That back exit opened. We were trapped. Mahindra had doubtless figured out that he could bust in via the curtain behind the bar counter. And I fully expected at least two of Mahindra’s brute suits to be standing in that back door with guns, knives, or forks. I shut my eyes, preferring not to know which weapon or utensil would hit me first.
“Yo! Tempe! Good to see you, girl. We missed you at the shoot after tea.”
I opened my eyes. Asha Kumar stood in the doorway. Under her feet squirmed a male last seen this evening in the company of Kirk Mahindra. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be napping. I looked back at Asha. In her right hand she held a familiar-looking gold object. A trophy engraved with one word—“Miscommunication.”
Chapter 38
“Asha! Watch out!”
The thug at Asha’s feet reached for her ankle. She thwacked him again with the trophy, then nudged him with her foot. He twitched once, then wisely quit moving. Asha grinned at me. I grinned back.
I felt arms surround me and turned to bury my face into Brig’s broad chest. We clung to each other until a bullet whizzed over my head. Mahindra had discovered the curtain.
Brig released me, then grabbed my hand. “Time to go. We’ll be havin’ a fine reunion later. If we live.”
We landed in the alley where Brig and I had exchanged names a week ago. This time none of us stopped for pleasantries. Asha took off at a nice clip. Brig and I ran after her toward a familiar vehicle. The Jeep.
“Jake! Bless you, man!”
“Tempe. I’m so glad you are unharmed. We were very worried when Brig called us to say Mahindra had taken you. And right in front of your trailer. I’m so sorry. I thought you were better protected at the studio lots.”
I quickly hugged the worried director. Brig interrupted any further discussion. “Asha? Take the wheel, will you? I have to attend to my woman. I haven’t seen her all day.”
He kissed me thoroughly, then softly whispered, “I thought I’d lost you, lass. And that I couldn’t bear. The damn statue is priceless, but you, my love, are irreplaceable.”
“Briggan O’Brien, I would gladly go back into the fray just to hear those words from you again.” I kissed him again, then we held each other tightly and wordlessly.
Asha and Jake had wisely refrained from commenting on the action in the back seat. I don’t think their silence had been intended as polite noninterference. It was drive-for-your-life time while maintaining focus. Asha dodged, weaved, and knocked down stalls all to get clear of the area near Hot Harry’s. Jake watched his sweet beloved drive with a look of horror on his face.
Brig lifted a fold of the now-torn sage green sari and stroked the material. “Cute outfit, luv.”
I patted the shreds of the garment that clung to my chest. “Airy” accurately summed up the fashion statement.
“What? This old thing? Latest in victim fashions. Mahindra seemed determined I would not join the murdered Mr. Decore this evening in the cutoffs and halter top Reena squeezed me into earlier. A bit risqué for the Yacht Club and all. No offense to your costumer, Jake.”
Jake nodded. “None taken. Anyway, I do believe I’ve heard somewhere it’s considered bad karma to die in a costume from a Masala film set.”
Brig ignored this exchange. His mouth set in a thin line. “Yacht Club. Kirk Mahindra took you to the Yacht Club? Dressed in that?”
“He did indeed. Wanted to impress his captive with the food there. I’m sure it’s tasty, though I don’t remember much of it. I kept wondering if any of the government nabobs I met would have cared to know they were talking to a girl who was in the throes of a kidnapping.”
Brig shook his head. “Corrupt maggots. Every one of them. At least if they were on first-name basis with that heathen scum Kirkee.”
He drew me toward him again and held me. I did not resist. His voice grew soft. “Damn, Tempe. I truly panicked when Mahindra’s boy pounced on me after my little stay at the police station this afternoon and told me he’d nabbed you. I should have wrung his sorry neck on the spot. It’s all my fault for leaving you alone.”
I beamed at him and said, “Brig. Listen. Neither of us knew Mahindra was poking from the pockets of the police. Or vice versa. Whatever. Or that he’d arrange for you to get arrested for Ray’s murder. And I hadn’t been alone all day till I went for the bathroom break. I should have stayed on the lot instead of going over to my trailer.”
I touched a bruise over Brig’s right eye. “Mahindra’s pals or your fellow inmates at the jail?”
