PART-IV. HOW LAZMI ESCAPED DEATH IN JALLIANWALA, JOGI BY HER SIDE SHE NEEDED NOBODY. MERYL BLUNDERED HER LIFE! A FLASHBACK.

AMRITSAR, PUNJAB 1919.

In the late afternoon of April 13, 1919, the Jallianwala Bagh was alive with the bustle of Baisakhi, a festival that draws villagers from across Punjab. The Jallianwala Bagh was an open stretch of barren land, enclosed by the rear walls of nearby houses, forming an uneven quadrangle. Its main entrance was a narrow passage located on the northern side. Besides the main entrance, there were four or five other extremely narrow exits. Scattered trees stood on the southern and eastern edges, along with an old, crumbling samadhi or tomb with a dome in the south. On the eastern side, there was also a well and a stage. This well proved to be a gift of God later.

Amandeep Singh (Jogi’s father),  an assistant in a rice mill, had come to the Bagh along with his wife Harleen Kaur. Lazmi’s father Naseer Ali and her mother Mehroz Bano also accompanied them. Lazmi and Jogi were a happy lot as the two families had ventured out together after a long time. Amandeep Singh described seeing a very large crowd, people playing cards, children playing in the grass, and no sign of violence or weapons. People had gathered to listen to political speeches and share grievances about the Rowlatt Act. 

The crowd included Jats, Sikhs, and Muslims, who had come from far-off places like Peshawar and Rawalpindi, drawn by the Baisakhi fair. Amandeep Singh noted that the atmosphere was casual, even festive, but tinged with political purpose. Naseer Ali, (Lazmi’s father) saw the British troops marching in a column. They were followed by an armoured car and European officers. Jogi’s mother, Harleen Kaur said, “I saw soldiers entering the garden through the main passage. As the people were getting up to run away, someone shouted to them not to do so. He said,

                                       “The Government will never fire upon innocent men.” 

This assurance led many to stay put and that was a fatal mistake. Bhai Raju Dholakia, a garment merchant from Nayee Bazar, Amritsar, remembered hesitating for a moment before choosing to flee.

The first signs of trouble came with shouts of  “ Agaye! Agaye! ”  (they have come!) as soldiers entered the garden. Witnesses like Wazir Ali, a resident of Chitta Katra, Lahori Gate, Amritsar, and Mian Abdul Kherat, a resident of Ghee Mandi, Amritsar, described people running towards the exits, only to be blocked by soldiers. Mian Abdul Kherat tried to flee but was beaten with rifle butts and pushed back. Abdul turned back and ran to the next smaller exit. As soon as he exited the garden, the first shot was fired.

Dr. Ramu Agoyee, a dental surgeon from Amritsar, barely escaped and took shelter in a nearby stable. He witnessed the moments before the bullets began to fly inside the garden. He said, 

“ When the people heard the sound of the bullets, some of them lay down where they were, and others tried to run away but were killed or wounded. The firing was too close and continuous to allow anyone to escape ……….

and the soldiers continued firing in the direction in which the crowd was running. There were short intervals in the firing when those who were lying on the ground tried to get on their feet but were at once fired upon.” 

             There were no warnings given, as the (in) sane British military officer had later ……..

                                                       mentioned in the court testimonies.

The firing lasted around ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Bhola Ram, a 17-year-old student of Khalsa College, Amritsar, tried to escape after the first volley of fire. While he was jumping over the wall on the east, the firing began again, and he was shot on his right forearm. Mian Tauseef, a resident of Katra Bagh, Amritsar, described being shot in his thigh while trying to climb the garden walls. The soldiers targeted the exits, causing piles of corpses near the gates. Tauseef climbed on top of a fat man who was unable to climb up the wall, he jumped over the wall and escaped, but those behind him were shot at the wall.

 Lazmi (then a seven-year-old girl) and Jogi were running like wild, sometimes hiding beneath a dead man, sometimes under a corpse not knowing what would come next.

Shaukat Mian was hit twice near the right eye and chest and later lost his right eye. Seth Narender Gopal, a resident of Gali Lala, Amritsar, tried to escape through a passage next to the well but found it blocked by about 150 corpses. He said, 

      “ I had to fall back. I then lay down on the ground but received a shot on my right ankle.” 

“Lie down flat,” Jogi (a young Sikh, then, and all of ten years) shouted. When the firing ceased, men who were lying flat got up and began to run. Jogi also ran. But the shots began again. Then, for the second time, the shots ceased. Men began to run again, and Jogi ran and got to the other side of the platform and fell flat there. There was quite a heap of bodies, and Jogi was protected from the bullets by them. When the firing was over, he got up and saw bodies on all sides and went towards the back of the garden. The bodies were so thick in the passage that he could not find his way out.

