‘I know.’
‘I need to speak to your boss.’
‘I tried calling him. He isn’t answering his phone. Too much drink last night, I think.’
‘I will ask the operator to try his landline.’
‘Please.’
‘I also need to speak to the other members of your team.’
‘I already did. Chirag isn’t with anyone.’
‘Thank you for checking.’
‘It’s my job. They are my team, my responsibility.’ Sitting down had helped. I felt stronger. ‘There is a blood trail outside the balcony,’ I informed him.
‘People are already out there following it, trying to find Mr Desai. In fact, our hotel security as well as other staff are out searching for him as we speak.’
‘Thank you.’
‘It’s my job,’ he said with a smile, mimicking my earlier statement. ‘You are all my guests.’
‘Piyush should be here. Chirag is his brother-in-law,’ I replied, giving him a weak smile of my own.
He received a call at that moment and excused himself to attend it. Then he crouched beside me again. ‘That was the operator. Mr Gokhle is not answering his phone. I need your consent for something.’
‘What is it?’ I asked, dreading what it could be.
‘We would like to open his room with the master key and check inside.’
Relief swept over me. ‘Of course, let’s do that right away.’
‘If you are tired we can proceed without you.’
‘I’m fine. I insist on coming,’ I said firmly. We set off, leaving two housekeeping staff on guard. At Piyush’s door, my earlier anxiety returned. I prayed that he would utter nothing that would give our relationship away. After all these years of secrecy, tonight was the worst time for a
◆◆◆
The manager entered and turned on the lights. Then he went in, calling Piyush’s name. Cy followed, and I trailed in after them.
An empty room welcomed us.
His bed looked barely slept in. His laptop was on the bed, his phone and wallet on the floor, and a few soiled clothes lay dumped on a chair. A gust of wind swooshed through the room, making me realise that the French doors to the back porch were open. He was neither outside on the porch nor inside the bathroom. His shoes were under the dresser, so were his bathroom slippers.
A chilling realisation dawned on me. Chirag was in trouble and Piyush wasn’t around to sort things out. This was my crisis now. I had to deal with it. I cursed under my breath. Trust Piyush to leave his pain-in-the-arse brother-in-law and his problems to me. I needed that freaking cigarette before I did something irrevocable. Looking at the two men standing in the room with me, I considered my options before acting.
‘Cy,’ I said, turning to him, ‘can you please arrange for some coffee for me? I need fuel to go on.’ He nodded and turned to leave. ‘And Cy, while someone is fetching my coffee, I need you to call up everyone and ask them to assemble in the conference room where we met last night. I want to speak to them. The police will probably be here soon, and they’ll need inputs about Chirag.’
Turning to the manager, I asked, ‘You have notified the authorities, right? Seeing the state of his room, I fear he might have been assaulted. Chirag’s family is very influential. We cannot risk any lapses where he is concerned.’
‘Yes, Mr Bhandari is briefing them as we speak.’
‘Good, hope they will be here soon.
I heard the manager clearing his throat. ‘What is it?’ I asked him.
‘Ma’am, this is an island.’
‘I know that.’
‘The police will take some time to get here. They have to come by boat.’
Was this manager crazy? Boat! The island was at least a two-and-a-half hour boat ride from Malwan, Maharashtra, which was the nearest coastal town. But Cumbojee Island was part of the Lakshadweep archipelago—a union territory not part of Maharashtra. Would the police have to come from an island in that group? I remembered Piyush telling me that Cumbojee was hundreds of nautical miles from the main Lakshadweep islands. Oh God, were the police even going to get here before Chirag kicked the bucket?
‘They don’t have choppers?’ I asked dumbly.
‘I’m afraid not.’
‘What you are saying is that your resort security is the closest thing available. How is that possible? Who safeguards the locals?’
‘The resort is the only thing on the island. Everyone employed lives on campus.’
