The Debts of Desire – Part 2 – Keya investigates

Quick Recap
Anu invites Keya for her first Anniversary where she will be gifted with a family heirloom, a grand Tiara studded with diamond and Blue sapphire. Keya arrives for the party in the opulent ITC Royal Bengal . However, in a strange and tragic turn of events, Anu meets a fatal end.
Read Part 1

Keya was the first to reach Anu. She felt her pulse. It was weak but she could feel the faint throb.

“Doctor!” screamed Keya “We need a Doctor. Can somebody call a doctor please?”

“Let’s take her to the Emergency” said someone. People were jerked into action. There was a mad rush as people started running around.
By the time the ambulance arrived Keya feared they may have lost her. She could feel Anu’s lifeless body going cold. But Keya didn’t lose hope. Nothing could happen to Anu she kept telling herself. There was so much left for her to enjoy how could she just die. She was there talking to her a few minutes back.

She watched as the stretcher arrived to carry Anu into the Ambulance. Before Keya got up to follow, she remembered something and turned around. Dadisa was sitting in her wheelchair in a stony silence. Keya felt sorry for the old lady. She looked so vulnerable. Keya walked up to her and knelt down.
“Don’t worry Dadisa, Anu will be okay” she said softly.

Dadisa looked at Keya with glassy eyes. She was speechless with shock and simply shook her head sadly. Before leaving, Keya looked back again and saw the old lady leaning forward covering her face with her hands as her body shook with silent sobs.

---

7 am 2^nd November, 2019

Keya could not sleep all night. She had wanted to go to the hospital but she was not sure which one they had taken her to. Whenever she closed her eyes, the sight of Anu collapsing on the ground flashed before her eyes. She wondered what had happened and whether they were on time to revive her. Her questions were answered with the painful truth by Malati their part-time maid.

“That new bride of the Jaiswal’s died last night did you hear Boudi” was the first thing she announced when she entered their house.

“Dead?” Keya ran out of her room “Who told you?”

“Everybody is talking about that today didi” said Malati her eyes rounded with excitement at the chance of some gossip.
“What a shame! Poor girl was celebrating her first anniversary and look what it turned out to be. The party was at that new hotel that has come up on the E M By-Pass. They say it was a huge affair”

“Okay that is enough” said Keya’s mother noticing the change in color in Keya’s face. “Now get going with your work.”

Malati obviously disappointed at not being able to spend some more time gossiping, looked chided as she moved towards the kitchen.
“Did you hear anything about how she died?” said Keya with a catch in her throat.

“Heart fail” said Malati feeling glad that she could continue “Can you imagine Didi? She seemed to be a perfectly healthy girl. Is that any age for heart fail?”

Keya could not believe her ears. Cardiac failure? Anu was just 25. She was a perfectly healthy girl, with no complaints of diseases. It was impossible.

“Which hospital did they take her to do you know?” she asked Malati.

“Yes the guards did mention the name. The one which starts with ‘F’, I think” said Malati only too eager to divulge her knowledge.

“Future Health Care?” asked Keya

“Yes …Yes I think that’s the one” said Malati

“Ma I will be back in an hour” said Keya as she rushed out of the door before her mother could say anything.

As Keya reversed out of their parking lot, her mind was racing with thoughts. She realised now why the idea that Anu died of Cardiac arrest seemed so impossible to her. Both of them had been preparing for a full marathon. As part of the requirements, just a few days backs, they had to go through medical tests to check their heart condition, breathing and pulse rate. For that reason, ECG and Pulmonary function tests were part of the package. Their reports had come out perfectly normal. How could Anu suffer a cardiac arrest now. Something was wrong here and Keya had to find out what was happening.

It was still too early for the rush hour traffic to kick in and Keya reached the hospital in half an hour. She walked into the reception. The lady at the desk was speaking to someone on the phone and Keya waited for her to finish before she spoke.  

“Hello …can you tell me who was attending Anu Jaiswal’s case yesterday night?” asked Keya as soon as the woman kept the phone down.

“Is she an in-house patient?” asked the woman without looking up.

