by M. V. Kasi
He was looking at her, but hadn’t spoken to her yet. He let the silence continue. Shilpa couldn’t read him because of his aviator glasses shielding his eyes. He had also worn a fake beard and mustache in addition to a cap that hid his hair.
She knew he did it so there wouldn’t be a mob closing in on them wherever they went. That fact further added to her irritation.
“Good morning, Mr. Jagannath,” she said in an even tone.
She saw his lips quirk slightly. “I didn’t expect you to pick me up, Officer Dasani. What a pleasant surprise.”
Shilpa’s nostrils flared. “You know very well I would come,” she said. All he had to do was snap his precious fingers, and the entire damn world seemed to cater to him.
His smile widened. “Right after you left, the Commissioner called me to check how I was doing. I told him I was impressed by the case files you had given to me. He seemed a bit… upset about that.”
“Well… he made that very clear to me, Mr. Jagannath. You are to accompany me. So let’s begin your first day of field work.”
Shilpa drove to the other side of the city where Vinay Pathak was captured. She wanted to interview a few more people around the place and find out if Pathak met anyone regularly. The previous day, Pathak’s girlfriend was taken into questioning as well which led to a few more decent leads.
She stopped the SUV outside the seedy bar Vinay Pathak used to frequent. “Do you want to remain inside, Mr. Jagannath?” she asked.
He looked around the crowded street. The buildings were dilapidated, the men appeared drunk even at this time of the morning and the women looked suspicious. But Dhruv Jagannath got out of the vehicle. “Sure.”
“This is not a safe place to be for someone like you,” she mentioned casually.
He smiled at her. “Believe me, I even grew up in such places for a brief amount of time during my childhood.”
Shilpa was surprised. She knew he was the son of one of the most celebrated yesteryear actresses. He must have been accustomed to luxury right from his childhood. Then why would he live in such places? She didn’t want to ask and begin a personal rapport with him.
She simply shrugged. “Well, just make sure you don’t get into trouble during my watch.”
He laughed in amusement. “Don’t worry, Officer. Even if something happens to me, those thousands of crores riding on me are all well-insured.”
Shilpa raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. They went inside the bar which was mostly empty during the day. But Shilpa was able to talk to the waitresses and other people working there.
Shilpa saw Dhruv Jagannath’s eyebrow rise when she handed money to bribe the people and get them to be generous with the information they revealed. It would be shocking for a civilian to see a high-ranking police officer do that, but unfortunately, it was a necessary evil. And Shilpa couldn’t afford to waste any time. Hell, she would even expense it to the department later on.
They were talking to one of the waitresses who had worked there for a while. “Pathak and his brother would meet many people here,” the waitress said.
“If we show you a few pictures, would you able to recognize them?”
“Maybe. Some of them have come often, but others, I have seen them only once or twice.”
Shilpa nodded. She spoke to a few more men and women. One of the women stared at Dhruv Jagannath. “Who is he?” she asked.
Shilpa had an answer prepared. “A junior-trainee officer.”
“Police, huh? You know, he looks so much like the movie actor,” the woman said.
Dhruv smiled charmingly. “I’ve had many people tell me the same. I feel flattered that you think I look like a movie actor, too,” he said.
The woman peered at him. “You look similar to DJ, but not the same. I can see a few differences. You don’t have the same smile. And I think you are much taller than DJ, too. You should try your hand in the movies. There is more money in that than working as a police officer.”
Dhruv Jagannath nodded with a smile.
“All right,” said Shilpa, interrupting the conversation before the woman realized she was talking to a movie star. “So my team will bring you to the station along with the others. You can help us identify the men who met Pathak.”
The woman agreed.
It was almost evening by the time they were done.
From there, Shilpa drove out of the city limits. When they reached the highway, she pressed her foot down on the accelerator. The trees zipped by in a blur. But nothing seemed to faze the man seated next to her. He sat back in a relaxed way as though it was a pleasant drive after a long day at work.
