by M. N. KRISH
His eyes misting over, Madhavan thanked Lakshman and went back to his office.
The sight of Biju earlier reminded Lakshman of the promise he’d made him weeks ago. He pulled up his thesis draft and began going through it. He’d barely finished reading the introductory chapter when the next visitor knocked on the door.
‘Can I come in, sir?’
Had it been anyone else, Lakshman would have dismissed them quickly. But Divya had done him proud before Joshua and he waved her in.
‘Good job the other day,’ he said, beaming. This was the first time he was seeing her in private after the seminar and decided a word of appreciation was in order.
For two people launching their careers on the same footing as PhDs from Georgia Tech, Lakshman and Joshua presented a study in contrast. Their friendship notwithstanding, Lakshman used to be Joshua’s nemesis during their Atlanta days. He was an all-star grad student who always managed to elbow out Joshua when it came to fellowships and awards. Though he got into Georgia Tech a year after Joshua, he managed to complete his dissertation a few months ahead of him. But all that brilliance was hoary past. Decades down the road, the scales had tipped beyond redemption.
But there was one cause for comfort for Lakshman: though he might have personally taken the low road vis-à-vis Joshua, he was training and unleashing a legion of young students like Divya to take on the likes of Joshua in their own backyard. Divya’s blitzkrieg at the seminar had only reinforced this and he wanted to give the girl her due.
‘Thank you, sir,’ Divya said.
‘Don’t let go of Joshua. He could come in handy later. Better follow up with him and get the paper out.’
‘Yes sir, that’s what I wanted to talk about,’ Divya said. ‘I’ve just finished typing up the thing.’
‘Send it to him ASAP. Strike when the iron is hot.’
‘Yes sir, but I wanted to show it to you first.’
‘Don’t worry. It’ll be okay. Just send it.’
‘But I’d feel more comfortable if you went through it once, sir.’
‘I’m already overdue on Biju’s thesis, Divya. I don’t want to delay it further. I don’t want my students jumping from the terrace because I’m taking too long to read their thesis.’
‘It’s only eight pages, sir.’
‘All right, leave it with me; I’ll try get back in a day or two,’ Lakshman said.
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘If you see Biju in the lab, ask him to come and see me. I want to tell him not to worry, I am in the process of reading his thesis,’ Lakshman said and muttered under his breath, ‘for the twenty-second time.’
‘Yes sir.’
Divya pushed the chair back and stood up.
‘One more thing,’ Lakshman said.
‘Yes sir?’
‘Seven zero two zero nine. Anything special about the number?’
Divya thought about it for a moment. It was an odd number but was divisible by nine and by extension by three as well. So it was not a prime number or anything. ‘Sorry sir, can’t think of anything off the top of my head.’
‘Okay, let me know if anything strikes you later.’
‘Yes sir.’
She picked up her Eastpack and pulled the door open.
‘Another thing,’ Lakshman said.
‘Yes sir?’
‘If you have to keep the lab windows open when you work, make sure you close them when you go home.’
Divya flinched in shock and let go of the door. But Lakshman gave her a mischievous smile. There was nowhere to hide. The wily prof knew!
~
Lakshman was at the fag end of an intense counselling session with Biju when the phone rang and brought the proceedings to a close.
It was Joshua.
‘Hey Lax, is this a good time to talk?’ he asked with palpable concern. ‘Something serious has come up.’
‘One sec, Josh.’
Lakshman dismissed Biju John with some more words of assurance and got back to Joshua.
‘Yeah, what’s up Josh?’
‘My laptop’s disappeared.’
28
‘What do you mean your laptop’s disappeared?’ Lakshman asked.
‘It’s lost. Missing from the suite. Not to be found,’ Joshua said tetchily. ‘Anything rings a bell?’
‘You mean it’s been stolen?’ Lakshman said.
‘Yeah, stolen, right. Sorry missed that one.’
‘This is serious, Josh.’
‘You’re telling me?’
‘When did it happen?’
‘I don’t know. Must’ve been sometime today, probably when we were in Kanchipuram. I worked on it last night before going to sleep.’
‘When did you find out it was missing?’
‘Just now, obviously. I was planning to give you the paper in the morning but forgot, so I thought I’d email it to you and went to get the laptop. But the bag was empty. I’ve searched everywhere in the suite. It’s definitely gone. I’m not sure what to do.’
‘Did you complain to the hotel manager?’
‘No, not yet. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea.’
‘Mind giving me a few minutes? Let me think a little and call you back.’
‘No. I’ll call you back,’ Joshua said. ‘In fifteen minutes. I’m afraid the phone in the suite may be bugged. If someone could get into the room, it wouldn’t take much effort to tap my phone. I’m actually calling from a payphone downstairs.’
Lakshman laughed. ‘Relax, Josh,’ he said. ‘This is still a low-tech country. If someone wants to tap your phone, they don’t have to plant any listening device in your room. All they need to do is go monkeying up the telephone pole or break open the junction box in the street-corner and hook on. They can listen to you even if you’re calling from a payphone in the hotel.’
