Dead in a Mumbai Minute (5 page)

‘From what I hear, the woman who lives there does a lot of social work. She doesn’t help people in front of her own house?’

He shrugged again. ‘I think she might send some food and clothes to the kids who hang around now and again. Why do you want to know?’

‘No reason. I’ve heard about her.’

‘Most people who come to Mumbai only care about filmi people,’ he said.

‘Do any of them live here?’

‘Of course. This is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in Mumbai,’ he said with more than a hint of pride. ‘Sunny Sharma lives in that building there,’ he said, waving his knife in the direction of a luxury block of apartments down the street. ‘Vivek Vishnu lives there,’ he said pointing to the next building. ‘Kimaaya Kapoor stays in that flat over there,’ he said, indicating another tower a few doors down from the Puri residence, ‘when she is in town. But half the time she lives on that island of hers.’

He gazed out at the sea. We both stood in silent contemplation of the kind of wealth that buys you islands.

Just then, a gaggle of giggly girls approached. They looked like high-school students ditching class. My guess was that they were farther from home than they should be. They ordered three plates of bhel and shared it between six. Kids from this neighbourhood wouldn’t have to scrounge. And they probably preferred burgers to bhel.

I left the man to his job and went back to my bench. It was a warm day, but the salty sea breeze saved me from discomfort. Anyhow, my wait was not long: soon, I saw the main door of the house open and a woman come out.

I called Vinod. ‘Can you come back?’

‘Of course, ma’am.’

‘Quickly, please.’

Lucky for me, Poonam’s driver seemed to be missing for the moment. So by the time she was seated and ready to go, Vinod had found me. Her SUV pulled out of the drive and Vinod eased out behind her.

‘How did you get here so quick?’ I asked. I had been watching the traffic crawl by and had assumed I was in for a wait.

‘Don’t worry about these things, ma’am. You are new at Titanium, so you don’t know,’ Vinod said with a smile.

‘Don’t know what?’

‘That we don’t have to bother with parking and one-ways and nonsense things like that.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because of sir.’

‘Which sir?’

‘Shayak sir. Mumbai is his city.’

That made him sound like a mafia don or a crooked politician, but Vinod seemed so infatuated that I dare not suggest it. But how exactly had Shayak Gupta become such a force to be reckoned with?

‘How long have you worked here?’ I asked.

‘Ever since I finished school.’

‘No college?’

‘Sir helped me through college while I was working. I did morning class and came here later in the day. He always made sure I took leave before my exams, whether I liked it or not.’

‘How did you get the job?’

‘My father has known sir for a long time. He only said I should join.’

‘And was your father also in this line of work?’

‘No, no!’ Vinod said with a laugh. ‘My father was in the army. That is how he knows sir, na.’

‘They served together?’

‘Well, not together, you know, because sir was always such a big man. But for a while, they were posted in the same place. He was very fond of my father; very good to him.’

‘You didn’t want to join the army?’

‘I did, when I was younger. But then I realized I could do so much more here.’

This confused me. How could Vinod do more as a driver at Titanium than by enrolling in the army? I resisted the urge to question. Our first meeting wasn’t the right time to pry, and I would find out soon enough what his higher calling at Titanium was, if any. I could bide my time – I was beginning to think of it as one of my prime virtues as an investigator.

Poonam’s car took a turn into a walled complex, and I was finally about to taste some action. ‘Ma’am, what would you like me to do now?’ Vinod asked.

‘Can you wait outside? I think I should go in on foot.’

‘Sure, ma’am.’

I walked into the compound to find myself at a residential school – an orphanage, the sign told me. Appalled by the lack of security, I walked in straight after Poonam, careful to keep a relatively safe distance. Three young girls ran up to her and threw their arms around her. I had seen enough. If Poonam was having a midday dalliance, it wasn’t here.

I went back to the car, feeling almost as dirty as I had when I walked in on a couple doing their thing – as I had more times than I cared to remember. This is what it had come to: despite leaving my practice behind and joining a reputed firm, I was still snooping on potentially adulterous women. It was only their profile that had drastically improved. I had to remind myself that just because Poonam spent part of her time in a productive manner, caring for orphans and the like, didn’t mean she couldn’t be spending the rest of it bonking gentlemen other than her husband.

In this way, three days passed. Poonam went from home to home, interacting with children, attending meetings at NGOs big and small, supporting causes from conservation and environment to education and upliftment. While all the tailing helped me figure out the streets of Mumbai, aside from speaking to a handful of beneficiaries of Poonam’s good works and hearing her praises, I had made no headway. I found no evidence of inappropriate or suspicious men dropping by in her husband’s absence in my round-the-clock vigil.

Back in office, I got a call from Archana. ‘Your apartment is ready as of last night. You can move in whenever you want. Come by for the keys.’

‘Great!’ I said. I had had enough of Sohana’s futon, and her social life was beginning to take its toll on me. I was ready for a real bed for a change, and some actual sleep. ‘I think I’ll do it tomorrow.’

‘I can have Vinod pick you up and help settle you and your luggage in,’ Archana offered.

‘That would be perfect! Before work is okay?’

‘I’ll send him to your current address by 8 am tomorrow. Take your time coming in, if you can afford to.’

