Gone with the Wings

by Leena Clover

  Dad and Jeet had come in.

  “Ba, do we have to do the Diwali party this year?” Dad asked hesitantly.

  I suddenly realized I was the reason for his hesitation. We generally invited a lot of Dad's coworkers from the department and the university for the Diwali party. It was almost expected, because we did the round of Christmas parties at everyone's place. The cloud of suspicion was hanging dark over me. And then there was Prudence. I wondered how far we were supposed to carry our mourning. Were we expected to abandon any celebrations?

  Motee Ba looked disappointed. The Diwali party is her thing! She puts on a lavish spread every year, and likes to dazzle the guests. It’s also a great opportunity to give our friends a glimpse of our culture, dress up and put on some bling.

  “What do you say, Meera?” she looked at me expectantly. “We are in an unusual situation. But you haven't done anything wrong. So why should we cancel our party?”

  I was a bit muddled.

  “I honestly don't know what to say. Do we have to decide right now?”

  “Not now, but soon!” Motee Ba said and motioned Dad and Jeet to sit down.

  “Why don't we go ahead with the planning? We will still have the party, just invite more or less people based on Meera's decision.” Dad suggested.

  Motee Ba seemed mollified.

  “That's not a bad idea! So I still get to have the party. Let's proceed with allocating the chores.”

  She looked at Jeet and he groaned.

  “You are responsible for setting up all the lights and the lamps, like every year,” she warned him. “Also, setting up the tables/ chairs with the special linens and the good china.”

  Jeet nodded meekly.

  “Speak up, I want to make sure you have heard me.”

  Motee Ba is well aware of how Jeet gets out of chores.

  “Get Tony to help you if needed.”

  She looked at Dad. “You are in charge of the drinks, like always. Stock all the drinks you need, and the glasses, ice, wine etc.”

  Dad nodded and said "yes".

  My turn was next.

  “Meera! We have to plan the menu. Sit up straight!”

  I was tired mentally and physically but I knew this was important to Motee Ba.

  We went over a sample menu, with enthusiastic suggestions from Dad and Jeet. Pappa had already tabled his special requests.

  My stomach growled. “What’s for dinner now?”

  “Stuffed eggplants and Daal,” Jeet said, lifting the lids off a few pots on the stove.

  I got up and started setting the table. Tomorrow was going to be busy, tracking down Mr. Wilkes, so was the week ahead. Diwali was a time for celebration in India. I wondered how Jyothi's family would be coping with her disappearance.

  Chapter 29

  I rushed through my routine the next morning, grabbing some breakfast on the go.

  “What's the rush?” Motee Ba asked as I slathered chundo, a spicy mango relish onto some hot thepla flatbread, rolled them and stuffed them in a paper towel. I planned to munch on them on the way to work.

  “Lots to do, tell you later!” I kissed Motee Ba on the cheek and waved bye to her.

  “Let me know what you decide with Becky,” Tony stressed as he rang up my coffee. “Make sure you don't go there alone. If Becky can't go with you, call me. Promise me, Meera!”

  He grabbed the half eaten theplas from my hand and stuffed them in his mouth.

  “What ... you thief! I'm still hungry!”

  Tony grabbed a protein bar from the counter and handed it to me. I stomped out of the door and got into my car.

  There was a long line of students at my desk and a couple of hours whizzed by. I finally got a few minutes to stretch my legs. I walked to the adjoining building which was the engineering department. I got a can of soda from the vending machine and came outside. I leaned against the brick wall at a spot that was bathed in sunlight. After a few sips, I went in and called the number on the piece of paper the girl at the realtor's had given me.

  “Hello,” a voice drawled at the other end.

  “Hi, my name is Meera Patel. I am calling about your ad? Is this Mr. Wilkes?”

  “Sure is, shugah!” The man replied in a syrupy voice. “You lookin' for some lodgings?”

  “Is your room still available?”

  “Sure is,” said Mr. Wilkes, dragging out the ‘I’s.

