Shattered Relations | Aru Shah AU |

XXXIII

BRYNNE
She saw Hira's eye twitch. 

"You want to what?" she spluttered, looking hopelessly confused.

Brynne cringed at herself. "Look, I know it's a lot to ask, but this is important. If we can find out if Aru's mom said something to your brother's team about her divorce, then, maybe... maybe we can figure out why exactly she died." 

Hira rubbed her temples, looking shocked. Brynne felt her hope dwindle. 

"It's fine if you don't want to do this," Brynne said, hurriedly. "I mean, it's totally your call." 

...Why am I like this?!

Hira looked up, scrunching a paper napkin in her fist. "I can do this." 

Her hazel eyes sparkled. "It's not a Saturday if you don't want to worm information out of your brother, is it?" 

In response, Brynne snorted out a laugh. 

————

Piano music floated from the overhead speakers, as Brynne offered a perfunctory smile towards the people at Table 7. 

Her thoughts were at Table 21, where Navdeep Raksha sat, talking animatedly to Hira. 

"Hi, I'm Brynne, what would you like?" 

An old woman, with a severe stare said, "I'd like a steak, and..." Brynne automatically tuned out the woman, and jotted down the order, her hands working independently from her brain. 

She saw Hira raise her hand, hailing a waiter, and immediately dashed to Table 21, and repeated the same sentence: "Hi, I'm Brynne, what would you like?" 

Hira offered her a vague smile, though Brynne saw that, in a slight crinkle of her brow, that she was nervous. 

"Um, yeah, I'd like a pesto spaghetti, and you..." she glanced at her brother. 

"Er, I'll have shrimp, I guess," Navdeep said, shrugging his shoulders. 

"And a plate of shrimp," Hira confirmed, before continuing, "and... uh, a Pinot Gratia, from Nevada—1921." 

Navdeep scowled, his gaze turning stern. "You're nineteen. You shouldn't be having that." 

"It's for you, you idiot," Hira said, her voice forcefully cheerful but bordering on exasperation.

Navdeep's scowl faded, before he said, "I'm not supposed to be drin—"

"C'mon, it's my treat," Hira wheedled, putting on her most convincing face. 

"Mom doesn't like it," he muttered, his ears turning pink. 

"Bhai, if you went exactly by what Mom said, you wouldn't even be a lawyer." 

"I... guess. Yeah, one glass of Pinot Gratia from Nevada," 

Brynne plastered a smile, and said, "Sure thing!" before hurrying away. 

As an 18 year old, she wasn't allowed to serve alcohol, which is why one of her fellow waiters took upon the task of serving Hira's table. 

To not arouse suspicion, Brynne made herself scarce, offering assistance at most of the tables surrounding No. 21, keeping herself close enough to hear snippets of the siblings' conversation. 

Hira forced more alcohol into her brother, as their table grew crowded with empty bottles of wine and champagne. 

As Brynne was passing the table, she heard Navdeep say, slurring his words: "Girls are very pretty," to an increasingly frustrated Hira.

True, Brynne thought. But not exactly helpful. 

"Hey, Hiru, maybe you should get a girlfriend," Navdeep said, as he began hiccupping. 

Brynne had to cover her face to hide her snort. 

"Maybe I will," Hira said, casually, inspecting her fingernails. 

"Anyway, bhai, I'm wondering... what if I take up a job at your firm? Naga Associates, was it?" 

"Really? You— hic— want to do law? That's gr— hic— great!" 

"Mm-hmm," Hira said, before looking her brother straight in the eyes. "Anyway, a friend and I were talking, and, we were wondering: do you know what happened to that rich curator? You were handling her case a few years back, weren't you?" 

Navdeep frowned, his eyes clouded. "I shouldn't be— hic—talking this," he said, his voice growing more and more unstable. 

Hira pushed her glass of seltzer towards him. "Drink this. Anyway, my friend's planning to do a true crime podcast about her—her name was Krithika Shah, wasn't it?" 

"Yeah, it was," he said, hiccups breaking his sentences. 

"So did she... you know, say anything to you, about her divorce?" 

Navdeep scratched his chin. "She did— hic— talk about nullifying her first will, and creating a second one," 

Brynne's ears perked up. 

"And? Did she?" 

"Yeah, I think, but Uloopi—that's our boss—was one of the trustees," 

A second will. 

Just as Brynne was about to fire off a text to Aru, she heard a faint thunk, and saw that Navdeep had collapsed into his bowl of shrimp, drool on his cheek. 

"Well, that was informative," Hira said, calmly getting up, and turning to Brynne, with flushed cheeks. 

Brynne gestured towards Hira's comatose brother. "He won't die of alcohol poisoning, will he?" 

"Nah, he's got a strong stomach," Hira said, and, carefully pulled out her brother's wallet, before sliding the credit card on the table. 

"Check, please?" 

Brynne raised her eyebrows, and said, "I thought it was your treat?" 

"I'm a college student working two jobs, Brynne. I'm broke. He, on the other hand—" she jabbed her thumb towards her brother. "—isn't. He can afford it," 

Brynne glanced around, feeling the gazes of the other customers on her back. She put up the act again, and said, "Your bill is on its way, miss,"

————