The inside of the lorry smelt of earth and straw and Nisha guessed that it was normally used by farmers. Right now, however, her first thought was to get the horrid gag out of her mouth and untie her hands. She glanced around the dark interior of the lorry. There was little inside, save for a few spades. That gave her an idea.
She wriggled herself across the jolting truck until her hands, still tied behind her back, were positioned across the sharp blade of one of the spades. She rubbed the rope tying her up from side to side in a sawing motion, taking care not to cut her hands.
Ram watched her wide-eyed, and he was delighted when he saw the ropes suddenly part. He would have cried out with joy if it hadn’t been for the gag. He saw Nisha remove the gag from her mouth and then crawl across and do the same for him.
Ram wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘Now how do we get out of here? The lorry is going very fast. If we try to jump out, we risk hurting ourselves on the road or being run over by another vehicle.’
‘I don’t think we can,’ said Nisha, ‘but we can call for help. I still have Rigolet’s cell phone, remember?’
‘But who will you call? Nose Uncle is probably locked up at the police station.’
‘I have Preeti’s number. We can ask her for help.’
She quickly made the call and then, after a second’s thought, hid the phone under a pile of sacks in the corner of the lorry.
‘Why are you doing that?’
‘Because it may have useful information about Rigolet. You know, what calls he made and to whom. The kidnappers are bound to search us. So I’ve hidden it here, for when we get away.’
‘Do you think we will escape?’
Nisha smiled and gave her brother a hug. ‘Of course,’ she said.
Just then the lorry stopped. Immediately, two figures in black climbed on board and grabbed the children.
‘They’ve untied themselves and removed their gags,’ said one.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ laughed the other. ‘It won’t do them any good. No good at all.’
Nose Uncle smiled at the Inspector over his half-moon glasses.
‘There’s one way to sort this mess out very quickly,’ he said.
‘I know,’ said the Inspector. ‘Ask Rigolet. He’ll be able to say who did this.’
‘It was the Professor!’ insisted Lentil Brain.
‘I’ll be the judge of that,’ said Inspector Reddy, pulling the telephone towards her. ‘I’ll call up the hospital to find out if there’s any news. If he’s come round, he should be able to tell us the true story.’
She dialled a number and waited. Finally, someone at the other end picked up the receiver and she asked for the latest report on Rigolet’s condition.
Again she waited for some time and then listened as someone replied. At last, she replaced the receiver and turned to Lentil Brain and Nose Uncle.
‘There’s good news and bad news,’ she said. ‘Rigolet is no longer unconscious and is able to speak.’
She paused.
‘And the bad news?’ asked Lentil Brain and Nose Uncle at the same time.
‘He’s suffering from concussion and he’s lost his memory,’ she said. ‘He won’t be able to tell us a thing.’
Nose Uncle frowned. ‘Oh dear,’ he said. ‘I was hoping to get out of here and find the children.’
‘I’m sure they’re quite safe,’ said Lentil Brain.
‘They’d better be, for your sake,’ said Nose Uncle grimly.
Ram and Nisha were dragged out of the lorry and across what seemed to be a yard. By the smell of cows and goats, she guessed they were in some kind of a farm.
‘Over there,’ said one man, pointing towards a stone building. ‘Quickly, now.’
He pushed open the door of the building. After the dark of the night, the bright light from the building almost blinded the two children. When their eyes had grown accustomed to their new surroundings, they gasped.
Along the wall of the building were several more figures, all wearing black. At the far end, seated on a chair on a raised platform, was another person, masked and dressed, from head to toe, in scarlet.
The figure beckoned for the two children to be brought forward. It leant towards them.
‘You may kneel,’ it said, in English.
It wasn’t the words that startled Nisha and Ram, but the voice. For the head of their captors was a woman.
