The Last Entry

 

 

‘He has to die. That is the end. That will be the beginning. I want to break free. All those years lost. Helping him keep the image of good boy. While I endured the worst of him.’

 

Inspector Shokie flipped through the rest of the pages of the diary. That was the last entry. The other entries were simple reminders: ‘MIL’s bday’, ‘SIL’s anniversary’...

“That diary was hidden in a suitcase with old clothes,” sub-Inspector Anu.

“Is it true?” Shokie asked. “He being a good boy?”

"From the little I could make out from his grieving family, that seems true,” Anu paused, “Aren’t those that are usually bad?”

“Anything else?”

“He was active on social media. He is a true prick there,” Anu said, “Even I felt like killing him.”

“You seem to have got up on the right side of the bed today,” Shokie said, “jumping to conclusions.”

Shokie flipped through the pages of the diary and looked at the last entry once again.

“Today is April 12. Why is this written on the page of October 1?” she asked.

They were outside the hospital room of the suspect Mrs. Aneesh. A doctor came out of the room, told them that the patient was still groggy and they should wait for a while.

The previous night, Mr. and Mrs. Aneesh were returning to Trivandrum around 11 pm after a two-day get together at Kollam with a friend and family. Mrs. Aneesh was driving. Around 11:30 pm, the car veered to the left, crashed the left side of the car into a tree at the danger zone near Paripalli. The car was not going fast but the left side of the Maruti Alto was crushed, killing Mr. Aneesh. Two personnel at the check-post near Paripalli traffic junction observed the crash from far. They did not see any vehicle or beast that could have caused that.

Shokie and Anu waited till they were given the go-ahead an hour later.

Mrs. Aneesh had a huge bump on her forehead and some lacerations.

“For a crashed Maruti Alto, you seem to have come out fine,” Anu remarked with a smirk.

Mrs. Aneesh glared back. “If coming out a widow is fine…”

“If that’s what you…”

“Anu,” Shokie stopped her.

“Do you remember what made you swerve to the left?” Shokie asked.

“I thought I saw some animal,” Mrs. Aneesh replied. Anu gave a snort.

“We have this diary,” Shokie said.

Mrs. Aneesh looked uncomfortable for the first time.

“We were wondering about the last entry,” Shokie said.

“I was trying to write after a long time,” Mrs Aneesh paused, “a story.”

“A story, my foot!” Anu exploded.

Shokie remained silent. She nodded her head and left the room. Her subordinate followed reluctantly.

“Did you buy that crap?” Anu protested.

“What crap?”

“That story bit.”

Shokie shrugged.

“It’s a perfect set-up,” Anu said, “She writes those lines. Says it’s a story. Kills her husband. Argues that she would not have written those lines if she planned to kill her husband.”

“Maybe…” Shokie said. “Maybe, online pricks are good boys at home.”

“Aren’t you jumping to conclusions?”

“Maybe…” Shokie paused, “where would you try to write a story, that too in a diary, after a long break and where would you write a false tale for the purpose of a kill? Close to the current date or close to the end of the diary?”

“Oh, I am sure she is smart enough to fool us,” Anu said.

“He has to die.”

“Pardon?”

“He will die.” Shokie continued, “Which one for a kill?”