The Forbidden Daughter (17 page)

She also prayed the odors wouldn’t escape into the hall. If the nuns discovered the contraband, she and her girls would be out on the streets. She could only picture Mother Regina’s eyes turn-120
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ing to blue ice, mutely questioning Isha’s behavior.
How can you
and your daughter eat like queens when you are surrounded by
other children and starving orphans?

Later, after Priya fell asleep, Isha read the message on the back of Dr. Salvi’s card:
“My home phone number, in case you
need to call
.
”
So now he’d given her not only his office and mobile numbers but also the land-line to his home—his private number.

Why? What was she to him, other than someone he knew slightly years ago in college? Whatever it was that prompted him to do this for her, she was grateful. Her well-stuffed tummy was more than grateful.

She studied Priya’s face in sleep and knew that she, too, slept better with a good, nutritious meal in her belly. Poor baby, she looked so thin.

Lord, she’d never imagined feeling overwhelming gratitude for one decent meal. She had taken good food for granted. She had assumed everything in life was her birthright. Until now.

She fished out her mobile phone, powered it up, and called his number. He picked it up on the second ring and she asked hesitantly, “Dr. Salvi?”

“Speaking,” he said, sounding a little preoccupied.

“This is Isha Tilak.” She heard what sounded like a television or radio in the background. Was she intruding on his personal time? But then he had given her his home phone number.

“Oh! How are you?” His tone changed to one of friendly interest.

“I wanted to thank you for the dinner. It was delicious.”

“My pleasure,” he said. “My mother packs so many leftovers for me that I thought I’d share some with you.”

“Your mother lives with you, then?” Isha regretted her question the instant it flew out of her mouth. His personal life was none of her business. And he was likely to resent her nosiness.

“No. My parents live with my older brother, Satish. He’s married and has a larger house, a young daughter who needs to be cared for, et cetera. I’m only a poor bachelor, so they insist THE

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that I have my meals with them. My family is close and they wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“How lucky for you!” A pang of envy skittered through her.

He had a close-knit and caring family. She’d always wanted one like that.

“Do you . . . would you mind if I mentioned you and the children to my parents?”

She sighed. “I’m sure they know all about me by now.”

“I don’t think so. At least, I haven’t heard them talk about it.

And please don’t be so formal. Call me Harish.”

“All right, I’ll call you Harish if you call me Isha.”

“Fine.”

An awkward silence followed. It was time to end the call.

“I’ll be in touch if Diya develops a strong reaction to the vaccine,” Isha said.

“All right. And please don’t hesitate to ring if you need help.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that, but my husband’s sister discovered I was still in Palgaum and she has offered help.”

“That must be the lady I spoke to over the phone?”

“Yes. She’s a good person and we’re friends.”

“Glad to hear you have someone you can depend on.” He sounded genuinely relieved.

She wished him a polite good night and hung up.

Just so no one would guess what had occurred in their room, Isha rewrapped the empty container and tiptoed late at night to the rubbish bin located outside the dining hall to dispose of the bag.

Buried under a lot of other smelly garbage-filled bags, she hoped nobody would discover it.

Returning to the room, Isha settled herself on the cot. The baby was already stirring.

Chapter 14

“So we were right! Nikhil’s murder was premeditated!” Although Isha had believed that all along, the shock of hearing Sheila confirm it was too sharp to ignore. All of a sudden her knees felt weak.

“Are you all right?” Sheila looked at her with worried eyes, but Isha could do no more than nod at her sister-in-law. She was shaking all over.

Sheila quickly grabbed her arm. “Sit down.” As Isha lowered herself to the cot, Sheila sat down beside her. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have told you so bluntly about Niku’s murder. You’ve gone through childbirth only days ago. You’re still fragile.”

“Don’t be sorry.” It was the old-fashioned Indian custom to pamper women in postpartum, but Isha had no illusions about such luxuries anymore. “I’m glad you told me. I don’t know why I’m so shocked when I always knew something didn’t add up. I guess I was hoping I was wrong.”