“The former. The lads at the pokey were a decent lot. Seemed quite intrigued to have the Irish mug in with them. I regaled them with tales of banshees and wee folk and pots of gold under rainbows. I believe I may have promised more than a few I’d be mailin’ a leprechaun to Bombay the next time one of the little blighters jumped into my knapsack.”
I might have known Brig would have every felon in the jail inviting him to come visit should he, or they, get out anytime soon. He’d probably made good use of his day by taking the names and addresses of every black marketeering fence in India and jotting them in a little black book.
I said as much. He grinned.
“Handheld electronic black book. I may not like the wireless phones, but the palm-size are very nice for addresses plus playing games on long flights. I hate flying. Too boring and no chance to do anything physical.”
I snuggled against his chest. My relief about escaping from Mahindra and his minions was so great I didn’t even flinch when Asha hit a police van parked on the side of the road. Fortunately, the cop was too busy stopping a brawl in front of a bar to notice the speeding Jeep or the fact that his vehicle just lost a side mirror.
“Asha? Where are we going? And excuse me, but has anyone noticed that Mahindra is about two cars behind us in his limo? He must be upset. He’s actually doing the driving instead of Mr. Perfect Chauffeur. Damn. He got to his car really fast.”
Brig answered me. “I noticed. Mahindra and two others were out the front door the minute you and I hit the storeroom. He didn’t know I’d restaged Robin Hood saving Maid Marian with the help of Little John and Friar Tuck here, but I’m damn sure he knew there’d be a car involved.”
Asha turned and stuck her tongue out at Brig. “Friar Tuck? Huh? Just who you calling Friar Tuck?”
“Hush, Asha! It was figurative for the rescue of my lovely Maid Marian here.”
“Humph. Well, the good monkette is about to lose the bad Sheriff back in the forest. Fasten your caps, chaps. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
“Thank you, Margo Channing,” I said.
Brig grinned. “This is good. Asha will lose the bloody fiend up around the Churchgate Rail Station. She’s a much faster driver. And Kirk’s not used to taking the wheel himself. Probably hasn’t driven in twenty years. Look. He’s already dropped back by another five cars.”
Asha again turned and wrinkled her nose at me. I quickly told her to keep that nose and her eyes aimed at the road.
She sighed, “You asked where we were headed. I’m telling you. We’re going back to the studio lot.”
I almost jumped out of the Jeep. “You’re not serious! Hell, Mahindra knows those lots better than I do. He’s managed to get in and out of there and knock on the door of every trailer I’ve been in for the last three days. He’s been on the lot more times than Raj Ravi this week!”
Brig reached for me again and pulled me back against his chest. “It’s fine. Believe me. Kirk will assume we’ll be heading for Jake’s or Asha’s place. And there’s a score of actors staying on the lot tonight plus security guards. Mahindra will find it difficult to get through now, if he even wants to make the attempt. He may figure I ditched the statue since I showed up determined to make the rescue instead of the exchange.”
“That reminds me. Where is the Diva? I assume you never had time to make a delivery this afternoon.”
Brig reached down on the floor of the back seat. He pulled out a spanking new tote
bag advertising the film to be released this spring by Jake Roshan, starring Asha Kumar and Raj Ravi. Carnival of Lust. The silk-screened print on the front showed a nearly unclad Asha crooning to a couple of snakes. Behind her, atop an elephant, perched Raj Ravi. A cast of dancers posed by a fountain. I squinted. In the background stood a Ferris wheel. On the top of the wheel, a redheaded girl balanced on her head. Me.
“Cool! I can’t believe you got this picture so fast! Wow. I’m on a tote bag! My mother will love this. She’ll order at least a hundred for Christmas presents.”
Laughter burst from all three of the other occupants.
“What? You don’t believe me? Quit laughing. I’m serious. She will. She’s spent her whole life upset I didn’t become a Broadway star. This is the closest I’ll get. She’ll be thrilled. My father’ll have a fit, but it’s time he knew who I really am and what I really want.”
Brig hugged me. “Are you ever going to tell your mother what’s inside that promo tote bag right now?”
“Shiva’s Diva? The goddess who nearly cost her baby’s life?” I smiled. “I may give that one some thought. Mom still has every strand of her gorgeous auburn hair. I don’t want it to turn gray all at once.”
