studying the obituary.
“I understand your predicament, Neha,” Sonia sympathized, “but tell me, are you positive that this man is Tushar Gulati?”
“I can swear on God that this man is my husband!”
“And do you know why this photograph has been printed in the paper?”
Neha sniffed tearfully and nodded. “Mohnishsaheb has explained to me. But how is it possible? How can my husband be in any way connected with this Kapoor woman? And they . . . they say he is dead? I don't understand! I simply don't understand! Oh, what am I to do? I'm so terribly confused!” She choked over her tears.
Sonia did her best to comfort Neha but the woman seemed inconsolable. Finally, Sonia gestured at Mohnish to come out into the other room, leaving Jatin to do his bit as she carefully closed the door behind her.
“What do you think
now
?” Mohnish asked.
“I'm glad I trusted your judgement,” Sonia replied with a half smile. “That poor woman is almost broken with frustration and misery. Where will she put up, while we adopt our course of action?”
“At the Naari Kendra, of course!”
“Good, because this may take a few days. I shall have to consult Inspector Divekar since he is handling the Kapoor case. It could be a rather unpleasant situation—finding out if the dead man was indeed Tushar Gulati. Bigamy is not uncommon these days, you know, but proving it, especially when the man is dead, could be extremely disagreeable!”
“Do you think this is what it is—Bigamy?” Mohnish asked curiously.
“It is a possibility one must consider. However, if it's my intuitive opinion that you are seeking, then no, I don't think it's Bigamy. I suspect foul play. But my suspicions, until proved, are quite baseless.”
“So what's your next line of action?” Mohnish asked, folding his arms.
“To meet Mrs. Kapoor, find out what I can about her married life, if she permits me to, of course. In the meanwhile, I think you should take Neha to the Kendra.”
“But what about her horoscope? Don't you need it to proceed on the case?” he asked, a trace of innocence in his tone.
For the first time, Sonia burst out laughing—a healthy, bubbly, youthful laugh that chimed like a bell. Mohnish waited patiently for the peal of amusement to subside.
“Well?” he asked. “May I share the joke?”
“Actually—I'm sorry—I didn't mean to be rude.” She looked up at him with twinkling eyes. “It's just your assumption—”
“But you're the one who works with horoscopes!”
“Yes, I do,” Sonia said in a more sober tone. “But it's not as if I
hunt
for horoscopes at the first scent of a crime! I treat Astrology like a map
when
I arrive in a city—a map that will guide me and help me navigate myself in the desired direction. However, before I embark on the journey to that city, I need to gather information—knowledge about the journey as well as my destination. Initially, I work with facts and investigation. Then if I reach a deadlock or a fork in the road, I use my map—which shows me the precise route or alternate options. At the moment I am still at the predestination stage and I have no intentions of vaulting over facts!”
“Got it!” Mohnish grinned sheepishly.
“I'm not saying I may not need Neha's or Tushar's horoscope,” Sonia pointed out. “I may resort to Astrology, at a later stage, after I have given enough opportunity and scope to my fact-finding, investigative capacities and when I need to reconfirm or reconstitute my findings!”
“You're trying to tell me that Astrology is not the magic wand most people might make it out to be. In your policy, Astrology goes hand in hand with the facts.”
“Precisely. Some may regard my technique of solving cases with a great deal of suspicion and perhaps even disbelief, because they don't believe in the science of Astrology. But, to tell you the truth, such an attitude bothers me the least. Such people are merely unaware that the Vedic Astrology
“I understand your predicament, Neha,” Sonia sympathized, “but tell me, are you positive that this man is Tushar Gulati?”
“I can swear on God that this man is my husband!”
“And do you know why this photograph has been printed in the paper?”
Neha sniffed tearfully and nodded. “Mohnishsaheb has explained to me. But how is it possible? How can my husband be in any way connected with this Kapoor woman? And they . . . they say he is dead? I don't understand! I simply don't understand! Oh, what am I to do? I'm so terribly confused!” She choked over her tears.
Sonia did her best to comfort Neha but the woman seemed inconsolable. Finally, Sonia gestured at Mohnish to come out into the other room, leaving Jatin to do his bit as she carefully closed the door behind her.
“What do you think
now
?” Mohnish asked.
“I'm glad I trusted your judgement,” Sonia replied with a half smile. “That poor woman is almost broken with frustration and misery. Where will she put up, while we adopt our course of action?”
“At the Naari Kendra, of course!”
“Good, because this may take a few days. I shall have to consult Inspector Divekar since he is handling the Kapoor case. It could be a rather unpleasant situation—finding out if the dead man was indeed Tushar Gulati. Bigamy is not uncommon these days, you know, but proving it, especially when the man is dead, could be extremely disagreeable!”
“Do you think this is what it is—Bigamy?” Mohnish asked curiously.
“It is a possibility one must consider. However, if it's my intuitive opinion that you are seeking, then no, I don't think it's Bigamy. I suspect foul play. But my suspicions, until proved, are quite baseless.”
“So what's your next line of action?” Mohnish asked, folding his arms.
“To meet Mrs. Kapoor, find out what I can about her married life, if she permits me to, of course. In the meanwhile, I think you should take Neha to the Kendra.”
“But what about her horoscope? Don't you need it to proceed on the case?” he asked, a trace of innocence in his tone.
For the first time, Sonia burst out laughing—a healthy, bubbly, youthful laugh that chimed like a bell. Mohnish waited patiently for the peal of amusement to subside.
“Well?” he asked. “May I share the joke?”
“Actually—I'm sorry—I didn't mean to be rude.” She looked up at him with twinkling eyes. “It's just your assumption—”
“But you're the one who works with horoscopes!”
“Yes, I do,” Sonia said in a more sober tone. “But it's not as if I
hunt
for horoscopes at the first scent of a crime! I treat Astrology like a map
when
I arrive in a city—a map that will guide me and help me navigate myself in the desired direction. However, before I embark on the journey to that city, I need to gather information—knowledge about the journey as well as my destination. Initially, I work with facts and investigation. Then if I reach a deadlock or a fork in the road, I use my map—which shows me the precise route or alternate options. At the moment I am still at the predestination stage and I have no intentions of vaulting over facts!”
“Got it!” Mohnish grinned sheepishly.
“I'm not saying I may not need Neha's or Tushar's horoscope,” Sonia pointed out. “I may resort to Astrology, at a later stage, after I have given enough opportunity and scope to my fact-finding, investigative capacities and when I need to reconfirm or reconstitute my findings!”
“You're trying to tell me that Astrology is not the magic wand most people might make it out to be. In your policy, Astrology goes hand in hand with the facts.”
“Precisely. Some may regard my technique of solving cases with a great deal of suspicion and perhaps even disbelief, because they don't believe in the science of Astrology. But, to tell you the truth, such an attitude bothers me the least. Such people are merely unaware that the Vedic Astrology
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