Soon, they reached their destination—an abandoned warehouse.
When she turned towards the passenger side, she realized Dhruv Jagannath had taken his fake beard and mustache off.
The sun was shining directly on their faces. Shilpa saw that he had dark eyes which showed specks of bright browns when the light fell on them. She inwardly kicked herself for noticing that about him and tried to refocus on the task at hand.
But still, his looks hit her like a punch, especially in such close quarters. With his intense eyes, high cheekbones, strong jaw, and perfectly sculpted mouth, he looked every inch of what he was—a movie star.
She had noticed his looks before, but wasn’t aware of them as much while she was on duty. But now, from behind her sunglasses, she slowly took in his t-shirt that showed off his muscles and hard stomach. His jeans were well worn, shaping his lean hips and powerful thighs like second skin.
Even though he had not interrupted her work so far, she still felt she really had to get rid of him soon. He was a huge distraction that she couldn’t afford to have.
“I’ll have to check to see whether we missed any spots for placing the cameras yesterday,” she said as she got out of the vehicle.
The movie star nodded and followed her inside.
Shilpa began clicking pictures. The previous day, her team had done a good job. She knew the meeting would happen, and there would be at least twenty members associated with the top drug cartels.
“The cameras will be placed in a way to capture the people meeting here from all angles. It’ll help the facial recognition software to identify and profile the people easily.”
At her explanation, Dhruv Jagannath looked around the warehouse before meeting her eyes. “Do you often come to such places on your own?” he asked.
“Not often. But sometimes the job requires me to. And my team is busy with other important things…” The accusation was hardly subtle.
“I see.” He smiled. “I’m not going to get in your way. You can continue with what you do, Officer Dasani. As I said, I’m just here to observe.”
Shilpa didn’t reply. She turned away and continued to click pictures. It still rankled her that the Commissioner and Home Office were right. People were losing faith in the police force. It didn’t matter how hard the police worked and how much they risked. All it took was a few bad cases of police being corrupt or brutal against common people, and the entire police force took the hit.
And, of course, celebrities like the man watching her calmly, had to only strut about acting brave and selfless on screen, and then, voila! The people’s faith was somewhat restored in the police.
That might be the fact. But Shilpa knew that whether or not Dhruv Jagannath observed her to fine-tune his craft, his movie would still be lapped up by the masses and be a super hit. There was no need for him to tail her for so many weeks.
Shilpa finished clicking the last of the pictures when she heard a noise. Before she could investigate or prepare, a masked man ambushed them from behind the large cartons.
“Put your hands up, or I’ll blow this man’s head off!” The assailant had a gun pointed at the Dhruv Jagannath’s forehead.
Shilpa watched the man and then Dhruv Jagannath’s face. Then taking a deep breath, she slowly put her hands up. “Who are you? What do you want?” she asked calmly.
&nb
sp; “I know you are police. Get out from this place and stop investigating us! If you decide to continue, then you’ll suffer the consequences. Very severe consequences.”
“The man you are pointing the gun at is not police,” she said.
“I don’t care. If he is accompanying you, then he automatically becomes a target. In fact, I think I should set an example with him. Blow his brains out as a warning to the police force.” There was a click from the gun.
Shilpa watched Dhruv Jagannath’s face. He had no expression, and his body was completely still. In fact, a bit too still.
The next instant, there was a blur of activity. A surprised shout from the goon followed as an elbow hit his solar plexus. Then a breathless protest as his gun was grabbed, and he was tripped on to the floor.
“No, stop! Don’t shoot!” Shilpa shouted. Her heart thudded as she watched Dhruv Jagannath holding the gun to the goon’s head.
The movie star looked at her with flared eyes. “Why not? He attacked me, so I have every right. This is in self-defense. If not wound him fatally, I should at least shoot him in the leg.” He pointed the gun downward.
