by Leena Nandan
‘It’s Suneil Bansal, whom everybody refers to as Neil,’ she said quietly. ‘I don’t know how I should describe him. He was my boss and I have today been moved up into his place. He doesn’t dislike me, it’s just that I…’ her voice trailed away. They both looked at her. ‘I sometimes feel he fancies me and I find that weird. I mean, unlike Reggie, he’s married to a girl called Leila, and he’s a senior so he should keep to his own level, but he always makes it a point to hang around with us. On our off-site, he tried to force me to dance with him. But today, he was terribly rude when I went to his room to get some data although I’ve seen Reggie there alone so many times. It’s all very confusing,’ she concluded with a weak laugh. Somebody from across the room waved to her and she got up with a muttered excuse.
Jeet and Ajay were both quiet, each mulling over the facts just put before them. ‘What is your gut feel?’ asked Jeet.
‘She seemed to be very uncomfortable about Neil and he appears quite a scumbag but it’s too pat. It may not be a close colleague, could be someone from management who’s fixated on her and she doesn’t even know the guy.’
‘Do you think she should file a complaint in the police station?
I mean I can pick her up one day, two days, but she’ll basically be under threat at all times.’
‘You could marry her, my friend.’
Jeet clenched his fists then slowly exhaled. ‘Is it so obvious? She must hate the sight of me then, mooning around like a teenager.’
‘I don’t think she realises it yet. But let’s face facts; she may not reciprocate your feelings.’
‘I’ll always be there for her, as long as she needs me. At the moment though, I feel singularly miserable.’
‘The course of true love never did run smooth!’
Jeet ignored that and concentrated on torturing himself with the image of Raghav holding Tina close.
Tina rejoined them at the table. ‘How secure is your e-mail ID?’ asked Ajay.
‘It’s for internal circulation only. My personal ID is different and we’re not supposed to check our personal mails in office, so I’ve never shared it with my colleagues here.’
‘Not even Reggie?’ Jeet couldn’t resist asking.
She looked annoyed. ‘I do keep in touch with him on weekends and I don’t log in on my office e-mail then, so naturally he knows both my IDs. But the one time I got that awful mail it was on my official ID, if that proves anything. Oh I almost forgot, I also got a droopy red rose yesterday in office, though it must have been those two creepy fellows in my building who sent it to me.’
‘You haven’t spoken about these jokers so far—wait a minute—Rozy said she ran into two scary-looking guys outside your flat. Maybe it was them. But I can’t figure out, Tina, why have you dismissed them so casually, mentioning them only as an aside?’ exclaimed Jeet.
‘I don’t need to become paranoid about everyone who gives me a once-over,’ she snapped back.
‘Used to getting all the attention, aren’t you?’ said Jeet and immediately regretted it when he saw the palpable hurt on her face.
‘Tell us everything you can remember about the two,’ ordered Ajay.
‘Well, they’re always weirdly dressed and look like street thugs. They’ve taken a flat on the fourth floor on rent. I’m sure they’re both unemployed because they’re always hanging around the place, leering at girls, and I’ve seen them near my office too. Yesterday, I thought one of the chaps would actually touch me when I was in the lift. Of course, I would have slapped him then and there.’
‘For heaven’s sake, don’t you have the common sense not to provoke such guys unnecessarily?’ said Jeet.
Tina bristled at his tone and was about to retort sharply when Ajay stepped smoothly into the breach.
‘What else do you think they have been doing to harass you?’ he asked.
‘I thought they called up once late at night and lurked outside my door immediately afterwards, but I wasn’t too sure. In office too, I’ve been getting strange calls for quite some time and yesterday, a rose snapped off at the stem. Finally, there was that person who followed me from office last night and probably took my shoes when I threw them off, cutting them to pieces and leaving them outside my door this morning,’ her voice faltered here, ‘with a dead bird.’
Ajay said with a tone of relief, ‘I have no doubt that it is these two fellows who have been bothering you. I’ll have somebody from the local police station lodge a complaint, go to your building, and pick them up for stalking.’
