Dead in a Mumbai Minute (30 page)

I shrugged.

‘Tell me.’

‘It was the little things, really.’

‘Like what? Not even Shayak has it worked out. He knows there is someone. But …’

‘You aren’t the only one noticing reactions,’ I said with a smile.

‘I can’t have given it away. How many times have I warned Pratap to be more careful!’ she said, exasperated.

‘Don’t be so hard on him. One of your guests overheard someone having sex the night of the murder,’ I said, ‘and that got me thinking.’ Kimaaya’s room had been above Sandhya’s. As for partners, with Viraat out cold on the lawn and Raj away from the house in the servants’ quarters, it could either have been Shiv or Pratap. With everyone noticing how Pratap was preening for Kimaaya, it seemed he was the most likely, and if you added to that his hunt for divorce settlement fodder against his wife, it became the obvious scenario.

‘Uff. Busybodies, all of them.’

‘I don’t think it would have come up had a man not been murdered.’ I tried hard to keep the irritation out of my voice. It was not my place to judge Kimaaya for her self-absorption or anything else. She was single and had every right to look for happiness. So who better to find it with than her billionaire neighbour? What was a little divorce between lovers?

‘Anyway, I guess it doesn’t matter. We’ll be making it public soon enough,’ Kimaaya shrugged.

‘What about his wife? And all the other women he is seen with?’

‘The other women are a rouse – one I am sure he enjoys very much,’ she said drily. ‘He didn’t want his wife to know, so his solution is to flirt with every woman he meets.’

He did a good job of it, too. ‘She doesn’t mind his many girlfriends, but she’d mind just one?’

‘Oh, she minds all of it. But she doesn’t have any evidence of anything, beyond what is reported on page 3. Pratap is careful – almost diabolically so,’ she said with a gleam of admiration.

‘Is she looking for it?’

‘I’m sure she is.’

‘And he is looking for an opening to divorce her without being the bad guy.’

She shot me a look, but wouldn’t confirm nor deny it. ‘Quite a piece of work, that one. So holier-than-thou. You’d think she never did anything wrong or stupid in her life.’

Was it possible that the man at the breakfast café I saw her with was a detective? It still wouldn’t explain the awkward attempts at conversation they were making.

‘She doesn’t suspect anything is on between you two?’

‘I sometimes wonder.’

‘You really don’t know why she left early the night of the party?’

‘No, but she and Pratap had been fighting from the moment he came back to town that day.’

‘Do you know about what?’

‘Pratap had a big work announcement coming up and he wanted her to host an event, but she refused.’

‘What sort of event?’ I asked.

‘Why don’t you read about it for yourself,’ said Kimaaya, walking out of the closet and into the bedroom. She picked up a pink paper from her bed. ‘It’s like what he is setting up on the island, the electricity stuff, but on a larger scale.’

I had eyes only for the picture that accompanied the piece, featuring Pratap and the man from the café. It all became clear. ‘Do you know when the event is?’ I asked.

‘It’s tonight. That’s where I am going, in fact. I’m the brand ambassador for the project.’

‘Can you get me in?’

‘I don’t think so.’

I wasn’t to be deterred by her refusal. ‘It’s important,’ I said.

‘It starts in an hour, and it’s strictly formal. You can’t go in looking like you are. The Prime Minister is coming!’

‘Introduce me to the head of security and I’ll hang about outside with the rest of the thugs and dishevelled journalists.’

Kimaaya sighed.

‘It’s for Pratap. And Shayak too.’

‘I can’t believe I am saying this,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘Fine. Come along.’

I kept the visit, as promised, brief. This was a detour, one I really didn’t have the time for. But it would be another piece of the puzzle in place – and help out one of Titanium’s star clients.

Kimaaya had dropped me off and disappeared, saying she would be making her entrance shortly, with more fanfare. The press conference was about to start; the party would follow in the grand ballroom next door. The media was present in full force. Not just the mainline news but the business and entertainment news as well. This evening promised everything.

Luckily for me, with such high-powered VIPs in attendance, it all happened precisely on schedule. It was standing-room only by the time Pratap entered, as he took a seat at the top table. He was quickly followed by his CFO and his CTO. His Chief Technology Officer. The man from breakfast with Poonam. The man of the awkward conversation. The man of the black-file-left-behind.

The din rose and abruptly fell when the lights went out and a 3-D holographic projection filled the front of the room. This was Pratap Puri’s game changer. The technology that promised green, clean energy to one village to start with – and potentially all of rural India if it went according to plan. This was his trump card ahead of the initial public offering slated for early next year. Pratap Puri had everything riding on this, his big gamble. He could have sat on his money, grown it safely and securely without tempting fate. But he dreamt big, of creating a second fortune.

I sat it out – the presentation and the questions that followed. Once again, it was kept tight ahead of the arrival of the Prime Minister. I waited till the crowd had thinned out before approaching Pratap.

He did not look happy to see me. ‘I thought I made myself clear – you are a ghost here.’

No hint of scandal could sully his day. If only. ‘You’ll want to hear this.’

I didn’t give him a chance to stop me. I launched straight into it, keeping my volume as low as possible while making sure I was being heard. Pratap’s jaw clenched and skin paled as he heard about the breakfast meeting and my suspicion that his CTO and wife had conspired to steal company secrets that could jeopardize everything.

‘What do we do?’ he said when I was finished.

‘You need to call Adlakha now and give him an update. This is not the time to be squeamish. If you move now, all may not be lost.’

I couldn’t wait any longer. On my way out there was Kimaaya, basking in the glow of a 1000 flashbulbs. It was a world away from the woman who confessed her regret to me over losing Shayak just an hour ago.

