‘Why so?’
‘I have no money.’
‘Don’t tell me that!’
‘But, sahib, I will pay your fee, I just need some time.’
‘How will you arrange the money in some time?’
‘Sahib, it’s a long story, why waste your time on it!’
‘ok, as you wish. I will do whatever I can. But, Jeet Singh, only my doing can’t accomplish everything.’
‘I don’t understand, sahib.’
‘I am a detective, a fact-finding instrument, but it isn’t my job to reasonably, forcefully, effectively use the information I gather.’
‘And whose job is that?’
‘Some big lawyer’s. In the present situation, only a good lawyer can help Sushmita. I can only strengthen his arguments through my investigation …’
‘Big lawyer!’
‘Yes, such lawyers have a rapport and influence in the courts, and what to talk about to the police, even the judges are in awe of their intellect, their skills and their superior knowledge of law. If such a lawyer takes up Sushmita’s case, he won’t go to the police station but to the commissioner’s office where he will demand that her fir be immediately lodged and acted upon. He won’t go to the sessions court but file the case in the high court and by the sheer power of his arguments, blow the conspiracy to smithereens.’
‘You are making me dream a very pleasant dream, sahib, but how will it turn into reality?’
‘With the help of a big-shot lawyer.’
‘Do you have such a lawyer in mind?’
‘I have. In fact he is an acquaintance of mine.’
‘Oh, an acquaintance as well! Who is this guy … the big-shot lawyer?’
‘Gunjan Shah. An elderly person. Spent all his life in legal practice. He has a good rapport in the judiciary. He was offered a high court judgeship on a number of occasions, but never accepted it. Says in jest that it is better to talk nonsense for some time standing in front of the bench, than listen to nonsense all day long sitting behind the bench.’
Jeet Singh’s looked bemused.
‘He has an office in Bandra West, on Turner Road, in Heritage Commercial Complex.’
‘Fee!’ Jeet Singh said with difficulty, ‘What about the fee?’
‘One lakh for one hearing, ten lakh minimum, even if the case is dismissed or given a judgment upon in the very first hearing.’
Jeet Singh’s heart took a dive.
‘My God!’ he said after some time. ‘So much!’
‘There are lawyers in Mumbai who charge much more than this.’
‘Good God!’
‘Only Gunjan Shah can rescue Sushmita from this situation. The question is—what will you do, and how will you do it?’
Jeet Singh sat there, stunned, then suddenly got up.
‘What happened?’ Navlani asked.
‘I will leave now, sahib.’
‘You did not answer my question. What will you do? Shall I find a lawyer who charges less …’
‘No, we will have only the best …’
‘But how will you arrange the fee?’
‘I can’t answer that now, sahib, but soon, very soon I will tell you how I’ll manage the fee. Salam, sahib.’
He left more agitated from his meeting with Navlani than when he had arrived there.
Jeet Singh called Eduardo in Valpoi as soon as he was out on the road.
The call was answered immediately.
‘Jeet Singh here, Big Daddy.’
‘I know. How are you, Jeete?’
‘Fine.’
‘How come you called? Anything special?’
‘Yes, there is something. That fellow who wanted me to partner with him on a heist—who was asking for me to open a vault—did he call again?’
‘No, but why do you ask?’
‘He will definitely call, because he needs my answer, no?’
‘Yes, but God knows when he will call. And that does not matter now because it’s final that you are not going to say yes. So, there shall not be a problem even if he did not call.’
‘I need the mobile number that he gave you.’
‘When you said you didn’t need the number, I immediately tore up the paper on which I had noted it down.’
‘Oh!’
‘But why do you want that number now?’
‘I am coming to that, Daddy, but first, listen …’
‘Go ahead.’
‘That fellow will definitely call once again because he wants to know my response, no?’
‘Yes.’
‘If he calls again, tell him that I, Badrinath, want to talk to him directly. Tell him that I want to give my response personally and you either give him my number or take his. Do call and inform me if anything happens, ok?’
‘That I will do, but what are you planning? I think your resolve of leading a straight life for some time is weakening. If that’s true, then do tell me about it, and also the reason why it’s happening.’
‘I will tell you everything, Daddy. But first do as I have told you, I would be obliged.’
‘But …’
‘I will get back to you. Good night.’
It was around 9.30 p.m. when he reached Jambuwadi.
He had no problem in locating the bewra adda that was Gailo’s favourite hangout.
Gailo was there, sharing drinks with a friend.
Jeet Singh had never met this friend of Gailo’s.
He reached their table.
Gailo raised his head to look at him. He looked surprised.
Surprised, not delighted, on the arrival of a friend.
‘Arre, Jeete!’ he said. ‘What a surprise! How did you come here?’
‘I wanted to talk to you,’ Jeet Singh said earnestly.
‘You knew I was here?’
‘No, but you said this was your favourite haunt, so I took a chance.’
‘Oh! Have a seat.’
Jeet Singh sat down on a vacant chair.
‘Now, tell me, what is it?’
