The Astral Alibi (20 page)

Don’t panic,
he admonished himself, in vain.
Sheetal is with Tina. They are together. Very likely they strayed away farther than they intended. They’ll be back any moment. They may be at the house this very instant.

He reversed the car and drove wildly through the wet streets. He must be calm, he told himself as he parked the car and headed for the bridge. Fighting the slapping rain, he almost ran all the way back home.

“Sheetal! Tina!” he shouted, taking the steps two at a time.

But the silence inside resounded like an intruder. He must stay calm. He’d wait for a while, then he’d call the police. He sat at his study table, his head in his hands. What had happened! Where were his wife and daughter? It was totally unlike Sheetal to behave irresponsibly. They
must be
in trouble. Had some animal attacked them? Had they gone too far out into the sea? Freezing hands seemed to clutch his heart, squeezing it so tightly that he couldn’t breathe.

He snapped up the receiver and quickly dialled Sonia Samarth’s Office number. If there was one person who could help him, it had to be her! The line was engaged. Damn it!

At that very moment, Sonia was busy making some calls of her own. Nidhi was polishing off her evening meal of fish and cat food, while Jatin watched like an indulgent parent.

He glanced at his watch. Seven. His Boss never seemed to pack up for the day. He must bring the long working hours up in the next staff meeting. Especially since they now seemed to intrude into his hours with Naina!

Sonia replaced the receiver and the phone instantly rang.

“Hello?”

“Miss Samarth? This is Pankaj Naik,” the breathless voice said.

“What’s the matter?” Sonia asked at once.

“They’ve vanished.”

“Some more of your antiques?”

“Sheetal and Tina! I don’t know what to do. She told me they were going for a walk about two hours ago. They’re still not back! What if something terrible has happened to them?”

“Please, Pankaj, take it easy. Weren’t you supposed to be having a dinner party tonight?”

“Yes. Jeetu was supposed to come to dinner. And Sheetal seemed kind of nervous about it. I don’t like any of this at all! I don’t know what’s happening—”

“Pankaj, you must do something for me. Go to Sheetal and Tina’s rooms. Find out if their clothes are still there. And then call me back.”

“Do you mean that Sheetal’s gone off…?” Pankaj’s voice rose an incredulous notch or two.

“Find out if the clothes are missing and ring me back,” Sonia repeated firmly.

The phone clicked and she turned to Jatin.

“Development?” he asked, with interest.

Sonia nodded. “Sheetal has vanished with the kid.”

“Vanished as in ‘willful disappearance’?” Jatin queried deliberately.

“Remains to be seen. Pankaj, of course, is already thinking the worst. He’s terrified that something’s happened to them.”

“Which could be right,” her assistant pointed out grimly. His eyes were bright with excitement.

Before Sonia could respond, however, the phone trilled again.

“Tina’s clothes are missing! What could this mean? Should we call the police?” Pankaj was now in full panic.

“What about your Secretary? Has Ganesh reported in today?”

“No, he hasn’t been in for more than two days. He isn’t even answering his phone! Is that connected? I can’t seem to think straight anymore. Tell me, is their disappearance and Ganesh’s—”

“Listen to me, Mr. Naik. Stay put. Don’t move from your house. Don’t make any calls. And above all, don’t call the police.” Sonia spoke carefully. “And give me a day. I’m going to find Sheetal and Tina. But you must stay calm, all right?”

“It’s going to be very, very tough. But I’ll try.” Pankaj sighed. “Promise you’ll give me a call the moment you hear anything!”

“Of course.”

Sonia hung up and turned to her Assistant.

“Come on, Jatin, we’ve got work to do.”

A narrow lane off the Kothrud main street led to a row of five-storied, aging buildings. The bell of the top-floor flat of the last building rang in a tune of bird chirpings. As the sound receded into the shabby house, silence reinforced itself. The bell rang again. This time, hesitant footsteps approached the door. An eye appeared at the spy-hole. Then the eye vanished, and the clicking of the latch could be heard. The door opened slowly and Sheetal peered out cautiously. Then she jerked back abruptly. But before she could shut the door again, a foot was thrust forward, jamming it open.

