S.t.a.l.k.e.d.

by Girvani Dhyani

  ‘Yes, sir. I think the night security guard Bahadur might know something or might be involved, but I am unable to get him to talk.’

  ‘Okay.’ He didn’t look too impressed with me.

  This was a difficult task. I couldn’t perform miracles in two days and find out who was behind all this. It wasn’t easy playing detective.

  ‘The company’s officials called me yesterday. They haven’t noted the discrepancies and want to expedite the transaction. In fact, they want to complete everything in two weeks. Which is great for us—the sooner the better. Some of the senior management team are currently in the US. I might have to make a trip there to finalize the matter.’

  ‘But sir, this could lead to major complications. Isn’t it a better idea to first find out who is behind all this?’ I could kick myself for saying this the moment it left my mouth.

  ‘Tara, the rate at which our investigation is going, it could take a while before we find out anything. In the meanwhile, if we don’t go ahead with the discussions, our clients will get suspicious.’

  I wanted to tell him about Banner and Sailesh’s involvement but there was something disconcerting in his behaviour that made me stop myself from adding anything further. I wanted to get some solid evidence first before broaching the subject with him again. They were my senior colleagues after all and in all fairness, had a closer relationship with AK than I did. It was their word against mine. The sensible thing for me to do right now would be to remain silent.

  19

  ‘HEY, BEFORE I forget. We are all set for tomorrow at 11 a.m.,’ Riya reminded me about the spa appointment during lunch.

  ‘Cool.’

  We were sitting at this small Italian restaurant called Olivia. Luckily we managed to escape for a couple of hours from office. We needed to be at a place where we would have some privacy.

  We quickly placed our orders. Mine was the usual ravioli in mushroom sauce and Riya ordered a pepperoni pizza. To wash it all down, we ordered a pitcher of lemon ice tea.

  I broached the topic that was bothering me. ‘Riya, there is something I need to tell you about but promise me this will stay between us and you will not mention it to anyone?’

  ‘Of course, Tara,’ she said, taking my hands in hers and squeezing them slightly. I almost wanted to laugh at her dramatic gesture.

  ‘A lot of strange things have been happening to me lately . . .’ And I quickly updated Riya on the stalker and all the other weird things that were happening, omitting essential information about Project Emerald. Her eyes got bigger and rounder as she listened raptly to me. I don’t think she could have ever imagined something like this happening. She probably thought it must be the usual guy problem.

  ‘Tara,’ she said finally, with a slightly fearful look on her face, ‘let’s go to the cops now.’

  ‘No, Riya. I cannot go to the police with mere hunches. They need solid evidence. Plus I don’t trust them. Remember the time you got robbed and you suspected your maid? But then she left and went back to her village?’

  ‘Yes, I do. I still haven’t been able to recover any of those items. The cops didn’t do anything.’

  ‘Exactly my point. The cops wouldn’t bother. I am not the daughter of some MP and they wouldn’t care.’

  ‘Then what do we do?’

  ‘Riya, what I am going to say now might scare you but you really need to hear it. If, God forbid, anything happens to me, I want you to have all this information so you can do something about it. But to avoid that from happening, we have to try and find out who is behind all this.’

  ‘Tara, please don’t sound so morbid. You’re scaring me.’

  ‘I am only preparing myself for the worst. It doesn’t necessarily have to turn out that way.’

  Suddenly, Riya got really excited. ‘You know, ever since I was a child, I have always wanted to be like Nancy Drew. I remember that when I was twelve, we had this secret club and we would do some amateur sleuthing. The only person we caught though was one of the maids who used to secretly meet a lover!’ She laughed at the memory.

  The mood had lightened. We spent the rest of the time gossiping and discussing the upcoming office party.

  He was glad he had decided to follow the two for lunch. He had a hunch that Tara was going to spill the beans to Riya. He figured she was scared enough by now to confide in someone.

  So far, things were going according to plan. It was now only a matter of time. He walked out of the restaurant contentedly whistling his favourite tune.

