Sea of Innocence

by Desai, Kishwar

  She would also have to endure all the other women who would come and go from his life.

  And sometimes they wouldn’t go at all.

  Had Liza been one of them? A blonde, beautiful British girl, who made no demands – unlike Vicky, with her insecurities and her parents who wanted her to remain a nice middle-class girl and marry a nice middle-class man. Perhaps Gupta had other plans for her.

  Chapter 14

  As the evening wore on it became clear that it had been extremely brave of Vicky to meet us. But it was obvious that she was still very frightened, though she covered it up commendably as she told us how Liza had got involved with Curtis and Vinay Gupta.

  According to her, Vinay Gupta had spotted Liza with Curtis sometime early last year and told her that he would make sure she got a nice, well-paid job. Even though she was far too young, and unqualified, she was ambitious enough to agree. Everyone around her could see the trap clearly, and Vicky said she felt sorry for the girl, but Liza genuinely seemed to believe that her future lay with Vinay Gupta. I remembered Stanley sighing as he told me how Liza wanted to go straight from Goa to Las Vegas. Somewhere along the line, to satisfy Liza’s big dreams, Gupta assured her that she would travel and see the world if she worked as his employee.

  Vishnu had been angry about Liza’s quick seduction.

  Vicky seemed to have no such emotions.

  Perhaps she had become inured to such behaviour – no doubt he had managed to similarly ensnare many other women and girls.

  ‘Vinayji is very good at spotting girls who are eager to move ahead. Usually, like me, they come from middle-class or lower-income backgrounds, so that when he gives us these fat salaries, we fall for it. And that’s the trap. Once you get used to this lifestyle it is difficult to get into any other work. He buys you gifts, takes you on holidays. The perks are amazing. But of course, you have to stay on his right side, and you can’t refuse him anything.’

  ‘Does that mean sexual favours, as well?’ I asked. I had tried to frame the question in a less aggressive way, but then there seemed no other way to put it.

  She shot a look at Dennis, wondering how much to reveal. But her hesitation told us the whole story.

  ‘He . . . doesn’t force anyone to do anything they don’t want to,’ she said finally.

  I was impressed at how she still tried to protect Vinay Gupta. This girl was a survivor, and even though she was trying to tell us what had happened with Liza, she was unable to forget that Gupta had paid for everything that made her who she was today. And her training and middle-class values prevented her from referring to him by any other name than the respectful ‘Vinayji’.

  Given that burden of gratitude and values it was extraordinary that she was before us today trying to explain Vinay Gupta’s history of sexual abuse.

  There was a brief silence and then I said, ‘Please, carry on. Did she actually do any kind of work for him?’

  ‘Oh, she was very keen to start work. But Vinayji felt she was still too young to do anything with real responsibility, and so he instructed his shack managers to just let her have a good time and enjoy herself for a while. Slowly we saw her change. It’s like a bonanza when these kids get everything free. Free food, free booze and free drugs. As much as they want. The idea is to give them so much they will keep coming back for more and more and more. And soon nothing is ever enough.’

  I could finally sense the resentment in her voice. After all, Vicky might have a special place in Vinayji’s affections, but she still had to work for a living. In that case, it was hardly likely that she would want Liza around.

  ‘Was it you who introduced her to Vinay Gupta?’ I cut in swiftly.

  ‘Not directly. I had met her on the beach and we chatted about the casino. She was very keen to take part in Curtis D’Silva’s show, as a dancer, since she was too young to be a croupier. She and Curtis had planned a performance together. They would practise every evening before the casino opened.’

  ‘On the ship?’

  She nodded. ‘That’s how Vinayji first saw her. In a video, I was told. I never saw it, but it was something he looked at, and then he wanted to meet her.’

  I looked for the video of Liza dancing with Curtis on my phone, and played a few seconds of it for Vicky, putting it on pause before Curtis untied her halter-neck top.

  ‘Could this be it?’

