go to the Kumar home tomorrow and return it to Dilip’s Ma. So crushed was Dilip by my discovery of his crime, that he quietly slunk away, without even confirming my claim about the missing diamond. Thank God! The phone rang just as he left, and I almost swooned when I heard Rekha asking to meet me.

                                             **********

She smelt of the same lemony perfume as before, and I was finding it difficult to concentrate. “I’m so happy the diamond necklace was found,” gushed Rekha.

Then, thoughtfully, she asked, “How did you do it? I know you spared no effort. The workman who patched up the floor in the washroom is a far-off relation of the maid who works in my house. I came to know that you even met him, to ask about the drainage problem he’d fixed on the day after my engagement.”

“Ah, yes, talking to that chap was quite the turning point. He said the drain pipe had developed a cut that looked pretty fresh. I put two and two together, and concluded that someone had used that gap behind the washbasin as the hiding place for the necklace picked from your purse. In the cramped space, some part of the necklace must have pressed against the plastic drain pipe and cut it. No one but Dilip had been there in the washroom, and other enquiries showed his finances were a mess. For me, that definitely sealed his fate.”

I stood to leave, then asked, “So, everyone is happy now, isn’t it? When is the wedding to be held?”

“What wedding? I told my parents to call the whole thing off – no way I’d get married into a family that thinks my losing a diamond necklace is a bad omen. Especially when it wasn’t my fault at all.”

Smart girl. Rekha wasn’t done yet. “Thank you so much for clearing my name. I don’t really know how I can make it up to you…”she said, with a shy smile.

“Actually, I can tell you how – meet me for a cup of coffee next week?”

                                             ***********

Till today, Mrs. Rekha Gaurav wonders at how I worked up the courage to ask her out. I’ve never told her, but it was because my astrological forecast for the day had said ‘As Mars transits through Taurus, the Universe has decided to gift you the love of your life.’