‘Great. Absolutely fantastic,’ I burst out, furious, and turned to Cy. ‘Get going. What the devil are you waiting for? Didn’t you hear, the police will take a lifetime to get here? We have to find Chirag ASAP. Hopefully, he will still be breathing when we do. And Piyush... we need to find him too.’
Striding to Piyush’s bed, I picked up his mobile and checked the call register. The last call had been at 2:30 a.m., made to Chirag by Piyush. Strange, I thought, wondering why it was not the other way around. I poked around carefully for any other clues, but nothing caught my eye.
I dialled Chirag’s number again, this time from Piyush’s phone. The phone rang. My heart jumped in anticipation. It rang, once, twice, thrice, and then stopped. Had he cut my call? I tried again. This time he disconnected my call on the first ring. Using my mobile, I dialled Chirag a third time. He had switched off his phone.
‘Well, he’s alive, I think,’ I told the manager, who was hovering around me anxiously. ‘The bad news is, he has switched off his mobile. Knowing him, I cannot say what he will do next. One can only hope that the pain will not make him more irrational than he already is.’
‘I don’t get you, ma’am.’
‘Mr Manager, Chirag Desai is a mentally challenged person. His mental age is that of a child, and I have no idea how a child will behave in trauma.’
Shock was evident on the manager’s face. ‘He will probably want his mother or some other family member.’
‘Piyush was family. He cut the call twice when I called from Piyush’s number and then switched off his mobile. Looks like wants to stay away from everyone, including his family,’ I muttered, frustrated and worried. ‘Maybe someone attacked him. What if his attacker was the one who cut the calls? .How long will it take for the police to get here? If someone dangerous is out there, we have no time to lose.’
‘Hmm...’
‘I don’t have all day, you know.’
‘Maybe two hours?’
‘Meaning, you don’t know. Fantastic! Chirag could be dead long before they get here.’
‘Our security is good. They will find him faster than the police can. They know this island inside out, unlike the police.’
‘Yes, your security is excellent. That is why a profusely bleeding, mentally deprived man jumped off his balcony—maybe his attacker also did likewise—and nobody even knew about it.’ He had the grace to look embarrassed. ‘Please find out what the search parties have so far and update me. I will be in the conference hall with my people. Bring Bhandari there when he arrives.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ I heard him reply as I stormed off.
Chapter 5
Full attendance, I observed. Cy stood by the door while the others sat, concern clear on every face. ‘Okay, so earlier I called to ask if Chirag was with you. He is injured and could be in great pain. He is not in his room, but there is blood everywhere. Someone may have attacked him and this attacker could still be with him. We need to find him before he bleeds to death or his attacker finishes the job,’ I announced, shocking my audience.
Devyani picked up her cell phone and dialled a number.
‘I tried calling him but he cut my call and then switched off his mobile. Is it still off?’ I asked, glancing at her.
‘It’s off,’ she confirmed.
‘Is Piyush away searching for him?’ Alisha spoke up.
‘No idea. He may have had too much to drink last night. I’m afraid he may be lying asleep somewhere. We’re just going to have to ma
ke do without him on this hunt.’
Another gasp, a louder one this time. It was uncharacteristic of Piyush to overindulge, but all of us had seen him downing a few drinks too many yesterday.
‘Yes, that is our other problem. We have no clue where Piyush is. He has not taken his phone. The only thing I know is that he called Chirag at 2:30 a.m., after which he left in a hurry. Where to, I don’t know.’
Without waiting for all this information to sink in, I continued, ‘The worst part is that the police might be a while coming since Cumbojee is an island. The resort security is on the job, but, frankly, I have my doubts about their abilities. So, any ideas, guys?’
‘I will have Chirag’s last location traced from the call you made. It may not be much but let’s see,’ Devyani said and fiddled with her mobile before making a call. ‘They will revert in ten minutes, tops.’
I nodded. ‘Any other suggestion?’