“Dammit! Don’t!” Shilpa rushed to his side and held his hand and pointed it away from the visibly shaken masked man on the floor. She couldn’t tackle the actor because the gun might go off accidentally.
“Why?” Dhruv Jagannath was stronger than her. Those damn muscles she could see were apparently working ones and not steroid-filled like she thought. He easily maneuvered the gun back to the man and pointed at the man’s kneecaps.
“Because… because… we need to interrogate him for information,” she said.
“Still doesn’t explain why he can’t lose a leg for that.” He maneuvered the gun back to the prone man’s kneecap.
“No, don’t! He’s police, dammit!” Shilpa shouted, pushing his hands away from the whimpering man.
Dhruv Jagannath didn’t look shocked. In fact, there was a satisfied grin on his face. “Well, well, well. Did you plan this little skirmish to scare me off, Officer Dasani? How very devious of you.”
It was now obvious that the maddening man knew it right from the start that it was a fake attack.
“How did you know?” she gritted.
“I’m an actor. A good actor some might say,” he replied, as though that made the explanation very clear.
“What do you mean?”
“As most good actors, I developed a good memory. I’m popular enough that I’m required to recall hundreds of faces. I saw this man at your police station a few days ago. The scar on his forehead is quite distinctive. And I listened to the entire interrogation with Vinay Pathak. This warehouse isn’t the one he described.”
“I see.”
Dhruv Jagannath extended his hand to the prone man.
The junior constable named Ravi got up with his help. He didn’t look very hurt. In fact, he was grinning. “Sir, you are awesome at fighting. I really didn’t expect it. I thought you used stuntmen to perform the fights in the movies.”
“I played the role of a street fighter in a movie. I spent a year on research while learning different fight techniques.” That was followed by a modest smile which brought in an awestruck or rather star-struck look on Ravi’s face.
Shilpa almost rolled her eyes. “All right. Now that there is no danger, let’s head back. We are done for the day.”
She took a few steps away, when Dhruv Jagannath drawled out his next words. “It’s been an interesting end to my first day in the field, Officer Dasani. I wonder what the good Commissioner would have to say when I let him know of today’s happenings.”
Shilpa froze and then snapped around to glare at him.
Dhruv Jagannath didn’t seem intimidated. He merely cocked an arrogant eyebrow.
The blasted man knew he held the upper hand. If he blabbed to the D.I.G, Shilpa would get another earful. She could almost hear the outraged shouting for having risked the precious superstar’s life. It wouldn’t matter that it was planned and everything was under Shilpa’s control.
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t entirely under her control. Because she hadn’t expected Dhruv Jagannath to fight back and play the hero by tackling Ravi and threatening to shoot him.
Dammit!
“It’s not that hard, Shilpa.”
Her nose flared. “What isn’t?”
A smirk followed her question.
Shilpa had no choice. “I’m sorry,” she gritted to him through clenched teeth.
There was an easy grin on his face which surprised her. She thought he would make her grovel or at least draw out an elaborate apology. But he didn’t.
He was smiling at her. “Have dinner with me tonight,” he said.
“No.”
“The least you could do after nearly getting me killed is to feed me good food.”
“Don’t push your luck, Mr. Jagannath.”
He grinned. “Dhruv. If not DJ, call me Dhruv.”
Shilpa felt reluctant to do that. But if she were to work with him over the duration of the contract, she couldn’t continue calling him Mr. Jagannath.
“I already have dinner plans… Dhruv.”
“Hmm… it’s with your mother, right? Can I come?”
Shilpa was shocked that he knew where she was going for dinner. Then she recalled that he had been sitting next to her when she was speaking with Ma.
“I’m an actor. I have sharp listening skills, too,” a cocky voice supplied. He was grinning, waiting for her reply.
Shilpa considered his rather shameless self-invite. Only because she thought about Ma’s reaction at having her favorite star at her home for dinner. Ma had been feeling a little blue lately. It must be the upcoming anniversary.
