Santosh answered on the first ring. Karishma told her they had decided to go along with her plan
"Dr. Malik is okay with it?"
"No," Karishma said, "No more than I am. It's predictable and Roy would have to be a moron to fall for it"
"But no one has a better idea"
"I do. Arm me to the toe and let me hunt down the bastard and blow him away"
"That plan could sorely affect your quality of life in the future"
"Which is the only reason I'm agreeing to this one. Haseena is of the same mind. It's not an ideal strategy, but it's the only one we've got going. On the plus side, it smacks Roy right where it'll hurt most, in his ego"
"That's why it just might work"
"What did you and Cheeta decide?"
"The girls went. Cheeta stayed"
Karishma smiled into the phone, "Good for Cheeta"
"Yeah, well... Listen up. By the time you get to your place in Goa, there'll be men watching it around the clock. Don't look for them. You won't see them. I hope not, anyway"
"Will you be coming down?"
"Would you invite your best buddy to a lovefest with your new squeeze?"
"I don't know. How kinky are we gonna get?"
"Karu"
"Sorry. I got it," If Roy spotted Santosh, he would know it was a setup.
"I'll be in touch by phone 'round the clock," Santosh continued, "Keep your eyes open and check in often. If you hear a dog sneeze, I want to know about it"
"Are you sure? 'Cause if they have a cold-"
"Will you stop messing around? This isn't funny"
"I know. All joking aside," And she meant it.
"Roy's gone underground, Karu. You know what usually happens when he disappears for a few days"
"A body turns up"
"I don't like it"
"Neither do I. However, I don't think he could find us this soon"
"But it's possible. I've got people all over town talking up your affair with the surgeon who saved your life. Word has probably reached him that you and Dr Malik are a hot item"
"Oh, he'll turn up. I'm sure of that," she hadn't told Santosh or Haseena about the red flag she'd waved in Roy's face in the form of a nursery rhyme. Roy wouldn't be able to resist the dare.
Karishma signed off with Santosh and then went outside to take a look around. She walked the perimeter of the house, around the barn and garage, and checked inside both. Nothing seemed to be amiss. When she came back in, she and Haseena checked all the windows and doors to be certain they were locked. Haseena wasn't worked up, but she had the good sense to be cautious.
"Who would have thought my job as an expert doctor for opinion in a case would result in this?"
"You didn't know the defendant was going to develop a crush on you"
"That word implies an innocent, almost childlike infatuation. This is far beyond that. This is . . ."
When she seemed at a loss for the right word, Karishma summed it up, "Roy"
"Even his name sounds menacing," In a subconscious gesture, she rubbed her arms as though she were chilled, "Did he honestly expect me to be flattered by his creepy attention?"
"Absolutely" Karishma shrugged
"How could he be that arrogant? He was on trial for murder. Capital murder that carried a death sentence. In that situation who could be thinking of romance?"
"No one who's rational. Only someone with Roy's delusions of grandeur. He thinks of himself as the winning batsman"
"In the IPL for professional assassins"
"Something like that. He's one of the best at what he does. As far as we know he hasn't gone international, but why should he? He can make more money with less risk working out of Mumbai, India. Besides, most of the guys who do that kind of killing work deep undercover, which isn't Roy's style. Why should he hassle with popping public officials and having entire governments and RAW on his tail? He's a big fish in a relatively small pond"
"So, what woman wouldn't welcome his attention. That's his thinking?"
"Exactly," Karishma said, "Add to that his quest for the best. He grew up middle class. His only sibling was severely retarded and physically handicapped. His parents depleted their resources to provide for him, so to Roy, acquisitions are a big thing. He sees himself as a well-paid businessman who can recognize and afford the finest of everything. To complete the package, he wants a classy woman by his side"
"What about scorpions?"
"He collects them. Yeah, gives you the heebie-jeebies, doesn't it? They're sort of like his mascot. They're nocturnal, they kill their prey at night. He wouldn't collect anything like coins or stamps or even art because that would be too ordinary. He prides himself on being exceptional"
Haseena tilted her head and regarded Karishma thoughtfully, "You've analysed him thoroughly, haven't you?"