‘Has anyone searched inside the resort?’ Alisha asked.
‘I don’t know, but we should. Check all rooms; we are the only ones staying in this wing.’
Nodding, they jumped up, split the search locations amongst themselves and left with a promise to return in fifteen minutes. My coffee arrived as they set off. Sipping it, I waited for them to return from their mission.
◆◆◆
Within ten minutes, everybody was back. The Jade Wing was small, and they had combed every bit, including common areas. They found neither of the missing persons. The clock on the wall showed 4:30. Could a person who had lost much blood be alive after two hours? We would know when we found Chirag.
‘The last signal was closest to the tower in the marsh,’ Devyani declared within minutes of reassembly. Just then, the manager entered with the resort owner, Akhil Bhandari.
‘Nalini, I am sorry to hear what has happened,’ he began.
‘Do we have any news?’ I butt in, nodding an acknowledgement.
‘Not good, I’m afraid.’ Eight sets of eyes focussed on him. ‘My security team has followed the blood trail to the cliffs, right to the edge where it ends,’ he said, looking troubled.
My heart pounded as I put my worst fear into words. ‘Are you saying Chirag jumped off the cliff?’
‘Sure looks that way, Nalini,’ he replied. I sank into the nearest chair, clutching the armrests in a deathly grip. My head swirled with the images of how people—powerful people—would react when they heard the news. I tasted bile and wanted nothing more than to wish this nightmare away.
From somewhere, I heard Devyani speak. ‘My people traced his number to the swamp. I have it on good authority,’ she said firmly.
‘Besides, if he is in the water his phone would not have worked when Nalini called,’ Alisha pointed out.
‘But the blood trail leads to the cliff,’ the manager insisted.
‘How far apart are they?’ I asked.
‘Two kilometres, I’d say,’ the manager replied.
‘Could he have dived into the water and then walked to the marsh?’ Stanley asked doubtfully.
‘It could be done, I suppose, but the possibility of surviving a fall off the cliff is close to zero,’ Bhandari replied.
‘Even one possibility is a chance of occurrence. Outliers exist for a reason,’ Stanley said, trying hard to sound hopeful.
‘Assuming that in the rarest of rare cases, he jumped off the cliff, survived the jump, and walked to the marshes...’ Sukhbir trailed off, overcome by disbelief in his own hypothesis. ‘If so many remote possibilities can simultaneously occur,’ he continued, ‘how far could he have reached? Could he still be alive?’
‘Is anyone even looking in the marshes? If not him, his attacker could be hiding there,’ Cy asked.
‘It’s dangerous at this time of night,’ the manager muttered.
‘Send a team right away,’ Bhandari instructed.
Bowing his head, the manager left to execute the command. Bhandari grabbed a chair and sat down. He looked worried. I did not blame him. Bad publicity was bad for business.
‘What is the status on Piyush?’ asked Manav Prasad, the only auditor to make it to the winning team.
‘No trace of him yet,’ Bhandari replied.
‘How is that possible?’ Alisha asked.
‘Have you searched the beach? It is closest to his room,’ Cy asked.
‘He is not on the beach. My people have checked.’
‘Were there any bloody prints on the beach?’ Devyani asked.
‘No’
‘The tide could have washed them away,’ 1991 noted. Despite his odd choice of name, 1991 was a pragmatic person by nature. It was evident that even he wanted to set aside his practical thinking and hope that Chirag was all right.
◆◆◆
I listened to their chatter, uninterested, preoccupied with what I needed to do next and with the dread that the mere thought of it was causing. How much longer would it take for my brilliant companions to arrive at the question I had been asking myself for the past few minutes?
‘Has anyone told their family?’ Sukhbir’s voice echoed across the room. There, the cause of my trouble had finally been voiced. For someone who avoided speaking, Sukhbir was rather talkative all of a sudden, I observed with irritation. Asking was easy—doing, hard!
‘No,’ I replied shortly.
