PART-68

“Hello khushiji!How are you?”Shyam asked in his coyishly silken voice,much to distaste of khushi.

“Are Shyam babua!Please come in!”Buaji blubbered,dragging him in.

“I’m going .Bye!”Khushi murmured.

“Khushji,wait!I’ll drop you.”Shyam offered eagerly.

“Thanks but no thanks Shyamji!I’ve to go to temple too.You need not face the inconvenience.” Khushi retaliated,ignoring buaji’s exclamation of how lovely that would be.

“That’s all right khushiji!I won’t be put to any inconvenience....”

“ Shyamji why are you forcing your company on khushi?If she doesn’t want to go with you,then let it be!”Payal growled angrily.

“Payaliya!Is this the way to talk to a guest?Haven’t we taught you anything?”Buaji fumed.

“Buaji,please will you stop taking his side and think of khushi for once?She need not be even more upset and despondent than she already is!”Payal puffed.

“Please stop it!Shyamji,I’ll come with you!”Khushi implored desperately, trying to subside the angry altercation between her sister and aunt.She didn’t have the patience to bear it. With hapless resignation,she left the duo-one fuming and other slightly gleeful,behind with Shyam as they started for temple.

“Shyamji,I’ll be back in a few.You can go if you are running late.”Khushi added hopefully,but the latter didn’t pay her heed,his entire concentration centred somewhere in the midst of the bustling copious crowd.

“Khushi,you go on.I’ll wait here.Actually I’ve spotted one of my clients.So....”Shyam trailed off, trying his best to infuse careful off-handedness in his tonebut not quite managing the effect cleanly.

“Ok Shyamji!”Khushi said dubiously,registering the unmistaken urgency in his voice.Shyam hurried off in the milling crown and khushi’s curiosity got the better of her.

She carefully stepped into the ensuing bedlam,keeping a  scrupulous distance from Shyam as she followed him.She saw him clutch the hand of a girl-who was too skimpily clad for a religious place and was invoking several scandalised looks for the same from passer-byes-and drag her to a secluded corner of the precinct,throwing nervous glances to his surrounding every now and then.

“What are you doing here?”He hissed as soon as they were nearly discernible behind a dense thicket,his face menacing,but instead of recoiling from him,the girl hung on to him as if for her dear life.

“I just saw you entering the place,so I followed.By the way,who was that girl?”The girl asked suspiciously.

“A cousin of mine!”Came the prompt reply,which shocked khushi.The guy literally panted after her and here he was lying regarding her!

“Oh!”The girl puffed apparently satisfied by his answer and wound her arms lewdly around him,pressing her body against him.A hungry expression came on Shyam’s face.

“It has been so long that you came up to see me!”The girl pouted,her voice flirtatiously critical.

“I’ve been so busy sweet heart!Otherwise I would’ve surely spent  my days with you,ensnared in the manacles of your love!”Shyam sad cloyly,his hands pulling her indecently closer.

Khushi’s eyes widened in confusion!She couldn’t make out head or tail of what was unfolding in front of her eyes.

“Aww my poor baby!You look so tired!You seriously need a break!Why don’t you come along and play?”The girl asked sinuously, slipping her fingers between the buttons of Shyam’s shirt,making his eyes dilate with lust.

“Surely my love!How can I deny such a tempting offer,but not now for I’ve some meetings to wrap, but I’ll be there in the afternoon to be your beauty’s slave!”Shyam murmured and after disentangling himself from the girl’s embrace,traded his hold on her for her hand.He hailed an auto for her.

“Be there in the evening then!”The girl insisted.

“Of course!”Shyam promised.

Khushi saw the auto chug away and immediately jumped into another one,giving hasty directions to follow the other.

“Like in Hindi movies!”The driver exclaimed exuberantly.

“Shut up and follow the auto!I’m a police officer!”Khushi growled,whipping out her cell to send a SMS to Shyam.

‘Some important work cropped up,so I had to leave in haste!Thanks for the lift!’Shyam read the message in disappointment.He had hoped to spin things so as to spend some time with khushi before going off for a promising day to his mistress.But the plan had fallen in cold bag. Sighing resignedly,he sat in his car and zoomed off, unaware o f the tempestuous storm so close on his horizon!

Just as the chase began sleek black S.T.F. SUV rolled to a stop in front of a speeding truck followed by a fleet of police car.

A.C.P.Arnav Singh Raizada alighted, straightening his shades.The look on his face promised menace!

“What do you want ?”The driver drawled,alighting from the truck,the graffiti on which proclaimed its association with  ‘Spark hotels’ owned by the Jhas.

“Akash,Aman check the truck!”ASR ordered,ignoring the driver.

The truck was assiduously checked ,but nothing was found except blankets,quits and pillows to be used in the hotel!

“I told you so!You won’t find anything!Its just pillows and duvets in there officer!Yor really need to...know...really...”The driver balked as he saw ASR grabbing a pillow and tearing it deftly with a pocket knife.

To utter amazemet of those that surrounded him,several packets of some white stuff fell out! ASR tore one of them and sniffed lightly.

“Drugs!”He announced shortly to the stunned gathering of police officers and constables around him.

There was silence for a split second before,the driver of the truck raced off as if chased by fierce hounds of hell with loud yelp!

Downfall of Jhas had begun!