“No. She was brought in to the Emergency. She…she …expired last night” said Keya her voice breaking.

The woman looked up apologetically.

“I am sorry, but you will have to enquire at the Emergency section please” she said softly. “The entrance is from the other side.”

Keya came out of the hospital main entrance and looked for the emergency section as instructed by the lady. She soon found a door towards the rear of the hospital above which was written in big bold lettering ‘EMERGENCY’. Keya pushed open the door and walked up to the man sitting behind a desk.
“Excuse me” said Keya approaching the desk “Anu Jaiswal was brought in to Emergency yesterday evening. Can you tell me who was attending her?”

The man looked up at her surprised “Are you her family member?”

“Yes” said Keya with a straight face. She knew if she said anything else things might be further delayed.

“Wait a minute” said the man as he took out a register and scrolled down.

“Jaiswal Anu” he said looking up with a solemn face “She expired at 12 am”

“I know” said Keya “but who was the doctor?”

The man looked at her for some time “This is an emergency unit. There is no single doctor dedicated for patients.”
“But there must have been somebody who signed the death certificate” said Keya exasperated.

“Dr.K.Rastogi” said the man “But he is not on duty today.”

Keya closed her eyes in frustration.
“Is the cause of death mentioned?” she asked 

“Yes. Respiratory failure leading to Cardiac arrest” he said looking down at the register again.
“I need to talk to Dr.Rastogi. Where can I reach him?” asked Keya
“He is usually available at his clinic from 7 – 9 am. If you are lucky you can still be on time to catch him there” said the man.
“Thank you.” said Keya as she noted down the address of Dr. Rastogi’s clinic before leaving.

---

Kunal Rastogi was a short bespectacled man of around 45 years of age. He looked up as Keya entered his clinic.

“Please sit down” he said politely “What is troubling you Maam?”

“My name is Keya Sen. I have come to you for a completely different reason Dr.Rastogi,” said Keya

“Oh?” said the Doctor as he looked at Keya in surprise.

“Yesterday evening at around 10 pm, my friend Anu Jaiswal was admitted in the Emergency section of Future Health Care and you attended her. She later expired.”

“Yes. That’s right!” said Dr. Rastogi “Why do you ask?”

“I want to know her cause of death” said Keya.

“I think it was mentioned in the report already. Cardiac arrest owing to Respiratory failure.”

“I don’t want to know what is mentioned in the report. I want to know what you thought was the reason for her death.”

“I don’t understand,” said Dr. Rastogi looking at Keya in surprise.

“Dr.Rastogi few days back, Anu had taken a series of tests in which PFT’s and ECG was also included. Her reports were completely normal. So, it is impossible that she can have such severe attacks which might lead to her death in so short a time with no apparent reason.”

“What are you trying to say?” said Dr. Rastogi sounding affronted. “Heart failures can happen any time and to any one!”

“I know Dr.Rastogi but please try to understand,” said Keya trying her best not to antagonise the doctor. “I knew Anu and was with her that evening. She seemed perfectly normal and in very high spirits. How is it that a young healthy girl suddenly gets breathless and collapses in the middle of her anniversary party for no apparent reason?”

“Look Ms. Sen, I can understand your anguish. But too much of excitement can sometimes cause the heart to start pumping blood at a rate that is higher than normal. The patient in certain conditions also starts to breathe fast and irregularly. We call this hyperventilation. That might lead to fatalities. It is truly unfortunate but we have seen cases such as these.”

“I don’t believe it. Anu was definitely not one of those rare cases of hyperventilation.” said Keya shaking her head.

“I don’t understand Ms.Sen. What is it that you are actually trying to get at?” asked Dr.Rastogi looking at her surprised.

“Was there anything else that you found strange or out of place in her condition. Anything which might have raised an inch of doubt in your mind?” asked Keya carefully framing her question trying not to make the doctor apprehensive.

The doctor thought for some time before answering.

“Well now that you ask me Ms.Sen, I did notice something that was strange.”

“What?” said Keya leaning closer.

