Bad Company

This tale of woe begins late one evening inside a movie theater.

The show had just started, and I was alone, having the whole row to myself when I sensed movement toward my left. I glanced up and in the relative gloom of the theater saw a figure, distinctly feminine, enter my row. She moved slowly toward me and slipped into the adjacent seat. Something warm touched my forearm, on the arm-rest. I realized with surprise that it was her palm and suddenly her lips were at my ear. “Have I missed much?”

Mistaken identity? Had she come to the wrong row? Those were my first assumptions, but before I could put voice to my thoughts, she spoke again. “My name’s Padmini. What’s yours?”

Ah-ha! I thought. The lady is looking for company… I cleared my throat. “Sanjiv.”

She shifted closer. “Popcorn, Sanjiv?”

I turned in time to see the bag appear. Suddenly popcorn cascaded onto my lap.

She sighed loudly. “S-ooo careless of me…. Let me clean that up.” And before I could object her fingers were in my lap, running across the denim fabric as they gathered up the bits of popcorn. I froze as her digits danced. “Oh! I think one slipped into your pants.” She chuckled, and she pulled my zip down quickly.

Suddenly, she straightened. “Sanjiv, this is moving too fast for a simple girl like me… How about I pay a visit to the restroom first? Do me a favour and keep an eye on my handbag while I’m gone.” She placed it on my lap, and wrapped both my hands firmly over it to keep it in place. “And put this in your pocket.” Her fingers found my shirt pocket and she stuffed something soft into it.

Okay, so I know you think I’m a dumbass. What lady goes to the restroom without her handbag, right? But I didn’t suspect a damn thing until I saw a flashlight beam bounce down the aisle till it reached my row. There were two ushers behind the torch. One of them whispered loudly. “Sir, please come with us. Manager wants to see you.”

Frowning, I rose with the handbag clasped to my side, thinking it unwise to leave it unattended when I would surely be returning without much delay. Edging out, I stepped on something. It looked like a high-heel shoe.

They escorted me to the office. The bespectacled man inside with an ID-tag looped round his neck looked at me as I entered. Then he turned and that made me glance in the same direction. I saw a young woman, mid-thirties, seated at the desk. My eyebrows lifted: her hair was loose, mussed tresses falling about her shoulders. Her blouse had been pulled from her skirt and two buttons hung from threads. Her skirt was torn. And she wore no shoes.

I assumed the man with glasses was the manager. “What’s going on?”

But it was the woman who spoke. “It’s him. I recognize his voice.” And then suddenly, I recognized hers: Padmini. “He’s the one who tried to rape me.”

I staggered at her words. Fury filled me, buoying me and I stepped toward her, but clearly they’d anticipated that. The ushers at my side yanked me back.

Padmini went on: “He pushed something into my side, said he’d knife me if I screamed. He pulled my blouse, groping… he ripped off my stockings! And then he was on me, trying to lift my skirt. It tore, and I was frantic. So I told him wait, I’d go to the ladies room and remove my undergarments to make it easy, that if he tore my clothes, my parents would want to know what happened. He almost didn’t let me go. Then suddenly, he changed his mind. He told me to leave my shoes and handbag with him, that if I ran away, he would find me. He was so bloody sure of himself. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t recognize him because of the darkness.” Tears ran down her cheeks.

I forced myself to stay calm. Tell the manager what actually happened. I turned to him, and found he was staring at me. With a sinking feeling, I glanced down, knowing what I would see: my zip was open.

He reached out for something sticking from my shirt pocket. It was a pair of stockings. My heart sank. “I’m calling the police.”

My mouth opened, to lodge some kind of protest – more likely a plea – but it was Padmini’s voice that stilled his hand. “Police?” she sneered. “Do you think calling the cops will resolve this matter? There are rape victims who have decided to suffer in silence rather than suffer the indignities of a police investigation. I am both fortunate and grateful that this thug didn’t get that far, but I can imagine what the police will say: No harm was done, miss. You should not have been out this late alone. My name is smeared. I can see my office colleagues sniggering behind my back. That’s bad enough. What’s worse is that he will get just a reprimand. And some night in the future, when his hormones act up, he’ll corner some other poor girl.”

I’ll say this for the lady: at that moment, she had center-stage. Every one of us had our collective attentions riveted on her.

The manager looked at the phone, then away – with some relief, I thought. “I can’t take the law into my own hands, ma’am. If not the police-”

“This punk needs to be taught a serious lesson here, so that he will never prey on women again.” She looked thoughtful. “Give me his wallet.”

