Sneha raised her eyebrows.
‘You’ve done this before, found people to try certain drugs for Vadish. Does the name ring a bell?’
Sneha started to walk away.
‘Where are you going?’ Chupplejeep asked.
‘I don’t need to listen to this,’ she said.
‘You don’t, but you should. I think you’ll find it very interesting.’
Sneha took a deep breath and turned. She traced her steps back to the betel tree and Arthur Chupplejeep.
‘You sell Vadish’s drugs here at the retreat. It probably goes down quite well with some of your alternative clients and gives you a nice little income as well,’ he said, looking at the diamonds and rubies in her ears. ‘But I think this time your venture failed. You have many lovers and –’
‘Sorry,’ Sneha interrupted him. ‘What did you just say?’
‘You have lovers.’
‘I do, Detective,’ she said, dropping the informal first-name basis. ‘That is no business of yours.’
‘You said that Erik had an addiction? Were you part of that addiction?’
‘Don’t be so crass, Detective, it doesn’t suit you.’
‘Are you denying a relationship with Erik?’
‘I am indeed. I found him repulsive,’ she said.
‘Yet he was in your special class. A soul you wanted to help or someone to get onside so you could use him for the drug trial.’
Sneha narrowed her eyes at him. He had managed to unnerve this usually calm and collected individual.
‘You liked Tim,’ he said. ‘He was warm and gentle, you said previously. You allowed him into your class because you liked him. You were being truthful when you said you wanted to help him find his way. You like the underdog, don’t you? You empathise with them.’
‘Hurry up,’ Sneha said. ‘I haven’t got all day.’
Chupplejeep noticed a thin film of sweat had formed on her upper lip and brow. ‘Tim looked up to Erik, so he was an easy target. If Erik was trying a new drug, he too would want to try it. Tim was, how do you say it, a bit of a chumcha, a tail. Erik, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about Tim. He just followed Erik around, wanting to be him but never quite succeeding.
‘My girlfriend heard Erik and Tim talking in one of your classes, and Tim clearly said he liked someone in the class; that someone was you. He had arranged to meet you after the class, the class he never got to the end of.’
Sneha was silent.
‘You were seen mouthing something to Erik in one of your classes,’ he said, remembering what Christabel said. She thought Sneha had liked Erik then, but Chupplejeep figured out it was not as simple as that, especially if what Sneha just said was true – that she was repulsed by him. ‘You were telling him something about the drug trial, inviting him to your room, to collect the drugs. He was seen leaving your room the day before he was found intoxicated on the beach.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said.
Chupplejeep continued. ‘Tim, on the other hand, was someone you could be an equal with, unlike your last husband.’
Sneha’s eyes widened and then she let out a piercing scream.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
The guests in the near vicinity stopped what they were doing to look at Sneha. It took Chupplejeep a full five minutes to calm her down, after which he deliberated if he should head inside to get her a sugary tea. Ultimately, he decided against it when he saw her sitting cross-legged on the grass, breathing methodically, using her thumb and index finger to alternate her breaths through each nostril. If he left her now, he worried that she might take flight, and he couldn’t afford that.
‘I know about your husband and what Vadish did for you,’ Chupplejeep said gently as he recalled the story Sofia had told him. She was hardly a reliable source, but he made some calls, including an unfortunate one to Inspector General Gosht. He hadn’t wanted to call his boss, especially as he was digging his nose into another case that wasn’t in his jurisdiction, but he knew that the inspector general had information on people like Vadish at his fingertips. After warning Chupplejeep to keep his nose clean, Gosht had relented and given him the name of a superintendent who had a keen interest in the thug and knew what cases Vadish had been linked to. When Chupplejeep mentioned Sneha Dhanjwant, the superintendent wasn’t quite sure who he was talking about, but when Chupplejeep described her, he knew exactly who she was.
Sneha stood and reached out to the trunk of the betel tree holding on to it to steady her nerves.
‘You were Sneha Khosla, but you got rid of your husband’s surname soon after you got rid of your husband. It’s why you have a Hindu first name and a Sikh last name. Something you were keen to justify when we first met. You said there was a reason, but you never explained what it was. And I never asked. After all, my name is Arthur Chupplejeep – I can’t remember the number of times people have asked me about its origins. I used to explain the forbidden marriage of my parents, but now I just say I don’t know. I assume you changed your surname as you wanted to rid yourself of your husband’s title. The change of apparent religion appealed because it crossed boundaries, something he had never let you do when you were together.’
She nodded and then put both hands on the tree, as if trying to draw strength from it. She stared intently at the rugged trunk.
‘Perhaps you met Vadish in a bar or through a contact. Whatever it was, you made his acquaintance when you needed his help. He helped you when you lived in Mapusa.’
