Garima Nursing Home
The Santro screeched into the driveway of the hospital and braked sharply near a bunch of people who were gathered right outside the entrance. The staff rushed about while a couple of security guards valiantly tried to prevent the people from crowding around a man who was lying on the ground.
Kabir shot out of the car and pushed his way through to the middle of the ring of watchers. Blood was pouring out of a gunshot wound from the unconscious man’s neck. Hospital attendants made their way through the buzzing crowd with a stretcher and went about lifting him. As they carried him away, Kabir caught a glimpse of his face.
Breath whooshed out of him as if he had been hit in the solar plexus. Rishi Mathur. What had just happened here? Had Qiara come to meet him? Was she hurt? Where the hell was she?
He barged into the hospital and made a beeline for the reception area, ready to project his fear and anger on the universe. Twenty minutes later, after he had thrown his weight around and created enough ruckus to raise the dead, a babble of contradictory voices chimed in. Someone said he’d seen a woman with short hair talking to Mathur. Another person claimed he’d seen her being pushed inside a black SUV. Their descriptions left Kabir with no doubt the ‘woman’ was none other than Qiara. The security guard swore he’d seen nothing, heard nothing. The place was teeming with people, and not a soul had heard the gunshot that felled a man!
Frustration tore through Kabir like a wild animal ripping into a chunk of raw meat. Pulling away from the crowd, he headed back to the spot where Rishi Mathur was shot. Breathing in the cold night air he tried hard to make sense of it all, desperately seeking sanity and failing miserably.
Bholu who had followed him out was equally perplexed. ‘This is crazy.’
‘It’s quite possible that Qiara has also been hurt.’ Kabir’s gut wrenched at the thought of her hurt and helpless. ‘Rishi might have been able to tell us something but given the condition he is in, that’s not likely to happen.
‘So, what now?’ Bholu asked.
‘First things first,’ Kabir ran his hands through his hair. ‘We need to get some reliable information out of those security guards. They must have seen something. You can charm snakes, for God’s sake. Surely you can make human beings talk?’
‘You overestimate my skills, my friend. Besides, snakes are not half as slimy as humans.’
‘Couldn’t agree with you more. But your task now is to make those guys sing. Do what you have to. Here…’
Thrusting a bunch of notes into Bholu’s hand, he sent him off. Nothing like cash to loosen tongues.
He scanned the area for some clues. A few cars and vans were parked near the gates of the hospital. The street outside was dark and deserted. Was Qiara on her way out when Rishi was attacked? What if she, not Rishi, was the shooter’s target? Was Rishi shot accidentally? The questions danced in his head making him squirm with guilt. She had dodged the assassin’s bullets not so long ago but at least he’d been there to protect her. He scuffed his shoe angrily at a small pebble. It bounced off, hitting something in a bush with a soft thud.
Curious, Kabir groped around in the hedge. His fingers wrapped around the strap of a backpack. Goddammit! It was Qiara’s. Anxiously, he riffled through it, and found the cheap throwaway phone he had bought her. It was clear as daylight that she had been snatched. He shuddered at the thought of her being held prisoner by hardened criminals. Without getting the police involved, he had little hope of launching a successful manhunt for her. Once the police were brought in, everything would be out in the open. His mission, to keep everything under wraps until the whole business of Khanna’s murder was sorted out and suspicions about the PM’s son’s involvement were either confirmed or rejected, was now doomed. With Qiara’s capture, everything would be blown sky-high. Not only was his career going down the chute, the chances of him saving Qiara were becoming slimmer with every passing moment. He needed a breakthrough, and he needed it now!
Reading the text messages she’d sent him he went through another round of self-flagellation. She had texted him almost two hours ago when he had been at Kathputhli Nagar.
This is not the first time you weren’t there for her when she needed you!
So wrapped up was he in his thoughts, he almost jumped out of his skin when he heard Bholu’s voice.
‘Boss! Your friend has been kidnapped.’
‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ he barked, waving Qiara’s backpack.
‘So you also know where they have taken her, don’t you?’
‘How should I…’ Realization beat inside him loud and clear like an insistent drum. ‘Sonagarh?’
Bholu nodded. ‘Right-o!’
‘How do you know that?’
‘The security guard found his voice when I greased his palm,’ Bholu remarked wryly. ‘The SUV in which she was taken is one of the hospital’s vehicles. The driver of the SUV and the guard had shared tea and he had let slip he was on his way to Sonagarh. By the way, Rishi had tried to intervene and stop them from taking your friend; that’s when the driver’s accomplice shot him down.’
‘What the hell was Qiara doing here?’ Kabir mumbled to himself. ‘Why would she come here in the first place? Did she call Rishi Mathur and did he ask her to meet him here?’
He crashed a fist into his palm, wishing he had some answers to his questions. ‘Goddammit! There has to be a reason.’
Bholu said quietly, ‘I don’t know if this helps but apart from being a maternity hospital for the local population, it is also frequented by people from all over the country.’
