‘What about the LG?’ he asked, hoping against hope he could change Vidyarthi’s mind. ‘Isn’t he putting pressure on you?’
‘Not any longer,’ Vidyarthi shot back. ‘You see, the politicians have got involved. It’s out of our hands now. The Delhi government and the Centre are trading accusations and counter accusations over the case. It is a political matter and we can’t afford to sit back and wait while they figure out what needs to be done. We have a job to do and we’re going to keep at it.’
Kapoor sighed. He knew when he was licked.
‘You have a couple of men in Allahabad, don’t you?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Well, recall them, then. Put a hold on the case. File it as unsolved if you want. Like the Trivedi murder case.’
‘I didn’t file that as unsolved, sir.’
‘You didn’t?’ Vidyarthi looked puzzled.
‘No, sir. The two cases are inextricably linked. We have uncovered tangible evidence of that in Allahabad. We solve one case, we solve both.’
‘You still think you can solve those cases?’
‘Yes, sir. I do. Given time.’
Vidyarthi nodded. ‘Very well, then. I’m not going to be the one to put a blemish on your spotless record. Finish the job I’m giving you now and, if you aren’t needed elsewhere by then, you can wrap those up too.’
‘Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.’ Kapoor was genuinely grateful. He didn’t want these two cases to go down as the only ones he had been unable to crack. Especially not now, when he was so close to cracking them.
‘No problem. Just make sure that no one is wasting any more time on them. I don’t want anyone in Allahabad. Am I clear?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Kapoor realised that Vidyarthi knew him only too well. If his boss had not been so specific, Kapoor would have left either Ajit or Harish in Allahabad to continue the investigation.
But it didn’t matter. As Vidyarthi had said, the two cases were not time critical. Nothing was likely to happen in the intervening months even if he didn’t investigate further. He would pick up the threads later.
When he was done with the new assignment.
Whatever that was.
Chapter Eighty-two
New Information
Raman Kapoor’s Office
New Delhi
Kapoor was taking the final debrief from Ajit and Harish, who had returned from Allahabad the previous day.
In the nine days since the last debrief, the team in Allahabad had covered quite a lot of ground.
After getting a positive identification at the temple, Harish had scouted around and managed to find someone who had known Kanakpratap Singh when he was a student at Allahabad University. According to the source, after attending classes, Singh would often cross the road to the Company Bagh, the gardens where the young revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad was famously martyred. Apparently, in the days when Singh was in college, the freedom fighter was an icon for the pehelwans of Allahabad, who used to gather there. Singh had often been seen in the area, sitting beside the statue of Chandrashekhar Azad and discussing politics.
Ajit had also made inroads into finding out more about Srivastava. He had, on Mirza’s advice, made the rounds of the Coffee House in Civil Lines. Interviews with the waiters, some of whom had been working there for decades, had also yielded results.
Apparently, many of the people who patronised the coffee house were vociferous and had strong political leanings. Among them, Srivastava had stood out for two things. First, his quiet, unassuming nature, quite unlike that of the other patrons. Second, he was a calming and sensible influence, intervening in the heated debates and injecting a healthy dose of logic and rationalism into fiery arguments which were often punctuated by emotional outbursts.
According to the waiters, some of whom were retired, Srivastava had been respected for his knowledge and demeanour. People listened to him.
The waiters, at any rate, remembered him. Like the boatman, he was known to have been a warm human being, kind to everyone he met and respectful to the waiters as well; something they did not often see in the patrons of the coffee house.
There was not much of an update on Vishwaraj, though. The team in Allahabad had failed to find his parents. Apparently, they had suddenly disappeared over two months ago. Ajit, Harish and Mirza had been able to find only a few people who claimed to have known Vishwaraj, and even they had little information to offer about the boy.
Apparently, he had been a loner in school and made few friends. The police team had met no one who claimed to be a good friend of his. Enquiries had revealed that the boy had been adopted by a childless couple when he was a child of three or four years. But there was little more to be discovered about the enigmatic Vishwaraj.