"I haven't been idling my time away since leaving the department. Contrary to what Santu believes, I've been busy. I've collected everything on Roy I could get my hands on"
"Such as?"
"Public-school records. He was psychologically profiled when he was in junior high school, roughly when his criminal career began. That's where I got most of the background stuff. His sociopathic behaviour, the superiority complex, has been consistent throughout his life. I've studied him inside out. Psychologically speaking, I probably know him better than I know myself"
Karishma paused, then said gruffly, "One thing I didn't know was that he was sleeping with Chitra. If I had, I would have warned her to stay away from him, and from me, and I'd have been watching my back that night. If he thinks you and I are lovers..." she didn't need to say more,
"Chitra wasn't even important to him. You're very important, Haseena"
"And I've betrayed him with you"
"That's how he'll see it. Don't underestimate the danger you're in. Santu has got cops and informers spreading juicy gossip about us. Roy won't be able to tolerate our being together. You've cheated on him, and I've stolen one of his play-pretties"
"But I'm not his anything, except an obsession"
"If he thinks you're his, you're his"
"Over my dead body"
"I'd like to avoid that," Karishma tipped up Haseena's chin so that they were looking directly at one another, "Say the word and I'll call Santu back, tell her we'll get Roy by some other means, some way that doesn't put you in danger. I came here last night to warn you, to urge you to get far away until Roy is out of the picture one way or the other"
"That could take a long time"
"I don't think so," Karishma said, thinking again of the note she'd sent to Roy last night
"I'm already in danger, Karishma. With or without you, I declined him. Besides, I can't just up and leave my responsibilities. No, let me put it another way. I won't"
"All right then, how soon can you be ready?"
"You aren't thinking of leaving tonight?"
"As soon as you get packed"
"Packing isn't the issue. You're less than twenty-four hours out of the hospital and you left days before you should have"
"I'm fine"
"You're not fine. Your back is stiff and sore. You can't walk across a room without wincing. Imagine driving across the state. You have no stamina, and I'm still afraid of infection and pneumonia, both of which could be fatal. You might've popped some stitches"
"You said the incision looked fine"
"There are many more sutures inside than out. Promise me that at the first sign of tenderness in your abdomen, you'll tell me"
"I'll tell you. If I start feeling really rotten between here and Goa, I'll stop at the nearest hospital"
"We're not leaving tonight," she said stubbornly, "I've held off to you and Santosh on the police matters. But your health is my domain. We're going nowhere until you've had more rest. End of argument"
They shared the bed since Karishma refused to leave her downstairs alone to sleep on the couch. Karishma said, "It's a police matter to which you should hold off. End of argument"
Being a true gentlewoman, Karishma kept to her side and lay outside the covers. She dozed, but falling into a deep sleep just wasn't going to happen tonight, partially because she had slept so long during the day, partially because she was alert to every sound, partially because she was trying to think with the deviousness of Roy, and partially because she was acutely aware of Haseena sleeping beside her.
The features of her face and the contours of her body had relaxed in sleep. One hand rested outside the covers, near Karishma. It lay palm up, the slender fingers curved inward. It looked susceptible and defenceless, not like the strong, skilled hand of a surgeon. Haseena was the most self-reliant and capable woman she'd ever met. Karishma admired her accomplishments. But she also felt protective of her.
And she wanted to make love to her.
God, did she. She wanted to because... well, because she was a good-looking lady and that was what a lady wanted to do with women she likes. But it wasn't just that. Her humour, charm, and even anger, had failed to pierce Haseena's hard shell of self-containment. Dented it perhaps, but hadn't broken through. Would she be able to reach Haseena if she tried to remove the barrier of her body? It was a provocative thought that left Karishma agitated on several levels.
Haseena shrank from her touch, but she didn't think it was because Haseena disliked her. The reaction was a self-imposed conditioned reflex, part of that control she was so hung up on, a legacy of the Rajan Chadha incident. Passion had landed her in a terrible fix. That didn't necessarily mean that she was any less passionate. She just no longer submitted to it.
