by M. V. Kasi
Shilpa frowned as she wondered who the ‘he’ was. Immediately it was answered by more excited shouts.
“DJ! Welcome. How can we help you, DJ?”
While the buzz along with the fussing continued, Shilpa saw a tall, heavily-bearded man wearing sunglasses coming towards the interrogation room.
Even though the fake beard and sunglasses hid his face, a designer shirt and jeans and also the arrogant strut in his stride gave him away. The man was practically a walking cliché of a self-important macho movie star.
Shilpa almost rolled her eyes as Dhruv Jagannath strode towards her.
He removed the sunglasses and stood in front of her. She was still in her undercover clothes minus the long skirt. Even though she had donned a t-shirt on top, there was enough exposed skin. Her heavy makeup was also still on with only light smearing. That, along with the fact that she was at a police station, he probably mistook her to be a shady woman or a prostitute. But to his credit, he didn’t stare and neither did a disgusted look pass on his face. Instead, he barely glanced at her. He was looking at Satish while extending a hand. “DJ,” he said in a casual tone.
Satish had a wide grin on his face. He was practically bursting with excitement. “Officer Satish Ramchandar,” he greeted, shaking the actor’s hand vigorously.
A slight frown marred the annoyingly perfect features of Dhruv Jagannath. “I was told you are Officer Dasani.”
“Oh. Madam Sir is Officer Dasani.” Satish looked towards her before turning back to the actor. “I’m a huge fan of yours, DJ. I… uh mean, Mr. Jagannath.”
Shilpa watched the shocked look on Dhruv Jagannath’s face, and then barely a second later, he seemed to compose himself. “Thank you, Officer Ramchandar,” he said before his glance finally fell on Shilpa.
A masculine brow went up as he took in her complete or rather lack of proper attire. And then a lazy smile spread on his face. “Officer Dasani,” he drawled. “What a charming and pleasant surprise.”
Shilpa wished she could say the same back to him. Looking at his highly amused and flirtatious smile, all she could see was a huge joke being played at her expense.
She gave him a tight smile. “I wish I could stay for lengthier introductions, Mr. Jagannath, but I have to get back to work,” she said.
“Sure.” He didn’t move from the spot.
“I am in the middle of interrogating a criminal. I’ll summon for you once I’m done,” she said, waiting for him to disappear and hopefully not return.
“No need. I’ll stay and observe you from here,” he said instead.
Irritation flared inside her at the thought of allowing a civilian to observe a critical interrogation. Granted the movie star signed a non-disclosure agreement that had been submitted by the legal department to him to ensure that whatever he would witness during his training, he would not be allowed to discuss or share with anyone. But still, it was a risk. But since the order had come from the Home Office, there was nothing Shilpa could do.
“Excuse me,” she said not giving him further thought and went back inside. Her mind was now consumed by the task at hand.
Vinay Pathak continued to glare at her with one eye. The other was swollen shut, thanks to the earlier third degree.
Shilpa sighed and sat in front of him. “Come on, Pathak. We’ve been at it for hours now. Aren’t you hungry? I’m starving. Give me something that’ll end this torture for the both of us.”
The sullen silence continued.
Shilpa knew it was time. Time to change her tactics. She knew Pathak was tired and exhausted enough to be vulnerable at this point.
She looked him straight in the eye and spoke in a tone that was dead calm and serious. “Do you really think they will let you live once they find out that we’ve been following you and even caught you?”
Some of the intensity was lost in the glare, and Pathak’s skin went pale.
Bingo.
“That’s why you had a fake passport and documents with you, right?” she continued. “You were about to fly out soon. Fly to somewhere safe. Not to be safe from the police but to be safe from your own people.”
She placed her hand on top of his. Pathak didn’t jerk it off immediately.
“Listen to me, Vinay. At this point, I’m the only friend you have. I can keep you safe.” Shilpa felt the slight trembling in Pathak’s hand.