He and Jeet stood up.
‘Thank God,’ said Jeet, ‘we’ve got to the bottom of it. You can relax now and put it behind you. What time do you intend to leave?’ ‘8:30,’ she said.
‘Okay, fine. Rozy, Ajay and I will meet you for dinner tonight. We must celebrate your promotion and this discovery.’ With that, they left.
Tina felt as if a load had been taken off her chest. Jeet had dropped everything to be with her and sorted out the problem, which made her feel warm and protected. And Raghav cared for her too—she had seen it in his eyes.
Tina went back, her usual good humour restored. She was ready to make friends with the world and their aunt. Shelly was at her workstation, staring blankly at the computer.
‘Aren’t you feeling well?’ asked Tina, concerned at the pallor of her face.
Shelly looked at her as if seeing a stranger and said nothing. Her hand twitched and she jerkily moved it to press her temples, the strange expression still on her face.
Tina reached out a tentative hand, ‘Shelly?’
‘Leave me alone!’
The shout reverberated in the office. Everyone looked at them. Tina was frozen with embarrassment. Her face red, she moved to her chair and sat down, busying herself with mundane tasks. Gradually she felt calmer, scrolling through mails and replying to them. Her presentation needed to be updated and she shook her head, clearing it of cobwebs, as she went about the task of preparing for the next week’s schedules.
Deepti tried to gauge Tina’s reaction to Shelly’s outburst, her own expression singularly devoid of warmth. Unlike Rita, she had not bonded with Tina at all. Others might laud the talent and abilities of the company’s rising star, but all that sweetness and light put off Deepti. She knew that Tony had an antipathy to Tina that bordered on hatred and she suspected it went beyond office rivalry between peers, but she didn’t really care. In fact, she goaded Tony every once in a while. She needed to manipulate Raghav too—and a little more effectively than Rita, who could never venture beyond the timid smiles which Reggie hardly noticed.
Deepti’s reflections had delayed her departure; the cab would move off any time, assuming she was handling some other task. She never did anything in addition to her regular responsibilities, even though others volunteered quite often, including the saintly Tina. Deepti walked out of the office and for a moment, couldn’t spot the cab. That wasn’t unusual, as they were erratic, and it always annoyed her. Administration had issued some guidelines for security, but Deepti hadn’t downloaded them so far and cold-shouldered Tina when Miss Goody Two-Shoes tried to raise the topic. Just yesterday, she had ticked off the driver for playing loud music and in retaliation he had deliberately honked all the way to her drop-off point, till the noise got on her nerves. Today, it would be someone else, but whoever that was, where the hell was he?
Suddenly, she felt someone was watching her and looked up. Yesterday’s driver seemed to be doubling up again for the regular fellow, which was strange in itself. He was deep in conversation with a grubby-looking character wearing a greasy uniform. They caught her glance and the driver quickly turned to his cab and got in. He drove up and she got in. Tony was also to go with her as he had some work in the city, but she preferred to sit inside the van rather than wait for him outside. He always had someone to catch up with at the last minute and it was hot and dusty in the parking lot.
‘Wait for Tony,’ she said in her customary peremptory tone. Then
, looking closely at him, she asked, ‘Weren’t you in the morning shift as well?’
‘The other driver’s sick, so I’ve been sent again, madam,’ he said. ‘I’ve brought my friend along too, in case I feel tired.’
Without waiting to hear her response, he unlocked the passenger door and his colleague jumped in. The car screeched off, spewing exhaust.
Deepti was taken aback; everything had happened so fast, she didn’t know how to react. She pulled out her cell phone, then realised to her horror that they had taken the route where the signal was very poor.