‘Really? This doesn’t seem like a super-speciality hospital to me.’
Bholu shrugged. ‘Most people in Jaipur know this is the place to come to if you want to buy a child.’
Kabir’s blood turned to ice. ‘Buy a child?’
‘Yes, it is known as Baby Bazaar. Babies born to desperately poor parents are sold and bought here.’
‘Holy mother of God!’ Kabir exclaimed.
Suddenly, one small piece of the puzzle snapped into place. Zayed had mentioned Rathod owned a string of hospitals.
‘The cops know what goes on here but they are paid to look away,’ Bholu added.
Every nerve in Kabir’s body was taut like a wire pulled across two poles.
‘We have no time to waste. But we need to get some decent wheels. There is no way we can get to Sonagarh in your friend’s junkheap.’
This was insane. The more he thought about it the more he feared for Qiara. He needed to keep Zayed informed about the turn of events. Whatever the consequences of his decision, he could not let Qiara fall into the hands of his unscrupulous brother and his accomplices.
Sonagarh Jal Mahal Grounds
The sound of a metal bolt clanking open jerked Qiara awake. Her eyelids felt heavy, as if they had been glued down, and she opened them with difficulty. She tried to raise her arm and felt a searing pain shoot through her wrists as the twine tied around them bit into her flesh. Her legs were bound too and she struggled to raise herself from the gravel-strewn stone floor. Every bone in her body hurt and her skin felt raw and bruised. The throbbing in her temples reached a crescendo with every tiny movement. She remembered being tackled to the pavement by a burly man outside Garima Hospital before a syringe in her arm had plunged her into a dark, numb void.
Where was this place? Had she been kidnapped by the gang Mary had told her about? Those involved in the sale of children? Fear bubbled inside her like a whirlpool in a swollen river.
Another door clanked open, and this time the sound was much closer. A woman’s anklets echoed softly in the room as a figure, still obscured by the shadows, came towards her.
Qiara cringed instinctively as the woman sat on the floor beside her and raised a steel tumbler containing some liquid to her parched lips. Though she was dying for a sip of water, she turned her head away. The woman said nothing, but raised the tumbler a little above her own mouth and drank some water. She nodded encouragingly at Qiara who looked at her suspiciously but decided the water was safe to drink.
She angled her head as the woman held the tumbler to her lips, thirstily gulping down the cool water. After she had her fill, the woman gently wiped her mouth with the edge of her sari. The unexpected gesture took Qiara by surprise.
‘Where am I? Please…let me go.’
The woman shook her head and gestured in sign language that she was mute. As she got up to leave Qiara stretched out her hands and pleaded, ‘Please, my hands are hurting.’
For a moment the woman looked uncertainly at her and Qiara wondered if she understood what she’d said. Seconds later, she loosened the knot at her wrist but did not remove the twine.
‘Help me,’ Qiara begged, but this time the woman kept walking away. Before closing the door and clanking the bolt shut, she lit a candle in a niche in the wall.
She could now make out the contours of the room. It was a small, bare room, almost like a cave, the walls were made of coarse reddish brown rocks, some of which protruded unevenly. There was a small opening near the ceiling of the room, like a window, which was the only source of ventilation. The stone floor was covered with dust and gravel. She shivered with apprehension at the thought of being imprisoned here for days, maybe weeks. She had no clue where she was and if her captors had any intention of letting her go.
Trying to think positive, she reassured herself that at this very moment Kabir was looking for her. She’d no idea how much time had passed since she was taken captive but she was glad she’d left a note with the guard at the bungalow. Surely, Kabir would have made some inquiries at Garima Hospital and he may have gotten some clues. But what if no one had seen her being grabbed? Pushing her knees up against her chest, she rested her head, trying not to give into the tears that were choking her throat.
A soft rustle startled her. Soon after, she heard a strange chirping sound. Was it a rat? That nearly made her jump in fright. A snort escaped her lips at her own ludicrous reaction. How ironical she should be terrified of a tiny nocturnal creature when she was being held captive by a bunch of murderous human beings. She pushed herself away from the rock wall against which she’d been leaning and shuffled her bound feet in a bid to frighten whatever creature was lurking around. Seconds later, the sound was repeated, but this time it was louder and sounded more human than a rodent ferreting around in the dark.
‘Kaun hai?’ she called out.
‘Shh!!’ came the urgent reply. ‘Look behind you, there’s a small gap in the wall.’
She looked behind her, and sure enough, at some height, there was a tiny hole between two unevenly placed rocks. She pushed herself against the wall and using her bound hands against it as leverage, pulled herself up so she could reach the opening.
‘Who are you?’ Qiara whispered.
‘My name is Meera,’ said the voice, ‘There are some other girls with me here. Are you alone?’
‘Yes, what’s this place?’
‘We are inside a baoli in Sonagarh Palace.’
‘Baoli…like a stepwell?’
‘Yes, I’m so scared.’
The silence throbbed between them for a bit. Qiara failed to find words to console the girl when she herself was in no better condition.
