Instantly his hand shot out and gripped hers. “Not until you’ve heard me out,” he replied. There was a sharp edge to his voice.
She flung his arm away and faced him, her face flushed and angry.
“Not until I’ve had a chance to thank you personally,” he added, deliberately.
“Thank me?” She raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
“Yes. For helping me find the jewels that I’ve been looking for, for years!”
“What jewels? How did I help you?” Sonia’s anger was swiftly replaced by confusion.
“My grandmother’s letters! Tara is my grandmother, and Asit her beloved friend,” Varun responded, mildly.
“You’re lying!” Sonia exclaimed.
“Much as Id like to move heaven and earth to please you, even my criminal standards cannot permit me to lie to you about my own grandmother,” he remarked wryly. “I’ve waited months to contact Asit. Not only because I was keen on meeting my grandmother’s great love, but also to collect the family heirlooms she’d entrusted in his care years ago and that she’d told him to return after her death. Don’t you remember the last letter she wrote to him? She mentioned returning to her grandchildren what she took from the family. It was the jewels. And now thanks to you, my dearest Sonia, they are in the custody of the family again.”
Sonia stared at him, dumbstruck. “But Devika…”
“Is my colleague. She did a good job, keeping an eye on you for me for almost a year. And when you refused to have anything to do with me, she readily took up the problem and addressed it as hers. She’s such a sport.”
“Sport, my foot! She’s a cheat. All these months she’s been pretending to be my friend, but actually all she was doing was acting under your instructions!” Sonia scoffed, with loathing.
“Credit her with some sense of decency. She most certainly liked you a lot and she was glad of your friendship. And, please, don’t bother to rush back to the office to confront her. Devikas gone for good. You’ll never see her again. Her job is done.” “You’re impossible!” Sonia said in disgust.
“Proudly so. And unique, just like you. We’ll make a good pair. Have you considered my proposal?” he reminded, a twinkle in his blue eyes.
“What proposal?” Sonia’s heart skittered involuntarily.
Inside the Shiva temple a Pandit began chanting prayers. Yellow bulbs gave an ochre luminance to the misty caves and a bell tinkled auspiciously. Other sounds began intruding into the silence of dawn - an arati in the nearby temple, the birds announcing the arrival of the sun.
“You can’t have forgotten my proposal - of permanent friendship, of marriage!” Varun quirked an eyebrow saucily.
“Friendship! Do you even know what that word means? Friendship means love, selflessness, sensitivity - not cheating people and stealing diamonds. It’s a virtue gifted to a very few in the world. You’d need to put aside your selfish motives and think of others for a change. I doubt if you are capable of that!” she remarked, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
Varun’s gaze bore into her eyes. “You’re right. Although I’m terribly hurt by your accusation.” He grimaced. Then he pursed his lips and cocked his head, studying Sonia minutely and unblinkingly. “A friend would understand a person’s innermost desire, her hurt and her pain. He would try to replace this pain by pleasure and peace, wouldn’t he? So let me begin by being your friend.” He leaned forward. “What if I tell you that I have some news of your brother that would relieve your pain forever?”
“My brother is dead,” Sonia whispered, in a freezing voice.
“So you think. I’m not so sure!”
Sonia’s heart was thudding so loudly and erratically that she was sure Varun could hear it. “Stop playing games with me!” she hissed.
“All right. Here it is straight: Accept my proposal of marriage and I’ll tell you everything I know about your brother”
The meaning of his words imploded in her mind. Clutching Nidhi’s cage, Sonia rose, rage spearing through her, almost blinding her. “You’re a worse crook than I thought. I don’t ever wish to see you again!”
Varun laughed softly. “Easier said than done. This isn’t the last we’ll see of each other, my Glowworm. I’m ready to wait because patience is one of my virtues - few though my virtues may be. I’ll bide time till you come to your senses and see reason. Until then, goodbye!”
He blew her a flying kiss, turned with a swish of his overcoat, and strode away, quickly dissolving into the marigold tinged mist. Sonia stared after him, a cold hand clutching her heart. Had Varun been telling the truth? Did he indeed have some news of her brother? No, that was impossible! Her brother was dead and Varun Thakur was nothing but a cold-blooded liar!
“I’m such a gullible fool! He tricked me again!” Sonia exclaimed.
“You had no inkling that Devika was The Owl’s accomplice,” Mohnish pointed out in a pacifying tone.
“I ought to have. I’m an Investigator, for God’s sake!”
“A detective, but not a clairvoyant.” Mohnish shrugged as he tucked into a hearty breakfast of Upma. “Though it is intriguing how The Owl seems to be pursuing you so single-mindedly. What is it exactly that he wants?”
Jatin was watching his Boss, his face full of curiosity. Sonia averted her gaze.
“I don’t know. And I don’t care!”
The Christmas tree scintillated with the lit string of bulbs, glittering decorations, and the pretty gifts. But even as the three of them sat cross-legged on the Panchgani rug and ate their breakfast, Mohnish watched her over his plate uneasily. He felt indignant that The Owl could hurt Sonia as he had, but more disturbed that Sonia had slipped into a mood of remorse and anger, directed at herself. But this time it was also directed towards others.
“This is betrayal at its worst! Devika, who I thought was my friend - Just goes to show that charming looks and behaviour are no stranger to crime!” Sonia declared, disgustedly.
“Now you know,” Jatin remarked with feeling, thinking, of course,