“Look Ms.Sen, I will not like to be quoted. This is just my own opinion. Please don’t take this otherwise.” He said sounding cautious.

“Ofcourse not Doctor. Please be assured I will never quote you. Please feel free to voice your thoughts”

“Well you see, when patients are brought in with respiratory disorder we try to intubate them, that is insert a tube through the mouth into the windpipe to prepare them to be put on a ventilator. We tried to do the same for Mrs. Jaiswal but could not.”

“Why?” asked Keya curiously.

“There was excessive secretion in her trachea. We had to frequently, suction out the secretion from the endotracheal tube.” said Dr. Rastogi

“Moreover, her pupils were dilated by the time they had brought her in and were not responding to light stimulation. Her blood pressure was abnormally high. She was alive but her central nervous system had gone into a comatose state. She was also having muscle spasms.”

“Did you mention that in the Death Certificate?” asked Keya

“We didn’t give her the death certificate. When Mr.Jaiswal saw that we were not able to revive her he refused to take a death certificate from us. He insisted that they go to their family physician who would give them the certificate.”

“What?” said Keya surprised “But how could you allow that?”

Dr.Rastogi smiled wryly. “The Jaiswals are in the hospital Trustee board. They can do what they like.”

“But what did you make of all that you saw Dr.Rastogi?” asked Keya.

“It’s very difficult to say Ms Sen, because the symptoms are very similar.” said Dr.Rastogi.

“Do you also believe then that it was simple cardiac arrest” said Keya looked at him closely.

Dr. Rastogi sat thoughtfully for some time before he said softly “No”.

“Then what do you think Dr.Rastogi?” said Keya, her voice almost a whisper.

Dr. Rastogi leaned back in his chair as he looked at her directly and said  
“ I believe Mrs. Jaiswal may have been poisoned!”

---

11 am 2nd November, 2019

“They brought her home” her mother announced in a grave tone as soon as Keya reached home “You should go once.”

Keya nodded slowly as she asked her mother “You want to come?”

“No” she said shaking her head “You go.”

Keya walked down the stairs and moved towards the Tower 3 lobby. She took the elevator and reached the penthouse that was now teeming with relatives, friends and well-wishers of the Jaiswals, who come to pay their condolences.

Keya had never been to Anu’s house before. Neither had Anu asked her to come over. They had always met at the park for their morning jog. It seemed strange to come now when Anu herself was no more.
She stepped on to the plush interiors which was cloaked in a shroud of desolation. People were all clad in their white mourning clothes. They moved around noiselessly and spoke in low tones. In the center of the large hall, Anu was laid out on the floor and decorated lavishly with flowers.
Keya smiled wryly when she remembered how Anu had raved about the orchids to be flown in from Philippines. She looked at the still pale face of her friend and a tear rolled down her cheeks. In the little time that they had known each other, they had become really close. Keya found it difficult to fathom that Anu was indeed gone.

Keya looked away and her eyes fell on Jaidev who was sitting on the ground close to where Anu lay. His face, looking older with an overnight stubble, was shadowed by a stoic look. He seemed so far removed from the smiling suave man she had seen yesterday evening. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed a tall, slender woman join him on the floor. She was elegantly attired in an expensive white salwar; her burgundy streaked hair fell loosely around her shoulders.  As she wrapped her slender well-toned arms around Jai’s slouched shoulders, Keya noticed the elegant design of the Cartier flashing at her wrist. A tiny Swarovski sparkled at her throat and ear lobes as she tossed her hair across her shoulder.

Keya noticed Dadisa, sitting in the same stony silence she had seen her yesterday evening. There was another elderly couple who sat on the floor near Anu. They looked to be 50 -55 years of age and must be Anu’s parents. She had not met them last night and wondered why. Both were crying inconsolably and it was heart breaking to watch them.

Finally, it was time. Keya felt a sudden tug at her heart as she saw them lift Anu and move towards the stairs. She could not stop the tears flowing down. She felt she owed something to Anu for all the laughter and the good time they had shared over the few months and she knew what she had to do.

