The Cosmic Clues (25 page)

Sonia smiled, as she drove the vehicle down the hill. “Because this was not a normal crime. Not a deliberate, cold-blooded attempt to kill the Choreographer. Chirag, paradoxically, killed as well as saved. Despite his hate for Kusum, I would even go a step further and say he really did kill to
save
Nimisha. And that made him eligible for a humane handling of the situation.” Sonia paused, then added almost to herself, “A life-and-death situation created a criminal out of a normal, ordinary man. But that had also triggered the beginning of a whole new healing process. . . .”

“You really did a great job with him, Boss,” Jatin said warmly. “You're the best Investigator in the country!”

“Who's that in the middle of the road?” Sonia asked abruptly.

A figure stood on the narrow tar road, hitching a lift.

“I don't believe this!” Sonia muttered, astonished.

She pulled up the van. Sonia and Jatin stared as a grinning Mohnish popped his head in through the window.

“Hi! My car broke down! Can you give me a lift?”

“Sonia Samarth!” a voice hailed, over the hum of loud voices.

Sonia, who was in the process of stuffing some shopping bags in the back of her van, froze. The busy Mahatma Gandhi Road was packed full on a Saturday evening. She turned to see a familiar face emerge out of the group of youngsters.

“Rita!” she exclaimed. “How wonderful to meet you after so many years!”

“Yes, isn't it? I'm surprised you even recognized me. If I'm not mistaken, you're a pretty well-known investigator now.” Rita grinned and hugged Sonia.

“Stop kidding. Tell me how you've been and what you've been up to?”

“Oh, I've been fine!” Rita's eyes twinkled. “What a whole lot of purchases! Are you getting married?”

“Of course not!” Sonia laughed. “I'm shopping for the Diwali festival. My mom is so fed up with my non-feminine professional life that she insisted I go buy myself traditional Indian clothes—especially a sari! And I'm supposed to wear the sari this Diwali, even if not a soul visits me!”

“Wow, what a mom! But it's just the beginning of October now; Diwali's at the end of the month.”

“I know, but I thought I'd shop early, just to please her. Then she'll leave me in peace to tackle my next case, whenever it happens along.” Sonia grinned.

“Good planning! I wish my mom financed such ventures!” Rita laughed. “By the way, let me introduce you to a good friend of mine.” Rita drew a woman in her early thirties to her side. “This is Kamini Rane. We live in the same Colony, though she lives in a classy bungalow and I—”

“Live in a classy apartment. Not much difference,” Kamini added good-naturedly.

Sonia liked her instantly. Five foot three, small build, and average-looking, but it was the sweetness in her face that was arresting.

“A lot of difference, I'm afraid,” Rita declared. “Kamini's the proud owner of Elegant Furnitures—the designer name in wooden furniture. Her husband, Ravi Rane, runs the big show. And I just run a small-time beauty parlor. No comparisons whatsoever.”

“Will you stop it!” Kamini nudged her friend playfully.

Sonia noticed that there wasn't an iota of snobbishness in the woman. She was genuinely unconcerned about her wealth.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you an important detail, Sonia. Kamini's cousin Vivek is an excellent Astrologer, so you two have something in common. As far as I know, very rarely have his predictions gone wrong.”

“All his predictions have come true,” Kamini added loyally.

“That's interesting. I would love to meet him one day and exchange notes,” Sonia enthused.

“Look, why don't you two catch up on old times? I've got to go, I have an appointment with the Doctor,” Kamini told them.

“Are you sure I won't be ditching you?” Rita confirmed.

“Not at all! Go ahead and have a good time. Nice to meet you, Sonia!”

Kamini stepped out of the elevator, her heart soaring with joy. Finally, finally, Vivek's prediction had come true. She was pregnant! There was another tiny heart beating inside her body. She couldn't believe it! The extraordinary phenomenon of another life existing inside her. It was finally happening to her. Motherhood was no longer just a dream, it was a reality. The big reality that she had yearned for, year after year.