Sneha nodded. She gently lowered herself to the ground, the fabric from her pale green harem pants splaying out around her. ‘My husband beat me regularly, physically abused me for no good reason. He raped me continually.’ She tilted her head and Chupplejeep nodded, recalling Sofia’s jaded look as she told the detective the same thing. Someone had shown her a picture of Sneha Khosla, and her beaten face had stayed with her. Like she had said, she never forgot a face. How surprised she was when she saw her running the retreat she was staying at. When Chupplejeep heard her story, he realised the connection Vadish had with Sneha was stronger than just a bit of drug dealing, and he was determined to find out just how deep it was. The superintendent had given him the information he needed. He studied Sneha’s face as she looked into the distance. The scar he had noticed a few days ago was visible. She ran her finger down her jawline as she traced the old injury. ‘I nearly died.’
‘An eye for an eye,’ Chupplejeep said, twisting one end of his moustache.
‘You don’t know, you can’t say that. The police did nothing to help. How many times I called them. His mother, she was the worst. “Don’t bring shame on the family,” she used to tell me every time I threatened to call the police. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing when he’s drunk. You’re his wife, you are subservient to him. You must let him get whatever it is out of his system. He loves you very much.” The worst thing was I actually believed her. I wanted it so much to be true, that last statement especially. I wanted his love because I loved him. But I knew I had to make a choice or I would not be in this world for much longer. So yes, I made a choice, one I would make again. I chose to live. There was no other way, Detective, no other way. A friend introduced me to Vadish, and the rest you know.’
‘You left your husband for dead. Vadish beat him to within an inch of his life.’
‘He didn’t die. He’s alive and well. He can’t see from one eye, that is all. And now you want me to pay for my crimes. You want me to serve time for fighting for my freedom.’
Chupplejeep looked at Sneha. He could see the sorrow in her eyes. How many victims of domestic abuse had he seen perish during his time in the force? She was right: in cases like this, the police were reluctant to do anything – reluctant to interfere – and when they did, they often sided with the man, who was most often the guilty party, because they had the power, they paid the bribes. And somewhere there was the gender bias, men helped other men. He shook his head just slightly, b
ut enough to let her know he would take it no further. As far as he knew, her husband was not looking to press charges. She would get away with her part in her husband’s disfigurement. But what else was she hiding?
‘Vadish helped you, and so now you help him.’ For as long as Vadish felt she owed him, she would be under his control. No matter how together she came across on the outside, she had been broken, and the cracks remained. Someone as opportunistic as Vadish would know her weaknesses and use them to his advantage.
‘And Erik,’ he said. ‘We both know he didn’t walk away from the beach that night without help.’
Sneha wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingertips and stood up, looking around her as she did so. ‘Vadish asked me to select a couple of men who were popular, who liked recreational drugs and who also had a way with women.’
‘Erik and Tim fitted that mould.’
‘Tim wanted to do exactly what Erik was doing. I tried to dissuade him, but I was foolish. I was playing it cool. Ignoring his advances so I didn’t tell him my true feelings towards him. That day I was mouthing something to Erik, I was telling him to come to my room later, so that I could give him the package of pills that Vadish had passed on to me at the clearing. Erik was keen on getting involved. He saw an opportunity for him in it.’
‘Opportunity?’
‘A business opportunity. Erik was here not just to seek help for his addictions, but to meet people in general, not just women. He wants to make a livelihood for himself in India. Vadish is his golden ticket to all that.’
‘Go on.’
‘I told Vadish not to get Tim involved, and he promised me he wouldn’t. The day before Tim died, I had met with him. He said he had an awkward dinner with a woman but that it made him realise that he had to just come out and tell me that he liked me. I had to confess that I was attracted to him too. I agreed to meet him the following day, after the class. I didn’t know he had the trial drug with him when I spoke to him. It was only as I was heading to the class later that day that he told me he had something to make our meeting more memorable. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but afterwards I realised Erik must have passed on the drug to him. Tim was desperate to impress me, and Erik was always boasting that he had a way with women. He must have given him one of the tablets to take before our meeting.’
‘And Erik didn’t point out to his friend that the drug cannot be taken with any nitrite drugs. Tim took a drug containing some sort of nitrite less than twenty-four hours before he took the doctored Viagra.’
Sneha rubbed her eyes and looked at Chupplejeep. ‘We took a drug together the previous day. It was a small white tablet with a picture of a bird on it. Some drug he had bought in Anjuna. He said it made the stars seem brighter and the world better. We took it together, but we went our separate ways after that. I didn’t want to be with Tim that evening. I wanted us to both wait.’
‘Wait?’
‘It’s tantric. It’s better if you can wait –’
‘You don’t need to explain,’ Chupplejeep said. ‘I know what you’re getting at. And Tim took this second drug – Vadish’s trial drug that mimicked Viagra but that also provided a high – for this tantric session you both had planned after the yoga class. Do you know that the two drugs reacted in his system, causing his death?’
‘No, it can’t be,’ Sneha said. She began to pace.
‘The medical examiner I spoke to seems to think so.’
Sneha began to shake her head vigorously. ‘I thought… I never thought that the drugs would react in that way.’
‘Drugs are potent. You can’t mix them like that. Your friend creating a strain of Viagra that has some sort of hallucinogenic effect was fatal in this instance. That’s why these drugs are illegal – they can kill, especially when they are adulterated or when they are taken with other substances. That’s why you can’t go on selling hash cakes to people without warning them of what is inside. It’s basic common sense.’