But the biggest discovery had been made by Mirza, who had chanced on someone who had told him of the tragedy that both Singh and Srivastava had been involved in almost fifteen years ago.
‘The person we spoke to knew both Singh and Srivastava,’ Ajit explained to Kapoor. ‘He wasn’t a very good friend, so he didn’t have a lot of details. But he did tell us that the two families—the Singhs and the Srivastavas—were very close. Singh had an elder brother, Rudrapratap Singh, who was married to a woman called Yajnaseni. Singh was unmarried and had no children. Rudrapratap had a son called Arjun.’
‘Isn’t that the name of Singh’s nephew?’ Kapoor asked immediately. ‘That’s the name we got from the school, when we checked with them after Singh left town, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, sir,’ Harish confirmed. ‘I had gone to the school to check. I remember the name.’
‘So,’ Kapoor said thoughtfully, ‘Singh’s sister Pramila is not his sister but his sister-in-law. She too changed her name after coming to Delhi.’ His razor-sharp mind was quick to connect the dots.
Harish nodded. ‘Seems that way, sir.’
‘Anyway.’ Kapoor gestured to Ajit. ‘Go on. What happened?’
‘Well, sir, Srivastava had a wife and two children. A son and a daughter. Both were little, less than a year old.’
‘So the boatman knew what he was talking about,’ Kapoor murmured.
‘Yes, sir,’ Ajit resumed. ‘And, according to this source, Srivastava and his wife did not divorce or separate. And he did not abandon his son. They were both murdered.’
‘What?’ Kapoor straightened up and leaned forward, his eyes shining. This was the big break he had been searching for—a piece of information that could be at the heart of this whole mystery. He had known there was a deep, dark secret that was waiting to be revealed.
‘Not just that, sir,’ Ajit continued, ‘but Singh’s elder brother Rudrapratap was also murdered around the same time. Unfortunately, this is all the source could tell me. Since he was not close to either family, he didn’t know much more.’
‘But both families lost someone,’ Kapoor said thoughtully. ‘And it was murder in all three cases. This is no small coincidence.’ He looked at Ajit and Harish in turn. ‘What about the suspect? The guy with the eyepatch. Any leads?’
The two men shook their heads.
‘No, sir,’ Harish replied. ‘The people we met didn’t seem to have seen him. They were probably not contacted by him.’
‘I think we need to talk to more people. Those who were close to the family,’ Ajit said. ‘Only they can fill us in on the details of what exactly happened.’
‘Well,’ Kapoor’s exasperation was evident in his tone, ‘we can’t do that. At least, not just yet.’ He clenched his fists with the frustration of a man who knows he has something within his grasp but has to turn away from it. ‘Allahabad isn’t going anywhere. It can wait. We’ll get back to the case as soon as my new assignment is over.’
He looked at the two men. ‘And then we will solve the mystery behind all three murders.’
Kapoor’s phone rang.
‘DCP Kapoor?’ There was an authoritative ring to the voice on the line.
‘Yes, sir.’ Kapoor mo
tioned to Ajit and Harish to leave the room and shut the door behind them.
‘This is Imran Kidwai from the Intelligence Bureau.’
Chapter Eighty-three
A Walk in the Twilight
The Gurukul
Panna National Park
Arjun and Maya strolled together in the gentle twilight, among the trees of the Panna forest, beyond the cottages where the Mahamatis resided.
There was a slight nip in the air. The forest would grow increasingly cold as the dusk faded into night. Winter was on its last legs, but it was still making a stand.
More than a month had passed since Varun, Adira and Tanveer had left the Gurukul. The four remaining Saptas had become closer than before. Well, at least three of them—Agastya still stayed a bit aloof, though he was much warmer towards, and more accepting of Maya than he had been earlier. Maya guessed the fact that she was being coached by Maharishi Satyavachana had something to do with it; she knew Agastya would have given an arm and a leg to be in her place.
But Arjun, Maya and Amyra hung out together when they were not busy with their lessons, practice or homework. It wasn’t often that all three of them were free at the same time, but evening walks like this one had become quite commonplace. Sometimes all three were able to make it, and at other times the two who were free would pair up.
