‘Eileen was part of Matangi too,’ Jasmine said. ‘Until she decided to break off.’
‘Darya…’ Veda said, staring meaningfully at her. ‘Did you know Eileen and Parthiv were dating before she joined us? He came back to Chapel Road to find what happened to her.’
Darya exhaled. She had suspected but hadn’t known for sure.
‘He loved her, but he wasn’t good enough for her,’ Jasmine retorted. Not needing to be prompted, she told the story quickly.
Eileen had gone willingly. She had been dating Parthiv, but they’d had a tumultuous relationship. He was from a rich, conservative family, and although he loved her, it was hard for him to understand her. Eileen wanted more from her life. She didn’t want to be controlled. She wanted to be an actress but knew it was hard to break into Bollywood. But soon afterwards, their father had died, leaving them penniless. Then the sex clip with Parthiv had surfaced; Eileen knew it would destroy both her mother and Parthiv’s family, so when she was approached by Matangi to join them, she’d welcomed it.
‘Who approached her?’
‘Debbie, of course. She was the front.’
‘Was?’
Although Darya had been suspecting this was the case for quite some time. Whoever was running this show had tired of the Mascarenhas and was looking to pin the blame for the kidnappings and murders on them. But what if the two confessed to the police, revealed the names of the top brass of Matangi to them? Surely it was too risky.
However,… that would only come to pass if the two knew who the top brass was. Or the police asked them. Or believed them. Or their confession stood up in court. There were a lot of ifs.
‘You know she’s in prison now.’ Jasmine smirked as if reading Darya’s mind. ‘Her role in Matangi is over.’
Darya gave a small nod. ‘Who recorded the videos?’ she asked.
Veda interrupted with an impatient exhale. ‘That’s not important. Time’s running out. You need to come with us. It is necessary that you say yes.’
But Darya knew who it was. Viktor. He had access to many of the house on the street through the odd jobs he did in them.
But neither Debbie nor Viktor had been acting on their own. Someone else had to be running the show. Someone powerful and influential. But also able to blend in at Chapel Road. A local, a commoner, yet with powerful connections.
It was paradoxical. Inconsistent.
But Darya had worked it out by now: there were not one or two, but several people involved in running a massive ring like Matangi. This sort of a club could flourish in such secrecy only when a powerful network was operating at the top, with local implants to recruit women.
Nevertheless, Darya had to be certain before she said anything. ‘Answer me a few questions first,’ she said. ‘What exactly is Matangi?’
‘A spiritual group,’ Veda answered instantly. ‘A faction that connects goddesses with men who’re struggling with their lives, who want to be healed. There are several offshoots of it across Mumbai. We belong to the Bandra chapter.’
‘Chapter?’ Darya said mockingly.
‘There has to be structure and organization,’ Veda said. ‘Like in any large group.’
‘A group that focuses on the betterment of people in need,’ Jasmine added. ‘It’s a form of therapy.’
‘You’re paid to have sex. It’s prostitution,’ Darya snapped.
They glared back.
‘Why aren’t you getting it?’ Veda hissed.
‘You let go of your past life and become someone else,’ explained Jasmine.
‘Basically, let go of your family, friends, home…’ Darya started.
‘Yes!’ Jasmine cut in. ‘All of what binds you.’
‘But you have control over who loves you, how you are loved, when, where. You can buy any sort of luxury, go abroad for holidays, help your family with money, move out in a few years to live in anonymity at a foreign location of your choice…’ Veda said.
‘But not move freely in your own city,’ Darya said. ‘Both of you have been so completely brainwashed… I… I don’t believe this.’ Fear prickled her insides. It looked to her like Veda believed what she was saying.
‘Matangi’s women are treated with respect,’ remarked Jasmine. ‘They are carefully selected. And it’s expensive to have a session with a Matangi. I’ve heard of people who save up for months to meet one. You saw them in the club. The men were being paired up with the women they liked. It’s a form of dating, but with a bigger purpose.’
‘So, what happened to Eileen?’ asked Darya. ‘Why did she end up the way she did, if everything is so rosy and amazing?’
Unperturbed by Darya’s jibe, Jasmine replied, ‘Elly was more successful than she’d imagined. She was making a lot of money. She was very popular among the patrons. She had regular clients and easy hours. Her living quarter was the most opulent at Walkeshwar, next only to our master’s own. She was one of the few people who was allowed to service outside, in hotels. She was loosely supervised. But Elly got greedy. She made her own arrangements.’
