Night Club

by Amit Khan

  I was shocked.

  I looked at Tilak in a puzzled way.

  Sardar had once said the same thing about me.

  Even he had called me a woman with excessive sex desire.

  Was I really like that?

  Nymphomaniac!

  Uncontrollable desire for sex? Yes, I had that. I think two men judging me exactly on similar lines can’t be wrong.

  And it wasn’t my fault too.

  A girl who lost virginity at age of thirteen was bound to become abnormal. No wonder she becomes nymphomaniac.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Tilak asked.

  “Nothing.”

  I decided to lose myself in his embrace again.

  The game that had paused for few minutes, started again.

  With more energy, more speed and more passion.

  After some time it reached the highest point and then stopped.

  We raced to a mind-blowing climax, which washed away all our thoughts & existence – at least for a few blissfull moments.

  ●

  Next day, I once again shot at Tilak.

  This time I chose the time when he was sitting in his office. A big window of office used to open towards parking.

  It was not a very busy area. I chose afternoon. There was no one. I fired two bullets at him.

  The bullets passed very close to him and missed his head by a whisker.

  Once again there was chaos in hotel due to the gun fire sounds. I had run towards hotel from parking lot after firing bullets. When I reached office, manager was already there.

  “What was it?” I asked. “What…?”

  Two or three guests staying in hotel were behind me.

  “What was that sound?” one of them asked.

  They were scared.

  Horrified!

  “I don’t know,” manager said, “I think it was car backfire again.”

  “Back fire?”

  “Yes. It sounded like car backfiring.”

  Manager was again trying to hide the incidence.

  I looked at Tilak. He was sitting in chair and still sweating badly.

  “But we heard two blasts,” another guests said.

  “May be a car backfired twice in quick succession . It came from parking lot anyway. Or there is another possibility.”

  “What?”

  “There is some naughty guest staying in hotel who has got a device that makes sound like that. Now he is playing tricks by creating that blast like sound again and again.”

  The guests had to accept the answer.

  Manager approached Tilak.

  “Did those sounds come from that window?”

  “Yeah, I think,” Tilak answered, still distressed by the event.

  Manager closed that window. Then he slid curtain to cover the window.

  “We better keep this window closed.”

  “Okay.”

  “And relax all of you,” manager calmed down the guests. “Nothing is wrong here. Please carry on.”

  The four guests in hotel returned to their rooms.

  ●

  Now I was sitting in office with Tilak and manager. We sat there distraught by another attack on Tilak.

  All three faces reflected concern.

  “I can’t believe it, sir,” manager said, “that it happened again today. Yesterday Sawant Bhai’s shooter attacked you and today for second time! I think, it is a getting very serious.”

  I bent forward on chair.

  I was acting well.

  “How many bullets were fired today?”

  “Two,” Tilak answered, ‘both passed very close to my head. Hardly few inches away!”

  “Oh my god!”

  “It was more serious shot than yesterday. A little here and there and I would have been history.”

  “Both bullets hit the wall?” manager asked looking at the wall opposite window.

  One of them could be seen. It was stuck in plaster of the wall.

  “There it is,” manager pointed out and went closer to remove it.

  “Thank god,” I said, “the guests that came here didn’t see it. It would have been obvious that it was gunshot.”

  Second bullet was also found.

  It was lying down on floor.

  Manager picked that up too.

  “Sir,” manager requested. “Please take my advice.”

  “What?”

  “Things are worsening by the day. You must take some decisions fast.”

  “What decisions can I take?”

  “That we will think but please understand that if we do not take some urgent steps, you might succumb to some unfortunate incident.”

  The manager’s words triggered more panic in Tilak’s mind.

  He got up from chair and started pacing in the room.

  He knew he had to do something.

  He was clueless about what that thing should be.

  ●

  That night I made another telephone call…to husband-turned-enemy. Once again using my fake voice and by covering mouthpiece with a cloth.

  Tilak was in his room, checking some papers and loan documents. I dialed his number from drawing hall.

  “Hello,” he picked up immediately.

  I waited.

  “Hello!”

  I did not speak.”

  “Who is it?” Tilak shouted.

  “I am the same guy who shot at you again today,” I said repeating the same fearsome voice. “Did you forget the two bullets that wheezed past your head?”

  Tilak stopped talking.

  He was overtaken by fear.

  “What do you want?”

  “How many times should I repeat?” I yelled, “that you are supposed to hand over the hotel and penthouse to Sawant Bhai? The 50 crore that you borrowed from Sawant Bhai has to be repaid.”

  “How can I just surrender hotel and penthouse to you?”

  “Why?”

  “Don’t you people know that those two properties are already under mortgage at a different parties?”

  “Managing all that is Sawant Bhai’s problem,” I spoke harshly. “You do what is being told to you. And understand one more thing clearly,” my voice turned violent.

  “What?”

  “You have three days to complete this simple task. Only three days. Within next three days, you must hand over hotel and penthouse…otherwise…”

  “Otherwise?”