‘I wanted to talk to you,’ Jeet Singh said with a meaningful glance at his partner.
‘Oh! Johnny, my dear!’
The partner lifted his head.
‘Please go and sit somewhere else for some time.’
‘No problem, brother.’
Johnny left with his glass.
‘Now, tell me,’ Gailo said in a nervous tone, ‘what was it?’
‘I also went to your kholi during the day.’
‘Well, I am never there during the day time.’
‘Just took a chance, then I also went to the Alexandra Cinema taxi stand.’
‘Why were you looking for me?’
‘I felt guilty after my friend, my brother-like friend, departed in an upset mood. I wanted to repent, say sorry, to bring things back to normal.’
‘So you wanted to give me the slap-and-kiss treatment!’
‘Oh no, nothing like that.’
‘ok, here I am. Now, how will you appease me?’
‘Gailo, I agree to what you said is written in the Bible.’
‘I don’t get you.’
‘That one must take his revenge at the earliest, that revenge is a dish best served hot.’
‘Jeete, am I dreaming?’
‘No, you are not.’
‘But in the morning you were handing me a date six months from now?’
‘I realized later that I must not have said so.’
Gailo looked at him dubiously.
‘I would have gone to your kholi and waited for you there in case you were not here,’ Jeet Singh said, ‘I would have stayed there all night just to meet you and tell this.’
‘Are you on the level?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you are ready to help me with that Johri Bazar thing?’
‘Yes, I am.’
‘And what about all those sermons you gave me in the morning, that you were not going to get into any new trouble, that you wanted to lead a straight life
for some time, that you did not want to cross paths with the police for some time? Was it all hogwash?’
‘No, it was not. Whatever I said then I said from the depth of my heart, and what I am saying now is also that way. Gailo, you did a lot for me, endured a lot for me. It would have been totally thankless of me to not make myself useful to you. I have been searching for you since I realized this thing, since you left Chinchpokli. Now, stop arguing and doubting me and my intentions, forgive me for what I said in the morning and accept my company, my partnership in that Johri Bazar job.’
Gailo looked at him with mouth agape.
‘To prove how committed I am now,’ Jeet Singh said, ‘I ask you, what would be my share?’
‘Whatever you say, all of it, if you wish so.’
‘All?’
‘Yes, I want revenge, I want to settle scores with that Mangesh Gable who looted my money and thrashed me. I want to hit his nice, smooth system and I want to hit it hard, so that it never starts again. I don’t need his money, that is why I said you can take all of it if you wish so.’
‘But the distribution must be fair.’
‘So, tell me, what is a fair distribution?’
‘Fifty-fifty.’
‘Done! Shake!’
He shook hands with Jeet Singh with great enthusiasm.
‘Now, let me order drinks for you. But first tell me, why did you change your mind? And don’t make up something, don’t try to fool me, I want to know God’s truth, Jeete. I am not asking this as a friend, but as your brother, what made you change your mind?’
‘I need big money,’ Jeet Singh said finally, ‘and I need it immediately.’
‘You did not need it this morning?’
‘No.’
‘Something happened after I left your place?’
‘Yes.’
‘What was it?’
Jeet Singh told him the whole story.
‘Jesus!’ Gailo said after Jeet Singh had finished, ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph! What kind of a man are you?’
‘The kind that is compelled by his heart.’
‘You know that that woman is the root cause of all your troubles, still you …’
‘Yes, yes, yes.’
‘You told her you won’t be able to do anything for her, and still you are trying to do all this. Secretly, at your own discretion! Jeete, you will pay for this …’
‘I have already paid enough.’
‘You will pay a bigger price this time.’
‘I don’t care.’
‘But I do. I was angry with you in the morning but now I am not. I free you from this responsibility of helping me get my revenge.’
‘I don’t want to be free.’
‘You don’t understand.’
‘No, Gailo, it is you who does not understand. I am short of money. To save money, I was planning to leave that Kalba Devi flat and start living in Chinchpokli. When I met Sushmita after you left, she told me she is also going live there in her old place in Chinchpokli. That is why I don’t want to live there now. And it is because of this that I want to leave that Crawford Market spot too. I told you in the morning about taking up driving a taxi. I mentioned it as a passing thing but now I have to do it for a cover-up, otherwise the police will start giving me fresh trouble. The first question they’ll ask if they arrest me again would be what I do for a living. What would I say in that case? That is why I need some work as a cover and besides the locksmith work, the only other skill that I have is that I can drive.’
Gailo kept mum.
‘If this job of yours goes well then I don’t think I’d be needing money for long.’
‘But surely you don’t want to do that job for solving your own problems!’
‘What’s the harm in solving two problems with one solution?’
‘What shall I say? Jeete, you are not convincing me, you are convincing yourself.’
‘Now, leave that be, Gailo. You must focus upon your project, work upon the scheme, and keep in mind that I am with you now. Together we will succeed.’
‘And what about your resolve, of not getting into any new trouble for some time?’
‘I won’t get into any new trouble once this task is done successfully. If we get good money out of it, then there won’t be a need to do anything else for a long time.’
