“But she turned out to be smarter than us,” Mohnish remarked, dryly.
Sonia nodded. “The moment Naina and you left for the Jewellers this afternoon, Inspector Divekar paid Naina’s house a surprise visit. And sure enough, they found a Computer and a colour photocopier and heaps of currency in mostly smaller denominations. The police immediately took Priya into custody, but she claimed that she was nothing more than a small-time actress out for a little extra cash and that Naina was paying her to enact the role of her affectionate but grouchy and confrontational sister. That explained the different horoscopes!
“After that, Naina’s objective became clear. Her last and probably final stop had to be the Jewellers. And our next duty was to keep tabs on you. We planned to storm in and catch her red-handed in the nick of time, as she paid for the jewellery. But, like Mohnish said, she was smart. We underestimated her. She faked another asthma attack and used the chaos of the festive atmosphere to high-tail it with the jewels, leaving you to pay with the counterfeit money!”
Silence filled the room as Sonia finished her narration. She gazed anxiously at her Assistant.
“But I still don’t understand. If she wanted to use counterfeit money, then why steal the jewels?” he asked.
“I believe that her original plan was to buy the jewels with the counterfeit currency. But I think somewhere along the line she began to suspect something. Didn’t you say that she made a phone call?”
Jatin nodded. “Her mobile beeped a reminder for the call. But I don’t think she got through”
“Exactly. I shall have to confirm this, but my guess is that Naina called home. Probably it was preplanned. A precautionary measure, before she actually took the final plunge. After all, a lot of money was at stake - I mean fake money. It was a do-or- die situation. Had she got caught, it would’ve meant jail. Naina had to be sure. But when Priya didn’t answer the call, as she was supposed to, Naina definitely caught the whiff of something suspicious. She must have realised that all was not well. And then I called you up on your mobile, informing you that I was dropping by to help you choose the rings. A wrong move on my part, but I was worried about you. Anyway, that was when Naina’s doubts were confirmed. She decided to act fast. After all her months of planning and scheming, she was unwilling to relinquish her goal - the jewels. Since she was forced to drop her original plan, she used another ploy. Her ever-useful asthma attack. She cleverly and callously vanished with the diamonds, leaving you to face the music.”
Jatin shook his head, angrily. “Why me? Why did she have to select me for her game?”
“It probably had something to do with you being an Investigator. Like a thief hiding loot in a policeman’s house. That is the last place the Police would ever consider in their search for a thief. Similarly, by involving you, she ensured that no one would suspect that she was in any way connected with anything hanky-panky. Besides, you were young, gullible, and an easy prey. Though Naina’s Mars in conjunction with Venus in Gemini in her ninth house made her attractive and eligible enough for any guy to fall in love with her! And easy enough for her to feign her emotions.”
Nidhi rose, arched, and meowed, jumping into her Mistress’s lap. Sonia’s hand automatically caressed her silky fur. Her eyes were trained sympathetically on her Assistant.
“I tried to protect you from being incriminated in a counterfeit case, but I’m afraid I couldn’t shield you from the inevitable hurt,” she added gently.
“Everything she ever said to me. was untrue? How could she fake all those… feelings? I still can’t believe she tricked me like this. I... I thought she was so wonderful and... !”
“She had us all fooled,” Sonia conceded, feeling deeply sorry for him.
“But why didn’t you tell me, Boss?” Jatin asked querulously, sounding more like himself.
“What would I have told you, Jatin? That the girl of your dreams, the girl you love and were ready to devote your entire life to, is a criminal? Would you have believed me? I doubt it! Love doesn’t listen to reason. Love is crazy and wild and careless. You were too intensely involved, and nothing I could’ve said would’ve made even a dent in your obsession. Instead, you would’ve almost certainly tried to argue with me. Besides, I didn’t want Naina to suspect a shift in your feelings. Everything had to be natural. You had to be in love with her and she had to believe you to be in love, to lend her the confidence to pull the final act.”
Jatin sighed, a little mollified. “I guess you’re right, Boss! I would’ve gone ahead and taken the plunge anyway. But the fact that I’ve been made a big fool of in this whole episode still hurts. God knows, my only fault was that I loved her! And look at the reward - all this unbearable pain? This hole
