The Astral Alibi (9 page)

Remorse and shame, mingled with bitter anger, choked him. What in heavens was he to do? Despite her threats and proclamations, he couldn’t just give up on Jaya. He’d risked too much for her. His marriage. His career. She couldn’t simply walk out on him, as if nothing had ever transpired between them. She couldn’t just leave him in shambles and go on to enjoy a happy and fruitful life, with
his
money. He wouldn’t allow that. He had to stop her. From ruining his life!

His eye caught the bottle of cockroach poison on the table. Deepa had said something about there being too many cockroaches in the house and she had bought the bottle just this morning. But she was also a little absentminded, totally dragged down by all the housework, which, despite the servants, she insisted that she supervise herself. She would never miss the bottle. And anyway, even if she did, she’d think she’d misplaced it.

The bottle seemed to beckon him. What had Jaya said? That they couldn’t live together until death do them part? Well, she was wrong! Death
would
tear them apart, with or without marriage! Without a moment’s hesitation, Anup picked up the bottle of cockroach poison and pocketed it.

“Thank you, Karan, you’re such a dear, and I really wish you all the success for the special show of
Premasaathi Kahihi
today. I guarantee you, you’re going to change the ever-flourishing Marathi theatre scene in Pune!” Deepa wished the Director as he handed her a tray of orange juice glasses. Dressed in jeans and a baggy shirt, with her long wavy hair confined to a rubber band, Deepa could easily pass as a college girl.

Karan, on the other hand, carried himself with the dignity of a Director. Tall, with an abundant thatch of hair, he was good-looking in a distinguished kind of way. “My pleasure, and thank you very much,” he told Deepa, smiling. “You’re coming early to help around, aren’t you?” he asked, as they headed to the small group of people relaxing on the armchairs scattered about the lawn.

“Yes, of course I am! Here are the drinks, everybody! I’m afraid no hard drinks before the show! We don’t want our audience running away because the actors were all reeking of alcohol, do we?”

The general exaggerated groans made Deepa grin. She glanced fondly at her husband. Anup had picked up a glass and was raising it to her. The warm glint in his eyes filled her with pleasure. How handsome Anup looked amidst this theatre crowd. He seemed to rise above them. Of course he did. He appeared older than his thirty years, but that had proven to be an advantage, granting him the opportunity of playing older as well as younger roles. He was getting a lot of film offers lately. He and Jaya. Deepa turned her attention to the beautiful, graceful woman who was much younger than either of them. She was reclining in an armchair, her eyes closed to the sun. Jaya, with her flowing tresses and faultless complexion, was talented and certainly deserved the break she was getting. Besides, the onstage chemistry her husband and the actress shared was amazing. If she hadn’t known better, Deepa would’ve thought they were really in love with each other. But she knew better. No woman would ever be a threat to her. She drew the chair beside her husband.

“How are you feeling, dear?” she asked in a throaty whisper.

He turned to her, so that his face almost touched hers in a romantic caress. “Wonderful, now that you’re here.”

She laughed prettily, flinging her long ponytail behind her back.

Jaya opened her eyes and watched them.

“You do look quite fresh and geared up,” Deepa told her husband.

“I feel excited about the show,” Anup agreed, taking a sip of the juice.

“Good, I want you to continue to feel the same even after the show. Remember your promise? Our ‘project twins’?” Deepa giggled.

“What’s ‘project twins’?” Jaya couldn’t help asking.

Deepa looked a little abashed but replied with a smile. “We both desperately want twins. Don’t we, darling? It’s our very own personal project!”

Jaya’s eyes widened questioningly as she turned to Anup, who returned her look with a cruel, hard stare. “You never told me!” she said.

“Come on, Jaya. You’re a very good friend of ours, but even
you
can’t expect me to reveal all our couple secrets to you, can you?” Anup asked cruelly.

Jaya blushed and lowered her eyes.

“Why can’t she? Jaya and Karan are our best friends. I think they ought to know everything that goes on in our life!” Deepa smiled at the actress.

“Absolutely right,” Karan agreed, joining them. “What’s for lunch? I’m ravenous!”

