Fury's Goddess

by Alex Archer

  “Interesting.” Annja suddenly felt exposed in the dress.

  Pradesh pulled the Mercedes into the outer parking area and stopped before the guard shack. He flashed his credentials and the car was waved through. Carefully manicured orange trees framed the road.

  “Does he make his own orange juice, too?” Annja asked absently. She wouldn’t be surprised if the guy had his own orange-juice label. He seemed to have a lot of projects under way.

  Pradesh smiled. “There is very little that Dunraj is not able to do. I have no doubt if he thought orange juice was worth his time he would capture the majority market share in the city. And from there, the rest of the country.”

  Annja glanced back over the seat at Frank. “Are you all right back there?”

  “Yeah.”

  Pradesh slowed the car. “We’re here.”

  Annja took one final glance at Frank. “All right, penguin boy, let’s see how smooth you can be when the stakes are high.”

  And then she got out and followed Pradesh into the building.

  Chapter 4

  They took an elevator with padded leather walls up to the penthouse office suite where the doors glided back to reveal an incredible party already well under way. “And here I thought we’d be early,” Annja said quietly. To her relief, the attire at the party seemed predominantly Western.

  And she wasn’t the only one wearing a slinky black dress and heels.

  But the once-overs and glares started almost immediately. Annja rolled her eyes. All she wanted to do was get out to the development and see the crime scenes.

  Now she had to play nice. Or at least she had to convince the gold diggers that she wasn’t here to hook Dunraj.

  Frank, at her side, whispered, “You can almost smell the money in this room. It’s tangible, for crying out loud.”

  Pradesh seemed remarkably at ease with the environment. He might not have come from money, but he wasn’t out of his depth here, either.

  A waiter came by carrying a silver tray with glasses of champagne. Pradesh helped himself to two and gave one to Annja.

  Annja sipped the bubbly. It must have cost roughly a thousand dollars a bottle, judging by its flavor. Frank grabbed one for himself, and Annja was relieved when he didn’t knock the tray over.

  A DJ was set up in one corner of the cavernous reception area. A few lights were flashing in time to the lounge music. But the volume wasn’t so high that Annja had to raise her voice to be heard. A few guests closer to the DJ swayed back and forth to the beat.

  Others were helping themselves to small plates of appetizers set out on a grand wooden conference table. There was food from a number of cultures. Fresh sashimi, Indian specialties, a carving station and much more. Without a doubt, this party had cost a fortune.

  Then Annja spotted him. She’d had no idea what Dunraj looked like before they’d arrived, but as soon as she laid eyes on the man, working the room as effortlessly as a politician, she knew it had to be him.

  Dunraj looked to be about forty-eight years old. His hair was a little long, swept back in frosted waves off his face. His tanned skin was smooth, and judging by the cut of his tuxedo, he must work out quite a bit. But he wasn’t flexing his guns to impress anyone. His understated manner said enough.

  She glanced over at Frank. There was no way the kid measured up. He looked as if he’d been wrestled into a straitjacket and then sent out to dance in public.

  Painful for him and painful to have to watch.

  Dunraj seemed to be working his way across the room. With each person he met, he would either shake their hand or give them a peck on the cheek. Annja could sense the waves of charisma rolling off him.

  No wonder the women here are going bonkers, she thought. He’s an incredible specimen.

  Pradesh was at her ear. “He’s coming to see you. Try not to gawk.”

  Annja shot him a look. “I don’t gawk. Ever.”

  But Pradesh only smiled. “That’s what they all say, Annja. You haven’t yet met the man. I’d reserve judgment.”

  Annja sipped her champagne and watched Dunraj continue his arc toward where they stood. If he was trying to get to Annja, she would never have guessed it. Dunraj took his time. He never appeared hurried or impatient. It was as if he knew the world would only be too happy to wait for him.

  But eventually, he seemed to materialize out of the crowd directly in front of her. His smile was the first thing she noticed. It gleamed. Annja blinked and she would have sworn that time slowed down. Like in the movies.