                        In the heap of bodies Jogi saw the dead bodies of his father and mother. 

                             He screamed in anguish. All of a sudden he was reminded of Lazmi.

                                                                    Where is Lazmi ………………..?

         He followed the screaming of young men and children. Running towards the well, he saw

                                            Lazmi staring blankly towards a policeman,

                                “ Please spare my life, I beg of you ”, Lazmi was crying hysterically.

                        Jogi hid himself under the dead bodies and what he saw was a miracle.

The policeman, who was an Indian, slowly walked away shouting – “there is nobody here alive. All are dead.”

Lazmi’s father died in the shootout. Mehroz Bano recalled, “ I ran towards the well and tried to jump over the wall near the gate on the well side. My right arm was raised, and I got shot on the back of my right hand.” 

                                                    Mehroz Bano had survived the onslaught.

Once the shooting stopped, the scene was pure carnage. Jogi ran and picked up Lazmi from the heap of deads. She was crying and could not be consoled, the dead body of her father was lying before her. Jogi took her in her arms and carried her towards Mehroz Bano. She nestled Lazmi in her arms and both screamed and wailed .

PUNJAB. 1939

Twenty years on and Lazmi had grown into a beautiful young lady. She had a small house to live in Majora, with mother Mehroz Bano always by her side. Joginder Singh (Jogi) would visit Lazmi very frequently. They became very fond of each other. Jallianwala Bagh brought them together, people close to their heart had left them, some had survived and it were them that all mattered!

                                                          Jogi and Lazmi became inseparable.

Lazmi’s brother Rehmat had fallen into bad company and only visited Majora when he needed money. Mehroz Bano was concerned how Rehmat’s life would unfold and Lazmi in disgust, forgot Rehmat ever existed!

 "Are you happy with me?" Jogi intercepted Lazmi when she was coming home after work at  the village school.

“I will answer this tomorrow”, Lazmi smiled and ran towards her house.

“I will come back again”, Jogi smiled . “Be sure with your answer”. She nodded, not hesitating, but a little impatient. She needed comfort and Jogi would give her.

Lazmi got heartened everytime she took his hands. He had no ego, only love for her, his fingers had sores and she knew working in the fields was very troublesome for Jogi.

In the distance three girls were arguing with Jogi, “ it is a fine day and my sight is not too dim, I can see the building where Lazmi lives. What are you doing here(?)”. Jogi was playing with some young chums,

                                “Lazmi told me to wait here, so I am waiting here for her.”

“I see, so where you two would go(?)”

“Anywhere, I am not sure.”

The girls giggled and ran away.

When Lazmi emerged from her small house, Jogi took her to the riverside. Resting on her lap Jogi was reminded of Lazmi as a little girl, running, crying, hugging Jogi in her moments of despair ! How time flies, and as they were here, he planned to spend the rest of his life with Lazmi.

                                                                    And how love blossomed !

Joginder Singh had been gone from his home about an hour. They sauntered by the river bridge and then they both went to the adjacent field to take some food.

Lying on the field, Jogi stretched out his hands over his head and behind him, groping. Jogi caressed her cheeks, eyes and nose that his hands knew so well. He tried to play with her lips to induce them to kiss his fingers.

Lazmi opened her mouth and bit him fiercely, Joginder jerked his hand away. With a quick movement he caught the girl’s head in both his hands and brought her face over to his. Then he slipped his arms under her waist and hoisted her into the air above him with her arms and legs kicking, then he brought her down flat upon him limb to limb.

She slapped him on the face and angrily mouthed crashing words which Jogi enjoyed thoroughly.

Jogi crossed his arms behind Lazmi’s back and squeezed her till she could not talk or breathe. Every time she started to speak, he tightened his arms around her and her words got stuck in her throat. She gave up and put her exhausted face against his. He laid her beside him with her head nestling in the hollow of his left arm.

With his right hand he stoked her hair and face. He kissed Lazmi passionately and started to reach between her legs. Slowly he untied her salwar threads and pulled her panties down. She moaned in pleasure as Jogi slowly put her mouth between her legs, it was hot and wet !! Jogi kept on kissing. and undressed her completely and marvelled at her nude body. Her buttocks were full and rounded and he squeezed tightly her brimming, enlarged breasts! He sucked her nipples till she cried hoarse.

Joginder’s hands reached once again for her pretty bosoms. She caught it and put it back on her face. His breathing became slow and sensuous as he reached for her taut nipples. He stretched his left arm that lay under the girl’s head and caught her reproving hand. Her other arm was already under him. She was defenceless.

