Disbelief showed on Deiter’s face. ‘Satyendra Bose? Why would he be interested in him?’
‘He said that he was inspirational and had a big influence on his career.’
Deiter didn’t look convinced.
‘And I showed him my scrapbook,’ Ajay added, retrieving it from the side of his bed.
He handed the book to Deiter, who gave it a cursory inspection then tossed it irreverently back onto the bed. ‘What else did you talk about?’
‘Nothing.’ Ajay had no compunction in lying to this man.
‘I don’t believe you.’ The menace in Deiter’s voice began to surface.
‘It’s the truth,’ Ajay replied, staring defiantly at him.
Deiter returned his gaze, trying to detect any hint of dishonesty in his eyes. Ajay was the first to look away.
‘I know about your promise to your father,’ said Deiter, keeping his voice level. ‘He’s convinced you’ll keep your mouth shut. I, on the other hand, am not so gullible. If I find out that you’ve been speaking to anybody about what you know, then I would have no option but to…’
‘Kill me? Like you killed Professor Morantz?’ Ajay blurted out, his courage driven by anger. But he realised his error as soon as the words left his mouth.
Deiter lunged. His reflexes were as fast as a coiled cobra’s, grabbing Ajay around the neck with one hand and pushing him back against the wall, knocking the wind out of him.
‘What do you know about that?’ Deiter demanded, his face flushed, inches away from Ajay’s. The stench of alcohol on his breath would have made Ajay gag if he wasn’t already struggling to inhale. Seeing he was in distress and not wanting to kill him just yet, Deiter released his grip and sat back in his chair. Ajay slumped on the bed, gulped in a lungful of air and started to cough.
‘It’s of no consequence,’ Deiter said, regaining his composure. ‘It just saves me the time and effort of impressing on you what I’m capable of. You see, Morantz was a very weak man. I tried to persuade him to join our cause, but he was insistent on going to the media. He left me no option, really.’
Ajay managed to regulate his breathing. He looked up at Deiter, who was inspecting his fingernails. His placid demeanour was betrayed by the wildness in his eyes. Was he really trying to justify what he’d done?
‘So you killed him?’ Ajay croaked.
‘Let’s just say I assisted him in reaching a conclusion to our conflict.’
‘And now you’re going to kill me,’ Ajay sat up, nursing the bruises on his neck.
‘Kill you? Kill you? What do you take me for? I’m not a monster,’ Deiter replied indignantly. ‘I’m here to help you.’
‘Like you helped Professor Morantz?’
‘Now that is entirely your choice.’ Deiter reached over to the desk to retrieve his bag. ‘I have here ten thousand Euros and a one-way ticket to India.’ He unzipped the holdall and showed Ajay its contents. ‘You can either take the money and disappear for good, or suffer the consequences. It’s up to you; I have no preference either way. Do I make myself clear?’
Ajay understood completely the implications of Deiter’s concealed threat and decided his best course of action would be to remain silent. He was wrong.
‘Do… I… make… myself… clear?’ Deiter enunciated each word separately with increasing intensity.
‘Yes,’ Ajay replied in a hoarse whisper.
‘Good. I’ll leave this with you then.’ Deiter stood up abruptly and threw the case on the bed. ‘If you’re still here in the morning, then I’ll have to assume that you’d like another one of our little chats, only I won’t be able to guarantee it will be as friendly next time.’ With that, he walked over to the door to let himself out. ‘I do hope you make the right decision, for your sake,’ were his parting words, as he disappeared into the corridor.
Lying back on the bed and breathing deeply, Ajay began to contemplate his options.
He could speak to his father, but then he already knew the two men were accomplices. Perhaps his father had even sanctioned Deiter’s actions? Had his father also been involved in Professor Morantz’s murder?
He could go to the police, but would they believe him over an eminent physicist like Deiter? Probably not. Besides, what could he tell them? That Professor Morantz didn’t really commit suicide and that he’d been given ten thousand Euros to keep quiet about a non-existent murder? If he had a problem trying to comprehend what had just taken place, the police would have no chance.
He could tell Professor sahib. At least he would believe him, but it would also put him in danger. He already knew Deiter had killed once, but by the look in his eyes earlier Ajay knew he was capable of much more.
Or he could just carry on as normal and ‘suffer the consequences’ as Deiter had put it. He was under no illusion what that meant.
No, he didn’t really have any options.
He dragged his blue canvas suitcase out from under the bed and started to pack.
CHAPTER 15
Tom awoke alone, much to his disappointment. He contemplated whether that still would have been the case had the night gone differently. Ajay’s appearance had certainly altered the course of any possible romance. He looked at his alarm clock. It was seven-thirty.
Serena had fallen asleep on his couch after they’d exhausted the discussions on the evening’s events. Tom was unsure whether the gentlemanly thing to do was to let her sleep there with a throw over her, or wake her up and offer her his bed while he slept on the couch. He had chosen the former.
He got out of bed, slipped on a pair of trousers and tip-toed into the lounge, not wanting to wake her. He needn’t have bothered; she was in the kitchen making coffee, wearing the cocktail dress that she’d had on the night before, only it was slightly more crumpled than the last time Tom had seen it.
‘Morning. Jeez, you look as rough as I feel,’ she said, taking a bite out of a heavily-buttered slice of toast. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I helped myself to your bread, although I couldn’t find anything to put on it.’
‘Yes, sorry,’ replied Tom. ‘Funnily enough, I just haven’t had the time to go to the grocery store. I’ll make a note to go at the weekend for you.’
Serena smiled over at him and took another bite of her toast.
‘By the way,’ he continued, ‘you’re the second person to have commented on how rough I look since I’ve been here. It must be catching.’ He folded his arms across his chest, self-conscious of his naked top half.
‘Oh! And who else have you managed to lure back to your apartment in such a short space of time?’ she said in mock indignation.
‘It was Frederick,’ he replied solemnly.
‘Oh! I see. I didn’t know you were that way inclined,’ she replied, unsure whether or not he was being serious.
‘I’m not. He came to collect me after I’d had an afternoon nap.’
‘Or that’s the story you’d like everybody to believe,’ she said. ‘I’m fairly broad-minded about these things. You can confide in me.’
This time it was Tom’s turn to wonder whether she was joking or not. She could read the expression on his face and laughed. ‘I’m joking, of course… I’m not broad-minded at all.’
‘I think we’ll call that a draw,’ replied Tom. ‘Any chance of a coffee?’
‘Sure, I’ve just made a pot. Help yourself.’
‘So, what are your plans for today?’ he asked, pouring himself a cup.
‘Well, firstly I’ve got to get back to my apartment without anybody seeing me. I look like something the cat dragged in,’ she said finishing her toast.
She looked absolutely perfect to Tom. She had let her hair down and wiped off her make-up, but that didn’t detract, in the slightest, from her natural beauty.