by Amit Nangia
“I want you to check for fingerprints around the house,” Abhay said to the expert.
The fingerprint expert put on his gloves and began combing the place.
Later, after Shukla and the expert had left, Naina went to her bedroom and said to Abhay, “I think I’ll take a bath and try to sleep.
“Do you want me to stay?”
Naina’s head snapped up. As she stared at him with a multitude of questions in her eyes, he instantly realized what she thought he’d implied.
“I meant…until you get through.” He shifted from one foot to the other, not looking at her. “I thought you might feel safer that way. Main toh bas vaise hee keh rah tha,” he grinned.
A tiny smile played on her rosy lips. “Thanks. I do feel safe when you’re around.” Then she turned and hurried into the bathroom.
Abhay sat down on the couch. He heard the water running, and he could picture Naina stripping down to her beautiful nothingness and slipping under the shower, her rosy nipples taut and glistening with water, her bare wet legs begging for his touch. Junior was getting edgy in his trousers. He muttered a curse, then settled onto the couch and covered junior with a cushion. Naina felt safe with him. But she wasn’t really safe with him. He wanted to take her to bed and show her his raging desire. He bit his lip and waited for the water to turn off, silently praying that she had not locked the door.
Naina relaxed under the hot water and stared at the unlocked door, wondering if Abhay had seen the flicker of need she’d unveiled before she’d rushed into the bathroom. She was too afraid to ask him to join her, too afraid he would say no. Her body tingled with anticipation at the mere thought of him sitting on her sofa while she stood naked under the shower. What would she do if he opened the door and joined her? Naina grabbed her robe, embarrassed at her sinful thoughts. If he wanted her, he would make a move, and obviously he hadn’t. She slipped on her silky robe and combed the tangles from her wet hair.
Junior was not going to get suppressed by a cushion. As junior moved to his senior position, Abhay rushed inside the room and turned the bathroom door knob. He wanted her with an intensity that made him question his own sanity. The bathroom door opened and Naina stepped out from the bathroom, her hair wrapped turban-style in a towel, her creamy skin glowing.
Uff little late ho gaya. Chalo koi baat nahi, he thought. He swallowed a groan and closed the distance between them. He traced one finger down her jaw, then lowered his mouth to hers. Gently, he savoured the yearning he felt in her response, the soft moan that escaped as she parted her lips and teased his mouth with her tongue. She tasted sweet, and his ache for her grew as he deepened the kiss. She caressed his jaw with her soft palm, and he thought he would die from the raw need that surged through him. He pulled her tight against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Naina clasped her hands behind his neck and swayed with him to the seductive rhythm. Nuzzling his throat, she inhaled his masculine scent. Smooth skin greeted her questing lips as they strayed across his jawline.
Abhay and Naina lost themselves in each other, allowing their hands and mouths to explore each other with tantalizing slowness. Naina slipped her fingers inside his shirt, caressing his broad chest and six pack abs. His low hum of approval encouraged her, and she slid her hand lower. He stroked her breast through the soft material of the gown. Naina gasped and arched her back, pressing forward. Gorgeous. The woman was absolutely gorgeous, and he’d never get enough of her. Abhay reached around and removed the towel from her hair.
"Look at me, Naina."
Her eyes met his, sparkling like jewels.
Shoving the thin strap of the robe aside, he planted smouldering kisses along the slope of her shoulder and she shuddered in response. He removed the other strap, and the robe slipped from her body to pool around her ankles. Abhay let his own clothes fall to the floor. For a moment, everything stopped as he admired her naked form in the moonlight. A heartbeat later, he scooped her into his arms and placed her in the middle of the bed. She reached for the sheets.
"No." He stopped her hands. "I want to see you all of you." He set off in a slow exploration of her body, touching every inch of her and revelling in the experience. The lavender perfume she’d chosen suited her perfectly and drove him wild. He was determined that this night would wipe clear any memories she had of other lovers. He might not be her first, but by god, he’d be the one she remembered for the rest of her life.