Chapter 14
‘Dacoits,’ whispered Ram to Nisha. For once, she was not going to tell him not to be silly. She thought that this time he was right and they really had been kidnapped by dacoits. The men in black and their tall female leader, dressed all in scarlet, looked theatrical but definitely scary, too. They meant to impress and frighten at the same time and had succeeded.
On one side of the room was a large stone statue of a goddess, its shadow flickering in the torchlight.
Ram’s hand slid into Nisha’s, as they stood together, waiting for the worst.
The woman in scarlet snapped her fingers and a short, rather plump masked man standing at her side stepped forward. He bowed, waiting for her command.
‘Where were they found?’ she hissed.
His voice was muffled by the mask he was wearing, but they could hear his reply quite distinctly.
‘At the mobile home of the foreigner, my lady,’ he said.
‘Alone?’
‘Yes, my lady. Our plan to get rid of the Professor has succeeded. He is now in police custody. When we went to collect the foreigner’s papers, we found the children busy with his laptop.’
‘Really? That is most interesting.’ A sharper tone entered her voice as she addressed Nisha and Ram. Now that she was looking straight at them, they noticed that her eyes were a vivid shade of green. They were looking at the children much as a leopard looks at a young deer.
‘And what were you doing with the computer?’
Nisha thought quickly. ‘We were playing games,’ she said. ‘My brother and I like computer games.’
The figure in scarlet sat motionless for a while, and then, once again, snapped her fingers.
Another dacoit stepped forward.
‘Put them in the shed,’ she ordered. ‘We’ll speak to them again in the morning, that’s if the rats haven’t put an end to them. Meanwhile, we have more work to do. Load the lorry!’
It was clear that the dacoits did not expect them to escape, for no attempt was made to tie them up. They were dragged out of the room, across the dirt floor of the farmyard to a small wooden shed. The door was unlocked and they were pushed roughly into its pitch black interior. Then the door was slammed shut and bolted behind them.
‘Are you sure we can escape?’ said Ram.
‘Don’t be silly,’ said Nisha. But she was not as confident as she sounded. There seemed little chance of their getting out of this building. Even if they did, how would they get away from the farm? They had no idea where they were and, what was worse, nor did anyone else. Neither Nose Uncle nor Preeti would be able to find them.
‘She talked about rats,’ said Ram. ‘I don’t think I like rats.’
‘The real rats are back there with that woman in scarlet,’ said Nisha, trying to be brave for Ram’s sake, but her voice shook as she spoke. They were in a desperate situation, at the mercy of dacoits. What would happen to them? Would they ever see their parents again? She closed her eyes and shivered. Then she put her arms around Ram and soon, despite all their fears, they fell into a restless sleep.
They were awoken by a rustling sound.
‘What’s that?’ Ram rubbed his eyes. Then he heard the squeaking.
‘Rats!’ shouted Nisha, her voice shaking.
‘Will they hurt us?’ Ram smuggled up to Nisha.
‘I don’t think so. I’ve read somewhere that though they have sharp teeth and can carry all sorts of horrid diseases, they won’t attack people unless they feel threatened.’
‘I’m not going
to threaten them.’
‘Me neither.’
They sat there for a while, listening to the rats scurrying around the hut.
Suddenly, Ram sat up.
‘Where have the rats come from?’ he said.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I don’t think they were here when they locked us up, so they must have got in somehow and …’
‘And if they got in, perhaps we can get out!’ finished Nisha.
‘Yes but from where?’
‘Most likely they came from under the wall of the shed,’ said Nisha. ‘Maybe there’s a hole. What we must do is feel our way round the walls. You go one way and I’ll go the other. The shed is quite small, so it shouldn’t take us long.’
‘What if we meet a rat?’ said Ram.
‘Don’t make any sudden movements and they won’t be frightened. They’ll just move out of the way when they sense that we are near them.’
Ram was not sure if he believed her, but he could see no other way of finding the hole. That’s if there was a hole.
‘All right,’ he said. ‘Let’s try it.’