  She blinked again. Get a grip. You don’t go faint at the sight of men, not even one as obviously evolutionarily superior as this.

  “You must be Annja.”

  Annja allowed him to sweep her hand up and then she felt his lips barely brush the back of her hand. His eyes bore into hers. The effect was potent and Annja had to take a quick breath before she could respond.

  “I am,” Annja said, surprised at how husky her voice sounded. “You must be Dunraj.”

  “I hope you’ll forgive me for throwing this welcome party for you and your colleague here.” He turned and shook hands with Frank. “You must be Frank. Very glad to meet you.”

  “Hi.” Frank pumped Dunraj’s hand a little too hard. But at least he didn’t say anything embarrassing.

  Not yet.

  Dunraj refocused on Annja. “I understand you’ve come to our wonderful city to investigate the horrible deaths that we seem to be plagued with.”

  “I’m not investigating it yet. I’m here at this party. But yes, that’s the purpose of our visit.”

  “No time for pleasure, then?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “We have some incredible tourist attractions here. Gardens created by kings. Fabulous restaurants. Are you sure your trip doesn’t allow you to see those first? Perhaps put this unfortunate business aside while you acclimate. I’m told I’m an excellent tour guide.”

  “I don’t doubt that for a moment.” Annja smiled. “And I have no doubt Hyderabad is a wonderful place. I’ve been impressed so far with what we’ve seen. And the police are obviously very efficient.”

  Dunraj turned to Pradesh. “The police are fantastic here. And Pradesh is perhaps the finest of them all.”

  Pradesh bowed briefly. “You are too kind, sir.” But while that might have sounded humble, Annja noticed that Pradesh didn’t bow too low. She liked that.

  “Nonsense. You’ve always proven to be an excellent civil servant. Your adherence to duty and honor is something to be greatly admired.”

  The compliments and praise seemed to come as easily to Dunraj as breathing. Annja wondered how much of his day was spent serving up platitudes.

  Not that there was anything necessarily wrong with that. Dunraj obviously needed the gift of gab to accomplish his mission. And the praise didn’t seem insincere.

  “Are you comfortable at the hotel?”

  “The hotel? It’s fine. Nothing wrong with it that I could see.”

  Dunraj put one hand on her shoulder. It was just a touch. A warm one. “You know, we have much nicer hotels elsewhere in the city. I could make some phone calls if the hotel isn’t quite to your liking. Get you and your traveling companion here into a nice suite, perhaps? It’s no trouble whatsoever.”

  “The hotel is fine,” she repeated firmly. “I’ve been sleeping on the floors of forests and jungles for years. I’m used to far less comfort when I travel.”

  Dunraj nodded. “I’m sure you must be. What a fascinating job you have. I’ve seen all of your shows many times over, and you’ve always impressed me with your candor and knowledge of subjects that most of us simply know nothing about. You’re able to convey the educational background of your assignments without talking down to your audience. You have a talent, Annja, you really do.”

  I’m not the only talented one in the room, she thought. But she merely smiled. “Thank you very much for saying so.” She sipped her champagne. “Which episode was your fav
orite?”

  “Pardon?”

  Gotcha. “I asked which episode you liked best.”

  Dunraj smiled, never breaking eye contact. “The one where you were in Scotland chasing down reports of the Loch Ness monster. I really need to visit there in the autumn and experience the pleasure of drinking a beer in a pub with the peat smoke and so forth, like you did in that final segment. You were able to show that Scotland has a charm all its own, even without the Loch Ness monster.”

  It was Annja’s turn to hesitate. She hadn’t expected him to be able to recount that. Perhaps Dunraj had really seen her shows.

  Interesting.

  Dunraj’s smile grew. “I do hope you’ll forgive me, but unfortunately I need to cut our time short. I’ve got some other guests to attend to. Please enjoy my hospitality. I will return shortly and we can talk some more then. All right?”

