Pankaj was staring at his wife, his face impassive. But a muscle twitched in his cheek.
“I guess his horoscope will tell us that anyway,” Sonia said pleasantly.
For a while silence reigned, as Sonia flicked through each horoscope. Pankaj - Libra as the zodiac sign, with Gemini in the ascendant. That’s where his good looks came from. Sheetal - Sagitarius as the zodiac sign as well as ascendant. Intelligent, smart, and courageous. Jeetu - Aquarius as the zodiac, with Scorpio in the ascendant; Saturn, Harshal, and the Sun in Scorpio. Sonia paused, frowning. The wall clock ticked loudly and the sea waves lashed outside. The rain threatened to beat down any moment.
Pankaj watched the detective, a mixture of curiosity and wonder on his face. Sheetal glanced down at her hand, studying it minutely.
Jatin’s eyes flicked from one face to the other and then to his Boss, whose one finger was twirling a lock of hair. Her foot tapped. He smiled. Music was playing in her mind and her foot was involuntarily keeping beat - his Boss’s way of dealing with her Inspiration formula, in the absence of actual blaring music!
At length, Sonia glanced up and Jatin saw the gleam in her eyes. He experienced a delightful tingle of satisfaction. His Boss had stumbled onto something, he was positive of it!
But to his surprise, she quickly camouflaged the look of triumph and said, “I’d like to take these horoscopes back to my office. I need to consult some almanacs. Do you think you could part with these for a while?”
Pankaj looked visibly disappointed. “Oh, I see. Yes, of course you can take them.”
“And as soon as I’ve finished, I’ll give you a call,” Sonia promised. “And now I think we should take our leave.”
“All right.” Pankaj continued to look disappointed.
“Don’t worry, Mr Naik. I’ve already seen as much as I need to. It’s enough to give me a lead. And I promise you, you’ll find your antiques.” She smiled confidently.
“Do you really think so?” Sheetal asked. “We’ve been so worried. I mean, apart from the fact that the statues are valuable, it doesn’t feel good that there’s a thief around us. Or that someone can carry something out of the house without our knowledge.”
“Absolutely,” Sonia assured her. “Thank you so much for your hospitality, both of you” She spied Pankaj’s secretary, in the background. “Mr Pandit, you promised to show us the Mahalaxmi Temple. Are you coming with us?”
“Actually, I have my scooter. I’ll follow you there,” the Secretary answered.
The goodbyes were said and Jatin and Sonia made their way out of the house. At the bridge, they turned. Pankaj and Sheetal still stood at the door. Tina had joined them. The little girl waved. Sonia waved back and then she and Jatin stepped onto the rickety bridge.
“It’s been two days since Sonia Samarth took the horoscopes,” Sheetal remarked.
“Hmm… ” her husband grunted, preoccupied.
Pankaj and Sheetal were relaxing in a clump of trees, lying on their backs. Pankaj’s hand was flung over his eyes. Sheetal was gazing up at the sky. Tina sat beside them, playing with the sand. Rays of the sun filtered through the tall pines. The shimmering vastness of the sea turned the waves into copper flames. The sun sank deeper over the rust-gold water.
Sheetal turned on her side to face Pankaj. “Aren’t you concerned?”
“About what?”
“I mean, you believe in this horoscope business of hers, you invited her here to find out who stole the antiques, and she seemed like a nice person. But what about the antiques? Why hasn’t she reported anything at all as yet on them?”
“She will. She seemed pretty confident. We just need to be patient,” Pankaj mumbled. He straightened suddenly. “Oh! By the way, I clean forgot! Guess who I met today in Pune?”
“Someone I know?”
“The only person you know! Jeetu!”
“Jeetu!” Sheetal turned astonished eyes on her husband.
“Are you sure? I mean, you’ve never met him… ”
“I knew him the moment I set my eyes on him.
And besides, he seemed to recognize me at once.”
“Where… where did you meet him?”
“At the racecourse.”
“Then that’s impossible. Jeetu doesn’t bet.”
“He was there with a friend. And why do I get the impression that you seem uneasy with the fact that I met him?” Pankaj shot his wife a curious glance. “Is something the matter?”
“No, of course not!” But Sheetal had turned red.
“Anyway, we got chatting, mostly about you, and guess what, I’ve asked him for dinner tomorrow!”
Sheetal stared at him in disbelief. “And he… accepted?”
“He was delighted. Said that you’d never invited him and he was simply waiting for the chance to see your home,” Pankaj reported, keenly observing the changing expressions on his wife’s face. “What’s the matter? I hope I did the right thing by calling him here. I mean, he is your good friend, isn’t he? And to be frank, he dropped such broad hints that I had no choice but to issue an invitation! I really couldn’t be rude. Not to such a good friend of yours.”
The sea had now turned silver, and the sun was just a golden curve over the horizon. In seconds, it slipped into the waters, vanishing from sight.
“At the least, it will be an interesting evening.” Sheetal grinned suddenly and Pankaj studied her flushed face with a curious glint in his eyes. She looked absolutely beautiful, with her long hair drawn up in a ponytail high above her head and her spotless complexion glowing with good health.
The weather changed and fat drops of rain began pelting down.
“Come on, Tina, pack up! Let’s run back to the house!” Pankaj commanded.
The three Naiks hastily gathered up their blanket and dashed toward the house. Within seconds, the beautiful evening had turned into a dark thunderstorm.
“Everything’s ready for the evening meal,” Sheetal informed her husband.
“Already?”
Pankaj, who was busy settling accounts at his study table, glanced up at her. She looked radiant in a white cotton Salwar Kameez.
“Yes, I didn’t want any last-minute
