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Sharmila Kantha has lived in cities as diverse as
Kathmandu and Washington DC, Beijing and Bonn. But New
Delhi is her birthplace and home. She is presently
living in Hong Kong with her husband and son. Just the
Facts, Madamji is her first full-length work.
Just the facts, Madamji
The facts: Mrs. Mehrotra, elderly widow of a retired
senior bureaucrat who had accumulated wealth far beyond
his means, had been found murdered. The late Mr.
Mehrotra's nephew, married to my new client, and Mrs.
Mehrotra's two nieces were now in the running for the
booty. But Mrs. Kumar was the only one looking for the
old woman's will, convinced it was all hers.
"You don't want me to find the murderer of your
aunt-in-law?" Me – a PI with vast investigative
experience.
"Murderer-shurderer! That is nothing to do with us. The
police are looking for her servant. She is murdering her
with her accomplice and running away with jewellery and
Rs. 10,000 in cash." I decided now that I finally had a
case, I could take a week off from work. The Bank
Manager wouldn't be too happy, but hell, I was entitled
to a few days of rest after slogging every day 10.30 to
4.30 in the hot dingy branch office. It was summer, so
most of the time there was no electricity and nobody
worked anyway. So... |