  It felt good getting things off my chest and discussing them with Riya. The rest of the day was uneventful. Most people were leaving early to get their outfits together for the masquerade party the next day. I felt weighed down with all that had been happening to me but it was difficult not to be affected by some of the festive atmosphere that had infected the office.

  I decided to take some work home and leave early. No point staying back alone in office, not when a stalker was after my life.

  On my way out, I spotted Shyamji. I called out to him. ‘Shyamji, I have been looking for you. Are you better now?’

  ‘Yes, thank you, madam. I got your message. Today is my first day back in the office. I was going to come over and speak to you but I was so busy that I didn’t get a chance to.’

  ‘No problem. Shyamji, what are your working hours?’

  ‘I used to work till 8.00 p.m. But for the past year since my daughter was born, she and my wife haven’t been doing well so I’ve gotten special permission to come in early in the morning and leave by 5 p.m.’

  ‘I am sorry to hear about your wife and daughter. After you leave, who handles the work in the copy room?’

  ‘The new boy Rahul usually does. Or sometimes Bahadur. In the last six months, he has been doing most of the late-night shifts.’

  This was news to my ears. So my hunch was correct—there was more to Bahadur.

  ‘Thank you, Shyamji. You have been very helpful. Hope your wife and daughter get well soon.’

  20

  ‘BETA, RIYA IS honking outside. Should I ask her to come inside?’ my mother called out to me.

  ‘No, Mom. I am going out.’

  Her coming in meant we would be late for our appointment. I quickly touched my make-up and bolted out of the door. Riya was sitting all dressed up in her red Maruti Swift. With her Prada sunglasses perched on her nose, she looked like her old self again.

  ‘I am meeting Jay today,’ she said beaming.

  ‘That’s wonderful,’ I replied, happy for her.

  During the drive we talked about the party that night. We got to the hotel in about fifteen minutes.

  We started off with our massages. I opted for a deep-tissue massage and Riya went for a Swiss massage. After the massage, I went into the steam room attached to the private massage room. The steam felt so good that I must have drifted off to sleep at some point. Riya was right. It was a good idea to get these things done once in a while. It was so rejuvenating and relaxing. I didn’t know how long I was asleep but after a while I woke up feeling a little suffocated. I decided I should get out—I didn’t want to get dehydrated. The spa attendant wasn’t around. Wrapping my towel tightly around myself I made my way towards the door and tried opening it. The door wouldn’t budge. I twisted the door knob and pulled hard thinking it might have got stuck, but it was clearly locked.

  In panic I started banging on the glass door. It was now getting unbearably hot inside and it didn’t seem like anyone could hear me. I didn’t know what to do. Seized by terror I started screaming out loud and kept on banging my fists against the door. I thought I would pass out from the heat when the door suddenly opened and the attendant walked in.

  ‘Why did you lock the door?’ I asked her accusingly. ‘I could have died inside.’

  ‘But, Madam, the door was not locked. If you had just turned the handle, it would have opened!’

  I looked at her disbelievingly. Was she telling the truth?

  �
��How long was I in there?’ I persisted, not wanting to let it go.

  ‘About ten minutes, Madam, after which I came to check in on you.’

  ‘Only ten minutes? But why couldn’t I open the door?’

  She looked at me as though I was crazy or something. Maybe I really was or at least getting there. There was no point arguing further—it seemed she really was clueless. I walked out in a huff.

  I suddenly remembered I had left my bracelet on the bench I had been sitting on. I went back inside to get it. It was a small room with only a single bench large enough for a couple. I noticed something black lying on the bench. I hadn’t noticed it before.

  When I moved in closer, it turned out to be a single black fishnet glove, the kind that would be available in shops selling Gothic merchandise.

  Then it dawned on me. I hadn’t been imagining things. Somebody was trying to send me a message loud and clear. It was obviously about the party that night. I stood there in shock, unmoving. I had a good mind to ask the attendant where the glove had come from but then decided against it. She would probably say the earlier customer had left it behind.