  Now, knowing what we did about Liza, I felt even more sorry for her; she had probably been in a drug-daze at the time the video was shot.

  How could I have not realized that the round window behind her was a ship’s porthole? So this shot was aboard the Tempest.

  Vicky watched the video expressionlessly. It occurred to me that she had seen far too many of these videos already. As a ‘manager’ for Vinay Gupta, there was little she did not know.

  ‘I think there is a longer version somewhere around. Sometimes they made them for their own records, to keep track of their dance numbers. Where did you get it from?’ she asked.

  ‘That’s the strange part. It seems that Liza is back and she is sending these videos out to everyone.’

  Vicky looked incredulous. And more disturbed than I had seen her look all afternoon.

  ‘That’s simply not possible.’

  ‘Why not? She’s been seen around – Marian told me that a few times. And in fact that’s how I got involved in the case. I was asked to come in to find out if she was back, make discreet inquiries. I think someone is very afraid that she will talk and the truth will come out about her and Vinayji.’

  Vicky was still frowning in puzzlement, but nodded slowly at my words.

  ‘He would be worried about that, for sure. If she came back. She certainly knew a lot about him, as he let her hang around all the time. I know that they spent a lot of time together, even though she was much younger. I guess he liked that,’ she said finally.

  ‘What specifically did she get to know? And was that information in any way dangerous for him – and for her?’

  Vicky became even more sombre, but slightly evasive. ‘Before I say anything more, there is something you need to know. The only reason I’m speaking to you is because, after this incident with Marian, I feel I’ve had enough. But like Liza, because I’m too close to Vinayji, I know too much, and that means I can never, ever get away. I’ve tried to quit many times, but I am always forced into returning, because he says he needs me. For people like me, like Liza, there can only be one way to escape. You know what I mean. Because he will hunt me down.’

  She seemed harassed and anxious, much older than her years, her hands clasped nervously.

  ‘I can’t take this any more. Please, you know so many people in the government – can’t you help me somehow? Help me get out. Promise me you will.’

  So that was why she was here. She wanted some kind of protection.

  I took out a cigarette and passed her one as well. Dennis leant over to light it for her. I got up to smoke, standing by the window. On the table nearby was my bottle of whisky and I poured us each a shot. Vicky took it gratefully and drank it in one long swallow. It obviously helped, as she closed her eyes and then opened them again to hand me the glass for a refill.

  ‘The problem is that in this whole place, nothing is what it should be. When I came here I was even more innocent than Liza, and look at me today.’ She stood in front of the mirror, and turned and twisted as though we were not there. ‘Look at this skirt, this blouse, this jacket. This uniform. I hate it all. I just want to leave. Please, please, surely you can do something.’

  That hunted look I had seen on her face had come back. Under the veneer of modernity and toughness she had remained a small-town girl. But now, when she wanted to return to her previous self, she found that the doors of that nice middle-class existence were closed to her. Sadly, the glamorous life she had chosen offered little security. And no love.

  As soon as I poured the whisky, she took the glass from me and drank it quickly. I knew exactly what she was d
oing because I had been there myself. When one is staring into an abyss there is nothing like alcohol to help you jump over it. Or into it.

  ‘Look, I’ll do everything I can to help. But in return you have to tell us exactly what happened with Liza,’ I said, trying to gently remind her why she was here.

  ‘Precisely what happens to so many of the nice girls who fall into Vinayji’s path. The Indian girls become managers, but the foreign ones are much more useful.’

  ‘Because of their passports?’ Dennis and I were beginning to understand where this was leading. I remembered Auntie Elizabeth’s little lecture.

  ‘So they could be used as drug mules?’ I asked, at last reaching the subject which had worried me from the start.

  Vicky nodded.

  ‘That’s right. It means they can come and go with impunity, and so those who agree are persuaded to carry drugs. The younger the better. Few people would suspect a schoolgirl. The anti-narcotics squad is usually on the lookout for older men and women.’