She continued to speak with the same intense tone. “I’m sure you must already know what they did with your brother,” she stated. When he didn’t reply, she shook her head. “Your own people… they cut off your brother’s head and threw his body in the garbage. We had to ID him using his fingerprints.”
Pathak’s breathing roughened as anguish passed over his face.
“Cooperate with me, Vinay. Help me keep you safe. Otherwise, even if you escape, you know that wherever you go, you’ll have to continue to look behind your back, waiting for them to catch up with you, and finish you off brutally.”
Shilpa didn’t say anything else for a while. She allowed the silence to continue, so that the fear for life could do its job.
Finally, a choked sob escaped the man. Shilpa knew he was cracking. All she had to do was lure him further and draw out the information they needed.
Vinay Pathak looked at her pleadingly. He now appeared more like a frightened child than a tough Mafia leader’s henchman. “Can you really keep me safe from those monsters?” he asked, as though he wasn’t a monster himself. He was heavily involved in drugs and sex trafficking among other things.
Shilpa lowered her voice. “Yes. I’ll arrange for a maximum security prison. I’ll personally hand-pick the guard for you.”
That seemed good enough because the henchman began to give up information. He told them how he got into that life and what he had done until then.
Shilpa continued to interrogate him for the rest of the day. She ordered food, got him alcohol, and even allowed him to nap briefly. All the while, she continued to give the bastard fake sympathy.
“I know it wasn’t totally your fault, Vinay. They lured you and your brother into that life, didn’t they? They showed you all the things riches could buy. You had an endless supply of girls, booze, and drugs, too. What red-blooded man can resist that? And once you got caught up in their web, there was no way out. You were trapped, weren’t you?”
Vinay nodded with a hopeless look.
“Tell me how I can find them, Vinay? I’ll get as many as I can to keep you safe.”
Vinay stared at her and then his eyes fell to the table in front of him where the remains of the meal were still there. “There’s a meeting coming up where some of the key players will be present,” he said softly. And then, he gave the critical information of who was expected to be there. Shilpa realized that if they can somehow raid that meeting, then that would bring most of the Mafia kingpin’s henchmen down. It might not completely eliminate the drugs menace in the city, but there would be enough fear created among the peddlers that they would remain alert.
Shilpa continued to listen to Pathak and asked him more leading questions. And when Pathak stopped talking due to exhaustion, she indicated to someone in the back.
Immediately, two uniformed policemen stepped in.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe, Vinay. I’m going to visit you regularly, too, and give you updates. Just cooperate with my team and me,” she told him.
The criminal nodded solemnly before being led away.
Shilpa sighed. She felt a slight creak in her neck due to the stiffness caused by lack of sleep.
As she stepped out of the interrogation room, she dialed the Commissioner’s number.
“Shilpa, I’ve been trying to reach you all day,” the Commissioner said in a disgruntled voice. Shilpa knew that, but since she was inside the interrogation room, she asked her team not to disturb her unless it was an emergency from Ma.
“Sir, Vinay Pathak gave us the details. There’s a meeting at a construction site in the outskirts. He gave us the addres
s. I’ll have it on surveillance starting tonight.”
“Good job, Shilpa. I knew you could crack him.” That seemed to appease the Commissioner. “I know you’ve been working nonstop, but do make time for Mission Superstar. The Home Office called me this morning again. They are very keen that we give it equal importance as other missions.”
Shilpa muttered something that sounded affirmative before ending the call. She didn’t want to think about that particular mission.
She stretched her neck and was more than ready to call it a day once she issued orders to begin setting up the surveillance at the site where the meeting would take place.
Continuing to rub her stiff neck, she went to the other side of the room where her team had been recording and listening to the entire interrogation.
“Make sure Pathak’s put on a suicide watch. I don’t want him dying anytime soon.” She gave them a few more instructions.
One of the trainee officers approached her. “Wow. That was awesome, Madam Sir. And you didn’t even have to hurt him even once,” he remarked.
