Red Herring?
by Phatichar
Sub-inspector Rao was thoughtful. His constable, Nagaraj, however wasn't. Not that he was thoughtful anytime.
"Sir, what do you think?"
Rao grunted and motioned Nagaraj to quiet down.
But Nagaraj went on, "Sir, that bullet wound..."
"Shut up Nagu," Rao said. He frowned and tilted his head.
"Sir, the hand, the bullet wound, and all that …that red, maybe blood.. all of it somehow doesn’t..."
Rao lost it now. He turned to Nagaraj. "Ok, Sherlock holmes. The hand? The bullet wound? What next? The pistol?"
Nagaraj chuckled nervously. "No sir, I was just trying to help you out..."
"I don't need any. I'm just trying to figure out what this could mean."
"You mean, like a clue or something, sir?"
Rao nodded.
The curator's assistant appeared behind Rao. "Excellent choice, sir. It's a classic painting by our very own Maya Batliwaala. An original. It's called "escape to eternity"."
Rao looked at Nagaraj (who made a sour face), and then at the assistant.
"Escape to eternity through what - a bullet wound? No thanks, we'll pick up the pre-ordered “white horse”. After all, it's not for me, but for my boss, the police commissioner."
The assistant looked puzzled. He shrugged and left. Rao shook his head, smiled and looked at Nagaraj. "Escape to eternity, Nagu, escape to eternity. That's what it meant."
"You're a genius, sir."
An the interpretation of art. Everyone has their own opinion. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to buy art for someone else, but I think I would have chosen "Escape for Eternity" just like the sound of it, lol. Nice.
ReplyDeleteDottie :)
"Escape to Eternity"!
ReplyDeleteExcellent work...as always :)
hilarious....somehow reminded me of the cop and his assistant in Appu Raja. Superb.
ReplyDeleteOH this made me giggle. I was seriously expecting a police procedural. Too funny. I love the dialogue and the characterizations. Well done!
ReplyDeleteAimee LaineOf course..thanks for reading
ReplyDeleteDottie Haha..that works well too. Thanks for your comment.
Erratic Thoughts: Thanks, u were great too :)
Krunal: Thanks so much, sir. :)
Aerin: Thanks! :)
ReplyDeletei liked how well Nagaraj (Nagu) is characterized simply by his (her?) words. i tend to think they are talking about the prompt photo ;)
ReplyDeletei wonder though what the 'red herring' in this particular story was...
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! I feel for poor Nagu, but the dialogue Is great, and I enjoyed how your story unfolded.
ReplyDeleteHa! Good twist. I too was expecting a murder mystery.
ReplyDeleteSzélsőFa: Thanks for the kind words. Yes, they were in fact, talking about the photo.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'd like to think the story itself...was the red herring?
Precie: Thank you! Your piece was brilliant as well..
Deb Smythe: :) Thank you so much.
A really entertaining read with sparkling dialogue, I really enjoyed this one.
ReplyDeleteBrigid: Thank you so much, ma'am!
ReplyDeleteCrime scene or art? You had me guessing! Nice twist! :) ~Jana A
ReplyDeleteFun to read and nearly all of it dialogue. That's something I struggle with and yours feels fluid and effortless.
ReplyDeleteLiked the little sarcasm at the end.
You really had me going in the first half thinking this was a murder story...!!!! Yay!! I loved how drawn I was only to be taken aback by the conclusion!! Wonderful, thank you. Take care
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Your dialogue really brought this to life. I love the twist.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
Oh, I had fun reading this. The dialogue was sharp and the scene was amusing.
ReplyDeletebluesugarpoet: Thanks!
ReplyDeleteRachel: Yes, unlike most writers, I struggle with description - more comfortable with dialogue. Thanks for peeping. Appreciate it.
Old Kitty: haha..glad you enjoyed it. Thanks so much!
Mikki: kind of you - thanks!
Richard: Thank you for the encouraging words.
A noir-esque piece. I like the juxtraposition of the characters. I especially liked the pacing and sentence construction.
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