Different Senses (14 page)

I stared at the killing tree,
trying to imagine a young woman’s body hanging from it, but I
couldn’t. I’d seen a lot of ugliness in my time on the force, but
my mind refused to come up with this. Maybe just as well. The two
men who’d seen it would be haunted for a long time by the image. I
hoped some day they’d find peace with their ghosts.

I called Jyoti and warned her I
was on my way over, and that her aunt and uncle needed to let me
speak to them. “I found her note,” I said.

“Then they will see you.”

She met me as I parked up.
“Where was it?”

“It’s...complicated. And for
the sake of everyone, I’m going to have to tell a few small lies. I
promise not to tell a large one.”

Her blue eyes searched me, as
no doubt her empathic talent did too. “Very well. But will you tell
me the truth?”

“As much as I can, but when we
leave, okay? In private.”

“I understand. Come
inside.”

The hostility in the dark
little living room was thick enough to cut, and did nothing to
improve my fast-worsening headache. The aunt didn’t invite me to
sit this time.

No point in wasting time, so I
got right to it. “The note was found by someone who didn’t realise
the significance of it until after Sapna’s body was discovered, and
then they were afraid of being accused of wrongdoing. Before I give
it to you, I must have your word you won’t try to find this person,
and you won’t ask the police to. There’s been no crime. Sapna
wasn’t murdered.”

The parents stared at me
unblinkingly, hating me. I motioned to Jyoti and she spoke again to
them. After a pause, they answered. “They agree. Where is the
note?”

I handed the envelope over, and
she passed it on. The mother took it and slowly tore the envelope
open with shaking hands. Jyoti’s mother went to her brother’s side,
and put her hand on his shoulder. All three of them read in
silence, Sapna’s brothers standing back, watching me with miserable
eyes.

The mother began to sob
quietly, wrist pressed against her mouth, her husband putting his
arm around her. He said something, and Jyoti’s mother took the note
and gave it to the brothers.

“Is it okay?” I whispered to
Jyoti.

“I think so.” She said
something to her uncle and he answered. “He says thank you, but
could you leave for a little while? This is...family. Do you
mind?”

“No. There’s a note for her
husband as well, so I’ll go see him. But Jyoti, they really
mustn’t—”

“I understand, Javen. I’ll call
you when you should return.”

If I couldn’t feel the emotions
coming from everyone in the room, I’d have been a little miffed by
the dismissal, but I was glad to get out of there. Poor Jyoti had
to stay and endure it.

I was in two minds about
whether to give Nikhil’s note to him. On one hand, he was upset by
not having one. On the other, Sapna might have said things that
would make it so much worse for him, and I felt more conscience
about Nikhil than I did about the parents because he was doing it
alone. The poor bastard had suffered enough.

In the end, I figured if Sapna
loved him, she wouldn’t have told him about Lakshya. I supposed the
argument also went if she loved him, she wouldn’t have killed
herself, but I didn’t really have the right to interfere with
someone’s last wishes. So I started the auto’s engine and drove
over to Nikhil Kamlesh’s farm. But first, I swallowed a painkiller.
Three of them. The way this empathy shit was going, I’d have to
invest in a drug factory.

The workshop was closed and for
a few horrible seconds, I thought Nikhil might have done something
stupid. But then I saw him in the yard of the house, tending to
some straggly fruit trees. He waved when he saw me, and though I
felt his lack of enthusiasm, he smiled. “Good morning, Sri
Ythen.”

“Javen, please. I, uh, have
something for you. But I think you might want to sit down
first.”

“About...her?”

“Yes. Come over here.”

He laid the pruning tool down
and joined me on the carved seat under the tree. I wondered if he’d
made the chair for Sapna, but couldn’t bring myself to ask. “I
found her note.”

“Where? How could it have
turned up now? It’s been such a long time.”

“It was found, and the person
who found it...didn’t know how to give it to you without getting
into trouble.”

“Who?”

“It’s better you don’t ask. For
them and for you. Do you want it?”

He nodded jerkily and I handed
it over. “Would you like me to leave?”

“No. I think...I’d like you to
stay. Can you?”

“Of course.”

