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“Umm…”
“What did he do?” I growled, making her jump.
“Well, he did kind of hit on her when she moved here,” said Sandhya.
I wanted to find the bastard and dismember his scrawny little body right away.
“Did he ask you out?” I asked Tasha grimly.
She nodded her head.
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“Because I didn’t think it was important. I mean… I didn’t think he was serious. It happened when I was trying out his yoga class. He would joke around with me about how much I sucked at it and tried to convince me not to give up. Then he asked me out for coffee, but I turned him down because I wasn’t interested in dating anyone. It wasn’t a big deal. He wasn’t upset,” she said defensively.
“He was quite upset about it,” corrected Sandhya. “He mentioned it to a few people. He even called you some nasty names, babe.”
“What! Why didn’t anyone tell me?” asked Tasha.
This was clearly news to her.
“We thought he’d get over it. It’s hardly the first rejection he’s got in life, and it’s not likely to be the last,” said Sandhya drily, which surprised a snort out of Tasha. “But now that I think about it, he is the type to hold a grudge about something so humiliating.”
“But how would it be humiliating when I didn’t tell anyone he asked me out?” argued Tasha.
“You didn’t, but he did,” I pointed out. “He brought the humiliation on himself, but he won’t see it like that.”
“Yes,” agreed Sandhya. “According to him, you’re a snooty bitch who thinks she’s too good for the likes of him.”
Tasha sighed and the soft sound was loaded with despair. It was as if all the joy had drained out of her. The shadows under her eyes seemed to be darker than usual. I could kill the troll who had done this to her with my bare hands.
“I can’t believe Vishal would do something like this. He seemed like a decent guy. Boring, but nice,” she said disbelievingly.
“That’s exactly what he sounds like. That special variety of the male species called the ‘nice guy’,” I explained. “They seem harmless and almost timid. Very unlike alpha-holes who will disrespect you and break your heart. But under that nice exterior lurks an asshole to beat all assholes. The quiet serial killer that no one would ever suspect.”
She shivered in response, and Sandhya put her arm around her.
“I’ll tell my guys to grab him right away,” said Samar, reaching for his phone.
“And I’d like the pleasure of handing him over to the police after you boys are done with him,” insisted Freddy.
But, like all vermin, Vishal Agarwal seemed to have a sense of when to hide. Samar, Jaideep and I went over to his cottage, but it was locked. And we couldn’t find him anywhere in the commune. The CCTV footage from the gates showed him sneaking out late last night, tiptoeing past the sleeping guards. So much for the security in Paradiso, I thought with a contemptuous glance at the shame-faced team that was lined up before us.
* * *
“Do you think he will come back?” asked Tasha anxiously.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “Imran is trying to trace his mobile signal. He’s going to lie low for some time, that’s for sure.”
“But why would he run at all? How did he know we were going to suspect him?”
“He wasn’t taking any chances, I guess. After all, you’re not a helpless member of the housekeeping staff. You’re a princess, with all of us at your back.”
Tasha’s lower lip wobbled adorably and she bit it as she tried to hold back her tears. I wanted to smooth the bit away and kiss it better, but I stifled that impulse valiantly. We weren’t going down that path anymore, and I had to make my peace with it.
Just then, her phone rang. She stared down at it with a frown.
“It’s an unknown number. Should I answer it?”