Her moans and tiny whimpers of response pleased him. Her hands skimmed his shoulders as he kissed a path down her flat, smooth stomach. She twitched beneath him and gasped, then went deadly still. He smiled in anticipation. He caressed her in the most intimate way, slowly.
She bucked, clutching the sheets and gasping his name. It sounded even sexier when she couldn’t catch her breath. He continued his loving torment until her entire body tensed in climax, and then she collapsed, panting for air.
"That…that was…" she said weakly.
"Fabulous?" he offered, grinning up at her.
A satisfied smile lit her face. "Definitely fabulous."
“Do you think you can get some sleep now?”
“I think so,” Naina smiled.
“I’ll be here all night and open for round two. But I will be gone early in the morning.”
Naina toyed with the bed sheet. “Thanks for staying.”
He nodded, studying her. She looked more relaxed and calm. Abhay gathered her once more into his arms. In no time, she was fast asleep.
As Abhay studied the files Shukla had left on his desk, he rubbed his hand along the new crisp red scarf around his neck. He could smell Shukla’s smoky breath before he heard him speak.
“Constable Shukla reporting, sirji.”
“Got anything on the results from that knife we found in Naina’s house?”
“Only one blood type identified. Ms Sinha’s.” Shukla spoke like a military officer.
“No other blood type? Did you get the results of the DNA test?”
“DNA tests indicate the possibility of another person’s blood on the knife, but the tests are inconclusive. Also, I’ve got that report on the fingerprints, sirji. Only fingerprints in the house were hers, yours and someone else’s,” Shukla said. “We couldn’t match the last one. Whoever touched them isn’t in the system. Also sirji, someone from forensic department should be here soon. They’ll be able to tell us in more detail, you see.”
“Yes, they’re such clever bastards,” commented Abhay, who had little time for the geniuses of the forensic section. Abhay fiddled for his cigarettes.
“Any news on the accident report of that man we found in the public convenience?” Abhay asked.
“Yes, sirji. Last week we received an anonymous call that a black Mercedes had hit a man on the same street. But no identification has been given. I got the call traced but it was from a phone booth near the same Sulabh Shauchalaya.”
Abhay gave his forehead a wallop with his palm. Then he saw Shukla’s shoes – scuffed, unpolished, and water-stained from the public convenience adventures. If there had been time, he would have insisted that Shukla polish them and give his uniform a thorough sanitation. But there wasn’t time.
Abhay puffed his cigarette, contemplating his next move. Naina had been certain she’d cut the intruder’s arm. Back to square one, he thought. “I need you to run another check for me. Pull up anything you can find on Naina Sinha. I need to know everything about her life after she moved to Mumbai with her grandmother. Also, Devender Singh has disappeared. Find out where he is.”
“Sirji, I will get to the bottom of it.” Shukla spat his tobacco aiming right outside the main gate in the flower pot. His aim was very good. At least with the tobacco spit.
“Good morning, Ria,” Naina said as she stepped into her office. “Uncle Chauhan, what are you doing here?” She was surprised to find him there.
Her uncle’s warm smile wasn’t as bright as usual. He got up and gave her a hug. “I came to visit you. Anything wron
g with that?”
Naina shook her head. “No, of course not.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. He looked tired and worried, and Naina suddenly felt sorry for him. “Is there something wrong, uncle?” she asked as she settled at her desk and motioned towards the visitor chair.
Uncle Chauhan shook his head and sat down. “I’ve actually come here to talk to you about Girish.”
“Okay,” Naina said, unsure where he was going with this.
Uncle Chauhan gave her a shaky smile. “I know Girish took you to lunch the other day.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not sure that you and he…well, that you should–” he coughed, struggling for words.
“That we should what, uncle?”
“That you two should get involved.”
