Predator (9 page)

‘The strong, silent type, I see’ quipped Derek. He placed his hand on Ram Singh’s shoulder, ‘we just want you to beat it. Is that understood? Shoo, now!’

Salmonella rolled her eyes heavenwards and sighed deeply. ‘Assholes! Men are all assholes! Anyway, be there sharp at nine. Grace will be there, so Hound, you better ask your pals to behave! Salmonella left with Ram Singh trailing sadly behind her.

The College Reunion Party: 9 P.M.

‘Not bad, Derek, you succeeded in impersonating a human being for a change. Now let’s see if you’re man enough to trick Grace into believing that you’re actually one,’ said Chief appreciatively. Derek was dressed like a dog’s dinner in an expensive outfit, slicked-back, gelled hair and a clean-shaven face. He looked every inch the man with whom Salmonella had once been in love.

‘Dammit, that’s an insult! By the way, where are the other jokers? You look like a corporate gigolo, Chief!’ Derek shot back as they walked towards Hound’s room to yank him out of his kennel. It was fifteen minutes to 9 p.m. and they intended to be on time, fearing the wrath of Salmonella if they didn’t.

‘Let’s go, dudes, I don’t want to be late,’ said Derek rapping on Hound’s door. Hound emerged in a really sharp suit, holding a bouquet of yellow roses. ‘These are for my little sister. She loves roses. I went out in the afternoon and bought them myself.’

As they admired the roses, Goose stepped out of the room, handsome as ever and announced, ‘Are we going to be standing around like pansy butterflies, sniffing roses, or are we going to go rock the party?’

They could hear music thrumming somewhere, and followed the sound to the venue. The music was loud, and it was obvious that Prince and his crew had arrived.

‘Sure seems like a grand ball to me, that asshole has splurged to make it happen. I never knew he cared so much for our college days,’ said Derek, admiring the setting. The tastefully done lights in the clearing made the surrounding vineyard seem surreal. Twinkling fairy lights decorated the surrounding trees, and big, yellow globe lights were hung in the cosy corners to create an ambience for tête-à-têtes. The little pool near the DJ’s stand shimmered with the floating scented candles.

The sweet aroma of ripe grapes hung in the air, although the tuberose flower arrangements were competing feistily with their fragrance in the party space.

‘It’s not for the college, you dork! Chris is crazy about Grace so he’s gone out of the way to impress her. I’m sure she’ll now fall for him hook, line and sinker!’ sniggered Hound, and Goose and Chief burst out laughing.

The buffet spread and the bar was at the centre of the cleared space. The makeshift stage had multi-coloured strobe lights that scanned the venue like beacons. Richard Marx blared from the stereo to underscore the retro theme of the college reunion.

‘Damn! The guy’s done a great job! It sure makes me feel nostalgic,’ exclaimed Chief. ‘Wow! Look! There’s champagne as well! And black olives. Man, this guy is loaded!’

Banners and posters with the college emblem had been put up on all sides with copies of their college scrapbooks stacked tidily on conveniently placed tables. The clincher was a graffiti wall covered with old pictures from Chris’s album.

Chris had gone overboard to impress his batch. The buffet spread at the west end corner beside the wine section had a wide variety of food from all around the world – caviar, Peking duck, seafood tagine, barbecue chicken, spinach lasagna and zucchine ripiene. The other side was the quieter end, and had another table stacked with six local delicacies. There was a third table near the entrance that was the salad counter.

Lost in the urban legend, Goose was searching for a pattern everywhere. Three tables with heaps of food, six exotic dishes on each one of them, all in the name of a buffet spread. He wouldn’t dare tell the others lest they beat him to a pulp and yank his poor old, dead grandma out of him.

‘This kind of food can feed a small third-world country for a month!’ said Derek greedily eyeing the spread of exotic food heaped on the tables. The sight of all the free food (after all those momos) was making him delirious. His warped conspiracy theories seemed to make him see the number six in just about everything.

‘True that!’ exclaimed Chief.

‘Oh look! There’s Meher, Rita and Whatshisname! C’mon, let’s go say hello,’ said Derek, leading the way to a group standing around by the stage. Goose was already greedily stacking as much food on his plate as possible. The ghastly memories of momos and noodles needed to be eradicated post-haste.

‘You guys go ahead, I’m going to look for Grace. Tell her I’m by the candlelit pond if you happen to see her before I do,’ said Hound. ‘And tell Salmonella too. I can’t wait to see her!’