 In a state of frenzy, she dug her nails into his thinly bearded cheeks. The stars above her went into a mad whirl. Sands gritting in her hair, the breeze trespassing on her wind spattered limbs, she pushed the moment away and started heading home. It was an evening of love and beautiful love making !

Jallianwala Bagh had changed Joginder Singh completely. It was Lazmi who pushed Jogi to get rid of his locks and tresses, the Sikhs had suffered the most and Lazmi had transformed Jogi into a man shorn of the pains of Jallianwala.

Jallianwala Bagh was a watershed moment in Indian colonial history. It ignited a fierce desire in the minds of the Hindus and the Muslims to get rid of the British Rule. Many argue that the Indian retaliation to the Jallianwala massacre was the first determined attack on British administration in India – the Indian independence movement took a serious turn after April 13,1919.

General Dyer, who led the soldiers into the Bagh, was reprimanded for his actions and was asked to resign from the army. He was, however, allowed to retain full pension benefits and other rights due to him. His demonstration was applauded by most of the British in India. In clubs all across the country, his admiring countrymen took up a collection on his behalf, amassing the then prodigious sum of 26,000 pounds to ease the rigors of his premature retirement. Does modern Britain loathe him? I wonder !

Though in 2019, The Archbishop of Canterbury had apologised “ in the name of Christ ” for the 1919 massacre at Amritsar.

Prostrating himself at the memorial to the Jallianwala Bagh killings, Justin Welby said:

“ The souls of those who were killed or wounded, of the bereaved, cry out to us from these stones and warn us about power and the misuse of power………….

I cannot speak for the British government, but I can speak in the name of Christ and say this is a place of both sin and redemption, because you have remembered what they have done and their names will live, their memory will live before God. And I am so ashamed and sorry for the impact of this crime committed here. ”

This typical British distaste for all things Indian was nauseating, where an aura of inhumanity attracted cheers and applause. Many British families those days would come to India for a visit – they wanted to see and know how India looked like, how the Indians are different from theirs and how Britain poured enormous sums of profit to its coffers from this Jewel in their Crown.

What a blasphemy !!

                                                                     ROME. JANUARY 10, 1947.

In another part of the world, the brilliant Gabriela Ballatini, the maths genius from Oxford, went to Rome to see his father. She could not overcome the huge crush she got into over Rahul Singh, the ebullient officer of the Indian Army who was in Rome enjoying a holiday! Rahul was tall and handsome borne out of an Italian mother and an Indian father. He had killer looks and the girls were head over heels to get his attention!

Gabriela never knew that Rahul was two timing her, Rahul was in love with Meryl Reetherspoone, the quiet but heady woman from London. When Meryl came to know that Rahul had slept with Gabriela she immediately went for the murderous kill.

                                                   Meryl decided to eliminate Gabriela Ballatini.

 And Meryl got a chance to meet Gabriela in the annual get together of Oxford graduates. She confronted Gabriela and after a heated altercation pushed her down the Oxford underbridge deep down the gorge and ran inside informing his associate, Shane, to handle the rest. Gabriela was grievously injured.

Everyone thought she was dead. 

Adriano Vilecchio, the rich and influential father of Gabriela, wanted to know who killed her daughter and rightly put Meryl and Rahul under investigation. Adriano ruled the world and he put everything under his calling to punish Meryl and Rahul. (Detailed account is given in PART  I, II, III – HOW LOVE TRANSCENDS ALL BARRIERS FOR LAZMI SHAHEEN AND MERYL REETHERSPOONE).

         In Rome Meryl and Rahul were facing conviction for the murder of Gabriela Ballatini !!

Five hours before the murder trial of Meryl Reetherspoone and Rahul Singh was to begin, Room 33 in the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation in Rome was overflowing with spectators. The courthouse had an enormous grey building that took up an entire square block on University Street. Of the thirty courtrooms in the building, only three rooms were reserved for criminal trials: Rooms 21, 30 and 33. Number 33 had been chosen for this trial because it was the largest. The corridors outside Room 33 were jammed and police in uniforms were stationed at the two entrances to control the crowd. The sandwich stand in the corridor was sold out in the first five minutes, and there was a long line in front of the telephone booth.

In front of the dais was the witness stand, a small raised platform on which was fixed a reading lectern with a wooden tray to hold papers. On the lectern in gold leaf was the crucifix, Jesus on the cross with two of his disciples by his side. Against the far wall was the jury box, filled now with its ten jurors. On the far left was the box where the accused sat. In front of the defendants' box was the lawyers' table.