‘How’s that fair?’ Darya said, continuing to goad Jasmine, trying to make her see sense. ‘Murder?’
‘She was a goddess. She broke a rule,’ she said softly.
‘And this complex in Walkeshwar…’ Darya encouraged.
‘We move to apartment complexes in different locations,’ Veda answered. ‘Always old, broken buildings. Broken outside but lavish inside. These living quarters are sometimes called paying guest houses, sometimes women’s hostels. Our group of twelve women now service out of Walkeshwar but are trained in Kamothe. We were there when you went, did you know? Oh, but you couldn’t know.’
‘You were there…?’ Darya asked, startled. ‘In flat 34,’ she mumbled, realizing. The faint breathing she had heard on the other side, the whirr of the fan, the chanting that had abruptly stopped.
‘You didn’t know when you were there,’ Jasmine said with a smirk. ‘Even if you did, what could you have done? There were protectors stationed on every floor of the building. They would’ve taken you down in an instant. In any case, no one troubles Matangi’s women. No one dares. We have political and police backing. Some of them are even Matangi’s patrons.’
M.P. Corporation. Matangi’s Patrons.
‘But occasionally neighbours get a whiff of what’s happening and they complain,’ Jasmine said regretfully.
Darya could do this no longer.
‘Veda,’ she said urgently. ‘Come with me.’
They both stared back at her, expressions of incredulity mirrored on their faces.
‘You should come with us,’ Veda said. ‘It’s important you agree. We can figure the rest out later.’
‘Have you gone mad, Veda?’ Darya asked, angry now. ‘Matangis are escorts… prostitutes. This is not you—not what we do.’
‘It’s not like that,’ she said quietly. She looked panic-stricken. Her eyes darted from side to side. ‘It’s an exclusive group. The women are scouted for carefully. They are of the highest calibre. Their behaviour and attitudes are vetted for months to see if they’re worthy of the group. We think you are.’
‘You are coloured so deep in patriarchy, you’re not seeing how this empowers us,’ Jasmine said sharply.
Darya stiffened. She’d heard this before.
‘Darya,’ Veda whispered. ‘Come with us. You have to. Just say yes.’
The next moment, she realized both Veda and Jasmine had come dangerously close to her, preventing her from moving.
Then she heard three sounds.
First, footfall on the stairs.
Second, a tinkling of glass bangles.
Third, a quiet voice in the passageway.
‘Namaskar.’
A chill went down Darya’s spine.
And without even turning, she knew who it was.
‘Not for a second did I believe when these two said you wanted to join us. That I should spare your life because of it.’
Darya s
tared back at the woman in front of her.
‘Mrs. Kulkarni,’ she breathed.
The old woman smiled.
‘Also, Debbie and Viktor’s stepmother,’ said Darya dourly. ‘Sharon.’
Sharon nodded, her ice-white bun bobbing behind her. ‘Barobar,’ she replied. ‘Kamothe madhye Sarna Kulkarni. When in Chapel Road, I’m called Sharon. I am known by many names.’
‘You knew?’ Veda asked Darya, looking surprised.
Sharon’s head swung at the sound of her voice. ‘Foolish girl,’ she hissed, her cold eyes fixed on Veda. ‘I chose only you as Matangi. You… and Jasmine. I told you this one was not going to be good for it. But you wanted to talk to her once. To ask her.’
Veda opened her mouth as if to say something, but Jasmine touched her hand to stop her.
Sharon turned to Darya. ‘When you came to the club, I got very angry. Chief was there too. He was so upset. Deva! I’m trying to help him expand, get more girls into the club. Last three years have been good for me. I bought some flats, gold. But mostly I do it for the fun, and I was enjoying a lot. Then this disaster happens. Must have been the boy, Roshan, I told Chief. Ashutosh Tiwari’s son. We had asked him to keep an eye on you, but he must have told you the password. Young boys… I know how they think. But Roshan denied it. He said he had no idea how you landed up in the club.’ She shook her head. ‘My people should have double-checked your application. But we are getting bigger and we are trying out new ways. Of course, some mistakes will happen, I told Chief. I will correct it, I assured him.’
