by Vish Dhamija
'He didn't know I would send the samples for DNA matching, let alone to London.'
'But he knew that you could. And he may have known that you did not have the facility in India and hence, you would send them somewhere. There could be an accomplice who either collected the sample or analysed it, or perhaps, an influential interceptor.' Kabir was building up a theory as he spoke. 'Did you get the results straight from the laboratory in the UK?'
'No. You know how it works. I had to put in a formal request asking for the analysis, which was routed via the head office in Delhi. The same protocol was maintained to deliver the results back to me, as I was handling the case,' clarified Michael.
'So you were sent a copy?'
'I got a fax in the office.'
'Even better — the thermal paper would have faded by now?'
'There was nothing legible on it when I saw it in the file, this time,' D'Cunha confirmed.
'I need to see the original.'
Both men went into a silent reverie for quite some time and then had another drink. The grotesque mystery only deepened with each passing minute and with every new discovery.
'You said that you saw his passport. And the photographs handed over to you by Kim were of Raaj, the Raaj that you have seen in this?' Kabir pointed at the group photograph he had pulled out of the box.
'Yes, I am certain.' D'Cunha was confident. 'The postmortem report would have revealed if it were plastic surgery.'
'And I am equally certain that I saw Raaj at Frankfurt in August 1998.' Kabir let out an audible sigh. 'The evidence is compelling that his death and this fraud are closely linked, but the mystery behind the whole sequence of events remains incomprehensible.'
'In retrospect, it all looks so simple. Raaj got into counterfeiting, realised early enough that his game wouldn't last forever and escaped the consequences by forging his own death.' D'Cunha complemented Kabir's unspoken words.
'One forgery led to another. The chronology of the discovery of crimes is in reverse — the death came to light first and the scam later, though they happened in the opposite order,' summarised Kabir.
'But… why would someone with such good qualifications and a flourishing business stoop to a criminal activity like this, knowing full well that the law would ultimately catch up with him?' D'Cunha was plainly perplexed.
Kabir realised that D'Cunha needed some insight into Raaj's crime. 'That hunger or poverty lead to crime is an overrated aphorism, Michael. Greed is the real offender. Greed is inversely proportional to fear… when it becomes strong, people shut themselves off to the cost of risks but the risks don't go away. Myopia blinds them to the risks. What I know of Raaj is that he was an emotionally insecure person, his behaviour was obsessive at times, almost daunting, but he knew what he wanted and seemed to know how to get it, always. He aspired to be a poster boy and he finally made it, sadly the wrong way. He was a mastermind with numbers to the extent that some of the professors in the university thought it was a stroke of luck, as no one could be so numerically gifted. I knew he was a born genius rather than having to work for it.
'Raaj was a financial ace, his education and business experience only honed his skills to exploit the loophole in the system. Given his economic background, at the time and the fact that his business was also thriving, no one would have doubted him, no one could imagine he'd stoop so low for money, to add to his already swelling bank balance. With no history of crime, why would anyone suspect him? In the end, I guess, he was too good for his own good,' Kabir reasoned.
If D'Cunha was puzzled without the explanation, he was even more bemused with it. Kabir noticed that the expression on his face was distinctly nonplussed.
'The world detests rats, but loves watching squirrels in the park, Michael. The truth is that squirrels are just another kind of rodent with thicker fur and bushier tails, however only a fraction of humans consider them pests. People trap and kill rats all the time and squirrels get away with murder, admirably.' Kabir's analogy helped D'Cunha to understand Raaj's game of getting away with his pretence. Raaj had used his bushy tail with absolute finesse. It was clear to both men what had happened. 'The question is, whose body was it that you found in the apartment?' Kabir was still trying to remove the haze. There was a brief silence in the room. 'No one else went missing the same night?'
'Not that I know about.'
'Any graves found dug up in Mumbai around the same time?'
'It is virtually impossible to know about that in Mumbai.' D'Cunha was correct;. With an endless number of cemeteries in Mumbai it would have been next to impossible to identify any such activity.