  Tilak’s voice was shaking badly.

  “Otherwise no more warnings,” I barked. “This time the bullets will finish your game.”

  Tilak was bewildered.

  “Consider this as a final call,” I snarled. “Good bye and good luck.”

  That’s when wall clock went off.

  I kept receiver down.

  It was ten o’clock at night.

  ●

  Tilak emptied his cup of tea and put it down on table. His face was smeared with fright.

  I was sitting across him and there was cold silence between us.

  “When did you receive this call?” I put my cup down.

  “You were probably in kitchen, “Tilak said, “preparing tea.”

  “Oh!”

  Tilak stood up and lit a cigarette.

  His face was distraught with lack of sleep and constant stress.

  “Shinaya,” he stood before me.

  He smoked amorously and exhaled rings of smoke.

  “What is it dear?”

  “I have decided something.”

  “I am going to hand over them the hotel and penthouse. I thought about it a lot. There is no other way. The matter is getting out of hand. Sawant Bhai is a dangerous man. If I do not listen to him and don’t hand over this property, he will shoot me.”

  “But…”

  “No…no,” Tilak interrupted. “There is nothing more left to deliberate. This is my final decision. I am calling Sawant Bhai right now to tell him.”

  I walked towards telephone.

  “Are you crazy
?” I jumped towards him. “What are you doing?”

  I knew what would happen if he called Sawant Bhai. Within a moment Tilak would understand everything.

  “Now that I have made up my mind,” Tilak said, “I must talk to him about it.”

  “What’s the rush?”

  “Why?”

  “You are forgetting, Tilak,” I emphasized on every word. “He has given you three days. Three days! You should wait for three days.”

  “How will it help?”

  “May be something! Probably you will come up with some idea…a plan to save your life as well as your property.”

  Tilak looked at me admiringly.

  He continued to smoke.

  “Is it possible?”

  “Why not? You are forgetting one more thing,” I said, “and even if you don’t come up with new plan, what difference would it make? You can then talk to Sawant Bhai and tell him your decision. You won’t face any calamity in these three days, right? Nobody is going to attack you. They have given you three days. Use them!”

  I had a point.

  Tilak agreed.

  “You are right, Shinaya,” he said, “We must wait for three days. May be we will find a way to get out of this mess.”

  I relaxed.

  A grave danger had just been averted.

  ●

  2o

  Final murder

  Then I made a decision. Tilak Rajkotia had to die that night.

  I don’t know why but this murder was troubling my mind. My courage used to shake everytime I planned my next move.

  May be the fact that I had vowed to spend my life with this man, affected my intention. The auspicious mantras that were read in front of holy fire were affecting my focus.

  I was firm on my decision. All I needed was concentration and determination to go through with my resolve.

  I had to murder Tilak and I was going to do it tonight. No matter what!

  You must have understood by now the reason of those two attacks on Tilak. They were meant to establish the fact that Sawant Bhai was trying to take Tilak’s life, that he was thirsty for Tilak’s blood and I wanted as many people as possible to know that. For now only the manager of the hotel was a witness to this development. He would testify, when required, on how Sawant Bhai was behind all those attacks.

  One witness was good enough.

  He was manager of the hotel and Tilak’s most trustworthy man. And his testimony will satisfy the Police and the Insurance company.

  ●

  That night I did not sleep.

  I was up all night.

  Tilak slept early, out of fatigue. By half past eleven, he was in deep sleep and snoring loudly. I did not show any haste and allowed some more time to pass.

  When it was midnight, I walked out of bed.

  I looked at Tilak.

  He was sleeping peacefully.

  I silently moved towards my coat hanging on a stand. I took out the pistol and opened its chamber.

  Only one bullet was left.

  Just one bullet!

  I set the chamber correctly so that I will not be firing through an empty chamber.

  One bullet was enough.

  It had to be his head and one bullet was to end Tilak’s life.

  Holding the pistol in both hands, I approached him.

  He was still sleeping.

  I pointed it to his head and my finger got ready on trigger.

  Suddenly something happened that startled me.

  Tilak Rajkotia opened his eyes.

  ●

  It freaked me out so badly that I reacted as if I had seen a ghost.

  “You…you are awake?” I screamed.

  “Shocked to see me awake, my dear?” Tilak sat up and smiled hideously. “Well if an enemy like you is sleeping on my bed then how could I sleep darling? By the way, the pistol that you are holding right now is useless. The bullet inside is an empty shell.”

  “No…” I was baffled. ‘That’s not possible.”

  “It is true, dear,” Tilak said- “a little while ago I changed it myself. You know ever since I suspected that you were behind all these attacks, I have been watching you. That phone call you made from drawing hall helped me realize the truth.”

  “What are you saying?” I panicked and acted bewildered. “I called you?”

  “ Yes, you did.”

  “I think you are mistaken, Tilak.”

  “Shut up, you bitch!” Tilak barked. “I am not mistaken. I remember it well. The wall clock in drawing hall had struck ten“.

