by Leena Clover
This one seemed right up Jyothi's alley.
“Actually, I wanted to ask if you know a girl called Jyothi?” I ventured.
The girl got riled up. “What? Do you want room or not?”
I tried to calm her down.
“My name is Meera. I really need to find Jyothi. You sound like a nice Indian girl. Don't you want to help your fellow country woman?”
I played the Desi card. This seemed to annoy her even more.
“You sound just like her. Trying to take advantage, playing the sympathy card.”
“So! That means you did come across her?” I pushed forward.
“You bet!” the girl started. “She was here. With a list of all her Dos and Don'ts. Luckily, it wasn't a problem for me because I am South Indian too and also a vegetarian. In fact, I was so glad I might be getting a room partner who spoke my native language.”
She was on a roll.
“But too good to be true. That cheapskate showed her true colors.”
“What do you mean?” I wanted to know.
“Well, we got along fine, swapped stories. She told me how she's had a rough time. I can relate. I'm not as rigid as her! You can't be, when you are in a new country. You need to adjust, you know?”
She paused, as if waiting for an answer.
I made some sympathetic noises.
“We seemed to gel. But when I told her about the rent, she bailed. She actually wanted me to let her live rent free.”
We had come across this peculiar trait of Jyothi's before. I wanted more details.
“Why did she think she could get away with it?”
The girl continued. “Well, she didn't say she wanted to stay for free. She said she was waiting for funding. Fat lot of good that does to anyone.”
I knew what Preethi was referring to. Most graduate students, especially international students, worked hard to get some sort of financial aid. It was one of the carrots dangled in front of them when they applied for admission. The general understanding was that you just had to pull on in the first semester, get good grades, catch the eye of some professor, and you would be rolling in moolah for the rest of your time at university. As far as I could tell, Jyothi had neither good grades, nor good contacts.
“Go on!” I wanted to get the whole story.
Preethi continued. “She was trying to convince me to let her live without rent for the remaining semester. And she would pay me back when she got an assistantship in Spring. She didn't even have a campus job, you know.”
“Couldn't you have accommodated her? The term is almost over.”
“No way! I have to pay my bills.”
Preethi was scandalized at the suggestion.
“I told her never to come around again. I hate moochers!”
The girl was sounding disturbed again. I thanked her and hung up.
“You got all that?” I asked Tony and Becky, who jumped as I banged the phone down.
They nodded as I wailed, “More false alarms.”
“Or,” Tony said, “think of it as eliminating possibilities.”
“She may have called many other people. How many more ads are we going to go and scrounge for?”
“I think we should also start looking at realtors now. Although I doubt they will list something super cheap.” Becky mused.
“I agree,” Tony said in a matter of fact tone. “But we have done so much. Let us explore this option too.”
I sighed. “Well, I'm beat. Let's call it a day.”
We all agreed to that. I called out goodbye to Sylvie and stepped outside. I was home in five minutes.
It was getting close to 8:30 and Motee Ba was setting the table.
“Wash up soon, Meera. Dinner's ready.”
Chapter 27
As I walked into the kitchen the next morning, I heard a big row. Now what, I wondered. Pappa was tapping his cane, looking miffed.
“Good Morning, Pappa!” I said brightly.
“What kind of morning is it when a man can't get his egg?”
He had a spoon in hand and toast on his plate, but he seemed waiting for his daily soft boiled egg.
“What are you starving me for, Hansa?” he demanded.
Motee Ba was looking harried.
“Come on, Mr. Patel. Go without your egg for one day. I will get some from Walmart on the way back home today.”
But there was no consoling Pappa.
“What I don't get is, why haven't you got eggs from the farm today? Tell me!!”
“Stop right there!” Pappa hollered as I tried to sneak away. “Go and get me some fresh eggs now, Meera!” he ordered.
“But I'm getting late for work,” I protested.
“Send the boy, then. Where is he?”
He looked around for Jeet who hadn't come into the kitchen yet.
“Stop right now, Mr.Patel. No one is going to the farm, and that is my final word.”
I raised my eyebrows, sending a questioning glance toward Motee Ba.
“Those Millers! I'm not going anywhere near them until that idiot nephew of theirs stops harassing my baby. And that's it. No more talk.”
She challenged Pappa with a glare. He gave up and started buttering his toast.
I got into my car and hot footed it to work. I looked at the Yellow Pages whenever I got a chance and noted down the names of property management or apartment rental companies. Maybe I didn't need to. The top rental companies had signs over the buildings they managed, and in a small town like ours, it is easy to remember them. But I still needed addresses and phone numbers.
I grabbed a sandwich from the food court for lunch and called up the numbers I had short listed. The biggest one, Swan Creek Rentals was open till 4 PM. Another one, Amy's Property Management was open till 6 PM and then there was Pioneer Rental which would be open till 5 PM, but would stay open beyond that for appointments. I fixed times to meet with each of these, and called Tony. He would be ready by 3:30 and I was going to pick him up.
Tony walked into the library just as I was gathering my keys.
