‘But all that… did not come easy. I had to do something severe to get where we did.’ Her eyes took on a wistful glaze as she thought back. ‘I got to Emmanuel so I could get to Colleen. But even as I slept with Emmanuel and he fell in love with me, he wouldn’t stop harassing his daughter. He never left her alone. So, I recorded a video of them. Threatened the girl I’d show it to the neighbours. Told her to get rid of her father. She did not need much convincing.’
‘She killed him?’
She tittered. ‘Shevti Daniel did. Or they both did together,’ she said. ‘She did not know I had made a recording of that day until we showed the movie to her last week. I threatened to give it to the police if she did not obey me. She was getting more and more difficult to control. Daniel let it slip one day that they were planning to leave. I could not allow that. I put Rajesh in the villa to watch them. Then I showed Debbie the video. To warn her. The video was the one she’—Sharon gestured towards Veda, who was staring at the floor—‘found. That Viktor was watching. But Veda didn’t see fully. She was so shocked by the beginning. If she had seen fully, she would have seen the murder too.’ A thoughtful pause later, she added, ‘We would have known faster about all this if we’d had eyes inside the villa, but Debbie asked not to keep cameras inside. Guests might have a problem, she said. I was okay because we did not want evidence of us coming and going. But cameras’—a slight tilt of her head towards Jasmine—‘are useful.’
‘So, you were only using the Mascarenhas all along,’ said Darya.
‘Colleen has been very useful to me, but so has my Daniel,’ Sharon murmured. ‘I set up a Facebook profile for him and used it to stalk women. Those who met him felt bad for him. I trained him to set up cameras. He took the videos. Transferred them to Rajesh. Did what I told him, but…’ She rubbed her temples. ‘He was hard to control. After his father’s death, the boy went mad. Claiming there was another boy, his brother, who’d killed him. That one was Daniel, the murderer. His own name was Viktor. From that day on he became two personalities. Viktor the fool. Daniel the angry one.’ She shrugged. ‘We let him say and do what he wanted. It helped us also, otherwise he would have gone to a detention centre or jail. We told everyone outside Kamothe the same story, even had a photograph made. Our happy family. With the fake twins. When Viktor acted like Daniel, the photo helped calm him down. We told him he shouldn’t act like his brother. That his brother was dead. Of course, the photo was morphed. The men you met outside Welcome Medicals,’ she said with a satisfied smile, ‘they did it. They work for me. They called me as soon as you left. So, I was prepared. Luckily or unluckily, I was in Kamothe at that time. I go there only sometimes when women are kept in 34. Farookh sent you to me, thinking I would take care of you, but it wasn’t the right time. I had to talk to Chief first.’
‘So, you were the neighbour in flat 34,’ Darya murmured. ‘The woman Emmanuel was having an affair with. You moved to 33 when you got married.’
‘Matangi was so small then, only a vyavasay, a normal trade… woman selling their bodies,’ Sharon said. ‘Now things have changed. It is exciting for the women and the men. An amusement. A cult. I love it.’
As Sharon talked, Darya’s eyes sought Veda’s, but she continued to gape at Sharon, a look of rapture on her face.
Unexpectedly, Jasmine spoke, her manners obsequious, but her voice steady, ‘Did this change happen after the Chief came in?’
Something dark and slippery passed across Sharon’s face. She sighed. ‘Do you want to end up like Eileen, my dear?’ she said, her voice hard as a rock. ‘Why do you want to know? He is too big for the likes of you. Not even the clients know him. There are many above him too, more powerful. Matangi is very powerful.’
Darya glanced at Jasmine, but her face remained impassive.
It was 2.55 a.m.
It was all up to her now, Darya thought desperately.
‘You…’ Darya started to say but could not go on. The grip around her chest was too tight. Sharon signalled to Rajesh. He loosened his hold. Relieved, Darya coughed to release some air and tried again. ‘You killed her. You killed Eileen,’ she said.
Sharon shook her head. ‘Tine svatah la maarle,’ she said slowly as if explaining to a child.