Abruptly, the driver slammed on the brakes and the vehicle shuddered to a standstill. They both turned and smiled at her, showing stained teeth. She could smell the liquor and now she was truly afraid…
Totally wrapped up, Tina took no notice of the time and suddenly found it was eight in the evening. As she stretched her cramped muscles, she saw movement from the opposite side. It was Neil beckoning to her from across the office. Reluctantly, she stood up and walked over, wary of having to face one more controversy. Shelly was staring at both of them. Surprisingly, Neil was very businesslike as he explained the new responsibilities her work entailed. She thought he’d taken it rather well. In fact, with this new, professional approach sans all personal overtones, he was quite impressive.
‘I’ve cleared my papers. You will now have this chamber for your use and you can regulate entry if you don’t want people just walking in,’ he said.
Tina almost replied that she practised what she preached, but bit her tongue. She could afford to be pleasant this one time. His mobile rang and he moved away. She heard him exclaim and then say, ‘I’ll be there.’ He left almost at a run. What had happened?
Anyway, it was none of her business. She walked to the tiny cubicle and felt good—it was hers now. One time she would have hated to be isolated from the team, but with so many undercurrents, it wouldn’t hurt to be at a distance. She would miss Raghav, though—and had he really not minded her promotion? He seemed quite unconcerned, and was even now engrossed in a conversation on the phone. His face was set in concentration, the expression grim. Shrugging, she seated herself in the swivel chair, and in a few minutes heard a buzzing sound. It was the same peculiarly-shaped handset she’d seen earlier, the cause of the entire fracas. This time, Neil could not accuse her of trespass; it was her chamber now. She picked up the handset and held it to her ear.
There was a crackling sound and then two voices could be heard. One was Neil’s. ‘What do you mean by shrieking that madam has disappeared. Where is Leila—where is she?’ he was shouting. The other person—a woman—replied in a frightened tone. ‘I don’t know where madam is. I found the door to the balcony open. I think she’s run away.’
‘You bloody fool, what do you mean run away? Didn’t I tell you she’s a mental case and has to be watched closely?’
Tina looked at the receiver, stunned. It was programmed to pick up conversation from another telephone—vaguely she remembered him saying his home was 5 kilometres away, but that was not the point. Why was he spying on his own wife? Was she really mad or was it just a ploy to keep her completely under control? And if so, what did that say about him?
Tony came out of the main building of the call centre walking at a brisk pace. He cast a quick glance at the parking lot and cursed. The cab with Deepti was nowhere to be seen. There was else nothing to do but walk to the taxi stand, which for some strange reason was located on the other, less-frequented side of the road. Worse, he probably wouldn’t find a taxi at this hour willing to go such a short distance and the weather was awful. He cursed again and started walking slowly, hoping for some inspiration…
Tina was rooted to the floor, staring at the handset as if it was the devil’s instrument. She had been right about Neil being a weird guy. Suddenly, a terrifying thought struck her. Neil was the stalker! He had behaved so obsessively at the off-site and made a pass at her in the office too; she always felt unpleasant vibes from him. Ajay Menon had suspected that the stalker must be someone who knew her routine like the back of his hand. He’d found it significant when she said she didn’t like Neil, in fact felt positively uneasy around him. He must be the guy phoning her, using a device to distort his voice, even following her from office yesterday. And today she had foolishly gone off at a tangent, diverting Ajay’s attention to those two louts whose worst offence was the way they looked. Her nightmare was far from over. She was as vulnerable as she had been. She decided to call up Jeet and tell him at once. Of course the police would want proof, but surely if they confronted Neil and warned him not to harass her, it might put an end to the problem once and for all. Buoyed by the thought, she went back to her workstation and fished out her cell phone. No signal. Impatiently she rushed outside towards the PCO.
‘Hey Tina, sorry I snapped at you like that. I don’t know what came over me,’ said Shelly looking really ashamed of herself. For a moment, Tina wanted to ignore the unspoken plea for understanding, but something made her stop.
‘Shelly, it doesn’t matter. It happens to all of us sometimes. I’ll see you in a while.’
‘But where are you rushing to?’
‘Got to make a call, no signal on phone,’ said Tina briefly.