‘We were at school,’ Meera said, ‘when our teacher told us we’d been chosen to go to Jodhpur for a field trip. Four of us. We were brought here in a bus.’
Qiara’s heart beat fast and furious.
‘Is there a girl called Reshma with you?’
The girl gasped in shock. ‘Yes.’
Qiara couldn’t believe she’d actually found Reshma.
‘Yes, yes! But how do you know Reshma?’
‘I came to look for her. My name is Qiara. Is she with you right now?’
‘No, Reshma and the others are also being held captive somewhere else in this stepwell. Shhh! Someone’s coming.’
The polo tournament was off to a great start. Rathod could see his friend had left no stone unturned to show off his royal heritage. Suraj was in his element – both on the field and off it. When he wasn’t steering his team to victory on the polo field, he was playing perfect host to visitors who were already in awe and shock at meeting a blue-blooded prince. They were being given a taste of what life would have been like in the hallowed portals of the Sonagarh Jal Mahal centuries ago and they were happy to overlook the chipped plaster and the peeling paint on the facade. Even more ironical, Rathod mused, were the real circumstances of the ‘prince’ whose agenda was to charm his guests into parting with some of their wealth with this display of ersatz riches.
A whoop of joy went up on the field before him and a smattering of applause greeted the winning team, of which Suraj was the captain. The polo players went off for a well-deserved break while the spectators began to saunter off indoors to feast on the lavish spread that had been laid out. After exchanging pleasantries with his guests, a beaming Suraj strode towards Rathod.
‘Hey, Rats, did you see how I outplayed the other team? Feels so good to be playing polo again, man!’
‘You know me, Suraj, I don’t care much about the game,’ Rathod shrugged. ‘But I definitely am impressed at how you have put everything together in such a short time.’
‘It’s not been easy. I virtually had to put a gun to the old man’s head to make him part with the haveli in Udaipur. The sale of that property has funded this entire tournament and also paid for much of the repairs.’
‘Holy Moly! You have sold off the Udaipur haveli?’
Suraj grinned from ear to ear. ‘You should have seen Raja Saheb’s face. For a moment I thought he was going to croak it. Never mind all that! Rats, are we any closer at striking a deal with the Europeans?’
Rathod grimaced at the moniker. ‘How many times have I told you not to use that silly name. You really need to grow up.’
Suraj’s loud laugh rang out. ‘All in good time, my friend. Once the deal goes through I’m even willing to call you Your Royal Highness!’
Rathod gave a sly grin. ‘You might just have to do that. The deal will happen. Provided you keep your side of the bargain.’
‘You mean the girls?’
Rathod rolled his eyes dramatically. ‘What else? They have all been chomping at the bit and salivating about orgiastic sex with doe-eyed virgins in an authentic Indian palace.’
Suraj lowered his voice. ‘It’s all been organized. Four girls, all cherry picked. The preparations are on, as we speak. And you know the best part?’
Suraj paused for dramatic effect before adding, ‘The European group we were in talks with has come through. After the tournament, the girls will be taken by the group to join their new adoptive families in Europe. All the documentation is ready. It’s like being paid twice for selling the same product.’
‘Well done, Suraj.’ Rathod guffawed. ‘This is indeed a double whammy. If all goes well here, these guys might come on board with finance for our operations across Europe.’
‘Triple celebration,’ Suraj pitched in, ‘You forget, my team is going to win the tournament.’
They heard a rustle behind them and turned to see Suhas join them. A bit unsteadily he came towards them. ‘Did I hear something about celebrations?’
Rathod laughed, ‘You’re already in celebration mode, Suhas.’
Suhas grinned and the glassy look in his eyes left no one in any doubt that the Prime Minister’s son had already had his first fix of cocaine for the day.
‘Dude, that was A1 dope. Just what I needed after the stress of the last couple of days,’ sighed Suhas. ‘Poor Ranveer. God, Suraj, you shouldn’t have done it. I really miss him.’
‘You bloody homo!’ Suraj yelled at Suhas. ‘Just keep your trap shut. Or, I’ll make sure you OD on all that high quality stuff and join him in the other world.’
‘Enough!’ Rathod’s authoritative bark had both Suhas and Suraj quieten down instantly. ‘Will you two get a grip?’
Suhas said meekly. ‘You guys never give me any credit. Just to remind you, most of your esteemed visitors are my contacts.’
Rathod snapped. ‘That’s the only reason you’re here, my friend. So stick to the script. Play your part and all will be fine. Got it?’
Suraj said quietly, ‘The girl who had taken Ranveer’s tablet has been found.’
Rathod’s mouth split into a smile.
‘Bravo! Tell Mehender Singh to keep a close watch on her. Make sure she is isolated and she stews it out. After the tournament is over and done with we can take a call on what to do with the slut.’
Suraj’s eyes gleamed cunningly and Rathod knew instantly what he was thinking.
‘Rein in your libido, you son of a gun!’