  “Oh. Yes. Absolutely. That would be great. I’d like that.” Annja blinked and then Dunraj was gone. The crowd had swallowed him up.

  And the funny thing was, she missed him.

  “You okay?”

  She looked at Frank. “Me? Yeah, of course, I’m fine.” Annja frowned. “Why would you ask me that?”

  “Because you look a little pale. Like maybe your first encounter there with Captain Amazing might have been more than you bargained for.”

  Annja sipped her champagne. “Nothing to worry about, Frank. I’m just tired from the flight.”

  Frank didn’t argue the point. “We should get something to eat.”

  “Good idea.”

  As they walked to the nearest table, Annja felt eyes on them. More women sizing her up, most likely. Now that Dunraj had connected with her, they were all checking her out, trying to determine if she was a rival for Dunraj’s attention. Someone they would have to sort out if it became clear Dunraj fancied her.

  “I told you he was something else, didn’t I?” Pradesh said at Annja’s elbow. “You were mesmerized and don’t even realize it. Even now when he’s not around you any longer.”

  Annja smirked. “He is something else. I’ll give you that. But is he like that with everyone?”

  Pradesh gestured around the room. “Do you see anyone here who isn’t equally enamored of him? The women want to be with him. The men want to be like him. Dunraj is the epitome of what many in Hyderabad aspire to become.”

  “What’s his story?”

  Pradesh shrugged. “Comes from a well-respected family, as I’ve said, but Dunraj was never content to rely on their reputation. He was schooled abroad in Zurich and then Oxford. He speaks a number of languages, including Mandarin, Farsi and German, and that multilingualism has enabled him to reach beyond India’s borders and attract both international investment and cooperation. A lot of people say he is the unofficial mayor of Hyderabad.”

  “And how does the mayor feel about that?”

  Pradesh brushed something she couldn’t see off his lapel. “I assume she’s quite happy knowing that Dunraj will pour a lot of money into her next campaign. Dunraj enjoys a wonderful relationship with the mayor, and she’s always ready to approve his next construction project. He has no real political aspirations. He accomplishes all of his public-service work through his construction projects. It’s very much a symbiotic relationship.”

  Dunraj was on the far side of the room when he picked up a microphone from the DJ and the music abruptly cut out. “Ladies and gentlemen, if I could please have your attention.”

  Not as if he didn’t already have the attention of everyone in the room. Despite the noise level and the buzzing conversations, not one person ever had their eyes off Dunraj.

  Dunraj continued. “I’m so pleased you were all able to accept my invitation to attend tonight’s event. I realize this was last minute.”

  This was last minute? She wondered what a well-planned party would have been like.

  “It humbles me to have such wonderful friends and colleagues as yourselves,” Dunraj continued. “Truly. Thank you so much.”

  Before Annja could critique his speech to Frank for laying it on too thick, Dunraj added, “My purpose in throwing tonight’s party was to welcome a visitor to our great city. An American who has always impressed me with her steadfast resolve, intellect and pursuit of truth. It’s my pleasure to introduce you all to Miss Annja Creed, host of Chasing History’s Monsters.”

  Annja’s gut dropped, but she managed to smile and hold up her glass in acceptance of Dunraj’s praise. “Thank you.”

  “I hope you will all take a moment to introduce yourselves to Annja and her colleague, Frank. Tell them about our city and the role it plays in India’s twenty-first- century expansion and growth. And please make sure they both understand that Hyderabad is a glowing example of India’s prosperity and the new hub of our nation’s incredible future. Thank you and enjoy.”

  A few guests clapped and Dunraj handed the microphone back to the DJ. She was about to go over to him when a throng of people suddenly appeared in front of her.

  And every last one of them wanted to welcome her and Frank to Hyderabad. They were like trained dogs. She smiled politely but really wanted to get out of there.

  Annja looked around the room for Dunraj. But the Indian billionaire had vanished.

  Chapter 5

  “Where’d he go?” Annja asked as she fended off throngs of well-wishers, mostly middle-aged men.