She climbed into her Tata Indigo and suppressed the urge to drive like crazy back home. To disclose the great news to her husband. Ravi would go mad with happiness. She could see him now, jumping with delight. He was such a boy at times. Like his son would be. Or his daughter. It didn't matter. Boy or girl—she would love her child like no mother had. This Diwali would be a special one for all of them. She would fill the whole house with lanterns and lights, so that the mansion would attract all the joys and prosperity in the world.

Her sunny thoughts whirled on in a glorious flurry of activity, eating up the miles to her house. She parked in the drive and hastened inside the bungalow. Seeing the study door ajar, she headed straight to it, her steps buoyant and light. She was about to step into the study when she heard low voices inside. Ravi was talking to her cousin, Vivek. Not wanting to intrude, she turned away, but then stopped. Ravi's words floated clearly up to her.

“I just don't know what to do! I wouldn't dare reveal such a horrifying truth to Kamini.”

“I know, I know. But she's going through a bad patch in her life. She needs to take care. Don't you think you should warn her about it?”

“No. She's such a soft-hearted woman. Just imagine what it would do to her if she were to realize that you've predicted this terrible thing. That this is probably the last month of her life. It would kill her on the spot!”

“I guess you're right. You shouldn't. It would destroy her for sure,” Vivek agreed sympathetically.

Only a month to live? Kamini couldn't believe her ears. Could Vivek have read her horoscope wrong? No, he never did. He was always right. He'd predicted the pregnancy, hadn't he? And here she was, on the very threshold of motherhood. With the looming shadow of death eclipsing everything else. Desperation coursed through her body. Why
now
? Why
her
? Oh God! The world suddenly swam and darkness enveloped her in a big welcome wave.

“So am I actually going to see you in a sari during Diwali?” Mohnish asked, falling in step with Sonia.

“What's such a big deal about a sari? It's just another form of attire,” Sonia replied casually.

“Not just
any other attire.
A sari is beautifully feminine and fetching, and I have never seen you in one!”

Sonia was taking an evening walk in the picturesque Agriculture College, close to the Stellar Investigations office. Three tree-lined, long stretches of tar roads, joined in the centre to reveal the commanding castle-like stone structure of the College. A well-maintained lawn provided relaxation to the lounging students, as well as the public in the evenings. Sonia loved to walk along the road—the prolific tamarind, mango, and hundred-year-old Banyan trees forming a tunnel of thick foliage overhead. The sunrays forced their way through the gaps of the branches, creating checkered patterns on the road. Farther on, a rough path led into sorghum and sugarcane fields. Cool wind rustled through the thick, gnarled, deep brown branches, transferring the dead leaves to the ground to form a rust carpet. Sparrows chirped, filling the evening with music.

Sonia took a deep breath, raising her face to the warm golden rays and the nippy breeze.

“This is true Diwali weather. I can feel the festival in the air!” she sighed.

“I know what you mean,” Mohnish agreed. “But you haven't answered my question! Will you meet me during Diwali?”

“Only if you tell me what you were doing in Panchgani, last month, during the film shoot,” she countered with a grin.

“Ah, that.” Mohnish sighed. “Look, let's go sit down on the lawn. Then maybe we can talk some sense,” he suggested.

“Fine, but just for a few minutes.”

They selected a dry, sunny spot on the green lawn opposite the sprawling College building with its huge spires. Brisk walkers of all ages marched to the three ends of the College and then took a break on the lawn, which was also a rendezvous for friends and Pensioners. White fluffy clouds formed patterns and pictures in the deep blue sky.

“Okay, let's get this straight, once and for all,” Mohnish began. “I did not follow you to Panchgani, even though you strongly suspect so. I was there to interview Chirag but unfortunately the interview did not take place, and you can imagine why! He wasn't in the mood, so I spent some time enjoying the hill station. It was pure chance that my car broke down and I had to hitch a lift from you!”

Sonia studied the intense look on his handsome face. “You want me to believe this tale?”