“Something delicious and light. So that all of you don’t fall asleep before the special show!” Deepa teased. “Why don’t you and Jaya go take a look at what’s cooking?” She winked at Karan.

“Good idea! Come on, sweetheart!” Karan dragged the reluctant actress by the hand and led her inside the house.

“What a sweet couple they make, don’t they?” Deepa remarked, observing their exit.

“They sure do!” Anup mumbled, desperate to hide the anger that was ripping him apart.

“Boss, there’s something you must see.” Jatin approached Sonia with a piece of paper in his hand. He had removed his jacket and much of his love euphoria seemed to have been removed with it.

“What is it?”

“This paper was pushed in through the window. I’m not sure you’re going to like it.” His tone was grave.

Sonia raised an eyebrow. It was not every day that Jatin spoke so seriously. She took the paper from him.
“Get lost with your Astrology!”
The rude words leaped off the slip of paper, taking the detective by surprise.

“What do you make of it?” Jatin observed his Boss narrowly.

“Insulting, to begin with. And written by some stupid person to satisfy cheap rivalry!” Sonia concluded, opening her drawer and dropping the note into it.

“Not to be taken seriously?”

“At least not for the moment.”

Jatin shrugged. “Does seem like some jealous type. How about lunch?”

“I’m starving. But you don’t want anything to eat, do you? I thought, when in love food and sleep go out of the window!”

“You’re really outdated, Boss. These days, love thrives on a full stomach,” Jatin laughed.

Jaya knocked on the door of Anup’s makeup room. Without awaiting a response, the actress opened the door and slipped inside. Anup was applying his makeup. As Jaya appeared in the double mirrors, he turned in surprise. The young woman looked resplendent in her sequinned red
ghagara choli.
Unpredictably, for the first time the sight of her beauty failed to impress him. Instead, it made his blood boil.

“The play’s about to begin! What are you doing here?” he asked sharply.

“I need to talk to you for a few minutes.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. And certainly not now. You know that I don’t like to do anything else before a show. I like to concentrate.” He returned to the mirror.

“It wasn’t like this before. You liked to meet me every single free minute of our time,” she reminded him sarcastically.

“So who’s responsible for that?” Anup stared at her reflection in the mirror.

“What do you mean, ‘
who’s
responsible for that?’ As if it’s only my fault!” she snapped.

“It
is
your fault!” Anup accused harshly. “Look, the show’s about to start. Why don’t you go calm your nerves? We have a lot of romantic scenes to enact!”

“
Enact
being the operative word, of course. Making love is no longer natural for us, is that what you’re saying?”

“You said it, not me!”

“You’re despicable, do you know that? I was right about you all along!”

He turned to face her, anger blazing in his eyes. “And I was right about
you
! You are nothing but a two-timer, out for cheap publicity and a quick buck!”

“How dare you say such things when all
you
did was actually use
me,
till your
‘project twins’
could get through!” she flung at him.

“Stop it! There’s no point talking about who’s pregnant and who isn’t! And don’t you dare drag Deepa into this! She’s the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met!”

“Sure, but does that wonderful person know what a contemptible man you are?”

Anup paled. “You won’t say a word to Deepa.” His voice was freezing cold.

Jaya uttered a short, mirthless laugh. “Oh-oh! Looks like I’ve touched a raw point. So much love, so much sense of protection—out of the blue—for a woman you were ready to leave just a day ago!”

“Thank God my eyes opened in time!”

“And thank God mine did, too, before it was too late! You’re the most detestable man I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet! You cheated me and you’re going to pay for it!”

“We’ll see who pays
what
in the end. Right now, I don’t ever want to lay eyes on you again! I want you out of my life for good,” he threw at her with venom.

Jaya stared at Anup, as if struck physically. “Be careful what you wish for, sometimes wishes come true….” Her eyes glinted with cold hatred.

She turned and strode out of the room.

Anup gazed at the closed door, his heart and face filled with loathing. He couldn’t allow Jaya to go free, with her threats and baseless accusations. And most important, he couldn’t live with the eternal sword on his head, the fear of Deepa learning about what he had done. His hand went to his pocket and he drew out the bottle of poison. This was one wish which was definitely going to come true.

