The Widows of Malabar Hill

In 1921, Perveen watches a policeman dust for fingerprints, a relatively new science. She manages to thaw his icy demeanor through conversation, and he allows her to retrieve her briefcase. She looks through it and finds nothing missing and promises to also get a list of the household’s assets to the police the next morning.

Alice arrives at the house, and Jamshedji, who does not know her and is annoyed at the intrusion of a foreigner, stops her. Perveen smooths things over and walks her friend out. Alice explains that the whole neighborhood is abuzz with rumors of a murder, and many think a servant did it. Perveen reminds her that the poor are most often convicted because the judges are members of the elite class, and Alice agrees, realizing her prejudice. Perveen promises to talk over the case with her if her father gives her permission. Privately, she worries because Mohsen is still missing from his post.

At the gate, Fatima comes to Perveen crying and asks for help getting her father back. She says that he has been arrested by a white policeman, and she is afraid of what will happen to her and her brother, Zeid. She tells Perveen that the policeman is now bothering the women in the zenana.