  “When can I come and check it out?” I prayed it wouldn't be the dinner hour.

  “How about 4:15? I will be back from work by then?” Mr. Wilkes asked.

  “Sounds good. See ya then, Mr. Wilkes!”

  I hung up and immediately dialed the diner.

  Sylvie answered the phone and I could hear her smile as she heard my voice.

  “Hey Baby! How are you?”

  “Very well, thank you, Sylvie. How are you and Jon today?”

  “Never better, Meera”. Sylvie was her usual upbeat self. “I hear ya'll have put Honey to work?” She laughed out loud. “You better be ready to help her. God knows I will have to be.”

  We talked a bit more about the upcoming party.

  “Sylvie, can you spare Becky for some time today? Please?”

  “Hmm ... Becky's been waiting to hear from you all morning. Talk to her.”

  Becky came on the phone, panting with excitement. “When are we going, Meera?”

  “4:15. Can you make it?”

  I could hear her talking to Sylvie in the background.

  “Sylvie says yes!” Becky came back excited.

  She sounded very eager, and I resolved to let her do the talking.

  “Ok Becks! I gotta go. I'll pick you up at 4.”

  I hung up and turned back to my desk.

  The day whizzed by as I worked through lunch. I stepped out of the library at 3:45 and briskly walked toward the parking lot. I'd snagged a spot near the Student Union building early this morning. I made a right turn, after patiently waiting for a bunch of people to cross the street. I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally merged onto the highway.

  Becky was waiting for me outside the diner.

  “Get in! We're already running late.”

  She climbed into the seat and I merged onto the road to make a U turn to head back.

  “So how do you want to go about this?” Becky asked eagerly.

  “Just wing it,” I shrugged. “We're just talking to him. You can ask him whatever you think of.”

  I crossed the campus and entered the street on the address. The place was a block north of campus, conveniently close.

  A tall, burly man in a Stetson was waiting in front of the house. He was dressed in Khakis and a light blue shirt. The striped tie he was wearing had been loosened, and a couple of buttons at the top of his shirt were open. He was wearing boots and had a shadow on his face.

  His face broke into a smile as we got out of my car.

  “Hello Ladies! About time.”

  I glanced at my watch. It was 4:17.

  “Thank you for meeting with us, Mr. Wilkes.”

  I offered him my hand and he grasped it in a hearty grip.

  “No problem at all. Call me Dicky. Everyone does!”

  “We saw your flier about renting out a room. Is it still available??”

  “Yes, Ma’am!” Dicky Wilkes drawled and smiled. “You want a tour?”

  Everything he said seemed suggestive. I shook myself and cleared my throat.

  “Well, we are actually looking for a girl who may have come here to look at your room.”

  The man's face fell.

  “So you don't want the room?”

  Becky spoke up. “Not at this time, but if you have more fliers, I will put them up in the diner where I work. You know Sylvie's Cafe over on the highway?”

  “Oh yeah ... great N'orleans food. And they're also doing some nice spicy Indian stuff now.”

  “Right,” Becky smiled. “I work there. And Meera here can put up some flyers over in the library at Pioneer. I'
m sure lotsa students will be looking for a room in Spring.”

  The man seemed pacified a bit.

  “Okay, ask me what you want. You got 15 minutes.”

  I plunged in. “Well, we know this girl was looking for a place for herself urgently. And there is hardly anything available at this time. And then the girl over at Amy's Rentals told us about your place.”

  “UmmmHmmmm...go on!” The man grunted.

  “So we wondered if she came here. She was short on money, I think.”

  Dicky Wilkes finally opened up. “Do you mean an Indian girl? Was here alright. Name started with a G or J.”

  “Jyothi?” I asked eagerly. “With long black hair in a plait?”

  “Sounds like her,” Dicky nodded. “I fixed up this room real good. It's above the garage with a separate entrance. Has a small kitchen and a nice bathroom. Almost 500 square feet of space. Centrally heated and cooled. New carpet. And furnished to boot.”

  He rattled off all the features of the room he was renting.