Sneha continued to walk to and fro, wringing her hands together, shaking her head, beginning to get teary-eyed. ‘I never wanted Tim involved, but I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t stop him from copying Erik.’
‘Where’s Erik now? Is he alive?’ Chupplejeep asked.
Sneha stopped pacing. She touched her lips with the tips of her fingers. ‘Erik’s fine. He’s alive and well.’
‘I’d like to see that for myself,’ Chupplejeep said.
‘You can’t,’ she snapped. ‘You’ll have to take my word. I’m telling you he’s fine. What are you going to do? He’ll be just another missing person. When you saw him, he was stoned. But he didn’t need a yoga class to help him find self-fulfilment. He’s found it in drugs. That night on the beach, Vadish was waiting for us to leave so he could remove him. He’s a strong guy – he took him back to his place and looked after him until he sobered up. Now they’re working together.’
Chupplejeep couldn’t trust her. Sneha was in a dark place; she had inadvertently caused the death of one of her students. He had to wonder what else she was hiding, especially as she was so keen for him to accept Jackpot’s death as natural. If she was close to Vadish, it was likely that she was close to Kumar as well.
‘Fine,’ she said, and put her hand out. ‘Notebook.’ Chupplejeep took his notepad out of his pocket and handed it to her with a pen. She scribbled an address. ‘You didn’t get this from me,’ she said.
CHAPTER FORTY
Roshni held the card in her hand, a smile spreading across her lips. It had taken her time to reach her decision, longer than she had wanted, because she had to be sure, and now she was. No thanks to her mother. She had been foolish to think that Talika would support her. She had never supported anything she had wanted to do. Why would she? She was a jealous old woman. She had stopped her going on picnics when she was younger, especially when there were boys around, and had given her a strict curfew. And her mother never let her wear any makeup growing up. ‘It’s for adults,’ she would say. ‘Enjoy your youth while you have it.’ How could she when she took the enjoyment out of everything?
Now she didn’t have to ask her mother’s permission. She was an adult. She didn’t need her approval, especially now that she was the one in control, the one with the money. It couldn’t have worked out better.
She had to tell her mother of her decision, although she had left it to the last minute. Talika had been quiet, playing with the edge of the kitchen tablecloth as Roshni spelled out what she was going to do. An eerie silence followed. She expected harsh words. Her mother had a sharp tongue and knew exactly what to say to make Roshni doubt herself, a knack she had refined over the years. But instead, the words she anticipated did not come. Talika didn’t call her a fool, she didn’t laugh at her or sarcastically wish her good luck. Instead, she slowly raised her head, looking directly at her daughter. The look she gave Roshni was one that she had never seen before. Her eyes were heavy with sadness and regret. In that moment, it seemed as if her mother was going to break into a million little pieces, and Roshni almost reached out to her, to hug her, to hold her together, but she managed to stop herself in time.
It was then that Roshni questioned the step she was about to take. Had she been too hot-headed and stubborn to realise her mother was just looking out for her? She took a step towards Talika, but then her mother said something. Just one statement, but it was enough, enough to make Roshni realise just what a vindictive cow she was. Roshni took a step back, throwing her head back with a deep, malicious laugh.
‘Just how low are you willing to stoop to deny your only daughter happiness? You always thought I was competition for you. You never wanted me around. You always wanted a boy, Daddy told me that. When you never got one, you blamed me.’
Talika stood up, shaking her head fervently. She opened her mouth to speak, but Roshni stopped her by raising the palm of her hand towards her face.
‘Stop,’ she said. ‘Stop with your lies and your insinuations. Poor Daddy must be turni
ng in his grave. But then you never did love him, did you? I don’t want to hear anything more that you have to say.’
‘But –’ Talika started, but Roshni didn’t allow her to finish. She walked out, and she was never going back.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Chupplejeep walked with Sneha back to her villa at the retreat, noticing how green and well maintained the grounds were. If what she had said about her ex-husband was true, she had done well to pick herself back up and establish a successful retreat. She would have needed money to make the retreat what it was, and he doubted her drug peddling would have been enough to cover it. He was sure that Sneha’s suited lover was behind her venture. He had been unable to verify what Sofia had told him, but he was beginning to have faith in the wood-whittling hippy. She knew what she was talking about.
‘I previously asked you about the man developing the hotel here at the lake.’
‘You did,’ Sneha said.
‘You said you didn’t know much about him. Yet he’s been seen leaving your property on a few occasions.’
Sneha ran her hand through her short hair and sighed.
‘I think we can agree then that you know him quite well.’
‘He’s one of your suspects?’
Chupplejeep didn’t trust Sneha; he was hardly going to share that information with her. Instead he asked her if Mr Patel had helped her in setting up her retreat.
She gave a sharp nod and looked away, embarrassed. ‘Not the best decision I made after my ex. But he helped me; still does.’
‘I need to talk to him. Can you ask him to call me?’ Chupplejeep said, wondering if she had warned Mr Patel about him. It was a possibility that Sneha could have helped the property developer murder Jackpot, the same way she had helped Vadish with the drug peddling. She owed many people. He took his card out of his pocket and handed it to her. ‘My number’s on here.’
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