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“What do you mean?” I asked wearily.
He smiled at DV and me. A very devious smile, at that.
CHAPTER20
DIGVIJAY
Tasha and I stayed out of sight when the media vans started pouring into the parking lot of the police station. This press conference was Inspector Sawant’s circus, and I wanted nothing to do with it.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have invited you here to issue an update about the Vishal Agarwal murder case,” he began, but he was interrupted by a volley of questions from all sides.
“Are you going to arrest Princess Tasha?”
“What was her motive for killing the man?”
“Is this related to the murders in her family? Is she a serial killer?”
The Inspector held up a hand.
“Hear me out, please,” he ordered loudly.
The reporters quietened down at that.
“As I was saying, We want to issue an update about the case. I know there have been uncomplimentary reports about Princess Natasha Raje in the media. And all of you have been citing information that supposedly came from my police station. I’m here to inform you that none of that information is true. Someone has been feeding the media a lot of misinformation about the princess in an attempt to discredit her.”
“Do you mean to say she isn’t the killer?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake! Did these reporters know nothing? Why would any investigating officer reveal the results of his investigation to the media, rather than the court?
“I mean to say that far from bribing our witness, as is being alleged, Princess Natasha is responsible for finding the sole witness to the case. She is helping us with the investigation, and she has our thanks,” he announced.
There was an uproar as he fielded only about three questions before ending the press conference. That’s all he needed to do. His point was made. Far from being discredited, Tasha would be lauded as the heroine of the investigating team.
“Is this a good idea?” she asked softly, winding her arm through mine.
“I’m not sure, babe,” I replied. “It will piss off the killer for sure. Whether that is a good thing remains to be seen.”
“Let’s get out of here before the media camps out in front of the commune again,” she said with a shudder.
I led her out of the police station through a side door and whisked her off to her fake paradise. For that’s what it had turned out to be.
When we parked the car in the parking lot near the community centre, a little girl came running up to us.
“Didi, can you help us get our kite off the ground?” she begged.
Tasha shot me a questioning glance, and I nodded.
“Sure. Go ahead and play with the kids for a bit. It will take your mind off the case. I’ll go inside and answer my emails. Call me when you’re done,” I said, with a reassuring smile.
She nodded and joined the children who were trying to fly a dragon-shaped kite. I walked into the community centre and opened up my email app. The mobile network inside was very sketchy, so I went up to the roof to try and catch a signal.
A loud laugh caught my attention and I leaned against the balustrade admiring Tasha’s way with children. They loved her, and clearly, she loved them back. She clapped and jumped up and down just like they did when the kite took flight, and she guided their little hands around the mooring gently, showing them how to use the wind to their advantage.
Finally, the child holding the kite ran off ahead, with the other children on her heels. Tasha stayed behind, and just as I was about to step back from the edge of the roof, she looked up and smiled when she saw me. I smiled back and she blew me a kiss. I wondered how cheesy it would be if I caught the kiss and held it close to my heart. But she turned away before I could give in to the impulse, and I decided to get on with my emails.
As I moved away from the edge of the roof, I tripped over one of the large vases set along the floor. I caught myself before I fell, and pulled the vase upright before I knocked it over. What a useless thing to keep in the way, I grumbled, as I made my way back into the stairwell.
The signal up there was just as weak, so I went downstairs and found an employee, who helped me connect to their Wi-Fi network. I had barely opened the first email when there was a loud crash from outside. I ran outside and found Tasha staring at the shards of a broken vase. She looked at it, and then she looked up at the roof.