Maya was happy to get more time with her childhood friend. Having been virtually inseparable from Arjun since they were toddlers, she had missed spending time with him and had disliked the fact that they only got to meet briefly at dinner, and that too not every day, in the first two months of their stay at the Gurukul.
For Arjun, it was a great way to keep his mind off his mother’s absence. Not one day went by when he didn’t miss her. He remembered the days in school when he would chafe at her constant presence—and his uncle’s—wherever he went, even for his classmates’ birthday parties. He had fervently wished them away, wished to be free of their constant attention. Now, he couldn’t understand why.
You really don’t know what you have until you no longer have it, he thought grimly.
His intense practice sessions with Agastya, Kanakpratap and Usha, with Parth joining in quite frequently, kept his mind distracted. And though he missed Varun and Tanveer, these moments spent with his friends also helped drive away the deep loneliness he felt with his mother away.
Around them, birds chirped hysterically as they settled down for the night. The call of monkeys echoed across the sparsely wooded forest and the occasional deer ambled through the undergrowth, presumably on its way back to the herd after a satisfactory session of grazing.
‘I wonder what those three are up to,’ Arjun speculated about his missing friends, as he watched a squirrel scurry across a branch, stopping now and then to dart its eyes around nervously and sniff the air. ‘It must be strange to be back in school after spending so much time at the Gurukul.’ He turned up his nose. ‘Studies, cycle tests and all that sort of thing.’
‘Sumitra!’ Maya laughed.
Arjun joined in. They had almost forgotten about their old history teacher. Even though they had been at the Gurukul for almost four months, so much had happened during their stay here that it seemed much longer.
‘It is a different life,’ Maya agreed. ‘It must be difficult to pretend to be ordinary and also ensure that the other students in the school don’t get to know who they really are.’
Arjun nodded. ‘Yeah. Well, you and I are going to face the same situation someday.’
‘AJ, what are they keeping you and Ags back for? I don’t get it. Wouldn’t you be more useful out there? You’re already one of the best warriors they have!’
Arjun shrugged. ‘Beats me. I’m raring to go. I want to be out there, part of the Gana, outside the Gurukul. The purpose for which they brought me here has been served. In the last four months I have learned more than I learned in the last seven years. My technique, my speed, my skills have all improved exponentially, even without the use of mantras. And, with the use of mantras, the last seven years feel … I don’t know … amateurish? You know what I mean?’
Maya nodded. She knew exactly what he meant.
They walked along in silence, enjoying each other’s company and the soothing tranquillity of nature around them.
‘Hey, AJ,’ Maya said after a while. ‘Can I ask you something?’
Arjun glanced at her curiously. ‘What’s up with you? You’ve never asked me for permission before.’
Maya didn’t know how to tell him that he had grown so much faster than she had at the Gurukul that there were times, however rare, when she hesitated to ask him stuff outright. Especially when it was something personal.
‘Well,’ she smiled, ‘I was wondering if you miss Adira.’
Arjun flushed, caught off guard by the question. ‘What do you mean?’ he demanded, recovering his composure a bit.
‘I mean,’ Maya chuckled at his reaction, now more at ease with the subject, ‘that I think you have a crush on her. I’ve been watching you two.’
Arjun laughed sheepishly. ‘Nothing escapes the eagle eye of Maya.’ He looked at her. ‘Okay, you got me. Can’t hide it from you. I guess … I do have a crush on her. How did you know?’
‘Well, for starters, considering you are the scion of Yayati and the One, and all of that, you act pretty silly and weak-kneed around her,’ Maya said, arching an eyebrow. ‘So, it’s pretty obvious.’
‘Do you think Varun knows?’ Arjun enquired. ‘And Tanveer and Ags?’
‘Of course, silly,’ Maya laughed. ‘They all have eyes, you know!’
‘Damn!’
‘But don’t worry your head about it,’ Maya reassured him. ‘Adira likes you too.’
Arjun looked at her in surprise. ‘Really? How do you know?’ He checked himself. ‘Of course.’ He grinned and executed a mock bow, his arms outstretched. ‘The all-seeing one has observed Adira as well.’
