The Axe Slayer
- Writers Pouch
- Aug 6, 2015
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 29
24th April 2006
“Mr Maniratnam, a renowned businessman, was brutally murdered yesterday. His head was clipped off with an axe. Local police and the forensic team were already at the crime scene,” briefed DCP Sharma as Govind and Ankitha followed him. Standing at a distance, they saw the forensic team scattered all over the place, with Mr Subhash giving a broad smile noticing Govind.
Amongst the chatter, Govind could hear Mrs Maniratnam’s cry while noticing the stunned silence of the servants who stood at the entrance along with them. Stepping inside, Govind saw blood spread over the white sheets and Mr Maniratnam’s body lying on his bed. Approaching it, he noticed a clean cut. As he stared, Subhash whispered, “Our money is on an axe…”
With a smirk on his face, Govind nodded while noticing Ankitha talking to the family members. Subhash continued, “The clean cut seems professional. Mr. Maniratnam might not even know what hit him.”
Glancing at the ripped, bloodstained pillow, Govind gazed around the room before asking, “Any signs of forced entry?”
With Subhash shaking his head, indicating no, Govind stared at everyone in the room. Meanwhile, Ankita approached to inform, “Nothing productive. Just praises to the dead soul.”
Noticing Subash completing his paperwork, Ankita queried, “Why kill a reputed businessman?”
While Govind pondered, Subash asked, “Even if someone did. Why the head?”
Govind’s mind was racing with questions. He noticed no bloodstains in any other part of the room, and the bedroom was unusually closed from all sides. Presuming that the murderer had entered through the main entrance, Govind still wondered how the murderer carried the head? At a distance, Mrs. Maniratnam, still weeping, tried to speak to DGP Sharma but found it challenging to say, “I... I don’t understand why anyone would want to hurt him. He was well-respected and is certainly a good man.”