Brig smiled. “So this is what I get to look forward to, is it? A howling, back-clawing, sweaty—oops, sorry—glowing red-haired vixen causing trouble even when she’s a senior citizen?”
I couldn’t speak. Briggan O’Brien had just made a statement that very strongly implied a future together. With me. A long future. The women on both sides of my family don’t turn gray until they’re in their nineties.
When I felt sure I could use my vocal chords without heading up a full octave, I croaked, “Did you just say look forward to? With me? Is that what you said?”
He didn’t get a chance to answer.
Brig sank. His blood soaked the seat. Everywhere.
Chapter 39
“No!” I screamed.
Mind you, a lesser woman might have become hysterical, thrown herself over the body of her fallen lover, cried, cursed, and quite possibly fainted. I did all the above. Except faint. And once I saw that Brig still breathed and that the bullet had only grazed his ear, I flung myself over his body more to protect him, rather than a show of further histrionics on my part.
Apparently, Kirk Mahindra had turned the wheel over to a more experienced driver at some point in the midst of the traffic jam by the clubs. A driver who rivaled Asha in speed. This shift had allowed Kirk to aim a gun out the window of the limo and fire one bullet. One was enough. Mahindra had been right. “Crack shot” nailed his ability with a weapon.
Asha sent the Jeep hauling at speeds over a hundred miles per hour. She drove silently, with intense concentration. Never again would I hassle her about her skill behind a wheel. Jersey girl was about to save our lives.
We made it to the gates of Vivek Productions in under sixty minutes. Somewhere along the road, Asha managed to lose Mahindra. Whether we’d achieved that goal in front of a nightclub, Churchgate Rail Station, or a brothel, I didn’t know. It didn’t matter. I cradled Brig’s bleeding head in my lap and sobbed.
Asha sent the Jeep into the garage with a squeal of brakes and tires rivaling a pit stop at the Grand Prix. She and Jake jumped out.
Asha peered at Brig. “Is he awake? Can he walk?”
I lightly touched Brig’s temple. He was still awake but obviously in shock. But in true, stubborn, O’Brien fashion, he’d managed to hang on to the tote bag.
I looked at Jake. “Where to, do you think? Is there an infirmary out here? What if we all carry him?”
Brig waved his hand. “No! Tá fáilte romhat!”
Jake and Asha looked at me.
“He said, ‘No!’ Which I think you got. The second phrase claimed he’s fine. Which I think is a lie.”
Brig managed to exit the vehicle on his own, then promptly fell to his knees. I tried to grab him before he toppled, but I tripped and tumbled with him to the ground.
Brig howled. “Ow! I’ve got one lousy nick in the bottom of my damn earlobe! Which I just scraped again. Not to mention some bloody gravel stones just attacked my knees. But we’re not looking at a life-threatening wound here. Slap some stinkin’ gauze on it. I’ll be fine in the mornin’. Oh. It is mornin’. Well, then, later in the mornin’. Perhaps noon.”
He exhaled. “Think there’ll come a night when any of us can get to bed before four and not worry about hooligans trying to kill us in our sleep?”
Jake whistled through his teeth, then looked at Brig.
“You are a menace. Do you realize that, Briggan O’Brien? I had been enjoying six weeks of calm filming before you showed up. The biggest problem I encountered was keeping Asha from flying off to America during one of her costumefitting . . . uh . . . fits. Then you waltz in with your statue and turn everything topsy-turvy and nearly get everyone, including yourself, killed.”
Brig’s eyebrows raised. “And the point of that would be?”
Jake shook his head. “I do not know. I believe I had a point when I started talking. It seems to have vanished. Just like Mahindra. Into the night, I sincerely hope.”
Asha patted his hand. “Jake. You don’t do well when you don’t get sleep. Let’s help get Brig to Raj’s trailer and call it a night. Tempe can patch up the brave hero and we can regroup around noon.”
“Raj is gone again?”
She nodded. “His wife made it clear if his butt didn’t make it into their house at close of shooting today, Mr. Ravi could spend the next forty years or so at the bottom of a very deep pool. At least that’s what he told Jake. I’ve met Mrs. Ravi. Far too meek and sweet to ever say such a thing. I think Raj had just gotten into that conjugal mood thing.”
