The Perfect Murder.

           I was meeting my friend after a long time. When we were in school we were BFFs. We were called the odd couple in school. She was beautiful calm and collected and I was boisterous and something of a tomboy. She was good at studies and I - well - I was average. She did not socialise much while I had all sorts of friends and boyfriends. By the time we were in the twelfth grade people in school were betting on my

 repeating the grade, while she was touted to top the school - if not the state. To prove my detractors wrong, I pulled out all stops, dug into my reserves and somehow managed to graduate from school. Our interests being different,  the time had come for me to say goodbye to my friend. It was a poignant moment when we had to part ways.  We promised to keep in touch. For better part of the ensuing years we did manage to keep in touch . She graduated at the top of her class and I did reasonably well to stay afloat. I joined the police after clearing the Indian Police Service exam, thus gaining the distinction of being the select few women from my school to do so. Pressures of the job and some hiccups on the personal front made our meetings and correspondence non existent over a period of time. 

          On one of our infrequent calls that we now communicated on she suddenly dropped a bombshell  that she was now married. The news was so momentous that I was stunned. The feeling of hurt came in later - at her not inviting me to her nuptials. I philosophized that she must have her reasons for not doing so... Perhaps the hurt festered in my subconscious resulting in distance between us being increased all the more. For the next few years we did not speak at all. Whenever I did think about her I rationalized that she was happily married and this kept me from disturbing her marital bliss. 

          My professional duties finally landed me in the city wher she was staying. The thought of meeting her after such a long time gave me goosebumps. Of course I sent out my minions to get her address. Not like her to be on the facebook or instagram or any other social media . She had a different phone number too. It was clear that she did not want to be in contact. In anycase my police resources pitted against the puny efforts of my friend to stay incognito proved to be victorious when I was handed her adress as well  as her phone number. When I contacted her she did not seem surprised. There were a lot of questions in my mind - but she cut me off saying - " Why don't we meet up at _____" She gave me the name of an upscale hotel in the city. I had to  curb my questions till we met in person.

            My heart was full of excitement at the thought of meetingher.  When she walked in a few minutes later, all heads turned. The sari clung to her figure as if it was customized for her. She wore her age well. No polite pecks on the cheeks for us - we hugged each other long and hard. All the years of being apart just faded away in that one contact. We sat across each other silently savoring the togetherness. We spoke at once- "So-" "How-" our words clashed somewhere in the mid table region -we burst out laughing. The preliminaries of ordering the drinks being done away with, I said "congratulations on your marriage" I said. The response to my greetings were hardly what I expected. She didn't say much and changed the topic, asking me about my marital status and as to my activity in the intervening years. I launched on a long drawn tale of my ups and downs and as to how it all culminated in my joining the police force. Her delight at my success was reflected in the joy on her face. We navigated the next hour or so without her ever referring to her family life. My curiosity was more than ever at its peak and in one of those pregnant pauses which are a part of any conversation I managed bring up the subject of her family once more. 

          "I don't have any children" she said. "And I thank my stars that we have been issueless". I was shocked at this indifference.  Perhaps this was seen on my face , because she continued "oh and my husband passed away recently" she said. I was stunned - not by the fact that her her husband was dead but - by the casual manner in which she mentioned it. I was at loss for words; "Tell me about it " was all  I could say. She took a gulp of water and she started off by saying, "Do you know how as children we craved for stability - and as we grew older we hoped that we would get a husband as good as our dads used to be?" I let her continue. After a brief pause she launched into her life story. Somehow I felt that it was going to be a long evening , I surreptitiously sent a message to my office that I was unavailable for the rest of the evening, 

          "After I graduated I met this amazing man" she continued "or so I thought" she said. "My husband was a cruel sadistic and a horrible person. He started picking on every small fault of mine and magnified it. My life became a living hell with him. That is  until I conceived. I was hoping against hope that it would improve my lot. And for a period it did. And then one day he came home in a bad mood and started thrashing me for  reasons beyond my comprehension. Was he drunk probably I would have forgiven him. But I could see that malicious look of enjoyment on his face - as though he was pleasuring himself. I could see that cruel sadistic streak surfacing in his eyes. I went through a gamut of emotions. The foremost among them being that of protecting my yet unborn child... "

          "I woke up in a hospital with the doctor waiting to confirm my wellbeing. Once the doctor had done that, he told me with appropriate gravity and compassion that I had lost my child. For the next few hours I was in a state of shock and depression. I knew that any complaint by me would be quashed by my husband's wealth. Then I thought of putting an end to my misery by killing myself. Then the anger in me took over. If anything - I reasoned- it was my husband who had to pay and not me." She was silent for a moment with a faraway look in her eyes. And then she said "I decided to kill him".

          I hastened to remind her that I was a police officer and any such confession might be detrimental to her welfare. She continued as though she had not heard me. "After a few days in the hospital I went home. Many methods of putting him away came to me , but I discarded all of them because each scenario ended in my going to jail - which I was not prepared to do so. After that incident my husband left me alone to myself. Each day of life with him was a torture more so when we went into a lockdown due to COVID-19. Rather than stay at home, I decided to help in the local hospital as a volunteer. And there the plan to kill my husband concretised. I found out that a lot of people with previously existing conditions were more vulnerable to death due to COVID 19."

          I tried to interrupt but she put up her hand stalling any protestations from me. " I put the first part of my plan in action - which was to contract COVID-19. With my deliberate flaunting of rules for prevention, it was not long before I contracted it. I could feel the headache and bodyache as well as the sense of loss of smell which were a part of the symptoms. A test at an anonymous lab confirmed my suspiscions. I was COVID positive. The second part of the plan was to keep my symptoms a secret - which I managed admirably with the help of a few medications and good acting. I put up with my husband for the next few days including his carnal needs without  a protest. The close proximity of those few days proved successful, when one morning he woke up with a fever and bodyaches.

          The next few days I nursed him. Things took a turn for the worse when he started experiencing breathing difficuties. I moved him to the hospital. The next few days  were crucial to my plan. The doctors did their best. But his existing conditions of asthma and diabetes did the rest for me. One morning the doctor woke me up to inform me that my husband was no more."

          "He died intestate and as his legal wedded wife I was the sole heir to his millions."  She stopped here to take a breath and refresh herself with a drink. I did'nt know what to say. Her story left me incapable of speech. The legal ramifications in this case were nil. No way that she could be prosecuted.

          In fact it was the perfect murder. 

          I think the reason that my friend told me the story was because of the huge burden she was bearing - which she wanted to lighten. After a few more minutes of awkward talk we promised to meet again.

          As I left the hotel I was filled both with admiration and loathing for what my friend did. Admiration being the dominant emotion. Just as i stepped out I received  a call from my boss. He was an insufferable ass whose main concern was to keep his subordinates on their toes in an insulting manner. Maybe time has come to try on my boss what my friend did to her husband.....