He turned the envelope over and
over as if unable to believe it was real. “Do you think I should
read it?”

“I think if you don’t, you’ll
always wonder.” But I hoped Sapna had given some thought to what
this would do to her husband.

He opened the envelope and drew
out the pale green paper. As he read, his eyes filled with tears.
He kissed the letter, refolded it and put it back in the envelope,
before sliding it into his shirt pocket. He covered his eyes with
his hand, and wept. I put my hand on his shoulder, his pain my
pain, but glad to be there to help.

We sat like that for a long
time, as the sun grew warmer, and the scrappy garden almost pretty.
Would he ever share it with anyone else? Would he ever recover?

Finally he blew his nose.
“Thank you,” he croaked.

“There was a note for her
parents too. They know you didn’t do anything.”

“They’ll still hate me. The
person who found the note—”

“Meant no harm. They panicked,
that’s all. She meant you to have it right away. What will you do
now? Are you still going to leave?”

He looked away, up at the tree,
and the faded wood of his house. “I don’t know. My memories are
here, good and bad. People have been unkind.”

“Everyone?”

“Maybe not everyone. I need to
think some more. I’ll always miss her, wherever I am.”

“A lot of people will. I’ve
talked to a few of them. Maybe...they’d like to share their
memories with you.”

“Maybe.” He rubbed his eyes
again. “I never thought I’d see this letter.”

“Did it help?”

“A little. To know I was in her
thoughts after all.... But she’s still gone.”

Wasn’t much I could say to
that. “If Jyoti and her mother want to visit before we go back to
Hegal, would you like to see them?”

“Yes. I would, very much.”

“Then I’ll bring them over, if
they want to come.”

“Yes.” He looked up as I stood.
“I wonder if she sent you because her message didn’t get to
me.”

“Anything’s possible. I’m glad
I could help. Be well, Nikhil. And be happy.”

He gave me a tired smile, not
believing in the possibility. I didn’t know if he could learn
happiness again. But he was a young man with a lot of years ahead
of him. I hoped he could.

~~~~~~~~

The next visit I needed to pay
was to Constable Girilal. He frowned when I told him the suicide
notes had been found and delivered. “I should have seen them first,
you know. For the file.”

“Yes, I know. But they only
confirmed what you already knew—that she killed herself. I didn’t
think anything would be gained by exposing the family further.”

“
Not your call,
Sri
Ythen.
And you won’t tell me how you came by them either?”

“Afraid not. I was told in
confidence. I suppose you could arrest me, but somehow I don’t
think you will.”

“You’re a smart arse. Even
though you’re right, damn you, it’s not fair to play me like
that.”

“I know, but the only nice
thing about being out of the force is that I don’t have to care
about the rules so much. I swear by my honour no crime’s been
concealed, and you’d learn nothing important.”

“Don’t have much choice but to
believe you. All right. I’ll note the file, and close it.”

“One thing though. Sapna’s
family have made it hard for her husband with all they’ve been
saying about him. It’d be kind if you spread the word she really
did kill herself. Put a stop to the nastier rumours.”

He grunted. “I suppose I can do
that. Poor man doesn’t deserve what’s been said. Yes, that’s
reasonable. Now I suggest you leave before I think better of
letting you off the hook over interfering with evidence, Sri
Ythen.”

“Good day, constable. And thank
you.”

He waved me off,
half-irritated, half-pleased. A nastier man would have made my life
suck for what I’d just pulled. But I’d counted on his good nature,
and been right to do so.

And then finally to Doctor
Nihar, because he could do some good in restoring Nikhil’s
reputation too. He listened to my edited tale of finding the note
in silence, and stroked his chin thoughtfully when I finished.
“Always thought it was possible someone found her before her
husband did.”

I hadn’t even hinted at the
possibility of that. “I don’t think it’s helpful to speculate.”

“Oh, I know that, young man,
and I know very well why you’re not telling me everything.
Someone’s involved and knowing their name would hurt good
people.”

“
If there
was
someone else...they didn’t do any harm.”

“No doubt.” He sighed. “You
know, I think I might drop over and speak to Nikhil. Should have
done that before now.”

“That’d be kind, doctor. He’s
shaken up.”

“Yes, I’m sure. You’ve done a
fair bit of shaking up all over the place, one way or another,
haven’t you?”

“Guess so. But now it’s
over.”

“For you, maybe. Not for the
family. But that’s my job, looking after them. Mine and the rest of
us. I’ll see that we do.”

“Thanks. Oh, I read that paper
you gave me. Interesting stuff.”

“It is. Pity more of you don’t
learn a bit more about the history of the planet, but from what I
see, your people are a pretty incurious bunch, at least about my
people.”

“Maybe we are. But I’m glad I
read it. Thanks.”

“Any time. Now you’d better be
off doing whatever it is you do, and I’d better get back to work.
Nice job, Javen. Not every case will be this tidy.”

“Wish this one could have a
happy ending, but that was never going to happen.”

“No. Well, good day and good
luck, young man. Drop in if you’re ever out this way again.”

I smiled and agreed, but
somehow doubted I ever would be. The Flats weren’t the kind of
place or the kind of people who needed investigators. I wasn’t
sorry about that.