One of the ushers pinning me down obliged and when I protested he stared me in the face darkly. He handed my alligator-skin wallet deferentially to Padmini. She rifled it, slid out my driver’s license and flipped through the pages. “Sanjiv Mehta.” She shook her head. “He’s only 24, a damn kid…” She looked at me. “Well, Mehta, 24 or not, you’re about to regret you ever laid hands on me. When I call your parents, guess who the topic of discussion is going to be.” She gestured at her handbag that, like a fool, I still held. “That’s mine.” She got up. “I won’t press charges. But please detain him until I’m safely away.” She nodded to the manager and with my wallet, left the office.

###

It was past midnight when I reached home. The manager had used a lot of harsh words after her departure and nothing I said would convince him of my innocence. He warned me to never set foot on the premises again and then told me to get out. I drove around for a while, trying to work things out. I even contemplated calling my best friend for advice then decided against it. The hour was late and I went home.

It was dark upstairs when I reached, which meant my parents were asleep. Good, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to face them. They would have noticed within moments that something was wrong. I headed for my bedroom on the second floor and clicked on the light. Just then, my mobile phone rang. I stared at the caller ID. It was an unknown number. I answered the phone.

“Sanjiv.” It was her. I wouldn’t forget that voice in a hurry. “I’m downstairs outside your kitchen door.” The line went dead.

I closed my eyes and thought of what she might do if I didn’t go down. All my ICE contacts were inside my wallet, printed on a laminated card. I thought of the phone at Dad’s bed ringing, of his sleep suddenly vanishing as he listened to her story.

I clicked open the back door, and she stepped in and had her arm round my neck in seconds, twisting my face toward her. I began to struggle and suddenly her lips were on mine, pressing hard. The struggle went out of me. She backed off then disappeared into the house before my bewildered mind could work things out.

I raced after her, heart beating almost painfully as I saw her take the staircase up. She must have been watching, waiting. She had seen me return, and then a light go on upstairs. She knew where my room was.

I entered the room, and closed the door. Padmini stood there, awed by her surroundings. I noticed she had changed into a beige frock. As I stared, she dropped something on the bed. It was my wallet. I went to claim it, and smoothly, she lifted the hem of her frock and took it off.

I gaped, and she unclipped her bra and dropped it on the floor. She looked around, hands on delectable hips and asked: “Where’s your music system?” She spotted the stereo unit next to my computer. Alarm bells went off in my head. If my parents woke up, how in hell would I be able to explain a topless woman in my bedroom?

I grabbed her arm. “Don’t! No music.” I pulled the plug and opened a drawer and we both looked down at the cash inside.

###

I was still quaking when I went to wash up a quarter-hour later. She had left wordlessly, and I found myself wondering if this truly was the last I would hear of her. I studied my face in the mirror and almost jumped when I saw the lipstick mark on my mouth. I wiped at it with tissue paper, wildly.

There was another shock in store for me that evening after I returned from my office.

Mum was at the coffee table. “The maid found this under your bed.” Her face was expressionless.

I looked at the bra on the table and my mouth went dry. Padmini! She had pushed it under my bed. I let out my breath, vexed. “Tony is getting married next month, and his bachelor party is this weekend. One of their customs is for his friends to dress the groom in lingerie.” I shrugged. “None of the others were keen on holding it, so I volunteered…”

###

My mobile phone rang shortly after midnight, just after I had switched off my bedroom light. I sat up quickly, hoping it wasn’t that damn-

“I’m downstairs.” She said and clicked off her phone. I stared at the device, pulse racing. I wasn’t going to do it. I wasn’t going to go down there again-

The glass window of my bedroom exploded inwards. I was so stunned I just stared. On the ground with shards of glass was a rock. I jumped out of bed and rushed to the kitchen.

She was standing in the garden and I caught her arm as she was aiming. “Enough!” I whispered harshly, hating the desperation in my voice. “Please – I’ll give you more money.”

“One lakh.” Her expression didn’t even change.

My eyes opened wide in shock.

“You can give me a check, sweetie.” She said, helpfully. “I’ll cash it myself tomorrow.”

###

We take our breakfast late. Mum and I were at the table when our maid came in, worried. “Madam – there’s a woman at the door, asking to see you. She sounds very-”

Padmini walked in and I nearly choked on my coffee.

She singled me out instantly and waved at me what I recognized, with a hollow feeling, as my check. “What the hell is this? One lakh and I’m history? You rich brats think you can just scribble a check and the problem goes away?”

Mum stood up. “Who are you and what are you doing in my house?”

Padmini faced her. “Your son has been using my body for the last two months as his playground. But that’s not the problem. You see, I sell my body. But I fell in love with your boy. I never asked him for money. He said he loved me. Then I got pregnant. Suddenly, forever isn’t forever any more. Sanjiv hands me a check and tells me to take care of the problem and never to show my face again.”