  “And just 250 bucks a month. Now that's a small price to pay for privacy, I say.”

  We agreed.

  “And I ain't gonna keep a watch like a warden, if you know what I mean?”

  He looked at us and winked.

  “So? Didn't she like it?” Becky asked.

  “She liked it alright. She wasn't ready to pay for the price. Said it was out of her budget.”

  Becky and I looked at each other. We knew very well what Jyothi's budget was. She was just looking for a freebie.

  “That must have been disappointing,” I commiserated with Dicky Wilkes.

  He shrugged.

  “Hey! There'll be others. But this girl, she was something. She pleaded and begged me to let her stay here.”

  I was astounded. Jyothi could have asked the same concession from her roomies. What had made her plead with a strange man rather than the girls she knew? Must've been some fight, I thought.

  “She asked me if I knew of any other place cheaper than this,” Dicky volunteered.

  I felt hopeful. Dicky looked uncertain.

  “Go on, Mr. Wilkes. Did you send her somewhere else?” Becky egged him on.

  “Well, there's a couple o' places lying abandoned. I've seen people come outta there in the morning.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Can you please explain that? I'm not sure what you mean.”

  Dicky looked uncomfortable. “Foreclosures, you know. There's a couple of places that have been abandoned by the owners. The homeless folks, they crack a window somewhere, and find a way to get in. There's one such house a couple of miles out on the highway, near where I go to work.”

  “Did you tell the girl to go there?” I was furious.

  “Well, not exactly.” He looked a bit guilty. “Well, maybe I said she could get something cheaper there.”

  There was nothing more to be had out of Dicky Wilkes.

  “Would you tell anyone else who may be looking for a room?” he pleaded.

  Becky took some handmade flyers from him and we promised to put them up in the cafe, the library and the Student Union.

  “Well, that's that!” sighed Becky. “And no, we should not go to those run down houses right now, Meera. One, it seems shady. Two, I need to get back to work.”

  We got back to the diner in a few minutes. Tony was sipping coffee, eating a piece of Sylvie's pecan pie. He raised his eyebrows.

  “Hold on, let me settle down,” I said.

  Becky put up a flyer on the diner's bulletin board as promised and waved to us on her way to the kitchen.

  I gave Tony a brief version of what had happened. He looked surprised.

  “Do you think Jyothi would have walked 2-3 miles to go to a rundown place that may be shared by other people? She wasn't ready to share a frying pan, remember?”

  I nodded. “It does sound uncharacteristic. But, desperate times. The roomies had asked her to move out by month end. Who knows what kind of pressure she was under?”

  Tony looked at me.

  “So, do you want to go check this place out?”

  “I'm not sure,” I admitted. “Getting dark too.”

  “Seems like the perfect time,” Tony exclaimed. “Just think. The day's winding up and it's getting dark. Time for the birdies to fly home?”

  “Hmm ... that does make sense. Let's go.”

  We hastened out of the place before anyone could stop us for a chat. Tony gunned his pickup and we were soon turning on the road to a neighboring town.

  “Where do we go now?” I was stumped.

  In the rush of the moment, I had forgotten to get any address or look up the place online.

  “Let's just wing it. Not that we have a choice.” Tony smiled and broke out in a laugh.

  We turned into what looked like a sub division and drove slowly through it. Lights were lit in windows, kids were playing in the yard and families were sitting down for dinner. We pulled out and tried a couple of more such by lanes without luck.

  “Let's try the other side,” Tony said as he slung a U-turn on the road.

  He took a left into a sub division that was similar to the one on the other side of the road.

  “Cedar Grove.”

  The name was etched in wood at the side of an attractive entrance facade. We turned in and came across houses on large lots, with a patch of lawn in front and fenced in yards at the back. We drove through slowly and finally hit pay dirt.

  One big house with gray siding had an overgrown yard. There was a For Sale sign stuck in the lawn out front. The drive was littered with dried leaves and fast food wrappers.

  “Could be the place?” I whispered.