Despite her reserve, Karishma could imagine her flushed with arousal. Today when she kissed her, for a few incredible seconds, it hadn't been all one-sided. Haseena hadn't permitted herself to kiss her back, but she had wanted to. And that wasn't the pompous disclaimer of a bragger who'd kissed a lot of women.
Karishma hadn't imagined that catch in Haseena's breath or that almost-but-not-quite surrendering of her tongue. Haseena's skin had felt feverish even through her clothes. Karishma hadn't had to cajole a response from her, either. With two strokes of her thumb Haseena's skin filled with goosebumps ready to be worshipped by her.
Karishma stifled a groan by pretending to clear her throat. Beside her, Haseena slept on, undisturbed and unaware of her misery. She rolled onto her side to face Haseena. If Haseena woke up and challenged her, she could truthfully claim that her back had begun to ache. She couldn't see her anyway. It was too dark in the room.
But she could feel her soft breath, and she didn't need to see her to feed her fantasies. During those long nights of surveillance, she'd had plenty of time to memorize the features of her face.She closed her eyes and willed herself if not to sleep, at least to clear her mind and rest. Karishma would not remember how good that kiss had tasted. She would not think of Haseena, warm and soft, under the light covers, or of that sweet place where she would be even warmer and softer.
A horse nickered, waking Karishma with the impact of a clanging alarm clock. She lay perfectly still, eyes open, holding a lungful of air she didn't dare exhale for fear of missing another sound. She didn't have to wait long before hearing another equine snuffle.
The noises hadn't awakened Haseena. She continued to sleep soundly. Despite the soreness in her back, Karishma came off the bed with the alacrity of a cat and picked up her pistol where she'd left it within easy reach on the nightstand. She tiptoed to the window, pressed herself against the adjacent wall, and leaned forward only far enough to look out.
She watched for several moments but detected no movement in the yard or the clearing between the rear of the house and the barn, but instinct told her something was going on inside that building. Maybe a mouse had spooked one of the horses. Maybe the bobcat had a mate who'd come looking for him. Or maybe Roy was paying them a call.
Karishma crept across the bedroom and, after checking first to see that Haseena was still asleep, slipped from the room and moved soundlessly across the gallery. At the top of the stairs, she paused to listen. She waited for a full sixty seconds but heard nothing except her own pulse beating against her eardrums.
She took the stairs as rapidly as possible but was mindful of creaking treads that would give away her presence. The living room appeared just as they'd left it several hours ago. Nothing had been disturbed. The front door was locked and bolted.
Her pistol was cradled between raised hands as she approached the door leading into the kitchen. She hesitated, then sprang into the room and swept it with her outstretched hands. It was empty, as was the walk-in pantry.
She unlocked the back door and slipped through, walking in a ninety-degree crouch but still feeling exposed. She took cover behind the patio chair in which she'd sat earlier. It wasn't very substantial cover, but darkness also provided concealment. She blessed the skinny moon.
She waited and listened. Soon the unmistakable sounds of movement came from within the barn. She slipped from behind the chair and covered the distance at a run. When she reached the barn, she flattened herself against the exterior wall, hoping to meld into its shadow. She also needed it for support. She was dizzy, out of breath, sweating profusely, and her back felt like she'd been impaled on a rail-road spike.
That's what a few days in the hospital would do for you, she thought. Makes you a weakling. Against any foe stronger than an ant, she might be in trouble. But she had a pistol, and it was fully loaded, and, at the very least, she was going to give the bastard a fight.
She inched along the wall until she reached the wide door, where she stopped to listen. And what she heard bothered her, because she heard absolutely nothing. But the silence was heavy, not empty; she sensed another presence. She knew someone was in there. She knew it in her gut.
Whoever it was had stopped whatever he'd been doing. Something, maybe his own keen instinct, had alerted him to Karishma's presence. He was now listening for Karishma with the same intensity that Karishma was listening for him.