~~~~~~~~

I arrived home next day just in
time for lunch. I walked in, went to the twins and hugged them
until they squealed with laughter. While Tara was still chiding me
for that, I hugged her, and then my brother when he came over to
see what the hell was going on.

“I love all of you more than
anything or anyone in the world.”

“That’s nice, brother, but
could you let us go so we can breathe?”

Tara patted my cheek. “You look
worn out. Want to talk about it?”

“No. Not yet anyway. Any food
left for me?”

“You can have mine, Uncle
Javen,” Harshul said, shoving his plate at me.

“Harshul Ythen, sit down and
eat your food,” Tara said. “You won’t grow big and strong if you
don’t eat properly.”

“Don’t want to be big and
strong. Don’t like vegetables.”

I laughed and ruffled his hair.
“Vegetables before sweets, and you love sweets, right?”

“
Why can’t I have
them
instead
?”

I smiled at Tara. “Well?”

“
Because I said you
can’t, and that’s the end of that. Thank you,
Uncle
Javen.”

“Any time, sister.”

She made a face and
served me some of her delicious
kari
, while Yashi warmed
chapatis. Harshul’s twin, Madhu, ate quietly, smirking as his
brother poked his unwanted food, forking a piece now and then into
his sulky mouth. Yashi grinned at all of us, and I grinned at him.
Some days, my family drove me crazy. Today...even as an atheist, I
felt blessed, and very, very lucky to have them.

When the promised sweets
finally arrived, I lifted my mug of chai to everyone. “To good
food, and good company.”

“
And
me
,” Harshul
insisted.

Yashi grinned. “Of course to
you, you noisy brat. To all of us, especially my beloved brother,
for whom I’m always grateful.”

“And to you, brother. To all of
you.”

His eyes met mine, and I knew
he understood. That was the nice thing about being a twin. Some
things I’d never need to explain.

On a hundred old
Earth-colonised planets, among twenty human races, there’s one
constant—never, ever come between a cop and his morning cup of
plant-based stimulant. I wasn’t a cop any more, and I was trying to
cut down on the caffeine intake for the good of my blood pressure,
but that didn’t stop me scowling at the
banis
man who slid into the
booth across from me and smiled far too brightly for this time of
the morning.

“Sri Ythen?”

“
Whatever you’re selling,
I don’t want any, and I’m not looking for an employee. Try some
other
chuma
,
beto
.”

I’d pissed him off, which
didn’t bother me half as much as the fact he hadn’t taken the hint.
“I am not looking for a job, Sri Ythen. Rather, I am looking to
employ you. You are a detective, yes? Private investigations, with
discretion?”

I sat up, now more
curious than annoyed. I’d had a couple of
banis
clients, by accident
more than anything else. Most couldn’t afford my fees, not that I
held it against them. My visitor might be able to, though. Sharp
Kelon-style kurta pajama, clean-shaven face, bright auburn hair
worn in hundreds of tiny braids in the usual
banis
fashion, but
without any flashy beads, face paint or ear tails. “Your
name?”