As per their plan, Vinay Pathak was given the third-degree first. And when Pathak didn’t crack with the third-degree since he had a good tolerance for pain, Shilpa took over. She used the good-cop tactics on him.
The junior officer’s eyes practically sparkled. “We watched you while you interrogated, Madam Sir. It was so impressive. You are the best candidate to help DJ… I… uh mean… Mr. Jagannath.”
“Indeed,” drawled a lazy masculine voice.
Shilpa frowned and turned towards the source of the voice.
Dhruv Jagannath was seated in one of the chairs at the back of the room where he was able to see and hear everything from the one-way glass. Shilpa was surprised he stuck out this long and wasn’t bored or tired.
He got up and strut towards her. Or at least in her eyes, it looked like a strut because of the loose-limbed, confident way he walked, commanding everyone’s attention—including hers.
She hadn’t been in the mind-set to think much about him or observe him before. But now that she did, what she saw only made her irritable. Despite her brain ordering her not to be shallow, some dumb instinctive animal part of her couldn’t help but appreciate the stunningly perfect male.
“Are you done for the day, Officer Dasani?” he asked in a low, husky voice.
“Yes.”
He gave her a lazy smile. “Then let’s discuss the scope of our agreement in detail tonight. Over dinner.”
Shilpa noticed how he didn’t really ask whether or not she was free to have dinner with him. He was arrogant enough to assume people would drop everything and jump at the chance.
“I already have dinner plans, Mr. Jagannath.”
His expression didn’t change, but she could see the slight flicker in his expression which she knew must be due to surprise.
“Well, that’s too bad. For me, of course. So when can we meet?”
“Tomorrow morning. At nine sharp. I prefer if we maintain a strict schedule and stick to it.”
She expected a protest or at least a frown to mar the perfect features at her order. But Dhruv Jagannath’s expression remained steady.
“I’ll be available. Where do you want to meet?”
“Right here in my office.” With that, she turned to leave. As she walked away, she could feel his burning gaze on her back.
Chapter 5
Shilpa hadn’t been lying when she had told Dhruv Jagannath she had dinner plans that night. She did have plans, but she would end it after a five-minute meet to explain and apologize to someone.
She didn’t want to shock the person in her current attire. So she had to first rush home and freshen up before driving to the modest yet wildly popular family restaurant that was close to her home.
Shilpa often took a carryout from the place. She regretted that she’d have to pass up the chance to have their delicious food that night because it would look weird if she waited for the take-out when she blew off someone.
As soon as she walked in, the host greeted her with a warm smile. “The usual?” he asked.
“No take-out today, Mr. Mehta. I’m meeting someone.”
“Aah, yes. A handsome gentleman said he was waiting for someone. I didn’t know it was you.” He led the way.
Familiar faces working at the restaurant greeted her. Shilpa nodded back at them.
Soon, she neared a table where she recognized the man from the picture Ma kept sending to her repeatedly until she relented. The man seemed to recognize her too because he stood up and extended his hand. “Hello, Shilpa. Sanjay.”
“Hi, Sanjay,” she greeted. “Sorry, I’m late. Got caught up with something urgent at work.”
“No problem. I understand.” He smiled warmly at her.
Shilpa noticed that he was indeed a handsome man. Not the stunning and blinding good looks of the superstar she had met that day, but more quietly handsome.
A bolt of self-disgust passed through her at the thought of even making such a comparison. Or the fact that the movie actor stayed in her thoughts outside the work hours.
“Please sit,” Sanjay requested. “I haven’t ordered anything yet. What would you like?”
Shilpa gave him a regretful smile. “I’m sorry, I can’t stay,” she told him before their talks proceeded in a direction she didn’t want to take.
“Oh. You need to get back to work?”