‘My God!’ Joshua gasped.
‘Just go back to your suite, open up the mini-bar, take a shot and relax. I don’t think anyone’s tapping your phone. I’ll call you back as soon as I think of something.’
Whether Joshua needed a shot or not, Lakshman did. Of coffee. He wheeled out his Vespa and headed home – one of those little luxuries living on campus afforded him.
The caffeine sent the blood coursing to Lakshman’s brain and he called Joshua right away.
‘Is the laptop the only thing missing or is some money gone as well?’ Lakshman asked.
‘Only the laptop’s missing, and oh, all the CDs. The money is all there, but I’d kept that in the locker with my passport and stuff. I left my camera on the table and it’s still there; it’s actually more expensive than the laptop.’
‘So whoever it was, he came only for the laptop and the CDs?’
‘That’s what it looks like. But why?’
‘The Sulba Sutra paper is there on the laptop, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah . . .’ Joshua said.
Silence.
‘What do we do now?’ Joshua asked.
‘You can go and complain to the hotel management, but nothing much is going to happen. They’ll apologize, institute an internal inquiry, or say they will and that’ll be the end of it.’
‘Won’t they call the cops?’
‘No! They’re not going to call the cops, nor are they going to let you.’
‘Why?’
‘They’ve got their so-called reputation to think about. They wouldn’t want the cops messing around. Even if you do manage to go to the cops, nothing much is going to come of it.’
‘What other option have we got?’
‘The best thing to do is to call your consul. Have her put in a word with the commissioner of police. Only then will things start moving. Though in all honesty I don’t think anyone can do anything to bring back your laptop – you’d better be
mentally prepared to write it off. But once you get your consul involved, we may get some lead on who did this. The cops aren’t going to like you putting pressure from the top, but that’s the best way out. If you and I go to them directly, they’ll make us go round and round the mulberry bush till we’re sick and tired.’
‘Okay,’ Joshua said.
‘Also be very careful what you tell who,’ Lakshman warned.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, don’t go telling them about Sulba Sutra and stuff and complicate the matter – they’ll start investigating you instead of going after the culprits. Let’s keep it simple: report it as a random act of theft, nothing more nothing less. Let them investigate and find out what happened.’
‘Makes sense. I’ll do exactly as you say,’ Joshua said. ‘Will keep you posted.’
~
What followed was pretty much on the same lines as Lakshman had predicted. Joshua called up the Consul General Thelma Paterson and she dialled the commissioner’s office immediately. Joyshankar Banerjee, the officer who’d stopped Joshua at the airport two days ago, rushed to the Oceanic with his entourage without much delay. He first talked to Joshua and then asked his men to fan out and begin the investigation: question the hotel management, support staff, security guards, cleaners . . .
Joshua had the access card to his suite with him and the door showed no signs that it had been tampered with. It seemed as if it had been opened with a master key. The cops dusted up all the hotspots in the suite and took prints, all the way from the door to the empty laptop case. They went through the tapes from security cameras, knowing full well that they were going to be of limited use because the cameras were placed only at the entrance and the lobby area, not in the corridors on each floor.
When none of this yielded anything useful, they whisked away the hapless cleaner who had last serviced the suite for further investigation. Joshua had been specially invited to witness the ritual: they stripped the cleaner of his hotel uniform, twisted his arms behind his back and bundled him into a jeep; then brought traffic to a standstill and left the hotel premises in a long convoy with sirens wailing and lights flashing as if the whole city was on fire. Joshua knew at that very moment that he had kissed his treasured laptop goodbye.
29
Joshua was lounging on a chaise longue near the pool, clad in shorts and T-shirt, his eyes half-closed like a cud-chewing goat, taking slow, sad sips of a colourless cocktail. Losing the laptop felt like losing his right arm and he was drowning himself in sorrow when a long shadow crept up on his face, causing him to stir. He pulled himself up a little and looked up with glassy eyes.
It was Durai.
Joshua had completely forgotten about Durai in the ruckus about the laptop; his sudden appearance made him sit up with a start like a jack-in-the-box.
‘Good evening, sir,’ Durai said. ‘Sorry to disturb you.’
‘No, not at all,’ Joshua said. ‘I’ve been meaning to catch you myself. But my laptop went missing and I got caught up with that.’
‘Yes sir, I know. That is what everybody is talking about. I immediately checked the car, sir, but nothing there,’ Durai said.
Joshua cocked a curious eye at Durai as the latter bent down a little deferentially.
‘But I have something else, sir.’
Durai looked around warily, Joshua following suit. There were quite a few people milling about the pool area, splashing about in the water or lazing under the parasols. Not enough privacy.
‘This is probably not a good place to talk then,’ Joshua said. ‘Let me go back up to my suite. Why don’t you join me there in five minutes?’
‘Yes sir,’ Durai nodded gravely and withdrew.
They reconvened in the suite in a few minutes. As before, Durai refused to come inside fully or sit down.
‘Okay, what’ve you got for me this time?’ Joshua said.