“Yes,” he stated flatly. “Why would I follow you, Sonia?”

Sonia shrugged. “I don't know. I've been getting these Secret Admirer bouquets, and the worry is beginning to gnaw at me. And I had the strangest feeling when I was in the Panchgani market that someone was either observing or following me, and then you turned up!”

“I can see your point,” Mohnish conceded. “But you have to believe me when I say I don't send you those bouquets. I'm not your ‘secret admirer'—I believe that my admiration for you is transparently clear. I am proud to know someone like you.”

Sonia blushed. “Thank you,” she said simply.

“Good. That's out of the way.” He looked relieved. “Now can we talk about something else?”

“Some other time!” Sonia stood up. “I have to go home, and our few minutes are up!”

“Hey, that's not fair!” Mohnish protested. “I want to have a long hearty talk with you. Don't tell me I have to take an appointment for that?”

Sonia dusted her dress and smiled. “Fortunately, no. Honestly speaking, I'd like to have a
long
talk with you, too! I know absolutely nothing about you. It's really time for you to reveal some of your dark secrets.”

“Name the place and the time, and I'll be there!” Mohnish agreed with alacrity.

“Fine.” Sonia smiled.

“That's a promise?” He fixed her with a steady gaze until she nodded.

Amiably, they strolled out of the College campus.

Jatin critically studied the colorful paper lantern swinging by a hook outside the Stellar Investigations' office. It looked bright and cheerful—a true symbol of the approaching Diwali festival. Jatin loved Diwali and all that it signified in the tradition and culture of the Hindu Indians. Diwali—or
Deepawali
in the Sanskrit language, a row of lamps—brought out the best in him. But wasn't that what the festival was supposed to do? The five-day celebration had a traditional mythological story attached to every single day. Each day glorified a different relationship, mother and child, brother and sister, husband and wife, uniting the whole family as never before. In the basically agrarian economy of India, the festival originally celebrated the harvest period of the farmers. This had set off the tradition of worshipping Goddess Laxmi—the Goddess of wealth—to welcome wealth and prosperity into the house. It was also a time to visit friends and relatives with sweetmeats. Jatin had a long list of friends that he'd had misunderstandings with the past year. Diwali was the perfect festival, he decided, to patch things up.

The hexagonal lantern was simple but charming. It had taken him a great deal of juggling on a high stool before he could secure the lantern a place of honor. If only his boss could appreciate the effort he took over every single task she entrusted to him!

Jatin carried the stool inside. Then, dusting his hands, he went up to his boss. Sonia, he noticed, was as usual busy playing with the cat in her lap. Jatin frowned.

“Boss, the lantern is in place,” he informed.

“Good. I'll take a look at it as soon as Nidhi is ready to sleep,” Sonia responded.

Jatin's frown deepened.

“Boss, I need leave.”

“Leave?” Sonia was so amazed at the request that she almost dropped Nidhi. “Did I hear you right? Did you say
leave
?”

“Yes, I need leave.”

“Why?”

“Diwali's next week. I have to buy new clothes, help my family cook delicacies—okay,” he added hastily, as Sonia's expression changed, “at least,
place orders
for them. My little cousins are coming down from Mumbai, I need to burst crackers with them. Besides, we're not doing anything great right now. I mean, we don't have a case at the moment and I don't have much work. . . .”

“Oh yes you do, you're supposed to feed all the details of our cases into the new computer,” Sonia reminded him. “And as for not having a case at the moment, I've been thinking of taking up Mohnish's case. He's been after me for some time now and I think it's high time I paid heed to his problem.”

“Yes, but do you need me for that?”

“Why wouldn't I need you?”

Jatin shrugged. “I don't know. Of late, I've had this feeling that I'm kind of redundant and useless.”

“Are you fishing for compliments?” Sonia asked suspiciously.

“No, but actually it would help tremendously to know that my work and contribution are appreciated.”

“Your work and contribution are appreciated, Jatin. Period.” Sonia suppressed her amusement.