Pankaj paused, looking expectantly at Sonia, who responded with an understanding nod.
“While Sheetal is collecting the horoscopes, could we go over the house?” Sonia suggested.
“Of course. Let me lead the way”
Pankaj took them on a tour of his home, which was a wonder of wood and stone. Parts of it were even built of mud. Sonia’s eye observed the tiniest detail and she liked everything she saw. It was a warm old house, a perfect blend of rural charm and urban comfort. By the time they finished, it was almost lunchtime and Sheetal insisted that they have an early lunch before Sonia turned to the horoscopes.
Ganesh Pandit, Pankaj’s Secretary, joined them in the dining room. He was a short, stout, middle-aged man with square- rimmed spectacles. Sonia noticed that his hands trembled.
“I’ve specially made Konkani food. Do you eat fish?” Sheetal indicated the food served on big green banana leaves.
“I’m afraid I don’t,” Sonia replied in an apologetic tone.
Jatin smiled. “I do.”
“Good, because Kelshi has some excellent sea fish. There’s curry and fried fish here. And for you,” Sheetal turned to Sonia, “there’s bhakri and jackfruit bhaji, to be followed by rice and pithi, which is a curry of gram paste called Kulith, and, of course, our famous Solkadi - a soup of coconut milk, kokam, and garlic!”
“Sounds wonderful! It’s really good of you to go to so much trouble… ”
“It’s our pleasure! But I do hope you enjoy the meal,” Pankaj told Sonia.
“This is getting to be more like a holiday than a duty call.” The detective shook her head, glancing at Jatin from the corner of her eye. But her Assistant had already begun devouring the delicious fish.
Over the meal, Sonia made small talk with Ganesh Pandit. The secretary seemed reticent and a little reluctant to talk. But Pankaj was in a cheerful mood and Sheetal blushed and responded to her new husband’s chatter with good humour. And Tina joined in the laughter, understanding little but the fact that her parents were having a good time.
After the meal, Pankaj asked Sonia and Jatin to go ahead to the study. He and the others would follow in a few moments.
“Boss, what do you think?” Jatin asked in a low voice, once they were alone in the room.
“Good hospitality,” Sonia commented.
“That’s not what I mean, Boss, you know that.”
“But that’s all I’m going to talk about,” Sonia returned with a wink.
Jatin was a little taken aback. Sometimes he just couldn’t fathom his Boss’s psychedelic thought patterns!
The door opened and Ganesh Pandit barged in. His hasty step and the furtive glance he threw over his shoulder alerted Sonia at once.
“Miss Samarth, how do you like Kelshi?” he asked.
“It’s charming,” Sonia replied, but her tone was wary. Surely Ganesh Pandit wasn’t interested in expounding on the beauty of Kelshi.
“You haven’t seen the Mahalaxmi Temple yet. Laxmi is the goddess of wealth. And the temple is old and you must take darshan of the goddess. They say each and every wish prayed in her temple comes true!”
“Is that right? We sure can do with some money, right, Jatin?”
“Of course!”
“When you leave this house, I’ll accompany you to the temple. It would be my great pleasure to show you the temple” The Secretary’s eyes bored into her.
“I’m sure Jatin and I would love to see the place.”
“Which place is that?” Pankaj asked, as he entered, glancing curiously from Sonia to Ganesh Pandit.
“Mahalaxmi Temple,” Ganesh offered, sounding nervous.
“Oh yes, Kelshi’s a great tourist place. Not that we have many tourists here, mercifully. Fortunately for us, this village is still a hidden treasure. But Ganesh is right. A visit to our temple is a must.”
“Will you look at my photos?” Tina asked shyly.
Surprised, Sonia took the photo albums from the little girl. “Sure. Why don’t you sit beside me and tell me who is who?” She patted the seat on the sofa beside her and Tina happily joined her. Ganesh slipped out of the room unobtrusively.
Pankaj glanced at the photos in his daughter’s small hands. “Where did you find this album, Tina? I think it’s an old one”
“In Mama’s cupboard,” the child replied.
“Don’t worry, I’ll quickly go through them, then you can show me the horoscopes.” Sonia smiled at the girl.
She chatted with Tina as she flicked through the photos, commenting casually on them and expressing interest. Pankaj watched indulgently till they had finished.
“Now run upstairs and read, Tina. I want you to complete that storybook today,” he told her.
“Okay, Daddy!”
As she ran out of the room, Sonia said, “She’s a lovely child”
“Yes, I’m very proud of her. And I’m glad that we’ve found Sheetal to add to our love and closeness. Would you like to see the horoscopes now?”
Sonia nodded, and he handed her three booklets and a piece of paper. Pankaj, Sheetal, Ganesh Pandit - and Jeetu’s horoscope, drawn on the plain paper with his name Jeetu Veer in neat handwriting on the top of the sheet.
“And what about Tina?” Sonia asked.
“Tina’s horoscope? What does that child have to do with the antiques?” Sheetal asked as she entered the room.
“Nothing as far as I know. But there’s always a possibility of a lurking clue in any horoscope… ” Sonia shrugged.
“I don’t know… ” Sheetal hedged.
“It’s okay, darling” Pankaj glanced at his wife. Turning to Sonia, he said, “Sheetal is a little too protective of Tina. I don’t see any harm in showing you Tina’s horoscope”
“Good. By the way, what does Jeetu do?” This time, Sonia looked at Sheetal for an answer.
“He works. What was the name of his firm. ?” She frowned in concentration. “Yes, I remember. It’s Chinar Computers. He’s a Systems Analyst”
“In Pune?”
“Yes, Jeetu thinks Pune is the centre of the IT boom in India. But he travels