  Frank, for his part, didn’t seem to mind the attention a number of young women were paying him. “Where’d who go?”

  “Dunraj.” Annja pushed her way through the throng, straining to see above the mass of heads. But Dunraj had indeed vanished. One moment, he’d been in his reception area, and the next, he was gone.

  Pradesh had also disappeared. What was going on here? Annja turned and saw what looked to be Frank giving his telephone number. She sighed and pushed back into the women around him. “All right, Frank, let’s get going. Come on, now.”

  “Now?” He frowned. “But I’m starting to enjoy myself. There are an awful lot of very nice young women here.”

  “Which is exactly why I want to get the hell out of here before your libido turns this welcome party into an orgy.”

  “Would that be so terrible?” Frank pleaded.

  Annja grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the crowd. They eventually got a second to catch their breath near the entry door close to the elevator they’d rode up on.

  Frank brushed himself off. “The ladies here are so forthcoming with their intimate details. Imagine.”

  “I don’t even want to know what that means,” she said. “Can we get out of here now?”

  Frank looked longingly back toward the party. “Yeah, I guess. We going to the hotel?”

  “I’d like to, yes. I’m exhausted. I need serious sleep if we’re going to start first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Can we call a taxi? I don’t see Pradesh anywhere.”

  Annja nodded. “Me, neither. And I don’t like it when our host and our minder both disappear within seconds of each other. That strikes me as sort of weird.”

  Frank eyed her. “You’re not going to go all ‘conspiracy theory’ on me now, are you?” He pushed the elevator call button, and seconds later the doors slid back. Annja and Frank stepped inside, and the car descended toward the ground.

  “My father had a real thing for Indian women,” Frank reminisced. “I remember one time when we were Christmas shopping and there was this woman in the music store. My father was totally captivated. I get it now.”

  “Well, good,” Annja said. “Now you two can compare notes when you get home. Nice.”

  Frank sighed. “Nah, he died about ten years back. We were just getting to be really good friends when he had a heart attack.”

  Annja felt badly for Frank. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “Yeah, don’t worry about it. It just bums me out sometimes when I think about him being gone. We could have had some fun times together.”

  S
he put a hand on his arm. “If it helps, I’m sure he’d be very proud of what you’ve accomplished in your life. Your professional life, I mean. That stunt on the airplane—” she grinned “—probably not so much.”

  The elevator doors opened and they were back in the lobby. They headed for the main desk. Annja was about to beckon the security guard to call them a taxi when Frank stopped her.

  “Hey, there’s Pradesh.”

  And sure enough, the policeman came striding across the lobby. “I was wondering when you’d make your escape.”

  Annja studied him suspiciously. “Where’d you disappear to?”

  Pradesh cocked an eyebrow. “Why, down here, of course. Once Dunraj made his introduction of you and Frank, I decided it might be a good idea to have the car waiting. Neither of you strike me as being fond of mobs of ardent admirers. Well, perhaps Frank…” He smiled as he said it and even Annja had to grin.

  “You could have told us.”

  “Now, where would the fun be in that? I imagined you making a grand exit, throwing people aside while Frank led the way to the elevator. Was I close?”

  “Not even remotely,” Annja said. “Aside from us taking the elevator down here again.”

  “Ah, well, my powers of perception aren’t in the psychic realm. I apologize if I caused you any distress.” He offered Annja his arm.

  “No distress,” she said, taking the arm to be polite. “We were going to grab a taxi back to the hotel.”

  “No need. I have the Mercedes waiting.”

  The Hyderabad night was balmy but with enough of a breeze to make it pleasant. Pradesh kept the windows down, and as they drove away from Dunraj’s office park, Annja caught the scent of the trees on the breeze and suddenly felt very tired. The trip over had been a long one.

  Pradesh, for his part, seemed energized. “How about a bite to eat?”

  “I’m starving,” Frank chimed in from the backseat. “I didn’t see very much to eat at the party.”