Meryl was not the only act in the legal circus. At the other end of the defendant's box sat Rahul Singh, filled with a smouldering anger, his handsome face was pale, and he had lost weight, but those things only served to accentuate his sculptured features, and many of the women in the courtroom had an urge to take him in their arms and console him.

The biggest star of the circus was Andrew Costa, a man who was well known in legal halls of Italy. Andrew Costa was acknowledged to be one of the greatest criminal lawyers in the world. He had defended clients ranging from heads of government who had been found with their fingers in the public coffers, to murderers who had been caught red handed by the police, and he had never lost a major case. Costa was well built, bearded and he sat in the courtroom watching the spectators with large, sad bloodhound eyes in a crumbling face.

When it had been announced that Costa was going to defend Meryl Reetherspoone, the woman who had murdered Gabriela and held Vilecchio up to public sympathy, the news had created a furore. As powerful as Costa was, Adriano Vilecchio was a hundred times more powerful and no one could imagine what had possessed Costa to go against Vilecchio.

                                It was amazing to see Andrew Costa all over the Court !!

"This woman on trial," Costa was saying to the jurors, “cannot be tried for murder. Because there has been no murder. If there had been a murder, I am sure that my brilliant colleague for the State, Ms. Gloria Bloom, would have been good enough to have shown us the body of the victim. She has not done, so we must assume that there is no body, and therefore no murder."

                                                          ON THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 15, 1946.

Before Meryl pushed Gabriela over under the Oxford underbridge Adriano’s grand-daughter Mellanie Stone (Mili) saw the fierce altercation Meryl had with Gabriela, she was terrified. She ran inside and called from her room.

“Hello.”

“Grandpa, it’s Mili.”

“Yes darling, what happened(?).”

“Grandpa, Gaby ma’am is seriously injured, Meryl has hit her and she has thrown the body into the underbridge water.”

“Why …………… but who is Meryl(?).”

                                                                  ROME. JANUARY 10, 1947.

The courtroom was packed. President of the Court, Judge Roberto Almici, was presiding. He asked prosecution lawyer Ms. Gloria Bloom to call the first witness.

“My Lord, the first witness I have called is none other than Mr. Adriano Vilecchio.”

“Mr. Vilecchio, very good morning to you.”

“Good morning.”

“Mr. Vilecchio can you tell the court what happened on the night of December 15.”

“Yes, I will. On 15^th of December, 1946, I received a call from Ms. Melanie Stone saying that my daughter Gabriela was grievously injured.”

“Who injured her(?)”

“Meryl Reetherspoone. I have the recorded audio when she called me, I have deposited the tape to prosecution.”

Please run the tape, Judge Roberto Almici ordered.

The tape was run…………………………………….

Hello.

Grandpa, it’s Mili.

Yes darling, what happened.

Grandpa, Gaby ma’am is seriously injured, Meryl has hit her and she has thrown the body into the underbridge water.

                                                           Why …………… but who is Meryl(?).

Everyone was stunned.

(Detailed account is given in PART I, II, III – HOW LOVE TRANSCENDS ALL BARRIERS FOR LAZMI SHAHEEN AND MERYL REETHERSPOONE).

The court knew who Meryl was. But who was Mili !!

Andrew Costa rose from his chair and walked towards the witness box.

“Good morning, Mr Vilecchio.”

“Good morning, Mr. Costa.”

“The court has heard the tapes, what I want to ask you is how did you know Melanie Stone(?)”

What he described to the courtroom surprised the audience – Adriano Vilecchio had a son Antonio Vilecchio. He was younger to Gabriela. Finishing school he nurtured the desire to excel in studies. Antonio had a way in fashion, he understood fashion and wanted to work in fashion industry. He enrolled himself in University of Creative Arts in London. He was doing very well. Prikly Stone, over time, became very close to Antonio. Finishing studies Prikly wanted to settle down with Antonio. But everything came to an end in a flash.

Antonio died from an overdose of drugs.

Prikly left fashion industry and settled for a nine to five job in an insurance company. Melanie was born and Prikly raised Melanie while Evonne – her mother helped her with finances. When Evonne died Prikly was left alone – all by herself.

The judges, the jurors, Costa and the packed crowd listened in rapt attention. The crowd felt a grave injustice had been done to the Vilecchio family. Quite often, filthy rich and enormously powerful men also succumb to queers of fate.

“But, Mr. Vilecchio, can we know what happened to the body of Gabriela Ballatini(?)”, Costa approached Adriano with a wry smile.