“What do you want!” Sheetal cried.

Sonia and Jatin stepped into the room. It was lit by a single bulb and bathed in shadows. Jatin shut the door behind him.

“Thank you for inviting us in!” Sonia remarked pleasantly.

“You forced your way in!” Sheetal accused. She was dressed in a cotton printed nightgown and her hair was scrunched untidily under a butterfly clasp.

Before Sonia could respond, a small voice called from inside. “Has Daddy come, Mama?”

“No, dear. I’ll let you know if he does. Go to sleep, okay?” Sheetal replied loudly. Then she turned accusing eyes on Sonia. “What do you want?” she hissed.

“Can we sit down?” Sonia deliberately made her way to the yellow plastic chairs which were the only furniture of the room. “Now, let’s see, where could I begin. How about with this? Jatin?”

Jatin held up a photograph. One look at it and the colour drained from Sheetal’s face.

“Where did you get it?” she demanded sharply.

“In the album Tina showed me at Kelshi.” Sonia took the photo from Jatin and studied it. Two girls were showing their tongues teasingly to the camera. One was obviously Sheetal. A much younger Sheetal.

“The other girl is Anju, isn’t she? Your best-friend since school,” Sonia stated.

Sheetal’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, my very best-friend, my soul-mate.” She stared at the uncarpeted, ceramic tile floor, refusing to look at Sonia.

“And you did all this for Tina’s sake. Or to put it legally: for the custody of your best-friend’s child!” Sonia observed the other girl minutely.

Sheetal glanced up and anger glinted in her eyes. “Yes. Anju and I grew up together in Mumbai. And even though we branched out for our studies, we never lost touch. I knew all about her boyfriends and I had even approved of Rajesh—her current boyfriend—before I went abroad to study child psychology. Later I worked on a temporary job there. That’s when Anju met Pankaj and instantly fell in love with him, sadly forgetting all about Rajesh. They married immediately. I was so surprised. But it was a mistake. Even though perhaps he loved her in his own way, Pankaj neglected her. He worked late and drove her to frustration. Anju often sent me emails of how Pankaj missed dinners and trips, how he arrived in the middle of the night and left before dawn sometimes. She did her best to please him. Poor Anju, what a lonely life she led! I think it was this desperate need to draw his attention to her that made her race with him that evening. They were trying out Pankaj’s new car, when Anju declared that she preferred the old one. And to prove a point, as much as to attract Pankaj, she began racing. The car went straight over the cliff!

“It was a terrible and unfortunate accident and it shocked her parents and me. It was then that they decided that they must get custody of little Tina. They knew that Pankaj would have a problem finding time for a demanding child like Tina, but they knew, too, that he would never willfully give the child away. Certainly not to Anju’s parents, who made no secret of the fact that they hated Pankaj’s guts. They blamed him for Anju’s death and they fought him in court for Tina’s custody. But tragically, Pankaj won the case. It was then that I hatched my little plan. I was ready to do anything for my best-friend’s daughter. I intended to raise her as my own. Luckily for me, Pankaj advertised for a Governess and I snatched at the opportunity and landed at Kelshi as Tina’s Governess!”

“That’s when you created a fictitious character called Jeetu to make Pankaj fall in love with you,” Sonia interjected.

“How did you guess?” Sheetal looked amazed.

“The horoscope you gave me was a dead giveaway. I knew instantly that no such person existed. It was blatantly obvious from the way the horoscope was drawn. Even so, I double-checked if such a person existed. As it turned out, there is no Jeetu Veer and no Chinar Computers in Pune! In fact, it was on my advice that yesterday Pankaj informed you that he had met Jeetu and that he had invited him for dinner.”

“You told him?”

“I had to. He was concerned enough without the tag of jealousy making it worse. Besides, I hoped that it would goad you to take some drastic action. I was right.”