  I remembered.

  The wall clock had messed up my call.

  “Oh…yes,” I sighed. ‘It did ring.”

  “That gave you away. The secret was out. The wall clock itself is a rare gem. I brought that clock from England. A famous British company making clocks had created a special range of wall clocks. There were only five hundred select pieces and special feature of those pieces was that the music installed in them was uniquely different from each other. Music that used to play every hour was different. That’s how I recognized the music because I already had heard it. It took me by surprise. I was so tense that I didn’t realize it at once. And when I recollected…it did not take long to put the pieces of puzzle together. There was no one else in penthouse. It had to be you. Only you could have called from drawing hall.”

  I sweated as Tilak exposed my plan.

  I never thought that a wall clock will ruin my planning.

  “After your reality dawned on me, the first thing I did was that I changed the bullet in your pistol’,” Tilak said. “I replaced it with a duplicate bullet. I knew what your next step would be..”

  “What’s the guarantee,” I said in a badly disturbed voice, “that the bullet in my pistol is duplicate?”

  Tilak laughed.

  “You don’t need an expert to find that out, darling,” he said. ‘You are holding the pistol in your hand. Just press the trigger and see what happens. Everything will be clear.”

  You cannot imagine my condition at that time.

  I felt like an empty vessel or like a lunatic! Not able to think; not able to understand or decide!

  I pointed my pistol towards Tilak and pressed the trigger.

  There was a gunshot sound but softer than normal. As if a small cracker had gone off.

  Tilak bent down. Bullet went straight towards the opposite wall, hit it and fell down. There was hardly a scratch on the wall.

  It was an empty shell.

  In the meantime, Tilak pulled out his Smith & Wesson kept under pillow and pointed at me in a determined manner.

  ●

  The game had changed upside down!

  Tilak’s revolver was aimed at my head.

  “I am disappointed Shinaya,” Tilak said, “that you married me only for money. You wanted to achieve a position in society and secure a wealthy future. Do you know when I hour game was totally exposed? It was when I opened my cupboard. I was checking some loan documents kept in there. I found lot of papers in the cupboard scattered. Insurance documents were not where I had kept them but were at the very top of the heap. I understood that you had seen them. I realized that you are after insurance money. That’s why you were trying to kill me.”

  “Yes!” I shouted back. “I wanted to kill you for that money. You are right. I married you for money. What were you thinking? There are thousands of men like you in this city. I could have married anyone.”

  Tilak was getting upset. I saw his eyes and there was pure anger in it.

  “You don’t know, Shinaya,” Tilak hissed, “how much I hate you right now. But I am happy about one thing.”

  “What?”

  “Your dream of robbing me of my insurance amount will never come true. Because it is you who will die now, not me,” Tilak bellowed. “Now all I have to tell people that Sawant Bhai’s shooters had come to kill me but instead you were shot by accident. My sweet darling, your plan will now work against you.”

 
I could see my death before my eyes.

  It was frightening. In that one moment all my life flashed before my eyes.

  “Good bye darling. Brinda is waiting up there eagerly for you.”

  Tilak released the safety catch and aimed while his finger looked for trigger.

  I felt a surge of energy inside me; a tremendous energy that helped me think faster. Tilak Rajkotia was about to shoot when I moved with lightening speed, grabbed a stool kept nearby and threw it in Tilak’s direction.

  He fumbled and shouted. The blow sent him sprawling on floor.

  I aimed and kicked hard in his face. There was revolver in his hand. My second kick hit him on his hand. He cringed with pain and revolver got away.

  I picked up the revolver. As soon as I got it I pointed it at Tilak.

  I smiled.

  It was a cruel smile.

  “Get up,” I aimed at him and shouted. “Stand straight up.”

  He was flinching with pain. Slowly he stood up.

  ●

  Once again the tables were turned.

  I was back in control.

  “What do you say now, my darling husband?” I challenged him and said, “Are the bullets in this one real? Or are they just empty shells?”

  Tilak was stumped.

  “I think…we better check.”

  I pressed the trigger and Tilak screamed. He tried his best to escape that shot but the bullet found his leg. In spite of being shot he ran out of bedroom. I followed him.

  By the time I reached hallway, it was too late. He had taken another turn in passage.

  “Tilak!” I yelled.

  I started following his footsteps running with blinding speed.

  I had made up my mind that I will kill Tilak Rajkotia tonight.

  A second turn in hallway showed me a glimpse of Tilak. He was putting a lot of effort in escaping. But the pain and blood trickling down his leg was slowing his movements. I pointed the pistol but before I could shoot he turned right and disappeared.

  ‘I cannot catch him like this,’ I thought.

  I stopped running and started thinking. There was another way. I started following the blood trail. They were leading me to my prey. I turned right. The blood trail continued far ahead on that side. I kept on walking. Revolver was in my hand. I was alert. Ready to face any danger! I had to stop at one point.

  Beyond the end of that passage blood drops could not be seen. I looked carefully but there was nothing.