'I need to see the complete file,' Kabir requested.
'I wasn't authorised to carry or photocopy them, but I am sure you can, given your position.' D'Cunha sounded apologetic.
'Let's not get them out. Let's go to Mumbai once again. I would also like to meet Kim.'
'I'll arrange the tickets.'
'For as early as possible, please. I think tomorrow morning you should make the travel bookings straight away while I brief Mr Gill about the situation. I need to see the original DNA report.' Kabir looked at his watch, which made him conscious that they had spent the entire day discussing the case. And drinking.
'Okay.' D'Cunha got up to leave.
'And keep the return tickets open, like last time.'
'Sure, Kabir. Good night.' D'Cunha walked out of Kabir's apartment into the waiting car. Kabir, the gentleman, had asked his driver to drop the DSP home.
34
Malaga Airport, Spain
January 7th, 2002
Serena waited for the baggage while Raaj was at the Hertz counter completing the formalities to hire a large MPV. He had been cautious not to book one from London and leave a trail. As intended, they had left for Athens, from London, spent a few days honeymooning and then flew into Spain. It took them over an hour before they comfortably piled the luggage in the car before driving off to their dream villa.
'I can't wait,' Serena said as they left the airport.
'We'll be there soon, señora.'
'Muchas gracias, señor,' Serena responded.
They drove up their little private hill and sat in the car for a while admiring the villa and its views. 'Your new home…' Raaj got down from the car to take in the view.
'It's our new home.' Serena corrected him.
Raaj lifted Serena in his arms, and carried her up the steps to the main door of the villa. Unlike Alfredo, he took out the right key first time and put it in the lock. It didn't turn. He put Serena down and tried again. And again, but it wouldn't open.
'What the f…!' Raaj was infuriated.
'What happened?'
'The bloody thing won't open.' Raaj said, in disgust, and then pulled out his phone to call Alfredo.
'Hola, soy Alfredo. How can I help?' Alfredo cheerfully asked, in Spanish, picking up his phone.
'Hello Alfredo, this is Nikos — the keys of the villa…' Nikos complained politely.
'I'll be there in ten minutes, Mr Nikos. I'll explain when I get there.' Alfredo rushed out immediately.
Raaj and Serena walked around the villa enjoying the views of the sea, despite their puzzlement at being locked-out. They felt amazingly successful and were in the mood for celebration. They embraced and kissed with the sound of sea in the background, which was shattered by the sound of a motor as Alfredo turned into their drive.
'I am very sorry you had to wait,' Alfredo apologised before saying anything else, and handed over a bunch of keys to Nikos. 'Why didn't you call me from the airport?'
'What happened?' Raaj was noticeably irritated.
'Three days ago, someone broke into your villa and got away with some kitchen appliances, like the microwave and toaster. One of your neighbours saw the front door ajar during his morning walk and gave me a call, thinking I was still responsible for it, so I turned up and got all the locks changed,' the chatterbox chirped incessantly.
'Thank you so muc
h but…'
'I tried your number but it was out of reach.' Alfredo interrupted as usual.
'When was this?'
'It was about three days ago.'
Raaj calculated that they had left on the fourth and hadn't used the UK SIM card since then, aware that technology, these days, could locate the co-ordinates through mobile phones if the phone was used. 'Oh I see,' he said.
'I tried many times but then I thought you might be away with your pretty wife.' Alfredo looked at Serena who wore a short red skirt with knee-length leather boots.
'Thanks.'
'No worries. I wanted you to contact me and you did, that is what matters.'
'Do I owe you some money?'
'Don't embarrass me, we are friends now…' Alfredo smiled.
Could you ask him to shut up and leave now please? Serena wanted to say.
Alfredo waited till Raaj tried the new key and got into the villa. The couple were not interested in the old kitchen appliances hence the small loss did not bother them.
