Killer in the Shadows! (13 page)

The music blared from the jeep stereo

“
Apna kaam chalta, bhaad mein jaaye janta Ye desh tha veer jawaano ka Ab reh gaya beimano ka…
”

Abhay smiled at the aptness of the song as he drove towards the Chauhans’ residence. Somehow he had never liked politicians.

He wanted to pee so he parked his jeep and decided to commune privately with nature behind a convenient bush in their house, too modest to flaunt his equipment. An odd little smile twinkled through his face as he zipped up and walked across the lawns to the main gate.

The Chauhan family was one of the richest families in Allahabad, and Suchitra Devi knew everyone who was important in town. She was a society matriarch and would do anything to ensure her alcoholic grandson’s future in politics.
To what lengths would she go to protect her family
, Abhay thought, as he reached the door. A servant greeted him at the door and showed him to the formal sitting room where Suchitra Devi Chauhan was. She was wearing a designer golden sari and heavy gold jewellery, and even at her age, she looked royal and quite formidable. The diamond studded rings in every finger, her shrewd eyes and pointed chin added to the aura.

It was time to dive in without knowing how deep the water was.
Jo hoga dekha jayega!
Abhay thought.

“I think your family is making a lot of money in politics.” Abhay pointed towards her diamond rings. “
Kuch paisa gareebon key liye bhi chhor diya karo
.”

“What we do for the poor is talked of all over. Don’t you read the papers?”

“
Newspaper toh neta ki jageer hotey hain, jo marzi likhwalo
,” Abhay retorted as he moved his hand on his scarf.

“Inspector!” Suchitra Devi shouted as she stood up from her chair. “For a public servant, you’re bloody insolent.”

“
Itna gussa sehat ke liye acha nahin hai devi ji
. Just chill chill… just chill!” Abhay hummed as he poked a cigarette into his mouth and scratched a match on the table.

Suchitra Devi’s eyes spat fire. “I find you offensive.”

“Then you’re in good company, Suchitra Devi. Mind you, I find it offensive that rich people can kill innocent people and get away with it.” Abhay lined up the ends of his scarf.

“Let’s come to the point.” Abhay fiddled with his cigarette. Smoke drifted from Abhay’s mouth and lazily twisted and turned.

“What can I do for you, inspector?”

“I want to discuss something that happened a few years ago.”

“Is this about Naina?”

“
Kamaal hai, aap toh antaryaami hain
.” Abhay grinned.

“I saw the two of you flirting at Girish’s party.”

“
Badhiya hai!
When you know so much, then please throw some light on her parents’ murder case also.”

The woman’s lower lip curled into a look of disdain that only a true snob could pull off. “It was a horrid thing that happened; I feel sorry for that poor child.”

“I believe you and your son visited her in the hospital shortly after the incident.”

Shock widened the woman’s eyes momentarily, but she quickly masked it and fanned her face, her diamonds glittering as she waved her hand back and forth. “Yes, my son was…worried. And in his position, we thought it was a good to show concern for the child,” she said.

“So, you did it for making the news?” A bitter taste filled Abhay’s mouth. “
Kaminey neta log
,” he muttered, adding a salvo of smoke rings to the already murky atmosphere.

The old woman smiled, glad he understood.

“Mrs Chauhan, Mr Sinha’s diary indicates that you and your grandson visited him the week before he died.”

A blush tinged the old woman’s white pallor as she dug her bony fingers into her lap. “Yes. He was one of the few lawyers in town. He handled some legal affairs for us.”

“And Girish? He was only…what, around twenty back then?”

“Nineteen, but he was already part of a youth party. Mr Sinha was overseeing its legal executions.”

The quickness of her reply struck him as odd, almost as if she’d practiced her response. Also, she seemed to have an answer for everything.
Chalak hai budhiya
, he thought.

“Inspector Abhay Pandey, I hate to bring this up after what happened to the poor family, but I was withdrawing my accounts from Mr Sinha. There were rumours that he
was sharing confidential information to the opposition party. But when we stopped business with him, it might be possible that someone from the opposition party killed him as he didn’t provide the information even after taking money from them. And my family certainly couldn’t have had our name associated with someone like that,” the old woman said.

Abhay studied the old woman. She was cunning and definitely out to protect her family. But at what cost? “And you think that might be the reason for his death?”

“Who knows?” The woman toyed with the diamond rings on her hand. “Or perhaps someone found out and Mr Sinha was so distraught, he killed himself. Politics can be a vicious game…Or he was involved with the wrong people and they murdered him.”

What a witch! Or rather a bitch. Abhay wanted to send Suchitra Devi to Shukla’s third degree cell. He thought that was the only place where this bitch would speak up. He imagined Shukla beating her up with his bamboo
danda
.

“Was your son Pradeep Chauhan here the night the Sinhas died?”

“Oh, no. He was away on the campaign,” she said examining her nails. “But he came back right away to check on the child.”

Abhay got up. He’d had enough of her and her crap. “Is your son here?”

“No, he and Tara are hosting a charity event tonight.”

“
Kuch kaam bhi kar liya karo, bas charity function karte rehtey ho
. What about your grandson Girish?”

Even though she was acting to be as cool as a cucumber, anxiety streaked Suchitra Devi Chauhan’s face for an instant. “He’s in his office, but I believe he’s busy
at the moment. You could make an appointment with his secretary.”

“
Appointment toh mainey iss duniya mein aaney ka bhi nahi liya, bas aa gya
.” He snapped as he walked towards Girish’s office.