“ I know as much as you know. I must ask the police what efforts they have made to find Gaby’s body; it has been more than twenty days and we are still searching! ”

                                                                     JALLIANWALA BAGH

When Jallianwala Bagh happened, General Michael O’Dwyer was Punjab's Lieutenant Governor. As a result, his actions were considered among the most significant factors in the rise of the Indian Independence Movement.  O'Dwyer endorsed Reginald Dyer’s action at Jallianwala Bagh and made it clear that he considered Dyer's orders to shoot at the crowds was correct.

He subsequently administered martial law in Punjab on 15 April and backdated it to 30 March 1919. In 1925, he published India As I Knew It in which he wrote that his time as administrator, Punjab was preoccupied by the threat of terrorism and the spread of political agitation.

                                                                    ROME.  JANUARY 15, 1947.

Seargent Fabioni, who was in charge of the investigation, informed that till the previous day no body had been found. The search was on and the Court would be informed accordingly.

“Thank you, Mr. Adriano Vilecchio,”, the Judge informed, “please take your seat.”

“Thank you.”

“The Court is adjourned for today. The next hearing will be on Wednesday, 15 January.”  The President of the Court announced. Adriano Vilecchio gave a sharp look at his lawyer, Gloria Bloom, and left the courthouse.

At one end of the defendant's box sat Meryl, wonderfully beautiful, her honey skin a bit paler than usual, and dressed as though she had just stepped out of Madame Chanel's. There was a regal quality about Meryl, a noble presence that heightened the drama of what was happening to her. It whetted the excitement of the spectators and sharpened their blood lust.

“My Lord, I had stated earlier that our learned friend has not produced the body of Gabriela Ballatini, so we must assume that there is no body, and therefore no murder."

" No, gentlemen, that is not what this trial is about, my client is being tried because she broke another law, an unwritten law that says you must not fornicate with another woman's fiancé. The press has already found her guilty of that charge, and the public has found her guilty, and now they are demanding that she be punished. "

Costa stopped to pull out a large white handkerchief, stared at it a moment as if wondering how it had gotten there, blew his nose and replaced the handkerchief in his pocket,

"  Very well. If she has broken a law, let us punish her. But not for murder, gentlemen. Not for a murder that was never committed. Meryl Reetherspoone was guilty of being the fiancée of Rahul Singh, but if you must know it, you cannot find this crime on the front page of any newspaper. Because it’s not a crime we most people know of. " 

                                                               Costa smiled triumphantly.

Moments later, Gloria Bloom helped a witness for the prosecution to be sworn in.

"Your name?"

"Christian Petit."

"What kind of cases do you handle(?)"

"Many kinds, commercial pilfering, missing persons, surveillance for jealous husbands or wives.”

"Monsieur Petit, would you be good enough to look around this courtroom an tell us whether anyone in this room has ever been a client of yours(?)"

A long, slow look around the room. "Yes, madame."

"Would you tell the Court who this person is, please(?)"

"The lady sitting over there. Miss Meryl Reetherspoone." There was a murmur of interest from the spectators.

"Are you telling us that Miss Meryl hired you to do some detective work for her(?)"

"I am, senorita."

"And would you tell us exactly what that work consisted of (?)”

"Yes, madame. She was interested in a man called Mr. Rahul Singh. She wanted me to find out everything I could about him.”

"That is the same Mr. Rahul Singh who is on trial in this courtroom (?)" 

"Yes, madame."

"And Miss Meryl paid you for this?"

"Yes, madame."

“What more you know about them(?)”

“I want to tell that I have information from a renowned hospital in Rome that Miss Gabriela visited twice to meet a lady doctor in a hospital.”

“Why(?)”

“Because Miss Gabriela was five weeks pregnant and wanted to marry Mr. Rahul Singh.”

(Detailed account is given in PART I, II, III – HOW LOVE TRANSCENDS ALL BARRIERS FOR LAZMI SHAHEEN AND MERYL REETHERSPOONE).

Costa turned to the judges.

"I move to strike the entire testimony of this witness, Your Honours, on the grounds that it is hearsay." Gloria Bloom leaped to her feet. "Objection, Your Honours!”

“Meryl Reetherspoone hired Mr. Petit to get information on Rahul Singh. That is not hearsay – his well-travelled colleagues have submitted the records as evidences.”

 Costa said gently. "l am perfectly willing to accept it - if he wishes to bring the men here who actually performed the surveillance of Mr. Rahul. Otherwise, I must request the Court to assume that there was no such surveillance and that the testimony of this witness be held inadmissible."

The President of the Court turned to Gloria. “Are you prepared to bring your witnesses here?", he asked.