  “Why are you whispering?” Tony whispered back.

  I cleared my throat and said, “I don't know. Let's wait a bit farther.”

  Tony drove ahead and made a turn at the end of the road at a cul de sac. He stopped a couple of houses down and parked. We still had a good view of the house. I slung down a bit as my stomach rumbled. I had skipped eating in the rush and now I was starving. I fiddled in the glove compartment of Tony's truck and took out a protein bar. I dug into it with gusto.

  “Got any more of that?” a voice spoke in my ear and I breathed in a waft of stale liquor.

  I sat up in shock and looked to my left. An older derelict was standing just outside the window. He was dressed in frayed clothes splattered with stains. 3 day stubble covered his chin and his eyes looked glazed. He had a black trash bag slung on his shoulder and one toe peeped out of his torn shoe.

  He swayed from side to side and rasped out again. “You got any more, lady? I am starving.”

  I just shook my head No. I thought a second, and handed over the bar that I had taken a bite out of to him. He grabbed it and stuffed half in his mouth. He gave me a mock salute and turned away.

  I saw him shuffle slowly away from the truck. I looked at Tony. He placed a finger on his mouth motioning me to be quiet and just watch.

  The man crossed the road and turned into the yard for the run down house. He went by the side toward the garage door and someone opened it a few feet. Just then, a shiny convertible sped in and screeched to a stop. A well dressed blond haired guy got out and jogged toward the old man. He held him back from going inside and they had words.

  We could just hear some heated tones of their conversation but not any actual words. The old man dragged some notes from his trash bag and tried to count out a few to give to the blond guy. They argued further, and there was a loud bang inside.

  Tony started the truck and drove out of there without a look back.

  I finally burst out as we merged onto the highway.

  “What was that? Why did you flee from there?”

  Tony looked tense. “I have no idea what was going down there, Meera. But it wasn't safe. Your Dad will have my hide if anything happens to you. Plus, you're already a suspect. You don't want to be caught at such a place.”

  “Bu
t what does it all mean?” I wailed. “Nothing makes sense.”

  “I am stumped myself,” Tony admitted. “Maybe that guy was the realtor and he's taking money to let people live in the house. It's not legal, you know. Or maybe, there’s something more sinister going on.”

  “Like what?” I cried.

  Tony just shrugged his shoulders again. “I don't know.”

  I suddenly remembered our reason for scoping out the place.

  “Do you realize Jyothi could be in that place? Maybe even held against her wishes?”

  Tony looked skeptical.

  “Now you're being dramatic. But you never know. This is a job for the police now. Let's relay all this to your Dad and then go to the cops with it. Whether the girl's there or not, it is certainly not a place you should be.”

  Tony gave me a knowing look.

  “And you better listen to me on this one, Meera.”

  Chapter 30

  It was past 7 PM when we walked into the kitchen. Motee Ba was at the stove cooking dinner.

  “I'm starving! Do you have anything to eat?”

  “Well, we still have two hours until dinner,” Motee Ba said. “I'll make a quick grilled cheese for you. Meanwhile, eat a fruit or two. And get cleaned up.”

  I nodded, peeling a banana.

  “You want the same I guess?” she asked Tony.

  I washed up and changed into some sweats. I sprayed myself with Body Splash, longing to forget the stench coming off the old man. I walked into the kitchen just as my sweet granny was ladling steaming grilled cheese sandwiches on to a platter.

  I got a Tupperware container of salsa out of the fridge and picked up some sour cream. I scooped salsa and sour cream on top of the grilled cheese and cut into it with a knife. Tony was doing the same, except he added some jalapenos on top.

  There was silence for a few minutes as we demolished the food on the plate.

  “That should keep us for some time,” I smiled.

  “What's for dinner, Granny?” Tony piped up.

  “Nothing for you. Your mother called and she expects you home for dinner.”

  I tried to catch Tony's eye and beckoned him to come outside. There was a light inside Dad's study and I had seen his car outside. This was as good a time as any to tell him about our little adventure.