Chapter 58

Madhavi saw Alan sitting at the far end of the Crossroads McDonald's. He was at a window seat, looking out at the evening traffic jammed up all the way to Haji Ali, sipping a Coke. A packet of french fries and a small tub of chilly sauce sat on the table before him, untouched.

"Don't look so gloomy." She took the seat before him. "It isn't the end of the world."

He looked at her so closely, she knew he was searching for evidence of abuse.

"I told you. He didn't raise a finger on me."

He met her eyes. Held them. After a moment, she looked away.

"What do you want me to say, Alan? I was scared. I thought he was going to kill me."

He put the Coke down, pushed it aside. "Madhu, you can't go on living like this."

"I know that. That's why I'm going to leave him. But you have to understand, I need to do this properly. It has to be a clean break, once and for all."

"But you said that three weeks ago, when we first met. How long are you going to stay with this sword hanging over you?"

She smiled at his choice of words. "It isn't that bad, Alan. Yes, he is violent. He's a psychopath. I know that now. But he won't dare harm me."

"You just said you were afraid he was going to kill you. That sounds a lot like harm to me, if you don't mind my saying so." His voice dripped sarcasm.

"That's the whole point. You see, Birju isn't afraid of me leaving him. The thought didn't even occur to him. He thought I was having an affair with you, got over-involved emotionally, and that you talked me into letting you write the story and publish it in your column in Mumbai Times. That's why he over-reacted and threatened to kill me."

"So? What's changed?"

"What's changed is the fact that you didn't publish it." She leaned forward, putting her hand on his. "You should have seen him when he confronted me that first day. He was acting angry, blustering, but actually he was scared as hell."

"Scared?"

"Yes! He can't bear to be publicly exposed. Birju has a very big sense of pride, Alan. He has one of the most famous department stores in the country. He's a major advertiser who takes a lot of interest in his image promotion. He appears in his own television commercials and press ads! He's known, famous, a celebrity. He moves around in the best social circles in the city. It would kill him to be exposed as a rapist and woman-basher."

"All the more reason why we should do it. Expose him. It'll be a major scandal. On the front page of every newspaper and magazine!" Alan sounded hungry, almost desperate.

Madhavi patted his hand. "Yes, yes, we will. In good time, we'll make it a sensational scoop. And you'll be the one who breaks the story, I promise you that, Alan. But right now, by not releasing the story, I have more power over him!"

He blinked. "How's that?"

"If I let you run the story, he'll be exposed. And it will all be finished. Then he might be desperate enough to kill me. And you." She paused, letting that last possibility sink into the columnist's self-obsessed brain.

"But by holding the threat of exposure over him, I can manipulate him into doing just what I want. He doesn't dare touch me as long as he knows I can destroy his entire life with just one newspaper column."

She leaned forward, whispering to avoid being overheard by the kids and families around them. "I even told him I'm coming here to meet you."

Alan looked around nervously as if afraid that Birju might be within sight somewhere, watching them, a razor blade in his hand. The tip of his tongue appeared, moistening his lip.

"And I told him that I would go back with you to your flat and make love to you."

His eyes widened. "And what did he say?"

She smiled triumphantly. "What could he say? He got furious. But I reminded him that if he even touched me or tried to stop me, I'd just tell you to go ahead and print the column. He just fumed and watched me as I got dressed."

Alan licked his lips again. "Jesus Christ, Madhu. This is a dangerous game you're playing. What if he comes after me? I mean, it's one thing that he's afraid of being exposed. But he's not going to stand by and let another man have an affair with his wife."

"You want to know a little secret? It turns him on."

Alan stared at her for a moment, then picked up the Coke again and took a big sip. The straw slurped as it reached the end of the plastic glass. He put the Coke down. She could see that he was turned on too.

"It does? Then, there's no problem if you and I go back to my flat? Right now?"

She smiled again, a secret, feminine smile. "I thought you'd never ask."