by Varsha Dixit
“Violently. There is considerable vaginal tearing. And deep bruises on their arms and legs where he holds them down.”
“And why the pouring of bleach on those body parts?”
“Because he touched those parts and wants to make sure he leaves no DNA or prints for us to find.”
Parth linked his hands together and rested his chin on them. “So, he might be in the system? We might have his fingerprints.”
Lorso’s eyes widened. “I never thought of that!”
“Anything under the nails?”
“Generic dark fibers that could belong to any garment. No skin or hair. Like I just said, he knows about forensics.”
“Did you test the blood of the girls for traces of any drugs?” Parth asked.
“Yes. High quantity of diazepam was found in their blood. I would not recommend that dosage to a horse. And these were women between 50 to 60 kilos.”
“Diazepam as in Valium?”
Lorso gave him her first smile, revealing front teeth that overlapped. “I’m impressed.”
Parth shrugged. “So, these women probably never knew what was happening to them because of the drugs.”
“Not a chance. Hallucinations would have been strong. They would see colors and images. They would be unable to distinguish between reality and hallucinations. Also, since it is a muscle relaxant, it would have rendered them incapable of fighting back.”
Parth scratched his chin. “But how would such high dosage be given?”
“They were not junkies; no needle marks on their bodies and their organs were healthy. These were fit women, women who looked after themselves. Valium was probably crushed in food or mixed in the drinks.”
“So, a waiter?” Parth tapped his chin.
“Now you are asking me to do your job!”
They were both quiet for some time.
“Anything else, Dr. Lorso?”
“Yes. Catch this monster. He does not possess even an ounce of humanity.”
“With a bullet or cuffs?” Parth jested, getting to his feet. He reached out to shake hands.
Lorso shook his hand and gripped it. “Make it a bullet. In the head.”
Parth let go of her hand. “Thank you for all your help.” He walked to the door when Dr. Lorso stopped him.
“One advice. Keep my name out of the investigation. I have been the acting Chief Medical Officer for the last four years. Never promoted to Chief. No one likes me around here, neither my staff nor the police.”
Parth wasn’t surprised. It was common for deserving women to be often overlooked because of their gender. “Because you are hard-working, intelligent but lack a penis?”
Lorso took her glasses off. She folded them meticulously and placed them on the table. “No, because I’m officially single and unofficially gay.”
Parth stared at her for a few seconds and then spoke, his expression shuttered. “Officially and unofficially, I don’t care.”
Chapter 25
Early in The Evening
Lopez Point, Goa
Aisha made her way up the steep climb. She often stopped to catch her breath and admire the view. The sea was calm and a stunning aquamarine. The sun was close to setting and painted the sky in beautiful colors of red, gold and pink. The breeze over the ocean was cool.
“I could live here forever,” she sighed, staring at the sea.
Aisha resumed her hike, a small backpack on her back and a misshapen thick branch in her hand. She had picked it on the way and was using it as a walking staff.
Today, Aisha had ditched tissues for a pair of gloves—uncomfortable ones she had saved from hair color kits. The gloves kept riding up and her hands were beginning to sweat.
Lunch with Christin had been perfect. Light, friendly and delicious.
After lunch, Aisha had gone to the famous Church Square and hung around there, catching up on Goa’s history. Kiara had texted to meet her at Lopez Point where she was currently shooting close to six.
Seeing that text had set off butterflies in Aisha’s stomach. She wanted to meet Kiara but not her niece’s boss. Aisha paused and brushed her sweaty locks aside.
That man really rubs me the wrong way. What the heck do I do? Run away because he confuses the crap out of me or stand in between Kiara and him? Don’t think he is Kiara’s type but Kia is young; she could be easily brainwashed.
Aisha glanced up. The end of the hike was near. She could hear sounds carried down by the wind—sounds of humans nearby. Probably the ones she was heading to meet.
Aisha noticed that she was on a sandy ledge that jutted out, providing a perfect place to sit. Heliconia brush with pointed flaming red buds, pale green Sisal, and lush plants with circular plastic-like leaves taller than her grew on that side of the mountain.