“Involved? What do you mean?” She stood up, hands on her hips, and glared at him.
“Girish’s in the middle of an important campaign, and there’s enough gossip already about his drinking habits. I don’t want any more gossip happening.”
Naina was stumped by this. She thought her uncle was the only person in town she could trust. She thought he loved her. But she realized that when it came to his family, she was an outsider, someone with a past that could hurt his precious son. “Don’t worry, Uncle,” she said in a hard voice. “I don’t plan to get romantically involved with Girish.”
“Wait, Naina,” he sounded desperate. “You don’t understand.”’
“Oh, I understand perfectly,” she said, walking towards the door and opening it for him. “I really have to get back to work now, Uncle.”
Uncle Chauhan frowned, his grey eyebrows knitting together. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, my dear. That wasn’t my intention.”
“It’s fine,” Naina said, forcing a smile.
Uncle Chauhan stopped for a moment. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but shook his head and walked out the door.
After finishing her work, Naina called Abhay over. She didn’t want to be alone and after her talk with Uncle Chauhan, she felt rattled. Abhay junior was more than happy to accept the invitation.
“Thanks for coming,” Naina said softly, raising her dark eyes to look into his.
They were sitting in the living room and Abhay’s eyes were drawn to the old cartons once again. He couldn’t help but ask her. “What do you have in those cartons?” Abhay said, pointing to the unopened cartons tucked away in the corner of the living room.
“I’ve never opened them but I know these boxes have my grandmother’s stuff.”
“There might be something in there, dekho toh sahi,” Abhay said.
Naina had come to Allahabad to deal with her past. The odd circumstances surrounding her had frightened her, but she was tired of being scared and alone. It was time for her to take control of her life. Abhay seemed like a man she could trust, at least with her past. But with her future, she wasn’t sure. She would have to be careful not to fall for him, to guard her heart as she always had. He was a man who played with danger every day, a man who was too experienced for her, a man who would move on when her case was over.
Naina lifted the sheets of newspaper covering the contents and looked inside. The first box had a family picture on top. She pulled it out and examined the faces. Her mother had been a beautiful woman. Naina had her dark hair, slender build, porcelain skin and the same black eyes. Her father was handsome too, with black hair, a moustache and grey eyes that held a commanding look in them. His nose was prominent and his jaw wide. He’d been a tall man, overshadowing her mother’s small frame. In the picture, Naina was wearing a frilly red dress and was sitting on her father’s lap with sunflowers in her hand. She loved sunflowers. It amazed her that she could see the whole family together, but she had no recollection of posing for the picture.
“You’re beautiful, just like your mother,” Abhay said, his voice rich with playfulness.
Naina nodded solemnly. She’d almost forgotten he was there.
Abhay gave her an encouraging look and she pulled out a scrapbook. It had dozens of pictures of her and her parents. Some were of her as a baby, then a toddler at a birthday party they’d planned for her. A few pages had blank, faded spots as if photos had been removed. Naina wondered who had taken the pictures out and why.
As she studied the photographs, something struck her. “That’s odd.”
“What?”
“My parents were so close to Uncle Chauhan, I wonder why there aren’t any pictures of him in here.”
“Hmm. He was a Member of Parliament back then, wasn’t he? He probably was busy in his political affairs.
Naina closed the book. “Maybe you’re right.”
Abhay picked up a diary. “What’s this?”
“Looks like my father’s appointment diary.”
Abhay studied her father’s diary and made a note of all the appointments Mr Sinha had the weeks prior to his death. Interestingly enough, Suchitra Devi Chauhan, Uncle Chauhan’s mother, had scheduled a meeting with him only two days before he had died. Had the woman been soliciting campaign contributions for her son or did she have some other business in mind?
He also made a note of the fact that Mr Sinha was one of the few attorneys in town twenty years back, so most of the people probably consulted him on legal matters. It was likely half the town had made appointments with him that month.
