The Brave Pedestrian

Chapter IX: Namita’s Revenge Namita knew she was prostitute now. Worse, she knew she was a puppet in the Sub Inspector's hands. She was completely powerless, she was completely debased and she hated it. She hated Tony the pimp for his hand in it, but more than anybody else, she hated Gaitonde the policeman. This business about 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' is greatly misunderstood. One traditionally thinks of  housewives turning nasty and throwing saucepans and rolling pins. Sometimes, people think of mistresses. Rarely, if ever, does it apply to prostitutes. Also this thing about 'Behind every great man, there is a great woman'. The phrase is understood as being applicable to wives who are extremely tolerant and supportive. It's rarely about the noble and selfless deeds of a prostitute. In the case of Gaitonde, however, this second phrase was perfectly applicable. One year was too short a period for out-of-turn promotions to materialize in...

Chapter VII: FLASHBACK — How Henderson Met Namita Henderson had come into her life very recently. More precisely, he was brought into her life by Tony. Tony knew Gaitonde because the cop had nabbed him one day in the act of smooth-talking a foreign tourist, and taken him in for questioning. And because he had used third-degree methods without asking him any questions or charging him with anything specific, Tony, alias Mayank Tandel, had confessed to the murder of Deepya in Gorai village. A few discreet enquiries over with the Gorai village police  thane  had given the wily Gaitonde some very interesting information. Deepya, in his dying declaration, had said that the heavy oar had fallen on his head. Nobody had said anything about a murder, and so the police had put it down in their files as an accidental death. That night, Deepya was cremated beside Mayank's father, and his wife had wailed with her arms thrown around Mayank's mother. If anybody knew the truth, they w...

Chapter III: Bribery, Bombay-Ishtyle “Hey, idhar ruk-re. Bus!” , said Tony, halting the taxi outside Azad Maidan Police Station. “Panch minute ruk, mein aata hoon!” “You wait here in taxi”, he said to Henderson, switching to English. “I will give the money and come. Give me the money-packet.” Henderson reached into his hip pocket, took out a fat envelope and he handed it over. But, just before he had relinquished his hold on it, wisdom dawned. “Wait! How do I know you won't run away with the money?” “You must believe me!”, cried Tony, tugging the packet on which he had a good grip. “Give me!” “No!”, cried Henderson in desperation. “I will come with you!” Tony gave in and let go suddenly. “OK, you come. See what happens. I am not answerable if they put you inside jail”, he said sulkily. Undeterred, Henderson hurriedly paid the taxi fare and followed Tony into the police station. But the young rogue had had a head start, and he made use of it by running into the Sub-...