“No.” She hesitated, but she knew she had to get over the awkward part as quickly as possible. “I didn’t want to tell this to you over the phone, but I’m not interested in marrying anyone. I know Ma might have spoken to you and indicated otherwise, but I just didn’t want to disappoint her by telling her that. I’ll just tell her I met you, and we didn’t have many common interests.”
Sanjay seemed surprised. “I see.”
“I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
“No. Don’t be,” he said. “I understand.”
“Thank you, Sanjay. Please don’t feel the need to leave on my behalf. You should stay and have dinner here. They really have wonderful food.” She even suggested a few dishes.
When she got up to leave, Sanjay stopped her. “Why don’t you join me?” he asked. “Just as a casual dinner companion. Much preferable to having to eat alone.”
When Shilpa hesitated, he added, “Unless you have other plans or already ate, of course.”
Shilpa didn’t see the harm in joining him for dinner, so she sat back and smiled. “All right. I’ll join you.”
SHILPA HAD BEEN talking to Sanjay for the past hour and surprisingly, she found that they had a lot in common. They had both taken computer engineering as their major. He had chosen the army route while she went into the civil services. Both their parents came from non-government jobs and could not understand the drive to serve their country.
They spoke about their work as well. He regaled her with stories during his time with the army until the time he had to leave due to an injury. He told her about the security business he had started with two of his ex-army buddies.
“I must confess, I did snoop on you quite a lot during the past two weeks,” he said with a smile.
Shilpa wasn’t offended. “If you turned up for meeting me today, I’m assuming the information wasn’t the kind to scare you off.”
He laughed. “The information was all very impressive. Not only passing but topping the civils with insanely high marks. Being one of the youngest IPS officers. The high-profile cases during the span of your career… I must admit I am totally in awe.”
“You are a decorated army veteran turned entrepreneur. You are quite impressive as well, Sanjay.”
He smiled at the compliment.
When they finished having dinner, Sanjay sat back. “Are you sure you are not interested in marriage?” he asked.
Shilpa smiled politely. “I really enjoyed talking to you. But my answer is the same as before.”
Sanjay was quiet as he contemplated that. “I was tol
d about what happened to your fiancé. I’m sorry,” he said softly.
Shilpa knew Ma must have mentioned it to him. “That was over five years ago,” she replied.
He nodded.
There was silence again, a slightly awkward one this time.
“Shilpa…” said Sanjay. “I know we only met a few hours ago, but I really like you. I find you very attractive, smart, and overall a perfect fit for what I’m looking for in a life partner. If you indicate to me in any way that you might change your mind at some point in the near future, I would rather wait for you.”
Shilpa found him nice and friendly. Interesting even. But she shook her head. “Please don’t wait,” she said in a quiet yet firm tone. “I won’t change my mind.”
Chapter 6
Dhruv was heading to his newly rented penthouse when he received a call from his long-time manager. “Very funny, Neeru,” was the first thing Dhruv said.
Neeru Thadani tried to play dumb. “Well, hello to you, too. So how is my favorite client doing?”
“I’m your only client,” Dhruv stated the obvious. At nearly seventy, Neeru Thadani was way past retirement age. But having worked for over fifty years in the movie industry as an agent and dubbed as ‘The Star Maker’, she wasn’t thrilled about leading a leisure-filled life, ever. So she decided to drop all clients and just work for Dhruv.
Nearly a decade ago, she had told Dhruv that as soon as she saw his audition tapes, she knew he was going places, and she needed every bit of time and energy to help him get there.
It had been a crazy ride, but Dhruv finally got there.
“I know you are my only client,” said Neeru. “Now, I’m wondering why I did that. You keep me busy enough that it’s equal to handling ten other clients.”
Neeru was right about him keeping her busy due to the number of engagements he had. But he wasn’t in the mood to joke or tease the wily fox that night like he usually did. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
“Tell you what?” She continued to play dumb.
“That police officer, Officer Dasani, the person I was supposed to shadow and receive mentorship for the next two months, is a woman.”