While Abhay was lost in his thoughts, Naina extracted a sealed envelope and opened it. It contained her parent’s marriage certificate and her birth certificate. She’d been born on first May at Allahabad Community Hospital, weighed four kilos and had been twenty inches long. She traced her finger along her parents’ marriage certificate, pausing when she noticed the date of their marriage. Her parents hadn’t been married until first October, just seven months before her birth. That meant her mother was already pregnant when they got married! Swallowing her surprise, she quickly stuffed the certificate back in the envelope before Abhay could see it. She had enough of her past to be ashamed about. She didn’t want him to know that on top of everything else, she’d been conceived even before her parents got married.
He motioned to the envelope. “What’s in there?”
“It’s just my birth certificate,” she said softly. “Well, I guess that’s it,” Naina said, getting up from the floor.
Just then, the phone came to life. Naina picked it up to hear a man’s agitated voice. “Naina, this is Ashish. I don’t know why you haven’t returned any of my calls, but I want to talk to you. It’s been two months now.”
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, Ashish, I haven’t called, but my schedule’s been crazy and I had to get settled and…” She rattled out excuse after excuse, while Abhay lifted up a banana from the fruit basket on the table and started enjoying it. He wondered what Ashish was saying on the other end of the line.
“No, please don’t come here,” she said. “Listen, Ashish, I really can’t talk now.” A long pause followed. Naina lowered her voice. “Yes, it’s business. Can I call you back?” She said and hung up.
Business, huh? Abhay thought. Junior definitely wanted to do some more business with her.
“So, is Ashish coming here?” he asked, hiding the banana skin behind the flower vase.
Naina shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Abhay nodded, wondering if Naina would be interested in some more ‘business’ right now.
The station lobby looked as tired as Abhay. The flowers which had been placed on his order in the lobby were making it look more like a dreary tomb. Only two men were on duty, Head Constable Mishra behind his typewriter and Constable Shukla.
Abhay dropped his cigarette end to the ground and crushed it under his heel as he lumbered into the police station. Head Constable Mishra, sad-faced and balding, raised his head to the ceiling and then back to his typewriter.
Shukla unaware of the inspector’s arrival was busy fiddling with his beard.
&n
bsp; “Don’t just sit there plaiting your beard, Shuklaji. Do something useful for a change,” Abhay snapped.
“Couldn’t agree with you more, sirji,” replied Shukla, ignorant of what Abhay had said.
“So what’s the update on the case?” asked Abhay.
“Sirji, with great difficulty we have been able to solve the case completely.” Shukla spoke in an excited tone.
“What, how…!” Abhay was baffled.
“Sirji we have retrieved the lost buffalo! The case file is on your table. The owner was very happy and has given us four litres of milk as a gift.” Mishra spoke in one go.
“What milk…what buffalo?” snorted Abhay. “I am asking you about the Naina Sinha case, any update on that?”
“Oh that! Yes sir, yes sir. You had asked me to check about Ashish.” Was Shukla’s unhelpful reply.
“And what did you find?” Abhay took off his scarf and placed it on the table.
“Ashish! Sirji, he is pretty boring. I could fall asleep just talking about him.”
Seeing Inspector Pandey smile, he continued, “Ashish goes to work at eight, has lunch in the office cafeteria every day, he works late, goes to a local gym once or twice a week, orders dinner in every day from some local restaurant. And that’s his life in a nutshell. Ek number ka fuddu aadmi hai woh sirji,” Shukla said pulling a fake yawn.
“Any women in his life?”
Shukla chuckled. “No Sirji! I told you he’s fuddu. Nothing interesting in his life.”
“And he’s been in Mumbai all week?”
“Until three days ago. After that he has left for some business in Fatehpur.”
Hmm. Fatehpur was just two hours away from Allahabad for Ashish to drive down, thought Abhay. He had also contacted Naina. What if he had been right here in Allahabad? It now seemed like a possibility.