Outside Girish’s office, he saw Girish’s secretary – a sexual fantasy of nineteen or twenty. She stopped him from entering inside. “You can’t go in without an appointment.”

He observed the sexy secretary who was trying to stop him. His appraising glance covered everything from the top of her head to her tiny waist. It took in the expensive dress which she wore, and the gold necklace and earrings which seemed like expensive gifts given to her for some favours she would have bestowed on Girish.

Sensing she was being observed, she tore her eyes away and heaved herself up out of the chair. Her eyes flickering curiously, she asked, “Girish sir is busy for this week. Should I book an appointment for next week?”

All he was checking out were her nicely shaped breasts. He wondered how they would fit in his palms. Abhay looked at her breasts and then at junior, and then finally at her face.

“I need to see Girish Chauhan,” he said as he moved towards the cabin door.

“We do not accept walk-ins, under any circumstances, inspector.”

“That’s good,” Abhay replied with a little heat. “But I am not asking you, just telling you baby.” He winked to her and walked past her and kicked open the door. “
Mera jab man chahey, mein tab wahan ja sakta hoon
. It’s better if you remember – I go where I feel like, when I feel like.” Abhay walked inside majestically, and made sure his
statement was heard by Girish as it was intended more for him than for his sexy secretary.

“Oh, it’s you inspector. I didn’t see you. What brings you here?” Girish asked flashing an uncomfortable smile.

Abhay made himself comfortable in one of the leather chairs and put his feet up on the table. He briefly explained to Girish about his investigation into the Sinha case. “I wondered what business you had with Mr Sinha years ago.” There was the rasp of a match as Abhay lit his fifteenth cigarette of the day. Girish edged the ashtray forward to receive the spent match, but was too late. Abhay’s foot ground the carpet, and the smell of burning wool joined the other aromas.

Girish’s smile slipped slightly. “I didn’t have business with him,” Girish said. “I was just a young boy then.”

Abhay hesitated, remembering Suchitra Devi Chauhan’s story. “You didn’t go to see him about handling your youth party’s legal affairs?”

Girish looked puzzled for a moment. “Oh, yes, I did. Although I don’t remember what day it was that I was scheduled to see Mr Sinha. If I remember correctly, I don’t think I ever made it to the meeting.”

“Are you sure you didn’t meet him at all that week?
Soch lo, nahin toh merey paas aur tareekey bhi hain sach ugalwaaney ke
.” Abhay gritted his teeth.

Girish ki fatt gyi
. He stammered. “No, no. Not at all. Now, if there isn’t anything else, I have an important meeting to go to.”

Abhay grinned. He knew Girish was lying but he thought it was enough for the day. He stood up to leave. “
Phir milenge
, very very soon.”

Abhay dialled Shukla’s number as he sat in his jeep. Could Suchitra Devi Chauhan or Girish possibly be responsible for everything that happened to Naina – her parents’ deaths, the threats, the attack, the tape recorder, the crushed flowers? But if they had killed her parents and didn’t want her to remember, why send her things that might trigger that memory? Unless…unless they thought she was unstable and might become so distraught that she’d take her own life. He certainly didn’t like that line of thinking.

Abhay reduced the volume of the jeep stereo as Shukla received the call. “
Kya baat kartey ho Shuklaji
. Why were you not picking the phone? Have you left the police force or what?” Abhay said, as he steered his jeep out of Chauhans’ mansion.

“Sorry sirji,
woh baat nahin hain na
. Actually Mishraji had ordered me to make some fresh tea with ginger. He has a bad throat, you see. So both my hands were occupied,” Shukla replied hastily.

“Did you do some work, or just kept making tea?”

“Sirji,
kaam hum poora karte hain, by God ki kasam
. I had brought Ashish in for interrogation, but even before I used my
danda
, he started crying like a wimping kid. Even Mishraji could have taken Ashish down with one simple blow and the man would never know what hit him.” Shukla said in a single breath.

Abhay grinned at Shukla’s comment. “How did his I-card reach Naina’s car?”

Shukla continued, “Sirji, he said he had dropped it when he took Naina home that day. I have even checked his fingerprints and they don’t match with those on the
knife. Even Naina called to say that Ashish is incapable of killing anyone.”

Abhay thought,
So he took her home. Hmm
.
Lagta hai pyar abhi baki hai
.

The car stereo hummed at low volume:

“
Oh womaniya, aah aah womaniya
,

badley boyfriend badley apna saiyaan
.

oh womaiya aah aaah womaniya
.”

The jeep bumped on a speed-breaker, breaking Abhay’s chain of thoughts. “Did you find any information about Ria Sood?”

“Sirji, she’s not at her place; her house has been cleaned out.”

What in the hell did Ria Sood have to do with all this? Was she a paid assistant in someone’s demented game or was she some psycho who had planned the whole scheme to torment Naina on her own? But why would she do something like that?
Abhay wondered.

“Also, I found out that when she’d come to Allahabad, she volunteered on Girish Chauhan’s campaign, and learned some general office skills along with some bedroom skills while working with him. You know what Girish’s motto is.”

“What motto?” Abhay asked.

Shukla continued in a sing- song manner: “
Apun ko toh chahiye, din mein special chai; shaam ko daaru, raat ko ladki, aur neend aa jaye
. Sirji, all he needs is alcohol and girls. From there, Ria had taken the job with Naina. So her connection to the Chauhan family is Girish, not Suchitra Devi. I think when Naina returned, Ria helped
Girish torture Naina because she was physically involved with him. A logical reason for a girl like Ria.”