My mother held out her hand for the check. Her face went slack as she studied it. She looked up. “I can tear this up.” She hadn’t looked at me; she’d accepted Padmini’s story as true.

“I have copies. If I go to the police, I will say he raped me and tried to buy my silence. Even if your wealth can prevent justice taking its course, I’ll see your family name is smeared.”

“What do you want?” Mum asked quietly.

“Ideally, I’d want him to marry me.” Both of us started. “Seeing your reactions, that won’t be acceptable. So I’ll make it less painful: give me ten lakhs cash, 11 AM today. You won’t see me again.”

Mum rose.

I stood uncertainly. “Wait! This is crap-”

Padmini’s voice cut through mine. “While you’re upstairs, Mrs. Mehta, please fetch my bra. I forgot it in Junior’s bedroom some nights back.”

My mouth fell shut. Mum looked away.

I made an instant decision. “Mum. This is my mess; I’ll pay from my fixed deposits.” My car key was in my pocket. I looked at my watch. The bank would open by 10. “Let’s get this over with.”

###

She busied herself with her make-up while I drove. Brush through her hair, a touch of lip-gloss, squirt of deodorant, powder over her cheeks and forehead. I wondered what else her handbag contained. “Why me?”

“I’ve done this before. I waited in the cinema car park, looking for a single male in a posh car. When you arrived in this machine I knew I had my man…”

My bank was on the tenth floor. In the building lobby, I summoned the elevator. We got out at my floor and walked into the bank, Padmini lagging behind. The manager’s name was Ferrao, and I fed him a story about needing the cash for an investment. Through the cabin glass, I saw Padmini standing outside.

Ferrao offered me coffee while I waited, and after the bundles were in my briefcase, we shook hands. When I stopped at the lift, Padmini was behind me.

The elevator reached our floor and the doors opened. There was no one inside. I stepped in. Padmini followed. I pressed the G button then tossed the case at her. “Catch.”

She was caught by surprise and the case fell to the ground. She bent to retrieve it and I slammed myself into her. “I would very much like value for my money.” My hand went to her blouse as we collapsed on the floor together and I jerked her top open. My other hand was in her hair, pulling it back. I reached down to rip her skirt, and her elbow came out at me. I had been half expecting it, had prepped myself for it, but it still caught me by surprise. The wind was knocked out of me, and I fell away from her, clutching my abdomen where she had hit me.

Padmini got to her feet shakily, and picking up the case, backed into a corner.

I have really sensitive eyes. Cold air, some dust and my eyes flare up in no time. I began rubbing both eyes, groaning loudly. The elevator reached the ground floor.

As the doors parted, she slipped out, the case against her chest. I crawled out of the lift, scrabbling forward on hands and knees, and let out a strangled cry. “Thief! Someone stop that woman! She’s stealing my money!” I clawed my way over the tiles. “Stop her!”

A guard had stopped Padmini. With a firm hand, he led her to where a crowd had gathered around me.

“My eyes – I can’t see!”

Someone caught my shoulder. “Mr. Mehta, sir, it’s Domnic from TC Bank. What happened?”

“She stole my money. Call Ferrao. He’ll confirm I withdrew the cash 10 minutes ago. She got in the lift with me then tore her clothes and messed her hair and said if I didn’t give her the case, she’d scream rape.” I could see through reddened eyes people turn to take in Padmini’s appearance. Her mouth had fallen open. “I gave her the case, thinking I’d wrestle it back later and prove it was mine. But she expected it because she took a can from her bag and sprayed me in the eyes.”

Padmini was silent, and made no move to stop the guard as he – on his own initiative – went through her handbag. He found the deodorant and held it up for all to see.

“I’ll call the police.” said Domnic.

###

The Inspector looked me in the eye. “I don’t believe your story.” I sat across his desk. “I think she tried to blackmail you, the way she’s blackmailed others in this city over the last eight years.” He touched the list on his desk. “Ten victims, all wealthy like you. She milked each till he either ran out of money or managed to summon the courage to approach us. With their stories, we worked out we were dealing with a single woman, working alone. She pulled the same trick on you, I suspect. But you outsmarted her and now she’s in jail.”

I said nothing.

“I’m adding yours to this list.” He pulled the paper containing the list of Padmini’s victims. “I would like name, address, phone number, please.” He wrote my name then my address as I dictated it. His pen suddenly froze in mid-air. “Hillcrest Avenue? Why is the address familiar…” He muttered, and ran an eye up the list. Something made him stop, and quickly look up at me. “Who’s Vikram Ram Mehta, 55, residing at 2538, Hillcrest Avenue?”

I sat forward with a frown. “My father…”

“Bloody hell.” The Inspector sat back slowly, shaking his head. “May 2012. Your old man happens to be Padmini’s victim number 4…”

__END__