Killer,Romantic

Diga is a sea-side town which is surrounded everywhere by the Bay of
Bengal. The sea is coloured light blue in Diga and is rather violent
during high tide. For the people of Calcutta who want to experience the
sea, Diga is the place to come to. And the honeymoon crowd does come in
droves. As a result the town is always filled with tourists except in
winter. There are many hotels and resorts all around Diga. The best of
these is certainly Toshali Sands. This getaway has its own private
beach. The resort organizes a lot of activities like windsurfing,
parasailing and jet-skiing for its guests. There is also rock-climbing
and bungee-jumping if you are a little more adventurous. It is November
now. There are fewer guests in Toshali Sands now. Most of the people
now occupying rooms are hardcore adventure sports enthusiasts. The
beach has fewer people now and can be used for various sports. The best
rooms in Toshali Sands are actually cottages. These cottages are as
good as a regular house in which a family might live. There is a
well-stacked kitchen despite the fact that there is 24 hour
room-service. There is a bar in each cottage that has the choicest
wines that money can buy. There is a gym in each cottage. There is a
computer with internet connection. The bathroom has a Jacuzzi. Each
cottage also has a small projection theatre where you can watch films
like you would in a public theatre. The three cottages are currently
occupied by three couples. The occupants of Cottage 1 are the Johnsons.
Mr Johnson is about to divorce his wife and marry his secretary. This
holiday is their last outing together. Cottage 2 is occupied by Mr and
Mrs Sen. Mr Sen is an insurance advisor. He has recently bought a life
insurance policy in his wife's name. If his wife dies now, Mr Sen, who
is the only nominee of the life insurance policy stands to gain one
million pounds. The third couple are Mr and Mrs Bolt. They seem to be a
happy, normal twosome. Mr and Mrs Bolt have been married for ten years
but they have no issue. Both the Sens and the Johnsons have children.
All six occupants of the cottages went to the same college. They
studied together for five years. Naturally, these people knew each
other intimately. In fact Mr Bolt had suggested that they should visit
Toshali Sands at this time of the year. He knew about the problems that
the Johnsons were going through. It was his suggestion that they should
put their heads together to resolve the problems that the husband and
wife were facing. It was morning now, about nine am. The three families
that lived in the cottages were having breakfast in their exclusive
dining room. Everyone seemed happy. Mrs Bolt was saying, "My husband
can imitate a toad." To prove her right Mr Bolt immediately did an
impression of a toad. Mrs Sen who was very pretty said, "I am worth one
million pounds you know. My husband can kill me anytime and pocket that
money." Mr Sen looked embarrassed. He said, "My wife likes to joke
about me. So Mr Johnson what is your secretary's name?" Mrs Johnson's
face became red with embarrassment. "Now don't blush Alice," he told
his wife, "Everyone knows about our divorce. Yes Mr Sen, my fianc?e is
called Jennifer." Mr Bolt suggested, "Maybe we could stop your second
marriage Johnson. Think of the children. They need their parents to
stay together." Johnson replied tartly "Its none of your business Bolt.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have some phone calls to make." And that
is how the morning assembly broke. The three ladies Mrs Johnson, Mrs
Sen and Mrs Bolt were found dead in the drawing room at about four pm,
the time at which they were supposed to have tea. The police came and
began interrogating. Mr Johnson was suspected of killing his wife to
get her out of the way. But the detectives could not justify why
Johnson would kill the other two ladies with whom he was friendly from
the college days. The detectives questioned Mr Sen for a long time. He
could have killed his wife for the insurance money. It was believed
that he had done it too. But what about the other two ladies. Post
mortem reports revealed that the women had been poisoned. And the
poison was present in the cigarettes that the ladies were smoking.
Someone had added poison to the tobacco in the cigarette. Mr Bolt
worked in a tobacco company but that meant nothing. In the end everyone
was allowed to go. Mr Johnson got married soon while Mr Sen got his one
million pounds. Six months after the triple murder Mr Bolt shot himself
in the head from an unlicensed pistol. There was a note with his body.
The story the note told was remarkable. Mr Bolt was in love with Lily
when he was in college. Lily was pretty, she was intelligent but she
was not strong physically. The other girls envied Lily. On a outdoor
trip to a lake, Minnie, Jill and Lucy who later became Mrs Johnson, Mrs
Sen and Mrs Bolt had killed Lily by drowning her in the lake. Mr Bolt
alone had seen everything but was not in a position to provide
evidence. However he had promised himself that he would punish those
who had killed Lily. It took him ten years to get his revenge but after
killing Lily's murderers he did not want to live any more. So he took
his own life.