‘I spoke to some other drivers today, sir. They were mentioning some new places, places like Egmore, Royapuram and Marina, sir. He went there many times, sir.’
‘Marina, I know is the beach. I’m not sure I’ve heard of the other places. Are they in the city or down south somewhere?’
‘In the city, sir. North Madras. Not too far.’
‘Could you write them down on a piece of paper?’ Joshua said and handed the driver a hotel notepad and pen.
Durai scribbled the names down.
Joshua gave them the once-over and asked, ‘Anything else? Any other useful information?’ He didn’t think Durai was fishy, but he couldn’t help feeling that the driver was holding back on him. Rather than share all his finds in one go, he seemed to be executing a little salami slicing operation himself, revealing them in bits and pieces to maximize his intake. But then you could hardly blame him.
‘No sir, that’s all. I have talked to almost all the drivers by now. Only two or three left.’
‘Think you could get anything more specific? Like, where exactly he went in these places?’
‘I’ll try, sir. But it was so long ago the drivers can’t remember where all they went exactly.’
‘Fair enough,’ said Joshua. ‘But please do try. If you find out anything else, don’t hesitate to knock on my door.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Thanks for all your work,’ Joshua said and took out a few crispy bills from his wallet.
Durai accepted them gratefully and said, ‘Shall I return the car or do you need to go anywhere, sir?’
‘No, I’m done for the day,’ Joshua said. ‘But I need you to keep up the work tomorrow.’
‘Yes sir,’ Durai said with a big smile. ‘I’ll come in early in the morning and catch everyone before they leave.’
He slipped the money into his pocket and took his leave, half bowing.
Joshua went down for dinner, feeling a bit dejected. He couldn’t help feeling that Durai was unlikely to bring in any big pointers on Jeffrey now. Not that Joshua was able to make sense of what he’d come up with so far. He summoned all the fragments of information at his disposal and worked through them in his head over dinner. Like a kid putting together a jigsaw, losing patience, jumbling up the pieces and starting all over again, he kept shuffling and reassembling, shuffling and reassembling . . .
But it got him nowhere.
When he went back to his suite, the light on the phone was on. Message from Lakshman. Please call back.
Joshua pulled out his pocket book and dialled right away.
‘Just wanted to check how you’re doing,’ said Lakshman. ‘Any progress?’
‘Not really,’ Joshua said. ‘I did exactly as you said. The cops came and took away the guy who cleans the suite. I feel guilty because I’m fairly sure he’s innocent.’
‘Don’t worry, it’s all an eyewash. They’ll keep him in custody for a few days, touch him up a little and then let him go.’
‘Touch him up? You mean, beat him up?’ Joshua asked, horrified.
‘Yeah, beat him up.’
Joshua fell silent. He felt even more guilty now.
‘How else do you make these people talk?’ Lakshman said. ‘This is not some American TV crime drama where cops say things like “you have the right to remain silent” and gently push the head of the suspect into the car. Here they beat first and ask questions later.’
‘My God!’ Joshua said, wincing. What bothered him more was the casual and callous manner Lakshman approached the issue. Clearly, there were some sides of Lakshman he didn’t know about even after all these years. But then India did that to you. Living here demanded a certain measure of stony stoicism, leathery indifference and unfeeling from everybody.
‘Sorry Josh, didn’t mean to upset you,’ Lakshman said. ‘Despite all your Sulba Sutra sophistication, this is a society where a streak of barbarism lurks just beneath the surface. All it takes is o
ne little trigger to burst into the open.’
‘You could say that about any society,’ Joshua said. ‘The difference is only in how far below the surface it hides and what that trigger is.’
‘Did that driver find out anything worthwhile?’
‘I’m not sure about worthwhile, but he did bring something. Seems like Jeffrey visited some places in the city. . . . Marina was one,’ Joshua said and pulled the notepad closer. ‘Let me see if I can pronounce the other names right . . . Egg . . . more . . . and . . . Roya . . . pooram.’
There was a brief pause at Lakshman’s end.
‘You got that or should I spell them out for you? I know I’m butchering them.’
‘No, I got it, Josh,’ Lakshman said. ‘I was just thinking . . . Marina, as you know, is the beach here. As far as Egmore and Royapuram go, I don’t know what to say. They just don’t ring a bell; they’re just two neighbourhoods here, nothing special. Egmore is the railway terminus for trains going south, but other than that nothing.’
Joshua lapsed into a sullen silence.
‘Let me sleep on it; maybe I’ll be able think of something,’ Lakshman said.
That did very little to cheer Joshua. They didn’t have anything further to discuss and hung up.
Joshua called up Jerusalem and poured his heart out to Becky and chitchatted with Katie, who did lift him up from his slump a little as children always do. He hit the sack after paying a short visit to the bar and helping himself to a few quick ones to wipe out the remains of a bad day, scarcely aware that the day was far from over.
30
Joshua jerked awake to the sound of the phone. He picked up the instrument and groped for his glasses on the bedside table.