‘No, you killed her,’ Darya said.
A muted gesture from Veda. Their eyes met this time. Darya saw warning in them.
An hour earlier.
‘Where the hell is she?’ Aaron muttered under his breath.
Gawde looked ill at ease. ‘Trouble,’ he said to no one in particular.
‘How many constables have you brought?’ Aaron asked, trying to distract him. Occasionally, when the inspector’s walkie-talkie crackled alive, it reminded him they weren’t alone inside the police car parked in front of the now sparsely peopled Mahim station.
‘Five,’ the inspector said. ‘Two here with you. Two in a van a few meters behind. One more is on standby at the police station.’
‘Hope we don’t need them,’ Aaron said, staring at his phone.
‘We are only doing this for Nourahno, because we know him since long and respect him,’ Gawde said. ‘He told us about Darya’s past daring. I haven’t informed my superiors also because Nourahno asked me not to.’
Aaron nodded. Gawde had mentioned this to him several times since the previous evening, when they’d first talked. He had taken a lot of convincing, ultimately relenting when Darya had reminded him, they had no clues to Veda’s disappearance and what she had was the first definitive one. It was worth following upon.
But Darya hadn’t told Gawde everything. She had only told him she suspected Sharon was responsible for the kidnappings and the murders on Chapel Road, adding a request: since Matangi had its tentacles deep within the police force, after arresting Sharon and her henchmen, Gawde should immediately let his media contacts know. To prevent a cover-up.
Darya’s plan was simple. She was going to go inside the club while they waited a few meters away. She’d signal when she was leaving or, worst-case scenario, if she was in trouble. Meanwhile, they were to keep an eye on all those who entered and left the club.
Aaron was less than enthused about all of this. He had picked up immediately when Darya had called, because he had wanted to talk to her, but when he had heard what she had wanted, he had tried to dissuade her at first, then had given up. Once Darya had made up her mind, who was going to stop her?
This is the only way, she’d told him. To bait them. To bring them out of their lair. Otherwise, they are untouchable.
Eventually, reluctantly, he had to admit, it made some sense.
‘What is she going to do exactly?’ Gawde asked for the umpteenth time.
Aaron humoured him. ‘She’ll give me a signal,’ he replied. ‘Through her wristwatch. She’ll dial me.’
‘What if she can’t? What if that woman or her goons have tied her up and she can’t reach the watch to call you?’
‘Then we barge in. She asked me to wait until 2 a.m. She’s hoping to get a clue or a confession on tape.’
‘New technology.’ The inspector shook his head. ‘Inspector Nourahno said in Goa she did the same thing. A setup. A confession.’
Aaron nodded.
‘But it is dangerous.’
‘They caught the guilty man last time,’ he murmured, his eyes moving from his phone to the empty street.
‘This is dangerous,’ Gawde complained again. ‘Citizens taking law into their own hands.’
‘It’s almost 2 a.m.,’ Aaron said. ‘She asked me to—’
Aaron stopped.
His phone had beeped.
Rajesh resumed his grip around Darya’s neck. Then, releasing his left hand, he placed it at the small of her back and caressed it, moving it up and down.
Darya grimaced.
‘Ho, I killed Eileen, so what?’ Sharon snapped. ‘That’s how I treat people who cheat me. Or people who are a danger to me.’ She paused to appraise Darya. ‘Like you,’ she murmured. ‘No
w, what do I do with you?’ she asked, the edges of her voice spiked and dangerous.
‘She can come with us,’ Veda pleaded.
Sharon’s face darkened. ‘She can never join Matangi. I told you this many times. Yet you said, again and again, let me talk to her; she wants to join us; she can join us.’ Sharon imitated Veda. ‘Look at her. She is not built that way. Bull-headed, rebellious—that’s not us. I need complete obedience. Aastha aur anupaalan.’ She shook her head and turned back to Darya, eyes glaring. ‘Now we will end it.’
Blood rushed to Darya’s head. She opened her mouth to speak. ‘What…’
Rajesh’s hands around Darya’s neck tightened. ‘Stop… Veda…’ She struggled. ‘Do something.’