‘Don’t you know? All cell phone signals have gone for a six. There’s one hell of a storm brewing outside and the main line was also snapped by that old tree. The PCO is done for. God knows when they’ll restore the connection.’
Tina groaned and slid to a halt. ‘Why today of all the days? This was really urgent,’ she said, cracking her knuckles in frustration.
‘Listen, I’m dying for coffee and nothing will induce me to try that cafeteria turpentine. Why don’t we drive down to the coffee shop and take a break. You can check out their phone.’
Tina said, ‘Let’s go right away. First the call, then we’ll have coffee. I have to leave by 8:30.’
They dashed through the gusts of rain and got into Shelly’s car which was parked right outside the gate…
He had left the office in a rush, because he just had to check out the CDs he had grabbed, but on a secure computer. He looked up at the road ahead and frowned. Surely he was mistaken—or was there a vehicle parked on the side, bearing the familiar logo of 24x365? He quickened his pace. No there was no mistaking it—it was the company cab. There was an odd stillness to it. He paused, when a scream rent the air once, then again. He shouted in response and a figure came out of the van in a rush, knocking him over. Another shrill cry came from the cab and he started running, summoning up a last burst of energy to reach the van. Deepti was cowering on the seat and the driver, bottle in hand, was pulling at her clothes. She burst into tears seeing him and the driver fled.
He put his arm around her and she said on a shuddering breath, ‘There was another man with the driver today and they…they…’
‘They would have raped and dumped you like they did Ruby,’ he said bluntly.
Deepti started shivering again. ‘I was so terrified…oh God, I’ll never be able to board a taxi alone ever again.’
He was annoyed now that she wasn’t even thanking him for having turned up providentially. ‘It is customary to express gratitude, you know. But you’ve always been the typical type, who thinks it’s her goddamn right to be a damsel in distress.’
Her head jerked back in anger and she sat up straight. ‘Don’t think you’ve earned my undying gratitude. Okay, you came along at the right time, but I’ve always kept my mouth shut at the right times too…because I never told those guys that you’d asked for Vikram Batra’s office address just before his secretary got killed.’
He looked at her, stunned, and when the full implication of what she had said sunk in, he put his hands around her throat and squeezed…
NINETEEN
6 February
Vikram was in the front passenger seat and Benoy was driving. They were both silent as the car sped soundlessly towards the research centre. Vikram glanced back once
at the rear seat, and found Leila asleep. But she looked far from peaceful, small lines of worry etched on that ivory-white forehead that he longed to smoothen out with his finger-tips. She seemed to feel his gaze like a touch because she opened her eyes and looked at him, right into the depths of his tormented soul.
Abruptly, he turned his head away. Benoy seemed not to have noticed anything: He was staring straight ahead with a set expression. In fact, he seemed to be a different man altogether, remote and tense. His fingers beat a staccato on the steering wheel as if in tandem with some tune that only he could hear. He fished out his cell phone once to make a brief call—it sounded like he was informing someone where they were heading to.
The silence was becoming uncomfortable.
‘What exactly was Dr Maken’s project?’ asked Vikram.
‘He was decoding e-mail communication and passing his analysis to us.’
Benoy was being unusually taciturn and contrarily, Vikram was in a loquacious mood. ‘I can picture him, silver-haired and handsome, listening to classical music as he did data analysis. How productive was his research?’
‘I was never directly in touch with him. And even if I were, do you seriously think I’d share company secrets with you?’ snapped Benoy.
Vikram reacted angrily.
‘What on earth is wrong with you? You came to me and against my will insisted that I be a part of the team inquiring into Dr Maken’s death because Leila was in danger. And now you’re acting as though I’m poking and prying into matters that are none of my business. What the hell are you playing at?’
Before Benoy could answer, there was a grating sound and the car screeched to a halt. Leila sat up straight, but true to her intrinsically calm nature, did not let loose a volley of questions. Benoy banged his fist on the dashboard. ‘Darned clutch plate. I knew it would let me down at the most critical moment. What do we do now?’