'Does burglary usually happen in this area or was this a one-off incident?' Serena asked once they were inside.
'Not at all, madam, but this villa had been lying vacant for several months now, so it might have been targeted,' Alfredo, the super salesman, replied. Despite being a chatterbox, Alfredo seemed a nice guy. He helped Raaj unload the baggage from the car, stealing opportunities to look at Serena, and moved it into the villa. 'I must leave now,' he finally said.
Better late than never, Serena almost said.
'Muchas gracias, señor,' Serena uttered the few words she knew in Spanish.
'Madam speaks Spanish too.' Alfredo, joyously, stepped forward and kissed Serena on both cheeks. 'I hope you enjoy the villa. If you need anything, please give me a call.'
'Thanks, Alfredo.'
'Finally…' Raaj sounded relieved as he closed the door. 'He's a good guy… and he's now my friend, he told me.'
'He's really helpful and extremely annoying at the same time.' Serena came into his arms, and they kissed. 'They say the first thing one should do in a new house is to make love.'
'Who says?'
'I do.' Serena, in one swift motion, pulled both her jumper and T-shirt over her head. 'Come on my love.'
'Here?'
'Do you want to come to the deck and do it in the open?' She dropped her skirt.
***
Lying on the deck, later in the evening, under the moonlit sky with a bottle of red wine that Raaj had opened a while ago, they excitedly made plans to buy new furniture, furnishings and electronics to set up their new home.
'We'll get some signature art too.' Serena sounded excited.
'Why not… we can afford the originals and you know…' he started.
'You hate fakes.' She completed his sentence.
'You're so damn right, sweetheart.'
'To be honest, I was scared all along. There were so many things that could have gone wrong in our plan.'
'It's all in the past, sweetheart.' Raaj urged Serena to stop worrying now.
'I was just wondering…' she carried on.
'I hope you aren't scared now.'
'No. I am with you now, why should I fear anything?' She looked at him like a little girl, tears of joy in her eyes. A dream they had seen together almost eight years ago, on an island in the Indian Ocean, was coming true in their own villa on the coast of the Mediterranean.
35
Mumbai
January 10, 2002
Kabir and D'Cunha had now been in Mumbai for a few days, but Kabir was keen to go through the whole file, and the related investigation, before approaching Kim with any questions. He had spared Mr Gill the details of the homicide case they were investigating to resolve the one at hand. Without divulging many details at this stage, except that the cases were, conclusively, linked like two parts of the same story, he convinced Mr Gill to authorise some files to be taken out of the police station on a promise that they would be used with due diligence and returned as soon as they were not required.
'They are your responsibility.'
'I know what I am doing sir. I wouldn't let you down,' Kabir promised.
Kabir was intrigued — and fittingly so — by the details in the file. The investigation, the postmortem report, the faded DNA analysis report via fax message, which was hardly legible...D'Cunha had covered every area possible, missing no page in the textbook.
I know you are alive, Raaj, and I know you did it. I just don't know how and where to get you, Kabir was convinced.
'We need to speak to Serena,' Kabir said. He had tried hard to avoid meeting her, but it appeared he did not have a choice any longer. If for no other reason, she should at least be informed that her husband wasn't dead.
'I checked her out while you were buried in the files. She moved to London last year,' D'Cunha replied immediately.
'Are you serious?'
'She might have been part of the plan too,' D'Cunha suggested.
Kabir had already worked out that Serena could be part of the whole arrangement, but his heart was not prepared to face the harsh truth. Not just yet. 'Could we see Kim?'
'The famous model…?' D'Cunha knew the answer but he still wanted it confirmed.
'Yes, and I would prefer to see her without clothes please.' Kabir hadn't lost all his humour. He had a knack of moving, seamlessly, between seriousness and frivolousness during a conversation.
'I'll arrange that for tomorrow.'
'Arrange her, without clothes, for me?' Kabir smiled.
'I'll arrange the meeting with her tomorrow.'
