Devika smiled thinly. “Everyone knows his name. He is Nalin D’Souza, the Attorney General of India.”
Chapter 84
NISHA LEFT YOGA Sutra, her mind fizzing. Not only did she now know how Devika Gulati had secured such a prime piece of Mumbai real estate, but the name of the Attorney General had cropped up once again—surely too much of a coincidence?
As she reached her car her phone rang. It was Ajay calling from the BMC—Bombay Municipal Corporation—office.
“Hello, Nisha,” he said.
Her eyes went automatically to the steering wheel where the yellow scarf had been tied. Next she craned over her shoulder to check the back seat was empty. Satisfied there were no surprises in store, she clicked the central locking.
“Well,” she said, “if it isn’t my favorite municipal fixer. I was thinking about you just the other day …”
“In the shower, I hope.”
“Ajay,” she chided. “I’m a married woman. No, it was in the Charity Commission.”
“Oh, those bent bastards. Let me guess. Good looks and a winning smile got you nowhere?”
“It was cold, hard cash or nothing.”
“What if I were to tell you that my services come with a price too?”
She pulled the seatbelt across herself, clicking it into place. “I’d tell you to stop pushing your luck and tell me what you’ve got to tell me.”
“Okay. Are you ready for this? Your Lara Omprakash childbirth query. Now, it took a bit of digging because it turned out that Lara Omprakash is a stage name. Her real name was Jamuna Chopra.”
“Right …” said Nisha.
“And Jamuna Chopra did indeed have a child when she was just out of her teens. June twelfth, 1984.”
“You’re a genius,” said Nisha.
“I’m glad it’s been recognized at last.”
“What else? Who was the father?”
“Father unknown. Child’s name Aditi Chopra.”
“Oh?” said Nisha. “A girl?”
“Absolutely. Gender: female.”
“Okay. I wonder if you could—”
“Tell you if Aditi has married or died?”
She grinned. “You know me too well.”
“I’m wasted in this job, aren’t I? The answer’s no. Not under that name anyway.”
> “Ajay, I think I love you,” she said.
“If only …” he sighed.
“But Lara Omprakash was childless,” said Santosh moments later when she called him, still parked in the road outside.
“Obviously not,” she said.