Benyamin: Yellow Lights of Death

‘Do you have any branches in Diego Garcia?’ I asked, interrupting his discourse.

‘Not just Diego, we have branches in all countries. Local clubs and societies help us with that. In Diego, a group called Madras Tamil Munrum is affiliated to us,’ he said after checking a long list.

‘One Senthil used to come here from Diego regularly. What was that for?’ Salim asked.

‘Senthil. Who is that?’ He didn’t seem to know.

‘The same Senthil who was shot dead in Diego!’ When I said that, he was taken aback. But he recovered quickly.

‘Why, you don’t know Senthil?’ I asked in a serious tone.

‘Actually, who are you guys? What do you want?’ That question showed that he knew Senthil.

‘We work with a newspaper in Diego. The fax you had sent was to our paper.’

‘That was a while ago. Why are you asking about it now?’

‘It is now that the Diego police have started looking at it. One police officer has already been suspended. Our Diego Daily wants to do a follow-up story. Please tell us the details you know about the case,’ said Nattapranthan.

‘When you write your newsreports, please don’t put our name. It’s bad for an organization like us that does charity work. That’s a request I have for you.’ He was almost begging us.

‘Yeah, we agree to that,’ Nattapranthan said. ‘Under no circumstances will we use your name or the organization’s name. Tell us all you know.’

‘Udiyan Cheral Tamil Kazhagam has an agent in every country. They come here once in a while. There is nothing special about it. That’s just part of their social commitment. When I heard such a nice person suddenly died, I had some doubts. So I sent the fax. ’

‘What’s the reason for you having those doubts?’

‘He was working there in the tax office, right? He always used to say that he had a lot of enemies.’

‘Who were those enemies, did he ever tell you?’

‘Who knows! Must be those who didn’t want to pay tax, who else. You have to find out who they are.’

‘There are many stories in Diego linking Uthiyan Kazhagam with the murder. Do you have anything to say on that?’

‘People can make up stories. For a social organization like ours that is running well, there will be a lot of stories written about us. We don’t care,’ he said with contempt.

‘Do you have anything more on Senthil to tell us?’

‘No, this is all I know.’

Knowing that we would not be able to get more from him, we left. The rest of the day, we roamed around Pondicherry. Late in the night, we returned in a bus to Ernakulam.

Later, the Thursday Market called the trip the most non-productive trip we’ve ever had. Salim opposed it, saying that we should not expect every trip to be totally successful or that it should reveal a trove of secrets. But all three of us regretted that we didn’t discover more during the trip.

‘Next time, we’ll bring a bomb that’ll surprise you all,’ Nattapranthan challenged.

Though he said that in jest, such a challenge was in my mind too!

Celebration

I WAS IN that daring state of mind when I got a call from Jijo quite unexpectedly.

‘Sir, the matter you had asked me to find out, that ceremony. ’

‘Yeah, yeah, any details of that?’ I hurriedly asked.

‘No, but there is one thing. There is some event planned next week at Valyedathu Veedu. I overheard Appachan here telling Ammachi. I asked them, but they didn’t tell me much.’

‘You have any idea what it is about, Jijo?’

‘My engineering brain tells me that there is only one speciality for the day that Appachan was talking about. It was the same day, a year ago, that Melvin’s forty-one-day ceremony was carried out. If there is celebration on that day, that means the ritual Andrapper had seen will be repeated. I am guessing this, what do you think?’

‘Full marks to your engineering brain. I guess you are right. Even in science, such assumptions lead to the truth. We have to somehow find the truth this time. Can Appachan be swayed?’

‘Don’t think so. He is tough.’

‘What’s his weakness? We’ll use that.’

‘I’ve been trying to find that out for the last ten to twenty years. He’s a difficult catch.’

‘OK. Let me discuss this with my Thursday Market. I will call you back.’ That day itself I gathered the gang and presented the matter. Nobody had any idea how to buy off Jijo’s Appachan. But everyone agreed that this chance should not be wasted at any cost.

For that, it was decided that two of us would go and meet Jijo and make a plan for the crucial day. To restore the pride lost in the Pondicherry trip, Salim and Nattapranthan volunteered to go. Accordingly, they went to Kothamangalam College to meet Jijo. Knowing that he had our support and help, Jijo’s excitement increased. During their meeting, a plan came up. On the morning of the day of celebration, Jijo goes to Valyedathu Veedu as if on a casual visit. He’ll hide a camera without anyone noticing. Salim promised to get a small movie camera that could hold its charge for around twelve hours. After planning to meet on the appointed day at Udayamperoor, they dispersed.

None of us had such a camera. Salim contacted one of his friends in Bangalore and got a camera that could retain its charge for a decent time. With that, we arrived Udayamperoor. Salim, Anil and I were in the team. As decided, Jijo arrived in front of Udayamperoor’s Old Church at 5 p.m.

We had tea at a nearby restaurant and discussed the itinerary.

‘Look, Jijo, it’s our responsibility to protect you in this operation. We’ll even die, but won’t betray you. You have to trust us. This is a joint operation. Success is our common aim,’ Anil said.

‘The visuals we shoot will be attributed to Andrapper. So we should capture them from where he had stayed before: Melvin’s room on the second floor. To be precise, the money plant that obstructed his view should still be there. If possible, we should place the camera among its leaves. Then we are safe,’ Salim said.

‘Now, let Jijo go to Valyedathu Veedu to get a feel of what’s happening there. Let’s think of the camera later,’ I suggested.

‘No, give me the camera. I’ll do things according to the circumstances.’ Jijo appeared confident.

Salim handed the camera to him and explained its settings and operation. ‘Okay, then. We’ll be right here. If you need any help, please call.’

We went to the Old Church and walked around it. Then went to Thaikkattamma’s chapel. It had been renovated through the donation of some believer in the Gulf. We thought of going to Poothotta to see Martha Mariam Church and Melvin’s grave, but then Jijo called. ‘I’m coming. Please wait.’ Within ten minutes, his bike came and stopped in front of our car. We got out anxiously. ‘What happened?’

‘I’ve placed it.’ His hands were shaking while he said it. ‘Some three or four Appachans and Ammachis have come. When he was busy talking to them, I went upstairs. I kept it where you wanted it to be kept. Now that money plant has grown bigger. Nobody will be able to spot the camera. Now it just needs to be switched on.’

Anil hugged him to make him relax.

‘If no issue pops up, I’ll stay there tonight. Then I can also see the whole thing in person,’ Jijo said, kick-starting his bike.

‘Either way it’s okay. But call us.’ We bid him goodbye with a thumbs-up gesture.

To avoid any suspicion, we also started our car and drove away.

It was around seven in the night. Eight. Nine. Ten. There was no call yet from Jijo. When we tried to call, it said he was out of coverage area. In between, there was a string of calls from Nibu and company to know about the developments. The more time passed without any news, the more worried we became. ‘Shall we go there?’ Salim asked. ‘No, he is smarter than us. And bold,’ Anil stopped him. We waited till midnight. Then we lost all hope and returned to Ernakulam. We took a hotel room. None of us could sleep. Our thoughts were all about Jijo. A gnawing fear that we had put him in trouble. Nobody said it aloud, though.