'Should we go to that place we went to last time — Geoffrey's — and get drunk again tonight?' Kabir suggested.
'That's a brilliant idea.'
D'Cunha asked one of the staff at the Worli police station to call for a cab for the two of them.
'Will it take long to get there?' Kabir asked.
'Half an hour…'
***
Geoffrey's, Marine Plaza
Mumbai
The duo were barely halfway through their first drink when the crowd started cheering, as if they had sighted a minor celebrity walking into the bar. Kim had walked in, dressed to kill, as always. Her long, bare legs were highlighted by a short black dress that hung on spaghetti straps from her shoulders. The high heels she wore made her long legs look longer. She had recently been married and her husband was holding her arm when they walked in.
'She is mesmerising,' Kabir uttered, involuntarily, raising his glass and finishing his Jack Daniels in one large sip.
'Isn't she?' D'Cunha knew it from the very beginning.
'Who's the guy?'
'She got married only a few days ago, so I'm guessing it must be her husband Ron.'
'Does your wife know that you know about every woman in town?'
Kim and Ron moved to the bar, ordered their drinks and sat down at the table next to Kabir and D'Cunha.
'Hello, Ms Kim.' D'Cunha acknowledged her presence as she sat down.
'Hello, officer.' Kim had obviously not forgotten him.
'You still recognise me?' D'Cunha asked.
How can I ever forget you, officer? Your baseless accusations meant that I had to do something really disgusting to get out of it, she thought.
'Of course I do. Inspector D'Cunha was the chief investigating officer in Raaj's accident…' she explained to Ron.
'Was it?' Kabir jumped in, before she could finish.
'What do you mean?'
'Was it an accident?' Kabir reiterated.
'It was so long ago and Inspector D'Cunha did all the enquiries.' Kim's face grew pale remembering the rough time she had at the Worli police station and then having to sleep with Adi to get out of the whole mess. The whole episode of Adi carrying her worn bikini in his briefcase and stripping it off her in bed came back to her in a matter of seconds and made her sick.
'You alright, honey?' Ron asked seeing her visibly getting uncomfortable.
&n
bsp; 'Yes. I'm okay, Ron.'
'I am sorry, the idea was not to spoil your evening, but we might have to open the enquiry once again.' Kabir never minced words when it came to work.
'Why don't we go to some quieter place for a drink and discuss this at leisure, rather than in this crowd?' Ron offered.
'Wouldn't you like to ask your wife?' Kabir suggested.
'Oh, yes.' Kim realised this sordid problem wasn't going to go away.
It must be serious enough for them to reopen a case after more than five years, she reckoned.
Ron was classy. His chauffeur-driven black Mercedes arrived at Geoffrey's door the moment they stepped out. He gave some cash to the driver who immediately vacated the driver's seat for Ron. Kim took her seat with her man in front, and the two men sank into the back seat comfortably.
'By the way, I am Ron.'
'Kabir.'
'What's the story, officers?' Ron asked after a few minutes in the car.
'We've been investigating another case that seems linked with Raaj's death, so we need to solve this mystery first.' Kabir wasn't giving away much.
'May I ask what the other case is?'
'I'd rather you didn't. We are under oath not to divulge it.' Kabir made it clear.
'Are you from the Mumbai police?'
'We are currently working for CBI.'
'My cousin is the head of CBI for the northern region,' Ron stated without changing the pitch of his voice. Kim looked at Ron, for she hadn't known the connection. It came as a relief to her — she realised she wouldn't be humiliated once again.
'Oh, I see. Then I sincerely hope you will cooperate with the enquiry,' said Kabir.
'Of course we will. I didn't want the whole bar listening to our conversation considering almost everyone there knew Kim... why don't we go to our house? We can sit comfortably and discuss this…'
'We are fine with that, if you are,' Kabir responded immediately.
It was a long drive from Marine Drive to Versova, where Ron and Kim lived. They owned one of the few remaining bungalows in the area, unlike everyone else who lived in an apartment.