  ‘But,’ Dennis interrupted, trying not to sound shocked, ‘how can a minister encourage drug smuggling? It would be very obvious, wouldn’t it, because he is a public figure?’

  Vicky stubbed out her cigarette.

  ‘Vinayji doesn’t do this. Drugs are usually handled by Fernando, so that if a girl gets caught the stench doesn’t go all the way up. It’s all very subtle and organized with careful brainwashing. Very few of the girls – sometimes boys, too – really know what’s happening to them. They change very quickly, especially if they get addicted to the drugs and the lifestyle.’

  She paused to light another cigarette.

  ‘Once upon a time, Goa was the place for drug consumption. Now it’s become a big transit hub for sending drugs to other places, as well. Once Vinayji spotted and groomed Liza, it would have been difficult for her to escape. All his managers were given orders to give her anything she liked, free of cost. Even cash, if she wanted it. I was told to help her buy clothes if she needed them. She could come and go as she pleased. She was special. Curtis was told to keep an eye on her, soften her up.

  ‘I tried to warn her but she wouldn’t listen. Obviously if she was stoned all the time, these boys would take advantage of her. So one evening there was an incident when Curtis and some of the boys tried to have sex with her. Another boy, a local fellow who repairs computers and mobile phones, Vishnu, was very fond of her and he got into a fight with Curtis trying to protect her. The police took Vishnu away, which was terrible. But Curtis has a lot of clout.’

  I nodded. ‘I know he’s the local MLA’s son. And that’s the reason the grotto got built, as a form of thanksgiving for a very macabre reason, I think. Because Curtis didn’t go to jail for molestation, Vishnu did. And yet . . . you seem quite fond of Curtis.’

  Her face flushed, with either anger or embarrassment, it was difficult to tell. I reminded myself that she was a young girl, after all. She said nothing. I poured us all some more whisky. This was a difficult story both to narrate and to hear.

  ‘So was Vishnu in jail for a while?’ Dennis asked. His intense tone would have amused me were I not so engrossed in the story myself.

  ‘The first time, I think he was just kept overnight to teach him a lesson. But then something else happened – no one knows what – and they locked him up for nearly a year. He’s actually very bright, you know – excellent with phones, computers. I used him in the casino as well – but this harassment by the police has made him very bitter. He’s become a bit of a recluse. He doesn’t come to the Tempest any more, says he hates it.’

  ‘Did he blame Liza or Marian for what happened to him?’

  ‘He got angry with all of us, every now and then. But he still came for the parties. He was the kid who’s always around. He had a fixation for Liza, which was quite obvious, and then I remember that he once got very annoyed with Marian because she complained about this obsession of his. But he rarely said anything to Curtis. After all, he’d grown up with Curtis, and even if Curtis bullied him or beat him up, he always did whatever he wanted him to do.’

  She paused.

  ‘And then of course, one night . . . I don’t quite know what happened, Liza just vanished. She had been at a party earlier in the evening.’

  The sequence of events was becoming clearer.

  I showed her the video of the party and her expression changed to one of distinct anger when she saw Vinay Gupta with Liza on his lap. She had not forgotten that.

  But when she spoke her voice was cool and unruffled. I had no doubt that Vicky was a very intelligent girl indeed, and if she could ever escape Vinay Gupta, I realized, she would go far. ‘This might be the same night that she disappeared. There is an enclosure upstairs at Fernando’s. Like at the casino, he has a VIP enclosure and he often takes his friends there, sometimes Bollywood stars, sometimes even politicians. It has a private entrance so no one sees them coming and going.’

  I realized that I had not even noticed this inner sanctum when I had gone to Fernando’s, it was so well hidden from public view.

  ‘Marian says they were given drinks which were spiked, and that she has no memory of what happened after that. But that, as you said, Liza walked out of the shack and disappeared.’

  Vicky sighed and said, ‘Anything is possible on the beach, especially if it’s late at night, or early in the morning. It depends on whom she met and what she saw. But I personally suspect whatever happened to her was probably an accident and they had to get rid of her after that.’

