Chapter 5 A TRAIL OF BREAD CRUMBS 2

" Good morning, Mr Chauhan " Laks greeted

Aryan looked up from his newspaper and smiled warmly at her

" Good morning, Lakshmi. This sari looks great on you "

Laks smiled back at him and sat down on a chair. Sana entered the dining room with a tray in her hands

" Good morning, miss. Did you sleep well " she asked

" Quite well, thank you, but there was a strange noise " Laks replied

" It's quite normal, miss. The house is settling. What would you like for breakfast "

" I'm sorry, we don't serve English breakfast, but I am sure you'll find something else you'd like to eat " Sana said apologetically

Laks stomach grumbled as she stared at the variety of foods on the dining table. She decided to go for Idlie with a variety of sauces and a cup of coffee

Sana put the food in front of her, she took a bite savoring the taste. As she looked around the large dinning room, a thought popped into her head

' Interesting. This house is enormous, clearly too big for a marriage couple and one servant. But it would be incredibly inappropriate to ask about children '

She looked at the Chauhans, Priyanka tenderly stroked her husband's hand, whispering something to him. The man stared at his wife with affection

' They love eachother, that's for sure. It's quite unusual for an Indian family. Many women end up in arranged marriages with wealthy men they do not love. I feel like the subject of children is sensitive for Mrs Chauhan. She was so excited to hear about my brother's visit ' she sighed sadly

" Miss? "

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sana, standing in the dinning doorway

" A young man is waiting for you " she announced

" Who? Captain Jones? "

" No, it's Mr Vaish " Sana said

" Who's that? " Laks asked unsure

" Your guide "

Lakshmi decided not to bother Sana with anymore questions as she decided to go meet this Mr Vaish herself. She nodded good bye to the Chauhans and walked out the front door

There was a man waiting for her outside. Tall and slender, he was gazing off to the side

" Mr Vaish? " Laks called

His dark eyes found Laks as he turned towards the sound of her voice

" Good afternoon, Miss Khan. My name is Ratan Vaish, I am your guide assigned for your task force. I will assist you during your stay in India "

" Oh, I heard about you, I thought we were supposed to meet yesterday " she said

" I was late but Mr Rose, your team leader, decided not to wait for me " Ratan explained

" Ah yes, he's like that " Laks said furrowing her brows

" I've come to escort you. Your team leader decided that the hotel room where Mr Hayes the diplomat was staying must be inspected "

" His room was at the same hotel where your colleagues are currently staying. So they are only waiting for you " Ratan said

" In that case, let's get going " Laks headed to the taxi that was waiting for them at the curb

Ratan stood there looking at her, then followed. As he approached her, an odd feeling came over her. It was strange and unfamiliar and she couldn't think of a term for it. It was almost as if his presence and gaze on her were tangible

As she walked, she turned to look at him and saw that he was still staring at her

" Careful, Miss Khan, watch your steps " he said

Laks turned around in time, almost stumbling at the end of the side walk

" After you Miss Khan " Ratan opened the car door for her

Laks complied, keen to get to her team as soon as possible

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They raced through the streets of Calcutta, deftly overtaking other cars and taking shortcuts through winding narrow alleys

The driver was quite reckless, he honked at other drivers and cursed in an unfamiliar dialect

It didn't seem unusual. Everyone in Calcutta appeared to be driving like that

Laks threw her glance at Ratan, who was staring blankly out the window

" Did you know the diplomat? " she suddenly asked

" Let's make the most of the ride, maybe I'll learn something new " she said

" Yes, I knew him a little. I was his guide for the first few days. Mr Hayes was a very anxious person. He didn't want anyone around him. I told him everything he needed to know about staying safe in India, after that, he declined any further assistance " Ratan explained

" And you haven't seen him since "

" No "

" Was there anything strange about his behaviour? " Laks asked

" Apart from his paranoia and arrogance? No "

" Yes, it seems like there's a lot of people like that among British diplomats " Lakshmi scoffed

" Are you talking about Emmett Rose, your supervisor? " Ratan's lips curled into a smile

" An extremely unpleasant person. He was really keen to start the investigation at the hotel without you " Ratan said

" I beg your pardon?! "

" The entire taskforce was there except you. You were far away, having breakfast at the Chauhans house " Ratan said, Laks furrowed

" But Captain Jones insisted on waiting for you "

" Really? " Laks brows shots up in suprise

" Yes, he was adamant " Ratan said

" That's nice to know "

She leaned back in the car seat, silently staring out the window. They were almost at the hotel

They walked through the lobby and went up the stairs. In the hallway, Ratan and Laks saw the rest of the taskforce waiting for them

As soon as Laks spotted Mr Rose, she felt her blood boil, she wouldn't just let it go

She walked towards the group in confident strides. She wanted to confront their leader and get to the bottom of it

" Good morning, everyone. Mr Rose? " She greeted

" Miss Khan? "

" Is it true that you wanted to ignore my contribution to this taskforce and start the investigation without me? " she queried, Harry and Lima exchanged glances

" Don't get me wrong, I simply didn't want to waste precious time " Mr Rose said

" Everyone here speaks English, there's no need for an indologist " he continued

" Fine, I see. Let's get one thing straight though, I was chosen to join this taskforce, just like everyone else. My job is important. Why do you get to decide who works and who doesn't? " her face flushed with annoyance

" Because I am the leader of this task force " Mr Rose said arrogantly

" The leader of an already established task force. And I'm a part of it. Don't ignore me. If you don't want to waste time waiting, just let me know beforehand at what time I'm expected to arrive " she said

Mr Rose was clearly embarrassed as he struggled to hide his irritation

" As you wish " he muttered

" Alright, let's get to work. Let's not waste anymore time. There are a lot of people to interview, so we should split up "

" As I have already mentioned, the hotel staff speaks English. There's no need for Miss Khan or Mr. Vaish to accompany us at all times " He said

" Perhaps. But I'd rather have Miss Khan with me " Harry said, Laks stared at him with a questioning gaze

" There's nothing strange about that. I'm sure we'll learn more if we speak Hindi instead of English " he explained, avoiding her gaze

" I agree. I'd also be more comfortable going with Lakshmi " Lima said

Mr Rose looked at the two of them in confusion

" Whatever. Miss Khan, go with Harry it'll be safer that way " Mr Rose instructed

" Miss Berg, Mr Vaish, you're with me. Captain Jones, I suggest you interview the people on this floor. We'll go downstairs " Mr Rose said

" Got it. Let's get started "

Harry and Lakshmi waited for the other team to go down the stairs and then made their way down the hallway

" The maids are very chatty. We can get the most information from them " Harry said

" I agree. Where can we find them? " Laks asked

" It's nearly lunch time, which means they're getting ready to clean the rooms. I'm sure we'll run into some of them " Harry answered

" We'll need to get a maid to talk. If you want us to speak in Hindi, then I'll do it. But will I be able to pull this off? " She rubbed her arm nervously

Harry looked at her with his calm grey eyes and asked

" Are you doubting your own abilities? "

" Just don't try to punch her at first sight. That's going to make her like you a lot more "

" I beg your pardon? "

" I doubt she'll be able to dodge your blow as well as I did " he smiled mischievously

" Oh, come on! It's not funny " she furrowed

" I'm not laughing, am I? " Harry smiled

" I'm nervous, I've never took part in any kind of investigation or interrogation " she said

" Still,they chose you, and I'm sure they have their reasons. There are no fools in our field "

" How can you be so sure? " Laks asked

" Well... I called headquarters and asked about you " He confessed

" What! "