Believing it would have been admitting that Nikhil had enemies, that someone had hated her husband with such passion that they’d be willing to kill him. Even the word
murder
was sometimes hard for Isha to use to describe her husband’s death.

It conjured up gruesome images that were too painful.

“I was hoping
I
was wrong, too.”

Isha took a long, steadying breath. “So exactly why and how did you end up questioning the police superintendent about THE

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Nikhil’s death?” Now that the shock was beginning to wear off, Isha wanted to know the whole truth.

“When I called Manoj Munshi he started to dance around the issue, so I told Kumar about it. When Kumar forced Manoj’s hand, he was told to talk to Patil, the police superintendent, about it. Apparently when there’s a criminal investigation, the insurance company waits for the outcome before deciding whether to settle a claim. I guess they have to make sure it wasn’t . . . um . . . you know . . . especially since the policy was so recent.”

Isha stared at her stuttering sister-in-law. “What are you saying? They think I might have arranged to have him murdered, so I could grab his insurance money?”

“You know how the police—”

“I know,” Isha cut in. “The spouse is always the main suspect.”

“It seems to be standard procedure in murder cases, and the amount of insurance money in this case is substantial.” Probably because Isha was still shaking, Sheila squeezed her hand.

“Kumar and I don’t think you had anything to do with it. We would never, ever think that way.”

“Thank you.” At least someone was on her side. “Since I had nothing to do with it, then who did?”

Sheila shrugged. “Who knows? But I think Manoj is frightened of opening his mouth because of what happened to Niku.”

“Why?”

It took Sheila a moment to reply. “Maybe because he’s afraid of meeting the same fate as Niku?” She raised a brow at Isha.

“Did Niku say anything to you about going to the police?”

Isha shook her head. “He was terribly upset that a seemingly decent man like Karnik would even allude to something that’s clearly illegal.”

Sheila shook her head. “Knowing Niku and his strict principles, I’m not surprised at his reaction. But did he
specifically
say anything about going to the police about Karnik?”

“I remember a conversation when he said something to that effect in Ayee and Baba’s presence and Baba reprimanding Nikhil.”

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“What did Baba say?”

“He ordered Nikhil to leave the doctor alone, because Dr. Karnik was only doing what his patients asked of him and that he was a good man and longtime customer.”

Sheila rose to her feet and started to pace the tiny room.

“From what Kumar gathered from Mr. Patil, Nikhil did file a report with him.”

“He never mentioned it to me.” Isha wondered what other secrets her husband had kept from her.

“Maybe he knew you’d try to stop him . . . or perhaps he didn’t want you involved in anything dangerous. Based on Patil’s limited explanation, Nikhil had no evidence on Karnik of any kind.

And without any solid proof, they couldn’t even touch Karnik.

So they did nothing.”

“Typical small-town police attitude!”

“They may be right, because they wouldn’t have found anything, anyway. I’m sure Karnik makes a load of money, paid strictly in cash by grateful customers. But I bet there are no records kept of any shady activities. Karnik’s no fool.”

“I know that.” Her obstetrician was an intelligent man and good at his craft. Wasn’t that the main reason he was so popular with the upper class?

“Slightly before his death, Niku had apparently informed Patil that he had received anonymous death threats.”

Isha drew in a sharp breath. “He didn’t tell me that, either! I wish he had, Sheila! I would have prevented him from getting involved in any of this. As long as we didn’t want the abortion and we had changed doctors, why did Nikhil have to pursue it?”

Sheila returned to sit beside her once again. “Because Niku was a man of principles. If he felt it was merely illegal, he would have turned a blind eye to it, but when it came to something highly immoral, you know he wouldn’t rest until he did something about it.”

“I know.” Isha had tortured herself all these months, agoniz-ing over whether Nikhil had suffered horribly while dying. Had he fought the killer, or was he taken by surprise? Had the killer THE

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at least finished the job quickly, or had he played with his prey like a cat with a mouse? What were her husband’s last moments like? An endless list of questions burned a hole in her brain.