  Riya was waiting for me at the reception area.

  ‘Hey Riya, you look fresh. Looks like it worked for you,’ I said trying to smile.

  ‘I feel great. How was yours?’

  ‘Wonderful.’ I decided not to mention the glove to Riya. I didn’t want to discuss it now. Moreover she was meeting Jay again and it was better to leave her alone for the time being.

  ‘Anyway, Jay will be here soon. I better run. See you later tonight.’ Riya waved as she made her way to the exit.

  ‘See you.’ I stepped into the portico and called a cab.

  21

  IT WAS PARTY time. I decided to put the day’s events behind me. There would be so many people at the party—what was the worst that could happen? I decided to focus on my outfit: a pair of black leather pants with a black v-neck tee and black boots that went all the way up to my knees. I crimped my hair and used black kohl pencil on my eyes and painted my nails black. Just when I was stepping out, I remembered I had some chunky silver jewellery. I could wear some of that. I rummaged through my jewellery case and came across a serpent pendant on a black string. It reminded me of the serpent lighter I had found. I decided to wear it. Even though I was freaking out inside, I wanted to wear it to make a point.

  It was almost 9.00 p.m. by the time I reached the party. It was on in full swing. Almost everyone was in costume. I guess it had to do with not taking Mr Kapoor’s word lightly.

  I saw a pirate walking towards me and it was none other than Gupta. Nobody could mistake his swagger. Wasn’t this supposed to be a Gothic theme—so why was Gupta wearing a pirate’s outfit?

  ‘Hey, Tara! You look stunning.’

  I could tell he had been drinking—his breath reeked of alcohol.

  ‘Thanks. I want to go say hello to Riya.’

  ‘She’s not here yet. Why don’t you dance with me until she gets here?’

  ‘Sure.’ I decided that the only way to get him off my back was to agree and then make an exit.

  He led me to the dance floor. We danced for a while. The sleazy man kept inching closer and closer to me and it was getting uncomfortable. I excused myself.

  ‘Hey, I need to get some water. You carry on.’ And I ran off.

  I stepped into the balcony and had a full view of the gardens. It was beautifully done. I could tell Mr Kapoor paid a lot of money to keep it in such shape. The breeze was cool and the garden looked so inviting that I just had to go down and take a stroll.

  I made my way downstairs, meeting a few colleagues along the way. I walked around the garden. It was illuminated well, so there was nothing to fear. It was lovely getting some fresh air. I had been so edgy lately and the walk was doing me a lot of good. When I got near the pool, I had an impulse to jump into the water but I was wearing boots so I stopped myself.

  I was strolling around the pool when something in the water caught my attention. At first I couldn’t make out what it was. I went closer to the water’s edge to take a better look—the glove I had found in the steam room earlier in the day! Shaken though I was, I felt I had to pick up the glove, just to make sure it was part of that pair. I looked around—there was no one around. I walked to the side of the pool from where I could easily retrieve it and began taking off my boots when suddenly something pulled at my foot. Before I could look down to see what it was, I was dragged into the water head down. The impact of the cold water had a numbing effect on me as I gasped for breath. I was a decent swimmer but the force was too much for me to react. I could feel myself being pushed underwater more and more and my clothes were weighing me down. Then just as suddenly I was released. By the time I recovered my senses enough to swim back to the pool’s edge, whatever it was that had pulled me inside was gone.

  Dumbstruck I sat on the edge, my clothes dripping and my mind in a whirl. So it was a warning after all?

  He lay quietly at the bottom of the pool holding his breath as she sat shivering on the edge. He was an expert at this. After about a minute she got up and slowly walked away. He smiled to himself and softly made his way out. It was sheer luck though that nobody else was around and she was too numb to scream out, otherwise it would have been difficult for him. He laughed to himself as he wiped his body dry. A bitter laugh of triumph.