Sitting down cross-legged, Aisha decided to enjoy the view for a bit longer. She shaded her eyes against the setting sun’s light that turned the surface of the water iridescent.
“Oh my!” Aisha’s mouth eased in pleasure as she trained her eyes on a particular spot far away in the ocean—the spot where a school of dolphins was splashing and diving in and out of the water!
Aisha reached in her backpack. One of her gloves got caught in the zip and ripped. “Screw this!” Taking off her gloves she bundled them in the backpack.
Aisha was quick to pull out her DSLR with eighteen pixels and mega zoom. She had a great camera but was a sloppy photographer.
Aisha’s philosophy was simple. I will take a thousand bad pictures if that is what it takes to get one good shot! Much like how I tackle life.
With excited fingers, Aisha uncapped the lens. The cover slipped between her fingers and rolled away to the nearby underbrush.
Aisha shrugged. She aimed her lens on the dolphins. For the next several minutes she leaned back and forward, went from squatting on her bums to sitting on her knees to lying flat on her stomach, all the while her fingers pressing the button on her camera that made sounds like the buzzing wings of a hummingbird.
After nearly ten minutes, Aisha held her camera aside and finally rested. She had maxed out on taking pictures even going by her 1:1000 ratio. The front of Aisha’s jeans and her shirt were grubby and dusty as if she had just been in a sandstorm, but she didn’t care. She just sat there watching the dolphins until they were gone. Aisha turned to put her camera back.
“Sheesh! The cover.”
Aisha remembered the cap that had rolled away from her. Hoisting her backpack, she went in the direction it had rolled in. Aisha moved the brushes aside and stepped in the foliage searching for it. She moved the low-lying leaves with her stick to spot the black circular cover.
After some more prodding, she finally saw it a few feet ahead from her. “You little piece of shit, you are quick!” Grinning, Aisha picked it up and capped the lens and slid it back in her backpack.
As she turned around to go back, she saw something that made her pause—a certain shade of green color that seemed incongruous among the natural green. A narcotic-sniffing dog could not be as curious as Aisha Khatri.
A few sweeps of brushes and overhanging branches, and Aisha saw it and she stood there transfixed.
“What the hell?” Aisha moved closer to her discovery.
A minivan painted in olive army green was covered with leaves and dust yet was in good condition. The exterior held dust but no proof of neglect like rust or dents.
“Did you parachute yourself here?” Aisha said as she walked around the van. “Aha!”
She saw the narrow path ahead of the van. She walked down on it. Aisha was gazing at a small and steep dirt road that went down to the beach and then disappeared in trees and came up again on the other side connecting with the fisherman village. However, the road going down was tricky with a sheer drop on either side.
One must be a damn good driver to go down this route!
Aisha went back to the van and glanced inside through the driver’s side window. She saw nothing but the reflection of her
head. The glass was heavily tinted on both the driver and the passenger’s side. A weird smell had her attention.
Aisha crinkled her nose and moved around the van, sniffing. It was strongest at the rear near the double back door. Aisha sniffed some more.
“Bleach! So much bleach.” Aisha waved her hand in front of her nose. Casting furtive glances, Aisha grasped the handle of the van, forgetting her hands were bare.
Chapter 26
Aisha howled. Millions of needles attacked her head like a herd of predators ripping the skin off bones. The blood throbbed in her temples fiercely and the electric pressure behind her eyes increased with every passing second. Aisha was sure her skull was about to explode.
Cleaving pain washed Aisha’s body causing her to fall to her knees. Her teeth bit hard into her lower lip, drawing blood, and her eyes clenched tightly, fighting the horror those screams ricocheting between her ears continued to invoke.
Aisha pressed both against her hands against her temples. “Stop!” She pleaded.
All breath seemed to desert her body. She bent over gagging and repeating, “Stop, please stop! Go away!” The pressure into her head forced some bile into her mouth. Her body rocked.
“Go on! Leave me alone. . .”
Eyeless faces, mouths with sharp pointed teeth open in agonized screams flew down at Aisha, surrounding her from all sides, cutting off all light.