They went down on their hands and knees, with Ram going to the left and his sister to the right. The floor was uneven and uncomfortable, but that didn’t stop them. Feeling with their fingers in the dark, they moved crabwise along the walls. The wooden planks in the walls were rough and that must have helped the rats make the hole.
‘I’ve found it!’ whispered Nisha.
‘Where are you?’
‘Over here. I’ll keep making a noise so you can make out where I am. I’ll sing if you like.’
‘Sing “Three little fishes”,’ said Ram as he began to crawl towards Nisha’s voice.
‘I can’t remember all the words. I only know the bit about swimming over the dam.’
‘Don’t bother,’ said Ram, putting out his hand and touching her. ‘I’m here.’
Nisha gave him a fierce hug and then took his hand and guided it to where the wall met the beaten earth floor.
‘Feel that,’ she said. ‘It’s a gap in the wood and the wood feels quite rotten. If we break off small bits at a time, we should be able to enlarge the hole without drawing anyone’s attention.’
They took turns. Moving their fingers under the plank, they could tightly grip a portion of the wood and then tug at it until it came away in their hand. It was slow work as they could not risk alarming the dacoits. They realized they had to escape before daylight or else the hole would be noticed and their chances of getting away greatly reduced.
Inch by inch, they pulled at the wood until their fingers ached. Finally, Nisha tugged at the last piece that suddenly snapped with a sound that echoed through the hut, causing the rats to squeal. The children froze. They expected shouts or footsteps, but nothing happened.
‘Whew,’ breathed Nisha. ‘I’m sorry but it was not as rotten as the rest.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Ram. ‘Is the hole now big enough for us to get through?’
Nisha felt all round the gap.
‘I think so. I’ll go first as I’m bigger. If I can make it, then you can, too.’
Nisha carefully put her head and shoulders through the hole. She felt it scrape against her shoulders, but not enough to stop her. She wriggled out the rest of her body and found herself on the floor of the farmyard.
‘I’m through,’ she called back. ‘Now it’s your turn.’
Ram was not worried about getting through the hole; he was now concerned about what they might find on the other side. With a deep breath he followed his sister.
It was still dark outside, but there were enough stars in the sky to help them make out their surroundings. They could see the outlines of several huts like theirs and, on the far side of the farmyard, a larger stone building with light spilling out of one of its window. It must have been the place where they first set eyes on the scarlet lady.
‘Now what?’ whispered Ram.
‘The cell phone,’ answered Nisha. ‘I’ll fetch it from the lorry and then we can call the police.’
‘But where’s the lorry?’
Nisha turned and looked at where the lorry had been parked. Her heart sank. The lorry had vanished.
Chapter 15
‘It’s late,’ said the Inspector, looking at the clock on the wall. ‘My shift will end shortly. As there’s still no news from the hospital, I have decided to let you all go home. As soon as I hear about Rigolet’s condition I will call another meeting. That’s all. Good night, gentlemen.’
‘You’re letting the Professor go?’ protested Lentil Brain. ‘Aren’t you charging him?’
‘If you’re worried that I’ll run away,’ said Nose Uncle, yawning, ‘then forget it. I give you my word that I have no intention of doing so.’
‘How do we know that?’
‘The children,’ said Nose Uncle, glaring at Lentil Brain. ‘You kindly left them alone in the middle of the night with a criminal on the loose. They are my first and only concern right now.’
‘I quite understand,’ the Inspector stood up and reached for her hat. ‘Your word is good enough for me, Professor. If you have any problem locating the children, I’ll give you my cell number and you can call me any hour, day or night.’
‘Thank you,’ said Nose Uncle and he took out his cell phone to record the Inspector’s number. However, as soon as he had done so, the phone rang, its loud ring tone echoing in the Inspector’s office and startling them all.
‘Hello?’ said Nose Uncle. ‘Who’s that speaking? Oh, it’s you, Preeti. Really? Tell me. What! Right, I’ll be over as soon as I can.’ He rang off, his nose quivering and rapidly turning a fine shade of magenta.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked the Inspector.