"That's impossible," Gloria Bloom spluttered. “Costa knows that it would take weeks to locate them!"

The President turned to Costa. "Motion granted." 

In spine chilling turn of events the fates of Meryl and Rahul were ruthlessly manipulated on the premises of the Court with the President helpless in halting the arrest of a cruel and cunning game !!

                                                                                 O’DWYER

On March 13,1940, in retaliation for the massacre, O'Dwyer was assassinated at Caxton Hall, London by the Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter Udham Singh. 

I would strongly advocate to read the book India As I Knew It : 1885-1925; by Michael O’Dwyer where he has shamelessly argued that Reginald Dyer was right when he opened fire on the hapless citizens of Amritsar at Jallianwala Bagh.

It was the good office of Sankaran Nair – a member of the executive council of the Viceroy and the Governor General of India, in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice  – who revolted against the Crown and the grotesque shamelessness of the Judge and the Court describing the act of General O’Dwyer as just and legal.

Sankaran Nair fought tooth and nail and proved to the Court that Dyer had shot thousands of people because he had a deep - rooted loathing for Indians and despised Indian people,

……… many do not know that Dyer in his school was laughed at by his Indian classmates; Dyer had a stammering problem from childhood and he was bullied to the point he felt utterly humiliated.

That abhorrence filled in him against Indians triggered a catastrophic tragedy – one that changed the landscape of Indian Freedom Movement !!

The long legal battle declared General Dyer guilty and by the time the verdict came he was a broken man in his death bed. He suffered tremendously with the guilt of being foul mouthed by his own people, the British PM refused to accept what General O’Dwyer had pleaded in his book and in his subsequent arguments for the brutal firing. General Dyer died on July 23, 1927.

EPILOGUE

Rome, 1947. The doctor who treated Gabriela after her injury testified that Gabriela was certain when she told her that Meryl Reetherspoone tried to murder her. It was all over for Andrew Costa

      but the brilliant lawyer that he was, he addressed Meryl and Rahul in confidence :

“President of the Court has given me permission to speak with you in his chambers." He turned to Anthony Fritz, who was sitting in an agony of uncertainty, not knowing what was going on. “You and your client have permission to join us if you wish."

"What I am about to say", he said quietly, "is for the benefit of my client. However, because they are co-defendants, I have been able to arrange for your client to be accorded the same privilege as mine."

                                                          "Tell me!". Meryl was perturbed.

Costa turned to her. He spoke slowly choosing his words with great care. “I have just had a conference with the judges," he said. "They were impressed with the case the prosecution has made against you.”

“How ever”, he paused, delicately, "I was able to persuade them that the interests of justice would not be served by punishing you."

There was a note of deep satisfaction in Costa's voice as he continued,

"If the defendants are willing to change their pleas to guilty, the judges have agreed to give each of them five-year sentence." He smiled and added, "Four years of which will be suspended. In reality they will not have to serve more than six months." He turned to Rahul. "Because you are an Indian, Mr. Rahul, you will be deported. You will never be permitted to return to Italy."

Rahul nodded, his body flooding with relief.

Costa turned back to Meryl. "This was not an easy thing to accomplish. I must tell you in honesty that the primary reason for the leniency of the Court is the interest of Miss Gabriela’s father. Mr. Adriano Vilecchio has requested to come to a conclusion quickly, he has suffered a lot for her daughter, prosecution has not found the whereabouts of Gabriela and the court has devoted 24 sessions, almost six months on this case. It is a tired jury, the judges believe, and the president of the court doesn’t want to engage them further. They feel Mr. Vilecchio has already suffered unduly because of all this publicity, and they are anxious to see it ended."

                                                                    "I understand”, Meryl said.

Fifteen minutes later the two defendants stood before the judges' bench. The President of the Court was seated in the centre, flanked by the justices. Andrew Costa stood next to Meryl Reetherspoone and Anthony Fritz stood at the side of Rahul Singh. The courtroom was charged with an electric tension, for word had flashed about the room that a dramatic development was about to take place. But, when it came, it caught everyone completely off guard. In a formal, pedantic voice, Andrew Costa said,

" Mr. President, Your Honours, my client wishes to change her plea from not guilty to guilty. "

The President of the Court leaned back in his chair and stared at Costa.

The President consulted with the other justices in a flurry of whispers. They nodded and the President looked down at Meryl and said, "Do you wish to change your plea to guilty?"

Meryl nodded and said firmly, "I do."

Anthony Fritz spoke up quickly, as though afraid of being left out of the procedure. "Your Honours, my client wishes to change his plea from not guilty to guilty."