“Stop!” she cried out.

There was a stunned silence as everybody turned to look at her.

“You cannot take her away…yet” said Keya breathing hard.

Jaidev walked towards her slowly. He looked at her closely as he tried to recall where he had seen her. His eyes widened as he recognized her from last night.
“Keya?”

Keya nodded.

“What is it?” he said slowly.

“You cannot take Anu away so soon” said Keya looking into his eyes.

Jaidev sighed as he said gently “I know it must be difficult for you. We are all trying to grapple with this terrible truth.”

“No, you are not!” flashed Keya angrily “You are trying to cremate it with Anu.”

“What do you mean?” said Jaidev with an edge in his voice.

Keya could feel he was getting angry but she persisted. She took a deep breath as she said.

“I mean that Anu did not die a natural death.”

A gasp went around the room. Jaidev looked at her stunned. He could feel the anger rising in him. He curled his fingers into a tight fist in an attempt to control it. His jaws tightened and he looked at Keya with narrowed eyes.

“How dare you?” he said slowly, his voice laced with a deathly coldness. “Do you have any proof of what you are saying?”

“Yes” said Keya nodding vigorously “I do”

“What?” said Jaidev looking surprised.

“Her medical reports from the tests we did a few days back which shows she was perfectly healthy with no Cardiac problems. So, if she did die from Cardiac arrest as you profess, there must be something or someone that induced it. And I think we need to find out that cause.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” asked Jaidev his voice edged with sarcasm staring at her with a scorching gaze.

“We need to send her body for an autopsy to find out the cause of death” said Keya looking at him unblanched.

“Hah!” said Jaidev “and you think I or anybody else will believe your cock and bull story?”

“I do” a voice rang out from the rear end of the room. Everybody turned to see who had spoken.

Keya saw an old gentleman walk towards them. It was the same man she had seen sitting on the floor next to Anu’s body earlier.
“Papaji” said Jaidev looking at him surprised “You really believe her?”
“Yes, I do” said the older man looking at Keya with gratefulness in his eyes that were still moist from grieving for his daughter. “Anu was a healthy child with no complaints of any ailments. As a father I need to know what caused this sudden death.”

“This is incredible!” asked Jaidev incredulously “You believe her, a complete stranger and not me?”

“Yes, I do” said the man looking at Jaidev with a straight face. “I need to know the truth Jai, you cannot deny me that?”

“But we do have Dr. Sethi’s death certificate. It clearly states the cause of death. Dr. Sethi is one of the most reputed doctors in the city?” said Jaidev taking a conciliatory stance with his father-in-law.

“Yes, but he is still your family physician?” said Anu’s father.

“Papaji!” said Jaidev stunned “You don’t trust us?”

The elder man shook his head sadly “I will not trust anything anymore till I know the truth.”

“But you trust her alright to go ahead with this maverick plan?” said Jaidev looking hurt.

“Birds of a feather indeed!” said the girl Keya had seen earlier with her arms around Jaidev, coming up to stand next to him.

“Swetlana, you stay away from this please!” said Jaidev moving her away from him.

“How can I Jai? They are accusing you and this family. That’s unthinkable! Even if they demand an autopsy the least you need is an FIR. Do they have it?”

Keya took out the copy of the FIR she had got done in the morning. She had reached the police station straight from Dr.Rastogi’s clinic. It had taken some significant effort on her part to convince Inspector Das to accept her report and get it filed. She had finally got it and calmly handed it over to Jai.

He looked at it and then at Keya. He pursed his lips and nodded his head “Fine. If that is what you want” he said looking at his father-in-law.

“But remember one thing” he said turning to look at Keya menacingly “If the autopsy reports affirm our belief that Anu’s death was caused by natural reasons, be prepared to face the worst. I am going to sue you for this harassment to my family name” he said icily.

“And” said Keya turning to look at him “If the reports confirm my suspicion, I hope you will be prepared for what’s to come next!” said Keya with a determined tilt to her chin.

Read The Debts of Desire – The Final Journey

Pic Credit : Pixabay