Aisha clawed the air in front of her and somehow managed to stagger to her feet. She ran blindly into the foliage and burst out on the other side.
She stumbled around unseeing and finally stopped. She opened her eyes. The faces were gone. Aisha saw herself standing on the ledge, inches away from a fatal drop.
“Shit!” Aisha backed away, her breathing harsh. The faces were gone, but their pain continued to wash over her. Pale and cold, her eyes haunted, Aisha wrapped her arms around her torso and waited.
Soon Aisha started muttering. Things she had eaten today, the places she had visited in Goa, the names of all books she had ever read.
Kabir’s face popped in her head and stayed. Aisha felt drawn to his dark gaze. The pressure in Aisha’s head receded. Her insides stopped heaving. Some color came back in her face and her mouth tasted less acidic. Aisha pulled a few deep breaths. The screams became silent, her mind calm.
Taking out her water bottle, Aisha guzzled water and upturned the remaining drops on her face.
Aisha wiped her face, her hands still shaking. What the heck? The voices were so loud. It’s never been like this. It was as if all those girls were standing next to me.
Aisha stilled and then started pacing. “Girls…did I think girls? More than one?” She blinked her eyes.
Unbidden, the hotel concierge’s words came to her mind. Panaji is not safe at this time of the year. Too much crime, murders . . . of women!
A twig snapped behind her.
Aisha spun around. A fat squirrel ran past her legs.
A thought clicked in Aisha’s head. A morgue van! It must have been a morgue van or an ambulance. She bent over, resting her hands on her knees. Her expression relieved. “Yes, that’s it. It has happened before. The explanation is simple.” Her laugh was shaky.
Aisha recalled an earlier incident when she was eighteen. A doctor—a family friend—had visited them in his nursing home ambulance. When the doctor was leaving Aisha had accidentally placed her hand on the van’s back door. Her world had exploded similiarly.
But there had been no faces, no screams.
Aisha straightened. Rubbish! I’m overthinking. It’s definitely an ambulance, thus the overpowering smell of bleach. Aisha put her hand on her chest. “That’s it, an ambulance!” Her smile was relieved even as her eyes didn’t lose the anxious expression.
Something pushed Aisha to retrace her steps to the abandoned van. Stopping at some distance, Aisha clicked a picture or two with her phone and then made her way back to the ledge. She noticed that the van did not have any number plates.
Chapter 27
Kabir stood with his digital technician of three years, Uzaafar Khan. “Uzi, frame this shot more like the model reclining on the horizon with the sun positioned under her back. The sun kind of seeps out of the hollow of her back.”
“We can, but we will have to hurry. The sun is almost gone. Or we come back tomorrow.” Uzi pulled his starfish cap lower over his ears.
Uzi was fond of his caps. He had one of every kind, even if bizarre. The only time Uzi’s hat had been confiscated on the set was when he came wearing a cap with a pair of boobs fixed on either side.
“No. Tomorrow and the day after is reserved mostly for the look book and some cover shots near the villa. Then I pack the models off.”
“Okay, get them ready.” Uzi went to speak to his assistant.
Kabir addressed the models resting under a canopy nearby. “Kiara, we will have you lie on that table. I want Moira, Charlie, and Porschi in a triangular formation around the table.” Then he turned to Vikas. “Have Kiara helped up there and we are draping the pink and golden fabric over her. Put a rush on it.”
“Boss.” Vikas left to do as ordered.
Kabir walked to the models. Along with a crewmember, he helped Kiara get comfortable on the table. “Better?”
“Yes, thanks! Is my make-up okay? Not too dark, right?” Kiara gracefully moved her legs to the table.
“It’s perfect. It complements the potpourri collection.” Kabir tried not to stare at her face. It reminded him of Aisha; she had a tendency of slipping in his thoughts at the most unusual times. “You all are looking drop-dead gorgeous.” Kabir gave one of his usual grim smiles to all of them.
