The Gold Smugglers

PART NINE

21st October, evening. Morris & Lawrence were well dressed and ready to leave the hotel. Pravin had already left, there was one man sitting on the bean bag- the senile Harinath Chaurasia.

'Aap log kahan jaa rahe ho?' he asked, on seeing Morris & Lawrence, who looked confused for a moment, but Morris then understood.

'Mr. Sukhwani's house.'

'Matlab ghar?' Morris & Lawrence exchanged confused looks. They opened the exit door of the hotel. Mr. Chaurasia suddenly got up, and when the two of them turned back at him, he sat down on the bean bag.

'We'll walk the way to Mr. Sukhwani's house, what do you say, Sean?' said Lawrence after they had come out of the hotel.

'That sounds good.'

They started walking. The road was pretty much empty, except for a handful of people walking in different directions. Both of them were having good talks on the way. Lawrence suddenly checked his jeans pocket.

'What! What! This can't be!!'

'What's wrong, sir?'

'My revolver, it's missing!!'

'What!! Are you sure you had brought it with you?'

'Yes, I'm fully sure!!! I always carry it with myself for self-defense.'

'My god!!'

'I even checked my pockets when we were about to leave, it was there!! Then we met-'

'Mr. Chaurasia! But an eighty-three-year-old man can't rob us, can he?'

'Well, I don't know!! We better go to Mr. Sukhwani's house now.'

'For better?? Your revolver- your signature- it is missing!!!'

'Well, we can't turn down his invite, can we? And we've come a long way, we cannot go back to the hotel now, it is not possible.'

'Fine then, let us go.'

Mr. Sukhwani's mansion was arranged intricately from the outside. The security guard whom Morris & Lawrence had met that day was dressed in traditional clothes and helping with some decorations.

'Aiye, welcome, welcome!' He greeted the two ex-officers.

'Where is Mr. Sukhwani?'

Suddenly, a tall man wearing a sherwani approached them. Mr. Sukhwani looked unrecognizable in these clothes, and he was smiling, as usual.

'Welcome, Mr. Morris, Mr. Lawrence!'

Suddenly, a young boy wearing brand new clothes came behind Mr. Sukhwani. It was none other than Pravin.