The hall was illuminated as the curtains closed for the interval. Crowds surged towards the entrance of the Balgandharva Rangmandir—Theatre Hall—for a quick smoke, to chat in the cool evening, or to avail themselves of the refreshments. Mohnish turned in his cushioned seat and scrutinised Sonia with an assessing gaze.

“I can’t believe that you actually invited me to a play!” he remarked candidly.

Sonia blushed. “Why should it surprise you? You’ve taken me out to dinner and even to a disco last year, though you hate dancing! Why shouldn’t I invite you to a play?”

People jostled past their chairs in the second row from the stage and Mohnish waited a moment for them to pass. He looked handsome in a checked blue T-shirt and beige trousers. Sonia wore a white chiffon Salwar Kameez with silver embroidery. Her hair framed a heart-shaped face, swinging silkily. She looked elegant and poised. As he leaned over to talk to her, he caught the whiff of her faint perfume. Wild flowers dancing in the wind…

“I’m glad you did invite me, though I wish it had been your idea and not your dad’s!” He spoke in a low voice.

Sonia laughed. “It’s a step forward, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely! And not just any play—a
romantic
play!”

“Hey, please don’t read too much into that, okay? I had no say over the choice of the play!” she interrupted hastily.

Mohnish burst into a hearty laughter. “Will you stop! I’m kidding, okay? Why don’t you just learn to suspend logic and rational feeling and just enjoy yourself for a change?”

Sonia searched his face and found no sarcasm there. “Right.” She grinned sheepishly.

“And the play’s excellent. The lead actor and actress—what are their names?”

“Anup and Jaya,” Sonia supplied.

“Anup and Jaya are superb. There’s so much fire and energy between them, as if they’re truly in love. I particularly liked that scene in which she bursts into laughter and then tears, when she tells him about the death of her mother. And the way he comforts her and holds her close. It was beautifully enacted, don’t you think so?”

Sonia nodded. “I think the credit should also go to the Director, Karan. The nuances in the development of their relationship are remarkable. Especially the difference in their religious upbringing, and the strong opposition they have to face from all sides. She’s a Muslim and he’s a Hindu. I wonder what the end’s going to be.”

“They live happily ever after?”

“I hope so. I hate tragic endings.”

The third bell rang and the audience returned to their seats. The lights dimmed and the play resumed. Mohnish and Sonia watched, totally enthralled by the performances of the two lead actors. As scene followed scene, the emotions of the lovers on the stage swung high and then low, as they battled the opposition from society to their love. Finally, frustrated and fed up, they decide to celebrate their love and make it eternal by ending their lives.

The lights onstage were dim as the last scene was enacted. Anup and Jaya looked at each other with tears in their eyes. They hugged, then moved away without a word. A lump formed in Mohnish’s throat. A little ashamed, he flashed a glance at his companion and with great surprise witnessed drops glistening on Sonia’s eyelashes. Spontaneously, he grasped her hand and squeezed it.

Jaya poured juice into a glass and handed the juice to Anup, who did the same. Then they moved to the opposite ends of the sitting room. A sad, melancholy song of loving and parting played in the background, as the two lovers poured poison into their glasses. Then they approached, stared longingly into each other’s eyes, and exchanged glasses. They raised their glasses silently in a toast to their love, and then simultaneously swallowed their last and final drink. As they finished the juice, the poison began reacting and they clutched hands, desperately holding on to the ebbing spirit of life. They crashed to the ground, entwined in each other’s arms, while the music reached a peak. The curtains closed on their fallen bodies.

A thunderous applause ripped through the auditorium. Sonia and Mohnish rose, clapping hard. Tears flowed freely down Sonia’s cheeks. In moments, the Director and the two actors came onstage. All three bowed low, smiling and looking triumphant. The applause grew steadily in appreciation of the realistic performances and the successful direction. And then Jaya stumbled. Karan held her, as she swayed and lost balance, crumpling to the floor.

“Jaya!” the Director cried.

Anup watched on, a strange smile on his lips. Then his smile faltered and he, too, lost his footing, clutching his throat. Within seconds, his face had changed colour and his eyes took on a look of horror, as he dropped to the wooden stage floor.