Page 38

Cuckoo’s Nest
As Raju announced Ranjit’s arrival, Dhruva said jocularly that Radha might as well meet Mr. Interval, but she told him that it pays to retain his Ace of Hearts for the development implied that the stakes were raised. Leaving her with a pleased look, Dhruva reached the study to find a downcast Ranjit, who said that Kavya had come under Pravar’s spell, and sadly, he had every reason to believe that she was carrying on with him. As Ranjit bemoaned how his upright wife chose to have an affair with a hardened criminal, Dhruva said that he should bear with it all till she got over her aberration induced by the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. Assuming the role of a psychiatrist, the detective tried to convince the cuckold that he should be considerate to his unfortunate wife, while he himself would strain every nerve to get her out of her paramour’s emotional clutches.
While Dhruva was closeted with Ranjit in the study, Radha went about arranging her things in Mithya’s room and found the main cupboard ajar. Wondering whether it was Dhruva’s idea to let her gain access to Mithya’s wear, she opened it and came across scores of embroidered sarisin an impressive wardrobe. Unable to resist the temptation to find out how Mithya’s blouses would go on her, she wore one and as it was well-suited, she wore a matching sari, and reached for the full-length mirror. While she sized up herself in Mithya’s attire, she tried to envision Dhruva’s reaction, which gave her a strange sense of fetishism, and drawn by the amazing collection of sarisand dresses lying in the cupboard, one by one, she pulled them out, and found at the bottom, a false bottom. Gaining access to the secret shelf, and overawed by the exquisite jewelry lying therein, in ornate boxes, she couldn’t stop wondering about the quality of the gems and the beauty of the workmanship. And finding a framed picture of a young girl, who seemed to be Mithya’s daughter, she could not help but compare it with Mithya’s life-size picture of on the wall, and felt that both exuded a charm of their own.
When Raju informed her about Ranjit’s departure, she joined Dhruva in the study, and he briefed her about Kavya’s affair with Pravar, at which she wondered at the ways of life, and said that it could be awful for the husband. While Dhruva was at a loss as to how to redeem himself by freeing Kavya from Pravar’s hold before she became his crime-mate as well, Radha said that they should bring Natya into play to gauge Kavya’s mind, and that would enable her to keep a vigil on Pravar her own bête noir. Agreeing that they should think of a ploy to bring Natya emotionally closer to her, they toyed with many an idea before he came up with a plan involving Shakeel. While he was calling up Shakeel, she said jocularly that he should summon an ambulance as the cop might suffer a stroke on account of her presence at the Castle Hills; patting her for her naughtiness, he said that he would ask the cop to come in an ambulance.