Veda took a step forward. ‘Sharon,’ she said. ‘Listen to me.’
Sharon gave her a cold stare. ‘What a complication,’ she muttered. ‘You were trying to save your friend from getting killed… a noble emotion… I understand that. Friendship and loyalty are good.’
Finally, Darya understood.
Darya had been caught at the club and brought to the bungalow by Sharon and Rajesh. Sharon had probably told Veda about it and Veda had asked for an opportunity to convince Darya to join Matangi, so her life could be spared.
With a scornful smile, Sharon confirmed her fears. ‘Ho,’ she said. ‘I told them what I was planning to do with you. They begged and begged me to give you one last chance. I allowed a few more hours of your life as a gift. I allowed them to talk to you.’
Darya gulped a wave of nausea down.
Her life was in danger. They were planning to kill her.
She glanced down at her watch. It was 2.40 a.m., around two hours since they’d left the club, 45 minutes since she’d woken up.
Sharon was now inches away.
‘We were watching you from upstairs. Jasmine had told us to give them 15 minutes. That would be enough time to convince you. I am generous. I agreed. But we were watching. There are many cameras in the room. Oh, don’t think they were set up for you—you are not so important—but it is proving to be useful. We were watching. If you did anything funny, we would have come down sooner.’
‘So, it was you all along,’ Darya said. She had to keep Sharon talking, to buy time. She suspected it was what Veda had been trying to do as well.
‘Kaay karu shakto?’ Sharon smiled. The face Darya had thought plebeian before was now hardened with ugly lines. ‘Everyone has a calling,’ she said. ‘This was mine.’
‘Calling?’ Darya scoffed, finding courage.
‘What are you going to do about it?’ Sharon asked. ‘Look at your friends. They are devoted to me.’ She beckoned to Veda and Jasmine who walked to her in quick steps. Sharon raised her arms to gently cup their chins. ‘They are like my daughters now.’
Darya looked at the three in disbelief.
‘All of you…’ She swallowed, shaking her head. ‘This is absurd.’ Next, she felt panic rise inside her like a muddy swamp when Sharon said, ‘You cannot escape. I have my men all around.’
As soon as she’d said this, Darya heard heavy footsteps.
‘Rajesh you know already,’ Sharon said, gesturing at the wheezing man.
He looked around the room, a wide grin on his face. Sharon signalled to him.
Before Darya could react, he had sprinted to her. Tightening one arm around her neck, he circled the other around her torso. He held her in a vicious grip and murmured close to her ear, ‘Firse mulakat ho hi gayi. How does it feel?’
Darya gasped for breath. ‘You…’ she managed to say before she felt the jab of something sharp on her neck. A knife.
Sharon chuckled. ‘He is useful man despite his drinking. Makes some mistakes, like killing Elly inside the hotel, threatening you before it was time, but otherwise, does his job well. Has the right connections in the police force too. Gets along with Chief. Loves this job, doesn’t he? It’s a good one, easy money and a steady supply of the best women.’
‘I like the women,’ he breathed heavily into Darya’s neck. ‘I like the men, but I like the women more.’
Darya struggled to free herself, but Rajesh seemed to have learned from their previous altercation. He left no space for her to move.
In front of them, Veda and Jasmine stood immobile, merely watching.
Sharon wore a satisfied look on her face, as if glad everything was out in the open finally. ‘We had our eyes on you,’ she murmured to Darya. ‘Chaukas, utsuk, you were always asking questions. Ho, I am the queen of this operation in Bandra. The villa is the main base.’ She looked around the room as if to make sure she had everyone’s attention. ‘We started taking people as guests in the villa from last year. Colleen thought it would give us a cover. People are getting suspicious, she said. Where are we getting all the money from, they are asking. We could have taken a small house when we moved to Chapel Road, but this was the only one available. The news channels troubled the Sharmas so much, they had to move so we bought their house.’
‘Colleen?’ Jasmine asked.
‘You know her as Debbie,’ Sharon explained, an exaggerated show of patience on her face. ‘We have to keep changing names. What to do? Problems of the job. Parthiv… he recognized me. He came to Chapel Road again, to find out what happened to Eileen one year back. He had seen me talking to her ek do bar. Must have put the pieces together. He came back to test his theory, to investigate. He checked into the villa, maybe to catch me or to find some clue.