In that moment, I knew she was right – Shayak was not built for this, to stand beside her in the spotlight. He craved shadows and shelter and calm away from the madness of his work. This Kimaaya was just right for Pratap Puri, hungry for a legacy.

Whether Poonam Puri saw it that way was another matter entirely.

FOURTEEN

I
was on my way to the car when I read a message I had received mid-press conference from an unknown number. It was Shayak, with further instructions.

‘Third room from the right. Bring Vinod.’

Amongst the rush of cars and security coming and going from the venue, it took longer for Vinod to find me than usual. I felt the panic rise. I couldn’t be late – not tonight.

‘I need to get to the
Titania
,’ I told him. ‘Fast.’

On the way, I was forced to consider that I was taking an awful lot on faith. How did I hope to get into a protected zone like the coastguard facility where the
Titania
was docked without Shayak? What if they stopped me before I could enter the secure compound?

But when we got there, the uniformed men waved us through. ‘How?’ I simply asked.

‘I’ve told you before, ma’am, this is sir’s city.’

‘They know you?’

‘I have been lucky to drive sir for many years now.’

‘Even on his top secret assignments?’

I saw his smile in the rear-view mirror. ‘There are some rooms or offices here?’

‘Yes ma’am, on the side there.’

It seemed to be an administrative block of some sort. I looked for the third door. There were no windows.

‘Vinod …’

‘I’ll be right outside ma’am.’ Then, wordlessly, he handed me his gun. Vinod clearly was much more than a driver. I only hesitated for a moment before taking it and slipping it into my bag.

‘Thank you,’ I said, getting out.

I walked into the dingy room and there he sat, in the light cast by a naked yellow incandescent bulb hanging from the ceiling. I didn’t know why we were here but one look at Shayak’s tired, drawn face was enough to convince me that things were much worse than I imagined.

I stood before him and took stock of his desolation. His mouth tried on its sardonic smile but didn’t quite make it. ‘You are upset with me for disappearing,’ he said.

I didn’t say anything. I found that I couldn’t.

‘I’m sorry. None of this should have happened. Not now, not when I haven’t even begun to …’ He ran his hand through his hair. ‘The pressure is getting intense, Reema. If something were to happen to me, there are things you need to know.’

‘What are you talking about, Shayak?’ I interrupted. ‘Why would something happen to you?’

‘The police are coming for me.’

‘I know. But I thought we could fight it. Clear it up.’

‘They have enough to get me.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘I might not be able to help it. Ajay has stalled it as long as he could.’

‘What’s going on?

‘I don’t know how much I can tell you. There might not be a lot of time, Reema, and you are going to be on your own soon.’

‘All the more reason for you to be honest with me.’

‘First tell me you are equipped to handle this on your own.’

‘Go rogue? I thought I already had.’ I told him about shifting base from office to home, enlisting the help of Terrence. On my part, it was no sacrifice. It was Shayak who had kept telling me that we should try to work within the system. My own experience with authority hadn’t always been good, and I chose to operate at its fringes.

‘It is going to get far lonelier before this is through,’ he said.

‘But why are the police after you on these ridiculous charges, all of a sudden, if you always work together?’ I asked.

‘I have made things a little uncomfortable for some people in power in the past few months,’ he said.

‘Still not making sense. I need you to start at the beginning.’

‘I don’t know where that is.’

‘What is the source of your influence with almost everyone who counts, and what is the cause of the sudden animosity?’

Shayak stared me straight in the face, and did not look inclined to share.

‘If this is in any way pertinent to the investigation into these murders, I need to know, Shayak.’

He closed his eyes. ‘It’s a long, complicated story and there are no shortcuts.’ He poured us both some more water, biding his time, collecting his thoughts.

‘So much goes under the radar of the common man in this city. Outside the realm of politics, there are forces within the administration that want things to be handled quietly, efficiently. Titanium is the natural choice.’

‘Why?’

‘Our low profile helps no end. And generally, I was one of their foot-soldiers for long enough to know how they like things done.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I was an intelligence agent.’

‘RAW?’

He shook his head. ‘It was a clandestine wing of the military that was set up before my time. The closest equivalent I could give you was the National Security Group. The task was to do whatever was required in whatever situation was presented to us. I grew to lead it and, on many occasions, that meant I reported to none but the highest offices of the country.’

That explained his deep web of contacts. ‘Why did you leave?’

‘I can’t really tell you the operational details, you have to understand that.’

‘I do.’

‘It was my first ever job. When I began, I was green and willing to do whatever it took to prove myself. Eventually, what they were asking got to be too much. I believed I could do more actual good – and less harm – outside the establishment.’

‘It was an amicable parting?’

‘Amicable enough that Titanium’s bread and butter are government – often military – assignments,’ he said. ‘Very few people know what I have just told you within or outside of the company; I trust you will keep it to yourself.’

‘Of course, but there must be plenty of talk.’

‘Till they have a confirmation, it doesn’t really matter.’

I could see I would get nothing more specific out of Shayak yet. And still it explained so much. Everything, in fact, about Titanium. The secrecy, Shayak’s long disappearances. And why putting Shayak Gupta’s face in every newspaper in the country could have devastating consequences.

He took a sip of water. I waited for him to continue and, at last, he did. ‘You remember the shootout at the warehouse?’

‘Yes.’

‘Your journalist friend was right: I was there. Titanium was called in to investigate, as the police suspected a connection to a case we had worked on some time ago.’

‘Tell me about the old investigation.’

‘No one inside Titanium has heard what you are about to hear. Remember the blast in Worli two years ago?’