Maya slapped him lightly on the back in feigned indignation. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘It’s pretty obvious with her as well. I was her dorm-mate, remember? But I think she’s had a crush on you for a long time, maybe ever since we arrived at the Gurukul.’
‘Really?’ There was scepticism in Arjun’s voice. Suddenly he slapped his forehead as he remembered something. ‘Ohh … now I get it.’
Maya looked at him enquiringly.
‘What happened in the dorm—Adira’s dorm—on the night we went to the Gandharva valley,’ Arjun told her. ‘Don’t you remember? Oh, wait, you weren’t there. You were waiting for us at the Gurukul entrance. At the rock.’
Maya remembered that night well. She had told Arjun about her plan to visit the Gandharva valley and he had insisted on accompanying her. They had arranged to rendezvous at the entrance to the Gurukul. To her surprise, however, Arjun had turned up with Varun, Adira, Tanveer and Agastya in tow, and, after some discussion, they had ventured forth together.
‘Varun was telling me how Adira had insisted on coming along. I had no idea why, and I still recall he was about to say something when Adira shut him up. I think he knew even back then.’ Arjun held his head in his hands as they walked. ‘Oh gosh. I don’t believe it. I’ve been so stupid! I missed so many clues.’
‘Yes,’ Maya replied drily. ‘It is amazing that it was so obvious to everyone else except the two of you. I don’t think Adira knows how you feel about her.’
‘What about you?’ Arjun changed the subject. ‘Who do you like?’
Maya made a face. ‘No one,’ she said. ‘I haven’t found anyone in school in Delhi or here at the Gurukul who is worth having a crush on.’
‘Come on,’ Arjun pressed. ‘Surely you don’t still have a crush on David Tennant?’
‘Ooh! His hair …’ Maya sighed. ‘But no, I’m over David Tennant. Though I still love Doctor Who.’
‘Yeah, great series,’ Arjun admitted. ‘But I never figured out what you saw in Tennant. Or his hair.’ He looked at her mischievously. ‘Do you re
member the time you squealed in delight when we were watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and David Tennant appeared?’
‘Yeah, I remember,’ Maya said sheepishly. ‘It was so embarrassing. Everyone in our row and in front of us turned to look at me. But I’m over that now.’
‘There must be someone here who has caught your fancy?’ Arjun persisted.
Maya shook her head. ‘I would tell you if there was, AJ. You know that. Maybe I’m growing up.’
‘Hey!’ Arjun protested as the implication of her remark sank in. ‘What d’you mean? I’m growing up too!’
Maya laughed and he put his arm around her, both of them forgetting their cares and worries for the moment.
Chapter Eighty-four
Amyra
The Gurukul
The weather had begun to turn. It was more temperate and pleasant as winter gave way to spring. Amyra and Maya walked together along the bank of trees that lined the river Ken, providing shade and a barrier that, along with a mantra for illusion, hid the Gurukul from prying eyes.
‘I’ve always wanted to ask you this,’ Amyra said suddenly. ‘I’ve been ever so curious. Why do you call Arjun “AJ”?’
Maya laughed. ‘Yes, it is odd, isn’t it?’ She was silent for a few moments, her eyes misting over with the memory. ‘It was Dad,’ she said finally. ‘It was his idea. Arjun and I became friends before we knew what it even meant; we were less than a year old, I think. When we first began to speak, Arjun was able to say “Maya” quite easily, but I would struggle to pronounce his name. The “r”, the “j” and the “un” made it too complicated for me. And I’d sulk because he could say my name and I couldn’t pronounce his. At least, that’s what Dad told me.’
Amyra laughed.
‘Yes, it’s funny now, but I believe I was most upset about it,’ Maya said. ‘Then Dad asked me if I could pronounce “AJ”. I proudly did. And the name stuck. I’ve called him that ever since.’
Both girls laughed again. ‘I knew there had to be a story,’ Amyra said. ‘But I never knew how to ask.’
The Mists of Brahma Page 21