‘Chill! Your sister’s probably balling someone before the party. She’s an adult now. Give her time. By the way, where’s Chris?’ asked Chief looking around, hoping to spot Grace with him.

Hound glared at Chief and Goose guffawed, nearly oversetting the precarious mountain on his plate. Derek scowled.

The College Reunion Party: 10 P.M.

The party was picking up. While Derek wandered off to pick up the threads with Salmonella, Goose and Chief went to meet and mingle, and, oh yes, stuff their faces. Hound had fixed the entranceway with an unblinking stare. This had been festooned with balloons and lights and streamers. A few more minutes of his basilisk glare and some balloons were likely to go pop.

Prince’s crew took over the stage and the music got even louder. They were warming up the crowd before the big act by Prince himself.

Hound spotted an irate-looking Chris striding in. He was alone.

He spotted Hound and made his way over to him. He was clearly agitated, ‘Man, she’s doing my head in, your sister. I waited at her doorstep for over two hours and she didn’t show. Her phone says “out of range”.’ He thrust the red rose he’d been holding at Hound. ‘Here! Stuff this in your bouquet and give it to her when you see her. She’s ruined my evening, Dude!’

‘Shut up, fool, or I’ll break your teeth! I won’t stand for trash talk about Grace. Go and find Salmonella. Now!’ hissed Hound.

Hound was getting worried. He could see his friends enjoying themselves. Everybody seemed to be having a good time. ‘Damn, I hope she’s alright,’ he kept saying over and over in his mind. ‘God! I’m not a man of faith, but if you truly exist and are up there, please keep her safe. I should’ve kept in touch more,’ muttered Hound. He was beginning to panic.

Salmonella and Chris ran up to him. Derek had rounded up Goose and Chief, and soon all of them were with Hound.

‘What do you mean “out of range”?’ said Salmonella. She looked at her own phone. ‘It’s ringing. She’s not picking up the phone!’

The music got louder and the strobe lights flashed their blinding beacons, like sporadic searchlights, over the crowd. Wine and other beverages flowed freely. The crowd was also getting louder; they danced and laughed, and yelled to make themselves heard over the din. Another ten minutes and Prince would take centre stage and rock the party.

They moved to a better-lit area, the loos were behind them. ‘Relax, guys! Maybe, she’s just been delayed at the hairdresser’s or something. Here, let me try again.’ Salmonella intently keyed in messages on her phone. She was trying every available option on the Internet. Hound was gradually growing more frantic, and Goose put a soothing arm around his shoulder.

Derek’s mind had moved into overdrive and was conjuring up horrific images. Chief was worried too, but he seemed calm on the surface.

Chris seemed to be having a nervous breakdown. He was quietly getting increasingly plastered on Merlot, and then accidentally smashed a bottle as he stumbled and tripped on a guy rope.

‘Control yourself, you freak, that’s not how you drink wine!’ yelled Salmonella. ‘I told you not to do the pills or snort! You’re bloody going insane. Get a grip, asshole!’ A bouncer came over and helped Chris get back on his feet.

‘Take you bloody paws off me, you bastard! You’re all my father’s slaves. Leave me alone!’ slurred Chris. He shoved the bouncer away and staggered into the restroom.

Salmonella knew he was crying. She felt for him and her heart wept. Everything seemed to be coming to a head – his mother’s sudden death, his father’s pall looming over him, his unreciprocated love for Grace, and now his sister losing her rag with him.

Salmonella closed her eyes.

Salmonella also sensed that Chris was snorting cocaine in the loo.

Chris’s loneliness, she shared. They shared the same father as well. They shared the pain.

The College Reunion Party: 11 P.M.

The lights went out and suddenly there were loud explosions near the stage as fireworks lit up the sky. Strategically placed metal pipes spewed fire as they announced the arrival of Prince on stage. The decibel level rose even higher and the venue fairly throbbed. The showman had arrived. The crowd went berserk. The party had finally begun.

Hound dumped the bouquet into a trashcan. ‘Dude, I think something is horribly wrong. I’m going to her house, her beauty parlour, her coffee joint and all the possible places she could be in. You guys stay here if you like … ’

‘Wait up, I’m coming with you’, said Derek. ‘I’m not letting you go alone anywhere in your current state of mind. Salmonella, I’m taking your car. Your keys, quick!’

As Salmonella handed over her car keys to Derek, Chief walked briskly towards the entrance and said, ‘Let’s split up. You guys go to Grace’s house and all those places. Goose! Come with me, let’s take Chris with us and meet every friend of hers with whom she hangs out’.

