“Do you mean that Sheetal’s gone off…?” Pankaj’s voice rose an incredulous notch or two.
“Find out if the clothes are missing and ring me back,” Sonia repeated firmly.
The phone clicked and she turned to Jatin.
“Development?” he asked, with interest.
Sonia nodded. “Sheetal has vanished with the kid.”
“Vanished as in ‘willful disappearance’?” Jatin queried deliberately.
“Remains to be seen. Pankaj, of course, is already thinking the worst. He’s terrified that something’s happened to them.”
“Which could be right,” her Assistant pointed out grimly. His eyes were bright with excitement.
Before Sonia could respond, however, the phone trilled again.
“Tina’s clothes are missing! What could this mean? Should we call the Police?” Pankaj was now in full panic.
“What about your Secretary? Has Ganesh reported in today?”
“No, he hasn’t been in for more than two days. He isn’t even answering his phone! Is that connected? I can’t seem to think straight anymore. Tell me, is their disappearance and Ganesh’s - ”
“Listen to me, Mr Naik. Stay put. Don’t move from your house. Don’t make any calls. And above all, don’t call the Police.” Sonia spoke carefully. “And give me a day. I’m going to find Sheetal and Tina. But you must stay calm, all right?”
“It’s going to be very, very tough. But I’ll try” Pankaj sighed. “Promise you’ll give me a call the moment you hear anything!”
“Of course”
Sonia hung up and turned to her Assistant.
“Come on, Jatin, we’ve got work to do”
A narrow lane off the Kothrud main street led to a row of five-storied, aging buildings. The bell of the top floor flat of the last building rang in a tune of bird chirpings. As the sound receded into the shabby house, silence reinforced itself. The bell rang again. This time, hesitant footsteps approached the door. An eye appeared at the spy-hole. Then the eye vanished, and the clicking of the latch could be heard. The door opened slowly and Sheetal peered out cautiously. Then she jerked back abruptly. But before she could shut the door again, a foot was thrust forward, jamming it open.
“What do you want!” Sheetal cried.
Sonia and Jatin stepped into the room. It was lit by a single bulb and bathed in shadows. Jatin shut the door behind him.
“Thank you for inviting us in” Sonia remarked pleasantly.
“You forced your way in!” Sheetal accused. She was dressed in a cotton printed nightgown and her hair was scrunched untidily under a butterfly clasp.
Before Sonia could respond, a small voice called from inside. “Has Daddy come, Mama?”
“No, dear. I’ll let you know if he does. Go to sleep, okay?” Sheetal replied loudly. Then she turned accusing eyes on Sonia. “What do you want?” she hissed.
“Can we sit down?” Sonia deliberately made her way to the yellow plastic chairs which were the only furniture of the room. “Now, let’s see, where could I begin. How about with this? Jatin?”
Jatin held up a photograph. One look at it and the colour drained from Sheetal’s face.
“Where did you get it?” she demanded, sharply.
“In the album Tina showed me at Kelshi.” Sonia took the photo from Jatin and studied it. Two girls were showing their tongues teasingly to the camera. One was obviously Sheetal. A much younger Sheetal.
“The other girl is Anju, isn’t she? Your best-friend since school,” Sonia stated.
Sheetal’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, my very bestfriend, my soul-mate.” She stared at the uncarpeted, ceramic tile floor, refusing to look at Sonia.
“And you did all this for Tina’s sake. Or to put it legally: for the custody of your best-friends child!” Sonia observed the other girl minutely.
Sheetal glanced up and anger glinted in her eyes. “Yes. Anju and I grew up together in Mumbai. And even though we branched out for our studies, we never lost touch. I knew all about her boy-friends and I had even approved of Rajesh - her current boyfriend - before I went abroad to study child psychology. Later I worked on a temporary job there. That’s when Anju met Pankaj and instantly fell in love with him, sadly forgetting all about Rajesh. They married immediately. I was so surprised. But it was a mistake. Even though perhaps he loved her in his own way, Pankaj neglected her. He worked late and drove her to frustration. Anju often sent me emails of how Pankaj missed dinners and trips, how he arrived in the middle of the night and left before dawn sometimes. She did her best to please him. Poor Anju, what a lonely life she led! I think it was this desperate need to draw his attention to her that made her race with him that evening. They were trying out Pankaj’s new car, when Anju declared that she preferred the old one. And to prove a point, as much as to attract Pankaj, she began racing. The car went straight over the cliff!
“It was a terrible and unfortunate accident and it shocked her parents and me. It was then that they decided that they must get custody of little Tina. They knew that Pankaj would have a problem finding time for a demanding child like Tina, but they knew, too, that he would never willfully give the child away. Certainly not to Anju’s parents, who made no secret of the fact that they hated Pankaj’s guts. They blamed him for Anju’s death and they fought him in court for Tina’s custody. But tragically, Pankaj won the case. It was then that I hatched my little plan. I was ready to do anything for my best-friend’s daughter. I intended to raise her as my own. Luckily for me, Pankaj advertised for a Governess and I snatched at the opportunity and landed at Kelshi as Tina’s Governess”
“That’s when you created a fictitious character called Jeetu to make Pankaj fall in love with you,” Sonia interjected.
“How did you guess?” Sheetal looked amazed.
“The horoscope you gave me was a dead giveaway. I knew instantly that no such person existed. It was blatantly obvious from the way the horoscope was drawn.
