21

The day eventually came when Susan landed in India, within a couple of weeks of our first meeting. It wasn’t very difficult to get her a visa, but was surely difficult to get her the right flight which took off and landed at the time she liked; it was tough particularly as none of the airlines were ready to listen to me to change their flight timings to accommodate Susan. I couldn’t unfortunately go to pick her at the airport, but my eyes were waiting for her anxiously at work next day. I was still mesmerized by her beauty in our first meeting. I wasn’t sure if I was more excited to meet her personally or because I expected some breakthrough in the case with her help.

And when she entered the office, I was once again immersed in her beauty. She looked more beautiful than she did the first time I had met her. I stood up facing her and was staring jaw down at her while she was asking interrogating questions with her eyes and looking around each one of us with mystery filling her eyes; she bit her lower lip and then swiftly glimpsed at me, she seethed her green eyes and all what I could think of is the beauty of her long black lashes. She snapped her fingers in saying, “Wake up Rahul,” which woke me up from my beautiful reverie. “Lead me to my office,” she paused and then added bitterly,” Rahul,” I didn’t know from where I brought the nerves and fire back, “Hello, Susan,” She pouted her lips at me immediately which made me realize her irritation at my looks at her, “please follow me to your desk.” I am sure my colleagues must have given her a full 360 degrees stare as she passed by. In India detectives were not supposed to be so sexy; her tight top and skirt revealed probably the fantasies of most of us waiting to receive her.

While we are walking towards her office, I looked from the corner of my eye to her left hand and I could notice the leftover tan from a wedding ring, supposedly. Gosh, is she still married, divorced? Why am I even interested in this woman? She hypnotized my soul somehow. Wake up Romeo; my subconscious yelled at me.

“Detective Susan, excuse the mess around here, we are still setting up the bureaus and all; that would be your office.” I pointed at a small brown wood desk in a corner. “What the hell is that? Do you really think that I will sit there? Don’t drive me up the wall.” She said that with a disgusting look colouring her face in her typical acquired American slang. She then suddenly came too close to my face and said, “Rahul, if you may, please arrange a private office for me, I will grab a coffee and come back in fifteen minutes. I saw a Starbucks down as I came up,” while she cat walked away from my sight, she looked back with her famous wry smile, “My full name is Susan; a small plate with the same on my desk would be much appreciated.”

I opened my file again and started looking at her pictures totally ignoring her bitter order of a private desk. I could hear her voice below the office window, talking in Arabic on the phone, even Arabic words sounds like French with her. I kept still listening to her talk, which I couldn’t understand anything out of it, but it pleased me so. She hung up and I ran to find couple of labours to fix her so-called-private-office. She came back in with a blink of an eye, holding the cup of coffee in one hand and her mobile phone in the other, fidgeting with her right foot, her torso slightly bent to the right, again her lips forming the pouty shape and there she said softly, “I assume you are done, Rahul,” I immediately smiled, cracked my knuckles while saying, “I have asked couple of labourers to build you some glass walls around your office space, it needs some time, would you accept my invitation for lunch? There’s an exquisite Indian restaurant right behind the corner.” She cocked her head leisurely, “I would prefer to have a look around first, get to meet everyone, as you can see I am still sipping my coffee, later we can have lunch, what do you think?”

“Oh I think you are the hottest detective I have ever seen, it would be my pleasure to show you around and then have you for lunch,” Did I just say that out loud? I noticed from the expression on her face that I didn’t while she was about to ask gain, I read her action, “I would love to show you around, I am sorry I should be the one asking that, guess when one is hungry the stomach speaks, let’s go.”

On the echoes of her high heels my spirit was lifted somewhere it never has been, I feel honored walking side by side with Susan, I could learn a lot from her and she will do the same. It would be a win-win situation. I gave instructions to the labourers and parted to introduce Susan to the rest of the squad.

She is a woman who works with smartness and practicality; without this foundation, it would have been so hard for her to build any walls of defense and any doors of success. She constructs her cases with careful attention and devotion.

However, I realized I had to focus on the case and not lose my concentration, she was here for a purpose and my first priority was to ensure Karishma gets justice. I ordered my heart to follow the instructions of my brains as I led Susan for my first lunch with her.