“Oh, I thought I was coming for you,” I said.
“But I came instead,” Tony smiled. “No big deal, I got a ride, so I took it. What are we doing now?”
I briefed him on the three names I had.
“Let's try to cover these today, and see what we get.”
“Okey Dokes, babe.”
Tony hummed a tune as we walked to my car. Ten minutes later, I was pulling into Swan Creek Rentals. A youngish girl was talking on the phone in hushed tones. She waved us over to the seats in front of her. Probably a Pioneer student, I thought.
“Hello! Welcome to Swan Creek Rentals. We have the perfect home for your needs. How may I help you today?” She asked brightly.
I introduced myself.
“We spoke earlier this morning. I'm Meera Patel and this is Tony Sinclair.”
“Oh. You must've spoken to Ida. She works mornings. But don't worry, I can help you with whatever you are looking for. So are we moving in together?”
Her question hung in the air. Tony cleared his throat. I plunged in.
“Actually, we are looking for someone who may have come here. Do you have any one bedroom or studio apartments available?”
The girl replied eagerly. “We have several one bedroom apartments perfect for a young couple such as yourself. There are some top properties that have a pool and barbecue grills. Then there are some apartments by the lake. You can access the jogging trail around the lake very easily from there.”
“Hold on, hold on. We are looking for something that is close to campus. Walkable, actually.”
She seemed deflated.
“Really? But the ones close to campus are not that great. They are older properties, mostly rented by foreign students.”
Her voice went down an octave when she said 'foreign'. I looked at Tony. Apparently, we were in the right place.
“OK, so show us the ones close to campus. The ones that are available.”
The girl turned a few pages of a catalog and started pointing out properties.
“All these will be move-in ready by Christmas,” she smiled brightly.
“Oh, we wanted something immediately,” I told her.
“This is immediate,” the girl explained. “Most rentals in the area are on a six month or one year lease, and they are rented out when the term starts. These belong to students who will move out after exams week. We will clean and repaint and do a spruce up before renting them out again.”
“Well, we’re actually looking for something that is available right now. As in this week, or even today.”
The girl looked at us as if we were crazy. Then she gathered herself and pasted a smile on her face.
“I’m sorry. We have nothing of that sort available. Maybe you should try Amy's Rentals or any of the smaller companies.” She almost smirked but then seemed to control herself.
We took her leave and walked out.
“You didn't even ask her about Jyothi,” Tony pointed out.
“No need. I'm sure Jyothi wouldn't have lasted two minutes in that place.”
I felt I was beginning to think like Jyothi Sudhakaran. Tony shrugged and got into the car.
Our next stop was Pioneer Rentals. Most of their customers were students, and they owned properties close to campus. So the location part was not a problem here.
“We don't have studio apartments. Not many takers, you know.”
An elderly lady dressed in an orange and green cardigan spoke with us.
“Most of our customers are undergrads or international students. They generally prefer the two bed apartments. Split between four, the rent is not much.”
“Do you have anything available at this time? Like move-in ready?” I persisted.
“Not at this time, hon. That's what I told the other girl who came in here.”
“What other girl?” I asked hopefully.
“Well, she was sort of ethnic. I don't mean she was a foreigner - there's plenty of those around. This one was very different in her personality and mannerisms. She sounded desperate. She kept pestering me for any small apartment, and tears were rolling down her cheeks. ‘Please, I am about to be homeless’, she kept saying. But there's nothing free until the semester ends.”
The lady seemed kind.
“Tell you what,” she added. “I told the girl the same thing. Maybe someone's renting out a room in their house, or a garage or something. That was her best bet. Sorry I couldn't help you.”
She sounded contrite.
“Not at all, Ms. Jones,” I read the name off her name tag. “You have been a big help.”
“Well, that was a waste of time!” Tony burst out as soon as we walked out of the Pioneer office.
I was quiet. “Hmm ... maybe not! We know Jyothi was here. And we know she must have got the same advice from the lady.”
“Do we need to go to the other office now?” Tony sounded bored.
“Why not? Let's just do it so we can check it off our list.”
Amy's Property Management was just a block away, so we decided to walk.
“This street seems familiar,” Tony said, as we passed a couple of churches.
“Hey Meera, do you realize where we are?” Tony was interested, all of a sudden.
I looked around.
“We've been here before, sure. But that's true for almost every street in Swan Creek.”
I shrugged. Tony punched me in the arm and rolled his eyes.
“This is the same street we were on while hunting for Jyothi's apartment. In fact, see that red brick building on the corner? That's the one.” Tony pointed.
I finally caught on.
“Oh yes! So Amy's was walking distance from where Jyothi lived. She must have gone there for sure.”
We walked a bit faster and were soon entering the rickety door of Amy's Property Management office.
“Hello! Anybody here?” Tony hollered.
There were some muffled sounds behind a closed door and a young girl peeked out.
“Be there in a sec.”