Now the scab on the slowly healing wound was reopened.

And with it came rage. “Why couldn’t Nikhil leave this particular issue alone? How could he be so careless?”

With a rueful smile Sheila turned to her. “He was like that even when he was a child. In school, if a boy attacked another, he’d go to the principal and make sure the offender was punished.”

“But this wasn’t a schoolyard fight! Didn’t he stop to think about the consequences of going to the police? Weren’t death threats serious enough for Nikhil?” How could an intelligent and practical man not consider the consequences of his actions?

“In Niku’s mind, he was doing the right thing. He probably thought the threats were bogus. Anyone would, given the kinds of people we’ve always known in our town. Who would think anyone capable of murder?”

A sense of hopelessness came over Isha. “What a waste of a precious life.” She sat with her face cupped in her hands for a while. Sheila brooded beside her in silence. They both had their own doubts and questions. At the moment, there were no answers.

Moments later, Isha asked her sister-in-law a troubled question. “So if the police never catch the murderer, does it mean the insurance claim will never be settled?”

“It will be settled within a day or two. Besides, I understand the police are thinking about closing the case because they can’t find a single clue. As you know, they never found any fingerprints or weapons or even signs of a break-in.”

“I find that hard to believe. But I guess I have to accept it.” It was entirely possible the investigation was hushed up by Karnik. He was a wealthy doctor. All he had to do was hand over some cash to the right people and the matter would be closed. In fact, she was sure that was exactly what had happened. Her bitterness went up another notch.

“Kumar spoke to Manoj’s boss. He even went all the way up 126
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to the general manager, explained the situation, and vouched for your character. They’ve promised to settle your claim as quickly as possible.”

Isha enclosed Sheila in a grateful hug. “Thank you so much, both you and Kumar. I don’t know what else to say.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Sheila. “We’re family.”

“Do Ayee and Baba know about any of this?”

Sheila shook her head. “No. In fact, I haven’t told them I’ve found you and visited you. They have no idea their new granddaughter is here.”

“I’m glad. If they found out the murder was premeditated, they might even believe what the police suspect: that
I’m
the one who might have arranged for Nikhil’s death, or worse, that Diya is responsible for it somehow.”

“That’s ridiculous! Diya is an innocent infant.”

“Not so ridiculous if you look at it from your parent’s point of view. In their opinion,
she
is responsible for Niku’s death, remember?”

“In that case, I’ll keep my mouth shut. Patil and the insurance folks are keeping mum, anyway. They have to, since it’s an official investigation.”

“Thank God for that!”

“So, when do you want to go look at the flats you had in mind?” Sheila asked after a couple of moments.

Clearly Sheila was trying her best to cheer Isha up. “I don’t know. I’ll have to wait until the insurance check arrives.”

“Kumar and I can lend you the money for now.”

Isha mulled over that and realized it was probably the best thing to do. Now that she was assured she’d have some money to call her own, why not start moving forward with her plans?

And Sheila was so eager to help. “I don’t have a car, so I can’t even get out of here.”

“That’s what
I’m
here for.” Sheila did indeed look efficient and eager in her sunny lemon-yellow sari. “I can drive you in my car. Do you feel strong enough to go out?”

“I feel fine. But we can’t just leave. What about Diya and Priya?” Isha looked about her helplessly. She hadn’t left the THE

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room in several days, and the convent in months. Suddenly the prospect of venturing outside the steel gates was daunting.

“We’ll take them with us,” replied Sheila with a confident grin. “Between the two of us we can handle the kids.”

Sheila’s enthusiasm was infectious. Isha studied her generally subdued sister-in-law with narrowed eyes. Something was different. This was a Sheila unlike the one she’d known in the past.

Isha had almost always seen her when Ayee and Baba were present. She realized that Sheila, too, was intimidated and inhibited by her parents. No wonder Sheila had always played the sweet, submissive daughter. Outside their stifling influence she was a different woman, vivacious and full of spirit.