‘But …’
‘Leave these ifs and buts and focus upon the scheme the way you were doing in the morning. I delayed my answer just by twelve hours and your homework would not have been ruined in this short span of time. Now forgive me for the delay and let’s pray for our success with drinks, ok?’
Gailo nodded hesitatingly and signalled to the waiter.
Wednesday: 20 May
Jeet Singh slept till ten in the morning.
He would have slept more had the ringing of the mobile not woken him up.
He did not return to Chinchpokli after meeting with Gailo at the bewra adda, and currently he was in his rented flat at Kalba Devi.
He received the call. Gailo was on the line.
‘Where are you?’ Gailo asked.
Jeet Singh told him.
‘I also thought you were not going to go back to Chinchpokli last night.’
‘Why did you call?’
‘Cherat has sent a message.’
‘Cherat?’
‘Murli Cherat, that clerk in the Johri Bazar vault. You forgot?’
‘No, what did he say?’
‘Locker 243 was operated last night, at around midnight.’
‘Somebody left a briefcase in it?’
‘Yes, we need to be there tomorrow at ten o’clock. I called to tell you to get ready for it by then, make your preparations, ok?’
‘ok.’
‘Let’s meet in the evening. See you.’
‘Wait, wait. Hang on for a second. I have to say something.’
‘What’s that?’
‘That Sindhi seth who was murdered on Saturday … I think he was killed by some supari killer.’
‘What are you saying? The papers clearly say it was the work of a carjacker. He wanted to snatch the new Honda. The owner resisted, and he stabbed him to death.’
‘I don’t believe in this carjacking story.’
‘But somebody did take the car …’
‘It was a cover-up for murder.’
‘Murder?’
‘Yes, I told you just now somebody arranged the supari for his murder.’
‘But why?’
‘To get hold of his wealth. His assets are worth more than a hundred crores. Some restless, impatient person, couldn’t wait for Sethji to die a natural death, and paid a supari.’
‘Jeete, you are pointing to Sushmita.’
‘No, I am not.’
‘But she is a close relative …’
‘There are other close relatives also.’
‘Yes, but she is the closest.’
‘Nobody thinks she is. That’s why she was thrown out.’
‘You are right there. So, who might have paid the supari?’
‘There are two sons, one daughter and one son-in-law.’
‘But they … they are all well-off.’
‘How do we know?’
‘The kin of a man with a hundred crore rupees in assets can’t be anything but well-off.’
‘That’s a separate issue, Gailo. I need to focus on something else as of now.’
‘On the supari killer?’
‘Yes.’
‘ok, if you insist then I will spread the word in the underworld. If I hear anything, any murmurs, gossip or mention of this, I will forward it to you.’
‘Thank you.’
Jeet Singh reached Lamington Road.
The Sindhi department store was open and business there was good, as usual.
A look from the outside told him that it had reopened that very day after the closure on Saturday.
He entered the store. As he looked around, he found that the Venetian blinds of Pursumal’s
air-conditioned chamber’s big glass window were up, and a young man was sitting in his executive chair. The man was as dapper as a film star, but appeared as haughty too. Another man who resembled him in appearance and demeanour was sitting in the chair across.
There was a stall by the entrance, with a man in a store employee’s uniform with a ‘May I Help You’ button on it. A similar sign was hanging from a chain above the counter.
Jeet Singh reached the counter.
‘May I help you?’ the man asked, smiling a fake smile.
‘I wanted to meet Tiwariji.’
‘Tiwariji who?’ the man said, raising his eyebrows.
‘The manager Tiwariji.’
‘Oh, him. He has left the job.’
‘Left the job! But he had been working here for so many years …’
‘Well, I am not that old here. I started working here some five years ago. But I have heard he was here since the store started business.’
‘And still he left the job?’
‘Yes.’
‘Suddenly?’
‘Yes.’
‘I heard that the store has opened only today, after it was closed on Saturday. When did he leave then?’
He did not say anything.
‘Why are you asking all these questions, man?’ Then he added, ‘Who are you?’
‘I am his nephew. My name is Badri, Badrinath.’
‘Oh! Do you live here in Mumbai?’
‘No, I have come here from Benaras. For the first time. I don’t know where my uncle’s house in the city is. My mother said he will be here at the store, so I came here. But now you are telling me he has left.’
‘Yes, he has left.’
‘When did he leave?’
‘Someone told me that he had gone to Colaba on Monday evening to express his condolences on Sethji’s death. Maybe something happened there due to which he resigned suddenly.’
‘Did he resign or was he thrown out?’
‘Well, many people here are making guesses. Everybody here is talking about it since the store has opened. Some of them say he wanted to retire, some say he was dismissed by the new proprietors. The truth is known either to Tiwariji, or to the new proprietors.’
‘New proprietors …’
‘Yes, those two who are sitting in Sethji’s chamber,’ he said, gesturing towards the back.
Jeet Singh followed the gesture.
The Colaba Conspiracy Page 10