I thought I should update Adlakha about what was going on, so I peered through his glass door. His head was back in place, glasses perched atop it. It looked like he was asleep, and I paused. But then I decided to give his door a good, hard rap.

He opened his eyes and signalled me in.

‘Tell me,’ he said, pulling his glasses down.

‘I might be in late tomorrow as Archana informed me I would be moving into my place in the morning.’

Finally, a smile. ‘Ah, you are being kennelled.’

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I continued anyway.

‘I have to say, I am not making much headway on the Puri investigation.’

‘What have you found?’

‘Only that she seems more interested in charity than in cheating.’

‘Precisely the sort of goody-two-shoes that I’d be most suspicious of.’

I didn’t want to know what kind of friends Adlakha had, but I’d be happy not to count myself amongst them.

‘Keep at it,’ he advised.

‘Without deepening the investigation, I don’t see myself getting much further.’

‘Give it a couple more days. We need to ensure we have exhausted all options that fit the client’s wishes before getting back to him with a negative report.’

‘Could I hack her e-mail?’

‘No.’

‘Bug her home?’

‘No.’

‘Infiltrate her house or office?’

‘No and no. The client authorized only basic surveillance and that is what we are going to give him, at least for now.’

I left Adlakha’s room with the beginnings of a plan.

I was sure Adlakha and Shayak would both blow a fuse if they found out I had eyes on the client instead of his wife. But if I happened to stumble on him at a party, who could blame me?

I requisitioned a car and drove home, crawling through traffic. When I finally reached Sohana’s place and got dressed, my friend was back home. ‘We are going out tonight,’ I announced.

‘Where?’

‘To a party, I think.’

‘You think?’

‘Just get ready. I’ll tell you more on the way.’

Sohana did not need much persuasion to go to a party, even a possible one. And when we pulled up close to the Puri residence, I was about 95 per cent sure that was where we would be landing up. When I gave her a pencil sketch of what I had in mind, her excitement mounted.

‘What fun – I’ve never followed anyone before.’

‘I hope, for your sake then, that he surfaces.’

I got out, casually strolling by the gate, and spotted a Jag in the driveway. ‘I think he’s inside,’ I said, once I was back in our car.

‘How do you know he’ll leave?’

‘Trust me,’ I said with more confidence than I felt. ‘I’ve been keeping an eye on this house long enough to know his habits. It’ll be some time soon.’

I didn’t have to eat my words: party boy Puri headed out in about half an hour. First stop: El Diablo, a new Mexican restaurant.

‘I hope you’re hungry, and I hope they’ll put this on your expense account. This is one pricey place,’ warned Sohana.

‘We’ll order the cheapest thing on the menu.’

‘Speak for yourself.’

‘I want to see what he’s up to when he’s prowling around,’ I mumbled more to myself than to her.

We entered the restaurant and were seated quickly. Though it was a little away from where Puri was sitting with his friends – two women and an older man – I could keep an eye on them.

‘So how is the job going?’ asked Sohana. It seemed that none of my friends knew how to mind their own business. I was a private investigator; Sohana was a fairly hard-hitting city reporter; our friend in Calcutta, Shweta, was a lifestyle journalist and the one who had set me up with my food-writing gig that paid the bills when Steele Securities, my agency, had faltered.

‘A little slow to start,’ I said, ‘but it looks like things are beginning to happen. What about you?’

‘That shootout at the docks had me working all hours for a few days there, but now things are back to normal.’

‘Have the police figured out what that was about?’

‘I’m sure they have,’ she said. ‘But they aren’t giving us any information. I can’t imagine it being about anything other than the drugs, though.’ And then she paused. ‘This is a long shot, but you said your boss’s name is Shayak, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Tall, good-looking guy?’

‘Yes.’

‘I think he may have been at the scene.’

‘How do you know?’ She couldn’t have seen his picture before – he was practically unphotographed, as I had learned when I was trying to figure out who he really was just a few weeks ago.

‘The day after it went down was when I saw him; I heard someone calling out to him.’

‘It could be someone else … it’s not an uncommon name.’

‘True. But he wasn’t in uniform and he was working with a forensics team. I don’t know much, but I do know that Titanium’s relationship with the police is special. Not many have that kind of access.’

‘I really don’t know,’ I said, in all honesty. I had no idea where Shayak had been over the past few weeks. Plus, my contract forbade me from disclosing anything I did know about an ongoing investigation to anyone, without express permission. So it was a good thing I was in the dark and could answer my friend honestly – except for the burning curiosity I was now filled with. And a new pang of resentment that I was working an infidelity case even though the company was in on such a major investigation.

‘He really is quite hot,’ Sohana said.

‘Who?’

‘Your boss.’

I smiled.

‘He’s not married, is he?’

‘No.’

A wicked gleam shone in her eye. ‘Hmm.’

‘Sohana, don’t go there.’

‘Already a no-go zone? That was quick. What happened?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Meaning it was anything but nothing.’

I tried to concentrate on the back of Pratap’s head, but Sohana was not to be swayed.

‘When did we start keeping secrets from each other?’

‘It’s not a secret.’

‘Then?’

‘I’m hoping that if I don’t talk about it, it might go away,’ I shrugged.

‘You are making it sound so hot that I will only imagine the worst – and the best – unless you enlighten me.’