‘It’s the children,’ said Nose Uncle. ‘They’ve been kidnapped. I’m going back to Rigolet’s caravan.’
‘We’ll take the police car,’ said the Inspector. ‘Come on. In kidnapping cases, the first few hours are vital.’
‘What about me?’ said Lentil Brain, as they rushed out of the office. Nose Uncle paused in the doorway.
‘If you want to find out the truth,’ he said, ‘you’d better come with us.’
The police car turned out to be a battered jeep that had seen better days. The constable driver had obviously just woken up from a deep and dreamless slumber, for his uniform jacket had been wrongly buttoned in haste and his eyes were still puffy with sleep. He had an enormous and straggly moustache, of which he was clearly proud. It looked as though he was growing a bush on his top lip.
Nose Uncle sat in the front in order to guide the driver, while the Inspector and Lentil Brain squeezed into the back. The driver finally managed to insert the keys into the ignition and with a roar and a sudden jerk they were off.
Once on the East Coast Road, the driver managed to come round and was alert enough to spot the turning off when Nose Uncle pointed it out. With a screech of the jeep’s tyres and without slowing down, the driver plunged into the narrow path that led to Rigolet’s caravan.
The ride along the path was bumpy, and the passengers were thrown around inside the jeep until the Inspector managed to make herself heard above the roar of the engine and ordered the driver to slow down. Reluctantly, he applied the brakes just in time to skid to a halt in front of the caravan.
Preeti was waiting for them, along with a small crowd of her fellow hijras. They crowded around the jeep, shouting out a mixture of information and advice, most of it incorrect.
‘That’s enough!’ announced Inspector Reddy, holding up her hand. ‘One at a time, please.’
Preeti stepped forward.
‘Greetings, O Wise One,’ she said to Nose Uncle.
‘Hello, Preeti. Now, tell me what the children told you.’
‘It was not easy to hear,’ she said, scratching a chin in need of a shave. ‘The girl was whispering from inside what she said was a lorry. I could hear the noise of an engine, so she was right. She said they had b
een seized by two or three dacoits, dressed in black, at the foreigner’s caravan, and kept in the lorry.’
‘Did she say who the dacoits were or where they were going?’ asked the Inspector.
‘She didn’t know, except that they were going south, in the direction of Mahabalipuram.’
‘And did they say why they had been taken?’ added Nose Uncle, whose nose had begun twitching.
‘No, O Great Champion of the Poor, but they did say they had been examining the foreigner’s computer when they were overpowered.’
Nose Uncle entered the caravan. There were many signs of a struggle. A small table had been knocked sideways and books and papers scattered on the floor. But there was no sign of a computer.
‘They must have taken it with them,’ he said.
‘There’s very little to go on,’ agreed the Inspector.
‘Are you sure they weren’t making it all up?’ said Lentil Brain. ‘Maybe they thought this would be a way of pointing suspicion away from the Professor.’
There was a moment of silence before Preeti addressed Lentil Brain.
‘They sounded like children who were very frightened but trying to be brave about everything,’ she said quietly. ‘Personally, I take it very seriously.’
‘So do I,’ said the Inspector. ‘We must begin a search as soon as possible.’
‘But where shall we look?’ asked Preeti, clearly making it clear that she and her fellows intended to be part of the search party.
‘You gave the only clue we have,’ said Nose Uncle, ‘and Nose and I agree that we must head for Mahabalipuram.’
‘But they could be anywhere,’ protested Lentil Brain. ‘We might be wasting our time.’
‘Do you have any better ideas?’ growled Nose Uncle.
Lentil Brain stared at his feet.
‘Not really,’ he admitted.
‘Right, let’s go.’
Preeti raised an arm as if asking a question in class. ‘How can we help?’ she said. ‘There are many of us and we want to help find the children.’
Nose Uncle Page 6