‘Aye! Aye! Chief,’ said Goose. ‘Here, take the keys. Get Motormouth. Let me get that wastrel, Chris. He’s still in the bogs.’

Derek eased Salmonella’s sedan out of the parking lot and then gunned the engine and sped out of sight in seconds. Chief waited drumming impatiently at the wheel of Motormouth, while Goose practically lifted a stoned and groggy Chris into the car.

‘Slap that fool, and wake him up! Let’s go to the hairdresser’s near her place, although I’m sure it must be closed for the night now,’ said Chief scowling. He watched Goose struggle with the waste-of-space, Chris.

‘No use, Chief. He won’t wake up for another twenty minutes at least. Let’s go to the parlour. If she’s not there, I suggest we come back immediately and meet Joe. Let’s get the cops right away. I’ve got a really bad feeling in my bones now. Something’s horribly wrong here!’

‘Makes sense, there’s something not quite right about tonight … ’ said Chief, ‘of course, not the mumbo-jumbo shit about women being abducted by the devil but today is the thirteenth of October. It’s been exactly six years … I checked on the Internet’

‘Six years? Don’t tell me! There were exactly three tables with six different dishes spread on the banquet table tonight. Oh my God! My sixth goddamn sense was right! The urban legend, Chief! Could it be true?’ exclaimed Goose as he feverishly added up the coincidences. ‘Holy Shit … !!!’

‘Goose, we are talking serious shit here. Your conclusion may be correct but your logic sucks. The food has nothing to do with anything! Stop joining non-existent dots and hallucinating, and get back on
terra firma
, now!’ Chief couldn’t help but smile. But although his conspiracy theories were loony and plain whacko, Goose’s conclusion bothered Chief.

Goose’s theory about the urban legend had been playing on his mind as well. Chances were, Goose was just caught up in the hype, and trying to establish patterns everywhere, but the fact remained – Grace had indeed disappeared, and that was reason enough to be concerned.

Also, on some level, there seemed to be a ring of truth about the old wives’ tale. But, urban legends aside, something, somewhere seemed skewed.

They soon arrived at the parlour. It was dark, and obviously closed for the night. Goose peered in through the dark glass, and turned to shake his head and shrug – nobody, nothing in there. Chris was slowly coming to, but he lay slumped on the back seat.

‘Forget it, Goose! Let’s go talk to Joe and call the cops quick!’ growled Chief and they sped back to the vineyard. Goose’s cell phone buzzed. It was a call from Derek.

‘Any luck?’ asked Goose, his phone on speaker mode

‘No, she’s not in her house or at the coffee shop. Her neighbours haven’t seen her. Hound’s going berserk … what’s the plan?’

‘Get to Joe’s residence pronto, and call the cops! We’re on our way. Ciao! Nope, no sign of Grace, Chief, I fear the worst’.

‘It’s the sixth year! Oh, my God! The legend is true! The demon has taken Grace! God help us!’ babbled Chris hysterically grabbing Goose’s arm.

‘Shut up and sober up, wimp!’ snapped Chief as he speeded up Motormouth. ‘Call your Dad and tell him we’re coming!’

Goose took Chris’s cell phone and called Joe’s number. ‘Joe? It’s me, Goose, Chris’s friend. Your son’s here with me. Can you please call the cops? We’re coming over right now. We cannot find Grace … ’

‘Oh no! Are you guys alright?’ ’Course I’ll call the police … come soon. But drive safe. The cops will probably get here by the time you arrive. See you soon …’

As Chief parked Motormouth in front of Joe’s house, they saw Hound and Derek talking to Joe in the dimly-lit porch. Inspector Khan had arrived in person accompanied by two other cops. Salmonella was there too.

‘Apparently, Grace is missing. We’re filing a report, guys. Inspector Khan is here to help us look for her,’ said Joe to the group. ‘Ah! There you are, my fine, young son, Chris! The fool can’t even take care of himself, just look at him! No wonder Grace has disappeared …’

‘Dad! For heaven’s sake, don’t start … !!’ Chris was having trouble even standing without support. ‘At least, not now.’

‘Shut up, both of you! Grace has disappeared and all you can do is argue,’ screamed Salmonella hysterically. Derek put his arm around her comfortingly.

Inspector Khan looked at all the new faces around him. He seemed to be already on the job inside his head, preparing a list of suspects for cross-examination. He took a deep breath, and addressed Joe, ‘So …? Do we blame the devil and let it pass, Mr Jones?’