The Spider’s Web (Part III)

That evening, Radha was returning from her dance practice when she saw a couple of hospital attendants leaving her building with Rita on a stretcher. Radha ran to her unconscious friend’s prone figure. Valli came running out to greet her sister-in-law.

“She attempted suicide by swallowing tranquilizers,” Valli looked worried.

When Kartik returned home, he was told of their neighbor’s plight. “Rita will need a lawyer.”

“Why?” Radha enquired. “What case do they have against her?”

“Fateh Singh’s post-mortem report says the burns were too even all over the body. If it were due to a slight gas leak, the burns would not have been so severe. The room must have got fully filled with the gas. What was he doing all that while? Why did he not save himself? Since there was only one other person in the house, then, the suspicion points directly at Rita. The police will catch up with her any minute.”

To be continued…