The standoff stretched into its second minute. Nothing moved. There wasn't a sound. Even the horses had become completely still and silent inside their stalls. The atmosphere was thick with expectation. Karishma felt the weight of it against her skin.
Acrid sweat ran into her eyes. It trickled down her rib cage and between her shoulder blades. It stung her incision. Her hands, still gripping her pistol, were slippery with it. She reasoned she could either stand there and slowly dissolve or she could end it here, now.
"Roy! Have you got balls enough to face me like a man? Or are we gonna continue this silly game of hide and seek?"
Following a short silence, a voice came to her from the other side of the wall, "Singh?"
It wasn't Roy. Roy had refined his voice into a low-pitched purr. This one had the nasal intonation of a countryman, "Identify yourself" Karishma said sternly
The man stepped from behind the wall into the opening. Karishma's hands tensed around the pistol and kept it aimed at head level. Mahipal Rathore raised his hands, "Whoa, officer"
His easy-going manner didn't faze Karishma. Cops had died when fooled by that, "What the hell are you doing sneaking around in the dark?"
"I could ask you the same thing, couldn't I? But since you're the one with the firearm, I'll be pleased to answer first. If you'll direct that thing somewhere else"
"Not until I hear why you're in Haseena's barn"
"I was checking on things"
"You gotta do better than that"
"Heard one of her horses got a nasty scratch from a bobcat"
"Who told you?"
"The exterminator. I came to check it out, see if I ought to call the vet"
"At this time of night?"
Mahipal Rathore glanced toward the eastern horizon where by now the sky was blushing pink, "It's practically lunchtime"
Karishma glanced toward the gate. It was closed and locked, with no vehicle parked beyond it,
"How'd you get here?"
"Walked"
She looked down at the man's feet. He was wearing athletic shoes rather than cowboy boots.
Mahipal tapped the left side of his chest, "The cardiologist recommends at least three miles a day. That's about a round trip between our place and Haseena's. I like to get the miles in before it gets too hot."
Reluctantly Karishma lowered the pistol and stuffed it into the waistband of her jeans, "You know, Mr. Rathore, I ought to go ahead and shoot you just for being stupid. Why didn't you call first? Or turn on a light, for god sake?"
"The light switch is in the tack closet. It was locked. Haseena keeps an extra key above the door. I was looking for it when I heard you. Didn't know it was you. Thought it might be another bobcat"
Karishma eyed the older man distrustfully. She didn't think he was lying, he just wasn't telling the whole truth, "Haseena told me she put antiseptic on the scratch and thought it would heal up in a day or two. If she had thought the horse needed a vet, she would have called one"
"Doesn't hurt to get a second opinion"
Mahipal turned and re-entered the barn. Despite her bare feet, Karishma followed. As long as she stayed in the centre aisle, she would be okay. As stables went, Haseena's was as clean as an operating room.
Mahipal went straight to the back closet and ran his hand along the top of the doorjamb. He came away with a key. He unlocked the closet door, reached inside, and, an instant later, the overhead lights came on.
Paying no attention to Karishma, he entered a stall, speaking softly to the mare as he moved in behind her. He located the scratch on the horse's rear leg, then hunkered down to examine it more closely.
When he'd finished, he left the stall, moving around Karishma as though she were an inanimate object. He returned to the closet, switched off the lights, locked the closet door, and replaced the key where he'd found it.
Karishma fell into step behind him. When they got outside, she said, "That scratched mare wasn't your only reason for coming over here this morning, was it?"
The older man stopped and turned. He gave Karishma a look that could've burned a hole through her skull, and then he moved to the corral fence and leaned against it. For the longest time, he kept his back to Karishma and focused on the sunrise. Eventually, he fished a small pouch of tobacco and rolling papers from the pocket of his plaid shirt that had white pearl snaps instead of buttons.
He spoke to Karishma over his wide shoulder, "Smoke?"
"Sure"
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Hey people, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Less than 10 chapters are left and I am very eager to complete this, more twists and turns on the way. Please do share your thoughts. See you soon in the next part.
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