  Her last sentence was ominous. Accident? No one had mentioned that so far. And why get rid of her? That implied that she had been killed.

  I felt it like a body blow. So far I had kept hoping that Liza – against all odds – was still alive; especially after I had seen the emails sent under her name. Feeling a little sick, I stared out of the window. The sea was as calm as ever. I could see the bright orange sun diving slowly into the water. The pink-tinged clouds formed a perfect backdrop. None of it seemed real.

  Just as in this story, nothing was as it seemed.

  As she said the last few words, her voice slowed and became much softer. It was almost a whisper. It was an accident and they had to get rid of her.

  ‘But she’s back.’ Dennis spoke a little hesitatingly.

  Vicky got up and started gathering her things.

  ‘I don’t know anything about that. I think I’d better leave. I’ve told you more than enough.’

  ‘Just take a quick look at this.’

  She stood there and repeated her earlier words, looking directly at me: ‘Remember, I helped you. You’ll have to help me later.’

  She was getting back into her sophisticated Tempest persona. There was even a deliberate half laugh in her voice.

  But I knew how serious this could become for her. I certainly didn’t want her to join the long list of ‘accidental’ deaths, though I had very little confidence that I could actually do anything to prevent Gupta from acting, if he made up his mind.

  Feeling like a hypocrite, I nodded. ‘I’ll do everything I can. But there is one more thing I want you to see.’

  I played the video of Liza being raped.

  I could not bear to look at it.

  But Vicky watched the whole thing with pain and disgust on her face. She did not seem to have seen it before. At the end of it, she frowned thoughtfully.

  ‘I wonder if this has been staged. Just look at the way this is happening. Out in the open. No one trying to hide.’

  ‘You might be able to analyse this better than I can. Are these the two men everyone seems to fear – Vinay Gupta’s goons, Raman and Joseph?’

  She did not even hesitate to answer.

  ‘Of course it’s them. And that’s why I am so horrified. They raped Liza so brutally – it seems like they wanted to be seen, or simply didn’t care. Though they’ve taken the time to get out of those silly suits and formal shirts they love to wear. Perhaps they thought it would be impossible to ide
ntify them.’

  ‘But why would anyone want Liza to be assaulted like this?’ I asked, still reeling from the fact that Liza was apparently dead.

  Vicky looked at me almost pityingly.

  ‘I just told you. There was – an incident. An accident. Something had already happened to her – something that needed to be covered up; don’t you understand?’

  ‘Are you suggesting . . . that Vinay Gupta had already raped her, and these men were called in to join in the fun? A gang rape . . . but why? That sounds completely crazy,’ I said, trying to make sense of her words.

  ‘Because she was no longer useful to them and Vinayji no longer wanted her,’ said Dennis. ‘Had she become unreliable because she had started taking so many drugs? They could no longer risk using her? Perhaps she was not as obedient as she used to be?’

  Vicky threw a look of surprise at Dennis. ‘That’s an intelligent guess. And yes, both of these reasons might be partly true. It’s difficult to say, because I wasn’t there for – any of this. Liza had simply become far too wild. But Vinayji had invested too much in her – too much time, too many drugs, too much money. So something had to be done. She had to be taught a lesson. Unfortunately, they all went too far.’

  Too far. The men had not only raped Liza but had killed her.

  ‘Just remember,’ she said with ice in her voice, ‘the stakes are extremely high. Vinay Gupta could be the next Home Minister. He needed an alibi, and the gang rape gives him the perfect cover. If anything happened to Liza that night, then certainly he wasn’t involved. It’s these two so-called unidentifiable men. Their DNA would be found on her, they would take the rap and go to jail. Not Vinay.’

  She picked up her bag.

  ‘Look, please don’t forget: I took a huge risk to come here and say all this. Don’t tell anyone about my involvement, even if you use the information. And try to get me out of this, please.’

  On the last sentence she momentarily lost her composure once again. But then she recovered just as swiftly but for the glint of tears in her eyes.