The President turned towards Rahul. "Do you wish to change your plea to guilty(?)

Rahul glanced at Costa and then nodded, "Yes."

The President studied the two prisoners, his face grave.

" Have your attorneys advised you that under Italian law the penalty for the crime of premeditated murder is execution? "

"Yes, Your Honour", Meryl’s voice was strong and clear.

The President turned to look at Rahul.

"'Yes, sir", he said.

There was another whispered consultation among the judges. The President of the Court turned to Gloria Bloom, "Does the Prosecutor of the State have any objection to the change of pleas from not guilty to guilty(?).”

Gloria looked at Costa for a long moment, then said, "None."

“Very well", the President said. "This Court has no choice but to accept the change of plea."

 (Detailed account is given in PART I, II, III – HOW LOVE TRANSCENDS ALL BARRIERS FOR LAZMI SHAHEEN AND MERYL REETHERSPOONE).

He turned to the jury "Gentlemen, in view of this new development, you are here with released from your duties as jurymen. In effect, the trial has come to an end. The Court will pass sentence. Thank you for your services and for your cooperation. The Court will recess for two hours."

Two hours later the courtroom was packed to overflowing as the Court was reconvened. Meryl glanced around, at the faces of the spectators - they were watching her with expressions of eager expectation, and it was all Meryl could do to keep from laughing aloud at their naiveté. These were the common people, the masses, and they really believed that justice was meted out fairly, that under a democracy all men were created equal, that a poor man had the same rights and privileges as a rich man.

 "Will the defendants now rise and approach the bench”, the President ordered.

Gracefully Meryl rose, to her feet and moved toward the bench, Costa at her side. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rahul and Fritz stepping forward.

The President of the Court spoke,

“ This has been a long and difficult trial”, for capital cases where there is a reasonable doubt of guilt, the Court is always inclined to let the accused have the benefit of doubt. I must admit that in this case we felt that there existed such a doubt. The fact that the State was unable to produce a corpus delicti was a very strong point in favour of the defendants. "

The feeling was in the pit of Meryl’s stomach now, moving upward, beginning to constrict her throat, she was suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. Rahul was gazing blindly at the Judge, not fully comprehending yet what was happening.

" We appreciate the agonizing soul-searching that must have taken place before the defendants decided to confess guilt before this Court and before the world. However, the easing of their consciences cannot be accepted as atonement for the terrible crime they have admitted committing, the cold-blooded murder of a helpless, defenceless woman. "

It was at that moment that Meryl knew, with a sudden, mind-smashing certainty that she had been tricked. Costa had set up a charade of false security so that he could do this to her.

This was his game; this was the trap he had baited. Vilecchio had wanted his vengeance now, not later.

The President was speaking,

“ And so under the powers invested in me by the State, and in accordance with its laws, I pronounce that the sentence on the two defendants, Meryl Reetherspoone and Rahul Singh shall be execution by a firing squad. The sentence to be carried out within ninety days from this date. "

                                                              The Court was in pandemonium.

Something had made Meryl turn around. The vacant seat which was earlier empty, Adriano Vilecchio sat in it. He was dressed in a blue raw-silk suit, flawlessly tailored, a light blue shirt, and a foulard tie. His eyes were bright and alive.

Vilecchio had come to watch Meryl in the moment of her defeat, savouring the terror in her. His black eyes were locked on hers and for a split instant she saw in them a deep, malevolent satisfaction. And there was something else. Regret, perhaps, but it was gone before she could capture it.

This was her farewell appearance, this dirty, dreary Rome her final jaunt. She looked around the packed courtroom the last time. She saw Shane Gough staring at her in stunned silence, shaken for once out of his structured world.

The matron was tugging at her arm now, “Come along, Miss Meryl.”

By Italian law, executions took place at Basse di Stura riverside, off Turin, a special government boat transported condemned prisoners to the riverside. A series of small grey cliffs led to the river itself and high on a hill was a lighthouse built on an outcropping of rock.

It was 4.00 am on a Saturday morning.

Meryl’s execution was scheduled to take place at 6.00 am.

They had brought Meryl her favourite dress to wear, a wine red, brushed-wool Dior, and matching suede shoes. She had all new silk handstitched lingerie and a white jabot of Venetian lace for her throat. On instructions from Adriano Vilecchio, Meryl had been given her favourite hairdresser to do her hair. It was as though Meryl was preparing to go to a party.