“Yes, you were right. I was astonished when Pankaj told me that he’d met Jeetu. I decided that there was some mistake or that he’d met some guy who happened to have the same name. But I couldn’t wait to find out. I had to leave with Tina immediately. Had there been an easier way to break the truth to Pankaj, I would’ve done it. But there was no time, and anyway, he knows now….”

“Yes, he does.”

“So now what? You can’t do a thing. I’m officially married to Pankaj and I can keep Tina with me if I want to. She’s my daughter now. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Except kidnap Pankaj’s child and try to keep a daughter away from her father. Which is nothing short of a crime. And even though she’s too young to understand it right now, Tina won’t thank you for it when she grows up,” Sonia reasoned.

“She’ll understand. I’ll be a good mother to her. And eventually she’ll forget everything. Her grandparents and I will see to that,” Sheetal said grimly. “Actually, I didn’t plan for it to go this far. I was going to leave immediately after the marriage ceremony. So that it would have been easier for him. I would have, but for…” She paused abruptly.

“But for your love for Pankaj? You love Pankaj, don’t you? Despite everything?” Sonia supplied softly.

Sheetal looked almost mortified. “I fought the feeling real hard, but I couldn’t help it. Before I knew it, I was in love with him and I was horrified at myself. In love with Anju’s husband, the man who had treated her so shabbily! If she hadn’t married him, she wouldn’t have been miserable. She wouldn’t have been in that car, racing him, and she wouldn’t be dead now! That was what I had to remember! And that was what I did remember ultimately. And now I’m safe, with Tina. I’ll go far away from here. Even go abroad. No one can stop me!” The iron determination in her voice made Sonia shake her head.

How could she ever make Sheetal change her mind? she wondered. Life wasn’t always that simple. You couldn’t just take somebody’s child—even if it was in the child’s best interest—and move on. Sonia had to make her see sense. She had to make her change her mind.

“Sheetal,” Sonia began carefully. “What if I told you that you needn’t kidnap Tina for custody? That there’s a much more legal answer to it?”

“I wouldn’t believe you,” Sheetal replied instantly, but a mixture of wariness and curiosity flared in her eyes.

“You’ll believe it, if you hear me out. You probably are even aware of it.” The detective treaded cautiously.

The other woman stared at her with a contemplative look. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely!”

Sheetal folded her hands. “Okay, tell me, how can I gain legal custody of Tina?”

The rain had merged into the sea and the sand, clearing the sky for the glow of the sinking sun. The sea rippled like a magnificent rust-gold satin sari. A boat sailed by, its flag flapping in the strong wind. Pankaj sat in his garden, under a Coconut tree, a rock of loneliness lodged in his heart. Everything had to end. All the good things in life. Sheetal had been good for him. But it had to end. That was his destiny. He closed his eyes, weighed down by a wave of sadness. When he reopened them, Sheetal stood at the gate. No, he was dreaming. He shut his eyes hastily, to close off the image. But when he opened them, she still stood there. In her red T-shirt and jeans.

“Sheetal!” he exclaimed, rising eagerly.

But the strange look on her face made him halt in his tracks. She raised her hand. She held a pistol, pointed straight at him. Blood froze instantly in his veins.

“What…what do you think you’re doing?” he cried.

“I’m avenging the death of my best-friend. You killed Anju, didn’t you? You killed her, you rat!” she shouted with venom in her voice.

“You’re crazy! I didn’t kill Anju. She died in a car accident!”

“A car accident!” Sheetal laughed sarcastically. “That’s not what Rajesh, Anju’s good friend, told the police. He said he was convinced that you’d killed her!”

“Rajesh hated me. He was in love with Anju just as I was. I adored her. You have no idea how much I suffered after she died. Anju meant everything to me. But that’s in the past. I don’t want to talk about her. It’s you who mean everything to me now, Sheetal. You’re precious to me. Where have you been? And where’s Tina?” He took a step towards her.

“Tina’s my daughter now. And I shall never allow her to live with a guy who killed her mother. She’ll know the truth one day and she’ll hate you, she’ll—Ouch!”