‘Nalini, please tell them as soon as possible. I am afraid, as matters stand, things look bad,’ Bhandari advised.
My nostrils flared. I didn’t need people lecturing me; I needed results. When would this douchebag understand that? With the stressful situation, the constant heaving and churning in my stomach and the pounding in my head, the last thing I needed was another well-wisher telling me what to do.
‘Don’t you think you had better find something good to tell them first? I assure you, once I make the call, it will not be a simple matter of talking to Nalini Bose anymore. Politicians and high-ranking police officers will hammer you with calls, and each one will ask you a million uncomfortable questions. What kind of a sorry excuse for a security department do you operate? How do you run a resort where the guards don’t spot a bleeding man walking all the way to a pier? Do you have an explanation for why security is awarded the least priority on this island?’
My ambush caught Bhandari by surprise, but I was beyond caring. I stopped for breath, and he grabbed the opportunity to respond.
‘Nalini, I assure you that the security is very good, and we will find both Chirag and Piyush.’
‘Two hours after my colleague first alerted me, you are yet to find either of them; we don’t know if there is an attacker out there; the police are yet to arrive... forget all that, I am yet to lay eyes on your security chief.’
‘I am afraid he is on leave for a few days. I understand your worry, but we are doing the best we can. Please have faith.’
My eyes fell on a CCTV camera mounted in the conference room. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? Surely Bhandari could review the CCTV footage and find Chirag.
‘What about using footage from the CCTV cameras,’ I asked. Bhandari shifted in his seat as though I had asked for one of his kidneys. ‘Let me guess, your people forgot to turn them on,’ I snapped at him.
‘Nalini, you know how guests can be. We had a New Year’s Eve party here the day before you arrived. A bunch of revellers fiddled with the main setup while the party was underway. Our electrician has tried every trick in the book to fix it. The culprits were too drunk to recall what they did when we questioned them in the morning. The company technician will come on Monday. But don’t worry, my security team is excellent. They will find both Piyush and Chirag.’
‘I am not worried. I am petrified about the consequences. You are underestimating the magnitude of the problem.’
He shut up, but Manav jumped into the conversation. ‘But you have an obligation to inform Chirag’s family, Nalini.’
‘I know. I am biding my time.’
‘Should I call?’ Bhandari offered.
‘Bharat Desai, the union minister?’ he asked weakly.
Clearly, that piece of information had stumped him. I doubted if he had heard anything that followed. ‘Yes!’ I nodded miserably.
‘This is bad. I did not know Piyush married royalty.’
‘Now you know. I assure you the old man will decimate anyone who takes his son’s life casually.’
‘Has anything like this happened to him before?’ Bhandari asked.
Even in times of distress, this weirdo was feeding his curiosity! He must be a total airhead, I decided. ‘No, this is the first time he has died. What do you think, we brought a ghost on this trip or maybe a twin brother? Get to work, man! Find Chirag before his father slits our throats.’
‘Do you think Piyush could be out looking for him?’ 1991 asked hopefully.
‘I don’t know. I don’t care who finds him as long as someone does and that he’s found alive.’
‘I know, but I was wondering about Piyush. You can always count on him to be around during emergencies. I don’t think he was that drunk yesterday, Nalini.’
‘I refuse to worry about him, ’91. He is a grown man unlike Chirag, and he was unhurt when he left his room, which is more than we can say about Chirag. I am too drained out to stress about Piyush at this moment.’
Nobody replied. They were grappling with this unknown, rude, brash Nalini with shock. The coffee had been inadequate, I realised. I needed something stronger—a drink. But with an audience depending on me for leadership and all the problems screaming for my attention, a drink was out of the question.
A cigarette would have been a relief, but in this blasted resort smoking indoors was impossible. Why was the darned smoke alarm working when everything else here was broken? Hell, if this situation continued much longer, I might do the honours myself.
◆◆◆
The Murder Suspect Page 4