“Charlie and Moira, you give me sides poses. Porschi, please angle yourself over Kiara’s torso, just hovering. Kiara, you give me a smooth bodyline, left knee bent and a melancholic look. Porschi your look is angry. Kiara, hold your hands up in an intertwined pose, look up at the sky, wondrous. Charlie, throw your head back and then look at the camera, raw and intense. Questions?”
The models were seasoned; they understood what Kabir wanted. He walked back to Uzi. “Are we ready?”
“Yup! Take a look.”
Kabir looked at models through the powerful 200-megapixel camera positioned on the tripod. “The composition looks good. Just make sure to drop the frame half an inch. Dada move that last reflector in.” He clapped his hand to get everyone’s attention. “We are shooting in fifteen seconds.”
The make-up team hurried the final touch-up on the models. The prop teams moved back.
“Models, positions. Shooting in five!” Uzi’s assistant yelled on the megaphone. “Five, four, three, two, one.”
“Hold!” Uzi, grinning, slapped the side of his cap. He turned to Kabir. “We have a new model. Look.”
“What?” Kabir peered at the monitor. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” He stomped closer to the models. Kabir was gritting his teeth. “Kiara, your aunt!”
Puzzled, Kiara got up and turned to glance behind her. “Boo?”
Aisha waved tentatively. “Hi! We . . . had plans?” She chewed her lower lip.
“Get out of my shot!” Kabir bit out.
Aisha felt her cheeks redden. Everyone glared at her except Kiara.
“It’s okay. I’ll just go back.” Aisha spun around.
“Where are you going?”
Aisha’s look was stony as she pointed her chin up at the man who was staring down at her.
“Getting out of your shot, as you so politely requested.” Aisha retorted.
“Boo!” Kia’s tone was cautionary.
“Instead of going down five kilometers to the beach, you could simply take a few steps this way and stand with the others here.” Kabir was holding to his patience by a thin line, a very thin and fragile line.
Aisha stared back at him, her eyes narrowed in defiance.
“Boo!” Kiara’s voice was pleading.
“Fine, whatever.” Aisha took a step forward. The short climb from wh
ere Aisha stood to the flatland was steep. Kabir bent down and offered his hand to her.
“Yeah, right!” Aisha sneered. Using her stick, she took a few quick steps and climbed the steep side.
Kabir’s eyes glinted as he straightened, dropping his hand.
“Oh my God, what happened to your clothes?” Kiara murmured. “Did you fight with a bear?”
“I’m about to. Watch me.” Aisha griped loudly enough for a certain someone to hear. “Looking good, Kia!” Aisha haughtily walked to join the others near the canopy.
“Do you have anyone else coming to meet you, Kiara?” Kabir could not resist that jibe, watching the haughty woman stalking away.
“Only a bear.” Aisha called back.
Kabir felt his mouth twitch at her impudent response, but he bit down on the soft lining of his inner cheek and walked back. He got to his former position. “Ready, Uzi?”
Uzi gave the thumbs up sign.
One of the nearby crew members got a bout of sneezes. “Get him something, someone, please!” Kabir hollered, turning his head and then he saw what was making the man sneeze.
Aisha was standing in front of the man and brushing the dust off her clothes.
“Do you mind?”
Aisha glanced up and saw everyone staring at her.
“Your dusting is making the poor man sneeze his life out. Is it too much to ask you to stop?” Kabir’s words, spoken with exaggerated slowness, had the desired effect. Aisha stopped, and her cheeks turned red as if touched by the scarlet hue of the sun.
“Sorry!” she said gruffly to the man who was stuffing his nose in his T-shirt and putting some distance between her and him.
Kabir went back to doing his job. A sudden thought came to him. The way she had come up was one of his favorite hikes and he had done it innumerable times. It was also very tricky and treacherous. “Did you fall down there?”
“No.” Aisha’s retorted. Her expression was like ‘you wish!’
“Then the dust on—”
“We are losing the light, Kabir!” Uzi interrupted.
Kabir snapped his attention back to his work. “Models, ready?”
They gave him the thumbs up. “Shoot!” Kabir ordered, focusing on work instead.