  22

  I DID NOT know what to do. I was shivering in my damp clothes. If I went back to the party in my present state, it would raise eyebrows, especially given what had happened in the office a couple of days back. I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to myself. The office was a thirty-minute drive from Mr Kapoor’s house and I had a spare shirt in my workstation. I decided to drive there, apply some make-up, and look presentable before coming back to the party. Hopefully, nobody would notice my absence. I wondered if Riya had arrived; even if she had, she would be too engrossed in Jay to miss me.

  I reached the office without any hitches. My phone started ringing. It was Riya. I didn’t pick it up. If I did, I would be compelled to give explanations. Anyway, I would be seeing her in a bit at the party.

  Strangely, there seemed to be no security guard at the entrance. That was never the case. I guessed they were taking advantage of all the employees being at the party tonight and were probably hanging around at the back smoking or drinking. But it was completely not done to leave the front door and the elevators unmanned like this. After all, the firm possessed a lot of confidential information. Making up my mind to complain to the HR about it, I took the elevator to my floor and walked to my workstation.

  For a minute I thought maybe it wasn’t such a smart idea to come to office by myself. After all, something terrible did happen the last time I was here alone. But I tried pushing all negative thoughts out of my head. I changed and tried to salvage my outfit as much as possible. I made an attempt to dry my pants with the hair dryer I kept in my desk for emergencies. I tried doing my make-up with a steady hand—it seemed almost impossible.

  I put the damp t-shirt in a plastic packet. I bent down to leave it under my desk when I heard a sound. I didn’t know where it was coming from but I tried to locate it when I heard it again. Footsteps. Somebody was walking away briskly. They probably knew of my presence. I ran after the person. Just as I reached the elevator bank, the elevator doors closed.

  As I slowly headed back to my desk, I noticed that the light in the copy room was on. I went inside. Everything appeared to be normal until I noticed a pirate’s eye patch lying in the corner. I went and placed my hand on the copy machine. It was still warm. Somebody had just been making copies. And had probably run away because of me, leaving the eye patch behind in their hurry. Which meant one thing: this person was in a costume for the party. I turned around and went back to my desk.

  There was a noise again from the copy room.

  ‘Hello, is anybody there?’ I called out, trying to sound confident and authoritative.

/>   Out of nowhere, I felt somebody tap on my shoulder. I practically leapt in fright. It was Mr Bannerjee.

  ‘Tara?’

  ‘Yes, sir?

  ‘What are you doing here? Are you not attending the party?’

  ‘Yes, I am. I had left something in my desk . . .’

  ‘Okay,’ he said, looking unconvinced.

  ‘I am just about to head back to the party.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Sir, aren’t you going?’

  ‘I just need to complete something. Then I will go.’

  ‘Okay, sir.’

  I turned my back and I had this feeling that Banner was staring after me.

  He was not in a costume. I doubted he would go to the party at all. I tried to remember if I had spotted him at Mr Kapoor’s place earlier in the evening but most people were in costume and I had not been paying attention. But what was he doing here? Was it possible that he was the one who was behind all this?

  It was time for me to do some sleuthing. I decided I needed to get to the bottom of this before things went out of hand, not that they weren’t already. I drove my car out of the basement and waited outside the building in a quiet spot from where I could watch the main entrance. Luckily, the street was deserted, so no one questioned me. I sent a text to Riya saying that there was an emergency at home, and that I would be joining her at the party very soon.

  After what seemed like eternity, I saw Banner’s car leaving the building. He seemed to be alone—the passenger seat was empty. Once I was sure he had left, I returned to the office and went into his room. I didn’t turn on the lights—the only light in the room came from the passageway outside. Everything looked fine. All the papers were neatly stacked. With the light from my cell phone I tried skimming through some files. There was nothing out of the ordinary. I tried opening some drawers—the usual stationery. Two drawers were locked.

  I looked all over for the keys but couldn’t find them. He had a big desk and I noticed a plastic bag that had been pushed under it. I got on all fours and crawled under the desk. Inside the bag was a pirate’s outfit! Oh my god!