Intellectually, Meryl knew that there would be no lastminute reprieve, that in a little while her body was going to be brutally violated and her blood spilled upon the ground. And yet emotionally she could not keep from hoping that somehow, someone would make a miracle and spare her life. It would not even have to be a miracle - it only needed God, a wave of his golden hand. If he spared her now, she would make it up for her wrongdoings. She would do anything, if she could only see the Almighty, she would tell him she would never do harm to another woman or to another man, that she would devote herself to making everyone happy !!

                                           Rahul would be executed at 7.30 am the same day.

Adriano Vilecchio summoned Costa the next day to his office. He was congratulated by Adriano for the case had gone his way and Costa had done a wonderful job. He gave him the keys to his new car, Rolls Royce Phantom III Labourdette and the new office he would be owning.

Adriano had purchased a lavish bungalow in Los Angeles and would be gifted to Andrew Costa in due time.

EARLIER ON THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 15, 1946.

When Mellanie Stone saw the fierce altercation Meryl had with Gabriela, she was terrified. She ran inside and called from her room.

“Hello.”

“Grandpa, it’s Mili.”

“Yes darling, what happened(?).”

“Grandpa, Gaby ma’am is seriously injured, Meryl has hit her and she has thrown the body into the underbridge water.”

“Why …………… but who is Meryl(?).”

Mili spoke to Adriano Velacchio at length and told him everything. He told Mili to inform Carl immediately, he is in Oxford. Mili spoke to Carl and both ran to the spot where Meryl and Shane had pushed Gabriela into the waters. Carl took a boat and told Mili to keep mum. Carl saw an old man at a distance in the night taking a silhouette on his shoulders haltingly and with great effort.

Frusco Daniil was an old man in his seventies. He was coming home from the Grand Cemetery, where he used to work. Daniil had to support his ailing wife and a son, Derek, whose both legs were amputated after an accident.

                                                       Carl helped Gabriela reach Frusco’s house.

“Boss, Gabriela is safe. She is being nursed by an excellent family of Frusco Daniil out in the woods. I have got hold of a doctor and she has given heavy dose of morphine, she is stable.”

“Very good. Please stay with Gaby and tell her to remain in Frusco’s house till I come personally to pick her up. The rest I’d be telling you in a minute”, Vilecchio signed off with a sigh of relief.

                                          AFTER THE EXECUTION OF MERYL AND RAHUL

Adriano Vilecchio sent Frusco Daniil and his son to Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland for the best prosthetic legs for his son Derek. He sent an aide with Frusco, who would be accompanying him and his son and would stay at the hospital until Derek recovered fully.  

Gabriela Ballatini was airlifted to an unknown place in Australia, away from the teeming humdrum. She needed rest and good health. She was going to be a mother soon. She settled in Australia with a new life and with a new identity.

Gaby never wanted to leave Oxford but for her father. Vilecchio hugged his daughter,

                      “ Darling, you don’t worry. Those wicked people are dead. ” 

Carl took Frusco’s wife to Rome, she would be undergoing treatment under Vilecchio’s watch.

Mellanie Stone went to MIT to pursue her dream. She kept visiting Gabriela and often went to Rome spending time with Grandpa.

Prikly Stone remained in London. She was heading the Insurance Office and made a name of herself!

                                           THE POOR FATE OF JOGI, RAHUL AND MERYL.

When Lazmi’s brother Rehmat gunned down Jogi she was furious and at the same time very afraid. She needed someone to be by her side and she did get Abhi when she escaped to Calcutta with her mother.  

Months passed before Lazmi avenged Jogi’s death by killing Rehmat and his accomplices in Majora. (Detailed account is given in PART I, II, III – HOW LOVE TRANSCENDS ALL BARRIERS FOR LAZMI SHAHEEN AND MERYL REETHERSPOONE).

                                   But the emptiness of losing Jogi created a different Lazmi.

                                                  Lazmi was never the same person again.

By queer twist of fate Gabriela lost Rahul Singh. The over possessiveness of Meryl destroyed three lives – in the humdrum of the chaotic forties three lovely souls were overtaken by lust and anger. Those who remained had to bear the pain of the loss.

Lazmi’s and Gabriela’s lives’ hollowness was unfathomable except for them to understand. God plays strange tricks and there are no answers, sometimes, to the questions He throws at us !!

If Meryl had known that the personae of Gabriela Ballatini, Prikly Stone and Melanie Stone were so intricately woven with the might of powerful Adriano Villechio, she perhaps could have withdrawn herself from the lives of Rahul and Gabriela. Prikly never mentioned to Meryl her closeness to Adriano.

                                         That could have saved two lives. But that was not to be.

                                                             It was never meant to be !!

Disclaimer : Not all, but imaginary characters have been used across the article.