We seemed to have disturbed someone's rendezvous and that made us giggle. The girl came out, smoothing her tousled hair and straightening her top. A six foot tall, tightly muscled hunk snuck out.
“Yo,” he nodded at us, and we nodded back.
The guy was wearing low slung pants which barely hung on his hips, showing brown checked boxers inside.
The girl cleared her throat. “Welcome to Amy's Rentals, err, Amy's Property Management. How can I help you today?”
“We are looking for a one bedroom or studio apartment that's available right now. Not in December, but today!” I explained.
“Oh ... we don't deal in one bedrooms or studios,” she started.
I was disappointed, and my feelings must have been evident on my face.
“But ...” the girl winked. “I do know someone who has one available.”
I perked up. “Really?”
The girl nodded again, patiently confirming what she had said.
“Here's the thing. I am actually looking for a missing girl. She was the one who was supposed to be looking for an apartment. I wonder if she came here.”
“Oh! You mean Jyothi, right? The girl who lives with Durga over in that red brick building?”
This sounded too good to be true.
“I live in the same building,” the girl explained. “I know the girls didn't get along and Jyothi wanted something on her own. She knew I worked here, so she kept asking me for leads.”
“And …?” Tony was finally looking a bit interested.
“Well, I asked around, you know?” The girl waited for us to catch on.
“Go on,” I urged.
“I saw a flyer about someone renting out a room over their garage,” the girl leaned forward as if confiding in us.
“Where did you see this?” I asked, wondering how we had missed it.
“Oh, it was in Perkins, in a coffee shop.”
My face fell again.
The girl held up her hand. “The flyer was in a Perkins coffee shop, because the owner works there at the bank. But the room he is renting out is right here in Swan Creek. Close to campus, in fact, on the West side, a couple blocks beyond the frat houses.”
“What did Jyothi say to that?” I asked.
“She was excited. She took the address and number from me. I thought she had moved there? You say she's missing? How sad! Aren't the police doing anything?”
I gave the girl a brief version of what we had learned so far.
“Well, I hope you find her. She was a bit lost, you know what I mean?” she squinted at me.
“Yeah, I know,” I said wearily. “You have been a big help. Thanks so much!”
We got up, and the girl called out just as I was getting out of the door.
“Wait! Don't you want the address?”
She had scribbled down a name and number on a Post-It and was holding it out for me.
“Of course! Thanks so much.”
I mentally slapped myself for forgetting something so important and took the paper from her.
The six foot hunk was standing in a corner. He said 'Yo' again and walked inside, probably to pick up where he had left off.
We started walking back to the car.
“So what do you think?” I asked Tony.
“Well, the address is worth checking out. Why not? It is a valid clue. But ...” he held up his hand. “Enough for now. I'm starving! And maybe you should take Becky along for this one. She's feeling left out.”
I nodded and we pulled into the diner parking lot a few minutes later.
Chapter 28
We greeted Jon and Sylvie and poured out our progress to Becky.
“So, do you want to want to come with me when we meet this ...” I looked down at the paper in my hand. “Dick Wilkes”.
Becky sounded eager but hesitant.
“I'll have to ask Sylvie. Probably can't go d
uring the dinner rush.”
“Why don't I talk to him first on the phone and ask him when he's free?” I suggested. “We can make our plans after that.”
An hour later, I pulled up into our drive and walked in from the kitchen. Motee Ba was sitting at the round kitchen table, making a list.
“What's that?” I asked, pulling up a chair.
She looked up and frowned.
“Why don't you freshen up and come back? We have lots to discuss.”
I shrugged and went to my room. A quick shower later, I got into my jammies and slid my feet into my fuzzy mules. I padded into the kitchen and sat down.
“Have you looked at a calendar recently?” Motee Ba peered over the top of her glasses.
She looked stern and I wondered why.
“Yeah. Today's October 18, I think?” I still didn't have a clue what she was getting at.
“Meera! Diwali is a week away, and we have work to do!” I finally connected the dots.
Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of our biggest festivals. It is also the Guajarati New Year and we celebrate it with all the traditions and in grand style. Like with any festival, Diwali comes bearing gifts and lots of food. And the week before is generally spent cooking it. I had been so caught up in the Jyothi drama that I had forgotten about all the things we had to do leading up to Diwali.
“I'm sorry, Motee Ba, I almost forgot! Tell me what's the plan?”
I had to make it up to her.
“Hmm ...” Motee Ba muttered. “That girl's got you all turned around. Do you remember we are having house guests?”
I kicked myself again. My aunt, uncle and cousins generally show up for Diwali. It is a few chaotic days in the year, but it is the one time we all get together as a family.
“Anita's coming alone this year, because the kids are busy with their term work. Vipul is busy working on a big project so he may not make it.”
I took a deep breath and sighed. My aunt is a trial at the best of times. Having her as the only guest seemed daunting.
“So what are we cooking for Diwali this year?” I asked Motee Ba.
“Anita has ordered stuff from a lady in New Jersey. We will just make a grand meal for our Diwali party on the 28th. It's next weekend.” She added meaningfully.