“We usually have dinner at eight,” she said before having any second thoughts.
“Awesome. Send me the address.”
She typed it in a message and sent it to his phone.
It was going to be quite a dinner.
DHRUV HAD A grin on his face for a very long time. The woman he was working with was quite something. Not only was she genuinely unimpressed by his stardom or his looks, she wanted to actively get rid of him. He could practically feel the resentful vibes coming off of her when she became aware of his presence.
Dhruv found her refreshing. And oddly addicting. He didn’t want to lose those feelings anytime soon.
Chapter 10
As soon as Shilpa rang the bell, the door was pulled open. “Hello, Ma.”
“Shilpa! It’s been so long! And my God, you have lost weight!”
“We just spoke this afternoon, Ma,” Shilpa said drily.
“Yeah. But I haven’t seen you since… never mind.” They had met last week on Friday night like Shilpa had been doing in recent years.
Shilpa kissed the slightly wrinkled cheek before placing the bouquet of roses in an empty vase and filled it with water. She placed it next to the large television where the older woman liked to spend most of her time. “Hmm… it smells quite good. Have you finished cooking already?”
“Almost.”
“Uh… will it be fine if a friend of mine joins us tonight?”
The older woman froze. “Friend? Boy or a girl?”
“Boy.” Although calling Dhruv a boy was weird. He was definitely all man.
Shilpa frowned. Now where did that thought come from?
“Who?” There was a sparkle of interest in the older woman’s face.
Shilpa knew she couldn’t drag her feet for long. Dhruv would be arriving at any moment. She didn’t want Ma to go into shock seeing him in person.
“All right,” Shilpa began. “I’ve haven’t told you about my recent case.”
The excitement died in the older woman’s eyes, and now there was a decided fear and worry written on her face.
Shit. She was doing this all wrong.
“I’ve been asked to work with Dhruv Jagannath. I’ve invited him here for dinner tonight. He’s going to be here in a few minut
es.”
After Shilpa blurted all those things, the older woman looked confused. And then, slowly, a sparkle began. “Dhruv Jagannath? The Dhruv Jagannath? DJ?”
“Yes.”
There was a shriek. “Oh my God! DJ is coming to my house for dinner!”
The excited shriek turned into horror. “But I’m making all your favorite food. It’s all so simple. And my God! The house is not in a condition fit to have DJ over.” She glared at Shilpa. “Why didn’t you tell me before!”
“He invited himself just a couple of hours ago.”
“Oh my God! He wanted to come here on his own? This is terribly exciting. Wait until I tell this to Sunita and Mrs. Kapoor.”
“Ma, focus. I asked if we have enough food for him or should I order something from outside?”
“Outside food!” the older woman said in an outraged tone. “I’m not feeding garbage to DJ. Luckily, I bought groceries this evening, so I have the ingredients to whip up a feast fit for him.”
“Ma, don’t stress yourself—” Shilpa’s voice broke off with the glare directed towards her. She sighed. “Let me help you.”
AN HOUR LATER, the doorbell rang.
“Oh my God, he’s here! DJ is here! Shit, I still need to change.”
“You look fine—” Before Shilpa could finish, the older woman hurried towards the bedroom and slammed the door shut.
Letting out another sigh, Shilpa went and answered the door.
A ridiculously bearded man whose upper half of his face was covered with a cap and sunglasses stood outside the door, holding a small paper bag. The familiar subtle cologne and the man’s height gave him away.
Shilpa’s mouth twitched. “Come in.”
“Mmm, smells good. Looks like you worked hard.” His eyes swept over her, lingering on her apron and her casual clothes. She didn’t know why, but she felt slightly self-conscious standing in front of him in a simple top and a skirt. She was usually in jeans or trousers when she worked with him. But since the weather was warm even during the evenings, she preferred a skirt.