‘Mara,’ Sharon grunted to Rajesh.
Where the hell was Aaron?
Almost immediately, she heard loud banging on the door. Followed by a flurry of curses. A scuffle.
Sharon looked up, startled. Jasmine and Veda exchanged surprised glances.
The knife nipped Darya’s neck and she winced in pain. Blood trickled down her skin, warm and prickly.
Sharon threw Darya a bemused glance. ‘You called for help,’ she said. ‘Not very smart.’ Then she turned to Veda and Jasmine. ‘See?’
They returned clueless looks. The banging outside had stopped, replaced by loud noises. Sounds of a brawl. Warnings being shouted.
Lights came on in the neighbourhood. Doors opened. People on the road were waking up to see what the commotion was all about.
‘Dekh?’ Sharon repeated, shaking her head. ‘This is what I said. She’s not like us.’
Renewed banging on the door.
‘Tod dalo,’ someone screamed. Break it down.
‘Police! Open immediately,’ a loud voice ordered.
Darya felt Rajesh’s body shudder next to her, his breathing hard in her ears, as if in two minds whether to follow Sharon’s orders or make a run for it.
‘Darya!’ someone screamed from outside the door. ‘Are you okay? We’re coming in.’
Aaron.
Relief flooded over Darya.
Sharon spoke to Rajesh through clenched teeth. ‘Wait! Don’t do anything now. Keep her alive. We will go past the front door. She will be our cover.’
‘No!’ Darya screamed with all the strength she had. ‘Aaron! I’m here. It was Sharon. I was right. Veda is here too!’ She struggled against Rajesh, trying to escape his hold.
Later, Darya would remember with numbing clarity the exact moment it happened: the feeling of alarm as Rajesh started to drag her towards the door, the pitiful scream that emerged from her own throat, the persistent beating on the door that seemed to rip her ears apart, splinters flying, the door springing open.
Behind her, Darya felt Rajesh’s grip on her neck slacken. In that split second, she shoved him backwards, dropped to her knees and kicked the bottom of his legs with her feet, causing him to stumble and fall.
Sharon’s phone slipped from her fingers. Her body was quivering like a flag caught in the wind. Her eyes closed for a moment, as if in resignation. She knew it was over for her.
Three policemen came tumbling in, shouting warnings, swinging batons in the air. They were followed by Aaron, his face flushed, his body prepared to fight.
But Darya’s eyes were on Jasmine and Veda. Jasmine, who looked baffled by the events unfolding around her. And Veda, who seemed relieved, a soft smile making its way onto her lips.
Reset
‘They made me believe this was what I wanted,’ Veda murmured. ‘And every time my thoughts strayed, they brought them back. There was no escape.’
Darya leaned forward and gave her an awkward hug. ‘You’re here now. Safe.’
Eyes cast down, Veda nodded slowly. She looked exhausted.
‘But you have to tell us,’ Darya said. ‘What actually happened?’
Darya, Veda, and Aaron were seated together in a hotel room; Darya had booked it for two days, before Veda and she left for Nagpur and Aaron headed back to Goa. Darya had never been more grateful for Aaron than she was that day. He’d managed to remember her instructions clearly, making his way to the D’Mello bungalow while he sent the other policemen to Kamothe and Walkeshwar. If it hadn’t been for him, she shuddered to think what might have happened to her. To Veda.
‘But it was because of you,’ he’d told her, sounding perplexed. ‘You told me where to find you. And now we have Veda back with us. Thanks to you.’
‘I was there,’ Veda was saying now, her eyes fixed on Darya. ‘When you came down looking for me at the villa that night.’
Darya nodded to indicate she was listening.
‘I wanted another shot at getting that DVR. To see if there were any more. I was quite desperate.’ She looked grim. ‘And you were out cold, Darya. I kept the door open, thinking I’d be back in a few minutes. When I went downstairs and into the reception, I thought there was no one there at first. Then I heard them. Debbie and Viktor. In the backroom. They heard me too.’