“Got it. No need to go further. As long as we don’t have to worry about Raj turning up before noon, it sounds great. He has a nice trailer.”
We took about three steps away from the Jeep before all of us turned as one. I spoke first. “Shiva’s Diva.”
Brig groaned. “We’ve left her!”
Asha held up a hand. “I’ll get her. After all the trouble we’ve had, it would just be too anticlimatic, plus damned inconvenient, for some idiot car thief to decide this is the night he’s stealing a Jeep and get our statue.”
Brig, Jake, and I waited while Asha brought out the tote bag. The four of us then stared at each other. Jake voiced the feeling. “Where are we going to keep her?”
Brig’s ear continued to bleed. He appeared in no shape to think, and I was in no shape to think for him.
Asha took over. “I have a great idea for a hiding place. Don’t worry. I promise no one will dare try and take her.”
Brig sighed. “Keep it secret. Keep it safe.”
I stared at him. “Thank you, Gandalf.”
“What?”
“Lord of the Rings. I watched the marathon on cable in New York, geez, just last week.”
“I thought you saw Butch Cassidy?” Brig asked.
“Well, I did. Great week. They had the Paul Newman marathon on for two days, then Rings for three days. In between they had Gene Kelly Singin’ in the Rain all night.”
Jake beamed. “Did you notice that Debbie Reynolds is minus a shoelace . . .?”
I joined in on him with “in the dance sequence!” We grinned at each other.
“Do you realize she was just nineteen for that one? As dancers go, you’re old, Tempe!”
Brig held up his hand. “Stop! Both of you! Damn. I spent three years with Jake watching old movies in the dorm room. Then I get involved in a shoot-out that far outweighs anything Butch Cassidy ever encountered, I meet Tempe Walsh, film buff, and I now get to look forward to another fifty or so?”
Brig quickly turned to Asha. “So, Miss Kumar? Where will the Diva be kept secret and safe?”
She snickered. “The snake cage.”
Brig’s eyes popped. “What!”
“It’s okay. I’ll retrieve the goddess at the proper tim
e. I really don’t think anyone will dare try and get her out.”
“Especially me,” Brig sighed.
Asha snorted at him. “Wimp. Sparky and Fluffy wouldn’t hurt a fly. A mouse or a rabbit maybe, but never big brave stalwart Irish-Robin-Hood types.”
“Fine. You go bond with the serpents. Would you bring the Diva out tomorrow at four? Please.”
Brig could walk without assistance from Asha and Jake, but he leaned heavily on my shoulder during the quiet trek to Raj’s trailer. This night, we even had a key.
Symmetry. Raj’s trailer. In the very early hours of the morning. I did take the time to find some bandages and deal with Brig’s ear. He was right. Barely a dent in him and in no way life threatening.
Once my services as nurse ended, the night became a repeat of the last time we’d stayed in Raj’s trailer. Brig and I collapsed together onto the bed. I wrapped my arms around the fallen hero and both of us promptly fell asleep.
Chapter 40
Brig and I spent the remainder of the night in peace.
Upon waking, Brig proceeded to demonstrate one did not need the tip of one’s ear to engage in pleasurable, strenuous, amorous activities. I could have easily stayed in that trailer moving from one exotic position to another helping him prove that point, but we did have a scene to shoot.
We made it to Jake’s covered tent by noon. Asha and Jake looked far worse than Brig and I. I knew Jake needed about nine hours of sleep to function properly, which could account for the shadows under his eyes, but Asha’s lips were set and her chin trembled. She sat as far from Jake as the tent allowed.
“Problems?” I inquired. “Other than the usual with kidnappers and murderers and hidden statues, that is. Don’t tell me someone managed to sneak in and grab our goddess from the snake cage. Or steal one of the snakes.”
Asha growled, “Nope. Sparky and Fluffy are still there and still guarding Saraswati. This is more important. Jake has ixnayed the scene in front of the carnival tent where the princess rides in on the llama. He thinks it’ll spoil the effect of the lovers reuniting. I totally disagree. It’s going to really set up the part where they see each other at the cybercafe.”
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