Score! by Aarti V Raman

Author:Aarti V Raman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt Ltd

Fourteen minutes later, Bee was sitting in a corner booth of the hotel’s all-day café, sipping on an espresso.

Thapar sipped on green tea. He looked the same as before, competent and casual . . . confident.

‘Is there any update on what happened at the Park Grandeur?’ she asked.

‘No, ma’am. Unfortunately, we questioned the staff on the floor, housekeeping, busboys, even the elevator guard. No one remembers anything.’

Bee didn’t know if Thapar found that suspicious.

‘We even checked the security footage,’ he continued, ‘but there was no one with the description matching your attacker. They might have come in wearing something else.’

‘But they left in the hoodie. I saw that bastard getting on to the elevator in the hoodie,’ Bee protested.

‘Ms Vishwanathan, I have your statement here that says you passed out the second your head hit the door’s edge. How could you know what the attacker wore or possibly took off after you fainted?’

The inspector looked apologetic, but he was ruthless.

Bee pursed her lips as she considered Thapar’s theory. Dammit, he was right.

‘Fine,’ she conceded. ‘If there isn’t any news regarding the break-in, why do I have the pleasure of this conversation?’

‘Because we heard of Dr Shekhawat’s death last night and it’s an awful thing to have happened. An awful, awful thing.’

Bee had always wondered at every public servant’s ability to fake sympathy when the reality was something else.

‘It’s awful for the Indian cricket team and its board.’ A touch of ice entered her tone. ‘I am just a reporter covering the cup.’

‘Yes, but you were with Assistant Coach Arhan Kapoor at the scene when the first respondents showed up, weren’t you?’

‘I came in later,’ she emphasised. ‘I know nothing. I haven’t interacted with Dr Shekhawat at all and I just went there because Arhan called me freaked out of his mind.’

‘Funny,’ Thapar said, his tone thoughtful. ‘It’s very funny that Arhan Kapoor would call you, a reporter, rather than his boss or someone else from the team. Don’t you think so, Ms Vishwanathan?’

Bee cursed inwardly. She sighed, ran a hand through her hair and said, ‘We are . . . friends, Inspector. That’s why I called him. He sounded really freaked out so I went over. End of story. Now would you like to know exactly why I called him or is your imagination good enough?’

Thapar’s eyes narrowed. ‘I thought he called you, Ms Vishwanathan.’

Fuck!

Bee licked her lips and said, ‘One of us called the other, Inspector. You’ll excuse me for not remembering the very exact sequence of events.’

‘I understand, Ms Vishwanathan. And I do believe my imagination is good enough.’

‘Do you need anything else or am I free to go?’ Bee asked politely.

Thapar finished his tea and rested the cup on the table before saying, ‘Nothing for now, ma’am. I am at Hotel Dharma International in Velachery. I’ll be at the stadium during the match. If I do think of anything else, I might want to talk to you there.’

Oh, man. He was staying on? What the hell kind

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.