‘One second, back up,’ Aaron asked. ‘What video?’
Darya explained to him quickly. Veda had started seeing her boss from work and needed to spend some time alone with him. Jasmine had already begun cosying up to Veda and offered her the bungalow to use. Most likely, Jasmine had hidden cameras in the bedrooms and Viktor had helped set it up. All this to trap Veda. Matangi was, after all, run on a cycle of fear, obligation, blackmail and guilt.
‘Also, so Sharon would trust Jasmine,’ Veda added. ‘Jasmine wanted desperately to belong.’ She turned to Aaron. ‘Sharon used Chapel Road as a base to get to women in Bandra and around,’ she explained. ‘The women there were the best fit for her world. Educated, chic but middle class. Looking to do more with their lives but easily kept in check. Generally, the women she targeted had sickly or conservative parents and a secret that could break them.
Not surprisingly, it always worked. And when it didn’t, she… well, she ended their lives. She got girls from other places too. Like Sapna. I don’t know much about her, only what Jasmine told me. That she had gone to the Gandhinagar police station to complain about her morphed pictures on the internet. Someone at the police station told her to find Rajesh—a magic-worker who could make it all go away—and she arrived in Mumbai,’ Veda said. ‘And Sharon isn’t the only one in Matangi. There are others across Mumbai. How many or who I don’t know. I’ve never seen them. I know they work in clusters. Women taken from one place work in another, a long distance apart. And there are several clusters, coming together only for an official event. Like the one you went to.’
Aaron nodded.
Veda continued, ‘When the two found me, I had to think quickly. It was quite reckless on my part if I think back now, but at that moment, it had seemed like the perfect opportunity to find out what was going on. The best way to put out your plan, Dee.’
‘It wasn’t my plan,’ Darya protested mildly. ‘I’d only asked you to talk to Jasmine.’
‘You said they were connected. Debbie and Jasmine.’
‘Yeah, but I didn’t ask you to do anything about it. I only suggested we try to find out. And I didn’t know about Sharon at all.’
‘Well, anyway.’ Veda shrugged. ‘When I stumbled upon them, instead of scramming, I smiled. Told them I wanted to join them. Debbie was taken aback. She ran to call Rajesh. After that, everything happened quickly. I had little control.’ She paused, her eyebrows knotting at the memory, her hands reflexively clenched. ‘We heard you come down the stairs, Darya. But before you could reach the reception, Rajesh had whisked me away through the back door.’
‘After that… since then?’ Darya asked, her throat dry.
‘New recruits are housed in Kamothe for five months. Both Jasmine and I were at Kamothe. I had arrived a few weeks after her.’
‘But…’ Darya didn’t know how to ask the question.
Veda guessed.
‘Nothing happens in the first five months,’ she said quietly. ‘We get use
d to being on our own, that’s all. This is the period for indoctrinating the women. We’re like novices-in-training.’
‘But what does happen?’ Aaron asked.
Darya answered this time. She had worked it out by now. ‘It’ll seem fantastic to an outsider, but it worked very well for Matangi. The made-up myth, the make-believe traditions,’ she said. ‘Matangi had made a local story from Chapel Road its origin story, so much so that neither the women nor the patrons remembered a time they didn’t co-exist. The women who joined were fed on it, day in and out until they began to believe they were really doing a service. The story and their purpose were drilled into them. That and the covertly shot videos together ensured these women had little inclination to leave. The first few months were also the time to do away with social media, family, any outside contact, and introduce regimented food and clothing. In that kind of a situation, cut off from the world, it’s easier to brainwash people. Even someone as smart as Veda…’ Her brows furrowed at the thought. She couldn’t go on.
‘That wasn’t the only reason I went to them. I also wanted to find out what was going on. But you’re right… for the most part, it worked very well. I got sucked into it,’ Veda said. ‘And then you came to the club at Mahim.’
‘Were you there?’ Darya asked.
Veda shook her head. ‘Too early,’ she said. ‘But Kyra was.’
The Darya Nandkarni Misadventures Omnibus: Books 1-3 Page 50