Love had made him mad. He tried to tell Jasmine about me too, so she could join him in bringing me down, but Jasmine was already in Matangi; she was already mine. Colleen did not remember Parthiv, so she did not warn me when he checked in, but I remembered him. He also must have guessed Colleen was not the main player in all this. That she was harmless, only following orders.’
‘How did you know Parthiv was in the villa?’ Veda asked. ‘If Colleen didn’t tell you?’
‘I go to the villa every now and then. Packages come that I need to check. Sometimes, we need to set up a new camera, so I have to talk to Daniel. I try not to be seen but it is okay. Neighbours know of me… they know me as the old abused mother. But that day, I left as soon as I saw Parthiv. My good luck that he didn’t see me. He was fully drugged. I didn’t ask Colleen to throw him out because I wanted to see what he’d do. To keep the enemy close is good policy…’ Her eyes glittered as she added in a voice laced with grim pleasure, ‘The poor boy. Kept putting up some odd paintings wherever he thought the Matangi was. He thought I kidnapped Elly. Nako! Not true at all. Elly loved him but she had big dreams. She wanted to be with me. Work for me. He did not understand that. He came looking. Made friends with Sapna. Tried to dig for information. Sapna must have told him something or he followed Rajesh. He showed up in Kamothe after that, then went to Walkeshwar, waited in his car for days. He had become dangerous. His madness was a danger to me. I had to get rid of him. I don’t kill unless it is necessary. Orders from the top. I have to wait. I waited for Elly. I waited for Parthiv.’ She gave a meaningful pause. ‘I waited for you.’
Darya stared steadily back, refusing to be cowed. ‘Why did you move from the vill
a at all? Weren’t you living there two years ago?’ she asked.
Sharon nodded, flashing her an approving smile. ‘Ekdam barobar. Not full time; I must go to work also, but many days I stayed here. And it stopped the supply of women from Bandra also after I went. There was a break of one year. Chief wasn’t happy. Then I got back in action. With Elly.’ A morose look crept over her face as she remembered. ‘Daniel was the problem. He hit me when the madness came on him. He hit Colleen also, but she was silent. Mother that she is. But he was growing worse daily. Especially with me. I could not bear it.’
‘Well, why wouldn’t he?’ Darya muttered. ‘You ruined his family.’
Sharon cocked an eyebrow. ‘I ruined them? No. I found them ruined. I save women. Help them find their life’s purpose.’
Despite her predicament, a sneer escaped Darya. ‘You find their weakness and exploit it. You blackmail them, making them desperate to join and stay in your whorehouse, forcing them to remove all contact with the world, hardly the—’ She broke off in a gasp. Rajesh had pushed himself closer, tightening the hand around her chest.
‘So, you guessed it?’ Sharon said, letting out a chortle. ‘Yes, Emmanuel was a paapi, sharabi, a dirty man, but very useful to me in those days. Colleen was twenty-two when I met her, the boy eight. Her father was still sleeping with her.’ From the corner of her eyes, Darya saw Jasmine give a start. ‘Emmanuel was one of a kind… purna khalnayak. His wife, Colleen’s mother, had died in an accident some years ago. Emmanuel started sleeping with Colleen since she was ten, you know? She had Daniel when she was fourteen. Wasn’t even taken to the hospital to have him. Almost died, that’s what I heard. No one… none of the neighbours stopped that bastard.’
‘Then you came in,’ Darya said.
‘Then I came in,’ Sharon concurred. ‘I had good use for the Monteiros. Colleen was abused but beautiful. And gutsy. We were a small business then and I was running a branch of Matangi at Kamothe. Only a few months old. Eight girls. Four from Bandra, one from Matunga, one from Mahim, two brought from outside Mumbai. Girls no one was going to miss. But the locals were getting suspicious. Colleen provided me with a front. She was beautiful, looked innocent enough at that point, her so-called brother was mentally retarded, their father had died in a terrible accident… it was perfect. We started to call the row of flats my girls were in a “women’s hostel”. Made it look like Colleen had bagged the job of its manager. Spread the word around. She was a local; people believed it. They were happy she was making some money. I was no longer seen, though I was pulling the strings.’ She clucked her tongue.
The Darya Nandkarni Misadventures Omnibus: Books 1-3 Page 49